The good, the bad, and the experimental

The good: I made it to Michigan, along with cat, car, and fiance! The trip was mercifully uneventful and provided a nice rest for my ankle, since there's not much walking around to be done when one is spending 8-to-12-hour days in the car.

The bad: In spite of the rest, the physical therapy exercises, and the boot, my ankle is not really better. Granted, I haven't been able to stay off it as much as I should due to moving, but it really isn't better at all. I can't keep wearing the boot indefinitely, because the boot has become progressively more uncomfortable; there are a couple places where it has to be cinched pretty tightly in order to fit right, and as a result those places have developed chronic bruises that just hurt when the boot is on.

The experimental: I have these crazy "shoes" called Vibram Five Fingers that are supposed to simulate barefootedness while providing a little protection from anything sharp that one might happen to step on. There's been some research evidence recently suggesting that barefoot running is more natural to the human physique than running in high-tech super-supported running shoes (duh) and -- more interestingly -- that it might be associated with a lower injury rate, since running shoes put an unnatural amount of impact onto the heel of the foot. The experience of running in the Vibrams is completely different from running in running shoes; instead of landing on your heel with each step, for example, you land on your forefoot. Yesterday, I thought, "Well heck, maybe I should try going for a little run in the barefoot shoes." I figured that it would at least put a little less stress on my heel and ankle than if I went for a run in my regular shoes. So, this morning I ran for 5 minutes in the Vibrams -- my first run in over 2 months. It felt weird, but good. It didn't hurt my injured side any more than my non-injured side. Now I'm thinking that perhaps these shoes will allow me to start very gradually running again without worsening my ankle problem; in the best of worlds, maybe they would also facilitate the healing of the injury by getting blood flowing the tendon areas without stressing them too much. Maybe not. But if I'm not too sore tomorrow, I'll try doing another 5-minute run in them.