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Friday, October 29, 2010

Running...oh, Sweet Running!

Life has been hectic and crazy and everything that describes hectic and crazy. School has been totally overwhelming this year with the expectations wearing me down. I can't keep up with the blogging, and for that I apologize. Plus, nothing has been very exciting until now.

Yep, I have officially started my walk to run program. It began last weekend with 2 minute intervals, on a very flat, well-groomed trail. My walking time was 8 minutes after I finished the 2 minutes of light, and very easy jogging totalling 2 miles (I had already walked 2 miles multiple times). My muscles are great, my hip was good too, but my cardio...ugggh! As much as I have done spin and even a Bosu class (hard) this week, the cardio has not kept up. So this process will be a bit of stretching out the lungs as much as breaking in the ole' hip.

I went to PT today and went ahead and very carefully told Cameron what I had done. The itch just wouldn't go away, and I gave in. Today, I am one week away from being cleared by Dr. White to do it, so I figured two weeks early (only running once last week) wasn't too bad. Cameron took a little bit of persuading, but he finally said that if two minutes was okay that I could 4 minutes this weekend. I didn't wait. I did a full 1.5 hours of hard PT, and then this afternoon, I hit the trail again. Marc has been great with me and very patient too. We always bring the dogs, and so my goal of being able to run with Tuff again, is happening regularly. I did a 3.3 mile run today (Cameron said 3 miles...) and ran for 4 minute intervals, and then walked for 8 minutes. He doesn't want me to increase my running and decrease my breaks or walking on the same day. So the plan for Sunday is run for 4 minutes and walk for 6. Eventually, I will be running the whole 3 miles. I am planning on doing a 5k in about 4 weeks, just for fun. I am excited about being able to run a race...any type of race. A 5k sounds like a challenge right now, but a realistic goal.

After that, I am going to do a series of races here to get ready to go into marathon training. The series is 10k, 8 miles, 10 miles, and 20K during january and February. I will start training for my first post-op marathon in March. It is exciting to actually talk running again. Of course, this will happen as long as things continue on this path, which I am fully expecting.

My pain is non-existant; however, I can "find" it and still have trouble bending my leg certain ways. I am not sure I will ever be able to sit "criss-cross apple-sauce" again, or comfortably lift my foot up to put my shoe on, but every day life is pain free. Cameron just said today that I will be one of Dr. White's star patients: I am pain free, and will be running marathons again. Very exciting! Now if things could slow down a little at school, I would have some time to enjoy all of this.

Monday, October 11, 2010

I Wish Every Weekend was a Three Day!

Where do I start? Life has been super crazy with work. I have a lot of meetings, which I hate, and a lot of fun with my students, which I love. I tell them everyday, "You are the best class I have ever had, and you are definitely the smartest!" That is until next year's class, and then they will impress me too. My mom and dad have been in two times a week, for the entire morning, to help with anything I need. My dad usually catches me up on grading papers while my mom does small groups with students. Having two retired teachers as parents couldn't be any better when it comes to stuff like this. They help me kick start my class in fall, every year. It is the time of year that I see the most growth, probably because there are three teachers in the classroom for two days per week during this time. Love my class, and love having my mom and dad there to help.

Marc and I have been busy doing home maintenance in anticipation of our new carpet coming this week. Yippee. Our house is all set. We fixed some doors, refinished the hardwood entry, and cleaned up some clutter. We have also been enjoying some free-time with my parents. Yesterday, we went 4-wheeling and had a blast. The girls went too and Christian enjoyed her new hobby, photography! (Halee has always carried the camera, but Christian is trying it out.) We might even go again next weekend.
I also had my 3 month post-op visit today. I had the day off, and Marc took the day. My parents, Marc, and I headed up to Denver all together. (We met my grandma after the visit for lunch.) Everything on the xray is perfect. I have had two "flare-ups" from trying new things: mountain biking and walking 2 miles. Dr. White wasn't happy about the mountain biking, but when he realized I hadn't meant to, nor done it since, he was okay and advised me to wait one more month until I started the walk to run program. He reassured me that I would be back to where I want to be, but I need to be patient, which I will. For now, I continue with PT once a week until 6 months post-op.

So all in all, life is perfect! I love my family, my friends, and my job...and recovery is going pretty good too! Except I wish every weekend was a three day.