Daily Success May 10 scored a solid Outstanding, in part because I resolved how to handle the story of 2019 and 2020 and why neither year included time on el Camino. Next is another separate post about getting from home to Zumaia, recovering from the jet lag, and making ready to set off into the unknown. Those two foundational stories are necessary if my comments as I climbed the hill as I left Zumaia on the rainy morning of August 4th, 2021 are to make any sense at all.

Today has some schedule demands: Kristin for a virtual follow-up on the spine injections at 11 and a virtual meeting with Larry Harper at 2PM, which conflicts with the nominal time for visiting Jim. I’ll move that forward if possible and do it after Kristin. The Kristin appointment is really important to me because my sciatica seems to have returned a bit on my left side.

But today requires a decision on exercise as I am now facing two injuries: the toe on my right foot and my right shoulder. Both kind of “just appeared.” The toe MAY be from clipping the nail too closely as exacerbated by tight hiking shoes for the uneven Muddy Branch Trail path. The shoulder is a pain I’m not familiar with that appeared out of the proverbial blue after I had finished the arm and chest strength version of my Upper Body Strength exercises. And it’s still evident this morning.

So. I’m going to give myself an “injury day off” for exercise today.

Walking will be no backpack and on easy surfaces such as sidewalks and the treadmill. Loose sneakers rather than tight hiking shoes.

My morning stretches include three stretches specifically to address the shoulder and seven that use my arm and shoulder pretty significantly. Only two require no shoulder use. I will simply skip my stretches for the first time since March.

Shoulder physical therapy exercises are on tap for today and, amazingly, every one of them stresses the shoulder slightly, or more than slightly. Skip them, too. First time since March.

So, Leg Strength. One uses the arms a lot; holding weights to increase the load on my quads while doing knee bends. That’s out. Three rely on my arms for balance and can also stress the shoulders a bit. Out. Only three are arm independent. Day off, again the first real skip since March.

All this is a real hit to my scoring system that, really, requires some adaptation. It’s not really a failure, it’s an acceptance of reality and strategic – rather than tactical – success. I have to figure out how to show that for tomorrow’s post.

The result of all this is that the website will get a bit more attention and I’ll spend some time on the SurveyorBot White Paper that should have been done a month ago. And catchup bookkeeping.