Well worth the wait...

I was looking forward to my solo trail run this morning. However, the rain set those plans aside temporarily. I had slept well for the first time in several weeks and was eager to put in some solid miles. The run would have to wait until the rain stopped.
At mid morning I took my 12 year old daughter, Brianna with me to see my multiple amputee patient, Sarah ( not her real name). Brianna is planning on becoming a physician so this would be a great experience for her. When we arrived, the nurse Toni had just arrived to change the dressing on Sarah's right foot. All the toes had been amputated as well as some of the tarsal bones and a skin flap was not doing well so more debridement would be needed next week. Changing the dressing was to take over an hour and a half including removal and replacement of the wound-vac and I was pleased to don sterile gloves to assist Toni with changing the dressings. Sarah was tired from yesterday's therapy session and wanted to go a little lighter today. We did 3 X 10 reps of resisted abduction, adduction, hamstring curls and full arc quads as well as abdominal curls and back extensions in the wheelchair then moved on to supine straight leg raises, crunches and obliques followed by prone thoracic extension and hip extension for gluteals. Sarah worked hard and is quickly regaining strength to prepare her for the long road ahead and future prosthetic limb training. It is an honor to work with a girl who is so full of gratitude merely to be alive, and works as hard as any patient that I have ever had in therapy.

The rain persisted through the afternoon, preventing any work at the rental house that we own. I had planned to dig a post hole, sink a sonotube, mix the concrete and put a new 4 X 4 fence post in but that will have to wait until next week.

Towards 4:30 pm the rain subsisted so I changed into my running gear and headed up to the high trail East of Cedar Hills. The trail was soft as first, but after two miles became quite muddy. I found my shoes becoming heavier as the mud adhered to the soles and subsequently flew off in big chunks as I ran through an area of more gravel. In places I was sliding so badly that I had to walk for 20 yards or so.
I took the trail south to the Grove Creek trailhead, used the bathroom there and dropped down a very steep 1 mile section to the canal and turned North. The rain, which had abated earlier, began in earnest. I looked at my Garmin. I had covered 6 miles and had planned on 4 more. I was nowhere near home and the rain was starting to descend harder. My 10 mile easy run turned into a 6 mile easy run followed by a tempo run to get home before I was soaked. The next mile was covered in 7:18, the next one 7:36 and I quickly tired. I figured I could drop down from the canal to the canyon road and be home faster though losing some planned miles. When I descended the hill to my home I found that I had covered 8.46 miles and was cold and wet .
A quick hot shower was followed by a plate of chicken , wild rice, broccoli and spaghetti squash while I watched my DVR of the recent Ford Ironman 70.3 triathlon World Championships held in Clearwater Beach, Florida.
It has been a good week. I have worked hard at my regular job and had some great patients. I rested from last weeks marathon and began my training for the next one. As always I appreciate the support of family and friends. I am more motivated than ever to update my blog regularly.
The wild run was well worth the wait today !