Couch to ATHLETE!

I have some friends who are data people. I get it, but I don't thrive on it. Over the past several weeks, maybe even month, I have been running and cycling sans a gps device. I have absolutely no clue how many miles have been logged, although I could figure it out if I wanted to. The thing is, it has been nice.  I'm sure you have all had a bad day. What is the first thing you do when you have a bad day? My guess is you do exactly what I do... Wish it away. Thing is, you can't wish away a bad day, you have to get through it and NOT over it. The best way to cope with anything is to face it head on. Well sometimes an escape is just as nice. So how do these two topics merge together? Well, my friend and I were talking about all of the runners in this world and why they run. I stated that they are escaping. I do want to mention that there is a VERY big difference between 'running from' and 'escaping'. By escaping, I really mean taking a break. Running fro...

My team of WE (not including my parents) Today was an interesting day. I went into it begrudgingly because I had to do something I didn't wan t to do, but I gave myself an attitude adjustment on the way, which gave me permission to take a step back to learn something new. There are so many thoughts and discoveries to process from today, but I'm going to focus on the one thing that is freshest on the mind at this ripe hour of 10:00 pm. I should first mention that this discovery came while watching the last two episodes of Parenthood this evening at my friend's house. TV is one of those phenomenons in life that has increasingly taken over simple evening chatter with friends, that perhaps used to be focused on the happenings of the day. Call this escapism, or what you will, but know that sometimes the biggest lessons come from those escapes. If you have been following along this blog for the past couple of weeks, you likely know that I am in my month of no MS. I have been 90% ...

Whoops, missed a week... When I went up to Canada to run the Niagara Falls Woman's Half Marathon, I was embarking on a whole new experience. It included crossing a border, eating out all meals for several days before the race, the metric system on the course, and the most robust race packet I have ever seen. Here's the funny story that has never been told. All the volunteer shirts said voluncheer. I thought it Remember this finisher's photo? was one of two things: a) the screen printers screwed up, or; b) the Canadians had some weird way of saying volunteer. I mean either could have been possible, right? Well, I believe it was while we were running this lovely half marathon that I finally asked Sue if that spelling was french or something, because it occupied my brain so much that I needed to know!!! She then, so kindly (or not), laughed and told me it said volunCHEER!!! It was a play on words, who knew? Fast forward to this October, and I saw the 2014 Col...

I'm in the sixth day of this little game I play with myself sometimes called MS Free time. What might MS free time entail? It is just a period of time in which I stop all talk about MS, and resume my life as if I was never diagnosed. Simply put, I just quiet my loquacious nature for a bit. I don't totally ignore MS though... I still take my meds. Oh, and I had a brief conversation with my mom about it today, but that was less about my MS and more about emotions surrounding chronic diseases. I have successfully gone MS free on several occasions, one of which was my trip to Canada in the beginning of the summer. So why am I blogging about it then? Because, as my mom said today, I don't know how to quiet my mind. My friend and I talk about my inability to relax, I disagree and was telling my mom I am great at relaxing, which is true, but only physically. I mean I can ignore dishes in my sink and the ring around my bathtub for weeks out of my 'need' to relax, but my min...

What do you do during your 'off season'? Well let's first define what an off season is for me... In my world, any time I am not registered for a big event, or the event I am registered for is more than 20 or so weeks away, I call it off season. One of my favorite things to do when I am not training for something is, well, nothing. The last big event of 2014 is over. Pedal to the Point ended two months ago today. I'm still mourning the completion of the best event of the year, and certainly the most memorable of my life. Finishing Pedal to the Point was something!!! No other word can explain it... So this is where I get to the point, and really explain what I do in my off season. I have post event depression, I watch copious amounts of TV, eat copious amounts of ice cream, lay on the couch, and do crazy household projects... I am often told that I am not good at living in the moment, but I can tell you when you are on episode 23 of Sister Wives, finished a se...

Susan, Me and Sue - Pre Race I am a person who likes to have plans. I typically choose an event and beg Sue to join me. This time? Sue chose an event, mentioned it and I said OK. I also dragged another friend into this race. This weekend was all about OSU. Now, I went to the University of Colorado at Boulder. I wouldn't say that I was a huge football fan, actually my friend and I were talking about the fact that I was more annoyed by football because the traffic made getting to the mountains difficult... But I am a loyal lover of the Buffs, from affiliation alone. So when Sue asked me if I would do this race with her, my natural answer was yes, but that was more because she wanted to do the race, and less because I got to cross the finish line on the fifty yard line. So, yesterday, Sue and I were heading out to get our packets, and I expressed to her, that I wanted to be like the Amish this weekend. What does that mean? I just wanted to fit in with the crowd (the Amish do ...

I have been told that I don't know how to live in the moment because I am always making plans for the next moment. I like to argue that I am good at living in the moment, except when I am planning for what comes next. What is the difference? I don't know... Do you live with your cup half empty or half full? Same thing, right? Well, I'm learning that I am somewhat wrong. I still stand by the fact that I live in the moment, afterall, I will stop to appreciate the snowfall, stars in the sky, the most recent household accomplishment, but that is between planning away my life. When you have MS, there is this underlying knowledge that you may someday be disabled, thus a fear may develop. Is it rational? Some may argue that it isn't rational, afterall, I can walk out the door on any given morning and get struck by a bus, or fall and break my back, thus resulting in the exact same affliction of MS, potential paralysis. The difference between these circumstances is that when you...