Maybe The Last Day? Finally?!

Zilch Day (Almost) No Clue -- #64?!?

This has got to be the very last day of this.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

The whole past week I've been waffling or wavering on the edge of finally hitting the trail for my first rehab hike... and I've got this feeling that each decision not to go was a good thing. If I was to press down just the right away with a step forward, there's been that lingering discomfort (very minor pain) in the tibia at the point of the stress fracture. I think that's been slowly but surely going away and that's why not going each day over the past week, when I thought I was ready to, has been good.

This period of being so close is mentally challenging. I'm not on the verge of any kind of breakdown or nuthin' serious like that... but I'm a little extra frustrated. I see the weight gain and it's not pleasant. I also occasionally feel the minor breathing difficulty and that's equally not pleasant. Running keeps the weight gain away. Running keeps my cardiovascular system healthy, as well. I hate running! But the positive effects of it are awesome!

Now here I am at 9 freakin' weeks since I've been on the trail for a run, haven't been out there for a hike either. It's depressing. I feel like I'm doomed, like I'll never be able to go back out there without pain. Probably that's just Worst Case Thinking and when I resume activity soon all's gonna be fine. Out there in hiking boots I'll have such an INCREDIBLE desire to just go and run but I know I'm gonna have to just enjoy some nice short hikes for awhile, working my way up to a couple hours and beyond... and then maybe a five minute run in a couple weeks. Five minutes? Oi! That's almost like starting over!

It should go without saying -- this blows.