Category: Chronic Pain

• I’ve Got All the Excuses

  

  Let me start by offering all the excuses to explain why I have not finished a 100-mile race in two years despite repeated efforts: In 2016, the Bear 100 was nicknamed the Polar Bear 100. Despite it being only mid-September in Utah, the forecast called for feet of snow to drop, starting the night before […]

  Lynn K Hall

  October 4, 2017

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

• Taper Tantrums

  My first trail race of the season – Dirty 30 50K – is only one week away! I’m particularly excited for the Dirty 30 this year because it will be my fifth year finishing, and the race director (Megan Finnesy) presents five-year finishers with cool jackets.  Obviously ultras are all about the badass apparel. Of […]

  Lynn K Hall

  May 26, 2017

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Dirty 30, GRIT, Joy, Migraines, Taper

• Power Cleans & Fat Dogs

  

  Hey, I’m back on the blog! (Whaat?) It’s been a few months since the release of my memoir, and my sanity is starting to return marble by marble. I’m sure the other reason I’m back writing here is obvious: another adventure is on the horizon! My big ultra of the year, Fat Dog 120, is […]

  Lynn K Hall

  May 9, 2017

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Fat Dog 120, Maob, Trail Running

• The “Red Light” Option

  I’m spending most of today preparing for the Ouray 50 coming up this Saturday – packing clothes and gear; buying food; memorizing the course map, mileage, and cut-offs. Part of my preparation is the mental aspect, too, as I consider the difficulties of the challenge (did someone say 23,500 feet of elevation gain?!?) and recognizing […]

  Lynn K Hall

  August 4, 2016

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

• “I have a migraine. I think I’ll go for a run,” said no one, ever.

  These past few months and weeks I have rapidly descended into full-blown headache hell. After having an unbelievably fantastic year with my chronic pain, since September I’m struggling more and more each week. I’m at the point now where my headache is incapacitating at least part of every day, if not all day. Here’s the […]

  Lynn K Hall

  December 18, 2015

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

• The Difference between Pain and Suffering and Why I Want to Run** another 100-Miler

  It’s been five weeks since I completed the Run Rabbit Run 100+ -mile ultra-marathon. The recovery has been tough – in some ways tougher than I anticipated. I had neuropathy in my feet, and my toes have been numb until just a few days ago. I’ve been exhausted and hungry all the time. The worst […]

  Lynn K Hall

  October 25, 2015

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Hardrock 100, Run Rabbit Run 100

• Medtronic Global Heroes Reunion

  

  Last weekend I flew to Minneapolis to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Medtronic Global Heroes program. Global Heroes are runners selected by Medtronic who have overcome major health struggles with the help of medical technology. I was chosen as a Global Hero a year ago, in 2014, and this year we were invited back […]

  Lynn K Hall

  October 7, 2015

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Medtronic Global Heroes, Medtronic Marathon

• 100 Miles Isn’t So Crazy, Right?

  My decision to register for a 100-mile ultra was hardly spontaneous. I’ve been building mileage and mentally preparing for it since 2013 when I finished my first 50-mile ultra. A few months ago I chose Run Rabbit Run, a 100+ mile race with 21,000 feet of climbing through Steamboat Springs’ surrounding mountains. I’ll have 36 […]

  Lynn K Hall

  June 21, 2015

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Run Rabbit Run

• My Headache’s Thirteenth Birthday

  Yesterday I celebrated my headache’s thirteenth birthday. On December 15th 2001, I was an eighteen-year-old Air Force Academy cadet when I contracted meningitis, the inception of my chronic pain. I mean it when I use that word, celebrate. At least I mean it today. Earlier this year I wrote about perpetual loss, how as someone […]

  Lynn K Hall

  December 16, 2014

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Mt Elbert

• Indian Creek Fifties – Pain Isn’t Forever

  For my last ultra of 2014, I ran (read: power hiked!) the Indian Creek Fifties, a trail race through Roxborough State Park. The course has 8,000 feet of climbing, the same amount as the Pikes Peak Marathon, but the gains are broken up into several segments along the rolling trail. This is what I learned […]

  Lynn K Hall

  November 15, 2014

  Chronic Pain, Ultra-journeying & Mountaineering

  Indian Creek Fifities