Maybe Goofy

The wife is not yet on board, but I need the challenge.  My weight is way up and my overall health and conditioning sucks, so I have finally started trying to get my act together.  I've run 3x this week (1 mile, 2.25 and 3) with the plan to run twice this weekend.  I also plan to get back into strength training 3ish times a week.

So how did I get here.  For the last 5-6 years, I have been perpetually buried at work.  I have never had any time to breathe, every hour of every day that I was not working, I needed to be working.  The result is that, unless I was really engaged in working out and dieting, I wasn't exercising and I was eating shit.  I also travel pretty much constantly, so that either helps or hurts depending on where I am in my health mindset.  As late as last April, I was running 5-6 miles/day, 4-5x/week, but we had a huge hearing/presentation with papers and rebuttals in LA last June that put me back into extended 70+ hour weeks - and no exercise and eating garbage.   Last fall, things were not getting better.  In a lot of ways, they were only getting worse.  Our firm is going through a big transition and I was slated to take over the firm (with 2 other guys) in the middle of this year.  In addition to my normal workload, I brought in a couple of other clients with immediate needs and we (at the firm) were negotiating the transition plan.  My thought process was that, when I took over, I would have more control over my life (in addition to substantially more money).  However, I was miserable and a complete asshole to be around. 

My 2 kids were in the Girls on the Run program and the only running I had been doing was a weekend run with them in prep for the race the first weekend in December.  We had our unofficial family turkey trot on Thanksgiving, then I got up on the Saturday morning before anybody else and decided to go for a run.  .75 miles in, I stepped on the edge of the sidewalk at a washout and went down hard with a loud pop in my ankle.  Luckily, a mother and her 3 teenage daughters were driving by and saw the whole thing and stopped to help me out.  I know they must have seen it and thought "That old man just died!!!"  They kept offering to take me to the ER, but I've sprained my ankle more times than I care to count, so I just got the ride home.  This was a bad one and the swelling was worse than most of my other sprains.  Iced it all day and it really didn't seem too bad.  However, it set me in an even worse mood, combined with yet another beatdown from FSU and I had a candid conversation with the wife who asked why I thought things wouldn't just be getting worse when I was in charge.  It took me a couple of days, but I finally made the decision I've been trying to make for 10 years.  I told my partners that, instead of taking over, I am leaving.  I don't know what I am going to do next, but I'll figure it out.  I realized I would only be staying for the money, and that was no longer worth it.  I had/have to stay until I get my current project done (another big claim, this time in Toronto), but it now seems pretty certain that I will be out of here by the end of May. 

Anyway, back to the ankle.  I was in Toronto most of that week (the week after I hurt my ankle and before the 5k), but by Friday I was able to get my shoe on.  I had been telling my daughter that I thought I could still run the race with her and everyone else thought I was crazy.  That's probably true, but I did it anyway.  It was a struggle, but she doesn't run that fast.  We gutted out the 5k and the memory now will be how I ran with her despite a sprained ankle, not that we missed out on it.  Totally worth it.  However, 4 months later, my ankle still isn't right.  I tried running on it in late January and it was still pretty painful so I just stopped.  My dad told me that, even if it was fractured it would have heeled by that point.  After another week of some pain (mild), I went to the doctor who told me the same thing but ordered X-rays anyway.  Those confirmed that I was just being a wuss.  Still, it has taken me another 6 weeks to get started.  It's a little sore here and there, but mainly just tightness that loosens up.  Basically, I'm old. 

I was able to start running this week in part b/c I can take an hour and a half to two hours at lunch to do so.  What are they going to do?  Fire me?  We are going to Scotland for two weeks at the end of June and the beach (anna maria) for a week at the end of July, so that gives me some interim targets.  I'm not signing up for anything until I am up to a consistent 5-6 miles and a solid weight drop.  If I can make that happen, I'm still leaning toward Goofy.  My wife said she was on board for a marathon, but didn't understand why I needed to add the half.  I explained it was about new goals and she asked why I couldn't just target a PR in the marathon.  I laughed and laughed and laughed (while crying inside) at the concept that I'm not just getting slower.  She'll come around.  I should have plenty of free time for a while.  No excuses for not training.

Welcome back!  Looks like scheduling that Overachievers Anonymous meeting might be in order. 

We all have had our share of sprained ankles, so I'll let others put in their dos centavos on what has worked.  Except for one thing...get your doc or PT person to get the insurance to buy you a TENS unit.  It'll become one of your main training partners.

Good luck!

Great to hear from you Brian - and I sure do hope that things only get better for you.  I have done the same to my ankle and frankly it took months to really heal, and I felt it for months after.  Yup, we would have both been much happier had we really broken them.  I hope you get out of the work nightmare as your well being depends on it - and I'm so glad that you realized it.  After all, you don;t want to jeopardize your personal like with your daughter and wife.  They need Dad too.  No worries about time, pace, etc., and don't frown on the walk/run thing to get going.  Its going to get warm in FL soon, but you can and have gutted it out before.  

I used to go to Anna Maria Island all the time between Christmas and New Years, and we really love it.  Fun place to run as nothing is too far away.  I even used to run to City Pier and meet the family (I'm not a big beach person) who was already there, etc.  Perfect little place for that.

That's the goofiest idea I've ever heard of.  Go for it!  Just make sure you ramp up slowly and choose appropriate goals...and have fun.  

I admire your decision to give your health and family a higher priority than your job/money.  Life is short.  Enjoy it.

Good progress this weekend until Saturday's "run".  That was a disaster.  Worked all day yesterday and couldn't get my run in.  13 miles total last week instead of the planned 16-17.  Crap.