They say that pain is weakness leaving your body. There is a Looooottttt of weakness leaving my body today....! This morning's long run was 18 miles. The first 11 were great, and the middle 5 were hell...The last 3 OK. I wore the wrong socks and now I have blisters on the bottom of my feet - yuck!
Next weekend's long run is only 9.5 miles, then the following weekends will be 20 miles each. (This is in addition to the runs, strength training, and yoga during the week, but those are pretty much fine. )
I haven't kept up with this blog, so I am going to try to do a better job of it going forward. I really really appreciate all of your support! This past week Jim and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. We celebrated a day early, Wednesday, because of my training - I couldn't eat or drink what I really wanted on Thursday in preparation for my long run today. He brought me some gorgeous flowers at work and we had a romantic dinner at Sardines on Lake Monona. We exchanged cards and talked about our life so far, and going forward. My "card" to him was a listing of all the different ways I could describe our marriage - some of them serious, some funny, and some unprintable. His job was to choose which one would be my facebook status on the day of our anniversary. He chose one that described how hard he worked to win me over...which he truly did. And I am so grateful. He is a mighty good man.
Of course we discussed how many years we might have left together, but it is always so good to just hope for the best. We have grown as a couple and as individuals through our trials with CF. (Jim gave me a card early in our marriage when he was about to go on his first 6 month Med cruise...he said that he hoped that cruise would be the most challenging time in our married life....Little did we know, those times were a breeze compared to the past 5 years!) These past 15 have truly gone by fast, and the next 15 will go by even faster. Josie will be graduated from high school in 15 years!!!!
We are going to Michigan for the week, so I won't post for awhile - no phones and no internet access up there! Have a great week!
Colleen
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Update
I didn't give an update in between these past two weeks, ...but wanted to say that after my 7/28 long run, the next week's long run was pretty aweseome. I am learning how to eat, and focusing on getting enough rest and stretching during the week.
Jim got off his IV meds and is getting ready to participate in a clinical trial for Manitol. This is a powdered med that is supposed to liquify the mucus in his lungs to the point where it is much easier to expel the mucus and the bacteria that is infecting his lungs. I'm a bit nervous about it because it requires him to stop inhaling nebulized 7% saline, which is the "miracle" that turned him around in 2006 (getting him off of oxygen.) However, he has tested Manitol once and he said it seems to work even better than the saline. I absolutely trust his judgement when it comes to his medical care so I can't even worry about it. The only problem that we both see is that he may not actually get the Manitol in the first six months of the clinical trial as 50% of participants receive a placebo. But he says he'll know right away if he is on the placebo and will go back to using saline solution if he needs to. He is scheduled to start the trial when we return from vacation.
Jim got off his IV meds and is getting ready to participate in a clinical trial for Manitol. This is a powdered med that is supposed to liquify the mucus in his lungs to the point where it is much easier to expel the mucus and the bacteria that is infecting his lungs. I'm a bit nervous about it because it requires him to stop inhaling nebulized 7% saline, which is the "miracle" that turned him around in 2006 (getting him off of oxygen.) However, he has tested Manitol once and he said it seems to work even better than the saline. I absolutely trust his judgement when it comes to his medical care so I can't even worry about it. The only problem that we both see is that he may not actually get the Manitol in the first six months of the clinical trial as 50% of participants receive a placebo. But he says he'll know right away if he is on the placebo and will go back to using saline solution if he needs to. He is scheduled to start the trial when we return from vacation.
Friday, August 14, 2009
July 28, 2009
This past week was my most difficult training week ever. I'm not quite sure why, but I think it may be because I worked really hard on my sprints on Wednesday (they were hell) and my legs were very sore on my long run on Saturday. Or it could be because I didn't do yoga last week…yoga really helps so I will make sure to do it this week.
I use a product called 'Glide' on my body to prevent chafing, but discovered a new area of the body that can also be chafed when I neglected to protect it - my belly button! I never knew a belly button could hurt so bad, but it has been red and raw for a few days! Who knew?
These workouts seem to take so long and they are very difficult. I have moved from running in the morning to running at night, because I need a couple of hours to do it. Plus I need to go to the gym to do yoga or strength. On Saturday I thought about you guys a lot because I really wanted to stop running. But I didn't want to have to tell anyone that I didn't make my 12 miles! Some runs are just harder than others, without a real reason why. The week before I did my 10 miles full of joy and energy. Hopefully this weekend will be back in sync as I run my 13.1 on Saturday. (The other members of Team CF are running in the Chicago Half Marathon but I'm staying in WI and running on my own.)
Thanks again for your support! Jim went back on IV meds this week and I am so glad that I am in a training program to help me deal with stress. Last night I wanted to eat chips and chocolate cake and sulk at home, but I had to do my workout instead. About half-way through my strength training I felt a lot better, and then my 6 mile run was awesome. I ran outside and the moon was amazing - bright and low in the sky like an orange slice glowing in the night. There was a great breeze too, so it was very good.
I use a product called 'Glide' on my body to prevent chafing, but discovered a new area of the body that can also be chafed when I neglected to protect it - my belly button! I never knew a belly button could hurt so bad, but it has been red and raw for a few days! Who knew?
These workouts seem to take so long and they are very difficult. I have moved from running in the morning to running at night, because I need a couple of hours to do it. Plus I need to go to the gym to do yoga or strength. On Saturday I thought about you guys a lot because I really wanted to stop running. But I didn't want to have to tell anyone that I didn't make my 12 miles! Some runs are just harder than others, without a real reason why. The week before I did my 10 miles full of joy and energy. Hopefully this weekend will be back in sync as I run my 13.1 on Saturday. (The other members of Team CF are running in the Chicago Half Marathon but I'm staying in WI and running on my own.)
Thanks again for your support! Jim went back on IV meds this week and I am so glad that I am in a training program to help me deal with stress. Last night I wanted to eat chips and chocolate cake and sulk at home, but I had to do my workout instead. About half-way through my strength training I felt a lot better, and then my 6 mile run was awesome. I ran outside and the moon was amazing - bright and low in the sky like an orange slice glowing in the night. There was a great breeze too, so it was very good.
Motivation
As each grueling mile of training gives way to more grueling miles, I am reminded that all over this country, there are people feeling the affects of cystic fibrosis who work much harder than I am, just to be able to breathe on a daily basis. They would trade places with me in a heartbeat.
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