Back With a Capital Vengence!

Got up to 60 RPMs on the bike with ZERO resistance today - stoke! The (only) cool thing about recovering from surgery is that I get to see improvement every single day.

10 minutes on the bike. Got cleared for pool walking so this is going to be a very exciting weekend!

20 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes of precarious pool walking followed by an hour of leg lifts, clam shells, and baby squats. Glad the snow waited until I am almost off crutches!

Either the scale is wrong at the gym or I am the only person in the world who loses weight sitting on her bum. I am down 6 pounds from my pre-surgery weight and I hope that's not all muscle loss. I am thinking it might have to do with the fact that I can only manage about 2 items at the grocery store each visit. Turns out I would rather starve than ask for help. Can't wait to burn these crutches!!! 

Making friends with all the broken peeps at the gym. Did mini squats with Mr. ACL and exchanged words of encouragement with Mr. Double Knee Replacement. 

Only 5 weeks post-op and I already have normal range of motion, which is better than I can say for the non-operated hip. Began crutch weaning yesterday. Turns out walking is way harder than I remember it. Baby steps.

Left the house with only one crutch today. Progress!!!

Wore my Packer shirt to the gym this morning. Something tells me that it is going to get sweatier watching the game this afternoon than it did at the gym. 

Ditched the crutches today :) Thinking that will speed up recovery since I am able to regain some semblance of my normal life back. Was able to carry my coffee into work today - yay!

Totally overdid it with the walking yesterday. Found myself huddled under my desk in the fetal position for over an hour with the worst back cramps of my life by the middle of the afternoon. Feeling better after intense PT sesh this morning. I seriously have the best PT in the world. If anyone ever needs a recommendation - I have a good one!

As for good news, I get to start adding resistance to my stationary biking. Goodbye level zero!

AM: 3.5 on bike and 1.5 hours of PT

PM: 5 more miles on the bike

Things that make me cranky: getting to the gym and realizing I forgot my shoes.

Things that make me happy: getting home and finding my shiny new bike in a box. Yes a bike in a box. My first road bike as a present to myself for enduring all this hip crap. I even put it together all by myself. I just don't trust that I did it well enough to ride it :) 

6 weeks down!!! That means only 6 weeks left until I can return to "normal activity." 

AM: 3.5 on the bike & PT 

PM: 5.5 on the bike & 5 super awkward minutes on the elliptical - it's a start!

My gluteus medius is getting huge. Some call it the most important muscle in running.

30 minutes on the bike, 5 on the elliptical, and then dinked around in the pool. This is the most my PT will let me do right now. The hip is feeling good so it is getting hard to resist the urge to push it.  

AM: 3.5 on bike & PT

PM: 6 on bike & 1 big mile on the elliptical

Here is a sweet before and after shot of my hip. I think the changes are pretty obvious. No wonder I already have better range of motion than before - look at all that added joint space :) 

My PT called me flabby the other day so I made sure to do my glute exercises twice today. Rode the bike and then killed it on the kickboard in the pool for a half hour with Andrea.

3.5 on the bike, 10 minutes of trying to walk normal on the treadmill, and loads of glute work at PT.

Happily ending my streak of  22 days to the gym in a row so I can head to Telluride to sit in bars and not ski. Telluride makes me think of Sam Bush - Happy tune!

Best morning ever! Woke up in the back of Rubes (my car) to views of the Colorado River and then tested out my new bike on the Potash Road. First time in 7 weeks I got to do any form of outdoor recreation and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face - actually it was frozen on there since it was only 37 degrees.

 The new bike - yay! 

Stationary biking at 9500 feet - like I wasn't already feeling out of shape enough.

Just got offered a job and a place to stay in Telluride. This happens every time I come here... crazy thoughts in my head.  

Stopped by Arches NP on the way from T-ride to SLC for a bike ride from he!!. Can't quite figure out the gears on the new bike and I literally got stuck on the bottom of a hill. Plus it goes way too fast - eek. 

AM: 3.5 on the bike & PT

PM: 10.5 more on the bike & endless glutes and quads workout

*50 minutes total on the bike today. Think I will be ready for Spin Class next week!  

4 Weeks until Running & Skiing!!!

AM: Biking, elliptical, & glutey glutersons

PM: More biking & PT

Biggest day yet! 35 min biking, 15 min elliptical, 30 min of my pool running kick board routine, and hip strengthening workout followed by a giant pile of huevos at Eggs in the City - yum.

So yesterday I was super psyched that I only had 4 weeks to go until I could ease into normal activity and well yesterday my PT said that I am doing so ridiculously well that there is no reason why I can't start running in 2 weeks.

So now it is 1 WEEK and 6 DAYS until I can start running and skiing!!!

Elliptical, 30 minutes in the pool, hours of hip PT, and 10,000 calories of Super Bowl dip. 

Oh and now I have regained enough flexibility to paint my own toenails - joy! 

AM: 3.5 on the bike & PT

PM: 14 more on bike & glutes

Really tried to get up for Spin Class this morning... I need some morning spin peeps to motivate!

Traded my evening gym session for a massage - good day!

AM: 11 bike miles & PT

PM: Bike, pool, & hips. Wussed out on yoga - don't think I am quite ready and I read this article today - Yoga Kills. 

9 weeks today!!! Everyone thinks I am preggers since I keep announcing how many weeks along I am (in my recovery that is).

Too gorgeous a night for the gym so I disregarded medical advice and took my bike for its first ride up City Creek.

More outside biking - yay! 

Little bit on the bike & PT. Slight setback today :( 

Registration is open for the Speedgoat 50K. Someday... 

Feel like a tool wearing my new lame-o donut-y wrist splint. 6 weeks - for reals?

AM: 20 min bike, clam shells, 1 heart-shaped bagel, & 1 heart-shaped cookie

PM: More bikes and more cookies

Was going to get to start running this week, but bursitis in the non-op hip has gotten in the way of it. Trying to stay stoked, but sometimes that is hard :(

AM: Bike and PT

AM: Biking

PM: And more biking

50 degrees and sunny on the Potash Road :)

Congrats to all you crazy Red Hotters - what a gorgeous day! 

Rode up and down the Potash Road and into town. 

Rainy day in Moab = Rest day and margaritas 

Running!!!

The PT let me take my first post-surgical strides this morning. I have to admit that I was very scared, but mostly because I am scared of treadmills. I had very little pain and just some tightness in my hip flexor, which is to be expected. My PT literally had to tear me away from the machine - I didn't want to stop :)  

AM: Biking, 6 minutes of RUNNING, & PT

PM: Biking & hip stuff

AM: Ice & ibuprofen. Holy hip flexor! Didn't know it was possible to experience so much pain from one 6-minute run. Stokage melting... 

PM: Bikes and ice

AM: Biking and supervised RUNNING at PT. Feels so good - oh yeah! 

PM: More biking, hip exercises, and restorative yoga at the lovely new Mudita Yoga Studio

*Rant Alert*

It wasn't until two gigantic tears plopped down on my yoga mat tonight that I realized how depressed I have been since I injured my hip last year. It has been nearly 7 months since I sat on that mat.

Multiple doc visits and opinions, hundreds spent on chiropractors, cortisone shots, indecision about surgery, surgery, vomiting all over myself, 6 weeks on crutches, 2 hours a day of PT for 8 weeks now, endless annoying theraband exercises, and having to deal with the idea that I will probably need to go through this all again with the other hip. This sucks!

I find it ironic that a few days before the initial injury I journaled about how happy I was. It was the happiest I had felt pretty much ever and I tried to identify why. At the top of the list was running lots and my Wednesday night yoga class along with feeling hopeful about my future and eating lots of fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market :)

I thought I was strong and resilient but honestly healing and dealing with this hip thing left me with little energy for anything or anyone else. My mental health is so intimately wrapped up in my physical health that this whole ordeal left me depressed, overwhelmed, and not a whole lot of fun to be around. I couldn't even see how dysfunctional and depressing my whole outlook became until now that I am finally snapping out of it.

I know I still have a long road, but I am committed to doing the physical and mental work I need to do to recover completely. I think for the immediate future I might focus a little more on my mental healing than on those darned clam shells.  I am easing into running and I am back to Wednesday night yoga so that is going to help a little too.  

*End of Rant* 

Words of wisdom from hippie dip yoga

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

AM: Uber mellow biking in the HCI closet gym. So stiff from the big 6-minute run! 

PM: Spin class with Andrea and SLC & FRB newbie Tina.

Lots of milestones this week - first attempts at running, back at yoga, and a spin class! Think I will take a rest day to keep from overdoing it. Heading to Canyonlands this eve for a lil' desert healing. 

Beautiful and 60 in Moab except for the wind.

Road biking + 40 MPH gusts = frightening! 

Got up early to watch the sunrise through Mesa Arch in Canyonlands and then rode my bike around Moab and out on the bike path after eggs at the Love Muffin :)

Thought I was finally recovered from my 6 minutes of running five days ago so I decided to give it another whirl. I really want to ease into running without hurting something else, but I am unsure how slow to take it. I ran 1 mile last week so if I follow the 10-Percent Rule that means I won't get up to 2 miles a week for 9 more weeks and it would take another 16 weeks to get to 10 miles a week. Don't think I am going to follow that rule.

AM: Bike & 8 minutes of running

PM: More biking & hip stuff

AM: Bike

PM: More bike and hip stuff followed by the most amazing massage ever. I am a noodle.

Something very strange is happening to me. I am craving meat - like steak and no matter what I eat I am not feeling satiated. This is only strange because I haven't had any meat in 17 years and I never even liked it. Either this is a strange side effect of giving up refined sugar or something is really wrong with me.

AM: Bikes 

PM: Ran a mile. Yup a whole mile! I am by far the most smiley person on the treadmill. Then did usual hip stuff followed by happy, restorative yoga class.

12 weeks post-op today so that means no real restrictions from here on out. These 3 months actually went pretty fast, but pretty slowly too - kinda like the best of times and the worst of times.

I celebrated by running 1.25 miles in the sun in 70 degree plus Texas followed by some time on the bike. I am staying at the most ridiculously lavish hotel - thank you big pharma - and the stationary bike had games (and movies) on it. I tried to play Majong, but I got nauseated after a minute.

Stuck in the Dallas airport most of the day today. Thought about putting on my running shoes and putting some miles in running the wrong way on the moving walkway, but my shins were so sore from the BIG run yesterday. Seriously, it is like I've never run ever before. 

Yay Skiing! Tested out the "new" hip on my cross-country skis this morning and it did pretty well. Took about an hour to get the hip flexor loosened up, but it eventually felt nearly normal. I really wonder how long it is going to take for that muscle to heal. It has been 3 months since it got sliced through so c'mon and heal already. Rewarded myself with an egg and veggie sausage bagel from Blue Star - love sunny Sundays! Now if I only had a hot tub...  

PM: Lil biking, 3x4 minutes of running on the TM, and hip drill

Absolutely thrilled with how amazing my hip feels after skiing and running yesterday! I think all that hip extension cross-country skiing broke up some crap. When I went into this surgery they told me that my hip would end up feeling better than it did pre-injury, but to not expect it to be any better than that. Well I can honestly say it feels better than it ever has. I have better range of motion and it just feels good. I so happy :) 

As for the non-surg-hip, the electrocuting steroid treatments I got last week seemed to clear up the bursitis. So Yay! 

AM: Bike

PM: Snuck out of work early to go for a bike ride up City Creek. Gorgeous eve!

How come every time I get overly psyched on my recovery something stupid happens? My non-op-hip started to swell out of control last night and turn bright red and welt up. I am thinking it is some sort of delayed reaction to the steroid treatments I got last week. It hurts like he!! and it is freaking me out!  

PM: Bike, 3x5 minutes of running, & usual hip routine

AM: Bike & PT

PM: Bike & 4+ hours of hippie dancing

My fave band played the last 2 nights at the State Room. I am sooooo not too old for this lifestyle. Just happy the hip held up for a total of 8 hours of hippie bouncing over a 24-hour period. Yin is to the Yang as the Hee is to the Haw. Yup - exactly!

AM: Bike & coffee & more coffee

PM: 3 x 7 minutes of running at Liberty Park. 9:47 avg pace. It's a start. 

Biked around the Needles at sunset. Camped out in on of my fave spots - Creek Pasture in Indian Creek and was happy to test out the brand new privy. BYOTP of course! The moon was crazy bright and Jupiter and Venus have a pretty sweet alignment these days. In just a few days they will get to their closest point yet. 

First "real" bike ride today. Meaning I wore spandex... Rode out to the Needles Overlook and back (2600 ft gain). I can't believe I am one of those road bikers I used to make fun of. Turns out those pockets on the back of a jersey are pretty handy. 

Thought I got sunburned this weekend in the desert turns out I have a fever which is now rocking out at 102.5 - a PR I am sure. I wonder how high it has to go before you start to hallucinate. 

I'm alive, albeit barely. 

Last week: 5 running miles & 116 biking miles. 

This week: 1 running mile, 20 biking miles, 4 days of 102+ fever, lots and lots of Zofran & 2 liters of IV fluids :(

I decided today that I am no longer sick or injured and will never be either ever again.

3 x 8 minutes of running on the BST!!! Just did laps around Morris Meadow, but who cares I am back out on the trails.  

Can't believe how pooped I still am from this flu thing. Had to take a nap after work or I would have never made it to the gym. Now for never ending hip exercises...

I keep dreaming that I am running. Not like my old running dreams where I am running away from something or I am trying to run but my legs won't move, but just running, like for fun. Wish fulfillment I guess.

AM: Morning kettlebell routine and happy squats.

PM: Biking and a big mile to help me get psyched for the "huge" run I have planned for tomorrow.

Baby Rubes (my car) turned over 100,000 miles this morning on I215 and about 4500 South. I was really hoping we would be somewhere slightly more amazing for this momentous event, but we ended up in nearly the same spot where we got smooshed by a stupid Ford 350 truck with a plow on it 6 years ago. Resilience!

AM: Biking & PT

PM: 3 x 10 minutes of RUNNING at Liberty Park & Restorative Yoga at Mudita

City Creek! (The canyon, not the mall that opens today.)

Serious Advice Needed!

Has anyone ever had to ease back into running after a huge layoff? My hip is doing fabulous, but my lower legs are on fire. Seriously, I didn't go through this stupid hip surgery to wind up with shin splints. I have been running for 4 weeks now and am now up to 30 minutes of running with walk breaks. I am running on wood chips, stick rolling, stretching, and even got some compression socks. Any other ideas on how to prevent shin splints and ward off the calf/feet pain?  

PM: 3 x 10 minutes of running plus a little extra to get me to 3.5 miles and an even 10 for the week!!! Pace was 10:10, 9:17, 9:07, 9:18. Not bad for 15 weeks post-up but my poor calves ughhhhh! 

Got up at 3:15 am to get out to Antelope Island and volunteer at the Buffalo Run. Made around 50 PB&J's, filled at least 200+ water bottles and assorted bladders, vicariously ran about 5000 miles, and did a few strange favors for you crazy running peeps. Had an absolute blast - I heart runners! 

2 x 15 minutes of RUNNING!

Ran from me casa to Virgina Street and back. Never realized how uphill 2nd Ave is - ughhh running is hard. This week's goal is to get rid of the walk breaks. They are my total crutch now, but they have been helpful in making sure that I am not overdoing anything. 

Ha ha I am on the first page of the "Mileage Board" page. I love Sundays!!!

AM: Biking

PM: Hips & Kettlebell 

Had a rough hip day yesterday :( Hopefully things start loosening up today!

AM: Biking

PM: More biking. Biking hurts. Like really hurts. 

*Super Rant Alert*

Total utter meltdown! No biking, running, yoga, hip exercises of all kinds until further notice. Surprisingly, this was the first time I cried at PT. My PT handled me pretty well and fed me Kit Kats and Twix while I iced :) That means no desert birthday weekend. Seriously?!? All I wanted to do was go for a bike ride on my birthday. Seems like that wasn't a whole lot to ask the world - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I know that things could be so much worse, but this is frustrating nonetheless. I have done everything right. I do a million hip exercises every day. I have eased into running slowly and I really haven't pushed it. I ice twice a day. I have been super positive. I stretch. I foam roll. I self-massage. I am slightly pathetically feeling sorry for myself right now... It is just that I am putting so much energy into getting healed that this kind of set back just feels mean. I will get through this. I will get through this. Happy thoughts please!

20 minutes on the arm bike. 3 minutes on the elliptical with zero resistance and zero incline until I had pain so I stopped :(

Holy arm mush! I can barely lift my coffee. 

20 minutes on the arm bike followed by 30 minutes of swimming without using my legs. I think tomorrow I am going to pick up some water wings and put them on my ankles. Will probably drown for sure. Sadly this workout is for real. It aint no April Fool.

20 precarious miles on the elliptical and 10 melty minutes on the arm bike. My PT said no biking or running and nothing about no elliptical-ing so I thought I would give it a whirl. I figured there is not a whole lot of hip flexion at the lowest angle so I should be alright. 

The arm bike was broken at the gym :( I guess I have been hitting it pretty hard these past few days. Did 10 minutes on the bike and then 30 miraculous minutes on the elliptical.

Think I might be getting over the hump with the latest setback. This hip has been feeling too close to what it felt like pre-surgery for me to be stoked. Going to try to motivate for an early morning pool sesh, but the odds of that happening are almost laughable.

Almost cried again at PT today. My hip has stiffened up horribly with the week of inactivity so I had to go through the most painful passive stretching session of my life. He dug into my piriformis so hard that I think I blacked out. He was trying to get the pain to an 8 (out of 10 scale) to get it to release and I think we got there. But good news though the hip flexor issue seems to be clearing up.  

I would like to go running here please! 

PM: Arm bike and bike bike. Something is really, really wrong with the hip. Ate almond butter out of the jar with a spoon, chocolate, and wine for dinner. Entering pretty frightening mental territory... 

Getting an MRI next week. Hopefully I get either answers or peace of mind! 

20 minutes arm bike, 15 minutes bike, and 30 minutes of randomness in the pool. Lots of hip stretches and kettlebell things. Fun stuff!!!

Tooled around the Ave's on my bike after spending a good hour trying to change my back tire. Cannot wait to start bike maintenance school next week at the Bike Collective! I am terrible at fixing things... 

*I just downgraded my short term running goal from "running a fall marathon" to "being able to run again." Baby steps. 

Starting over.

These last few weeks have been a bit discouraging. After a few weeks of light activity and absolutely no PT except for stretching, ultrasounding, and manual therapy I am now back to doing some basic PT exercises and biking with zero resistance. Holy deja vu! These are the same exercises I started when I was still on crutches except for back then I didn't have any pain with them.

I have been going over and over in my head how this happened. I was doing so fabulous and really thought I was being patient and careful. I look back at my posts and laugh that the only thing I was complaining about when I started running again were my shins. I was so worried that I was going to get shin splints - ha ha. Six weeks ago I did a 45 mile bike ride and was easing into running 10 miles a week and now look at me. Sad.

There are really only 2 possibilities. I either overdid it or I managed to re-tear something in my hip. My ortho surgeon and PTs both agree this is weird, but x-rays and images are all good. We are giving it 1 more week and if it is not getting better we will go in for more advanced imaging and injections and other fun stuff. Big problem is with everything done to my hip it is really hard to see with imaging if anything is wrong. The only good way to see is by going back in. 

I really want to be positive, but something doesn't feel quite right. It feels exactly how it did before the surgery, but worse.

Lame.

AM: Biking

PM: Biking, lil elliptical, baby squats, and range of motion stuff

AM: Biking & PT. Started some new ab exercises today to try and get my pelvis all stabilized and stuff. Someone is going to be sore tomorrow.  

PM: More biking. 

I am a biking machine!

AM: Bike

PM: Bike

A year ago today, the world lost a pretty special soul. "Steve was a mischievous muse and an instrument of positivity and light. His quick wit and exuberance for the wonders of the world transformed this mundane plane of existence for all who crossed his path. He did not relegate art to specific times and places; he consciously created and consumed it every moment of his life."

"Cynicism will only overtake me at the point at which my capacity for wonder becomes blunted...so,...never!" \m/ - Spingry

AM: Plenty to reflect on while riding the bike this morning. When Steve first left the realm I was so inspired to "live the dream" as he was so often quoted as doing. Hell if I left the world with just 1 percent of the impact that man had on his community that would be a life well spent. All the changes in this past year and this injury deal has pretty much sucked the soul out of me so I needed this reminder of Steve's life to spur some more change in me. So in honor of Steve I am going to do and/or commit to doing 5 crazy things today that will either benefit others or benefit myself therefor indirectly benefiting others. (I just need to come up with them)

So yesterday I totally overdid it on the bike and was gimping pretty terribly around Smith's when I felt these eyes on me. I look up and at the end of the aisle is my hip surgeon clearly watching me limp, "No better, huh?" he asks. I say, "Getting better!" and then I run away from him as fast as I can. 

Rode on the Jordan River/Legacy Parkway this morning for the first time ever. Really enjoyed the ride and am psyched to explore it a bit more. I guess you can ride all the way to Farmington now, wherever that is.

Finally found some flat biking in SLC!!! Only gained 72 feet over 15 miles not counting the climb up 2nd Avenue since my Garmin died.

Rode from my house to the Jordan River Parkway which then turns into the Legacy Parkway. Didn't really enjoy the ride down North Temple and into Rose Park during rush hour, but my car is in the shop and I had no other choice. I took my Garmin along since I rode this way the other day and wanted to see where in the heck I was riding. Someday I will make it to Bountiful.

AM: Had my 30th PT visit this morning. Good thing I have excellent health insurance.

PM: Bike, elliptical, and restorative yoga.

Didn't want to say anything... but I think I am finally on the up and up again.

AM: Bike

Since I didn't score a JMT permit for the summer, I think I am going here. Who's in? 

AM: Lil' bike and PT - My PT told me to not to expect to run for another month. Me and my bike are going to become the bestest of friends.

Happy to say I made it all the way to Farmington on the Legacy Parkway today. Wish I had brought my wallet though, had no idea there was a Panda Express at the end of the trail.

AM: Biked up Memory Grove and a little ways up City Creek and around the Aves. Hip feels great on the bike, but now my cardio is the limiting factor. Hills - ughhh.

PM: Went for a short hike on the BST. It just dawned on me today that I should start hiking. It is sort of like trail running - just slower. Just happy I haven't set foot in a gym in 4 days - yay!

Dogs may too get the runner's high, but not the poor ferrets. Interesting article... The Evolution of the Runner's High.

PM: 22 biking miles on the Legacy with T-bird. I think I am obsessed.

AM: 10 on the stationary bike.

PM: Massage. Rough life. 

5 months post-surgery this week and I am now feeling about as good as I was at about 2.5 months. I guess that is both a good thing (that I am getting better) and a terrible thing (since I regressed so much). Hopefully it is all ups from here on out. I am rewarding myself (for enduring these past 5 months of absolute joy) with a big trip in August, but I can't decide which to do. 

 1) John Muir Trail - I have wanted to do this forever and it looks amazing! My highly potential hiking partner just bailed so I am looking into doing it solo, but that might be pretty rough since I don't know what kind of shape I am going to be in a few months.

2) The Mont Blanc Circuit - Looks even more amazing. It wouldn't be as far and I wouldn't have to carry as much gear as the JMT and there is wine at the end of each day of hiking :) Will cost a ton, but whatever it is just money.

3) Machu Picchu - Have wanted to do this forever as well and I have enough Sky Miles to get there for FREE. August is kind of a crummy time of year to go there though.

Where should I go? Any other ideas?

AM: Bike & PT

PM: Bike, Elliptical, & Restorative Yoga

Rest day of sorts. 

AM: Stat bike.

PM: Memory Grove, City Creek, Aves loop on the bike. 

Biking, beers, and more biking in Park City. Got initiated into the real world of road biking today. Rode with peeps with matching outfits and even got yelled at by a car. Man in large truck yelled at me to get off the road and onto the sidewalk in not so nice of words. 

Went for a short hike on the BST tonight to watch the Super Moon rise. Wish I was in the desert with that huge of moon.

Hips are starting to feel normal again. Please, please last this time :)

Rode from Rose Park to Farmington on the Legacy Parkway. Averaged 17.5 mph. I have no idea if that is fast or slow.

I am starting to feel like there may be a little running in my future :)

"Hiked" to the Gateway and back from me casa. Guy selling Jazz tickets on the corner offered me a ticket in exchange for my coffee. He said my coffee was worth more so I kept my coffee. Then headed to the gym for some elliptical fun and watched the end of my first ever Jazz game. And if that wasn't exciting enough, I RAN a whole .10 miles on the TM :)

First migraine in months. Wonky vision how I haven't missed you :(

AM: Stationary bike.

PM: Legacy bike ride. Pretty sure it was into the wind both ways.

Officially on the up and up again. Got cleared for running today (again). I don't know how I could possibly ease into running any more slowly than last time, but I will try.

AM1: Elliptical

AM2: Bike & PT

Best day ever! Rode up Emigration for my first road biking canyon adventure and surprisingly made it to the top of Little Mountain. I guess I am not in as awful as shape as I think or maybe all that flat biking has paid off. I even chicked a total of 5 dudes on the way up :)

Still miserably full from brunch at Ruth's with a group of awesome FRBers, I went to a foam rolling yoga workshop dealy at the Avenues Yoga. Foam rollers are not just for IT bands - I had no idea you could do so much with it. Highly recommend this class for all runners. The instructor even made spinach smoothies at the end of class. I so want a Vitamix. Finished up the day with a fabulous dinner at Oasis, lots of beets and goat cheese - yum!   

Hiked around on the BST to get some sunshine. Hiking is so slow so I ran a baby bit. Couldn't help myself. Must be very careful though seeing as I already tripled my mileage from last week :)

It is official, I can start running again. But I have lots of rules... For the next week I can only run 2 X 5 minutes every other day on the treadmill. I need to stick to the rules and not go ape crazy so as not to have a repeat of what happened in March.

I am not exactly happy with the level of pain I still have, but at this point I have to be healed and just probably have a bunch of scar tissue that needs to get broken up. I can elliptical and bike as much as I want though with pain as my guide.

AM: RUNNING and PT

PM: Mellow ride on the Legacy to loosen up the legs after the BIG run this morning followed by pizza at Este to celebrate!!!

I am super sore in weird places from the big mile run yesterday. Can't wait to give it another go tomorrow!

Oh and I slightly impulsively bought a plane ticket to Switzerland today. I am going to give the Mont Blanc trek a go since I have been feeling pretty darned good these days. If I end up all lame again I will just go on a 2-week winery tour instead. Win win either way. I am also going to try and volunteer at the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc which would be awesome!!! The French call their aid stations refreshment posts - how cute is that? 

Stretch, strengthen, and yoga day. I am trying this whole listen to your body thing and I don't think I was quite ready to give running another go.

Since everyone has been whining about sprinklers lately... This morning I was enjoying my coffee and reading a magazine at the bus stop when out of nowhere I get blasted with a hose with similar water pressure of a fire hose which literally gets my pushed out into the street earning a few angry fist pumps from one insensitive driver. Woman responsible for said hose is laughing her @ss off and as I am trying to wring out my pants and jacket I get swarmed by bees. Yes bees and I am scared to death of bees. My grandmother just sent me this lotion called Bee Nectar and it smells like smarties and obviously it is called bee nectar for a reason since the bees are not swarming anyone else at the bus stop. I put my sopping wet jacket over my head and hoped for the best. The only good thing to come out of this morning is that my fellow bus stop peeps who have never once acknowledged my existence in the last 2 years acknowledged me today :)

AM: Some biking followed by 2 X 5 minutes on the TM

PM: A big hike up to the chocolate shop - feel like that should count for something. I can officially, totally, completely, comfortably sit cross-legged again - yay!  

Make sure to check out the REI sale that starts today. It is serious!!! 

AM: Stationary bike and elliptical

A bike pedal debacle kept me from making it up to the Jeremy Ranch Road so I rode up Emigration instead. Can't wait until I can run; bikes are too complicated. I got to the top of Little Mountain slightly slower than last week because my left quad was on fire. I think this is good sign since it may indicate that I am actually using that leg now.  My left quad is still noticeably smaller than the right. Then b-fast at Ruth's - I hope we can keep this up all summer :)

PM: My prescribed 2 x 5 minutes on the TM. Felt lame for going to the gym on such a beautiful day, but it was only for 15 minutes and I am trying to be a compliant patient. That makes 3.4 miles this week, which is up from 0.1 the following week. On the up and ups for sure!

Fun multi-sport day! Rode with Andrea on the Jordan River/Legacy parkway and then sucked it up horribly at the bowling alley with a group of fun FRBers. Then against my better judgement I tried to play soccer during the eclipse and am paying for it today :( I can still see though cuz we had those special glasses :)  

2 x 5 minutes of running. Darn those 10 minutes go fast. Can't wait until I get approved to do just a tad more :)

Memory Grove, City Creek, Aves bike loop. Can't wait until I can run this sucka! 

AM: Mega workout at PT this morning. Did these new airplane things, which made my legs have seizures. Can work on upping the running to 2 x 10 minutes this week - YAY! This is really going to work out for me this time...

PM: 2 x 7 minutes of running on the TM followed by Restorative Yoga at Mudita. Felt pretty rough towards the end of the "run" and probably should have stopped a little early. Hopefully I was just sore from the big workout this morning.

Anyone want to head to the REAL game on Tuesday? I have an in on 10 buck tickets.

AM: Stationary biking. My glutes are so sore from yesterday's mega PT day... it kinda feels like someone took a sledge hammer to the both of them.

PM: Quick ride around the Aves. My legs feel like crap - like fatigued, rather than pain and it is awesome!

2 x 6 minutes of running on the road. Breaking the rules, but I don't exactly have access to a treadmill.  

2 x 5 minutes running on the road. Breaking more rules, but tough! 

Tooled around on my ma's bike. Miss my bike :(

So stiff from miserable travel day yesterday. Can't say I have ever thought this before, but I can't wait to get back into my routine. I was starting to make some serious progress!!!

Ummm helloooo! Who knew there was a Culver's in Utah? Looks like I never have to go back to Wisconsin to get my fill of fried cheese... Ooooh and my fave flavor of custard is scheduled to make an appearance on June 7 - stoke!

AM: Stationary bike. CANNOT wait for bike ride tonight!

PM: Gorgeous night on the Legacy. Got stuck in the middle of a sea of spandex-ed guys and tried to hang for a good 3 miles. Got worked - it was awesome! 

So you want to run forever? This article, Long May You Run, made me very happy and hopeful or maybe it was the 1.6 miles I crushed this morning - ha!

AM: 2 x 8 minutes of RUNNING - yippy!!! 

PM: Elliptical and well-needed restorative yoga

Uber stiff still. Stationary biking. 

Happy June! And Happy 60th birthday to my mum although she is hiding in a closet somewhere pretending it aint so.

AM1: 2 x 10 minutes of RUNNING!

AM2: Lil biking and 6 minutes of supervised RUNNING at PT followed by a zillion squats. Feeling fabulous!!! May graduate from PT this month :)

Had in my head that I was going to attempt Big Mountain on the bike this morning, but my glutes were still so sore from PT, all that "running" on Friday, and being on my feet for 8+ hours yesterday helping out at the Squaw Peak race that I almost bailed for a flatter ride. But I didn't!

Rode from the base of Emigration to Big Mountain and back with 3300 feet of climbing - vomit! My quads almost quit working at the top and that is the closest I have ever gotten to seriously bonking - it was AWESOME! I am 6 months out of surgery this week and I can finally do things that require a GU :) I am getting my life back!

Speaking of awesome, had a blast working at the Squaw Peak finish yesterday and watching all the amazing runners finish. I think watching people finish races is my most favorite thing to do ever. I took photos of the finishers among other things like feeding Creamies to this one guy that finished in the top 20 having never ran further than 17 miles in his whole life, icing people's heads, doling out chocolate milk, applying sunscreen, and listening to seriously one amazing story after another.

I also got to see my friend's mom finish amazingly strong (I wish my mom could do that) and finally got to meet Bryce from the blog. I heart runners. I am so doing this race next year!

"I'm a less good person when I'm not able to run, and that shouldn't necessarily be the case,” Anton Krupicka's thoughts on injury.

AM: 2 x 12 minutes of RUNNING. Progress.

PM: Windy cruise on the Legacy. 

Eek - I did something crazy and registered for a race today. I had an overly optimistic moment and now I am almost embarrassed to say which one.

PM: Elliptical followed by 5 minutes of RUNNING because I just can't help myself and it feels so good even though I shouldn't try to run 2 days in a row just yet! Did wobble board squats, single-leg squats, and airplane things in addition to the normal daily hip routine. 

The 10% rule can bite me! I have a fall trail marathon to train for :) There is no scientific evidence to support it. When Running Up Mileage, 10 Percent Isn’t the Cap.

AM: 2 x 15 minutes of RUNNING!!!

PM: Yoga

AM: Read a 100+  page protocol on the stationary bike. Wish I could do all my work on the bike! Quite a bit of stiffness/pain in the hip flexor, bummer.  

PM: Lots of squats and normal hip routine.

Happy 6 months out of surgery (tomorrow) Duathlon Day!!!  I did my longest run since the Turkey Trot today and climbed the most ever on my bike. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, but I feel fabulous!

AM: Hallelujah! 35 minutes RUNNING on the TM with no walk breaks. Man this has been one long haul!!!

PM: Rode from HCI to the top of Millcreek Canyon and back. Climbed a total of 3990 feet. Wish I would have known and I would have climbed 10 more :) Upper Milcreek is still not open to cars making it super fun! I just wonder how I am going to feel tomorrow for more biking adventure...

Now for a big cold one :)

Met some peeps camping at Rockport State Park and rode from the park to almost Kamas. Was hoping for a chill ride, but that wind pretty much killed me. 

TRAIL RUN of sorts on the BST. Was going to take a rest day, but it was such a gorgeous day I wanted to get out on the trails. Ran on all the "flats" for a total of about a mile. I am 6 months out of surgery now so I should be back to "normal". Time to get a move on!

Last week: 9.9 running miles and 138 biking miles

Goals for this week: 12 running miles, 100 biking miles, more hiking, stop slacking on my PT exercises, and eat more vegetables. Funny how the PT exercises are the first thing to go now that I am able to be more active and that shouldn't be the case!

AM: 2 x 18 minutes of RUNNING!!! Walk breaks are back just to be safe. Feeling psyched! 

PM: More RUNNING at PT. Both therapists analyzed my form, said I am doing fabulous, and essentially released me into the wild :) I have really changed the way that I run - lighter on my feet, keeping a neutral pelvis with a slight lean, absorbing more with my glutes, more hip extension, yada yada. It has definitely taken some getting used to, but it feels really good and like someday I am going to be wicked fast :) I haven't been blessed with the most wonderful of joints so the least impact-ful I can make my running the better.   

AM: Stationary biking at work. Forgot my shorts and socks and read my Mont Blanc trekking guide - so not the most effortful ride.

PM: Evening ride on the Legacy - pretty good effort.

6-month post-op appointment today...

After appointment cancellation/confusion debacle, I finally got to see my doc today. "If all our patients were doing as well as you at 6 months, we would be very happy," says hip fellow. "But I am not very happy! Why didn't you warn me how awful this was going to be?!?" says a very irritated me. Hip surgeon says, "Are you still considering having the procedure done on your other side?" "No way in he!! am I ever going through this again," I say without hesitation.

Anyway... x-rays look good, range of motion is good, strength is pretty darned good, mental outlook not too shabby. Back into the world I am finally, fully allowed to go.

I shared this photo many months ago and I think it clearly shows what my issues were, plus I think it is pretty cool. I just can't say enough how happy I am to be able to be more active - it is like my whole future is now looking brighter. I have been thinking a bunch about that Anton Krupicka quote, "I'm a less good person when I'm not able to run, and that shouldn't necessarily be the case,” and trying to figure out how I can be a better person regardless of my activity level :) But hopefully I never have to go through anything like this again to test out all those fabulous life lessons I have learned these past 6 months.

AM: 2 x 20 minutes of RUNNING.