Since the pandemic hit the U.S. and the California governor passed Shelter-in-Pace orders, the only hiking I've been able to do is the 4-mile flat levee walk from our house. It's a great little walk. Since I can't add elevation change or increase distance, I decided to work on speed and weight-carrying capacity.
This last week I've seen some real improvement. Although speed (increased stride length) still triggers pain, I'm able to walk at a normal pace carrying up to 20 pounds for four miles without pain. Twenty pounds is the minimum I want to be able to carry, I can do a lot of backpacking trips carrying 20 pounds. My goal is to get up to 30-pound weight-carrying capacity since that would let me carry heavy loads when, for instance, we come across a long waterless section of trail that requires carrying lots of water, or a long section without resupply requiring me to carry lots of food, etc. But I'm quite happy to be at 20 pounds!
In addition to my weight-carrying improvements, last week, we took the camper out boondocking in the mountains and did a 10-mile hike with 1200ft elevation gain. It was the longest hike I've done since I fell in late December, not to mention the first major elevation change hike I've done since then. My hip was a bit sore going up, more sore coming down. But after we got back to the camper and rested for an hour, my pain was completely gone, I felt fine for the rest of the day!
I've added a little bit of running; I'm only on the first round of the Back-to-Running program that Dr. Hagen gave me last fall. I know I said earlier that I wasn't going to run anymore for fear of causing further harm, focusing instead on the hiking, but I wonder if the pounding of running triggers more cushioning development in the joint, allowing me to carry heavier weights. I don't know, I'm not going to push the running though.
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