So me and the “Rebound Air Walker Low Top” will be together for the next five weeks.  That big oval at the top is a pump.  Makes me feel like I’m wearing these:

And the sports medicine podiatrist says if I run Western States it’s likely I’ll make the fracture far worse and probably not run again for the rest of the season.  So, yeah, that sounds pretty foolish.  He said I could probably run Leadville if things go well.  A friend wrote me that “This is one of those reminders that you better damn well like the journey because you may or may not make it to the desired destination.”  Yup.  There’s no way I would risk not being able to run for the rest of the year for this particular race.  It’s about the running, not the racing.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a bit heartbroken.  In the end, I  didn’t care a lick about how I would have placed; I just wanted to finally run the darn course and be part of the grand spectacle.  Oh well.  Maybe third time’s the charm.  I’m still going to make the trip.  My pacers, Chris and Brian, and I will put ourselves to good use.

So now for the excellent news.  The podiatrist said I could aqua jog or use an Alter G treadmill.  The aqua jogging is obviously not excellent.  And the Alter G is a $75,000 piece of equipment.

It pressurizes the air around you, which can decrease your weight by up to 80%.  Here’s a great piece about the Alter-G by Peter Sagal of NPR “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” fame.  And here’s the whacky thing: my local YMCA has one.  Of course it’s crazy expensive to use.  ($680 for 20 sessions.)  So I wrote the YMCA a letter and asked if they might waive that fee.  (In point of fact, I offered to trade all sorts of teaching for that waived fee.)  AND THEY AGREED!  Never hurts to ask indeed.  So tomorrow morning I will be running for two hours on the Alter-G.  I cannot believe my good fortune.   The kind fellow who rules the Alter-G told me very few people actually use the thing.  (I believe he said four.)  And he said I could book my training times for the rest of the month.  I tried not sound too impassioned as I strung together thank yous.  I did manage to avoid saying, “You’ve saved my life.”

I am stuffed with all sorts of Vitamin D info, but it’s very late, so I’ll save it for the morning.  We all went bowling tonight.  It was a work committment for Eliot.  There was cuteness — and beer.