It was 179 days since my hip surgery — 208 days since I ran.
Last Saturday, March 27, 2010, I ran once again.
The significance went beyond being six months since surgery and seven months of being on injured reserve. This March marked my 30th anniversary of running.
Not that I had never run before March, 1980. But since that fateful day I walked onto the South Asheboro Middle School track and ran a mile, I've been running regularly.
That's why I wanted to resume my running in March and it had to be on that same track. Not to be lost in the celebration is the fact — which dawned on me as I began writing this blog — that my return to the track was a one-mile run.
It was osteoarthritis that caused so much pain in my right hip that running — even walking — became a burden. The cartilage that separates the bones of the hip had deteriorated to the point that I was feeling bone against bone.
The surgery, performed on Sept. 29, 2009, by Dr. Riyaz Jinnah at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, is called Birmingham hip resurfacing. It's an alternative to total hip replacement that preserves most of the femur bone and covers both the ball and socket of the joint with metal. Thus, you have metal against metal instead of bone against bone.
Dr. Jinnah had told me on my first visit that I would have to wait six months after surgery before I could run again. So I had marked March 27 on my calendar.
As I counted down the weeks, I began a conditioning program that included working out on weight machines to strengthen my leg muscles and aerobic exercises on the treadmill, stationary bike and elliptical machine.
Besides the gym, I was walking outside up to 90 minutes at a time. For that reason, I felt confident that I was ready for a mere mile on the track.
Saturday morning I parked next to my cousin, Tom Allen, who had been my nursemaid during the first couple of weeks of recovery. He was there not only to witness the fruits of my recovery but also to record it on film.
Also at the track was Sylvia Murillo, who had been my training partner before she became pregnant and I became an invalid. It was also her first run since having to lay off last year.
As Tom adjusted his photo equipment, Sylvia and I walked four laps to get warmed up. There were other walkers out, probably wondering what the fuss was all about with the cameras, etc.
We started running at an easy pace and continued the four laps without incident. At the finish Sylvia and I did a double high-five, happy with our accomplishment.
By way of full disclosure, I had run briefly at times on the treadmill and once on the street. But nothing more than a minute at a time, just to see how my hip felt.
The mile run produced just a slight twinge on the outside of my hip but nothing major. Even that was just off and on, mostly off.
I was somewhat surprised the next couple of days that my legs were pretty sore. It was only a mile, after all. I've run half marathons and one marathon, plus, I've been working out.
But it's obvious now that the muscles necessary to run are somewhat different from walking muscles. That's the reason for the soreness.
But you know what? It's a good pain. Osteoarthritis definitely is not.
OK, that's it for now. Gotta run.
Last Saturday, March 27, 2010, I ran once again.
The significance went beyond being six months since surgery and seven months of being on injured reserve. This March marked my 30th anniversary of running.
Not that I had never run before March, 1980. But since that fateful day I walked onto the South Asheboro Middle School track and ran a mile, I've been running regularly.
That's why I wanted to resume my running in March and it had to be on that same track. Not to be lost in the celebration is the fact — which dawned on me as I began writing this blog — that my return to the track was a one-mile run.
It was osteoarthritis that caused so much pain in my right hip that running — even walking — became a burden. The cartilage that separates the bones of the hip had deteriorated to the point that I was feeling bone against bone.
The surgery, performed on Sept. 29, 2009, by Dr. Riyaz Jinnah at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, is called Birmingham hip resurfacing. It's an alternative to total hip replacement that preserves most of the femur bone and covers both the ball and socket of the joint with metal. Thus, you have metal against metal instead of bone against bone.
Dr. Jinnah had told me on my first visit that I would have to wait six months after surgery before I could run again. So I had marked March 27 on my calendar.
As I counted down the weeks, I began a conditioning program that included working out on weight machines to strengthen my leg muscles and aerobic exercises on the treadmill, stationary bike and elliptical machine.
Besides the gym, I was walking outside up to 90 minutes at a time. For that reason, I felt confident that I was ready for a mere mile on the track.
Saturday morning I parked next to my cousin, Tom Allen, who had been my nursemaid during the first couple of weeks of recovery. He was there not only to witness the fruits of my recovery but also to record it on film.
Also at the track was Sylvia Murillo, who had been my training partner before she became pregnant and I became an invalid. It was also her first run since having to lay off last year.
As Tom adjusted his photo equipment, Sylvia and I walked four laps to get warmed up. There were other walkers out, probably wondering what the fuss was all about with the cameras, etc.
We started running at an easy pace and continued the four laps without incident. At the finish Sylvia and I did a double high-five, happy with our accomplishment.
By way of full disclosure, I had run briefly at times on the treadmill and once on the street. But nothing more than a minute at a time, just to see how my hip felt.
The mile run produced just a slight twinge on the outside of my hip but nothing major. Even that was just off and on, mostly off.
I was somewhat surprised the next couple of days that my legs were pretty sore. It was only a mile, after all. I've run half marathons and one marathon, plus, I've been working out.
But it's obvious now that the muscles necessary to run are somewhat different from walking muscles. That's the reason for the soreness.
But you know what? It's a good pain. Osteoarthritis definitely is not.
OK, that's it for now. Gotta run.
Larry Penkava is a staff writer for The Randolph Guide. He blogs occassionally about things on his mind. He can be reached by e-mail at lpenkava@randolphguide.com.
