February 16, 2022

I Am A Runner (Again).My 3.5 month checkup was today. My bones have fully grown into my implants – they are part of me now. The PA was very satisfied with the X-rays and range of motion, and said ROM and strength will continue to recover.He said I was ready to start running again, but told me to take it slow, listen to my body, and I’d probably be gassed in a mile. So I ran 4. I guess I messed up the Couch25k plan.As you can imagine, I’ve thought for months about what my first album would be. I finally settled on the Jackson Browne classic, “Running On Empty.” From the moment that Russ Kunkel establishes that big drum beat, my feet started moving. Then my face was wet, even though it had stopped raining. Yeah, I sobbed like a f#cking toddler.It’s been a long road here and a long road ahead. But I’m on it.

November 15, 2021

There it is! 12 days post-op and had my first post-op appointment. Everything looks good, feels as good as can be expected – still some swelling and soreness, but less every day. Walking 1.5 miles at a time, and probably a few days from dropping the crutches, maybe will use trekking poles for a while. My 9″ scar is scabbing over but stayed pretty clean – the bandage is off and it should be healed in a couple of weeks. Clear for driving and PT. Have to wait about a month for biking outside. Second post-op is February 14 and I should be able to start running after that. Until then, it’s rehab, walking, and trying to avoid gaining another 10 lbs over the holidays!

November 2, 2021

D-Day is almost here. Hip resurfacing is Wednesday. Yes, I’m scared. The surgeon will slice my butt like a Christmas ham, then dislocate my femur from my hip. Drill a hole in the femur and pound in a stem and cap. Grind and ream my pelvis to accept a new socket, possibly screw it in if necessary. Then I will have a week of very limited mobility and significant pain, followed by months of rehab before maybe I can try running again. And this is the BEST-case scenario! Possible complications include deep infection, blood clots, fracture of the femur, and death of the bone under the cap. All unlikely, but probabilities > 0. And running may just never feel “right” again – all the bones and muscles have to fall into a new alignment. But there’s no alternative – no injections, PT, foam rolling, or supplements are going to heal this. I would have to change my identity from Lovable Old Runner to Crabby Old Sedentary Guy. No one wants to see that!

Every runner gets soft tissue injuries. Some of our friends have had stress fractures, some have had major hip repairs, whether from natural or unnatural causes. Some have had long Covid, or life threatening cancers and returned to running – I can’t even imagine the stress they experienced, and admire their courage. But I haven’t been in surgery since I had my tonsils out as a kid. So forgive my apprehension. I’ve been very, very lucky, but aging will catch up with everyone. I’m not the first in our band of runners to have joint replacement or other major surgery, and won’t be the last.

I tend more toward judging than empathy, but lately I’ve found some empathy for the tens of millions of people with mobility limitations, whether from age, joint problems, chronic conditions, or obesity. I can’t just scoot across a four-lane street like I used to or walk any distance, and stairs are painful. I’m not so quick now to roll my eyes at someone moving slowly in a crosswalk or waiting for the closest parking space. I recognize that I’m very privileged to have a solution at hand. I have great health insurance, resources to spend thousands of dollars in co-pays and take a few weeks off work, family and friends to support me, and a great medical team. A lot of people don’t have all or even any of these assets, and they should.

So I say goodbye to my old right hip. You were under me when I started running in the first running boom of the 1970s and 1980s, the age of Shorter, Rodgers, Benoit, and Jim Fixx, headbands and split-leg shorts. Through the 1980s when I ran marathons around the country and found my home in Seattle. The YMCA running group I ran with through the 1990s. A comeback marathon in Portland 2000, where my wife and toddler son were waiting for me at the finish. And my mid-life Runaissance, starting Memorial Day 2014 with a SGLRG track day at the Green Lake track, running with a bunch of total strangers (so disorganized!), and ending with my first ever BQ in 40 years of running in 2019. Goodbye old hip! I hope your titanium replacement will have some running stories to tell too!