The (Not So) Long Road Back

I sound like a sap these days, but i’m just so happy to be running again.  It’s slow going—only up to a mile and a half—but who cares, right?  I’m running and my mile(s) are increasing.

My hip is feeling a lot better, too.  That has nothing to do with the running, though.  Once the doc told me what was causing the pain, I knew what I needed to do differently in order to decrease that pain.  Now that i’m paying attention to how I walk, how I sit and how I perform even the most basic movements, the pain is nearly gone. Granted, long car rides still bother me and that won’t change, but at least i’m not in pain all the time. 

I make it sound so easy.  I never realized how often my everyday movements cause me to spread my legs (you know what I mean) and slightly squat: getting dressed, getting in to bed, getting in and out of a car.  I really have to pay attention.  Oh well, just a part of life now.  And like I said, i’m not hurting all the time!  Small price to pay if you ask me.

I'm a Runner!

That's what I posted today on Facebook after running a mile on the treadmill. It felt good. No, it felt great! This mile long run was actually the second run of my return to this amazing sport. For the first run (yesterday), the plan was to do a mile. Alas, it was not to be. I made it about half a mile and called it quits. I came out of the gate too quickly and ran out of steam. I wasn't down or mad at myself. It didn't bother me one bit. A half-mile run was the longest I had run in over 4 months. It felt great. Today, I tried it again--and hit that mile. Again, I felt wonderful.

I think we all start to take running for granted when we've been training for a long time (I think most of us are in a constant state of training). We over analyze how far we've run and how quickly we got there. We worry when our pace is off and when we didn't run as many miles in a week as we planned. Right now, i'm in a wonderful place. I'm not training for anything; I don't care how far I go or how quickly I get there. I'm running for the love of running. Ok, you got me--i'm also running to shed the 10 spot I gained while I was sidelined. But either way, i'm running for me.

Who knows how long this will last. As I get stronger and start running more, i'm sure I will have the urge to hit this pace or run that distance. But for now, i'm just happy being a runner.

Resurrecting a Blog

It's been a long, long time since i've written anything for this blog. Part of it's because i've been really busy with work. But mostly, it's because I haven't been running. As you may recall (assuming I'm still on someones RSS feed), I had surgery 4 months ago to repair a torn right acetabular labrum.

No, I did not tear it running. Not sure that is even possible; a torn labrum of the hip, from what i'm told, is a twisting motion injury. The most famous, if you can call it that, torn hip labrum would be that of Alex Rodriguez. He kinda brought the injury to the limelight, if you will. I'm not sure how he tore his labrum, but it was most likely during one of his massive swings. Being nowhere near as cool as A-Rod, the story of how I tore my labrum is pretty lame. Actually, it's really lame. Here goes: I was pretending to karate kick Dyani. Yeah, that's right--a roundhouse, baby. Felt "something" right away and dropped to the ground...as Dyani laughed at me. I deserved it.

Anyway, I think I tore it last May or so. Didn't have the surgery until November. I was trying to wait until the new year--for insurance purposes. Alas, it hurt way too much, way too often. Had to have the surgery.

My doctor, Hal Martin, is considered one of the best in the country at this type of surgery. Hip arthroscopic surgery is all he does. And he is a machine. People come from everywhere to see this guy. He is damn good.

So, surgery was in November. Not the most pleasant recovery, but I survived. In an effort to keep this post short, I will skip all the details. Today, I had my 20 week follow up. I've been in some pain lately. The hip has been popping a little bit; when it pops, the pain is unbearable. Here is what I found out today (I bet I will get a little of this wrong, and i'm paraphrasing what I was told): the floor of my acetabulum is almost non existent. This sometimes happens after the surgery. At this time, there is nothing that can be done about it.

So what does that mean? Well, for one thing, my range of motion is limited. For example, I can no longer sit indian-style. Ever. Like never ever again during this lifetime. I can never sit in lotus position. I won't be able to sit down and prop my right leg on the other one. That popping I mentioned earlier? That was my femoral head popping out of my acetabulum. Basically, I was dislocating my hip--and then popping back in to place. Yum.

Now to the good news. I can run! Woo-Hoo! We ran through some tests to see how strong my leg is (luckily i've been hitting the gym pretty hard with the stupid bike and the stupid elliptical) and I passed with flying colors. The hip is healed. The pain I sometimes get (especially in the morning from all of the rolling around at night) is simply a part of life now.

I got a new pair of running shoes today. I'm starting fresh. I'm hitting the road (treadmill) for a long (1 mile) run. Yeah, 1 mile. That's my goal. I'm really excited to call myself a runner again. Plus, now I can read those Runners World magazines that have been gathering dust. I've refused to read them since the surgery. Silly, I know. But it was a little depressing.

So, expect to see something from me tomorrow. Perhaps on this blog, maybe on Daily Mile--or if i'm really lazy, I will simply toss it up on Facebook. But there will be something. Good luck to me.