Back With a Capital Vengence!

Sweet run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from the U to City Creek. The wind was gusting and I got totally blasted with dust and sand which coated my contacts so I could barely see where I was stepping. Dry Creek is still a raging river in spots, but I have finally mastered the stream crossings and am happy to say that this is the first time I made it up the canyon with dry feet this Spring.

Went for a quick run up the road in City Creek. I am fairly new to running on pavement and it was quite the struggle at first. My body is starting to get a little more used to the pounding. I think the new shoes have helped a lot. I am pretty sure I will always prefer trails, but I am starting to think there is some hope for me and the road.

Went up the west face of Grandeur Peak and down into Mill Creek Canyon - ran down the Pipeline Trail and came out in Rattlesnake Gulch. I can't believe that was only 7.5 miles, but I do get some points for the 3900 feet of elevation gain. Just a few patches of snow left on the peak, which was perfect for icing the quads. Then I put in about another mile chasing tennis balls out of the court all afternoon.

Three of slowest miles in the world in attempt to ease quad funk. Quad funk taken to next level. 

Five miles on the Pipeline Trail followed by some well-needed restorative yoga. Fell asleep during yoga twice - think I better start getting more sleep. 

Wish I would have worn my beanie this morning! 

My longest run on pavement ever. Quite a feat after last night's mega debaucherous work party. "Alcohol is not a toy," my father always warned me.

Late evening run on the BST behind the U.

Ran up the City Creek Trail to the water treatment plant. The trail is super jungly already. I guess that is one good thing about running on the road - no itchies!

Need to get more sleep!

Sometimes I amaze myself :) Didn't think I would ever be able to run all the way from my house up City Creek to Rotary Park and I did this morning (granted I was trudging pretty hard towards the top). All pavement and 1700 feet of gain - I think I am going to be ready for my first road half in 3 weeks! This road running thing is starting to feel not so bad.

The first time in my running life that I ran south of South Temple. Ran to 2100 S and back and threw in a loop around Liberty Park just cuz that is what you crazy road running peeps seem to do. Can't wait for this road nonsense to be finished so I can spend more time in the mountains! 

For the last 3 months I haven't been able to sleep past 4 or 5 am. Well I finally found the cure for my early waking insomnia and that was to switch to a morning running routine. I hit snooze for about an hour this morning before dragging my butt up at 6:30. Then I somehow managed to run my fastest City Creek 5-miler to date - yay!

One ridiculous attempt of a trail run - 2400 feet of elevation gain in 1.5 miles. I am thinking my Garmin was a little off though. Still don't know what I was thinking...

Another bust of a trail run this weekend. Sore from yesterday's trudge fest, little sleep, plus middle of the day heat makes for one lousy run. Oh well I guess I am just amazed I got out to do anything today! 

I've gotten seriously faster since starting this blog - funny how that works :) Ran around the aves in just under an 8-minute pace. Pretty miraculous feat for me!

Stoked on my first half marathon! 

I was really afraid I started out too fast but I was just so psyched. I was planning on running the first 9 miles at a pace I knew I could sustain since I hugely feared the crash and burn, but I just kept running faster. I then let her rip for the last 4 miles with the last mile being my fastest - a 7:14 oh my! Which is completely insane considering I've never run a mile that fast in my life. I pretty much felt awesome - no complaints except for the whole trying not to crap myself between mile 2 and 6 thing.

Ran from the aves to 2100 South and back with cement legs the entire time. First awful run I've had in a good month or so -ughhh!  

Ran to Desolation Lake from Upper Mill Creek on the Big Water, Great Western, and Crest trails. The wildflowers are absolutely going off on the Wasatch Crest. I almost forgot how much I love trail running since I've been preoccupied with this road crap :)

Dusted off the VFF's this afternoon. Forgot how fun they are to run in and my achilles didn't feel like it was going to snap in half until I get to the 2 mile mark. Should probably start running in them at least once a week to help with the foot strength. 

Was inspired by all you fast peeps in the marathon yesterday so I thought I would end my run today with a fast mile. Ran a 6:54 (my fastest ever) and thought I was going to hyperventilate and die. Then I got in some sprints when I got to the bus stop and realized I forgot my bus pass. I spilled coffee all over myself while running, but I did catch the bus - thank goodness it is Tuesday already!

Quick run up City Creek. I am amazed at how friendly people are in the morning! 

It was a cool 90 degrees up City Creek this evening. Ran into two deer and they weren't even phased by me. I think they are getting used to seeing me up there. Time to rehydrate with margaritas - happy weekend!  

Worked on my heat tolerance this morning and found out I still have none. Headed out on the BST around 11am and didn't last very long.

Went out for a mile walk around my neighborhood this evening and ended up on a 10-mile run - I love these days! Well actually I have been plagued with some gnarly hip funk since last Thursday and I have no idea what is going on. I can't really pinpoint the spot and it really hurts when I'm sitting or laying down but doesn't bug me at all when running. My right hip is the one with all the issues and this is the left - weird. I think I overstretched something in yoga. I just hope it goes away. It is nice reminder though that I need to do more besides running. Some more (or actual) cross-training and strength-training would probably be a good idea.  

6 cranky road miles :(

Half a mile on the treadmill after some serious elliptical action - sweet! First time in a gym (not counting the climbing gym) in probably around 7 years. Hip funk is... well funked. Feeling better after chiro attempted to pull leg out of hip socket eliciting giganto crunch this morning though.

Some time on the Pipeline Trail followed by the lunch buffet at Cafe Shambala. Coma-ing out the rest of the day...

Adventure in O-town! Ran from the Wheeler Creek Trailhead to Earl's Lodge just so I could take a load off in America's best bathroom (actually Snowbasin's bathrooms were only a top 10 finalist, but they are still ridiculously ornate). I just started reading Bargaining for Eden this weekend so the visit to Snowbasin was especially relevant - oh Earl! 

Loved the trails - super smooth, shady, and green - may just be my new fave. Hip is starting to feel slightly back to normal - psych! Massage this afternoon will hopefully push me over into full-on normalcy.

Well I took 7 days off of running and the hip pain is now worse when I run. Tried to go out for 2 miles and every time I landed on the left the pain in the hip just shot everywhere. Really starting to think this isn't some muscle issue because it doesn't loosen up with activity. It has been 3 weeks now and $500+ spent at the chiropractor... time to make an appointment with a "real" doc.

I am so sad :( In the past year I have had to deal much loss and so many changes and running has been my constant. I quite simply love it and it makes me happy. Now that I can't do it I feel like I am falling apart... complete meltdown imminent.     

Biking is hard.

5.5 painless elliptical miles - yay! 

I am now a not so proud member of an actual gym... 

On the up & up!

Happy ellipitical miles!

Really thought I was on the up & up, but my MRI speaks to the contrary. A labrum tear, femoral acetabular impingement syndrome, plus a rather large abnormality of unknown significance on my ischium. Wish I really knew what this meant, but won't know until my appt. Monday. I guess that is the downside of being able to access my own medical record...  

I blame it all on the road running. Why did I ever leave the trail - bahhhhh!

More elliptical fun!

Mountain biking is not only hard but very, very scary! 

Good news! Sort of... doc is pretty certain that labrum tear was caused by yoga (how lame is that?) and is pretty confident that a cortisone injection will clear up the inflammation and have me running in no time. I tuned out when he started talking about what to do if that doesn't work - shaving bone off my femur blah blah blah... No more fire log pose! 

Is cross-training a crock? 

More elliptical fun. Anxious to give running a try this weekend! Not quite sure if the cortisone has kicked in yet...

Three very precarious running miles as part of hiking-biking Montana adventure. Pretty sure I shouldn't be running yet...

Neverending elliptical fun. I miss running.

More elliptical fun followed by 1 glorious pain-free mile on the treadmill - yippy! 

3.5 miraculous miles after last evening's Rumchata-fest. I'm back!

3 easy miles on the Pine Lake Road. Feels good to be running especially after eating a pound of fried cheese curds last night... Yes fried cheese. I heart Wisconsin! 

One lap around Pine Lake. So happy to be running. Took it easy and felt good - haven't totally ruled out St. George yet. So fun to jump in the water after a run even though it was only 52 degrees. Love Utah, but miss water! 

Garmin

Watched the first half of the Packer game on the elliptical. Just might be the lamest thing I've ever done... Go Pack!

3 not so horrible miles through Memory Grove. Going to start alternating short running days with elliptical fun until I get this hip back to normal.

Thinking about all those crazy Wasatch hundreders out there right now. Check out iRunFar's twitter for live updates.

It is no Mid-Mountain Marathon, but I am just happy to be back out on the trail! Picked up one of those trigger point foam rollers today. If that doesn't solve the world's problems I don't know what will. 

Have I mentioned how happy I am to be running yet?

Today is my 10 year Utah anniversary! I had only planned to be here a year and everyone I met when I first moved here said, "Yeah I said the same thing once to 10, 20, 30... years ago." Now I am one of them. Here is a little story about my first night in SLC.

Ooh and registration opens tonight for the Moab Red Hot. I am going in for the 55K again this year. I've got to be up and running by February - pleaseeeeeeeee!  

Just registered for the Moab Red Hot! That gives me 5 months to fix my hip funk and train so I can finish this year before all the soups gone.

Hike/run on and around the BST and yup the hip still hurts. Turns out I was a little overly optimistic with the Red Hot registering. I am about 90% sure I am going in for some hip surgery. Going to get some of my femur cut off and my torn labrum fixed. Hopefully I will fare as well as A-Rod!   

More elliptical fun and some arm stuff. Need to get the upper body ready for crutch season! 

Can't believe that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and America's Funniest Home Videos are still on TV. Oh the fun I am having in the gym :(

I wish there was a way I could elliptical myself through St. George :) 

Some biking and soaking in the San Rafael River.

Hour on the e-cal. The TV's were broken thank goodness! 

Three miles with no pain whatsoever. Now I am thoroughly confused. Think I will run every day until my surgery.   

3 more miles with very little hip pain. Hmmmm

Three 3-mile runs in a row. Just may be a miracle. 

Three quick miles in the morning before my long awaited orthopedic docs day o' fun. 

Elliptical and a mile on the treadmill - wohoo!

Snow makes me happy, but this certainly doesn't.

Women Who Run Marathons Alongside Men No Longer Allowed to Set World Records

What a gorgeous day - absolute favorite temps! Went out for a little over an hour on the BST and saw one baby rattlesnake and one bitty tarantula.

5 miles on the elliptical followed by a mile on the treadmill with no hip pain whatsoever. 

Gorgeous night on the BST! 

Five chilly miles on the BST. Now time to make some super spicy chili to kill this gnarly cold!

An evening jaunt on the e-cal. Thinking about attempting a real run tomorrow...

Ran the BST home after work. So happy to be able to run this route again!

Evening on the e-cal.

Thought I had finally figured out a way to keep up with Fritz - roller blades. And I was wrong... He is wicked fast and my roller blading skills are well not really there anymore.  

Some happy trail miles after getting lost in St. George sprawl. I really think St. G is a poor use of limited resources! Will refrain from mega rent.  

Went to work when it was dark and got home when it was dark. My SADness is already kicking in. Beginning Vitamin D supplementation tomorrow.

I've decided to embrace biking.

Hiked up to Lake Blanche. 

A few posts ago I mentioned embracing biking and now I would like to retract that. Rode all the way up B street to 11th ave and then caught the BST at Dry Creek and rode to City Creek down Memory Grown to me casa. I don't think I have ever worked so hard in my life. Why is mountain biking so hard? Maybe because I only do it twice a year. 

 Haven't run in a week bahhhh. But at least I am getting out - most gorgeous day ever!

So there is this woman at the gym that I call the elliptical something that would get me kicked off this blog.  I've seen her 3 times now and she doesn't move fast enough to turn the thing on. She appears severely inebriated and literally staggers on the machine almost falling off at least once a minute. When she does manage to coordinate the hand levers she does so with very seductive looking dance moves. I get so distracted by her that I need to change machines, which is difficult since everyone else is trying to do the same. I am obviously not cut out for this gym thing.

3 miles on the BST after work. Next week it will be dark when I am done with work so I need to live it up while I can! 

Biked at the gym and then went looking for some snow to ski on. Apparently this storm wasn't as big as expected :( 

Scheduled my hip surgery for December 9 - eek! 

Finally motivated for an early morning gym sesh. Have experienced nearly zero hip pain since scheduling my surgery - thoroughly annoyed!  

Muddy run on the BST. 

A windy climb up Mt. Wire. 

I have to say that I've always wanted to do a Turkey Trot so I was happy that the Van de Kamps invited me in on their family tradition. My family typically starts eating and drinking as soon as they wake up and continue until they all pass out during the Packer game.

Anyway... I saw the Turkey run as a sort of pre-surgery time trial. I ran as fast as I could which was pretty rough and I am super sore everywhere but in that darned hip.      

Just got to 80 degrees on the CPM! I am now 1 week out on my pretty massive hip "preservation" surgery. I got the full gamut - femoroplasty, acetabuloplasty, labral repair, capsular repair, and  iliopsoas tendon release. The head of my femur essentially went from nasty shag carpet to gorgeous hardwood floors. 

I have a long recovery ahead of me and trying to stay positive, but I will admit that staying positive will probably be the most challenging part. I had always hoped that by being so active I would avoid the fate of early joint replacements that has plagued my family, but now I am not so sure. Finding out that I already have all these degenerative changes to my hips is sort of a huge blow. I am only 32 :(

I am trying to get psyched for physical therapy and see this as a time to get super strong and balanced and maybe I can avoid having to have the same procedure done on my right side. But I also wonder how I can ever be balanced when they shaved off nearly a cm of bone from my left hip socket without matching it on the other side. I've decided to embrace biking and maybe even get a road bike (but not the spandex of course). At this point I just want to be able to hike and bike comfortably and will put any running goals I've had on hold.

Happily cruising the CPM at 90 degrees now. I crutched about a mile at work today; I am going to be pretty sore in the morning. Since I am back at work I had the pleasure of accessing my medical record and reading my surgical report. I was pretty psyched to read that besides the torn parts, my cartilage was actually in good condition. Also psyched to see that after the femoral head lesions were taken down I had increased flexion, abduction, and internal rotation than pre-surgery.  My pain is pretty much null and I am off all drugs at this point (except for the boxed wine my co-workers so nicely brought me). Psyched to start PT on Friday!