Author: Lisa

This is me: who are you?

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See that? That’s me. That’s 44 with fibromyalgia that was triggered by 20+ years of rheumatoid arthritis. I’m a wife. A mother. A full time career woman putting on the largest and highest profile events for the capital of California. I’m a distance runner. I’m a yogi. I’m a photographer with a thriving little tiny business to manage.

Through all these things there should be more pride. But I’m tired. I hurt. My brain is foggy and I have to concentrate twice as hard to remember things or to process information. I’m lugging around many extra pounds which don’t help me any. My schedule is packed with events and meetings and photo shoots and cooking dinner and scheduling training runs. I’m tired. All the time. And that affects more than just me.

If there are any other Spoonies out there, anyone else suffering from chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, RA, lupus, or another silent chronic pain ridden illness, please reach out. I’d love to hear about how you balance your life and thrive. It’s such an important story to tell.

And remember: keep kicking ass gently.

Staycationing

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img_0992I tell people I have the hardest job in the world. I have to convince people that Sacramento is a great destination and they should visit. Don’t worry, this isn’t a blog post about why you should visit Sacramento, it isn’t even a blog post about my job. This is actually a blog post about me not going to my job while I’m on vacation and sticking around to do all the things I regularly encourage others to do.

I have a few criteria. What I choose to do on my staycation must include any one of the following in any combination:

  • Physical activity
  • Relaxation
  • Good food
  • Good drinks
  • Do something I haven’t done before
  • Do something I haven’t done in a long time
  • Do something productive
  • Take all the pictures

And, in no particular order, here is what has made the list so far:

All this is dependent upon whether or not I have jury duty though, soooo WISH ME LUCK!

If you ever find yourself in the area, hit these links up! I’m actually excited to be exploring the world right here around me. Maybe this little city really is a cool place to visit.

I Should be on the Side of a Milk Carton

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Because I obviously went missing.

Life does that to you. One minute you are full of dedication and enthusiasm for a cause or task and then next you are dragged away to take care of something more immediate and pressing. Careers get in the way of our hobbies and responsibilities to others encroach on our “me time.”

This month, the month of my birth, I am taking back my time. Never one to toot my own horn (and very likely to just give my horn to someone else completely) I generally don’t put myself, my needs, or my accomplishments ahead of others. But maybe that’s a huge reason why my self esteem is lying in a crumpled heap in a dark corner? Perhaps in order for others to value my existence and contribution to the planet as a whole, I need to first value myself.

Don’t look at me that way.

Work just kicked my ass hard. I spent all of August and most of September in a flare up of either Rheumatoid Arthritis or Fibromyalgia (no one really knows) and it sucked. We put in long hours with all the stress and all the physical labor. Stress, lifting, little to no sleep, long exhausting hours? No wonder I was in a flare. But that all came to a close at the end of September and now life can return to a normal rhythm. I decided that this is the perfect opportunity to reset my entire self. Celebrate my birth month, treat myself to the little things I enjoy, relax, partake in my hobbies, run and take photos!

And I’m doing just that.

Unicorns & Donkeys

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It was one of those days; average, normal, unremarkable. So, it really stands to reason that my evening run would be the same. If there is a unicorn run out there then this was the donkey.

It is easy to justify a bad run. I was overheated, probably didn’t drink enough water all day, had Thai food for lunch, wolfed down a granola bar right before running, I haven’t been getting much mileage, blah, blah, blah. I gave up at mile 2 contemplating my life choices.

Physical therapists, chiropractors, stretching, strength, cycling! I put hours upon hours into making it so my body can run pain free. And to that end, I’m getting there! But it’s it all worth it? Why am I working so hard to be a back of the pack runner?

I love being a runner.

If something is important enough to you, you will put in the behind the scenes labor to make it so you can enjoy whatever it is you are trying to enjoy. Especially when you have obstacles. When you conquer your road blocks you are winning. Even though performance will ultimately take a back seat, the fact is that the setback is temporary. Listen to your body, take care of yourself, build from the ground up and performance will follow.

Motivation is a tricky thing. Maybe even another unicorn. Don’t let the donkey keep you down.

Running, why did it have to be running?

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As a child my parents dutifully enrolled me in every sport/activity in search of the one that would eventually stick. I was a tiny ballerina, an eager bowler, a reluctant soccer player, a tomboy Girl Scout, a deep-deep-roving-right-fielder in softball, and eventually a high school track star. I probably could have been a great softball player if I just weren’t afraid of the ball, or if I could throw, or if I didn’t have anxiety that I’d let everyone on my team down if I messed up. You know what I could do? I could steal bases. That’s when the switch was flipped and the light went on… I was fast.

I took up sprinting when I was 13 and I won races, lots of them. 100y, 220y, 4×100 relay, 110 hurdles. (Yep, we were still running yards back in the day). I was undefeated in junior high. I was undefeated in the 220 my senior year… until finals (yeah, I know!) and led the league in the 100. There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of taking the blocks and unleashing your speed during a race.

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Me fangirling hardcore over meeting the great Carl Lewis!

Running is how I gauge fitness. It’s my baseline. Everything I ever learned about fitness I learned through the eyes of an experienced runner. Over the course of my adult life I’ve spent plenty of time running. Not sprinting anymore, but building up distance. My PT jokes about how hard it is to turn fast twitch muscles into slow twitch muscles and he also isn’t shy about telling me that I’m weaker now because I run more. I SUCK at running long distances.

I’ve got two running events coming up in a very short period of time. Our self hosted Firecracker Run on the 4th of July (9 miles) and Blood, Sweat & Beers on the 22nd (5.7 miles) which is a Fleet Feet race. After yesterday’s run I’m noticing that I really need to get some more time on my feet. Probably something I should have paid attention to a month ago.

On a positive note, my back hasn’t been bothering me as much. I’m assuming it’s all the work I’m putting in, but I’m going to add that my lack of mileage lately has helped as well. Let’s hope it’s just helping speed up the healing process and not indicative of lifestyle changes that should be made.

The weather should be cooler this week so I’m hoping that means I can get a few evening runs in. I need to start getting bike time in before work as well. Time to do work!!!

Stay safe out there and as always… keep kicking ass gently.

Can’t if you won’t

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Many moons ago we bought a stationary bike. Back when Sports Authority was still a place. They promptly went out of business and one of the pedals became stripped, rendering the bike unusable and unreturnable. Yes, it took me all these years to finally order the parts needed to fix the damnable thing. And last night was the first time we were able to use it. (Shocker: Still works!)

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This is actually one of the smartest investments we have made and it will be even smarter of me to use it. So many reasons this is a good idea. ALL THE REASONS!

1. Beat the heat!
2. Low impact!
3. Fat burning cardio!
4. Great cross training for running!
5. No gym!
6. Saves time and money!

Wow, now that these advantages are all listed out I feel like a real heel for not being on the bike constantly. Let’s have a little fun and list out all my lame excuses too…

1. Saddle sore.
2. It is indoors.
3. Morning comes too early. (See what I did there Spouse™?)
4. We have to take turns working out.
5. Saddle sore.
6. It is indoors.

Ok, so now lets’ get over the lame and defeat those excuses!

Problem: Saddle Sore
Solution: Ride more!! It takes time to adjust to the seat. Also, be sure the bike is set up properly.

Problem: Indoors
Solution: Listen to music, an audio book, or a podcast. I don’t listen to music when I run outdoors. Being a trail runner I like to hear the sounds of nature, the rhythm of my own foot fall, and bears.

Problem: Morning Comes Too Early
Solution: Keep the evening workouts. On weeknights I always workout in the evening. This is only a problem when it is either really hot or really dark. I was going to overhaul my workout schedule, but maybe I really don’t need to do that.

Problem: We Have to Take Turns Working Out
Solution: Let The Spouse™ ride first if we are on the same schedule. Typically he is home earlier then I am, so crisis averted. Last night I just did my stretches and a bit of strength while I awaited my turn.

See? That was easy. In the end, we all have our excuses for not doing the things we know we should be doing for better health. Eventually, once we have been telling ourselves lies for so long we believe ourselves. “I can’t run” “I can’t fit in exercise” “I don’t have time” “It is too hard”

You only can’t do it if you won’t do it. Small steps are ok. Moving backwards as you move forward is ok. The important thing is to do it.