alright hip, you win

My running career is on a hiatus.

For now.

The hip pain I previously mentioned has been off and on and I've mostly been able to run through it, until Sunday when I just couldn't.  Even after days of not running. It's really disappointing and frustrating and I know things could be way worse...blah blah blah don't mean to make this super dramatic...but it's tough to see runners out on beautiful days like today and, oh, every other day I haven't been able to run. I have a doctor's appointment today to get the ball rolling on fixing this.  I want to be better by July so I can start training for a fall marathon. 

Until then...

In about 6 weeks, I'll be selling tickets to my gun show. Proceeds go towards my english bulldog fund.

can't quit dc

When I was living in the DC metropolitan area, I signed myself up for a couple runs and events in the area.  Then I moved away. And these events in the "area" turned into multiple weekend long trips up to DC...not that I'm complaining. A couple weekends ago I went up to run the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon with my dad. It was a hot and humid and successful race. However, the next morning I woke up with a killer pain in my hip. 

Fast forward two weeks. I still have that nagging hip (flexor?) pain. I've only run twice since the half. And I have another DC weekend run coming up, this time it's the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Even with the pain I convinced myself I HAD to do it. It was a lottery entrance, others didn't get in, so yeah, I'm gonna do it even if I have to walk it. Plus a couple friends were running it too.  Luckily our pre-race dinner with multiple desserts (pictured above) boosted my confidence. 

And it was pretty great. Usually when I run a race, I hope and push for a good time (time meaning time it takes to complete the run).  But this race was different.  About 1.5 miles in I (literally) ran into Megan (one of my 3 great roommates) and we ended up running the rest of the race together. We kept a solid pace and chatted for most of it. And we finished strong, which is always a good thing.  When we finished, the last thing on my mind was the pain in my hip.  All I could think about was how great that run felt. And how I did have a good time (see what I did there!??!).

Might I add that there were hardly any cherry blossoms.  The blossoms hit their peak maybe a week before and there were just a few here and there behind the Jefferson Memorial. Some cherry blossom run..  To top off a spectacular weekend that also included a second viewing of Hunger Games and seeing many friends, I went to a Bruce Springsteen Concert. I saw Bruce Springsteen in DC. Bruce. It was a darn good concert. Okay it was amazing. I heard most of my favorites. There was so much power behind his music, as well as emotion since Clarence Clemons' nephew was there filling in the E Street Band. AHHH!!!

did i mention i saw bruce springsteen??