The Ankle

So, I saw the doctor and got the results of my X-rays. Turns out the damn foot is fractured after all! It's what they call an avulsion fracture. The ligament that runs from the ankle to the plate on top of my foot got pulled (duh!) when I twisted the ankle and it pulled a chunk of bone out of the foot. Good thing is, there was no real damage to the ligament itself, so all I have to do is keep the brace on the ankle for another three weeks and it will heal on its own. It's actually feeling a lot better now. It's still a bit stiff of course and I can only bend it so far in either direction without feeling a bit of pain but I can walk normally, bear weight on it with no problem, etc. I just have to be careful with any kind of hard impact stuff or twisting it again (hence the brace!)

Crappy part is that I can't do any of the physical stuff for this month's drill. I already spoke with the SSgt. and he said not to worry about it. He was more interested in making sure I was alright and not in any pain. Nice guy - he kept telling me how sorry he was that I got hurt. I will have to stop by the base sometime next week with all the paperwork from the Dr. so they can have a formal record of everything that happened. I already filled out all the necessary paperwork on the Army side the day it happened but they want copies of what I did with the Doctor as well. The SSgt. pointed out it was best to document everything, that way if there are complications of any type down the road (I can't imagine there will be!) then I can prove that I got hurt while on duty for insurance/benefits purposes. Still, it can't hurt to document and the base is only 10 minutes from home, so . . .

So, I feel like a dumb-ass for getting hurt my first time out (much to The Wife's glee!) but I'll be 100% good to go for the August drill. I've been working out every day -sans running- trying to max my push-ups & sit-ups. The Dr. also gave me the okay to at least walk a few miles in the mornings (as long as I have the brace on!) so I can at least get SOME aerobic work in. I can also swim, so I'll have to see what I can do in that respect. Luckily, all my other exercises aren't affected by the ankle so that's a good thing.

Still having a bitch of a time losing the last 20-25 lbs. of weight I want to dump. I really need to drop it before I ship to BCT but it just don't wanna move! It's been 4-5 months now and I haven't lost anything. I'm eating light/healthy and working out five days per week but it's not helping. The first 90 lbs. came off without too much hassle but man, this last bit's killing me! Well, I AM adding muscle so I guess it's moving somehow but I'm still technically over my weight limit. I got taped at the last drill and My neck had grown by 1" and my waist had dropped 1-1/4" so I've got a lower body fat % but it will go much easier on me if I can get under the weight limit so I don't have to keep getting measured. I really only need to drop 15 lbs. to meet the standard charts but I would love to get under the 200 lbs. mark before I ship. Every ounce I drop will make the training that much easier, ya' know?

Other than that, things are good. Work is busy and home life is rollin' along just fine. I'm feeling good about myself (other than the dumb-ass broken ankle thing!) and actually learning to enjoy my morning work outs, which -for me- is something I NEVER thought would happen. My whole life, I avoided exercise/work/sweating like the plague. My old man loved to tell people that I believed "Manual Labor" was the name of the Mexican guy who cut our lawn. I find that I like being outside running (or walking!) when the dawn is just tipping the horizon. I like the quietness of the streets and only hearing the sound of my own breath and a few chirping birds. I like the feel of my own sweat covering my body like a second skin (something that I used to absolutely hate!) Even the burning muscles are starting to feel good - it's a sign that I'm doing it right. I especially like the feeling I get after I'm done. The rest of the day seems easy and I feel solid -inside and out- because I've already taken care of myself before I do anything.

One other thing I really like is that I take a quick 15 minute power nap on the couch each morning after I've cooled down/cleaned up a bit. It lets me relax all those strained muscles and it's always a really DEEP sleep. When I get up to go to work, I feel fantastic: totally rested and ready to kick the day's ass! :-) Yup, there's still a bit of lazy left inside me (well, okay . . . a LOT!) and I ain't ashamed to say so!

Later!