2nd birthday coming up...

Can't believe it's been two years since I plunged into this with both feet, well one & a half feet if you're including hips. Can't believe that I am now 10 kg lighter & still going. Can't believe that today I ran for 42 mins continuously. As you can probably guess from this getting through the last few years has taken away a lot of my self-belief but I'm going to stand tall & say its on its way back......

Years ago, in my youth, I ran, it was easy! Now plodding (running is a bit of a stretch on the truth) is slow but after starting out with 1 min run, 1 min walk routine I'm, very slowly, falling into a pace that yes the dogs keep stopping & waiting for me, but it is a pace.

The shiny new hip is quite frankly fine, the muscles in that thigh do sing out in protest every now & then though wouldn't you if someone had stuck knives in on three different occasions. My other hip (the birth hip!) is, although slightly aggravated, improving from plain & simple weight loss which was my goal. My zippy road bike has been back out & I would love to say zipped along to St Fillans but, believe it or not, it's slightly uphill on the way there.... I do zip back!

While I'm on my life's little pedestal I'm also going to add that I've been back on the water & lived to tell the tale.

It's amazing just how much confidence can be knocked out of your life & I've still a long way to go, there is the offer to sail the 29er........ Life doesn't get any easier as you get older especially when deep down you don't want to stop & retire, deep inside you know the memories of the fun had can be done again. One year ago I would never have even considered running & look at me now, well actually it's not a pretty sight.

My goal setting is in motion & this time next year although another year older I will be  fitter & maybe even faster.........

Rain/sleet/snow...... pah!

I don't get here very often nowadays but felt the need to pop in and update my life in the fast lane. Okay a little exaggeration there but I am up and running. The truth be told I am, actually, still at the walk/jog stage but today I covered 5 sets of walk 3 mins/ jog 4 mins plodding at snails pace but actually going faster than walking! This has been built up over some weeks starting out at 1min/1min sets so I am pretty chuffed.

Great enthusiastic encouragement from the other half, new running shoes etc, it all helps so does the slow but steady much needed weight loss. Which at the heart of all this is helping the old hip. This was the main motivation, my other hip was none too comfortable recently so something has to be done. There's no avoiding the truth that the lighter I am the longer it lives and the less chance I need to change the blog to 'two new hips'.

To all the amazing runners out there don't worry your race positions are safe. I'm a long way off joining groups or entering races. I've plucked up the courage to run with my pal this week, safe in the knowledge that as much as she laughs at me I can laugh at her. One day I'll add the story of the dog, the cat, the mouse & the cheese, hey Angie!

Advice, hints & tips are much appreciated, especially the how to get out running during the hols tips..... Looking good for the youngest to be cycling beside me which adds its own challenges, have you ever seen my son on a bike?

Am going to need to add to my running gear, baggy cycling Ron hills although hiding a multitude of sins are not ideal and I do admit to regularly raiding other halfs wardrobe for tshirts.....

I guess going public on my running/jogging/plodding ambitions will help me get out there so please don't be shy & give me a little shove every now & then, I will need it!

Happy Birthday!!!

One year ago I sat here wondering what the hell had hit me. Actually I knew exactly what had hit me, a surgeon with a dirty big chisel & hammer. You think I'm joking...... So one year on & I can honestly say wow! Pain free & up & running, actually running is a bit of a strong word but I'm walking dogs, biking etc. not as fit as I'd like to be but I'm to blame for that one. What I can do is decorate kid's bedroom, go walking with the school climbing club (more on that one later) and as of last weekend I finally sailed a dinghy with my husband. Note big grins from ear to ear. Not only do I accomplish these basic day to day bits of life but also accomplish them pain free, definitely a woohoo moment for me. Once the f15 is in the water I'm also going to be sailing on a regular basis - yay! So hill walking, it actually takes quite a lot of self-belief to go beyond your usual haunts. When presented with the opportunity to walk with my daughter & her fellow school climbing club up to the Hidden Valley in Glencoe I thought hmmm..... maybe a bit far.....? Thankfully a well appreciated push from hubby I said yes. Now I should fill you in here with the leader in charge of daughter's climbing club, if there's a path to walk on then let's just ignore that, we can walk on paths any day of the week. Great philosophy really & every walk I've been on has always been most entertaining & let's say a little challenging. Can we just say I went way beyond my comfort zone, was completely exhausted but deliriously happy at the end. Just to put the icing on the cake I could still walk afterwards and also after a nights camping in Kinlochleven. I was impressed with myself. I've not blogged in so long, letting family life take over the peaceful moments of sitting with crutches. I know which I'd rather be doing but I do enjoy it, it's a great way to let out life's frustrations without beating up the kids. Maybe I'll get back to it but first I'm making more time for that exercise I've been promising myself, note dog with wagging tail. Due to the usual hospital postponements the first birthday check up is not until next month but hey ho I'm completely confident it'll be a breeze. Go on, let me talk you into raising a wee glass of something to my, probably not so shiny, hip. It's a good one....

I'm Free!!!!

Today was the day, back to Glasgow and the big check up! First an xray or two, then a chat, simple really. It was good to see the shiny new hip & even better when they brought up the post-op pic to check nothing had moved, I'm sure I would have noticed if something was not quite right but it was good to see the evidence. It was nice to hear the words "you are walking well for someone 12 weeks post-op" not so long ago there would have been drunk penguin comments.

My other big achievement was to ride my bike on Sunday and no I didn't fall off although you may have laughed at the way I got on and off! Don't get too carried away with ideas of me speeding down country lanes, I actually crawled along, puffing and panting, following Ken and the dogs as they ran round Aberuchill, daughter on her bike giving me encouragement!

So how did my hip hold up? Well it was great just don't ask about the rest of me. Think I need a new heart/muscles/body.......... Dear hubby cooked dinner while I collapsed in a heap! Oooh my thighs, think I need a little more exercise. I was impressed that I got round 3.3 miles.

So no more hospital visits (touch wood) until next June when I go back for it's first birthday check up, hurray!

Long time, no speak!

Typical holidays, you blink and they're nearly over. Also realised I hadn't sat and moaned through my blog for a while, so here I am back again....

So how is the shiny new hip you ask?
No sticks - check;
driving the car - check;
walking, cooking etc - check;
putting on socks - err no!

Well I still have to go back to the surgeon at the end of the month to get the all clear, then I have to convince some muscles to stretch a little, think that's going to be easier said than done. My feet seem an awful long way away and that's coming from someone with ridiculously short legs. Anyone out there got some good stretching/reach the feet exercises I'm keen to get out of my flip flops before winter arrives.

Well having restrictions like not sleeping in a tent this summer did have it's advantages. Eldest had 12th birthday and wanted to camp at nearby campsite, sadly, ha ha, I couldn't chaperon so poor Ken got the short straw - 6 11/12y olds in the next tent, you get where I'm coming from here....

The kids are back to school next week, 12 year old off to seniors and youngest no longer the baby moves up to primary 2. Me? I loose my housework slaves/dog walkers, could keep the work until they get home from school or is that just evil mum stuff, you imagine the answer from eldest!!!

By Friday the hip will be 11 weeks old, time flies when you're having fun. oh well back to labelling school uniform......

Look No Hands.........!!!

Well away we went last Saturday, via Dunblane to drop off daughter at sleep-over with no fuel in the car but that's another story, sorry Ken! I honestly thought I might have been in for a long, boring week but thanks to fantastic weather and super company I had a thoroughly enjoyable week in the sun.

Loch Tummel is a beautiful spot and the sailing club is unbeatable. A week of racing/playing for the kids and hubby and I was kept busy chatting with old friends and watching youngest sailing any boat he could blag his way on to, with those big blue eyes he had a busy week. Daughter spent hours kayaking up and down the loch, I did have many moments of wondering if I could lower myself into the kayak with out doing any damage or probably the bigger problem of getting back out again! Don't tell anyone but I did have a sneaky ride in the rescue boat while watching daughter sail her Topper (for the first time in years, well done Storm!).

What I did succeed in was building up walking strength and from the moment we arrived the sticks were banished to the boot of the car. Plans to sit on loch side in deckchair gave way to meandering up and down watching the kids and trying to encourage them out of the water at the end of each day. I guess, all in all, I spent more time on my feet than I would have at home but what I did avoid was the drudgery of doing "stuff" in the house which ends up with over stretching/bending and doing all the wrong things.

Think we need another week away!

Grumbles

Mind if I have a moan?

This walking malarky is slow! Hip joint is fine, still no pain but the surrounding muscles just don't want to join in. Ok so I've not walked on two feet for seven weeks but I did walk round on one crutch for the best part of the week and followed that through with a walking stick, now I'm pottering round the house on two feet and still it's hard work AND I still look like a drunk penguin!
Muscles in unmentionable places are fighting back, all I want to do is start walking further and building back my fitness but right now I seem to have ground to a halt!

It's hard when you feel like you should be doing something to improve, maybe next week I'll find out how a week of rest will work, while Ken, Storm & Gregor sail I can sit and read - oh joy, think I'd rather be sailing, never mind........