Stop, wait a minute

I've been having a few problems with my foot. The screws have been bugging me and it aches around the ankle. The solution - remove the screws so I can have an MRI.

Last Monday I had the screws removed under spinal. I hobbled around for three days with my foot wrapped in crepe and cotton wool. I was then told to remove the crepe and "fluffy stuff" and just leave the clear dressing on until I saw my GP at day 10 for removal of the stitches. Fine, apart from the fact there was no clear dressing! I had to go and buy an onsite dressing. 

I can water walk and bike after two weeks and run after four which is nice but my Wellington Half falls dead on two weeks. I obviously can't run it but I need to decide if I can walk it. Monday - two days away- is my d-day to decide.

Watch this space.

Hobbling to New York

I'm officially entered in to NY Marathon 2015 as an Achilles athlete. I'm up to half marathon survival. Now o have to double that!

I'm having quite a few aches and pains that make training not so much fun. The biggest pain is from the screws in my heel and my ankle. On Monday I'm having the screws removed - hopefully it'll be a quick recovery. Then I may need an MRI to check on the ankle instability.

Now to fit everything around training and the big event. 

Too busy running!

I'm very proud to say I've been following my training program pretty much full on. Sometimes there's a bit of a shuffle around for Achilles training or an event but I'm trying to keep to it. I've now completed the 5k training program and the 10k program and this week is the start of the half marathon training program leading up to a return to Wellington for the half at the Wellington Marathon.

I was stoked with my 10k at the Cigna Half last month. I only walked on hills (or sloping flats) to keep my Heart rate in the right range and ran the vast majority of it finishing in 1:14:40.

It was a really good turnout by the various Achilles groups. We had a good time and it was a good team bonding time. Even Boston, Laura's guide dog, got to run so it really was the whole team.

This Saturday I'm heading off road to do the 6k at the Dual on Motutapu Island. Hopefully I'll survive. I'm having a few issues with my foot but it doesn't affect my running too much because I can't feel it once I'm moving. It'll be interesting to see how I go because I will be guideless so no one to cling to at the end. I'll have to make sure I have plenty of water and keep my heart rate as low as possible. I'm on a new drug, Gilenya, that has dropped my heart rate so I need to recalculate my limits a bit.

It'll be fun!

Make it a good one.

Today I attended the funeral of a woman who was a year younger than me. She didn't have MS, she had a far crueler disease - cancer. It was a celebration of her life and there was much to celebrate, a life lived fully. Not a life of death defying feats but a life that in the end she said she loved.

 I saw her rarely but when you saw her one of the first things that struck you was her smile. She had a radiant smile, the kind of smile we all wish we had. She was tiny but radiated strength and calm not weakness. She had the kind of life that sitcoms show and we all think is too fantastic to be real but she had achieved it simply by being herself and giving of herself to those around her.

The tributes did have some tears but over all they were wonderful. Not the over flowery eulogies that come out on such occasions but honest glimpses of how she impacted on others in everyday life. Her youngest son talking about her distraction while typing on the computer and trying to answer his questions revealed a close and caring relationship. Her children shared precious memories of being with her and were absolute tributes to the fantastic mother that she was and how much she will be missed. As her oldest son discovered they don't live in a magic house that does everything, she simply made it seem so.

My MS is not the galloping horse that cancer is but I'm glad I'm at the point I'm at. I do not regret my raging against the wrongness of it in the beginning but now I'm embracing two mantras. 1) we're not here for a long time,  we're here for a good time. (so let's make it a good one) and 2) do it while you still can. There's no point in focusing on what you can't do to the point of missing out on what you can. Since I've had my diagnosis I've done more than I'd done preMS. I've travelled to the US, I've flown across states alone, I've got a tattoo, I've volunteered to help on extreme events, I've returned to running, I've pretty much taught myself to walk again. I am focusing on what matters and all the rest be damned . Who knows when the party will end so enjoy every minute of it that you can.

I'm putting the service order up on my inspirational board because she was an inspiration. Now I just need to learn to smile like her. My resting bitch  face syndrome may make that a bit of a big ask though.

Off road adventure

At the weekend I decided to really challenge myself. I was in Rotorua so I decided to go and run a section of the Tarawera  Ultra route. I was dropping four people off at the Falls carpark  so they could do the 40k to the finish so it seemed like a good idea to run from the Falls carpark to the Outlet.

This is a pleasant track that passes by the Tarawera Falls and is very nicely maintained. It's a popular walking route so I saw plenty of people along the way. 

It is 5.1k from the car park to the Outlet, where there is a popular swimming hole and a campground, complete with compost toilet - pooey!

Of course once I got there I had to get back so it meant turning around and running back.

I didn't run up steep Hills or down the steep stairs but I managed the rest. It is sheltered by the trees so was really pleasant on a hot day.

There and back took me 1h47 and I had a wee look around at the Outlet. I was very pleased and it certainly built up my confidence. It may have been fairly tame trails but it was trail all the same so I was thrilled to have wrestled something else back from MS. The other benefit of running trail is that you need the right pair of shoes. More shoes yay ! I got a very bright pair of city to trail type shoes. They had the added benefit that if I fell in the river people should notice me floating by.

That was another great experience to make me appreciate being alive.