Since the pain has become for the most part manageable, and have little to do except eat, sleep, type, and twiddle my thumbs, I think its time to at least start to get myself in running shape, if I want to be prepared for the Seattle Marathon this November. Don’t worry; I’m not deluding myself with visions of being a one-armed Prefontaine, but a little five mile walk to Starbucks to write and get some fresh air seems like a good idea. According to Dr. Brownlee’s most recent assessment, as long as I wear my brace and go gently, I can avoid surgery and keep at least moderately active, meaning walking slowly with no sudden movements, and I think I can live with that.

This morning I put on a real shirt for the first time, which may or mat not have been a mistake. It didn’t hurt too terribly in the dressing, but the undressing might prove decidedly otherwise. The brace is also proving to be significantly more uncomfortable today than yesterday, and I wonder if I was a bit over zealous in tightening it this morning. It might just take some getting used to, I suppose.

Since my typing is abysmally slow at the moment from a combination of gimpiness and pain-killer haziness this post has taken roughly four days to write. So, as of today I have been able to dress myself and tie my shoes for four days now, but getting undressed, specifically getting my shirt over my head, is still remarkably impossible without someone to help me. I have been trying to cut back on the meds over the past few days, but a few attempts at stopping altogether has resulted in painful relapses back to previous dosing levels. Now I’m slowly backing off, but the boredom of coherent days spent lying in front of the television are taking their own toll. I’m grateful this isn’t some sort of long term disability; I don’t know if I could handle many more days of inactivity. I guess the walks to Starbucks are going to be the limit of my training for a bit longer.