Runner's high

Hey! It hasn't even been a full month yet since my last entry. I'm improving!

So from the title of this entry, you can guess that I'm getting back to running. It's always fun (ahem) getting back into the rhythm of running. Or jogging. Or whatever it is that I manage to do. To me, it's running. My heart pounds for the first few minutes, until I settle into the groove. Then it seems to calm down and I'm good to go until either my blood sugar plummets or I near my daily goal (which, in turn, always raises my heart rate b/c I get so focused on The End that I can't help myself — thump thump thumpity thump).

So my new running issue is what I am self-diagnosing as hip bursitis. Pre-babies, I had IT band pain on the right knee. I've either changed physically since the birth of my two girls or learned how to properly stretch. So far, the IT band is sufficiently pliable. My hips are another story. A co-worker suggested that my hips hurt because the pregnancies drained my bones of precious calcium to make the beautiful babies. I haven't researched it enough to know if that is true or possible. But I do know that these hips never hurt like they do now. An ache, really, not a shooting pain. "They" say that shooting pain is something to address immediately. Aches are usually not as dramatic or as attention-grabbing. So, I have aches, directly on and to the rear of the hip bone — the one that juts out, or did about 15 pounds ago. I did a tiny bit of Internet research today, and there's apparently not much I can do besides avoiding running (not my favorite option) or swigging some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. My hope is that I will research more tomorrow and figure out that it's not hip bursitis, but something else that has an easy, pain-free remedy.

I'm also thinking that I need new shoes. Maybe I just don't have enough padding for these old bones. When I first started running (1998?), I bought some shoes that I thought were good. I kept getting blisters, but I told myself that I just needed to toughen up. But the blisters kept coming, for months. Finally, I went to a proper running store (First Gear in Wichita) and they told me that those shoes were too wide for me. They wanted to put me in New Balance. Back then, NB was a new brand, at least to me, and the particular pair they put in front of me looked like clown shoes. I laughed and surely ticked off the sales guy. But I finally tried them on and OMG — it felt as if I had just stepped into two perfectly fitting bowls filled with marshmallows. FANTASTIC. Clown shoes be damned, I bought those suckers and wore them to nubs. Then I bought a second pair. And then a third. Then I got bored and bought some Nikes, which is what I have now. They are OK, but they are no bowls of marshmallows.

I am going back to NB.

What else? Mileage. At my best, back in 2002, I was running six miles consistently, around nine-minute miles. That's not too bad for me, standing at 5'3". Yes, there are those shorter and older who could whiz by me while pushing a stroller. I didn't care. Well, I did, but not enough to bitch about it. Because I was doing well for me.

That was six years, one husband, two kids and three cities ago. So as soon as I got married, I basically quit running. We tried running together after our honeymoon, but after taking a few weeks off and then moving to the rolling hills of Olathe, we found other things to do.

So now, six years later, I'm getting back to it and happy to be able to call myself a runner again. Although I'm just tolerating a three-mile run at the moment. My goal is to hit four miles consistently. If I can do that, I will be a happy camper. I'd love to be able to claim six miles again, but four is enough. Really.

So wish me luck. And healthy hips.

Happy trails!