Looking for a comeback!

The day after the country voted in our first (not sure, nor care what's PC, I was happy for a change, but I didn't vote for) black president, I was running along the ocean trail in Monterey California. It's a place where people who aren't runners wish they were because it's so beautiful. It was about 4 weeks after the Baltimore half-marathon which I finished, although miserably. Who would have thought the seaport city of Baltimore could find so many hills to add to an otherwise beautiful run. But, that's another story.
So, I 'm enjoying a beautiful mid-morning run with my 27 year old copilot, who had just taken up running several months earlier. It was about 2 miles into the run, along an oceanside gravel trail, and I came down on my left foot and continued on down to a very painful prone position. I'm thinking it must be the plantar faciitis which had dogged me all through the prep for Baltimore and which I had successfully ignored through the grueling 13+ miles of Baltimore.
It was a little more painful but I was able to stand. Of course, my copilot who had been holding back a little so we could run together, I'm sure is cursing to himself**#$*^& "old man". I admitted defeat, we had planned on 6 -8 miles. He went on. I turned back and hobbled, left toes, right foot back to the hotel.
I returned from the California trip and scheduled an appointment with Princeton Foot and Ankle, where they diagnosed a fractured left heel. Gave me choice of: a cast and a month of inactivity, or no cast and 3-4 months of no impact activity. Believing my Hawker passengers wouldn't be comfortable with the captain in a cast, I elected to tough it out for the 3-4 months. During the time I have done considerable walking, but I have not been able to stay upright on my left heel alone, nor can I do it now, although I can stand upright on my right heel. Oh well,
anyone who knows me, knows I seek out medical advice only as a last resort. I have no intention of returning to a doctor for approval to get back on the trail.
As fate would have it, the last four months have been miserable weather-wise in NJ and a good excuse to follow the doctors orders. A March flying schedule, has me spending more days in Miami and the Bahamas than in NJ. I woke to a sunny 70 degrees with a forecast of 80, and a beautiful boardwalk that stretches for miles from South Beach to North Beach in Miami along the ocean. It's college week and if the influx of runners wasn't enough to get me going, the abundance of bikini clad non-runners did the trick.
I started a run on the compact sand but found it too hard on me so I moved to the boardwalk. I had no destination in mind and no time goal to meet. I had my phone , in case of emergencies, and $10 for a cab if I got somewhere and couldn't get back. All unnecessary.
I ran for 25 minutes and felt like I could go forever. I stopped running only because I was afraid of doing some harm. I walked for another 45 minutes and felt great.
I have to force myself to do some things right this time: stretching before and after the run, work back to a reasonable distance slowly, and enjoy the good feeling that running always gives me. It's good to be back.