I had a strange sensation waking up Thursday morning, and it took me quite a while to figure out what it was that was different about getting out of bed that morning. I went to bed at the usual time the night before, my alarm went off at 6:00 AM as it does most weekday mornings, yet something was different this morning. As the day progressed, I was finally able to wrap my mind around what That difference was. I had gone to bed, fallen asleep, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up to my alarm. That has to be the first time in over a year that I have slept that soundly through the night (yet it was the way I often slept prior to my stroke).
I spoke in a previous post about how difficult it was to turn my body over to a new position in my sleep and that I couldn't sleep on my left side because it was so hypersensitive that I couldn't get at all comfortable. Well, obviously this past Wednesday night I was able to make it through the night without waking up to change positions numerous times throughout the night. That is really an exciting thought (even though I have woken up to change positions the past two nights as usual). It gives me hope that I am making more small steps toward improvement over time.
I did experiment with trying to fall asleep on my left side about a week ago too, and was able to get comfortable enough to start my night of sleep that way. I know it really happened, because I had to comb out the crazy bed head from the opposite side of my head that morning.
Enough about sleep. Let me share with you a little bit about shoes. I have been running in the old pair of shoes that I had run in for about 8 months prior to my stroke as I was training for my first marathon. These shoes are about to be retired soon (you will see why) but have been fine for running on grass and even for my running as I transitioned to running on pavement the past few months. I had noticed the uneven tread wear about a month ago, but a few days ago I happened to look at the bottoms of my shoes again and was amazed at the difference between the left and right foot. So, I decided to take pictures of them and post them for you so you can get a better idea of just how different my running is on that left leg.
Here is the shoe from my right foot (the one that was NOT affected by the stroke). Notice that the black tread of the shoe is worn quite evenly over the whole shoe. This is especially evident on the front of the shoe as the yellow rubber underneath is exposed over time.
Now check out the shoe from my left foot. Notice how uneven the tread-wear is on this shoe. The outside of the shoe (bottom in the picture) is really worn down, even to the point of the white layer starting to show through, while the inside of the shoe shows very little wear at all. This is due to the fact that my left leg does not extend fully with each step causing me to land on the front of my foot rather than the heel. My foot also tends to twist with each step causing me to land on the outside of my foot rather than the center. So, I know what it's doing wrong, but I can't figure out how to make it right.
That being said, I do have some exciting news to share. I have been running with Anthony on Saturdays following his coach's regimen. These have been what he calls his "short days" running up to 4 and 3/4 miles. Well, earlier this week he mentioned that his coach had changed the weekly schedule and was now making Saturdays his "long day" instead and that he was to run 10 miles this Saturday (today). So, we plotted out a nice 10 mile course and set out with one of his classmates at 9:30 this morning and ran 10 miles. I did it! I wasn't sure if I could, and I was prepared to drop out and walk if I had to, but we ran as a threesome for the first 9 and 1/4 miles until they pulled away from me for the finish. They finished in 1 hour 25 minutes and 29 seconds, and I finished another 36 seconds behind them for right around one hour 26 minutes. This gives me real confidence to keep on running! God is so good to me!
As a follow-up to this, I have to tell you that walking has been especially difficult for me today due to some pretty extreme fatigue in that left leg. But it was well worth it. =)
No comments:
Post a Comment