My mind has been on running a lot lately. Firstly because my dad ran the London Marathon this past weekend. To say that I’m proud of him would be a complete understatement. He is a rockstar and I’m so glad he got to have this experience.
In addition, I have been training to reach my goal of running a 5K race. It is coming up in less than a week. I am running the Throo the Zoo 5K. With running on my mind I wanted to talk about how my training has been going.
Comparison is the Thief of Joy
Something that has been a change for me during training has been feeling like I’m not doing well enough and not training enough. I haven’t been able to train the way that I wanted to be able to. But something I have to remember is that the last time I was running I was doing a mini marathon. And a lot has changed since then.
Since I last ran I have gained four new chronic illnesses. All of which make running extremely difficult. Really with my array of conditions I had been told it wouldn’t be possible for me to run again. So the fact that I am running period is a huge accomplishment and I should be proud of getting to this point.
Why Running Is Hard
There are so many reasons that my conditions make it hard for me to run.
1. It is painful. My body hurts period, all the time. So adding a lot of activity is painful.
2. My conditions cause high levels of fatigue. Running is strenuous on the body and increases the fatigue.
3. My gastroparesis makes it difficult to intake the amount of calories and liquid hydration that is needed to maintain your body with this level of activity.
4. My POTS causes my heart rate to be all over the place and can lead to a wide range of symptoms. These symptoms are exacerbated by large amounts of activity.
How to Train w/These Difficulties
I will start by saying, it would not be safe for me to run without the help of my past two surgeries. Between my gastric stimulator and my central line, I am able to maintain enough fluids into my body and keep enough calories in to sustain this extra activity. I am very thankful for both of these surgeries to have supported me and my quality of life. Even with these two things, I still have to be very careful and take more precautions.
- Wear compression thigh high stockings when running.
- Increase my sodium intake (by like a lot)
- Time up my IV fluid treatments
- Stretch a ton before and after and the next several days after.
- Monitor temperatures and weather outside for optimal conditions.
- More recovery time between runs-meaning less runs per week.
- Monitor POTS triggers and get lots of rest/sleep.
I am so honored to be back to running and can’t wait for my race this coming weekend. I also hope to keep finding ways to prove my doctor’s wrong.
