Ampiversary

 Ampiversary cupcake provided by Jennifer

Yesterday, April 14, was my one year ampiversary.

It was a busy day at work, plus a trip to my prosthetist, then a 7 mile run afterwards, so I did not make time to post about this milestone day. I've also been working on a project to get a physically challenged division started in the Cooper River Bridge Run, to augment the wheelchair division they have embraced there.

I was thinking about this day more on April 13, the last day of my 'intactness' and remembering what I was thinking the day before and of my surgery. Going to bed that night and knowing what was going to happen in the morning. Getting dressed in my gown and through experience the ability to tie it up and keep my butt unexposed. The feel of the pre-op sheets. The pre-op talk with Dr. Ohslon. Getting my nerve block stuck in my leg. Going into the OR.

Waking up to what I would come to find as a very new me.

And here, one year and one day later, stating without reservation, I have no regrets and given all I know, would do it again. I would not have that old foot back. And could never, ever trade the new friends and experiences I have been so blessed to receive, all for appearance.

We lose pieces of ourselves every day. Hair. Nails. Skin. We lose other pieces through disease or accident. Teeth. Appendix. Tonsils. Yet when we lose a limb it is different as the change in appearance is more radical. I freely admit I think of this larger part of me that is gone and I have a strange sense of loss, different than losing a life but perhaps a cousin to that event. A piece of me has gone into the hereafter. I don't despair over my lost doggie, but I do remember him with some fondness.

*******

Tomorrow I should receive Jato. This will be the demarcation point from my high activity Renegade foot to my running prosthesis. With my experiences with the other not-quite-ready-for-prime-time running feet, I have mentally prepared myself for the transition. Even if the energy return feels better - and it should be quite different from the other feet - it will take some time to adjust to the different foot strike which is forefoot only.

As I have mentioned, this does feel more natural to me, more evident when I put my Renegade back on which is a heel-to-toe foot strike. In the past this is more of what I do when running slower; I only went with a more mid-foot strike when running faster.

If I can manage it, doing two-a-day shorter runs should help make this transition easier. Although the feel is more natural, it not the same and therefore I will be using muscles somewhat differently than they have been use to for past years; this will add some fatigue until they respond to the training stimulus. I don't want to find that the different feel masks any skin irritations that might develop over a longer run. Ideally Jato and I will get along like old friends, but given I will also have a new socket configuration there will likely be some fine-tuning issues to address.

I hope to be confident enough with Jato to run my next 5k in it on April 22 as I know my fitness, especially recovery from the allergy crud, is good.

It will be a good day, uh, evening to run!

The dingo Baxter guarding his territory - babies beware!