Things are progressing...now, with that said, things with my hip are progressing. Unfortunately I will have to return to PT after my trip to Peru (yes, Peru on Saturday!) for my back. So, I'm not quite back to running yet, but I'm getting there.
It's funny...before I told you about that sign "BELIEVE" with the marathon runners on the wall at PT, and well...the past few times there have been moments throughout my session where I get serious and very reflective on what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. It is those moments that keep me going. I have done many fundraisers over the years and the only one that comes close to being as personal as this one is when I used to run groups from Fordham to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk in Central Park. I have had many people in my life touched by breast cancer, but still none in my direct family. I feel very driven to run this marathon, and yet my body is holding me back, so when I get back from Peru I'm going to try to kick things into gear in the fundraising department at least. Do what I can, ya know?
Another sign that hits me twice a week as I leave PT is this great ad for some kind of insurance. It has a picture of an older father and his adult son running a marathon together. The twist is...the son is in a wheelchair. The caption reads something like this, "He has seen him through 65 marathons." I find this so inspiring, and wish more than anything I could bring Trey through these 13.1 miles with me. Unfortunately I think I'll have to do this one without him, although I know he will be there cheering me on. I am going to do this again however, and I do plan on bringing him with me.
One thing that this whole situation has definitely taught me is to take it easy, and when your body is telling you something, listen. PT has actually worked for my hip, and I had been just dealing with that pain for a little while until it became too much. Now that my back is acting up and I have confidence that the PT will work, I will no longer just deal with the pain. It has been very humbling to not be able to go all out in exercise like I was used to...down from a level 6 to a level 1 with no resistance, and just going slow even if things don't hurt at the time.
Saturday I leave for Peru where I will probably be seeing some of the most beautiful sites in the world. I am looking forward to having this time to get focused and motivated for these next two and a half months until the race. So...until then, thanks for reading, thanks for the support and be well!
peace.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Believe
So last week while in PT things just were getting frustrating. I started experiencing some new pain, and as I was doing one of the exercises I looked up and saw a picture on the wall of marathoners with the word "BELIVE" written under it. Doctors offices and the like always have those inspirational posters hanging around, and well this one I could have done without, ha. At that moment as I sat there in pain looking at the poster of marathoners, I really just wanted to throw something at it, ha. I thought it was a little cruel to have that in there when that is all I want to be able to do. That kind of set the tone for the day unfortunately.
This past weekend I got to go home and do what I call "Trey-bysit." It's by far one of my favorite things. My parents got to celebrate their anniversary in downtown Philly for a very nice overnight and I got to Trey-bysit. We had a lot of fun (or at least I did, ha). We read a ton (about 100 pages!) of his latest book "Inkheart"...it's a good one. We took a good walk through the Abbey (with Anna, which made it better, ha)...and we watched a lot of baseball. I even let him stay up a bit late so we could watch a movie. The fun continued the next day until my parents came home around noon. It was a great weekend and I'm happy that by living in New York, I'm able to go home intermittently like, this and get my Trey time, because well...everyone should have Trey time...he makes any day brighter, fo sho.
So now I'm still in PT, still feeling some new pain, and really trying my hardest to just move on. I haven't written in a while because I feel like anything I might have to say would be negative and I don't want this to turn into one long venting session about how I'm not able to run at the moment. This whole endeavor was never really about me anyway, and this weekend with the little guy helped start to get me back on track. I looked at that "BELIEVE" poster with the marathoners this morning while I was doing my exercises and started thinking about how to get myself better and not about what object I could find in the gym to throw at the poster. So I take that alone as a good first step, ha.
This past weekend I got to go home and do what I call "Trey-bysit." It's by far one of my favorite things. My parents got to celebrate their anniversary in downtown Philly for a very nice overnight and I got to Trey-bysit. We had a lot of fun (or at least I did, ha). We read a ton (about 100 pages!) of his latest book "Inkheart"...it's a good one. We took a good walk through the Abbey (with Anna, which made it better, ha)...and we watched a lot of baseball. I even let him stay up a bit late so we could watch a movie. The fun continued the next day until my parents came home around noon. It was a great weekend and I'm happy that by living in New York, I'm able to go home intermittently like, this and get my Trey time, because well...everyone should have Trey time...he makes any day brighter, fo sho.
So now I'm still in PT, still feeling some new pain, and really trying my hardest to just move on. I haven't written in a while because I feel like anything I might have to say would be negative and I don't want this to turn into one long venting session about how I'm not able to run at the moment. This whole endeavor was never really about me anyway, and this weekend with the little guy helped start to get me back on track. I looked at that "BELIEVE" poster with the marathoners this morning while I was doing my exercises and started thinking about how to get myself better and not about what object I could find in the gym to throw at the poster. So I take that alone as a good first step, ha.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Kindness of Strangers
The other day I was, admittedly, a little bored at work and found myself stumbling around Facebook, until I came upon a familiar post. My friend Kathleen, whom I haven't talked to in a while, from Fordham is actually running a half-marathon in New England in a month or so to raise money for leukemia and other blood cancers. The team was set up to help out her friend's brother, who is suffering from this disease. Without thinking I found myself donating a little to the cause, since I obviously can understand the situation.
A little while after I made my donation I received an appreciative email from Kathleen's friend, thanking me for my donation. From there we kind of had a back and forth discourse introducing ourselves and relating to our respective races and the reasoning behind them. I was so impressed with how she reached out, and she was so kind in offering an understanding listening ear if I were to ever need one. Someone I don't even know, and yet so willing to help. It is truly these unsolicited acts of kindness that keep my days going sometimes.
I remember being in Mexico on my service trip Junior year with Fordham and one of the volunteers with Los Ninos had siblings similar to Trey. We sat for at least an hour one night and shared stories on an old carseat outside the front of the house we were staying in. Even though I haven't spoken to Emily since that summer, again, it was that kindness of her support and understanding that I will never forget and truly added to the depth of the trip and my time in Mexico.
A little while after I made my donation I received an appreciative email from Kathleen's friend, thanking me for my donation. From there we kind of had a back and forth discourse introducing ourselves and relating to our respective races and the reasoning behind them. I was so impressed with how she reached out, and she was so kind in offering an understanding listening ear if I were to ever need one. Someone I don't even know, and yet so willing to help. It is truly these unsolicited acts of kindness that keep my days going sometimes.
I remember being in Mexico on my service trip Junior year with Fordham and one of the volunteers with Los Ninos had siblings similar to Trey. We sat for at least an hour one night and shared stories on an old carseat outside the front of the house we were staying in. Even though I haven't spoken to Emily since that summer, again, it was that kindness of her support and understanding that I will never forget and truly added to the depth of the trip and my time in Mexico.
It's More Than Just A Race
I've been thinking a lot lately (since I can't do much running, I've been doing a lot of thinking, ha)...and remembering the bigger picture behind this race. Yes, that would be the amazing Trey, but it goes even deeper for me. Not many people, beyond my immediate family, know about the fact that Children's Hospital was a huge part of my life when I was younger too. I was really sick from ages 1-3 and my parents took me to CHOP. At the time we were living down the shore, so while I stayed in the hospital my parents would travel back and forth from Ocean City, never leaving my side. I have a very selective memory from my time at CHOP from when I was little, but I do know that they also used their expertise to pretty much save my life as they have time after time for my brother. The nurses there used to give me Drumsticks (the ice cream, not what my dad uses to play his drums) after my procedures and all, which is why they are definitely my favorite late night treat.
I'm still not a huge fan of going back to CHOP because I still get that feeling of being a scared 3 year old, but at the same time I am so happy to know that they have been giving my brother the same amazing treatment that they gave me over 20 years ago. Life-saving treatment at that.
Trey has been through a lot in his very quick 13 (almost 14) years, and has opened our eyes to so many things. While there have been many hard times throughout this period, I choose to have a selective memory, such as I do with my time in CHOP, and remember the amazing times we've had together, and continue to look forward to all of the fun and exciting memories we have yet to form.
I'm still not a huge fan of going back to CHOP because I still get that feeling of being a scared 3 year old, but at the same time I am so happy to know that they have been giving my brother the same amazing treatment that they gave me over 20 years ago. Life-saving treatment at that.
Trey has been through a lot in his very quick 13 (almost 14) years, and has opened our eyes to so many things. While there have been many hard times throughout this period, I choose to have a selective memory, such as I do with my time in CHOP, and remember the amazing times we've had together, and continue to look forward to all of the fun and exciting memories we have yet to form.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
My Leg Is Not My Friend Today...and other ponderings
Ok...so for those of you that are actually reading this and don't know yet, I have a bum hip (technically an enflamed muscle attached to my hip joint). I have no idea how this originally happened, but it did. I have been going to physical therapy for the past week and a half and started going back to the gym on Sunday because my PT said I was allowed to do the bike and the elliptical.
So that's the background...PT has been going well. I found a great place in an Equinox gym (p.s. Equinox is SUCH a nice gym!)...and I've gone three times so far. This weekend I finally went back to the gym, which felt great, and did the elliptical and bike. I can do those because I mostly feel the pain on impact, which those two exercises don't provide thankfully. This morning I went to PT and usually I feel good afterward, but this time my leg didn't feel any better. At the moment I'm sitting here with an ice pack, because I've been getting crazy twinges every so often on my hip. So yes, my leg is definitely not my friend today. It is kind of hard to avoid your hip, so here I am. It is a little discouraging, but really...as mushy as it is, whenever I see the picture of the little guy, it brings me back to all that matters.
Well...that's enough complaining for one day, onto the "other ponderings" portion of the post. As time has gone on throughout this process of so-called "training" I have encountered a handful of people who are running other half or full marathons for various reasons. Some at work, some old friends...and not even marathons but some are doing three day walks, etc. and it is so inspiring to hear all of their reasons behind running/walking. I haven't told too many people, but I have been incredibly overwhelmed by the support we have gotten in our run thus far. Even just with friends of my cousins who have agreed to run for a cause and a person they know nothing about. I have had old friends that I haven't seen in years, but just happen to be running the Philly Marathon, join our cause. It is one of the most amazing ways to bring people together, and I don't know if I can ever express my true gratitude to all those who have committed their time and strength. I have even heard rumors that my grandmother's sister (the fabulous Aunt Bette) is trying to recruit runners from her side of the family to join us. I know that some of my friends had wanted to join but they are already doing marathons/walks of their own, which I think is commendable enough...it is truly times like these that make me love the group that I have been lucky enough to surround myself with. Even in the encouragement of a complete stranger...every little bit helps.
That is as far as my mind will take me at the moment...thank you for reading/supporting/loving/et al.
peace.
So that's the background...PT has been going well. I found a great place in an Equinox gym (p.s. Equinox is SUCH a nice gym!)...and I've gone three times so far. This weekend I finally went back to the gym, which felt great, and did the elliptical and bike. I can do those because I mostly feel the pain on impact, which those two exercises don't provide thankfully. This morning I went to PT and usually I feel good afterward, but this time my leg didn't feel any better. At the moment I'm sitting here with an ice pack, because I've been getting crazy twinges every so often on my hip. So yes, my leg is definitely not my friend today. It is kind of hard to avoid your hip, so here I am. It is a little discouraging, but really...as mushy as it is, whenever I see the picture of the little guy, it brings me back to all that matters.
Well...that's enough complaining for one day, onto the "other ponderings" portion of the post. As time has gone on throughout this process of so-called "training" I have encountered a handful of people who are running other half or full marathons for various reasons. Some at work, some old friends...and not even marathons but some are doing three day walks, etc. and it is so inspiring to hear all of their reasons behind running/walking. I haven't told too many people, but I have been incredibly overwhelmed by the support we have gotten in our run thus far. Even just with friends of my cousins who have agreed to run for a cause and a person they know nothing about. I have had old friends that I haven't seen in years, but just happen to be running the Philly Marathon, join our cause. It is one of the most amazing ways to bring people together, and I don't know if I can ever express my true gratitude to all those who have committed their time and strength. I have even heard rumors that my grandmother's sister (the fabulous Aunt Bette) is trying to recruit runners from her side of the family to join us. I know that some of my friends had wanted to join but they are already doing marathons/walks of their own, which I think is commendable enough...it is truly times like these that make me love the group that I have been lucky enough to surround myself with. Even in the encouragement of a complete stranger...every little bit helps.
That is as far as my mind will take me at the moment...thank you for reading/supporting/loving/et al.
peace.
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