The Slacker Runner...

The Slacker Bunny I wrote about yesterday moonlights as a Slacker Mommy who also does a few shifts a week as a Slacker Runner.

When I make reference to myself as a Slacker, please understand that I really am NOT a slacker... I just like to conserve my energies ;-) And sometimes I do slack :P

Back to the running...

Yesterday was supposed to contain a 10-mile run. With the wisdom of my PT backing the decision, that was turned into a 6-mile run. At the request of my cranky hip, the run didn't happen.

This hip is sooooooo annoying.

There are a few runners who read this blog who have had or who currently have hip stress fractures. This is not what I have, thankfully. I don't know what is going on with this hip o' mine. Maybe it is a stress fracture... but I really don't think so. Well, I hope not.

The pain started back in 2000 when my oldest child was 4 months old. I began having these weird stabbing pains. It would feel like someone shot me in the butt... with a gun with a real bullet. My whole leg would buckle underneath me and then the pain would be gone. So weird. And it wouldn't happen again for a couple of months.

The shot-in-the-butt, leg-buckling thing started to happen more frequently by the spring of 2001. My body was afraid to walk, so it started to limp. I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to start training again. "That'll teach it!" was my thinking... or something like that. I started rowing again and running and weight-training.

Then I got pregnant again. Which was a good thing :)

I ran until I was 5 months pregnant... November 2001. I remember that last run so well because it was the last time I would run for over 8 years. After Baby X was born, I struggled with hip pain almost constantly. I will say that not only did it super suck to live with chronic pain, but a limp is so not sexy.

Finally in 2007, I found THE physical therapist. Enter Nina at SOLPT. She beat that scar tissue into submission and got me full range of motion and regular-looking and -feeling walking. Seriously, I think she is a miracle worker. I remember one time I said something like "... well, I know you've seen worse..." She looked me dead in the eye and said, "Ummmm, actually... you were pretty bad." So I could walk without a limp and wear shoes instead of slippers and we started talking about running again... which thrilled and scared me at the same time.

Then I got pregnant again. Which was a good thing :)

We were able to keep things from regressing during the pregnancy, but any progress was minimal. I was able to maintain that stasis for a good bit of time. Then at the end of last summer (2010), I ran after one of my kids as he headed for certain peril. Did you see that? I RAN. I was so surprised. I could run!

And that began my running renaissance... which led to this blog.

So when my hip starts to feel tweaky or cranky, I really need to listen to it. I don't want to sit out this fun game called "LIFE" for another second. Eight years is way too long.