Ten Year Report

[blinkyone]

I see the names of the folks who went through resurfacing with me ten years ago. Hey guys!

This is Blinky, now Blinky one as time has had an effect on my memory if not my hips, and I forgot my login credentials.

The short update? I am doing great. I run, I swim, I hike, I dance, I spin, all the things. Ten years of sports and travel adventures. I wear out my kids and my husband. 

The longer version? The first year I focused on recovery. The second year, and, well, every year after, I pushed to see what the hips could do. Could I run a half marathon? Swim a 5k? In that second year, I found many things I could not do because I had fallen out of condition or because my brain and body had stopped communicating. But those could be remedied with hard work. I felt like year two I made some great gains. The gains came more slowly after that, but I was still improving. I settled into running a few half marathons a year in our cool months, swimming, and spinning. My H took a short gig in NYC, and for two years I spent every other weekend there, routinely walking 30k steps a day. Feeling completely recovered and very fit, I signed up for a half Ironman in Galveston for the spring of 2020.

Covid hit. Aargh! No half Ironman for me. I did a slew of virtual races, including the Virtual Race Across TN,  and eventually got back in the pool, in an outdoor pool with all kinds of Covid mitigation rules.

After Covid? Fit but not as fit. My boutique spin gym closed down. And I went back to school to get a masters in history. The degree turned into a new job lecturing at a local university. I am still running 5x a week and swimming probably 4x, but training for long events is more of a challenge with work and travel. I try to run one half marathon and swim one long open water swim a year. I expect (hope) the next big distraction from training will be grandchildren.

It has been a terrific ten years. I look forward to another ten.

[sbrnecros]

Thank you for sharing your anniversary story. I'm one year on from bilateral resurfacing and slowly clawing my way back to running again (tennis next!). I managed a 10K last month, hoping one day to run further but I made the decision to concentrate on trail running rather than a return to the roads. You didn't say if your half marathon events were road races, but if so how are finding training and racing on harder surfaces?

[blinkyone]

Congrats! I did a 10K about a year out, too. I was sore, more than I expected, but then I did another a few months later and bounced back more quickly.

The halfs have been road races. I did a 5K trail run pretty early on, can't remember how early, and was afraid of falling so did not repeat. (The neighborhood park trail I thought would be so easy turned out to have many slippery, flat rocks. Now, I have fallen several times and bounced back up unharmed, but as I age I am more afraid of falling. An old lady thing?)

The first long run of the year, ten miles or more, hurts. Then every subsequent one feels okay. I think the trick would be to stay in condition, to keep doing those ten mile runs once a week year round. When I was doing three halfs in a row, one every four to six weeks, I felt good, and best doing the last one. So why don't I keep doing those ten mile runs? Just stay in shape? I used to pre arthritis. Now I have too many (good) things going on, and it is challenging to stay in the habit.

Is a treadmill better? Softer? Not for me. It is about the same as an asphalt road to me. Flat and well groomed trails with no slippery rocks might be the best. 

Good luck with your recovery and finding your new limits.

[Pat Walter]

Congratulations Blinky.  Great to hear from you and read your update.  Hope you continue doing well and check back again with an update.  I wish you the very best.  Pat