Looong Overdue Update

Well, I'm not sure if any of my readers are still out there, perhaps hoping for an update from me so that they know I'm still alive and kicking, or if they've given up and moved on to more interesting blogs, but just in case, I'm finally ready to post...something...

I'm not sure where I left off this summer, probably something along the lines of being busy, overwhelmed, studying harder than I ever had...well, this semester has put all that to shame. So between that and some not so fun physical stuff, I haven't wanted to post. But today, in the midst of my 15 miler, I decided to come out of hiding. But it's been so long, I don't even know where to begin. Let's see, school is going well and I love what I'm learning, when I can pause long enough to appreciate it. In particular, I'm loving learning how to self diagnose and treat, although a little bit of knowledge can be very dangerous :)

In September, I did my one sprint tri of the season in Rhode Island, my first duplicated race. It was such a great opportunity to see if I'd really improved as an athlete over last year and I was very pleasantly surprised. I took about 9 minutes off my total time, spread out over all three events, and more importantly, was fully functional upon crossing the finish line. Last year, I was sore and tired for a couple of days and this time, I was up and literally running the next day. That rapid recovery was such a good feeling and really solidified that I have improved my overall strength and endurance. I think my half iron training has really transformed me. And even more, I'd been nursing an IT band injury along for all of August, so being able to complete the run at all, let alone in a new PR for me was great.

Aside from that race, I've just been concentrating on marathon training for Vegas, keeping my IT band under control, and working through a new flare up in pain in my left hip. Training has been going pretty well, I'm running as fast as I've ever run, but my hip pain has been keeping me held back. I finally went to see a PT about it this week and have been told that I have torn my labrum. For those who don't know what that is, it's a ring of cartilage that surrounds the hip socket and keeps the head of your femur in place. Once it has torn, your femur isn't held as securely and all of the muscles have to compensate to keep it where it needs to be. Thus explains the excessive cramping of my external rotators, adductors, and hamstrings when I run longer than 8 or 9 miles. I most likely tore it a few years ago when all of my troubles began and have been running on it ever since. In some ways, I'm relieved to hear this because I was starting to believe that this was all in my head or that perhaps I was not meant to be a runner biomechanically. I'm not crazy, always good news. The bad news, I may be doing damage to the bony surfaces and won't know until I get an MRI and a definitive diagnosis. If it is indeed torn, I'm not sure what will happen then, although I think surgery will be in the picture somewhere. It's also unclear what my future of running will be, and until I know for sure, I'm trying not to think about it. The way I see it, I've been going this long on the injury, what's one more marathon? I know, not smart, but if this is my last chance at this distance, I'm going for it, come hell or high water. I'm trying to let go of the idea of qualifying for Boston and focus simply on finishing (really frustrating considering I'm fast enough to qualify with my eyes closed).

Anyway, I'll try to keep up with these posts and give updates on my hip as I get details. In the meantime, I keep running. And if for some reason I get directed to no longer run distance, I'll become the best damn sprint distance triathlete I can.