At Four Thousand Feet

I’m not really sure where to begin. Perhaps with the facts. Last Wednesday, I was out trail running after work as usual. About 11 miles into my run, I suddenly started experiencing pain in my hip. Not knowing what could be causing the issue, I stupidly pushed on for about a mile or so. The pain did not subside. Starting to realize that the problem was more serious than I’d anticipated, I immediately stopped.

Yesterday I went to see the doctor. Although she cannot make a final diagnosis until I have an MRI done (hopefully later this week, but I’m having a terribly rough time making an appointment), it’s looking like I have a stress fracture in my hip. I’ve been told to restrict my movement as much as possible – even walking (though it’s not like I can really walk as it is without limping) – until a solid diagnosis is made.

The past week has been one of the toughest I’ve experienced in recent years. Hiking and running are my life, and the thought of having to take months off to recover is simply overwhelming. The fact that I’m currently on vacation is making things even tougher to bear, as I have little to take my mind off the injury. I’m the sort of person who thrives on being outside and being active. Sitting around in my tiny little apartment, far away from the trails and mountains, is proving to be immensely difficult.

Nevertheless, I’m trying my very best to think positively. There’s something to be said about being proactive and visiting the doctor as soon as I did – and I hope this will lead to a speedier recovery time. It’s also silly of me to jump to conclusions and assume that I do have a stress fracture at this point. I’m hoping and praying with all of my might that this is not the case.

Until I know more, I cannot say when I’ll be back out on the trails again. It could be as soon as two weeks, or it could take months. Regardless, I’m fortunate to have such kind, concerned, supportive, and caring friends to help me through this. Thank you to all for being there for me during this very difficult time.

Fingers crossed for good news later in the week…

Last Thursday I ran my fastest 5k to date – 22:33, 1 minute and 23 seconds faster than my previous time at the Bill Kelley Memorial Race. Perhaps more exciting for me was that I placed 15th out of the 198 runners in my age group. Needless to say, I’m quite pleased with the result. Perhaps I should start to incorporate more speed work into my training. It’d be nice to break 22 minutes the next time around!

As I sit here, procrastinating terribly on packing for another long weekend in the Whites, I find myself oddly driven to write up a brief recap of the 5k race that I participated in yesterday evening. After finishing in 3,643rd place at the 2008 Cigna/Elliot road race (15:31 minute splits, baby), I’m pleased to announce that I have now realized my goal of running a sub-24-minute 5k. Being the sort of individual who thrives on distance challenges – and is severely lacking in the speed department – this marks a huge milestone for me. I cannot tell you the last time I was able to run 3.1 miles at a 7:43 minute pace. Yet somehow I managed to do it last night, and not only that… In some remarkable twist of faith I also ended up coming in 1st place for my age group.

I’ll be facing off with the Cigna/Elliot 5k again on August 13th. This time around, I’m hoping to break 23:30. We shall see…

This past weekend the forecast called for rain. Although the weather turned out to be a bit better than predicted, I was feeling quite out of sorts and opted to remain down south. It certainly was a tough decision for me, considering that I’ve hiked almost every weekend since the first week of December. Nevertheless, it gave me plenty of time to think about my April hiking goals, and what I realistically can (or cannot) accomplish during this difficult shoulder season of “monorails,” treacherous water crossings, and rotten snow.

Given that we’re nearly one quarter of the way through the month, I’ve decided to set a rather moderate target of 10 4k peaks for April 2009. Since the likelihood that I’ll be turned back on at least one hike – whether it be due to water crossings, or deteriorating snow conditions – is relatively high, I’ve determined that hiking in April will be my secondary priority. Instead, I’m going to focus on improving my endurance and cardio strength through running… so that when I do return to active hiking I’ll be stronger and considerably more prepared to tackle long distances.

Over the course of the winter, I aimed for 1-2 days of slow runs (at an indoor track) each week, simply for the sake of keeping my body shape for the long (often difficult) hikes that I’d embark on each weekend. Putting in hours at a track certainly becomes tiresome, and finding the motivation to do so was incredibly difficult. However, now that it’s warm and pleasant outside… let’s just say I’ve become addicted to running and simply cannot get enough of it!

Although I’m not the fastest of runners, my endurance is surprisingly not so bad. At present, I find that I’m able to cover a distance of 6-8 miles rather comfortably. Fortunately, I live in a very hilly area, which means that I’m forced to put in a solid hill climb (or two, or three…) each time I go out for a run. Hiking has definitely helped me in that regard, and I must admit it’s nice to be able to maintain a steady, strong pace whilst hill climbing.

…but I digress – let’s return to my goals for April 2009:

Goal #1
Climb 10 4k peaks

Goal #2
Run 100 miles