Marathon Countdown!

I was counting yesterday...the "parts" or rooms of the new house that we have completed. In order of completion: Christian's Room, the Living Room, the Dining Room, Master Bedroom, Halee's Room, Upstairs Hall leading to Downstairs, Sunroom, Half Bath, Master Closet, and Kitchen...which still has a few more days on it. Although the kitchen is still not done, the work remaining will be done by the contractor, thank goodness. The yard has undergone tranformation with several new plants from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo plant sale, and several new bushes (including my first rose bush) to make the back yard just the way we like it, with lots of flowers. All this being said, I haven't had time to write, but I have made time to train for a marathon!

In two days, I will be 11 months post-op from surgery repairing my labrum in my right hip. I find myself reflecting regularly right now, because the weather, smells, and summer activities, keep reminding me how thankful I really am that I can go run up a mountain or simply walk across my backyard. A year ago in June, I had been on crutches since early April and they were a regular part of my routine. I found myself anxious to have surgery and get the recovery process started. I was also unsure of my outcome and how well surgery would really go.

Taking recovery pretty serious was the best thing I did. Getting back into running many months post-op was worth the wait. My body definately has muscle memory and the work-up has not been hard at all. I have completed 4 runs over 20 miles (20, 21, 22, and 24 miles). I do not feel my hip and can say that I am 100% recovered. (I am not as flexible with that leg, but no pain.) I was told by a few that I would probably never run again, and I was told by my PT to not run trails like Barr Trail (the trail leading to Pikes Peak Summit with a huge elevation gain). After running just about every trail in the Colorado Springs area, with many steep ascents and descents, and feeling just fine, I decided to tackle Barr Trail this last weekend. Stephanie, my training buddy and my PT's assistant, has trained with me every step of the way. This will be her first marathon. Since our big race was only one week away, we decided it best to only go to Barr Camp (6 miles up, 6 miles down). It went great, and my hip felt fantastic. All of this training and ultimately, this recovery, means one thing: I am ready to run a marathon!