Just over a week ago, my nasty running habit caught up to me. The summer wreaked havoc on my training plans for the Army 10-miler, but I was committed to making up for it in September. I aggravated my plantar fasciitis. My doctor put me in a walking boot for two weeks.
And life in the boot puts you in the slow lane. I haven't weighed this thing, but I think I have 10 extra pounds on my left leg to drag around. Fortunately I found that my Dansko clogs (almost) match the height of the boot, so I'm wearing one clog and one boot. I am definitely in the Fashion Slow Lane this week! With all the extra weight from the boot, and the altered gait from the boot, I am moving SLOWLY this week.
I've taken the opportunity to not exercise and I can feel the fat growing around my middle. OK - not an opportunity, just an excuse. Of course, extra weight also aggravates plantar fasciitis. And extra weight slows you down. And I miss the emotional and psychological benefits of running - I always felt better after I ran. (Maybe that's just because the run was done!)
So as I sit in my living room looking out at a rainy Friday, I wonder, "what would I be doing if it weren't for this boot?" I am kidding myself if I think I'd be doing more housework (the bane of my existence) or more activities. The truth is that except for the exercise, I've kept up with most of my activities - just slower and more laboriously. And that's why I am in the (really) slow lane this week. It takes work. It takes work to climb the stairs. It takes work to walk through the grocery store or the mall. It takes work to return books to the library or even get to the phone before it stops ringing. So the answer is ... nothing different. I just wouldn't even think about it.
One of the blessings of the boot is just this: it forces me to slow down. The awkwardness of the boot reminds me to rest and to heal. It brings my routine activities out of the routine and back into my consiousness. I must think about how to do things that I used to do automatically. And in that mindfulness, maybe there is something that needs changing. (My eating habits, for instance.) As I look forward to the day I don't have to put the boot on, I will relish these last few days of becoming aware - once again - of my routine.
