Tag Archive for new beginning

The Triathlon Rx | November 24, 2011
18 comments

Surgery: valgus producing subtrochanteric femoral osteotomy

Alternate title: “they’re cutting my leg off, taking a cheese wedge slice out, and putting me back together.”

Alternate alternate title: “about damn time.”

Enough emails have come in that I thought it was time for a bit of clarification. (FIRST clarification!! NO. They’re not amputating my leg. ;) )

Depending on how long you’ve been around DrTriRunner, you may have all // only bits and pieces // or none of my past medical history. I definitely don’t expect anyone to click on each of these links and read the entire posts, but it has ALL been documented. And what a trip for me to go back and read through them! Here is the Cliff Notes version of this entire journey since 2008…

  • Sophomore year of college – was living in Boston, MA – running xc – 4 marathons under my belt and registered for #5, Boston, the following April.
  • October 22nd, 2008 - Found out I have fibrous dysplasia (FD). Found out my femoral neck was fractured 2/3rds of the way through. Hahha love my title for this one: “Adam and Eve Played Me.”
  • November 3rd, 2008 – Surgery was discussed with treatment team in Boston. Option 1: a surgery with a shorter rehab and greater chance of returning to running, but not necessarily a “long term fix”. Option 2: surgery with a longer rehab, lesser chance of running again, but possibly more permanent. I was still hopeful that surgery would not happen at all! If I did, it would be at home in Minneapolis over Christmas break.
  • December 12th, 2008 – Written on the flight home to Minneapolis. Still praying that I wouldn’t need surgery.
  • December 13th, 2008 – Post pre-op appointment, probably written in tears. I remember how devastated I was to find out I needed surgery!! Decided on option 1 with the quicker rehab and better chances of being an “athlete” again.
  • December 17th, 2008 – Two days post-op. Hit heavy by Vistaril so I’m not sure how coherent that post was. ;) Lots of cute pictures of IVs being pulled out and “learning to crutch.”
  • December 21st, 2008 – Funny.. I remember being AMPED because I got to SHOVEL SNOW. Weight bearing activity baby!! It’s all about the little steps.
  • December 21st, 2008 – One week post-op report. Able to use the stationary bike (next to no resistance) with minimal pain.
  • December 31st, 2008 – Two weeks post-op. Able to swim and pool run once the incision had healed. I remember being amazed at how quickly [I thought] progress was happening…
  • January 25th, 2009 – First post-op follow up appointment, which led to me being…
  • February 6th, 2009 – Cleared to run!! Ohhh that joyous letter. I hung it up on my dorm room wall. Serious. Keep in mind – this was only cleared to run 2 x 10 minutes every other day. Although I’m pretty sure on that day that I had made up: I was still running Boston 09…
  • March 10th, 2009 – Progress was going well..? By March 10th, I was up to a 10K at 7:46 avg per mile. And that was my easy pace back then. :(
  • March 14th, 2009 – A memorable 9 miler doing the last part of the Boston course backwards, with my best friend riding along on her bike. Progress, but with the marathon a little over a month from then, that should have been telling me something about “race readiness”…
  • April 20th, 2009 – 113th Annual Boston Marathon. Dumb decisions were made, and lessons were learned. There’s a reason I didn’t post from April until August… Moved back to Minneapolis in the mean time and transfered back to the University of Minnesota.
  • August 15th, 2009 – [Mostly] Successfully trained for 2009 Twin Cities Marathon! Had a wonderful training group and felt fast and strong for pretty much all of training. Dropped mileage probably 25% to 30% from pre-surgery averages. Did the first 20 miler of the training block that day. I wrote in this post that the recovery process had felt “slow” … looking back, doing a 20 miler eight months after having a major hip surgery doesn’t really sound that slow…?
  • September 5th, 2009 – Did my last triathlon of the summer. Froze my ass off on the bike. Took 2nd in my AG and ?? overall. I remember not being able to feel anything knee down until the last mile of the run!
  • September 10th, 2009 – Did the double header of the Victory Memorial 10K/5K. Ran a slower than usual 10K and used the 5K as a cool down… but somehow took 2nd and 1st AG in each. So in my mind… I’m sure that meant recovery was on schedule, right? I also remember that during this photo <– right before the 10K start, I was thinking my hip felt a little “off.” #SOML.
  • September 24th, 2009 – Spent the day at the hospital in radiology. That little “off” feeling quickly returned to the same feelings I was having pre-surgery. I knew something was up, and that something was likely no good… At this point I was trained up to the 4th 20 miler of the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon.
  • September 25th, 2009 – That rainy, dreary photo at the start of the post set the stage for what was to come. I got a phone call from my doctor that morning saying the images taken the day prior showed positive for a fracture. The same fracture line in my femoral neck that was there way back in October of 2008. Now the question was, did it ever really heal, or did it recently refracture? Was it a matter of the intensity, distance, the fibrous dysplasia, or all three combined?
  • October 2nd, 2009 – Pulled out of the Twin Cities marathon. My mom and I watched and cheered on my fellow teammates and training partners, and it was h.a.r.d. I want to say I was just excited for them and the culmination of the many miles put into this race, but the honest thoughts in my mind were how badly I wanted to be out there racing. Back on a no-running, non-weight bearing XT prescription.
  • October 30th, 2009 – After great debate, my insurance finally cleared a bone growth stimulator, which I used 30 minutes every day. I wrote that it was a “gift from my orthopedic Santa.” :)
  • November 15h, 2009 – Somewhere in here I was cleared to run again. By the 15th I had done three half hour runs, all at easy pace, indoors on the dreadmill.
  • All of 2010 – Essentially a year with a shitton of cross training. Never got back to the “old normal” running mileage from pre-surgery days, which I justified because I was focusing more on triathlon. Lots of swimming and biking, and “medium” amounts of running. March 17th took 3rd overall in the Get Lucky 7K. Finished behind Jenny Wilcox and Amy Lyons, so I was happy to be in their speedy company. :) Raced New Bri Tri on June 5th and Manitou on June 13th - had an off race in New Brighton, but Manitou went well and took 2nd. Played a hard core game of road kill during the run and passed 68 people! That felt good, but also remember my left lower leg hurting like $#!& after the race.
  • July 7th, 2010 – Sure enough.. tibial stress fracture. A compensation injury from having a left leg that is one half inch shorter than the right. Was SO eƒƒing fed up with all these injuries creeping in due to my hip issue, but humbled at the same time that even on my worst days, I still had so much to be thankful for. Posted a bible passage that day: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12. Important one to remember… every. single. day.
  • September 22nd, 2010 – Started hitting the weights a little harder, thanks to my wonderful coach at the time, Mrs. Jodi Jones. Tibia had plans of it’s own and was taking its sweet damn time to heal. (read: it wasn’t…)
  • October & November 2010 – Ran the Monster Dash half marathon at the end of October as a “fun run” but didn’t race it. Got hit by a truck mono for over a month and really impacted training and fitness. From that point until now, I’ve honestly never run over 30 mpw.
  • January through August 2011 – stayed between 10 and 20 mpw, but running felt like it was on a slow decline. On April 22nd I %!&@#*> in a Friday Confessional that “running hated me”, and my body was definitely feeling that. Stuck with the cross training and strength, minimal swimming (oops!) and a LOT of biking. Put in more miles on the QRoo this summer than ever before.
  • August through October 2011 – The slow decline turned to big freaking decline, and there were days when I felt like I could barely put weight on my left leg at all. Got my butt back in to see my treatment team, and we knew we needed to take action. My fracture from way back in October of 2008 was STILL not healed – something called a non-union fracture. It had never healed. A second surgery was definitely in order and it was just a matter of determining what the procedure would be, who would do the surgery, and when would be the right time.
  • October through now 2011 - continued to go all over for treatment. MRIs, injections, cortisone, x-rays, CTs, you name it.

So… bringing us to the present – we finally have come to the conclusion that the best surgical procedure is a “valgus producing sub-trochanteric femoral osteotomy” … ironically, the same “option #2″ that was recommended (and decided against) way back in 2008. The option with a longer recovery time and a lesser chance of returning to running. I’m scheduled to go under the knife on December 14th, 2011 – exactly one day short of three years after my first surgery. And I’m am so excited to get. this. over. with.

In terms of outcomes for…

  • time in hospital
  • time on crutches
  • rehab  time
  • prospects for returning to running
  • prospects for returning to distance running
  • prospects for returning to racing

… a lot of that is still up in the air. It would be awesome if my recovery went as quickly as the first surgery, but that will be a day-by-day process. And covered in a post to come! :)

Aaaahhhhhh. I feel better. You might not if you read that whole thing… but I give you mad props if you made it all the way through.

This post is beyond long enough, but I just wanted to bring everyone up to speed. (And it was a good project I could do while in a post-turkey coma!) The prayers and good wishes many of you have sent this way, and the support you all provide? You all are my angels, and on this day of thanksgiving, I want to let you know how THANKFUL I am for all of you. :)

Reader Qs:

Have you ever dealt with an ongoing injury or illness? How did it affect your training/racing/life, and how do you deal with it now? Did you have a good thanksgiving, and what is your favorite kind of pie? ;)

Happy thanksgiving!!

-Erika

Category: Thoughts on a Thursday | Tags: , , , ,
The Triathlon Rx | September 15, 2010
11 comments

The Weekly Rundown

In fears that yall would think I got hit by a car again running across the street, I figured I better throw a post up. Better late than never, right?

Here’s we go:

You may recall me mentioning I was going to tag on some themes to the days of the week, in hopes that I might be able to post more. [*cough* Post more... mental note.] As a matter of fact… that’s the real reason you haven’t seen me since September 3rd. I’ve been so busy coming up with creative weekday themes. ;)

MEDICAL Monday


See that Dr. part of my title? Mmm, yep. I’m still workin’ my way there. And because I am in the field of Kinesiology - also referred to as sports and exercise science, exercise physiology, exercise science, movement science, sport science…. I think you get the picture – my medical tidbits are likely to be weighted towards that area of interest. Which is fortunate for YOU because I believe about 97% of my readers either consider themselves an athlete or active on some level. It’s a win-win. I learn, I share, I do well on my finals. You learn, you…. well, you learn. The end. :D Kidding!! I know I have some other pre-med/pre-PT/pre-health professionals out there, right? Say hi!!

TRIED IT Tuesday

Reviews of all sorts – products, gear, workouts, you name it!

WORKOUT Wednesday

I don’t think you’ll need too much assistance with this one. Whether it’s new to me, or new to you, you can look for a new workout, drill, or activity to shake up the routine. Contrary to the beliefs of my youth ( ;) ), just because your a runner, does not mean you should only run. In addition to swim sets, ladders on the track, and intervals, you’ll occasionally find new playlists or power songs. Lord knows I don’t mix music and running… but my underwater mp3 player changed my life!

THOUGHTS ON A Thursday


You already saw an example of this one a couple weeks ago. It was pretty random. It will continue to be pretty random, but I can promise there will always be thoughts of some sort involved. Given my outlook on this fall semester… don’t be surprised if you see findings in sports psychology, motor development, amazing accomplishments of the human body, or Big 10 and NCAA news. Then again, you could also wind up with Buffalo Jerky, Sports Illustrated, or a giveaway. Oooh the suspense.

Friday CONFESSIONALS


You didn’t think I’d let that go, did you? I know it breaks all the alliteration I had going, but Friday Confessionals is a well established tradition, and I think ‘Fess up Fridays’ sounds lame.

WHERE’D YA GO? Weekends

That is the million dollar question. Being that weekends are so cherished, and yet so short lived, I make an attempt to disconnect on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s my goal to spend those two days catching up with family, friends, teammates, and the big man up top. OK… and maybe a bit of homework. ;)

Can you feel this surge of optimism? No post for two weeks… and now I’m laying out a weekly schedule?! Let me tell you, if there is one thing I have learned about myself over the years, it is that I function 110% better with a plan. Whether it be for school, for training, for my closet, or anything else… give me my color coded sharpies, my fancy-shmancy 3 ring binder, or my iCal, and let me Martha it up! (Can we make organization a Olympic sport, please? THAT, my tibia can handle.)

Another thing I’d like to feel out with this new surge of inspiration is upping YOUR contribution. That’s right buddy… I’m lookin’ at you. You might be a blogger, a reader who has never commented, a company, or anywhere in between. If there’s something you want to share – a guest post, a race, an organization, a product, let me know, and we’ll hop to it! I have met so many amazing people through Dr.TriRunner… and I just want to spread the love. ;)

SO. If you have any ideas, anything to share, any question, send it on over! Either leave it in the comments section, or shoot it to me at drtrirunner [at] gmail [dot] com!

THREE DISCLAIMERS…

#1 – I just gave you a Monday through Friday. That does not mean I will be posting all of those days. In fact, I can tell it to you right now that there is no flipping way. Unless you want to give me college credit, or money. This “schedule” simplifies my life in that it a) enables me to write ahead of time and schedule some posts, and b) gives me a basis on where to START, rather than “oh wow, I have so much to catch up on I don’t even know where to begin…”

#2 – Just because I said I disconnect doesn’t mean I’ll never jump online or throw up a post. Don’t try and call me out if you see me tweet! :P

#3 – You can ask any question you want, but I wont promise I’ll answer it. There are somethings I can’t share just due to contracts, and there are some things I wont share cause ya’ll have thrown some crazy stuff at me in the past. I guess in sum, just don’t be afraid to ask. 97% of questions I’ve received thus far have come from common sense, or logical curiosity.

ALRIGHT.

Now that I’ve given you THE weekly rundown, I want to give you MINE. Maybe because I feel guilty for not posting for so long, but also because I want to share my schedule! It is WAY different than the schedule I was operating on during the summer, and WOW was it a rough adjustment. You will see that I have practice at 6AM, meaning my wake up time is 5 and I [am attempting to] go to bed around 9. In comparison to the summer when we didn’t even close the restaurant till 9:00, and I was lucky if I was ready to sleep at midnight. Yeah… first week was rough. Here’s what a week in my life might look like now…

I think you should be able to click it to enlarge. Why do I show you this? Two reasons… 1) to show you that it is possible to fit your work, schooling, kids, homework, fitness, church into your busy life. This doesn’t show some of my committments, like bible study, time spent on homework, or oh hey – time to relax? But it is doable. 2) To tell you that while I would love to say I make it to every single practice session, or every meeting or group I’m a part of, I don’t. Sleep is one thing I know that affects me more than anything else, and if I don’t get my sleep, 6am might not happen. I have finally learned the difference between ‘ahhh… but my bed is so warm!! It’s dark out!’ and knowing that a workout just wont be productive. I’d rather spend the hour catching up on sleep than wasting time in the gym not doing anything beneficial. Capish?

Because it is my first official Wednesday “with a schedule” … I leave you with a

WORKOUT Wednesday

And because I’m writing this from an elliptical, with a sport psych journal that I really should be reading, I’ll chose a quickie. My current POWER SONG of the moment… is Power, by Kanye West. Check it out!

POWER on YouTube

Reader Question: What’s your power song of the moment?

Hope I didn’t loose to many of you in the Dr.TriRunner drought! Catch ya SOON! :)

-Erika

Category: Workout Wednesday | Tags: , , ,
The Triathlon Rx | August 31, 2010
14 comments

A Fresh Page.

Ohhh my ‘Lanta. How’s that for a two week absence?!? No need to give excuses – it just is what it is.So let’s get started…

First of all, IT issues. And that would be IT as in I – T, not it. If you’re reading via Google reader, you may not have noticed that my layout and heading have CHANGED. This was not exactly intentional, but in updating my previous theme, it wiped out my custom header and personalized settings. FAIL! However, it did force me to spruce things up a little around here. So if you’re reading ing Google Reader, please (!!) click on over and tell me what you think of the new header, the layout, what am I missing (?), and any other comments. Minnesota Nice comments though – that constructive criticism. :)   Here is what I have noticed, and would love your help if you are blogging/internet/html savvy and know how to fix it!

  1. When you are on the main homepage, just reading the posts through scrolling down (versus clicking on each individual post), there is no link to leave a comment!?!? This used to be linked down by the tags, at the bottom of each post. How/where do I edit the html code to put that back in?
  2. When I list things… the text is all squished together. I don’t like it. How could I make it 1.5 spaced like the rest of the text?

Um… that’s actually all I can think of that’s different. My pages tabs have moved to the right side bar, my “fueled by” sponsors/links have moved over to the right side, and so has my search bar… what am I forgetting about?

Just to note in the mean time, you CAN still comment! (haha, no pressure though.) :) You just have to on an individual post page (click on the title of the post) and scroll to the bottom. Frustrating, I know, but hopefully I’ll have it figured out soon!

OK, now we begin.

In all of seven days, I’m going to be renewing my student status and heading back to campus at my dearly beloved University of Minnesota. And trust me, this girl will not be dragging her feet. Summer 2010 will not exactly be looked upon “fondly” in my books. Alright, no B.S. – it was truthfully the worst summer I have ever had. I’m looking forward for this summer to be done, and I’m ready to just leave it at that – close the chapter, and turn a new page.

ANYWAYS.

What am I looking forward to other than summer ending? A lot. Copious amounts. Heaps, loads, MUCHO!! But for the sake of time (and your sanity) I betcha I can break it down to three:

SCHOOL

Yes. I am looking forward to school. Class. Homework. Cadavers, textbooks, exams – bring it. I know my major is the right fit for me because I get out of bed and I’m excited about it. Every. Damn. Day. And AMEN for that, because I went through that year and a half of unsureness when I started out doing architecture. (THROWWW BACK POST! I look so young! [Edit: that was only two years ago you doof!] I miss my dad!!!) And that’s OK – if I have any young guns out there going off to college (or still in high school!!), let me tell you two things. A) Say HI!! One of my new favorite people in the world left her first comment recently, and I love that girl! I want to hear from you!! Oh yea… B) You do not need to know what you want do do/be “when you grow up” when you go to college. That’s what college is for! Take classes outside your comfort zone. Use your general eds to explore different fields and see what really lights your fire. [That sounded dirty when I reread for editing. How old am I??]

On track… on track.

I’m excited and looking forward to school. Here is my schedule for the fall semester – classes only. I may or may not be adding on one more 1 credit class (another PE – Kines needs 5 to graduate, and I’m at 3) but I need to wait and see how some other things (that I’m also looking forward to!) pan out. ;)

  1. Into to Kinesiology. Yes. I am taking this way late in the game. Oops!
  2. Sports Psychology.
  3. Intermediate Swimming. Will get to do my own workouts, since the prereq for “intermediate” is “PE 1007 or equiv, proficient ability to swim 100 meters or instr consent.” 100 meters? I think I’ve got it covered. ;)
  4. Human Physiology + Lab
  5. Motor Development Across the Lifespan
  6. [Potentially.....] another PE, Monday nights, 6:45 – 8:30

TRAINING

It probably doesn’t blow your mind that I’m looking forward to training, but when you hear that I’m still not running… it might. Its true – I was SUPER down about not being able to run – pretty much this whole summer. And I’m definitely still bummed about that. But I am in the hands of some of the best sports medicine doctors the Twin Cities has to offer, and for that, I am so grateful. I feel so solid in the decisions I’ve made about racing and training this year, so solid in my coach, my goals, and the plans she has given me to help me reach them, and more solid than flipping Fort Snelling in having given this one over to God.

And also pretty solid in rocking my new prescription sleeve. It makes me feel like I’m almost still a runner. Did I mention I love my sports med team?

Note: nope – I’m not on the UMN XC team. Just a groupie. :/

MY FUTURE

I will tell myself over and over again, until it’s permanently engraved in my mind. I can do anything through Him who strengthens me. I’m entering the new school year with a good attitude, a solid head on my shoulders (jeeez, you’d think I like the word solid or something… [note the official sarcasm color]) and a strong hand of faith on my shoulder. There are plenty of opportunities out there just waiting to be seized, and oh man, do I plan on seizing. In fact, I plan on going pro at it, so watch out! This summer blowed, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the year has to.

Life is only what you make of it my friends. If you’re questioning whether or not your makin’ of it… I ask you this: If not today… then when? (That is a direct shout out to YOU mama bear! I love you!!)

Alright kiddos… [I do realize the majority of my readers are older than me... I should change that out. This editing-post-writing is a good thing. Highly recommended.] Scratch that. Alright compadres, it’s time to wrap. The Twins just beat the Tigers. The world is right. (Or is it solid..?) :) And it’s bedtime.

READER Qs: Are you tech savvy//very empathetic, and can help me fix my html to make the comment link reappear? What are you taking this semester if you are still in school? What was your favorite course in college if you are all done?

Sleep tight!
-E

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
The Triathlon Rx | November 8, 2009
2 comments

Welcome!

And WE’RE OFF! It’s obviously not 100% up and running, as you’ll find several of the “pages” are still under construction, but I couldn’t wait one more day! Please update your blogrolls, your google readers, your feeds, your bookmarks, tell your mom, tell your sister, RunRoamRecycle has moved, and Dr. TriRunner is a go!

www.drtrirunner.com

Glad you made it here!

And make sure you stay tuned, because for the grand opening of this training camp/sports med clinic/good food cafe, we’re throwing a popilicious giveaway, starting at snack-o-clock. You don’t want to miss it!!

Switching to self hosting was a move I’ve wanted to make for a long time, and I’m so glad its finally here! Know that things will be changing left and right, being edited, updated, deleted, oh-crap-control-Z’ed, and moved around. If there is anything you would really like to see here on Dr.TriRunner – a page, a link list, resources, workouts, recipes, you name it – make sure to let me know!!

Come back soon to hang out with me, explore the new page, and to get popped!
-E

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: ,
The Triathlon Rx | November 5, 2009
5 comments

Cha cha changes…!

Thursday already? How did that happen?!

Last night something came over me, and apparently the roomie too. For whatever reason it was absolutely necessary that we stay up and watch Scrubs until 1:00am. On a WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

Whoooo does that?

Because of my mandatory-8-hour rule, and because my first class isn’t until 11:15, I skipped the gym, turned off the alarm, had a super random dream, but woke up feeling much better than I think I would have had I dragged myself to go do cardio. (RSC to be specific ;) ) However, as “refreshed” as I may have been, apparently my mind was still running a little behind. Hence this tragedy happened to my morning coffee:

P1000037

My morning cup of black gold turned into a morning cup of black NaCl onion garlic paprika cup of NASTY. I realized it the second I sprinkled it on and did my best to skim the spices off the top, but no amount of skimming could remedy this catastrophe, and down the drain it went.

Despite the absence of caffeine this morning that would usually leave me dragging, I was feeling just fine. In large part I’ll attribute that to the SUN that finally decided to reappear over our lovely city of Mini-apple. Splendid. I had a really fun first class.. we broke into three groups based on our personality types (A, B, C) and the got in little groups and just talked about how we act in different situations. I’ve mentioned before, I’m type A to the max.. probably type A+, but it was hilarious  to talk to the guys in my group about what we do when we’re waiting for someone who’s late.. have a slow car pull out in front of us.. or even just how extreme we take playing a board game (Grandma.. you’re goin DOWN). The class is called Lifetime Health & Wellness, and it’s through my major department (Kinesiology)… definitely my favorite!

Anywho my kiddies.. I will keep this brief because I need to meet the kids for SPIN soon! Tomorrow is TEAM MOVIE NIGHT and I’m hosting, so I have to hit Target on the way home to pick up some movie snacks! I mostly just didn’t want to go too long without posting, but also, I wanted to make sure I’m keeping alla YOU in the loop! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, because there are some big exciting things coming to RunRoamRecycle! Some will be happening sooner rather than later, but in short, I’m pumped. And you should be too!

Until soon mis amigos!
-E

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,
The Triathlon Rx | August 13, 2009
One comment

I'm off to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of…

Hahah TOO much. I kill myself sometimes.

Anyways, I just wanted to say I promise I really am bringing this back.. I’m just trying to decide how I want to go about it and the direction I want to take this blog. My title – RunRoamRecycle – still fits me well, but there is also quite a bit more that my life encoumpasses, as well as there have been some big/exciting changes since I last posted in Boston!

I am off to go see Harry Potter 6. I leave you with a photo from the Green Lake Triathlon finish last weekend, and a promise to return!

From Minneapolis, out on the Lake. :)
-E 

Rocky after first haircut 225

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
The Triathlon Rx | February 12, 2009
7 comments

the first day…

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning, and ERIKA RAN – the first day.

- Genisis 1

Comrades, the day has finally come – I HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN CLEARED TO RETURN TO RUNNING. 

dscn1714

That would be the legit note from señor Dr. Denis Clohisy at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, and I have also been cleared by dear Dr. Millis here in Boston, as well as my physical therapist (who I haven’t talked a lot about, but he’s amazing too ;) ), Ian.

dscn1713

Now let’s be clear on some things… “Return to running” does not mean return to where I was at when I stopped. It does also not mean intervals, or tempos, or 400 repeats on the track. It does not mean that in 10 weeks I will be toeing the line at Boston, no matter how badly I want to/how much I think I “could”/how many times I look over at this posted on my wall next to my desk:

dscn1721

Running Boston THIS YEAR is out. You better believe I’m keeping my number though.. because while you can “defer” your time for a second year, you can’t “defer” your payment, and that is $110 I will not be getting back. :( More than the money though, being able to run, but not being able to RUN, is going to kill me. It already is. Going to watch is going to be ridiculously hard, but there is no way I’m not going. I have two people from home that are flying out here to run, as well as 3 friends from here that are running it this year too. I will be there to support them for sure.

While the news that I get to run again is honestly the best thing I’ve heard since, “Hi, this is Marathon Sports. Your Asics just came in…” it did come with some setbacks. (Oh wait.. so did the Asics situation. Pink? Really? The website said RED.)

Hearing I can run? I’m ecstatic. Thrilled. Elated. Overjoyed. Over the moon. Top of the world. I don’t know how many ways I can say it.. but it couldn’t make me happier. EXCEPT.. I was/am scared. So scared. I’m scared that despite how great my hip (/hips) feel, I’m gonna get out there, and be like, “Shit. It’s not supposed to feel like that.” That hasn’t happened yet, and I feel that with each new run I go on, that fear will dissipate,  but that fear is real. 

So what.. 5 mile? No prob? Mmm… not quite. My doctor cleared me for 10 minutes/2x per day (ideally, or just 20 minutes once). As much as I want to take what he said and be like, “Sure.. no probs.” I honestly know that it’s a bit much. Not that I don’t think I could do that, but because I don’t think I should. The coach here.. even after little stress fractures, he starts his runners out at 10 minutes, every other day. 20 minutes every day.. kinda a big step up from that. I’m sticking to every/other right now for this first week, and I’m planning on evaluating with my PT tomorrow at my appointment. 

So yes. I’m back. Lots is going on right now in my life… I have this huge “Project Lent: 2009″ thing that I’m doing.. more on that later maybe, and oh yeah, that little thing called college:

dscn1717

dscn1718

Sad story – my roomie put my absolute favorite from-home Caribou Coffee travel mug through the DISHWASHER. And the hot water melted the seal. And melted the red outside color. And now its dunzo. She offered to buy me a new one, and I bring to you:

dscn17201

I know I’m all “RunRoamRECYCLE”, but this is kinda overkill. It was the only one that had a solid closing though.. and I need to be able to toss it in my bag, so there you go. “Made with 28% post-consumer recycled content”. Yeah.. it says that.. plus a lot more lil recycle-happy quotes. I am ALL FOR being environmentally conscious, but I don’t like to preach. You’ll never see me wearing one of VS’s “Think Pink, Go Green” shirts. NEVER. 

Oh.. and that lil guy.. I got a new tattoo. It was kinda one of those last minute decision things.. and I’m not so sure about it now. :( Sorry mom. 

Love to you all, and to all a good night. GREYS!

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The Triathlon Rx | December 21, 2008
6 comments

post surgery – week one…

Arighty.. I’m editing this each day.. so if things change tenses from present to past and I’m confusing, sorry! I’ll post it at the end of “week one”. Here’s a little rundown on how things have gone since surgery:

Monday – Surgery in the A.M. Slept most of the rest of the day. Got to go off of the IV drip by that evening, and finally figured out that pain medications are there for a reason – if it hurts, take them.

Tuesday – Physical therapy at 10:30 am. Was supposed to have a second session at 2:00, but she said I was doing so well with the crutches that I didn’t need it. Well, me and the sticks had a pretty exclusive relationship goin’ on earlier this year, so I’d say yeah – I got em’ down. Left the hospital mid afternoon.. came home to a nonfunctioning heater = I had to relocate to upstairs = I mastered the up-stairs.

Wednesday – Definitely the worst day pain wise. Dr. Truong said it was gonna be though, so at least I knew what was coming. I stayed on the futon the better part of the day.. slept on and off. Worked on some Christmas presents.. worked on an essay.. nothing better to do! Took the Vicodin and Vistaril each every for hours, but I staggered the Vistaril so it was two hours after the Vicodin. Seemed to work OK. My sister and her BF and my dad finally got here from Michigan!

Thursday – Still feeling a good bit of pain in the morning, but feeling much better as the day went on. An old friend who’s home from school at ASU came over in the afternoon and we just talked and caught up for like 4 hours. First attempt at getting out of the house – we went to CostCo. I would like to think it was semi-successful. 

Friday – My mom noted that I was moving a lot better. I started doing alternating feet on the stairs (versus always stepping down with my right.. you know, like you do when you’re little..) although I was using a LOT of support from the railing and wall. Easier to do going down than up, and scary at first, but once I did it once it became easier. I’m figuring out all these little systems to do things. ;) PT exercises going well, except for some reason I can’t do the gluteal squeezes AT ALL on the left side. ?? It’s like the muscle isn’t responding. Despite the Vistaril (which is supposed to be a muscle relaxer) my left thigh is still really tight. Didn’t realize it until I was doing the thigh squeezes that are part of my PT, and realized I couldn’t contract my left thigh muscle because it ALREADY was contracted! Watched a great good movie, The Squid and the Whale, although I hated the ending and hated several parts in the middle. Hahah but aside from those, it was good. :D

Saturday – Lots better! Big milestone – slept on my stomach for part of the night! It’s hard because I’ve ALWAYS slept on my left side, which is obviously a no-can-do right now. Sleeping on my stomach lets me relax my leg muscles a little. Another big milestone – I SHOVELED!! I never thought that sentence would end with exclamation marks, but it was great. I felt really good in the morning, and promised my mom that if it hurt at all, or felt “off”, I would stop right away and come in. Well let me tell you.. I shoveled our whole entire corner lot plus both walkways and the front steps. And it was fabulous. Plus, the fresh air felt sooo good in my lungs! Ahhh before long, I’ll be RUNNNNING! :D Back at CostCo today, but I used the electric cart [with success] this time. Didn’t want to do too much on my feet all in one day.

Sunday - Ohh such a roller coaster. Daily milestone: slept on my side. Not my surgery side of course.. but I put a pillow between my legs so my knee and hip were supported, and it worked pretty well. I also am taking the meds less frequently. I got to/had to shovel again this morning (it snowed for 14 hours straight yesterday!) and that still felt good. It was WAYY colder today than yesterday though, and I don’t know if that affects how my bones feel? Anyways, was fine until about noon, when I started feeling sick to my stomach. We left for CostCo (again.. damn Christmas card is more work than it’s worth!) and didn’t end up coming home until 4:45, and I felt sicker than ever. Which is where I’m sitting right now, on the couch, like I’m about to throw up. If something has to hurt, I’m glad it’s my stomach and not my hip. Still can’t seem to do the gluteal squeeze on the left side.. other PT exercises are going well. 

And because I need to post something, here is the dang Christmas card that I made that has been so much trouble to print. Grrr. But they’re finally done, and they look pretty. My mom, myself, and my sister. 

christmas-card-2008_jpeg

Love yall,
-E

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The Triathlon Rx | November 14, 2008
4 comments

Paging Dr. Sperl-Imhoff…

Friday again! It was a quick week, especially with the day off on Tuesday for Veterans Day. It was a nice break since it was only the 2nd day we’ve had off since the beginning of the year. Well, once again – I’m sitting in World Arch right now, so I’m gonna keep this post short and sweet to the point.. here we go!

Hip Update:

Um. Nothing. Pretty much status quo here. I am a little frustrated because the surgeon in Minneapolis called, and of course I was in class so he had to leave a message. I called back and left a message with his secretary. She said he’d call me back. He hasn’t called me back. Gaaah.

I sent my doctor here an email asking if I could come in for a follow-up appointment. My mom sent him an email. She sent another email. Neither of us have heard back. Aaah!

Aright.. I get that both of these men are highly regarded and very busy. But shouldn’t I get a response within a week? Yes, right? I’m just starting to feel really desperate because for some reason, this last week I hit the realization that surgery should be a last resort. I would much rather take another month or so off now than have surgery and not be back on my feet until June. Maybe I’m just getting scared, but I really don’t want to have surgery (duh) and don’t want to jump the gun here.

PLUS… both doctors were supposed to talk about me using a bone growth stimulator. And if I’m gonna use it, I want to get started as soon as possible. Everyone I’ve talked to who has used one said they wish they started using it sooner. Where did my doctors go? This is really unusual of them – I’ve always gotten responses right away either by phone or email, so I’m just not sure what to think right now. Out of town? I feel like the secretary would have called me back…

School Update:

I’m getting so excited for my major change. Did I talk about that yet? I think so.. but if not – I’m officially pre med!! Actually, not officially until the start of the spring semester I guess, but it’s official in my book! I register on Monday, which is possibly the most stressful experience EVER. Is that just me, or is it really stressful for all you other college kids too? I literally lose sleep over it. I have a pretty set schedule of what I need to take next semester, since I’m basically a semester behind everyone else. Damn architecture. ;) Luckily I had all my general core classes covered with all my transfer credits from the University of Minnesota.. but that also means I will have zero electives until.. forever. I’m going to be in school till I’m like 30. And I’m SO EXCITED! :D I don’t have the times squared away yet, but next semester I’ll be taking:

  • BIO 111 – General Bio 1
  • BIO 112 – Lab
  • CHM 211 – General Chem
  • CHM 212 – Lab
  • PSY 101 – Foundations of Psychology
  • BHS 105 – Nutrition

I’m gonna be Dr. Sperl-Imhoff. Yessssir.

Don't you see the resemblance?

Other News…

My dad and sister are coming out on the 26th for Thanksgiving, and staying till the 30th (which is my birthday!!) and I can’t WAIT for them to get here! Unfortunately we wont’ be doing as much trekking around as my dad and I did when we were out here last January, but it should still be tons of fun. I’m so excited to see them, especially since I’ve been feeling a little homesick this last week. I really miss my mom too, but she was out here mid October for parents weekend, and I’ll get to see her in a month at Christmas. It’s good to break it up a little, so I’m happy with the way we set this up.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving!

Pool running has been going well.. but one of my best friends who goes is going to be returning to running soon. Like tomorrow soon. I’m obviously really happy for her, but sad that I wont see her as much.

I’ve been keeping up the group fitness classes at the Marino. I took Pilates yesterday, but unfortunately I gotta say I won’t be taking that again. It just wasn’t that challenging. I loved the pilates I did at home for all the core work it gave me, but this class didn’t really incorporate much of that at all. I took spinning again this morning (60min class this time – woo!), and I’m still liking that the best of the group classes. I’m pretty limited in what I can take, since all the other classes are like jumping around cardio that probably wouldn’t be a good idea for my little fractured friend FemoralNeck. So. Spinning it is. And abs.. I’ll keep that one too, even though it isn’t that hard – the teacher is a ton of fun.

Haha I just wrote for half of this class period. I will say though, I am quite an efficient multi-tasker. I’m still pullin an A in this class, and I’ve been doing this all semester. :D One more thing before I leave, as is tradition here on Fridays. BTW.. when I wrote this last week, you guys were supposed to add your OWN confessions! I can’t be the only one being a little bad all week..

Friday Confessional:

  1. I conveniently scheduled my advising appointment to be right in the middle of class yesterday, leaving me unable to attend. Mind you, I’m rockin an A in there too.. everyone needs a break once in a while. ;)
  2. I skipped Students for Environmental Action (it’s just a club.. not a class) when I said I’d be there to take Pilates last night. Too bad pilates blowed..
  3. Hmm.. I guess I really haven’t done that much this week. Good! Hahah I’m sure I’ll think of more as the day goes on..
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The Triathlon Rx | September 27, 2008
7 comments

whe's ma chalie cahd?

Well if this isn’t a good time to update, I might as well give up, because it can’t get much more chill than this! Clearly I won’t go over everything from my flight out here to today, but believe me – it has been BUSY! Something along the lines of this..

 

But judging by that ^ that means I’m getting a hang of my mac. Sorta. What I can say for sure is I LOVE iCal. I DON’T love that freaking AutoCad (which was mandatory for our FIRST project in studio) is made for Windows, but yet we all had to go spend like $1700 on macbook pros. Hmmm. So then we had to go spend $$ more on Parallels and Windows for Mac. Everything. Costs. Money.

But getting used to it I guess. Lets see.. what else is major?

I got my work study job at the MARINO CENTER which is probably the greatest campus fitness center I’ve ever been to. Ever. So working there is really no biggie because I’m there all the time anyways.. :)

I love all 5 of my suitemates, and we all love the 6 guys next door. We’re like a [really big] family.

Some more things:

  • The Charles gets hella boring. I miss the lakes and parkways in Minneapolis
  • I STILL love JP Licks
  • EVERYONE has an accent. Myself included. And people take it offensively when you tell them “You have a xxx accent.” It’s not a bad thing…. calm down. 
  • Good guys already have girlfriends. Because they’re actually good guys. I’ll leave that outta this post.
  • I can fit a LOT into one day. No joke.
Soooo that’s all I’m gonna say for now. I freaking love Boston. And I WILL make sure I can stay here the rest of my college career! I promise I’ll be more regular with updating – I was just dreading this first post because I felt like it’d be really overwhelming. But, uh, I took care of that by not including like anything! Sorry guys! :D
I’ll be back. Promise. 
[EDIT EDIT EDIT]
Oh right.. why is it so chill on a Friday night? Um.. it’s actually been raining ALL day and it like JUST let up for the first time since I’ve been awake. And 3 of my roommate had training for this volunteer project they’re doing. And one was out.. on an adventure. And there wasn’t much going on aside from the Presidential Debates. Tomorrow night though..!
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