The returning runner
Act 12 – Go get the ax – I need a hip/knee/ankle replacement!!
The cool breeze from a cool Ely Nevada morning brushed my cheek as I loped casually through the first half mile of the Cave Lake ½ Marathon. This was a long, hilly, race above 8,000 feet. Some of the speedsters would fade. The first 6.5 miles were a rolling downhill. I wasn’t going to press the downhill…But, around 5 miles I started to reel in many of the font runners. Ultimately, finding myself in 2nd at the turnaround with nothing but uphill left. The leader a small figurine ¼ mile distant. Could I catch him? My plan, push the next mile and see if I could gain anything. At 7.5 he was distinctly closer – not a lot, but noticeable. It seemed that if I could keep pressing the uphills, that I might catch him around 12 miles. I did, but a bit sooner, around 10.5. Then, I made a mistake. I had been pressing hard for 4 uphill miles at elevation. When I caught him, I wanted to rest, I didn’t sustain my passing speed convincingly. He decided that maybe this could be a fight. We swapped the lead back and forth over the next 2+ miles. The final steep uphill half mile above a murderous 8,000 feet would decide. In my mind, I planned a strong surge. That didn’t quite happen but was able to keep running and he couldn’t. First place overall in the Ely Take it to the Lake ½ Marathon at age 56.
3 year earlier I sat in shocked fear in the orthopedic office. The doctor was clear, I needed a hip replacement immediately. I had regularly been training a rugged, rocky, trail course and my right hip had been giving me nagging pain. Plus, as the doctor inquired, some related lower back pain. But…it just didn’t feel that bad. Talking to the Physician’s Assistant afterwards, I asked “would it make things worse if I kept going? Would that change the difficulty or result of the hip replacement?” Her reply convinced me to hold off; “No, not really. It would be replaced with a new part and really wouldn’t matter how beat up the old one was.” So, what I did was (as always, this is just my experience, I’m not a doctor, consult with your physician…):
· Stopped doing the things that seemed to aggravate the hip the most:
o Stopped wearing dress shoes (as was my daily habit for my engineering job).
o Stopped consistently running a very rocky trail.
· Regularly supplement with Collagen (first tried Glucosamine Chondroitin but didn’t seem as effective).
· Do the things I would have done when I was 20 for a temporary injury.
o Ice, elevate, rest and gradually work back into it.
o If the above approach isn’t making progress or pain is severe, see a competent orthopedic who is expert in sports injuries.
Now, 13 years later, I have never had a hip replacement, have won numerous 5ks, a couple of 10ks, and even a half marathon since the doctor’s pronouncement of an immediate need for a hip replacement. Unfortunately, as an older runner, my mind seems to go “there” with any new ache – oh, I must need a knee replacement or the hip has finally gone…Try the basics first!
The irony of this blog: I had planned to write on this topic for this week. On Tuesday, I swerved off trail to avoid an uphill traveling bike and twisted my knee badly. That night the knee had swollen, and I was in significant pain. My first thoughts, of course were, I might never run again, surely I would need at least ligament or cartilage surgery! I wasn’t confident at all what to do with this blog as my current injury might totally annul the theme of the blog. But I did the basic things and, now, 3 days later, the swelling is down, the knee feels much better, and I’m going to do a light run this afternoon. Don’t panic with every ache just ‘cause you are old ;O)!
Photo: 1st Place Overall Trophy for “Take it to the Lake Half Marathon”, 9/20/2014