damn hip

Hip hip not hooray

Me, August 3rd:

I’ll see if I bounce back from this quickly or if it turns into some yucky long term situation.

Eleven days later and I can now confirm: yucky long term situation.

I knew with the way the hip felt after the last run that I would miss at least the next run, maybe two. I was hoping that I’d lose no more than that, meaning I’d be running again the following Monday, which was five days ago. While the hip did feel a little better on Monday and Tuesday and I did some walks at near my usual pace I seemed to relapse and yesterday (Thursday) a 4.5 km walk was almost kind of painful. I have no idea if the hip injury is muscle, bone or a gremlin trying to pull everything apart like the one in “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” but I have a doctor appointment coming up so may have a better idea then.

That appointment isn’t until the 24th, however. In the meantime I’m taking it day by day and seeing how the hip feels. I’ve played out the old man/hip thing now, I’m ready to start running again. I am open to having bionic legs attached.

The buggy, sluggy run

Run 312
Average pace: 5:07/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran Spruce and Conifer Loops and Piper Mill Trail
Distance: 5.06 km
Weather: Clear
Temp: 19-17ºC
Wind: moderate
Calories burned: 401
Total distance to date: 2666 km (Hail Satan!)

After the previous soaking the sun was back out for tonight’s run, as were the bugs. I probably inhaled a few on the stretch toward Still Creek. Mmm, tiny nutritious flying bits. The trail was awash in many black slugs, suddenly reappearing in large numbers after almost completely vanishing. Welcome back, slugs! Sorry if I accidentally squashed any of you.

The hip continues to feel better and my start was the best of the past few weeks. If the improvement continues at this pace I’ll probably feel back to normal in the next week or two.

Right at the start of the run I had to make a detour onto the grass as a large gaggle of geese (mom, dad and at least six kids) sauntered onto the path directly in front of me. The goslings are still small, fuzzy and adorable. The grown-ups remain hissy and mean if you get close, so steering clear is the name of the game here.

The run was uncomplicated apart from a brief flirtation with a cramp just past the 4K mark. I finished under 26 minutes for the first time since the hip turned creaky, another promising sign. The weather was mild, with a pleasant breeze blowing most of the way. I will remember this fondly when it’s 30+ and humid enough to turn the air liquid.

Overall, another step forward to regular runs.

The post-post flu run

Average pace: 5:15/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.05 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 400
Total distance to date: 2632 km

For my second post-flu run I decided to stick to another 5K and follow the same route as before, allowing for easy comparison.

I was encourages early with the hip feeling better after avoiding sleeping on my right side for several nights. It was quite warm again and buggy (one flew directly into my mouth and banged into the back of my throat. I expelled it with impressive vigor and precision) but I pressed on and ended with a pace of 5:15/km, a bit slow for a 5K but a solid eight seconds better than Tuesday’s effort, a solid showing that I am on the mend and all that.

Bonus: My shoe laces stayed tied.

Other bonus: no geese hissed at me. This has happened twice recently.

My next run will likely be Sunday. Here’s to it being hip in a good way.

 

The post-flu hobbly untied lace run

Average pace: 5:23/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.05 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 21ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 400
Total distance to date: 2627 km

How tonight’s run sucked, let me count the ways:

  1. Warm. 21ºC seems balmy but it was surprisingly humid. Admittedly it wasn’t a huge issue.
  2. My shoelace came untied yet again, this time in the first km and on the left shoe for variety.
  3. Bugs. They were out in force, probably because of the combo of recent rain and now warm temperatures. Bonking off my head and face.
  4. Old man hip. Not as bad as it’s been but still sore. It got better as I ran, with surprising results (see below).
  5. Post-flu. Probably the biggest factor. Two days ago I was bedridden with a nasty case of stomach flu. I missed Sunday’s run and didn’t want to miss another, so today I ran, anyway.

Given the flu and hip points, I opted for a 5K again and came in at a positively sluggish pace of 5:23/km. The first km has a strange drop in it which may be where I stopped to retie my lace. I didn’t pause the run because the last time I did that I screwed up and killed the run altogether. The untied lace is the third time this has happened and is pretty bad for a pair of top-end shoes. Adidas obviously thinks you should replace their sucky laces with better ones. I will do this soon, being careful not to use Adidas laces in the process.

The post-flu had probably the biggest effect on the run. I just didn’t have the usual gas, even taking into account the hip. The next run should be better.

As for the hip, it felt better than the previous run but still not great. As I warmed up it became less of an issue and I finished with a truly rare finish–my final km was the fastest, with an average of 5:13/km compared to the 5:21/km of the first km.

Here’s to better runs ahead. (please)

The still sore shorter run

Average pace: 5:12/km
Location: Brunette River trail, Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 5.1 km
Weather: Partly cloudy
Temp: 15ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 404
Total distance to date: 2622 km

With the hip being anything but I elected to play it safe and do a shorter run, nipping down the river trail and around the first two loops of the lake before circling back on the main trail to complete 5 km. My pace was a bit slow for a 5K at 5:12/km but not unexpected, given my dippy hip. I may go in to have it prodded and poked if it doesn’t start improving soon. The left upper leg muscles are also a bit sore after I started extending my runs, so I can appreciate the variety of different problems on different legs.

Endurance was fine and I actually had a decent finish after I warmed up. Not bad overall, given the circumstances.