A Year Ago

It's really incredible to think about where I was a year ago. In September 2008, I was 2 months post- small bowel resection and diagnosis with Crohn's. I was doing pretty well and feeling decent, although still lacking energy and not feeling quite like myself. On September 12, 2008 I had my 2nd surgery and spent another 4 days in the hospital. From that point, my mom moved to Knoxville and lived with me until November. I didn't go to class, I didn't go to clinic, I didn't see my friends outside of my own apartment. I felt awful and it was definitely a really rough time.

Fast forward to today, September 2009. I feel a thousand times better now. I'm still dealing with recurring abscesses and fistulas, all which started last year at this time. While I still don't feel perfect and still have my issues with Crohn's, from where I was a year ago at this time it's been an amazing transformation.

I have to remember my favorite Bible verse, because it has certainly applied to my life with Crohn's over the past year ...
"For we walk by faith and not by sight." -2 Cor 5:7

Early Saturday

This morning, as a team, we completed the Big Peach Sizzler 10K. Team Challenge was one of the featured charities for this race, and we received a nice check from the race that will go to helping to find a cure for Crohn's and Colitis!

I had a decent week training -- did 4 miles on Tuesday and Thursday. We met at 7am this morning to run the 10K .... slightly early for a Saturday morning. I swear my alarm went off at 6am and my first thoughts were "Really? I'm no longer amused by these early Saturday mornings!" I don't think I realized when I signed up for Team Challenge that I would be giving up sleeping in for a good 3 months! It's all in the name of a cure ... right?

I stuck with one of our mentors, Betsy, this morning for the race. We did a run/walk, and finished in 1 hour and 20 minutes! I was pretty proud of that! My biggest goal is just finishing ... period .... but it's nice to both finish and have a somewhat decent time! The race itself was fun .... nice to have people cheering you on and it was a relatively flat course so that definitely helps.

Now on to the rest of my Saturday .... pizza and beer on the couch with a full day of college football! I love the fall!

Dare I Say it?

We did a 4 mile group run this morning .... in the rain. And when I say rain, I don't mean drizzle ... I mean full on rain. Pouring. Those of you who know me may be slightly surprised that I went out in the rain and nonetheless RAN 4 miles in the rain. I don't typically like to get wet ... don't like to get dirty .... I'm what you would call Miss Priss. But for some reason, and dare I say it ... I actually had fun? It was fun running in the rain, and laughing with my teammates, and making it to the end!

I did good this past week and kept up with the training schedule, and could definitely feel it this weekend! I felt good today, and wasn't huffing and puffing as much as usual! Slowly but surely ... I'm getting there!

Stay updated, and make sure to check out my fundraising page at http://www.active.com/donate/lv09georgia/CAdel

Back on the wagon

Last week I was most definitely off the wagon. I just felt kind of yucky all week, the work week was long and busy (although it was a 4-day week thanks to Labor Day, it sure felt long), and I was just not into my mission. I could blame it on any number of things, but truth is, I just didn't put in the effort that I should have.

On Saturday, we had a 4-mile group run. In the weeks past, the group of us doing the run/walk just made up our own routine .... run until we're tired and then walk until we feel ready to run again. Seemed like a good enough routine to me -- at least we were out there doing it! This week, our run coach, Mona, ran with us. She kept us to a strict run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute routine for the whole 4 miles. I definitely struggled -- probably due to my lack of activity in the week prior. I felt it, but I made it ... following the routine for the most part with maybe an extra short walk breaks. I think Mona intimidates me enough (she runs 100-mile races, y'all!) to keep me going, and that's a good thing!

Tonight it was raining pretty good, so I went to the gym instead of running in my neighborhood. We are doing 4 miles again this week, which is nice to keep at the same distance. I did 4 miles on the treadmill tonight, again with a routine of 3:1. I actually felt pretty good throughout the run, and finished it in 1 hour flat! I was happy with that for sure! I like being able to feel the progress through my efforts! This is definitely the longest I have stuck with any exercise plan, which isn't saying much because I rarely even start exercise plans!

I'm up to 25% of my fundraising goals so far, but still have a LONG way to go! Make sure to check out my Active page and see my fundraising progress!

Honoring ...

I received a very generous donation from one of my girlfriends from college. Her sister has Crohn's, and is now an honored teammate for my Team Challenge goals! I know Kris has had her own tough struggle with Crohn's Disease and has had many ups and downs, but I also know through her sister that she is a TOUGH girl! She is an avid biker, and I am honored to be racing for HER in Las Vegas!

Staying skinny

It's a good thing I didn't sign up for this marathon to lose weight .... luckily (is that possible?), the Crohn's takes care of the staying skinny part. I always joke that it's a good thing that I've got Crohn's because otherwise I'd be a big girl with all the crap I eat. I just love junk food too much to stop, although usually I pay for it dearly.

Regardless, we did a 3 mile group run tonight .... and I came straight home and ate McDonald's french fries and a glass of chardonnay. I need those carbs for energy, right?!