Saturday, October 13, 2012

Why I run 5K with Fibromyalgia. (Adventure 5K)

Well I actually don't have an answer to that. I think it may a lot of different things, or combinations of things. But I have no one answer. In theory I like to run. I like how I feel afterwards. Nothing else gives me that feeling of such freedom. Maybe I feel like I am running from my problems. Or I don't think about my problems when I'm running. Is such a stress reliever and the endorphin's kicking in just make you feel so dam good you can get addicted. And I have an addictive personality  If I drink coffee I drink a whole pot. If I want some veggies sticks I eat a whole bag. Still working on that one! I loved my first obstacle race so now I love them all. Maybe that's the reason. It's the new exciting thing right now. A few years ago I was good shape. My Fibro symptoms weren't that bad I was running a lot and going to the gym. I did my first 5K for Special Olympics. My time was good, I was good. I loved it. Then over that winter my symptoms were increasingly worse. I could barely walk fro the kitchen to my bedroom without getting winded. Now I knew what everyone with bad symptoms was complaining about. I was angry, depressed, mad at the world and the doctors. Mad at my husband. Hopeless that I'd be using a walker to watch my kids graduate from high school. So a year later it was Special Olympics time again. I had a sinus infection, newly diagnosed asthma and all my running...well...lets say I wasn't doing any. I did it anyway and wanted to die. Time was bad, I was spitting phlegm all the way, my time was bad, but gave myself am A for effort. Over the next year (extreme change of diet, introduction of supplements (see previous post I don't want to bore you again) new doctor and 8 months later I signed myself up for that first Warrior Dash.  I felt great, my time was great,  it was a ton of fun,and I was hooked.

So now I have done 2 Warrior Dash's, a Lozilu, today was an Adventure 5K, and I have one more Zombie Run and of course...Special Olympics. Then I'm done for the year. As usual I feel guilty that I am well enough to run. I feel like talking about it is bragging  But I earned it. I go to great pains to exercise even when it hurts, I go without plenty of things I want to eat to eat the things I SHOULD. I take about 11 different supplements and natural products everyday and TRY real hard to everything I can good for my body.


So yeah. It's not bragging. It's just reality. This is where my body is at right now. Next year I may not be able to run. I will try to make sure that doesn't happen but we all know the predictability of Fibro is in fact that it is UNPREDICTABLE!
Today my time was just okay, I've been faster and I've been slower but it was mostly trail running and I am not good going up a hill. But the obstacles were easy, the water was cold but my kids were there and it was awesome to see them on my way to the finish line! They even did one of the obstacles after the race was over on the way back to the car and they thought it was "so cool" I met the WickedMuddy.com people there which was nice but they either blew past me or were behind me so I still ended up running alone. it was good because I had no pressure on me to go faster, and I even stopped to help a few people here and there and that was nice too. I felt better helping someone else. I may need it one day:)
So.....Why do I run 5k with Fibromyalgia?

I guess I do it because I can. And because it feels good. And because someday I know I won't be able to. And since we can't always do things that feel good, like sit naked on the beach with a Mojito listening to Bob Marley...this I will do! http://runningwith.org/



Full of COLD water!!