Back With a Capital Vengence!

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.

My new favorite website: No Meat Athlete: Runs on Plants

AM: Stationary bike

PM: Baby Aves loop on the bike. Forgot that City Creek is closed to bikes on even days, but slightly thankful because I could use a rest day of sorts. Just discovered this site called Strava, which you upload your rides to and then you can compare your times to yourself and others. I have to admit that I am getting a bit bored with biking so the site is helping because it lets me earn rewards and stuff :) It is actually super neat how it maps out the segments of your ride and it works for running too.

AM: 45 minutes on the TM, no walk break. Now that's a run. 14 miles for the week, holy crap! 

PM: Hike on the BST. Wanted to try out the new trail shoes :) Must get in hiking shape for Alps! 

Learned one of the most important lessons of my life today! Sorry if this is TMI, but I want to remember the details of today...

Went out for a ride in the hottest part of the day, climbed a good 4000 feet part of it on a newly black topped road radiating heat like you wouldn’t believe, essentially pushed myself harder than I have in nearly a year plus I sweat like an obese man, and drank about 32 ounces of water over the course of 4 hours. I know I needed to drink more and it was kind of freaking me out, but there wasn’t anywhere to refill and I felt okay.

Got home, felt fine, yet tired, drank a bunch of water, an emergen-C, ate some toast with almond butter, stretched, and laid on the couch for about an hour talking on the phone. Stood up and BAM, vertigo like I haven’t experienced in a long time. Then came the nausea, vomit, tunnel vision, crazy wavy lines, imbalance, more vertigo, and sheer and utter panic. Thought I was going to die for sure! 

Long story short, I used to have a huge problem with vertigo and crazy, weird visual aura stuff. After seeing a ton of ENTs and neurologists I was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, Vestibular Migraines, and recurrent BPPV. Tests showed that my right inner ear was not responding to any stimulus so I was pretty much screwed and there wasn’t a whole lot that could be done. My symptoms seemed random, but I started paying attention to them and started noticing that they would happen after long runs or after I drank a lot of wine. I started thinking my symptoms were related to dehydration, but of course my docs thought that was a bunch of shizzle.

As a personal experiment I started being super conscious about water and electrolytes pretty much to the point of obsession. Anyone who knows me knows that I can be seldom seen without a water bottle and I typically freak out if I go somewhere without water :) And guess what? I have been nearly symptom free for a couple of years now so much that I almost forgot I have ever had these problems. That is until today!  As much as this sucked and I seriously thought I was dying, now I am almost 100% sure all these crazy things can be linked to dehydration, which feels pretty empowering actually. Granted water is not going to make my right inner ear work so I will always have weird issues with that, but I believe that adequate hydration can prevent attacks like this.

I will now be carrying a camel back on my road bike. I don’t care if it is so totally uncool, because what is really uncool is vomiting all over yourself because your vision is so wonky and your head is spinning so bad you can’t seem to find your own bathroom.

Ride: Home to Big Mountain and back. 44 miles, 4031 feet of elevation gain.

Anyone want to buy a road bike?