Progress?

Today started rather innocuously...

Drop daughter at daycare, handoff son & heir to sitter (he's on "spring break"—like kindergarteners need a break) and head to PT. Physical Therapy, that is.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, followed by weight lifting, playing with big rubber bands, elliptical trainers, treadmills, more weights, and more stretching. The good news is that I actually completed the walk/run/walk/run/ad nauseam routine for 2 ½ miles. The bad news is it took me 24 minutes. Last time I checked, I had to finish my 2 mile run in under 18:00 or so. Lotsa work there.

I also started doing crunches on a big ol’ pilates-type ball. I’m not even going to discuss that fiasco, except to say 3 sets of five made me feel like I was going to lose bladder control.

Push-ups, however, have always been my main event—I always score 100 points in that event. Now, after 8 months of physical and occupational therapy to just get my hand to bend a little, I can tell you that I can’t fully support my own body weight for any length of time, let alone do any pushups. Same goes for pull-ups. Can’t do a single one.

I suppose if this climb back to physical fitness was easy, this’d be called the Air Force. I hate taking things slow, and constantly push myself, especially on the treadmill. I may sweat like a whore in church after walking a half mile, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a 100-second ¼ mile. It does mean that I’ll spend the next day in pain abject misery, but that’s what they keep giving me these little pills for.

I’ve never been one to measure a man solely on the merits of his PT card. Sadly, that statement can’t be repeated by everyone in the Army. For some, it’s their only indiator; for others—okay, most, it is one of many indicators. And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing either. Physical fitness is a good indicator of physical and mental toughness and discipline. I am worried that I’ll continue to have this gimpy little arm for a lot longer than I would ever want to (actually, 24 hours was the longer-than-I’d-ever-want-to point, but that’s long gone.) I’m worried that the gimpiness will manifest permanently. I’m going to keep working at it, naturally, but It’s hard to smack the stupid out of people when you’ve only got one good stupid-smacking-the-shit-out-of arm… it gets tired, and there are so many deserving people.

Okay, back on your heads.

--Chuck