Hang In There Hip Runners

Hey Hip Runners!

This Covid thing is so 2019.  I don’t know about you, but I am READY to move on.  Thank GOODNESS for running!  At least we have the ability to get out and do SOMETHING that feels kind of normal.  I haven’t posted in a while because I have been nursing injuries ever since I ran the Bloomsday course on the date that it was originally scheduled to be held in May.

For about a month after Bloomsday I was nursing a hammy straing.    Then I started training with the team for a 23 mile Alpine run near Leavenworth, WA.  The run was along the  Enchantments Trail, a point-to-point trail that guides you through glacier carved granite crags  along crystal blue alpine lakes in the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington State.  To train for elevation, the team spent some time on the trails of Mount Spokane,  a 5880 ft. peak that is just 45 minutes from downtown Spokane.

Favoring my hammy during these training runs, I ended up straining some tendons in my lower left calf.  Initially the strain was tolerable and I was able to get through the run through the Enchantments.  But the injury is still lingering, so I have resigned myself to just getting out regularly and running 5 miles at a very easy pace.  I know that time heals, so I am just taking it easy until the body says I can go again.  I still try to get out and train with the team, but it is obvious that I am not 100%.  In fact, one of my teammates was running behind me the other day and told me that looked like the tin man while I was running.

As far as the hip goes…..all is well.   After 8 years, I still have no issues.  I recently bought a shirt at the local Fleet Feet running store that said “Running Changes Everything”.  It’s true.  During Covid, it has helped me keep my sanity.  Even while I’m injured and have to ease up on my running, I don’t mind looking like a tin man.  I’m running.  Check out the pictures below.  They really do capture the essence of the shirt.   8 years ago, when I got my hip replacement, I would have never guessed that my post-hip journey would include a run like this.  I am grateful for the new hip and I am grateful for the ability to continue to run during Covid.  Running truly does change everything.

The Enchantments Trail
1)  The Start

2) Making our way to Colchuck Lake and the base of Aasgard Pass

3)These  are The  Enchantments
4) Just a cool pick along the way

5) Colchuck Lake and the ominous Aasgard Pass (We went up the left side)

6)Climbing  Aasgard  Pass and getting  into  some  snow.  It  was late  September  and  it  had  rained  the  night  before.   There  were  some  icy  spots  that made  the  climb  a bit  more  exciting  (a better word might be ‘dangerous’).
7)  Almost to the top
8)  Top of Aasgard Pass

9)  There were lots of Alpine Lakes and the trail was well travelled
10)  The beauty of the force of nature was all around us

11) Descending to the other side