Apologies

Well, it's been 25 days since my last blog entry. It's a good time to apologize for my absence on the blog as well as from training. It has not been an easy time; I lost my sister, and adjusting to that reality has been more than a little weird. Thank goodness for family who support and love one another.

I have not logged one single mile since my last post, I'm sorry to say. I've missed out on the last three team saturdays, as well. I've been eating too much, thinking too much and generally been in a funk. Time to pull myself up by my bootstraps!

I'm going to get back on the treadmill this evening. The weather is just too nasty to summon up any interest in training outdoors. We've had so much rain in the past 24 hours I feel as though I'm standing under a waterfall.

Have you ever been in a position where your head wants something very badly, yet your body seems to be thwarting your every effort to make some forward progress? Well, that's the spot I'm in right now. Training for me is painful, and no matter how I try to mentally overcome it, my body sends constant reminders with every moment and every step. Yuck. Try to find some motivation in that!! I think the trick is to not think about it very much...as Nike says, "Just do it."

I could really use some encouragement, hint, hint. Pen some comments on the blog so I can read them and recapture my incentive to do this. It's true, I am trying to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation, but more importantly, I want to help my fellow ASers feel as though they 1) aren't alone, 2) can accomplish something special even when afflicted with ankylosing spondylitis, and 3) inspire those with AS and their families that life with AS is worth living. Maybe at the same time it will serve to remind me, as well.

I'll be back here tomorrow; I hope you will too. Keep movin - rest is rust!

Training Day 11 - March 27, 2010

Preventing injuries in a big deal when training for any endurance competition. I begin with stretches to help loosen up my body and get the muscles warm. Generally I do this in the house before I head out, and it's not included in the time I spend walking. Neither is cool down afterward. Most treadmills will have you believe that two minutes is a proper cool down period. I tend to take my time, however, so I usually spend up to 10 minutes cooling down. This allows the lactic acid that has built up in the muscles to dissipate, and permits the heart rate to return to normal. Not cooling down after a workout will have me mentally flogging myself the next day when my muscles are so sore I can't move. AS pain is bad enough; adding muscle pain isn't my thing if I can avoid it.

I did a full 60 minutes today, which is right on track with the training schedule. The shin splints I was experiencing last week have lessened. I'm still dealing with knee pain, but I can live with it at this point. I tell you, the worst thing right now is the soft tissue hip injury I sustained in the fall earlier in the week. Thankfully, there's no bruise on the skin, but there is some swelling and I can tell that there is some deep tissue bruising. I get a less than gentle reminder of it every time I roll onto my left hip. :-/

Tomorrow is Sunday, and a day off. I'll connect back on Monday. keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 10 - Friday, March 26, 2010

Excuses, excuses, excuses! I spent the entire day thinking of reasons why I didn't want to train today. Have you ever done that? "I'm too tired", "I have to clean out the closet", "I promised I'd help the neighbor pull weeds in the garden". One right after the other. Sometimes I can think myself right out of doing what needs to be done. It almost worked today. Finally, I just stopped thinking and got my butt onto the treadmill. Once I get started I'm fine. It's the getting started that sometimes is the biggest challenge with any kind of workout. So, I've decided to stop thinking and just do.

Tomorrow is the team training day again. Saturdays are typically the longest workout of the week so Fridays and Sundays are designated as off days. Because I had a short workout earlier in the week, I didn't take today completely off. Instead, I did a 30 minute walk at 3.5 mph. My legs feel strong, but I still have the nagging knee pain. As always, my joints protest, but if I neglected to participate in activities due to joint pain, I'd have no life.

It's not much of a blog entry today. That's about all I have to say. keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 9 - Thursday, March 25, 2010

RAIN! Except for Saturday, it looks as though I'll be training on the treadmill rather than in the great outdoors. Training in the company of the sights, sounds and feel of the earth's lovliness raises my spirits and keeps me connected to an intangible source of strength. Indoor training feels safe, but it can get very boring without some sort of incentive. In anticipation of an indoor training day I loaded two hours of dance music on my iPod this morning. It works like a charm for me. I try to select songs with 140-150 bpm (beats per minute). This keeps me walking fast enough to achieve a 17 minute mile. I don't know about you, but that's pretty darn fast for a woman with a 27 inch inseam!

Now that I've publically announced this blog, I'm hoping for some comments. So what say you, peeps? Is this blog good reading, a total snooze, mildly curious or bang on interesting? Let me know...

I'll be hanging out here again tomorrow after training to give you the low down. I hope you're 'down' with that! LOL keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 8 - Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Wednesday's training was limited to 15 minutes only. I think I'm going to have to consider this a non-training day instead of taking Friday off. I just couldn't push myself into it today. For some reason my mind isn't working well today; I can't seem to finish a thought, much less keep my daily activities going. I cannot say that I hurt more than usual; I'm just not feeling it today. Maybe I need some encouragement...keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 7 - March 23, 2010

Shoot, I didn't get this post written before midnight, so it's got the wrong date on it. This is my training musings for Tuesday, not Wednesday.

The weather was cooperative today, so after lacing up my Asics I grabbed my sunglasses and water. Nice...a sunny day. Have you ever noticed that colors appear more vibrant after a rain? It's true; yesterday was dull and rainy; today the greens are greener...literally -- my route today took me through a golf course! Thank goodness I came away from it without a single knock on the noggin from an errant golf ball.

I didn't have any difficulty motivating myself to walk today. The sun is an incentive. Joint pain level = 6; shin splints = 2. The shin splints are much better today; my body is becoming accustomed to walking again. There was, however, a big ass hill I had to climb on the way home, so tonight my butt muscles are a little sore.

Hey, I lost 3 lbs last week. I've incorporated a couple of protein shakes a day to keep my muscles functioning at their best. Normally when I finish a practice walk, I refuel with a protein shake and half a banana. It's a good idea to feed your muscles after a workout. Adding a small serving of carbs such as fresh fruit helps replenish the energy used during exercise. Here's a tip: bananas help reduce leg cramping, thanks to their high level of potassium.

Did you know that soreness following exercise is due to swelling from micro tears in the muscles? It's true! That's one reason why it's important for me to remember not to overdo it. By nature I push myself; sometimes that characteristic is a good thing, at other times it isn't. Must have something to do with the stubborn streak, eh?

I made a boo-boo with today's training; I was supposed to walk 45 minutes; instead I walked an hour. I did that yesterday, too. D'oh! I hope I don't pay for that mistake tomorrow with more fatigue than usual. With respect to the AS, it's a toss up either way. I'm just hopeful it doesn't lead to a flare. I don't know what triggers a flare, so it's hard to prevent one from happening. Sometimes, just a simple change in routine or not getting enough rest can bring one on. Grrr...

Well, it's getting late and I need to get to bed. After all, tomorrow is another day of training! keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 6 - March 22, 2010

Hey everyone! Life happened today, so I didn't have the opportunity to take my usual outdoor training walk. Instead, I schlepped down to the fitness room at 10:30 tonight to put in my time on the treadmill. I have to tell you, treadmill walking is much easier on my joints than pounding asphalt. It's boring as heck, but less painful. I have to remember to load more electronica and dance music on my iPod. I've found using that type of music not only is good listening, it helps me keep my pace steady.

Speaking of pace, in order to walk a half marathon in four hours or under, it's necessary to maintain a minimum of a 17 minute mile. For those of you not familiar with distance walking, that's just a hair over 3.5 miles/hr. That doesn't sound very fast, does it? But try to maintain that speed for 13.1 miles when you have short legs! Short legs mean a short stride, therefore I take far more steps to cover the same distance as a long legged walker. Thanks, Dad, for the short genes. For me, 3.5 miles an hour is about as fast as my legs walk. At 4 mph, I'm jogging. Did I mention I don't run? Sure I did. I don't run...

I'll check back in tomorrow. The weather should be nice enough in the afternoon to walk outside.

Oh, before I forget...if you haven't visited my donation page, please do it now. Every little bit helps get me closer to my fundraising goal of $500.00. To get there, click on the "My Donation Page" at the top of the blog.

Until tomorrow, remember: keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 5 - March 20, 2010

The JIM team training day. I hauled my backside out of bed at 6:00 am. Ugh, that's too early for me these days, but I did it anyway. Commitment and determination leads us to go places we might not otherwise attempt. You can quote me on that!

Taking water bottle in hand and attaching Lucie to her leash, we walked downstairs and outside to a chilly, damp morning. Looking forward to the forecasted sunny day, the grass is leaden with dew, but my spirits cannot be dampened. We climbed into the car and headed to REI in Redmond, our gathering spot for this morning's session. Once there, I met our fearless leader, Scott, along with the rest of the Seattle JIM team. It looks like a group of about 20 something, although there were a few teammates missing. Today's assignment: 60 minutes (for the walkers) on the Sammamish River trail. Because part of the team are runners, some are walk/joggers and the rest walkers, we head out together but don't stay in a pack for more than 60 seconds or so. The sun is beginning to cast long morning shadows as we begin the trek. Have you ever walked or biked on the Sammamish River trail? If not, you're missing a real treat! The trail runs parallel to the river and is completely paved, with some wide areas alongside so runners/walkers can change surfaces. Running or walking long distances on a single surface such as concrete or asphalt can be hard on the feet and legs, so it's good to have grass or compacted soil to switch onto to reduce bone stress.

Shortly after the beginning of the trail, we came upon a fork where the trail divided north and south. I and majority of the group chose the south trail which leads to Marymoor Park, a huge urban park that is arguably the best outdoor recreation destination spot in the Puget sound area. Lush landscaping, miles and miles of trails along with playing fields, a velodrome, performance area, picnic spots, off lease dog park, etc. etc. I tell you this is a BIG park, and I'm so lucky to be living in such close proximity to it. Needless to say, it's a popular weekend spot for area residents, so I'm glad we started out early this morning.

I have to tell you, my body is protesting a bit. Well, more than a bit. I've got shin splints that are going to require some icing when I get home. Blame that on the concrete walking and just beginning my training. I expect that to improve as I get further into the program.

One thing I'm concerned about is some fairly constant pain coming from my left knee. Today as I started the walk it was aching quite intensely. On a scale of 1-10, it was an 8. It is always difficult for me to get started in the mornings, as you know, because of stiffness and pain from inactivity during sleep time. Today there's additional pain in hips, low back and feet. My ankles felt somewhat rigid, so that throws my step off a little. That proved to ease a little as I kept walking.

Thank goodness for the sun and gorgeous view. That helped keep me motivated and made it easier to push through the discomfort. I passed a couple of other team walkers on the trail. They seemed to be having a good time, so that helped keep my spirits up too. Of course Lucie decided that she had to stop for a poop break about that time, so I ended up taking a short rest along the side of the trail until she finished. Once her duty was completed and I disposed of the waste, we got back on the trail. It was 40 minutes into the walk, I was doing OK, convinced I could make the full 60.

The last 10 minutes of the walk was a test of my will. The body was telling me to stop, but I kept on. Did I tell you I am stubborn? Stubborn, but not stupid...I sure hope my body is going to be able to take this training. It's important to me to help others with AS understand what is possible. Let's be honest, this is a painful disease; we have to learn to cope with it and try to live as normal a life as possible. If we give in, we lose the battle. I, for one, am not willing to give in. I've come close a time or two, when the constant pain, fatigue and continuing progression of the disease forced me to alter my career path. As I've said before, this isn't a disease for the weak. Sometimes I think God chose ASers for this particular life challenge because we are somehow inherently strong. That's the way I choose to think of it, at least.

With the end of the walk in sight, Lucie was starting to get excited by the prospect of a nice nap and a treat. She's still new to accompanying me during a training, so she's learning that she cannot stop and sniff every blade of grass or leisurely look around for birds and other small critters that might be hiding just out of her reach. Her tongue was lolling as we began our cool down. Once to got to the car, she was more than ready for a drink of water.

Speaking of water, it's very important to keep yourself well hydrated during exercise. I always carry a 1/2 liter (about 17 oz) of water during a training walk. The bottle is empty by the time I've finished the cool down.

That's all for today. Sunday is an off day, so no training notes. I'll be back at it on Monday. See you then! keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Day 4 - March 18, 2010

May I whine for just a moment? Everything about today was difficult. It began when my eyes popped open with the pounding of the garbage truck snorting and banging just outside my bedroom window. Why is it trash companies, birds with shrill calls, helicopters and lawn companies with noisy gas fueled equipment choose 7 am to do their duty? Rude awakenings always make me feel so cheerful! Uh...NOT

Anyway, I dragged myself out of a perfectly cozy bed only to stand on two feet that felt like someone had been hammering on them all night. They didn't stop with my feet either. The sadistic buggers had a grand time mushing up my hips, back, shoulders and neck as well. It's difficult to start the morning with a sunny smile when you feel as though you've been beat up and your joints have turned to hot cement. That has pretty much been the story of my life every morning for more than 25 years. Since AS graced me with its presence, it has tested my strength in many, many ways. For quite a while, it took me about an hour to get get myself up and mobile every morning. Now it take more like 3 hours before I'm ready to get household tasks done or leave the house to run an errand. I used to work full time; now I'm lucky to keep up with my daughter on a shopping trip that lasts more than 2 hours.

Enough of that; on to the training news. My Asics started beckoning me early this afternoon, so I grudgingly began the process of putting them on. Did you know such a simple task as putting shoes on could be a challenge? Since I cannot bend over far enough to put my shoes on the normal way, I donn them by pushing my foot in, then prop my feet, one by one, onto a chair. In order to reach the laces from a standing position, I bend my knees so that I'm in a semi squat position to tie each shoe. That accomplished, I got Lucie and my water bottle, and off I went.

Once outside, it was a slow start. Experiencing more pain this morning than other days, it felt a bit like I was walking through knee high mud. I suspected I wouldn't get 2.5 miles done in the 45 minutes allotted, so I adjusted my focus from mileage to proper form, steady cadence and fending off the temptation to turn around and go back home! After about 20 minutes I felt better, my joints loosened up and it became easier to ignore the burning pain in my left hip and knee. You have to be stubborn to get anywhere when you have AS; this is not a disease for the feint of heart. Learning how to look past pain and concentrate on more positive matters is a skill I've picked up along the way. I thank God for that or I'd be in a real mell of a hess, as my Dad used to say.

There I was, 30 minutes into what was turning out to be a decent training, and THUD! "Oh s**t", I thought, "what just happened"? In the short moment that followed I gathered my wits and understood I had stumbled. I fell hard onto my left hip, scraping my elbow and lower leg on the way down. Talk about a rude surprise!! Determining that I hadn't broken anything, (I always worry about that since my low back and hips are fused,) I picked myself up and looked around. I don't know about you, but after an event like this, most women have the urge to look around them to see who witnessed them in the ungraceful act of falling. Thank goodness I was walking in a new homesite, so most of the construction dudes were either perched on a roof nailing down shingles or banging their hammers somewhere in the interior of the homes. All I had to worry about were the two landscapers off to my left. Can you guess what caused me to stumble? Some lame construction person had strung a gray string from a stick in the ground on the homesite across the sidewalk and onto another stick poked into the future location of some landscaping. The string being exactly the same color as the sidewalk went completely unnoticed to my eyes, and I caught my left toe squarely under the string, bringing me down with a very unladylike KA-WHUMP. So what was I to do? Well, I finished my 45 minute training, that's what. I had to ignore some hip pain, but I was certain I didn't break anything, so why not just push on?

I'm home now. We'll see what the outcome of the fall is when I get up in the morning. Either it will have put me into a flare (bad), or be nothing more than extra stiff and sore (good) when I once again put my feet onto the floor to begin another day.

My JIM training schedule gives me Fridays off, so I'll be posting again Saturday after team training. FYI, the entire Seattle JIM teams meets every Saturday morning to train together. Some walk, some walk/jog and some run. Saturdays are a good day to get to know the rest of the group, so I'm looking forward to meeting my mates. Check back here Saturday evening to read the latest. Keep movin' - rest is rust!

Training Days 1-3; March 15-17, 2010

Training Day 1 - March 15, 2010
According to the weather, this is a perfect day to begin training; a rare day in the middle of March when the the sun is shining, and there's just a smidgen of a breeze. I've got the much traveled Asics on my feet, a trusty bottle of Earth2O in my windbreaker pocket and I'm all ready to go. BTW, I think I neglected to mention that I'm WALKING this marathon, not running. My joints (and other body parts) just can't take the beating of a run unless there's a bear on my tail! I'll check back in about 45 minutes...after the walk.

Well, I did it. Wow! It feels great to get out there; my joints are screaming at me, but I expected that. The strange thing about AS is that it's absolutely necessary to keeping moving to avoid stiffness and reduce pain, but too much of a good thing is, well, too much. I tried to keep it reasonable today though, considering I'm just getting started. Bear in mind that for the past 9 months or so, the best I've been able to do with regard to exercise is take Lucie (my much loved dog) for a 15 minute leisurely trek around the neighborhood for a good sniff and a pee. Well, that and the routine stretches that all us ASers need to do every day to retain as much flexibility as possible.

Tomorrow is another day. I'll continue this missive at the conclusion of tomorrow's training session. Keep movin'--rest is rust!
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Training Day 2 - March 16, 2010
Ugh, lots of rain and wind today. My shins are a bit sore, but that worked out fine on my walk. After the first mile things smoothed out, so I decided to finish for the full 45 minutes. As I was walking, something popped into my mind--I wonder how many 57 year old women are willing to look like a dork just to achieve a goal. All the fitness magazines would lead us to believe that all the females are 25, lean, perfectly tanned, with flawless hair, coordinating crop tops and itty bitty shorts poured onto a size 2 body of perfection. Ha! Let's get real...
I'll check back in tomorrow--it's St. Pat's Day. Keep movin'--rest is rust!
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Training Day 3 - March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Green is the day and pooped is this sorry excuse for an "athlete". That's what they call us on the team. I know it's all to pump us up. My apologies to the real athletes out there. Did I mention I'm pooped? I walked up hill both ways for 45 minutes. My legs were cooperative, though. They've always been the strongest part of my body...even when I was carrying around a LOT of weight.

Anyway, I felt fairly motivated today. I walked the sidewalk along a busy street during the afternoon commute. Big mistake. I could have disappeared into an abyss of car exhaust, diesel fumes and dust. I managed to survive it, though, and felt invigorated as I turned toward home with the thought of a nice bucket of oats.

What's with the horse lingo? Beats me, it just entered my mind and the thought transmitted onto the page. Sorry about that.

The training schedule calls for 45 minutes again tomorrow, them I'm off Friday. Saturday is the weekly team training day. It'll be the first time I meet the rest of my JIM compadres. I'll blog more about that tomorrow, but for now I won't clog your brain cells any longer. Keep movin'--rest is rust!