Moving Forward

So I was just on the main page of my blog and I read the "about me" section.  How times have changed since that day I first wrote that.  Due to so many changes in my life (many of them good) I decided to put the 70.3 training on hold and focus on my new job and the travel I have to do ... so this blog is no longer about my 70.3 training for this year.  I am still struggling with my weight but now this blog is going to take a turn.  This blog is going to be about me dealing with the "silent killer", my high blood pressure, my weight and my training.  This high blood pressure thing is putting a lot of stress on my body, in more ways than one.  I can't stop thinking about it and I feel like crap.  It has ignited my IBS which is not fun and when I am stressed about something where is the one place I turn to .... food.  There is also a catch 22 thrown in there.  I have not been motivated lately, which is scary since I have a half marathon on June 1st.  The catch 22 is that I need to exercise in order to get out of my funk but I need to get out of my funk in order to exercise.

My doctor told me that I would get my mojo back I just need to give my body some time to heal.  My body has had a lot of stress on it lately with the high blood pressure and the stress igniting my IBS.  In time, as we try different medicines, my body will relax and I will be back in full force.

A few things I did do this past week.  I went and swam one morning, and when i arrived at the pool I realized that they changed the lanes of the pool.  The length of the pool was now Olympic size, 50 meters long.  It definitely feels different especially when you are used to doing so many strokes before you turned.  The good thing about the longer pool is the fact you will build up your endurance a bit.

I also signed up to work at the Wellness Clinic at Ithaca College.  As an employee of the school I can join the Wellness Clinic like a gym and work with the exercise science department and their students.  They will put together a program for me and work with me towards my goals.  When I found out about the high blood pressure I joined the clinic looking for their help.  I have hope!!

And finally, during the winter I was having a lot of thoughts about doing another marathon since it had been 8 years since my last one.  I looked into a couple but due to my work schedule I was not able to sign up because they were the same day as alumni/reunion weekend.  So I put those thoughts aside.  Then a friend of mine mentioned the Wine Glass Marathon, it was a different weekend and I had done the half last year.  Later that day a group of us were at dinner and we started talking about training together for a fall marathon. We decided on the Wine Glass Marathon and that night I signed up.  There is a whole group of us that will participate in either the half or full marathon.  I am looking forward to the team work and the training.  I am just trying to Move Forward!!

Are we there yet???
Boston Strong

Life or Death...

As the saying goes, When life gives you lemons make lemonade.  Well life gave me lemons this week ... the question is what am I going to do with them?  I always told myself that if I was going to have a blog my posts were going to be honest and I wasn't going to hold back.  I can't just talk about the good stuff, I have to share everything.  

Earlier this week I had scare that turned into something serious. I had some problems with my blood pressure.  Even though I have always struggled with my weight, my blood pressure has never been an issue.  Well on Friday I had my blood pressure taken and it hit numbers I have never even seen ... 204/120.  I was at a friends Chiropractic office and as I sat in his office and he read off the numbers I was in shock and also scared $h--less.  I thought I would just be able to leave his office, but he explained to me that  I would not be going anywhere.  He made an emergency call to my doctor and I was seen right away.  I was then poked and prodded and by then end of the appointment I was on blood pressure medication.

I realize that I am not the only person in the world on this medication but it scared me.  This situation also spoke to me as a sign.  I have been struggling to lose the weight in the hopes to be smaller and be able to fit into smaller clothes.  Now the stakes are higher and it is a matter of life and death.  Dramatic maybe but I want to continue running and swimming and doing triathlons and I don't have time for this to be worse than it is now.

So life gave me lemons what did I do with them ... I went biking on Saturday on a beautiful day that didn't have a cloud in the sky!!  Sunday I ran and tomorrow will be a new day on a new journey!

Boston Strong!!

Tri Mo Tri ... Are we there yet?