Taking It On

If you want to see me run for the first time in 2 years... (plugging my JINGLE BELL HELL shenanigans)

2014-12-17T21:53:00.001-08:00

...this Saturday (12/20/14) at 8 am, Inspiration Point in Berkeley's Tilden Park is the place to be.

(Notice I didn't put any minutes after that "8"? That's because we don't run a very tight ship at #JBH...yet. We're just glad when people intentionally show up...even if it's just because of the FREE DONUTS!)

Jingle Bell Hell 2014 (click that to see the informational post) will be my post-surgical debut run. It'll be short (like, a quarter of a mile) and hopefully sweet. But it might suck. Be there to find out!

There will be donuts.

There will be chip-timing again.

There will be cookies.

There will be water.

If I knew people were going to actually show up I'd get some shirts made and some bling. There will be prizes. And remember...the winner gets his or her name inscribed on the awesome trophy IN INK! And that means FOREVER.

I'm hoping we double the real-life participant numbers this year and hit The Big 5. It's way more fun than it sounds like. Really.

Come!

Jingle Bell Hell...not just another virtual race...

2014-11-29T23:48:00.001-08:00

...but one with a sketchy prize history yet an amazing assortment of donuts at the LIVE event.

COME ONE...COME ALL...

You may or may not remember that I've been race director (using that term verrrrrry loosely) for an awesome holiday race for the last three years. (That takes you to the first running...click here to see the second year's recap and here to see last year's). Remember how no one attended the 2011 event knowingly and the winner of the real life race was a random guy who had no idea he was a part of the resurrection of Jingle Bell Hell.

Runner Chris...random guy who won last year's race!

And then the next year the indomitable RoseRunner was crushed by SFRoadWarrior in a surprise upset. Of course she did have a 2-mile handicap! I was able to lure flesh-and-blood, intentional participants with DONUTS!!! Donuts have now become a signature drawing point for this event.

And there were all of the virtual participants who never received their prizes and probably hate me now :( If y'all knew what my last year has been like, y'all'd forgive me in a heartbeat...I promise. Note: lack of blogging was due to IRL insane turmoil and putting-back-together-of-life-pieces.

Anyway...

Three was not exactly an attendance charm. Only two participants again, but this time Jen didn't get sick...and she WON!

We're giving it another go! It's time to begin thinking about running in this fabulous event!

Below is information on the race...past and present...a little history...some details...hope to see you there, either in the flesh or in spirit!

source

The 6th running of

Jingle Bell Hell

1/3-marathon and fun run

Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 8:00 a.m.

Inspiration Point, Tilden Park, Berkeley, California

Rain or Shine

or wherever in the world you might be :)

The starting point of the real-life event is Inspiration Point in Berkeley, California and the course map is...

View Larger Map

and the elevation profile is...

as determined by my Garmin.

The History

My best friends from high school used to put on a race in December. It was small in terms of the number of participants but huge in terms of fun and adventure. Initially, it was a half-marathon, but they found that very few of their friends were at all interested in or capable of running that far. Additionally, the course involved some running on a twisty, narrow road with minimal shoulder that did see its fair share of traffic...especially on weekends. So they abbreviated it to a 1/3-marathon (more or less...a bit over 8 miles) and were able to run it entirely on a paved, car-less road.

My husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) and I ran in their 3rd Annual Jingle Bell Hell in December of 1995 (see picture above...I am front and center with the socks on my hands, he is in the back in the light shirt). It was freezing by Bay Area standards...but not wet. Not everyone went all the way out to the turnaround...and that was just fine.

I won the trophy that year... the "Actually Trained for This Race" Award...

Each year, the winner gets to have their picture taken with this perpetual trophy and have their name added to the illustrious list on the bottom... ballpoint pen inscribed on masking tape, 'cuz we're classy like that. And there will be some prizes that can be taken home as well :)

****

I am really hoping to see some local runners in attendance! It's not far from San Francisco, San Jose or even Santa Cruz... looking west or south. Concord is super close to the east, and Sacramento is just 90 minutes away to the north. It's a great follow-up to the early December races, like CIM.

If you're coming in from out of town and need a super cheap place to crash...with an SF Bay view, in a solid structure, and don't mind driving about five miles...

source

The Albany Bulb Waterfront has some very artistic structures that may or may not be inhabited by squatters.

If you want to do virtual version of Jingle Bell Hell, here are the parameters...

Must be at least 5K in total length...no maximum.
Must be done on a challenging course (and if you hate treadmills, that means it could be on a treadmill) because the idea is "Hell" ... that is the important part.
Must be done between December 13 and 21, 2014... any time of day or night. This gives you two entire weekends to choose from.
You must laugh at least once... can be an evil laugh, a laugh of futility, any kind of laugh but laughter is a MUST.
Email me a link to your Jingle Bell Hell recap so I can post it and we may all share in the fun... please include something about when, where, why regarding the laughing part and what made the run your special brand of Hell :)

Participants in the virtual race will be entered in a prize drawing. Things like fueling products, Nuun hydration products, winter running gear, running safety items, some random stuff. Receiving these prizes is always iffy, as previous participants will tell you, because I really really really hate going to the post office. But honestly, folks...ARE WE REALLY RUNNING FOR PRIZES?????

Leave a comment if you want to participate!

A lot happens in 6 months...

2014-11-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

I'm going to row again. All because of this. I got inspired.

That's the latest, anyway.

Filling you in, in reverse order, on my life over the past six months...and trying to keep it brief...here's what's been going on...

Halloween happened.


Miss C kept changing her mind on what to be. I don't even know what she ended up trick-or-treating as, but she got this great big sucker that made her very happy. X was a faceless, voiceless shadow, AKA Chromeface. G was Fizz the Tidal Trickster and Q-Man was a ninja...like many other fourth graders at his school.


We hit up the very expensive, local pumpkin patch. Lots of bouncy castles and slides for the low, low price of $10/30 minutes per kid. And pumpkins were NOT included. It's such a racket. But the kids had a BLAST!

A few days before Halloween, she got an Elsa dress that, while delightful to twirl in, did not make the trick-or-treating cut.

That crazy, 10-day Fall break at my kids' school happened...

We played CandyLand and got an Anna costume...that also did not make the Halloween cut.

We went to the beach to see the sun set, ran races at the San Francisco Zoo, and did speed work at the local track.

We also did some hiking in a princess nightgown that was worn for 5 (not kidding) consecutive days.

Ragnar Napa Valley happened...


I was invited to drive for Team You're the Wine that I Want. It was so much fun. Kind of more fun that running it probably would have been...at least for me! Cathryn, Jen, Jess, Sabrina, Amanda, Janet, Jim, Matt, Rich, BT, and another Jen (?) took me on a fun trip that involved too many inside jokes and a triple espresso. I can't wait to do it again :)

Summer vacation happened...

Lots of camping in the redwoods and hiking in the East Bay hills. My hip is officially GOOD. Actually GREAT!!!! My oldest son and I got up to over 13 miles of hiking...pain-free...except for the pain in my ears from his whining...actually he wasn't really THAT bad :) And I'm feeling awesome enough to have entered to walk a marathon. I fell in love with the Humboldt redwoods and so decided to walk in the Avenue of the Giants Marathon next May.

And that's my life in a nutshell since May 12th.

What's the best thing that's happened to you in the last 6 months?

Random picture of yummy grape sorbet from a fancy Napa restaurant.

Update: Six weeks after hip replacement graphic photo warning

2014-05-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

...and all's well :)

If you missed my initial post-op post, click here.

The walker has been retired.

I frequently wonder where in the hell I've left my cane.

The pain is minimal, and none of it is in the joint. What a beautiful thing!

I have a set of 10+ exercises that I am to do 2-3x/day. They are so basic. I started getting agitated because the rehab seemed lame. Then I realized that I'm not rehabbing from a sports injury and trying to get back into competitive form...I'm helping my body recover from a MAJOR trauma. Seven layers of tissue were sliced open and then stitched/glued back together. Nerves and muscles were retracted. A bone was sawed in two pieces. And then a metal rod was hammered down the center of my femur.

Exercises:

Calf raises and some anterior tibialis thing.
High knee "marches" (quad and hip flexor, challenges balance).
A thing like butt kicks (works hamstrings, stretches quad, challenges balance).
Rear leg extensions, standing with minimal movement...just enough to activate the glutes.
Side leg lift, standing with minimal movement...just enough to activate the glute medius.
Sidestepping.
Walking up and down stairs, alternating feet.
Seated leg extension.
Seated leg extension with quad lift.
Seated leg extension with slight abduction.
Bridges.
Clams.
I walk a lot.

I have my 6-week post-operative check-up with my surgeon this coming Thursday. There, he will determine which restrictions to continue or impose or remove. I started driving last week...that was a big change! I was cleared for "a little" driving which turned into a lot...as in my normal amount. My leg isn't happy with that :( I need to pull back, but my husband was nearing a breaking point with driving duty. Hopefully, this week will be a lighter load for me.

I'm so very lucky and deeply appreciative to have such a supportive group of online and RL friends. Many thanks to all of you for your well-wishes and advice :)

A runner with a walker...the road after hip replacement.

2014-04-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

I'm now the proud possessor of an artificial hip. And a walker.

And, let me tell you, recovery is a bitch.

My surgery happened on April Fools Day. It started at 5 pm and was a wrap by 6:15. It went seamlessly and flawlessly, and the surgical team was very happy. Yay! I walked the next day with my walker, and I went home three days later.

The time leading up to the event was NOT spent getting in great shape as I had hoped and mentioned in my last post ~~a million years ago~~. Turned out that working out in pretty much any way caused me great pain...and I was just soooooo sick of being in pain. So I bagged it. I went into surgery out of shape and overweight. #winning

The best part of having surgery late in the day? You basically fast for 24 hours! Starting off my weight-loss journey ;-)

So the surgery happened. The pain came. It was horrible, but not as horrible as being massively and concretely constipated. Turns out pain killers do that, and the only way to get unconstipated is to stop the pain killers. So guess what? I'm not taking pain killers! Wheeeeeeee! Sometimes I almost get high from the pain. Sort of. I'm lying. It really hurts and there is no euphoria attached to it.

The pain is in my right thigh.

The joint feels fine.

Apparently, during the surgery they slice into your TFL and then split the muscle fibers and then retract the split muscle with metal retractors. And then they retract your quads with metal retractors. All so they can see the joint capsule, which they then slice open. Once they've sawed the femoral head off, they drop the leg down perpendicular to the rest of the body using a special table. This pops the femur up and out a little so they can drill down into in more efficiently and with greater visibility.

Are you cringing yet? I'll stop. But if you click the first link in this post it leads you to a post that has a link (you following me?) to an actual video of a hip replacement surgery...should you wish to make yourself totally skeeved out. Or educated. For me, it was both.

What this means is that my quad is ON FIRE. And weak.

Physical therapy is so humbling.

Every simple exercise causes leg shake. I have 10 exercises and a couple of "practical" things that I do at least three times a day. My PT says that I would progress faster if I were taking pain meds :( I'm going to test the waters with acetaminophen and ibuprofen, and I'll be icing after every session. Yesterday she had me go up and down our big flight of stairs (now one of my "practical" things to practice) and our goal is to have me off the walker and using the cane by the middle of next week. Graduating up to my friend, the cane :)

Most of the time I'm in good spirits. It's been challenging sometimes because I really just want to be alone. Or have people baby me. But my kids are on Spring Break (I know, I know! They are NEVER in school!) and they are still perfecting their "helpful" skills and because I can't drive them anywhere, they are ALWAYS here. (Go ahead...ask me how many times I've seen Frozen since my surgery. Go ahead...ask.)

People who've been down this road tell me that by six weeks out, you hardly even know you had the surgery...other than the fact that you don't hurt anymore :)

Others say that you shouldn't really plan on being "normal" for at least six months.

And then there's the guy who just ran a 100-mile ultra just shy of 11 months post-surgery. He finished in about 28 hours. That won't be me. Sorry not sorry.

Will I ever run again? I don't know. I know that I want to. At least a little bit. But I have a lot of work to do before I'll feel comfortable tackling that. For now I'll be working on getting out of bed without using my hands to lift my leg up and over ...and graduating from the walker ;-)

Happy spring, people! Never ever ever take your mobility for granted :) Ever.

I've been posting a lot of this....ummmm....journey on Instagram. Feel free to click on over and follow me there.

A first time for everything.

2014-02-15T20:03:00.004-08:00

My first post here in 2014..

My presence here at Taking It On has been sparse, I know. I was here a lot for a couple of years, and then things slowed waaaayyyyy down. Some very difficult things happened in my personal life...some of which I feel comfortable sharing and others, not yet. I doubt I'll ever return to blogging here every day, but I do have a real fondness for you, my Taking It On readers, and for ~~blabbing~~ sharing about myself and life's trials and tribulations and so am still drawn to indulge in this narcissistic outlet from time to time. Here's the latest...

In my last post, which was posted on the last day of last year (lots of lasts), I shared an image of a very diseased hip joint. It was an x-ray taken a year ago, and it was gnarly...in a not good way. For a reminder about what went down, click here to be transported to February of last year. That day I had gone in for a second opinion and I saw that x-ray for the first time. And it stunned me into reality. At that appointment I made the decision that I will get a full hip replacement.

Two weeks ago I had a new image taken. I was x-rayed this time in preparation for meeting with an orthopedic surgeon. It looked even worse...bigger bone spurs, more of that white stuff indicating increased bone due to stress, and weird cysts in the femoral head. Looking at the picture made me cringe. The surgeon said, "Sooooooo...you've got a really messed up hip!"

And while he didn't sing to me, he did spend an hour talking with me about life and surgery and family and joints and "big picture" and zombie apocalypses. He's my surgeon-of-choice and I am excited to get this done.

After a year of basically doing NOTHING in terms of fitness, I'm now cross-training like it's my job. The plan is to be in the best shape time (and pain levels) will allow going into surgery. I need to get stronger and more fit...and I need to lose about 15 lbs. That last part is so humbling. I can't say I've ever been in that place before. But I'm ready to... what am I ready to do????

That's right... TAKE IT ON.

'Cuz that's what I do.

Will I ever run again? That remains to be seen. It is on the "NOT recommended" list for artificial hip recipients, but people do it anyway. My surgeon said, "I can sell you the car, but what you do with it once you drive it off the lot is up to you."

But enough of that hard stuff...

Everything else in life is going nicely...my kids are happy, my husband is happy, I'm happy. We just moved to a house that suits us really well, and the kids are all still going to their same schools. Big G is loving his high school (and how many people can say that they LOVED high school?). And, if you clicked the right link above, you now know my dirty little, two-timing secret. Please understand that I needed an outlet and I know that some of you have a hard time with "language." We are all multi-faceted...now you have a glimpse of more of my facets :)


Me with wet hair and a beautiful 4-year old.

So, HI, EVERYONE!!!! Have you missed me as much as I've missed you??? And running....I really miss running...

How to define 2013?

2013-12-31T23:03:00.001-08:00

The year can be boiled down to three pictures and three words...

PAINFUL

yes, this is my x-ray...which I saw for the first time today

REAFFIRMING

yes, this is my husband...who'd kill me if he knew I posted this

FAMILY

yes, these are my kids...who inspire me every single day

2013 was the hardest year of my life...but it finished up well, creating a nice segue into the New Year. I'm ready for 2014.

May it grace us all with an abundance of joy and good health.

Cheers!

Jingle Bell Hell 2013 Recap

2013-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

It's hard to begin.

I didn't run this year. I sat in the back of my car and passed out donuts. I handled the state-of-the-art video for the finish line and monitored the new chip-timing.

It was fun, but I have to admit it was kind of sad to not get to run.

It was a glorious morning...

On the cold side, but not as frigid as last year.

I arrived early like a good race director should...armed with donuts and prizes and the trophy...

I had a hunch there would be very few runners so I offered donuts to hikers. Again, some looked at the smiling, donut-offering weirdo with suspicion while others gleefully accepted. Lesson for all of you: gleeful is way better than suspicious...it's a much more enjoyable way to go through life.

Jen showed up first...rarin' to go. Since RoseRunner had failed to respond to my wake-up text, we assumed she would be a no-show and Jen went on her merry way.

Forty-five minutes later, RoseRunner and her husband whipped into the parking lot and sauntered over to the start line, thinking that this year's chip-timing would be working in their favor. It wasn't. Lesson for all of you: prompt arrival at that start of a race can be the difference between #winning and losing.

Here comes Jen, sprinting to the chips!

*VIDEO ISSUES. WORKING ON IT*

but you may never get to see it :(

And with a good STOMP!

#JBH2013 was over and the victor was ... ummm... donut-ed.

I always like to use super flattering photos of my friends.

And scenic backdrops.

Many thanks to the three runners who showed and many thanks to the several virtual participants!

I aim to put together a round-up of the virtual recaps, so please email or tweet me your link AGAIN...I just moved and things have been pretty chaotic and I don't want to miss anyone!

Thus, Jen joins the winners who came before her...

inscribed in ballpoint pen on masking tape...

FOR TIME IMMEMORIAL!

What could be more fun than moving?

2013-12-14T21:56:00.001-08:00

Moving during the holidays!

While trying to resuscitate a dying blog and host a virtual-and-IRL holiday race.

And coping with a crabby, stiff, painful arthritic hip.

I could go on but I'll spare you.

This is just a reminder that Jingle Bell Hell 2013 Week started today. Yay!!! If you missed the original post it's HERE.

I really hope some people come to the IRL version next Saturday. Yes, of COURSE there will be donuts. If people actually promised to show up, I'd get a box of Peet's coffee but y'all are a flaky bunch ;-) I won't be running this year but am hoping to get PT-clearance to ride my bike along the course to make sure no one CHEATS this year. Last year there was some discussion about length of course and who won and if everyone ran the same distance (they didn't) and if that was legit (it was).

So this is a rambling, nonsensical post by a frazzled, moving, achy momma who still hasn't gotten a tree or presents for her kids...or husband...letting you know #JBH2013 is ON and to share two priceless bits of YouTube garbage that made my older kids laugh so hard they cried...

Because laughter is what makes the world go round...right?

Happy Weekend to everyone! May your running feel effortless and your spleen do it's thing and your yoga ball stay where it's supposed to ;-)

Lots o' love...

XL

JINGLE BELL HELL 2013 is a-comin'!!!!

2013-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Many many thanks to Run with Jess for giving me a swift kick in the butt on this...

She is the MOST AWESOME Race Ambassador EVER!!!!

I've become such an absentee blogger of late (try the whole last YEAR)

so I'm wondering how many people will see this!

I hope you all will share it with EVERYone you know or don't know because...

The more the merrier!!!

You may or may not remember that I've been race director for an awesome holiday race for the last two years. (That takes you to the first running...click here to see the most recent recap). Remember how no one attended the 2011 event knowingly and the winner of the real life race was a random guy who had no idea he was a part of the resurrection of Jingle Bell Hell.

Runner Chris...random guy who won last year's race!

And then last year, the indomitable RoseRunner was crushed by SFRoadWarrior in a surprise upset. Of course she did have a 2-mile handicap! I was able to lure flesh-and-blood, intentional participants with DONUTS!!! There will be donuts again this year.

Anyway...

We're giving it another go! It's time to sign up for this fabulous event!

Below is information on the race...past and present...a little history...some details...hope to see you there, either in the flesh or in spirit!

source

The 6th running of

Jingle Bell Hell

1/3-marathon and fun run

Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 8:00 a.m.

Inspiration Point, Tilden Park, Berkeley, California

Rain or Shine

or wherever in the world you might be :)

The starting point of the real-life event is Inspiration Point in Berkeley, California and the course map is...

View Larger Map

and the elevation profile is...

as determined by my Garmin.

The History

I won the trophy that year... the "Actually Trained for This Race" Award...

****

If you're coming in from out of town and need a super cheap place to crash...with an SF Bay view, in a solid structure, and don't mind driving about five miles...

source

The Albany Bulb Waterfront has some very artistic structures that may or may not be inhabited by squatters.

If you want to do virtual version of Jingle Bell Hell, here are the parameters...

Must be at least 5K in total length...no maximum.
Must be done on a challenging course (and if you hate treadmills, that means it could be on a treadmill) because the idea is "Hell" ... that is the important part.
Must be done between Dec. 14-22, 2013... any time of day or night. This gives you two entire weekends to choose from.
You must laugh at least once... can be an evil laugh, a laugh of futility, any kind of laugh but laughter is a MUST.
Email me a link to your Jingle Bell Hell recap so I can post it and we may all share in the fun... please include something about when, where, why regarding the laughing part and what made the run your special brand of Hell :)

Participants in the virtual race will be entered in a prize drawing. Things like fueling products, Nuun hydration products, winter running gear, running safety items, some random stuff... I want to try to have something for everyone... depending on how many or how few participate. Going with that whole "Everyone's a Winner" thing :) Don't want anyone's self-esteem damaged by a silly sporting event.

And I WILL send out the prizes this year!!!! FOR REAL!

Leave a comment if you want to participate!

The Moving Fiasco

2013-09-13T21:56:00.002-07:00

We are renters. I've blogged about that. With renting comes the possibility that you could find yourself in a house that's for sale and you aren't buying it...which means you need to move. That's the place we currently find ourselves. No biggie. Go on Craig'sList and find a new place, right? Unfortunately, it isn't always that easy. Combine our family size (which, yes, we CHOSE) with the tight and expensive rental market in the Bay Area (and yes, we choose to live here) and you find affordable pickings rather slim.

We found a place back in early July. We were stoked. It was in our neighborhood and a nicer house than the one we currently live in though almost identical. It had a little more square footage and NO PINK CARPET. After some negotiation, we agreed on a tenancy start date of mid-August. We gave notice on our current place and go about the prep for moving in, offer to take care of some stuff at the new place to ease the stress of the owners, get their approval and appreciation...looking like a dream landlord/tenant match. Then one day...

For nearly a month, the house had been vacant except for our casual comings and goings to plan what would go where, the painter taking care of some stuff, a flooring guy repairing a problem, cleaners cleaning. Once all this was done, my husband started loading a few things into the place assisted by X.

X: Daddy, what is THIS????? (she points to her feet and lower legs)

Daddy (looking closely): Ummmmm... (examining his own feet and lower legs now, too)

X: How is dirt moving?

Daddy (looking skyward with a very pained expression, heaving a huge exhale): It isn't dirt. It's fleas.

The place was infested.

Some people are completely nonplussed by fleas, but neither of us were interested in taking on the beastly task of eradicating them or holding the population at bay or ANYTHING to do with living amongst fleas.

We did a lot of research on fleas and how to eliminate them from a house. We learned so much...life cycles, resistances, etc. What we determined is that the previous tenants had a cat (we saw the cat). The cat had fleas. When they moved out, they flea-bombed and vacuumed and shampooed the carpet. This got rid of the adult fleas, but the eggs hatched and the larvae pupated and the pupae were taking their sweet little 4 weeks to mature. They then felt the vibrations and heat of potential hosts when we started moving around in there. This triggered their emergence as adults, wherein we discovered them. Yay.

Getting rid of the adults isn't that difficult. There are ways to render the eggs no longer viable that aren't too invasive or time-consuming. But the pupae. Their little cases are like concrete. Eliminating these is next to impossible. You pretty much have to wait their 4-6 week maturation and then provide them with a host or they'll just hang out in a dormant, suspended state waiting for just that. Ugh.

And so began the communications that ultimately led to our legally terminating the lease, getting all of our money back and not moving in there. It wasn't fun, but we're counting our lucky stars that it went fairly easily.

However...

We had given notice on our current place. We have negotiated an additional 2 weeks. What that means is: We now have one month from Sunday to find a place and move into it and completely vacate our current home. Just a leeetle bit stressful. Yes, the home ownership conversation has been opened. I'm not sure if we could make that happen by October 15th...and still not sure if we want to take on those different sorts of headaches. I guess, wish me some luck!

Hope all of you are enjoying peace and sanctuary in your homes! And no pests!

Recommencing...

2013-09-04T22:52:00.004-07:00

A lot has transpired since my last post way back in mid July...enough to overwhelm me to the point of saying let's leave it at that and start from here.

It was a super busy summer. Yes, we went to the zoo. Come on...it was vacation. Of course we went to the zoo! No elephant penis this time, but.... the alpha male baboon was extremely happy to be alive. The kids giggled but it wasn't particularly noteworthy. The baby baboon, on the other hand, was adorable.

Family-friendly photo.

My kids are still super amazing and beautiful. Yes, they FINALLY all started school this week. I now have a kid in high school, one in middle school, one in elementary school and one in preschool.

Lest you think I now have tons of time to live a life of leisurely manicures and pedicures (which I've never been inclined to get anyway) or fun shopping excursions to places other than the grocery store or daily yoga/pilates/whatever classes now that everyone is out of the house for the better part of the day, think again. We are in the midst of a moving fiasco. Most of you know that moving in and of itself is a pain in the ass, right? Okay, now throw the word "fiasco" in there. It super sucks. I'll explain more later. Maybe. If I remember.

Bottom line on family life: All's well. Yay.

Today I met with awesome singing injection doctor for the seventh time since February. There have been some ups and downs regarding my overall health and my hip, but things seem to return to a level place eventually. I've done precious little in the way of exercise, and that's still been okay with me. But...

After conferring with my physical therapist, my chiropractor, my massage therapist, my awesome singing injection doctor and MYSELF, it has been determined that it is not unrealistic to start a little running again at the end of the month and additionally not unrealistic to possibly run 5K on Thanksgiving (yay, Sonoma Turkey Trot...of course it won't be to defend my title...lol).

I'm hoping to post more frequently now that the kids are back in school, but that most likely won't really happen until the moving situation is sorted out.

Nonetheless, here I am :)

Hi! *smiles and waves*

Hope you all are doing well and hope we can get reacquainted.

If you want to see some photos from our summer adventures, I've been posting on Instagram...xlmic.

So many things...

2013-07-13T19:10:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's been a long time again.

On Tuesday, my sixth injection is scheduled. So far, so good. Nothing earth-shattering, but I do feel positive changes. Even if I'm unable to comfortably run ever, I will NOT write this off as a waste. What that means is: I'm still not running. And what that means is: I will simply regale you with photos of my awesome children. Click out if you must :)

Here's what's been going on since we last ~~spoke~~ blogged...

MAY

X returned from her field trip to France

(because the zoo wasn't enough for her class).

Poor girl NEVER got her luggage. EVER.

It's still missing.

And her host family was pretty bunk...

lots of familial "issues," shall we say?

But she got the most amazing reception from

her adoring siblings at the airport!

JUNE

Clockwise from top left:

X moved up from fifth to sixth grade in a little ceremony,

G was in a play (he's the lump on the floor...more on that in a minute),

G graduated from middle school

(he's the really short one between the girls, also more to follow),

and Q was a little too laid back during his end-of-the-year musicale.

So yeah, G was in a play. I knew he was taking Drama for his elective. I had some chickenscratch on my hardcopy calendar about Drama Night one Monday in early June. No one ever talked about. No school emails about it. So...on the day of, I decided to call the school and find out if my chickenscratch was bullshit. It wasn't.

I picked G up from school and asked about it. "Oh, yeah!" he said. "Do we have a French hat and a coat a farmer would wear?"

WTF, amiright? Show's in two hours and he's asking about costuming.

As luck would have it, I DID have a "French hat" and the perfect coat. He was so excited.

Evidently, several families also missed the nonexistent memo and there were numerous late arrivals. And then the show happened. In past shows, G has portrayed "characters" like a silent bush or a mute policeman who points once or twice. My husband opted to skip the show and take a "personal night," thinking this would again be the case. However... This time G was onstage a LOT. And he talked a LOT. I remarked on this after the show. He was super exasperated with me.

"Mom..." he said. " I was the lead."

So yeah, G is kind of shrimpy. I know this. But when the graduating eighth graders were all standing on the stage, I seriously thought he was sitting down! Then I realized that all the girls were sporting hooker shoes...seriously. And the outfits. Total hootchie-mama city. I think I'll be an active parent and engage in a conversation about appropriate attire when my girls graduate!

For Father's Day, we went to a Japanese restaurant.

While the sushi was totally unappealing to the kids,

the chopsticks provided a lot of entertainment :)

That noodle DID end up on the floor.

The kids started their summer swimming lessons,

and the same week it rained a lot and was freezing cold.

Awesome SF Bay Area summer :)

These June pictures were just too cute to not include.

JULY

I will sincerely miss our playground visits

when C starts daily all-day preschool in September.

At what age do kids figure out appropriate restaurant behavior?

You think I'd know this, but I must have amnesia.

Did anyone NOT see fireworks this summer?

Our city is going broke and the show was only 15 minutes...

but it was AMAZING!!!!

That's all!

The most important thing you need to know about my absence is...

2013-05-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

...it was my birthday somewhere in there.

Yup.

Fifty is nifty. (insert cheesy-yet-sincere smile)

Officially 50, taken just after midnight...

it was even scarier with the flash

Once again I've allowed 6 weeks to pass between postings...or has it been seven? Whatever. I've missed you. You've missed me. Now we're reunited, and it feels so good.

Tonight's not the night to share the ins and outs of my absence, just know that it's a challenge to write a semi-fitness blog when you aren't doing squat in the way of fitness activities and that I've been spending a ton of time with my family.

Back to my birthday...

My present to myself was to take my kids camping.

I've only been camping one time since I was eight years old. ONE TIME. My husband is an Eagle Scout, but he was not coming with us. I was undaunted. He had some valid concerns...

Him (super skeptically): Do you even know how to pitch a tent?
Me (incredibly upbeat): Ummm....nope! But there are probably instructions, right?

*he hesitantly nodded, indicating that, yes, there probably were*

Him (super skeptically): Do you even know how to build a fire?
Me (incredibly upbeat): Wood...paper...matches...what's there to know?
Him (totally exasperated): You can't just light some paper on fire and HOPE that the wood catches, too! You have to BUILD a fire!
Me (incredibly upbeat): Yes! Yes!...the whole oxygen thing...right...gotcha!

*he rolled his eyes not imperceptibly, totally unconvinced I was capable*

Him (with great certainty): You're bringing the stove, right?
Me (with equally great certainty...and incredibly upbeat): Nope!
Him (utterly incredulous): What! Why not!
Me (incredibly upbeat): Ehhh, I don't want to hassle with the fuel part and if it still works and how to work it since I've never used it...I figured we'll just eat cereal and sandwiches and maybe jam some hot dogs on sticks and roast them in the fire I'm going to "build."
Him (UTTERLY INCREDULOUS): You are KIDDING?!!! You can't just stick hot dogs into an open flame and expect them to cook! Jeeeeezus! You need coals and embers...it takes skill and know-how...Jesus...
Me (incredibly upbeat...especially now that he had called upon Jesus to help me): Ehhh, we'll figure it out...it'll be fun!

So yeah...I totally figured it all out. Did the tent thing. Did the fire thing. Totally rocked it. Didn't do the hot dogs the first night...instead picked up the worst pizza ever to contaminate our lovely planet on the way in. Did successfully toast marshmallows to perfection.

We were having a mini heat wave and Miss C insisted on wearing her new swimsuit all day...which included to camping.


Ballerina swimsuit + mismatched shoes = cutest camper ever.


Stumpfighters.

These giant eucalyptus stumps were very cool. There were three of them on our campsite. We were the only campsite that had them. Sounds lucky, right? It wasn't. More on that later.

Sleeping in the tent was uneventful the first night. Thankfully.

We awoke the next day and decided to go for a hike. "Hike" is stretching the truth a little, though. The map showed a one mile loop around the camping area and called it "easy"...which was totally the truth.


The hike started off really well. Everyone was in high spirits!

We saw wild turkeys...which I must note for Jillsmo because I'm her Top Turkey-Sighting Blog.

No lie...about one half of a mile into the hike, the whining started. It was cool, though. I was all about it being fun...no pressure to complete...a DNF was totally fine. We found a place on the map where the trail appeared to come really close to the road about 100 yds from our campsite. We scrambled up the poison oak-infested hillside (the kids screamed about the poison oak the ENTIRE time) and emerged into a loving couple's morning tête-à-tête over their breakfast. Ooops.

Once back at our campsite, it was high noon and the awesome stumps proved to be the Ghosts of Shady Pasts. Yep. We had zero shade and temps were in the 80's. So being the resourceful life forms that we are, we dragged a blanket over to a shady spot in the middle of all the campsites and .... camped out there all day :)

Miss C brought an ungodly amount of tiny, lose-able toys in her little Dora backpack.

Her favorite part of the trip was the PBJ-on-hot-dog-bun sandwiches. Here she has one jammed on her finger.

We hung out in that shade all day...until we couldn't take it anymore...we needed ice cream.

Grossest ice cream ever...bubble gum. X started to cry. She had been so looking forward to yummy, cold ice cream and hers was disgusting. I was not a mean mom. I didn't make her eat it. I didn't tell her "well, suck it up, buttercup." Nope. I said "yeah! Looks totally gross! what kind do you want? Let's just get you something different." Easiest solution ever, right?

We did cook hot dogs in our second stellarly-built fire. And they were perfect. As was the fire. Again. I am like a pro camper...or a natural camper...or just really damn lucky...or something. Or it was my husband having called out to Jesus on my behalf.

Then the kids played cards and read Harry Potter number-I-have-no-idea with flashlights in the tent.

SO FUN!!!!!

...until it was so NOT. Time for bed, right? yeah, I thought so, too.

They slept well.

Last picture of me being 49...important to take that in the camping place bathroom.

It started to rain as we pulled the tent down and packed up our stuff. That just made it more exciting :) It was an easy 40-minute drive home. The campground is not the most wilderness-y...being just 30 minutes from downtown Oakland! The unpacking was pretty easy...probably felt that way because all the sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses are still in my car three weeks later! I should do something about that...

The next day was my actual birthday.

The sun came up.

My little girl and I went to the local rose garden where everything was in full bloom. She ran, of course. I didn't, of course.

We walked down magical paths.

We stopped to smell roses as big as her head.

She created the most wonderful photo opportunities.

All before 10 a.m.

I am truly blessed to have this life.

I am so grateful for everything (yes, everything) these fifty years have brought me.

Here's to the next fifty!

Sending my very best thoughts and wishes out to all of you :)

Coming up on six weeks...

2013-04-09T22:34:00.001-07:00

That's how long it's been since I've checked in over here.

I'm chagrined.

Two words that have taken on markedly less importance in my world of late would be "blogging" and "workout".

But it's time for both to return...not with a vengeance, though. With thought and care.

I know everyone who used to read Taking It On has probably been quite curious about my injection schedule and how my hip is doing, so that will be the first order of biz.

MY HIP

I had my second PRP injection on March 20th. It was amazing. No singing, sadly. But cute, nice doctor same as the first time. Nice, big needle again, too.

Unfortunately, that alcohol bottle is not the drinking kind.

Might've helped had it been.

Recovery seemed faster than the first time. While there is still some soreness and inflammation, that is deemed normal as the injection causes an inflammatory healing response. The truly remarkable thing is the ease and smoothness of movement, especially when not bearing weight. The range of motion and increased flexibility is arresting. And I have been cleared to start working on the elliptical...as long as it doesn't hurt. You bet your ass I'll be paying close attention and safe-guarding my investment and progress. The instant it hurts in that not good way, I am off the machine. Interestingly, I'm not feeling driven to jump back on. It's Spring Break over here...the kids are all home...I've got things to do and people to play with. I'll probably get back to things of a workout nature in a week or so. Injection #3 is slated for sometime before the end of the month...no set date yet.

WORKING OUT

None. Nada. Zip. And totally NOT stressed about it. I have so much on my plate right now. While working out might help decrease some of the stress, making it happen might increase it. I look at it as a wash and have let go. It'll all come back when it's time. For now, I'm focusing on feeling healthy and happy and spending a ton of time with my kids :)

Which brings us to...

MY KIDS

My oldest just got accepted to an amazing local high school. I am so proud of him. Of course, it wasn't his first choice and so he's having a hard time getting excited about it. I do wish we could skip this phase, but we can't.

Photo taken two days after he received

the first-choice school's wait list letter...hence the attitude.

Who'm I kidding? He'd have the attitude no matter what.

My big girl is just a joy. Doing great in school. Helpful wherever she is. Lots of harp playing and reading books. Lots of creating cool stuff like wallets made out of found materials and earrings made out of safety pins and writing books and drawing involved fashion pictures. She is really just the coolest of the cool.

I convinced her to go on the Ferris wheel at the local boardwalk.

We got stuck at the top...and I took this picture.

My little boy turned 8 since the last time I posted. Still non-stop, he had a bounce-house extravaganza for a party and a cake topped with General Grievous.

And my baby turned 4! She was super duper sick on her actual birthday but did get to share the bounce madness party with her big bro.

I've missed you all. Sounds corny, but it's true.

It's very likely that I'll be around a little more, but no guarantees.

Hope all o' y'all's worlds are treating you well :)

hey. whoa. where'd i go?

2013-02-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

Hey, guys! It's been a while.

I've been keeping myself busy so as to not dwell on the limited exercise of interest thing (this eliminates swimming from the discussion, so don't suggest it...got it?).

I know you all are curious about how the injection is playing out and probably all the awesome things I've been up to since I clearly have NOT been blogging.

Bullets...here you go:

PRP Injection? Two thumbs way UP. For two days after, I babied the heck out of my hip, then I started bearing more weight and being more active. A bit of pain...it comes and goes when I walk, especially when I have to carry a child. But the most amazing thing to ME is this:
I saw Life of Pi in 3D. Triple snap in Z formation. Go see it. About two-thirds of the way through the movie I started crying for a reason completely unrelated to the movie (which did make me cry in its own right). I was crying because I realized that for the first time in ten years, I was not uncomfortable AT ALL while watching a movie. TEN YEARS, people, of pain in movies. It was a mind-blowing experience to NOT have that. I'm calling Injection #1 a success. I get #2 in three weeks. I can't wait :)
A couple of weeks ago I offered to help someone out. I don't know her that well, but our daughters are best friends. I'm watching her daughter before school for 90 minutes for the next three weeks. The child is super polite and sweet and EASY. And makes our mornings easy...which is hard. She came over every morning this week. Today the mom paid me! Whoa. I wasn't expecting that! Woo hooo! Now I have money to:
Mail out the Jingle Bell Hell prizes! I had NO IDEA how expensive shipping had gotten :( But they ARE coming, people. Hope to get them out by the end of next week. So Christmas in March not February ;-) I may need to go buy Jennifer some more powdered donuts, though. Not sure how rich in preservatives these guys are!
We enjoyed a lovely day and went on a lovely walk...

Except for this one. She ran...

...and kept running...

...until she found this tree, upon which she stopped and pointed

and loudly proclaimed,

MOM!!! THIS TREE HAS A PENIS!

I do believe that the entire horde of tourists visiting Muir Woods on that beautiful Sunday morning then noticed that, indeed, the tree had a penis.

She looked up and saw this...

and delightedly shrieked,

(I say 'delighted' because she's my child)

These trees are SO BIG! They're THIS BIG!

and she jumped to show me how big.

That's why the picture is blurry.

This one got mad.

I don't remember why,

but I remember that he worked it for a good, long time.

Then we let him take our picture.

He was so excited that he tried to grab his own face.

It was beautiful.

And kind of loud because we were there.

We followed up with lunch at In N Out, which I think was the kids' favorite part of the experience. Even though I made them all share a shake.

Hope all of you out there have a lovely weekend!

Anyone doing something fun?

– we have soccer and birthday parties and piano tests and housework to look forward to :)

Not Pimp Rock Palace (photo warning for the squeamish)

2013-02-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I experienced PRP for the first time.

And that doesn't stand for Pimp Rock Palace.

In this case, PRP stands for Platelet-Rich Plasma. My own platelet-rich plasma was injected into my hip joint as part of a treatment series attempting to regenerate cartilage in there. You can read about it here.

In case you're new here, I was recently diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis and told that my hip joint has degenerated to being a bone-on-bone situation.

I'm following the ranks of A-Rod, Tiger Woods, and Kobe Bryant...as one reader said, "Without the hookers." (Cant' remember who gave me that gem...speak up because I love it and want to thank you). These pro athletes (and others) have had success with this form of treatment.

The top yellowish part is the plasma. The next whitish layer contains the platelets.

These two layers are what he injected into my hip joint.

I went to see the cute doctor. I filled out a bunch of paperwork and then went into the inner sanctum. After chatting a bit about my hip's history and filling my husband in on what was about to happen and how it worked, we got down to the real business. After drawing my blood, he numbed my hip with two injections of something. This was the most painful part of the procedure, and it was more a stinging pressure than pain. The first one was more superficial while the second went deep.

This is the third time I've used "singing" as a coping mechanism when undergoing an 'uncomfortable' medical event. I've found this way of distracting myself to be extremely effective and recommend it highly. I began during the first numbing injection with a sort of humming with my mouth open and so was kind of loud. It changed in volume and pitch as the injection proceeded. Then with the second one, I sang an actual song.

I'm singing....

I'm in a doctor's office and I'm singing....
I'm in a doctor's office and I'm SINNNGINNNNGGGG!!!!

The doctor started laughing and joined in.

And you're my dad... and guess what?
I love you!
I LOVE you!
I LOVE YOUUUUUU!!!!!

I am completely and entirely serious. I now know with absolute certainty that I picked the right doctor for ME. Unfortunately, my husband had not yet begun filming when the musical portion of the procedure happened :( The film he did take isn't all that interesting...just me getting a shot with the needle shown below...

Yes, that's my hip.

And now you've seen my underwear.

Another angle that makes the needle look even longer.

Now just imagine that above vial of PRP hooked onto the needle

and being injected into my hip.

It didn't hurt really. A huge pressure sensation more than anything. It made my hip feel "juicy" inside. It made things feel different right away...but of course, my hip was numbed so there was that :P The doctor and my husband stood on either side of me as I tried to take my first step. Thank GOD because it felt like there was a huge THING missing...oh, yeah...that would be my numb hip! And I almost went down. But within moments, I was able to sort of shuffle with help.

It got sore about 30 minutes later, just an achy, beat-up feeling. This lasted for several hours. I was able to walk around the house slowly and go up and down stairs holding onto the railing. I'm probably more mobile than I think, but I am being paranoid and allowing the treatment to "settle in" and do it's thing. Sleeping was no problem.

This morning I feel fine. It's a little sore but not bad at all. I admit that I am afraid to even slightly test it. I'm going to spend the day alternating between shuffling and lying around. I go back in a month to do it again. The doctor feels we're looking at 5-6 treatments...maybe more, but he is optimistic that this will help a lot. I'm in Running Moratorium for at least that long, and no elliptical for 2-3 treatments. I can bike, row on the rowing machine, yoga, do some easy weights, perform rehabby exercises, and walk around. We don't want to disturb any possible cartilage regeneration process!

I'll be taking a fistful of joint supplements...MSM, glucosamine, and chondroitin. Additionally, I'll continue my anti-inflammatory way of eating and doing my meditative work. It's time to make the healing, restorative work a major priority.

If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask! I am completely fascinated by this process.

Still smiling ...

2013-02-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

Today I go and maybe get a giant needle stuck into my hip and have stuff injected in there. But I might not. It depends on what the doctor says. I hope he says,

LET'S DO IT!!!!

because I am eager to get the show on the road even though it's needles and needles freak the crap out of me. If it works, if it doesn't work...at least it's a starting point. So I'm smiling even though I haven't run since I can't even remember.

Thanks, everyone, for your shared excitement about the rowing. It was really fun. I did it twice last week, and that will be all...for now. Deciding to proceed with the prolotherapy course of treatment (which is not covered by insurance) will be a financial commitment that will already stretch us. Rowing is way more expensive than I had imagined. I had a hard time keeping a straight face when I was given the cost breakdown. What the WHAT? LOL! And, dude, 4:40 a.m. is sooooooo f*cking early!!!

For now the energy will be focused on healing or treating or whatevering my sweet little hurting hip :) I will not curse it. I will be loving it and nurturing it and promising to do right by it.

As I ponder what lies ahead, I've been spending time hanging with one of my favorite girls...

Can't catch me!

Yeah, right now I can't...but wait until I get this hip sorted ;-)

We know who runs the show around here...

...and clearly, it isn't me!

Alrighty, time to go be a mom. Because guess what? My kids are ON VACATION!!!! Might be a good time to take a trip to the zoo ;-)

I'll be sure to report back about how the doctor appointment goes!

What would you want to do if you were a kid on vacation? Don't say Disneyland...think local :)

Ever tried a course of treatment that seemed experimental? How'd it go?

p.s. Jingle Bell Hellers...i have NOT forgotten about you!

grrrrind grrrrind grrrrrrriiinnnndddddd...

2013-02-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Every time I take a step now, I see this in my mind...

My hip doesn't hurt any more than it ever has...in fact, it feels a whole ton better than it did when it felt its worst several years ago, but after hearing "bone-on-bone"... my mind goes to the mental image of a rough-hewn mortar and pestle...grriinnddding away. I'll bet you're cringing in sympathy pain right about now ;-)

The big question now is what to do.

Here's what I KNOW helps ME feel better:

good, deep tissue massage
chiropractic adjustments – that leg yank always is amazing
exercise – I actually feel more pain now than when I was running and doing more in general
the fact that I've pretty much eaten an anti-inflammatory diet for about 5 years now (yeah, some wiggle room there like I do eat sugary stuff sometimes...I wonder how good I'd feel if I cut that out? think I might try it...)
stretching, foam rolling, rolling on a tennis ball or lacrosse ball
destressing and meditation, this includes getting good rest/sleep

I started doing research last week and read each and every comment and email and message regarding surgeries and treatment/management ideas and workout alternatives and here is what I've come to realize:

I'm not ready for surgery emotionally.
I'm very good at hearing what my body is telling me, so I will continue to listen closely to it. It tells me "you don't need surgery yet, but you've got to do something"
I'm possibly in denial (don't say to me out loud "yes, you are" because eventually I will figure that out) but I am hanging onto a hope that my body has amazing healing abilities and so want to pursue ideas that embrace and utilize that hope.
I'm not really interested in running much or at all if it's going to hurt, but if it doesn't hurt...
I've really missed rowing.
Rowing is really f*cking expensive!
I tend to think outside the conventional box.

Decision #1...

I'm going for my first prolotherapy consultation on Wednesday.

The worst that can happen (or so it seems) is that it won't do anything for me. I can live with that. If that turns out to be the case, then I look at other options. Easy.

The hardest part of this hip deal is realizing that, unlike a broken foot or torn hamstring, this is not going to get "better." I am not going to take 8 weeks off, doing pilates and swimming and biking or nothing, and then it will knit itself back together and be good as new. It's done. It's gone. I have to work with this forever...whether as a surgeried-on joint or other.

The next time you're sitting out with an illness that will end or an injury that will heal, yes, it will be frustrating and hard, but remember how much worse it could be. Take time to take care of your body. If you're sick or hurting...give that awesome body a break. Don't curse it. Don't ignore it. You really don't want to have to deal with something like this. Trust me.

**This recent series is important for me. It's really helpful to write these things out and look at them. Bear with me as I go through this process! Who knows? You might learn something useful :) **

What the doctor said...

2013-02-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

Today I had a phone consultation with my health plan's orthopedics guy to discuss my diagnosis.

I had a massive list of questions for him and was anticipating him to be a pompous, disdainful jerk. I based this on his online reviews. What I quickly realized once we began talking is that smart doctors appreciate well-informed, energetic, proactive patients. On the flip side, smart doctors tend to be a little dismissive and impatient with patients who don't really take care of their bodies. This guy is a smart doctor. And I am his perfect patient.

(all quoted dialogue is not necessarily directly quoted!)

Right away he said, "I'm not sure if I should give it to you straight...or if I should sugar-coat it a little."

"Give it to me straight up," I told him. "I don't mess around."

He laughed.

Then he got serious and said, "Your hip is done."

He proceded to tell me that there is no evidence of cartilage in there...it's a bone-on-bone situation. I am lucky that I am thin and active and fit and healthy...and "obviously very energetic."

I asked him about getting an MRI. "No need," he said. "The damage is done. There is no repair surgery to do. There's essentially nothing left." He went on to say that I had not done this to myself...I had done nothing wrong.

Then we talked about what I've been doing for the past 2+ years. He was floored. And not annoyed or frustrated or scolding. "I'm not going to tell you to not do anything," he said. "You can keep doing the things you want to do with the comfort level that works for you. The only thing I suggest is that you please don't wait until you've been inactive due to the pain for months and lose your fitness and your positive outlook to get the surgery. Being strong and positive will be critical for you to do well. Keep that in mind!"

He said running is not the best choice. Rowing is fine. Cycling, elliptical, pretty much anything except running...but he's not going to tell me to not run. "You'll know if it hurts too much...you can't make the condition worse," is what he basically said.

Based on my x-ray, he had wanted to put me on his surgery schedule immediately, but after talking with me he feels that would definitely be premature.

"Radiologically, you're a mess. Clinically, you're amazing. I can't say when you will need the replacement...or when you'll want it. But when that time comes, I'm here."

And we wished each other a nice day.

So now I begin setting up appointments to talk with various providers about treatments to help keep me strong. Physical therapist, chiropractor, acupuncturist, naturopath...I'm building an team.

If anyone has dealt with this and has some great ideas for me, please let me know in a comment or email!

Many thanks to RockStarTri and The Unexpected Runner for all your advice and willingness to share your insights. And many thanks to all of you, my generous and thoughtful readers, for your kind words and enthusiasm for my journey yet-to-come!

Anyone have personal experience with prolotherapy?
–this treatment option has me intrigued...

Old things becoming new things...

2013-02-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

A few days before I got the bad news, I had made arrangements to go check something out. I had been feeling discouraged about running and thought maybe a little change-up might help.

The checking-out happened on Saturday morning. I was so fortunate that it was gorgeous out instead of cold and windy and rainy...

Sunrise and San Quentin Penitentiary

I had opted to go for a ride in the coach's launch and talk with the coach about the team instead of hopping in a boat. I must confess, the moment I pulled up into the parking lot I started quivering with excitement. While I was glad I had chosen to not row that morning, my appetite was whetted.

A little morning choppiness out on the SF Bay...

...but pretty glassy down by the inlet.

I can't wait until Wednesday.

I'm going to row.

At least, I'm going to try it.

Here's where it gets not-so-pretty...

2013-02-08T14:54:00.001-08:00

I was really hoping 2013 would be a kinder, gentler year to me. Last year really ran me through the wringer in so many ways, and I was really looking forward to a little respite.

But if it were easy, there would be nothing to TAKE ON, XL!

Right.

*sigh*

Okay.

Fine.

After I spend a little bit of time wallowing in self-pity and grieving whatever the hell I'm grieving, I will get started Taking It On...because yes, that is what I do. But sometimes I'm just really super tired of taking it on.

Yesterday, I received the write-up on my x-ray...

Moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the right hip.

On the one hand, YAY! A diagnosis! On the other hand, holy s*it...conventional medicine says there's nothing you can do to heal it. You can 'manage' it...manage the pain...mask the symptoms...cut it out and put a piece of metal and plastic in there that will need to be replaced again in 10 years and isn't made to fit a small woman's physique and doesn't treat whatever the heck led to this whole crappy situation in the first place. You can shoot cortisone in there that will further erode any cartilage that still exists in that thar hip socket.

Ummmm...no thanks. None of those really appeal to me. Conventional medicine in this moment isn't really appealing to me :P

Oh, and honey...running is probably the worst thing you can do. Oh, you say you've been thinking of rowing again? Think again because that deep compression at the catch? Yeah, probably going to really screw you up even more.

You can go for a walk.

Or swim.

You all know how I feel about swimming, right?

Regardless of what you do, sweetheart, you are on a one-way trip to losing the hip.

So I'm sitting here, staring at my little screen and thinking...

What in the heck am I going to do now?

And my answer today is...

I have no idea.

:(

I'm hoping some of you stick around to see how this turns out. But it might really suck. One thing I can say with certainty is this... for awhile at least there won't be much running talk. So if that's why you come here, yeah...probably other more interesting places to hang out ;-)

Of course, I am one to buck trends and piss people off so this journey will probably be entertaining to watch.

Maybe I could get some network to fund a reality show?

An update of sorts

2013-02-06T11:21:00.001-08:00

Not a whole lot of time for this, unfortunately, but here are some random updates on what is happening Chez XL...

1. We are having crawly critter issues...

This is misleading. The spider is as big as my thumb!

G came running downstairs the other night...

MOM!!!!! THERE IS A HUGE SPIDER

RIGHT

OVER

BED

!!!!!!!!!!

I, being the adventurous, unafraid mom that I am, captured it live

and released it ~~to the wild~~ into our front yard.

And then there's this...

we wake up more often than not (or so it seems) to this...

Do you see the ants? I found this photo on my phone. I didn't take it.

I was too busy KILLING THEM.

It was like D-Day all over again.

The ants were like the Allies...they kept sending troops into battle. Relentless, onward they came.

In unheard of numbers. More and more and more strode into the slaughter.

The vacuum cleaner and I heartlessly and methodically decimated their ranks.

Unapologetically committing insecticide...

Yet knowing that, though we might win this battle,

those little bastards would probably win the war.

2. We've had familial sickness...

No pictures of this. Over the weekend, both my husband and I got some weird zombie-like sickness. No body aches or fever or throwing up, just these headaches and disorientation and inability to function like normal people. On one occasion, my husband was lurching down the hall and I was stumbling around in the kitchen making lunch for the kids and I started laughing so hard. I was seriously like we were two zombies trying to raise a houseful of human children. Guess you had to be there :P

3. I finally got my hip x-rayed.

No results yet. I just had it done yesterday. I'd been dragging my feet on that for about 9 years. Ummmm...yeah.... First it was because a week after the doc wrote the requisition, I found out I was pregnant. Hip x-ray while pregnant, no es bueno. When I was ready to get the x-ray after that baby was born...BOOM... pregnant again. That happened a couple of times. So then it just seemed like every time I was going to get it the wait was going to be HOURS. Yesterday I had a couple of free hours, so I decided to just suck it up and go. I was in and out in 20 minutes. Whoa. Did I feel kind of stupid. Yeah. You'll be the firsts to know what it says as soon as I know.

That's all I've got for now!

I hope life is treating all of you well and thanks for hanging tough with me while I spend a little less time in BlogWorld.

Be well!

Setting the best example I can...

2013-01-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

My best advice to an injured runner has always been this...don't run if it's hurting you.

I'm taking my blinders off now. I'm owning my injuredness. I will not be racing this weekend. No real boo-hoos about it. It's the right and best and most comfortable decision. I feel renewed now that I've made it. And deciding to switch from the Oakland Running Festival half-marathon in March to the 5K (or maybe nothing) added hugely to my sense of relief and reinvigoration.

What led me to this place? Have I been hurting more lately? What gives, XL?

Feeling as busted up as my favorite shades...

thanks, G and Miss C :P

Here's the deal...

I started running again a little over two years ago. I stepped things up too fast. My right hip was always in a state of crisis...hanging on from run to run. There would be good times and rough times, but it never really felt strong and solid and good. Part of me believed that this was as good as it was going to get. Just take what I can. Live with the discomfort.

That all changed when I started seeing a new body work person last month. And a new trainer...also last month. Their work is showing me that I can possibly someday be pain-free. Truly pain-free. So that is my goal. There is no time goal attached to it. There is not a deadline by which it must be achieved. When I can hop on my right foot repeatedly without wincing or crumpling in pain, we'll know we're there :) I'm not hurting more lately. In fact, it's the opposite. But it does hurt. Running isn't going to make it better, and I now feel like I have a real path to wellness. And I will endeavor to follow it without wavering. Keeping my eye on the feel-good prize.

As a runner with a blog, this is the best example I can set, and as a mom as well. Listening to and hearing my body. Taking good care of myself. Being honest with myself. Making the hard decisions.

So here's what I'm doing instead...

I'm still on the elliptical and riding my bike. I'm lifting weights and doing some circuit strength stuff.

And I'm walking around with my family and enjoying our beautiful weather in our beautiful part of the country...

...and

learning that

not every puzzle

can be solved...

...and that's okay.

I'm looking at reflections on top of shadows

and seeing my little people

through eyes that are not clouded with pain.

At all.

For the first time in a long, long time.

Whatever happens,

I know it will all be worth the wait.

Following the plan...

2013-01-24T12:25:00.003-08:00

Here's a disjointed blog post, but I'm gonna do it. A grand experiment...the Don't Run, Run Faster Plan will be tested like never before!

I have not run since the first week of the month. I have, however, been using cardio machines and biking, doing strength work and stretching. I've walked up and down my favorite monster hill a few times to get some "impact" (albeit low) and real time on my feet.

And Race Day is 10 days away.

I might run this weekend. Depending on how that goes, I might run once or twice next week. But other than that, Hey there, Mr. Race! Be nice to me! I have no idea what to expect from you :) That's not entirely true. It will be hard. My feet and ankles will be full of twinges, my calves will get super tight and sore, and my hip is bound to hurt. But...my lungs and heart can handle it! This I know.

I just wish had this super easy, free running ability...

She really is a natural.

And can you believe it's January?

Throwing now!

Maybe she's a budding heptathlete?

As we were on this family walk at the park we visited the other day, I was reminded of how good I have it. How good WE have it.

The kids and I passed by these benches and decided to sit there for our snack. Turns out they are memorial benches for local youth killed by violence. The kids were mesmerized. They started asking all sorts of questions...why did they die? how did they die? why would someone do that to them? how could someone kill someone's daddy? how could someone kill a baby?

I did my best to answer the questions with compassion and truth. Sometimes being a parent is really tough stuff. *sigh* But I've got it good. Better than most. I have to always remember that.

Then they ran off and played...

And the sun went down...

And everything was beautiful...

Taking It On

If you want to see me run for the first time in 2 years... (plugging my JINGLE BELL HELL shenanigans)

Jingle Bell Hell...not just another virtual race...

A lot happens in 6 months...

Update: Six weeks after hip replacement *graphic photo warning*

A runner with a walker...the road after hip replacement.

A first time for everything.

How to define 2013?

Jingle Bell Hell 2013 Recap

What could be more fun than moving?

JINGLE BELL HELL 2013 is a-comin'!!!!

The Moving Fiasco

Recommencing...

So many things...

The most important thing you need to know about my absence is...

Coming up on six weeks...

hey. whoa. where'd i go?

Not Pimp Rock Palace (photo warning for the squeamish)

Still smiling ...

grrrrind grrrrind grrrrrrriiinnnndddddd...

What the doctor said...

Old things becoming new things...

Here's where it gets not-so-pretty...

An update of sorts

Setting the best example I can...

Following the plan...

Update: Six weeks after hip replacement graphic photo warning