Tag Archives: running

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

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Well, these words have certainly been this past year’s anthem. During the early days of recovery this line was chanted day after day by my boyfriend as he smiled with every step I would take on my crutches. And I would sing these words to sleep as I dreamt of the sun rising, one morning closer to a full recovery.

Well almost one year later and I am walking, spinning and now running. And even though the rest of this post will show you just how strong I am, there is still that little voice of the past that chimes in and makes me sad.

I wont harp on it too long, but with the clearance to run also comes the disappointment that I am not returning to the runner I was up to the moment the accident happened. Running was taken away from me and now I have to start over. It is amazing that I can run again, and I appreciate that ability every moment, but it comes with the pain that I have to work to find my freedom and comfort again.

I know that this this feeling of mourning the past will slowly slip away as I build a new relationship with running, starting with reconnecting from the beginning. This weekend I took a Chi Running workshop to learn how to use my body as efficiently as possible to sustain the least amount of impact. If you are in the Bay Area and want a great teacher take a class from Sally!

Look at me go!


I even took everything I learned and put it to use Monday night:

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I was able to use posture and foot placement to run myself down to my good old friend the running path and capture that beautiful neighbor of mine, the Golden Gate Bridge, in the setting sun.

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This is where my strength has gotten me and I know I can only continue to rebuild and grow from this point. I just have to make sure that my strength drowns out that mournful voice of the past as I continue to place my feet on the ground faster and faster.

Taking it Back

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On June 30, 2012 my life changed forever. In a freak, let’s prove the existence of physics running accident, I broke my left hip. After major surgery and months of recovery I am back in tip top shape. Other than a higher risk of arthritis and some weaker leg muscles that will slowly even out, I feel great.

Recently, I was given the ok from my doctors to return to impact sports, including running! I’ve known for over a week that it’s perfectly fine to move my body in that way, but after such a traumatic experience with my favorite activity I had to mull over my newly found freedom. Since the accident I haven’t even hopped on my left leg and now I am fully functioning and able to feel the pavement fly by under my feet.

But it’s not that simple. I had a major trauma to my left hip and increased impact means higher chances of arthritis, and no one wants that. So, I will have to strike a fine balance between my love of running and my desire to continue living pain free. This is the challenge that lies before me, but yesterday was simply the day I got to take back running!

In addition to my run, I did something else that I haven’t done in a while: Kayaking!

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Just over the bridge in Marin I took advantage of the Cali sun and paddeled out on the water, enjoying the view and a few sea lion friends.

And after all of this activity I  was ready for an easy dinner -

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I lightly microwaved a sweet potato, then cut medallions to line the bottom of a glass dish. I also sauteed some brussel sprouts and broccoli and mixed it together with two eggs and some egg whites and of course spices: garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, oregano. I poured this mixture into the dish and topped it with sesame seeds. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

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I served this dish with arrugala and avocado and KETCHUP! Yum!

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2012

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365 days ago I started this blog.

It was supposed to chronicle my journey as a runner and my healthy (and not so healthy) habits. And while running was a major part of this daily publication for many months, running took a major back seat to many other life events that happened this year.

Some of the wonderful highlights include,

 Vacationing in Anguilla with the family

Frangipani day 1

Finding a love for PIlates

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Starting a new job

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Exploring the Bay Area

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Welcoming a cat into our family 

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Swimming in the bay 

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And of course with the good comes the not as good including,

A life changing accident

dressing me

A long distance relationship

A loss in the family

 This year has been a tough one, full of unexpected changes and numerous challenges. With each turn my weaknesses have been exposed, but more importantly, my true strength has found its way to the surface. 2012 will be a year I never forget for the good and the bad, and I am excited and energized for the year to come.

I am determined to get in the best athletic shape that I can in order to start running again by the summer, I will continue to grow my career, my friends and family will see me more often and I will take on new challenges with a new found confidence.

I wish everyone success, happiness and health in 2013!

Happy New Year!

 

A Story

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If you see me walking down the street you would never know that almost 6 months ago I had major surgery to repair my broken hip. I have no visible limp, you cannot see any signs of surgery and I have a smile on my face. Swimming on the other hand leaves me very exposed, physically and emotionally.

My scar travels down my leg and it is glaringly obvious that a 25 year old should not have this signature hip surgery mark. I am often approached by older swimmers inquiring about my scar and I have to say I am more than happy to tell them my story, because it is a story. I am not living in the days right after surgery and I said goodbye to crutches months ago. I have reached the point in my recovery when it has all become a story and that was all I focused on during the ordeal. I just wanted it to be a story where I reflect and say “remember when?” and now I can do that!

My recovery is still in progress and I am not allowed to run for another 6 months, but this too shall soon become another part of my story. I will be training for races again before I know it and this time away from the road, my Garmin and finish lines will just be something I remember and recount.

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(This will be me again in 6 months!)

Have you gone through an accident, loss, ordeal, or troubling time, that you now comfortably discuss as just a chapter in your life?

WIAW – Forever Changed

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Life will continue to surprise you all of the time. New opportunities will come your way, friends will come and go and accidents will happen. My accident happened on the last day of June and now my life is forever changed.

My recovery has been going very well and the check-in with my surgeon yesterday left me feeling pretty good physically. I can increase the intensity of the workouts I am able to do and I can continue walking around like normal, but I still have to refrain from running for a year and pilates is also out of the question until the end of next summer. I knew this information going into the doctor’s appointment, but I guess emotionally I hadn’t fully dealt with this major change in my life.

I will have a full recovery and I will run again, but it will take time and there will most likely be complications later in life. Yesterday all of this really sunk in, and while I am thrilled with how far I have come, I am not prepared to accept that I will not wake up tomorrow and be able to run without a care.

Running has been a major part of my life for a very long time and now I must find new outlets for exercise and adjust to my current limitations. Life is forever presenting new challenges to conquer and yesterday I was not ready emotionally to accept the truths of my new reality. After some tears and an evening embracing the loss of what I used to know, I reminded myself of all of the things I am able to still do and the goal of running hovering on the horizon.

It will be a long journey, but that’s what keeps life interesting and I will forever be stronger for it.

Now on to the food of the day:

Spooky Snacks and Healthy Halloween Treats
It was an early day at work so to warm me up for the day I had a hot bowl of oatmeal

Between that bowl and dinner I had plenty of snacks throughout the day and when I finally made it home after work, the doctor (including the emotional breakdown) and the pool, I made a faux fried rice:

Onions, chicken sausage, rice and egg whites with some teriyaki sauce.

And that was my very busy, emotionally packed WIAW.

Missing Running

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Today I woke up really missing going for a run. Since I have been sick these past couple of days I have not worked out and I truly feel that I have not had a good work out since before my accident when I could run.

I wish I could just wake up and roll out of bed into my gym clothes and simply step out the door and start my run. I miss running by the bay in the morning calm and having that quiet moment with just me and the city. Or even coming home from work and pounding the pavement to workout the frustrations of the day.

I miss everything about running and I am just taking this moment to be sad that I cannot do what I want right now.

And now I am moving past this silliness to remind myself that I can walk, bike and swim and that running is on the horizon. Some day, sooner or later, I will back on my feet like I used to be and this will be a memory.

Until then I will try to work harder when I workout in the ways that I am allowed to and prepare my body to be in the best shape it can be in for when I can run again.

Running gear, I will see you again soon…

Just doing what I do best – Running…

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Yesterday was the San Francisco Marathon. This was my first half marathon last year and this year I signed up months ago to race in the second half. It was a hard run last year, but after I finished I was ready to sign up for another race, and so the addiction to running really began. I was excited to run again this year after coming back from two relatively minor injuries and I was feeling really strong after all of the pilates I had been doing. Unfortunately this broken hip occurred at the beginning of a ten mile training run for this exact event and yesterday I experienced a twinge of sadness in the morning when I realized that waves of runners would be racing without me.

After I allowed myself to be sad for a minute I realized that yes, I can’t even walk right now let alone run, but hey, I will walk in the next week or two, I am not stuck in a wheel chair or bedridden, I am already spending most of my days at work and I am well on my way to a full recovery.

So while this bottle cap I got yesterday with my mint tea is not physically applicable at this very moment…

“When all else fails, start running”

I like to think that even with my injury I am getting my life back up and RUNNING by going back to work, getting bills in order, seeing friends and family and basically doing everything that I can despite my accident.

Like even getting my nails done :)

So here is to all of the runners out there – racing on the road or in life – CONGRATS!

You all deserve to take a quick, rejuvenating nap :)

I made it!

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I went in to the office every day this week! After spending the morning on the couch, sleeping a bit more, relaxing and getting comfortable, I would head to work around noon and work till end of day (5:30pm).

I was nervous to go back on Monday after 3 weeks of absence, but it felt quite natural to be back. It’s not terribly comfortable to sit for long periods of time so I would stand at my computer every once and a while and took plenty of trips to the bathroom and the printer. It was a wonderful distraction to pick up where I left off on that Friday over a month ago and forget about the fact that I have a serious injury.

Another great distraction was seeing my dad for a few days this week. It was great having some father daughter time over coffee discussing my recovery and the ups and downs of life at the moment. The fatherly advice and comforting words were more than welcomed :)

One month ago today I went for a run, I sat in the middle of the road with a mangled hip, I was rushed to the ER in an ambulance, I was x-rayed while in the worst pain I have ever experienced, I spent 4 and a half hours in surgery and I slept my first night since I was 5 in the hospital.

Today I am starting my last week of hopping around on one leg, feeling stronger and more at peace with my traumatic event. I no longer have an open wound from surgery, but instead a beautifully arced scar that has healed and become apart of me.

I am excited to start heading to work full time, exercising with physical therapy next week and heading back to the doctor for an update. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with supportive words and love. Your support and kindness has meant the world to me!

Thank you

Never did I ever…

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By age 25 there are certain aspects of life that one can expect to encounter, such as, possibly living with a significant other, hopefully holding a steady job and learning how to feed oneself with the use of the kitchen. And of course there are many things that one cannot be ready for – elements of life that one never expects to encounter.

In 2012, as a 25 year old woman, never did I ever expect to switch careers from the non-profit world to the corporate scene.

Never did I ever expect to love eggs as much as I do – I have had them basically every day since I have been recovering at home.

Never did I ever expect to break my hip while training for my 3rd half marathon, resulting in the purchase of a wheel chair for long outings.

And never did I ever expect to adopt a cat – which is what we did yesterday :)

What are some things that you have encountered that you never expected on your life journey?