Ankle pain (OMG not again)

[Pax]

You sound so much like my wife, she just sees "water things" as not very interesting. Although she's coming on board with the kayaking.

[lph]

I used to be a bad swimmer, in the sense that i could swim fine, but I was tense and anxious, used a lot of energy, didn't want my face in the water, and was mildly afraid of deep water. I even took a scuba diving class to get to grips with some of it. That helped some, but what really made a huge difference was trying snorkelling. Being able to just hang around in the water, completely relaxed, face down, getting lots of air, and seeing lots of interesting stuff was amazing! And it was so much easier to gear up and go than for scuba diving, which always felt like I was buckling up for war. I'm a much better swimmer for it, and a happy kayaker now that I have a certain feel for the water and what's below the surface.

[north woods gal]

Really an apples and oranges thing to compare my canoeing to my bicycling. Love them both for what they are. Will admit that I do far more bicycling, though, and it's not a matter of access, either, because I can walk down to our dock and canoe anytime I want, just as I can get on the bike and ride right out my back door into the trails in our woods. The bicycling, in particular the mountain biking, is certainly more aerobically physical and that's a big part of the attraction for me. Two hours of paddling leaves me a bit sore in the arms and very stiff in the legs when I get out of the canoe, but two hours on the mountain bike or fat bike, riding the trails, or a long run on the road bike leaves me winded and tired all over, but in that good kind of tired that brings a big smile to my face and, now and then, an outright cheer for having completed a great ride.

That was the point, though, about using kayaking as physical therapy due to its lower impact on the legs and feet and so on.

[Crankin]

I actually like canoeing and my upper body always feels it!
You'd have to kidnap me and tie me up to snorkel. That hits me exactly where I cannot tolerate. To cover my nose, and ask me to breathe through a tube by mouth would immediately put me into suffocation mode. I can't cover any sensory organ, or I am done.

[ny biker]

Last summer when we were in Massachusetts we rented a house next to a pond near Plymouth. They had a 2-person kayak which looked more like a canoe to me. It was great going out on the pond. My brother went out with my 80-year- old father, who insisted on sitting in back and reportedly did his fair share of the paddling. Back in the day they went on many Boy Scout canoe trips together. I got a great photo of them while they were out on the water, which I printed and framed for Christmas gifts.

I always enjoyed canoeing when I was younger. I have minimal interest in snow cycling, North Woods, but your dock and canoe look might inviting.

I certainly am hoping to get back on my bike soon, but if things don't go well with the ankle I will have to find a place to rent a kayak and give it a go.

[ny biker]

Okay, four weeks have passed.

For the first couple of weeks, I had various aches and pains when I wore the boot, but felt okay when I took it off. For the last couple of weeks, reverse that. Pain all around the area of the posterior tibial tendon, up the side of my shin, sometimes the achilles tendon felt stiff, if I wasn't wearing the boot. No pain with it on. So my foot and leg adjusted to the motion of walking in the boot.

I typically put an ice gel pack on it when I go to bed, held in place with an Ace bandage. I just go to sleep with it on, then remove it when I wake up a few hours later. The other night (after removing the gel pack) I turned my foot inward in my sleep and something hurt enough to wake me up. Not sure exactly what was hurting, though. Since then I've left the gel pack and bandage on all night since it acts like a soft brace to keep me from turning my foot while I'm sleeping.

So, today. Day one without the boot! My plan was to just do minimal walking around the office. I had hoped to ride the bike on the indoor trainer tonight, just slow easy pedaling for a half hour. I'm wearing sneakers with Superfeet insoles. Things were fine until late afternoon when my leg started to hurt above the spot where I had the surgery and up the side of my shin. I put an ice pack on it for a while and that helped. Meanwhile I have a terrible cold. So I've decided no bike tonight, my trip to the gym to do upper body weights (I considered putting the boot back on so I could get in a short workout). Just sitting, driving home, sitting again, going to bed. Icing it again and leaving the gel pack on.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to meet up with cousins who are in town for the weekend with some friends. Word is that one of the friends broke her foot and is in a boot. I'm sorry she's hurt but am thinking it will make it easier for me to say that I want to sit and rest for a while, since she'll probably not want to do lots of walking.

One day at a time. Hoping for the best but who knows what will happen...

[Crankin]

I hope you feel better, NY. It must be frustrating.