Stupid cold

I have a cold. I was hopeful that it was some form of hay fever and not a cold but it is and it's all through my sinuses and in my chest. It sucks! So I am downing the Echinacea and Cold FX and anything else I can get my hands on in hopes that I can shove it out of me as fast as it got in. I do not have time for a cold!

Things I know but seem to forget

I feel better.
 Hugely better.  Because I am running.
 I am energetic when I get home- able to concentrate and more able to deal with stress.
Because I am running.
Instead of saying I don't want to- I don't feel like it- I'm too tired. I am saying I will feel better after I run and it is sooo true.
I am not running fast and I am just starting my 10 k base. At the pace I am going now it will take me 7 hours to finish the Marathon but I really don't give a crap. It doesnt matter how fast I do it just that I do it. I'm pretty excited.
I asked myself yesterday"if I won the lottery would I still do the Marathon?" and I asnswered YES!
 It's not so much about the trip but about the experience and the Marathon is the experence. When my feet hit the ground I will be running through history. So many feet that hit the ground before me, the blood, sweat and tears of those men and women who travelled the same route. The one who ran that path the first time. I wonder how long it took him, I wonder what he was thinking and feeling while he pushed himself to his phyical limits for something he believed in. And I have the opportunity to follow his path for something I believe in.
The Arthritis Society does so much for people who live their lives in constant physical pain. I believe in this cause, I believe in the work they do to ease the pain of those who suffer and I believe in myself. An amazing opportunity. Hey if you are reading this why don't you donate- help me make a difference. Do it for someone you know and/or love. Do it today. http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/p/peggiemay.aspx

and life gets in the way, and then gets out of the way again.

Life has a way of bringing you down. Literally. I had all the best intentions. I started early. Planning on making this process as easy on myself as possible. I signed up for my 10 k class and got started on that. It felt good...and hard. I was primed, motivated and ready. And then life got in the way. As it always will if you let it. It started with some physical health issues. The arthritis was so bad last spring and I ended up with Edima which swelled all my joints beyond recognition. That could have put a delay of a few months in the plan, that would have been ok. And then came the family problems. One after another after another until I was at a point when I was pretty darn sure I couldn't do this. Some days I couldn't even get out of bed let alone go for a run! I spent a lot of time thinking about this Marathon. Going back and forth in my head. How could I give up such an amazing opportunity, how could I take this opportunity with life blowing up in my face?
And then I got a message from Trish, our amazing joints in motion co-ordinator. It wasn't the first message she had left and I am ashamed to admit I avoided talking to her because I wanted to be sure. Probably I wanted to opt out. But this message was different. She read to me from my own website, reminded me of why I signed up for this crazy run, why I was doing it and who I was doing it for. But do I have enough time now? Can I possibly train for a Marathon that is in less than 28 weeks when I am not sure I can run around the block.
Yes I can, I will be slow, I will be sore and I will have to work super hard over the next months. I can do this. I will do it. I need to do it. There will never be another Marathon like this in my lifetime. There will never be another experience like this and I can't turn it down. To run the path that Pheidippides,the Greek messenger ran on the 2500th aniversary of that event is a life experience that I can't refuse. And I get to raise money for a society that has given me so much information and support over this past year, well it just doesn't get better does it?
Yesterday I took my first step (again) and I wil keep stepping until I have completed my goal. 7000.00 and 42 km. Can I get a Hell ya!

Run # 2- reigniting the spark

Just back from Run two. I did the whole thing as prescribed in my learn to run clinic.
All of it and it was good. I forgot what I liked about running.
For some people it is the social time in the group (I did it on my own today) , for some it is deep thinking time. For some it is the clarity and stress reduction. For me when I am working hard at running I am not thinking.
At all.
I count.
I count breaths, steps, seconds but I am not thinking about anything. Not about my job or what I have to do next, later, in an hour or tomorrow. I am not thinking about bills or budgets. I am not thinking about kids- their trials, troubles and tribulations. I am not thinking about laundry dishes and all the other never ending household chores.
It's glorious and really the only time that happens is when I am strenuously exercising. I am ready to rekindle my love affair with the long distance run.

The first class

My first class was last night and it is hotter than Hades around here!
I'd be lying if I told you I was looking forward to the class. It's hot and if possible I have gotten fatter since I signed up for this marathon- yes it's true.
The class was good, the run was hard and we only did 5 /3's- seems like such a piddly amount and it is, but this is the learn to run not the marathon class. And believe me that was killer for me. How did I let this happen to myself? Not to dwell on the mistakes of every ice cream cone and bottle of wine in the past. I have 65 weeks to become Marathon ready. This is week one of a 10 week program. After that another and another until I am in fighting shape and ready to go the distance....I CAN DO THIS!
Tomorrow is the 8:30 "long and slow" run, I wonder how much slower I could possibly go?

Don't forget to donate!!!!

More about the Marathon

Turns out my Midlife Marathon will take place on the 2500th anniversary of Pheidippedes run in 490 BC! How cool is that? Also cool is that is takes place on Halloween. Halloween in Greece though not a big holiday for the Greeks is pretty exciting for me. I wonder if dressing up to run will be a "thing" that locals will do? Everyday we are a little closer! I am so excited to do this!
Arthritis be damned! I will run my marathon from beginning till end!
I am currently working on a themed online auction. It's a discover BC themed auction and I think I will run it in October. All you readers save your pennies. There will be some amazing packages to bid on!

The crappiness of the diagnosis

The last couple of weeks I have had so much joint pain. In my toes on my left foot, the ankle of my right foot, my fingers, my wrists. Finally the Sunday before last my hands and feet swelled to twice their normal size- at least.

Could have been the heat, the beer, the huge amount of activity as I had company, was painting and cleaning, boating and so on. When Monday morning came and I was still swollen and every joint in both arms and legs hurt I knew I had better get in to see my Doctor.

Bless his heart he finally did the tests. Blood for Rheumatoid-Arthritis, x-rays for Osteoarthritis, urine to rule out the kidneys. And he prescribed Celebrex. Not that it has done much but taken down the swelling. The pain is ever present. In the past it was one joint for one season- for the most part I could avoid using the joint and everything would be OK. This year my whole body hurts. It sucks. It makes me way more bitchy and way less fun. I hate that.

But I digress. I take my Celebrex and wait for Friday when I go see him again and he says you have Osteoarthritis, there is no cure, the best we can do is mange the pain. Oh and as you get older it will get worse. More Celebrex. See you later.

It's a funny feeling when you are diagnosed with something you already know you have. I was relieved to know for absolute sure. I am a firm believer in knowing, once you know you can move forward. But I was also sad, very sad. I guess even though I knew it, I hoped I didn't. If that makes any sense. I just hoped the random joint pain was something else. And that something else would go away.

Will I still run Yes I will. I have even more reason to do it now and more reason to need the arthritis society and all it has to offer. Already it has helped by explaining to me what osteoarthritis is- as my Dr. didn't. And helping me to understand what I can do to control it and slow it down.

So knowing is moving forward and that is what I am doing now. With my run, with my diet, with my supplements. I can't cure it- yet- but I can try to make it less of an impact on my life.