Race Coverage

A Tale of Two (Indoor) Triathlons...

Tuesday, 14 March 2017 23:10

By Amy Bauch (amysrunningaround.blogspot.com)

Hard to believe that my new hip is already 5 months old. Even harder to believe, with the new hip, that I ever had a problem in the first place.

Funny how time can alter what you remember about "what was". Meaning, I just re-read my last blog entry, written right before Ironman Wisconsin last September and about three weeks before my surgery. I had "forgotten" how bad my limp was; how I had to calculate my every step and move; how hard I had to think about walking around the lake or down the block or from my car to the office.

Now? Try to stop me.

I was very fortunate to have a pretty easy recovery. I was in and out of the hospital within three days; off pain meds by the 5th day; walking around the block using a walker, then a cane, and finally by my big girl self unaided within a couple of weeks. Riding a stationary bike was a very welcome part of my physical therapy, as was strength training. I got back on the golf course in December, playing the...

course at Arizona State University with Warren. It was the first time all year that I could walk the whole course again. Joy. Swimming started at the 12 week post-surgery mark. Getting back in the water felt fantastic.

All these milestones: golfing, strength training, spinning, swimming, WALKING were critical to me in that they each represented a move back to things being "normal". Hallelujah for normal.

Which brings us (me) back to triathlon. For years now, normal has meant that I participate in triathlons. Hip replacement doesn't mean the end to this. Instead, it just means some adjustments. Speed walking instead of running (maybe moving to a run/walk rhythm by the end of this year...); shorter distances rather than Ironman distance (unless its a relay, or maybe by performing some other magic trick...). But I'm still at 'em, starting with two of my favorite indoor venues: Tri U Mah and the YWCA Indoor Tri. READ MORE