Feeling good

Left to right my kids; KevinJr. age 24(some kind of muscle man with tatoos) Nathan age 26 (a beer keg with real beer in the top), Amanda age 29 (a 20s flapper), Matthew
age 28 (the incredible hulk) The four of them dragged my wife and I to a halloween dance (and I thought running was tiring!)

Well, Saturday morning I sprung out of bed and suited up for my first run in three weeks (two weeks since surgery) I really didn't know what to expect. The healing has gone well and the incision at the hip has not bothered me much.

The morning air was brisk and clean. I started fairly slow and decided to keep the pace relatively easy and short. I ran one of my favorite 3 mile loops that borders a pit wall and has a good mix of trails, hills, road (tar and dirt) and a flat finish.
I wore the new trail runners (brooks cascadias) for the first time running and they felt great....like I have been wearing them for years..

I felt a little winded on the hills and I could "feel" the hip but not really any pain. I was able to pick it up a bit in the end to finish with positive splits. Then an easy half mile cooldown. I was very happy, every thing went well. I knew of course I would be a little lame the next day but that was OK.

I was very happy to get out and run as the surgeon first said no running or biking for 4-6 weeks, but when he saw how well I was doing and felt confident I would not overdo it, he finally agreed to let me go.

I felt invigorated after the run and then proceded to pull the gas tank out of our van to replace the fuel pump. I have been putting this job off because ....well it sucks and is a lot of work. Today I felt like tackling it. I accomplished that then went hiking with my daughter and her cute dog..a puggles.

It was supposed to be just a hike on some trails but turned into a run as her dog found the remains of a deer that was shot that morning and we had to run with him to keep his attention off the deer smells. They apearantly gutted the deer then dragged it along the trail to reach the road. Her dog being part beagle just couldn't keep his nose off the ground when walking.

While running, my daughter lost her car keys and we had to go back searching for them, which was a little tougher because the darkness was creapping in very quickly.
After giving up and calling home for a ride, my daughter found her key laying on the ground next to the car.....how lucky is that?

So, after all the fun of running, struggling with the van and then running again, the kids dragged us to a halloween dance and I ended up dancing until 12:30 that night (well, morning I guess) I did tell the surgeon I would take it easy and not overdue it....right?

Sunday? Yeah I was a lttle lame when I rolled out of bed. In keeping with the stradegy of taking it easy, I ended up going up to my moms to install a new front door which took 2 hours longer than planned. Though I did finally get a chance to take it easy as I watched the Patriots game but then got antsy and ended up going for a hike at Twin brooks.....it was pretty wet there after the heavy rain Saturday night.

It is Monday morning and I am a little sore from all the activity but extremely happy....it sure feels good to be running again...

Combo trail/road
brisk morning 7:30 am... hat and gloves
3 mile @8:39 pace average
157 average HR and 169 peak at 7:39 kick.