Finding Motivation.

 

Motivational quotes are EVERYWHERE!  "Face your fears", "aim high", "dig deeper".  When focused these make sense, but over the past few months they have been a discouragement.  And I have to close my eyes and ignore the unsettling swirls in my stomach.  I read them and think I am lazy, but in reality, I need to be smart.  I believe to truly be successful you need to be "all in", and honestly, in the racing aspect of my life I have been striving to find that certain something that drives me each and every day, primarily in fear of compromising my health.  Having enough eye-opening- flare-up-experiences can do this to you.   But, when the time is right, the time is right and the drive to excel finds you.  When the time isn't right, then we occupy that time with other important goals in our life.

 

It is easy to be influenced into continually doing more, even if it is unhealthy, as an athlete, that is all many of us know. Balance is hard, but it is rewarding.

I have been lucky enough to do the Hot Chocolate 15K a few months ago with lots of teammates (it made the out and back so-much-fun!) Considering I had only run 1 full hour a couple of times, you can only imagine what happened at 1 hour and 1 minutes into the race...ouch!  But the hot cocoa was great!

 

I did the Mercer Island 5K too, double ouch. But thankful to be out there once again.

 

Insurance finally gave approval for the VLS#3 probiotic and after a couple of weeks I am feeling even better. So am sticking to the combination of Humira and Imuran and the probiotics.

 

I was challenged with my achy shoulders  restricting me in the water, with my legs producing watts 50 lower than what I was used to seeing, and with my run paces being sub-par.  I had to go back to the basics and appreciate training by disabling all gadgets and committing to persistence. Over several weeks things started to change...did I mention SEVERAL weeks! 

 

My motivation and drive is reinstated. I may have decided on doing some triathlon races this year (pro or age group is yet to be determined) but either way I am really love what I am doing again, its undeniable!

 

Peaks and Pits

Does it count that I have written 101 posts in my head the past 2 months!

As with every year, life never disappoints in keeping me on my toes. Just when I think you have it down, all new things thrown into the mix. These adventures keep me growing, means I am living, and in the end makes me a better person.

 

2012 was great for so many reasons! The PEAKS outweighed the PITS. (anyone follow the Kardashians? No judging!)

Peaks
(If I could post every picture I would......pictures say more than any words I could use describe how amazing this year was)

FRIENDSHIPS, TRAVELING, LOVE, FAMILY, WORK, TRAINING, RACING, LIVING

PITS

 

 Life Lessons (which are a peaks eventually!) AND UC flare, UC flare, UC flare (ughh!)

 

2012 has reminded me the importance of good people. I have my own struggles, my own values and understand everyone is on a different journey. I love to help people that are honest with themselves and where they are going. I am overly-passionate about my relationships (athletes, friendships, and family) and I will continue to be this way. I embrace those that are kind, thankful, and honest. 

 

My UC flare this year was a huge struggle, bigger than before, hence why I had to step away (only way to come back stronger!), take care of myself and learned along the way that you truly can replace one passion for another.  Everyone has many talents and, for me,  triathlon and athletics is not the end-all.  Cooking and crafts and more time with friends, along with even more energy put into building TNM have all filled my "personal time" with joy. It was not an easy shift by any means, but day by day I made small changes.

 

I have also learned that over time, as your body heals, your mind heals, and the journey of self-discovery continues.

 

Cheers to 2012 and thank you everyone for following me through this journey. This last flare was another eye-opener that health is the most important thing in life, without your health you can not live. Embrace the day, embrace your training, and embrace 2013!

Here we go again!

UC and Triathlon

A few requests is all I need to put some UC (ulcerative colitis) information out there for those of you googling "UC and triathlon" over and over! I've been there trying to decide if I could or could not race and in search of people I could relate too.I am covering several topics briefly to outline what I have found works for me, in hopes that readers can find some hope in understanding that they are not alone. I am happy to answer any questions via my personal email listed at end of post.  Never hesitate to reach out!

I am not a medical professional on this topic. And I am only speak from my experience and how I have dealt and felt since the age of 24. Here are some blunt facts on my life.

On Flare-Ups:

*I have had 3 flare ups.  Each one gets worse and worse and worse. 

*Remissions tend to last 2-ish years.

*Stress is what ultimately will send me in a downward spiral to a flare.

*Daily there are minor issues but these can be dealt with, it is the flares that are beyond life changing.

On Food:

*The nutrition books are guidelines, but I have had no success with them.

*My findings are that during a flare vegetables, dairy, and fruit are the worst things I can give my body. 

*Chicken broth and jello are my foods of choice during a flare.

*Sometimes all my body needs is a big hamburger or a giant cookie and I feel much better (yep, against all nutrition books). My thoughts on this is that I haven't "eaten" for days and it does not make my gut worse at all, in fact, I feel better.

*Food does not cause a flare, no evidence, but when sick some foods can make it worse.  I find each flare up responds to different foods and studies find that this is the case with many. Ie: Oatmeal may effect you now, but not when in remission or during another flare

On Medicines:

*First flare up- Prednisone, Asacol, Canasa (hair loss, no weight gain)

*Second flare up- Prednisone, asacol and some liquid suppository, imuran (sorry, it grosses me out too!), anti-nausea medicine (hair loss, nausea, puffy face)

*Third flare up-Remicade (6 months), Humira (following Remicade), imuran, prednisone, anti-nausea medicine, vicodine, maxalt (vomiting, nausea, puffy face, hair loss, fatigue, headaches)

*Currently- Humira every 2 weeks, 200 mg imuran, maxalt as needed

*Even when feeling great you must take your medicines. I struggle with this because I do feel side effects of them. BUT, I am not sure I can handle a flare up worse than the previous one.

On training:

*Training is a huge stressor.

*I have to do as much as I can to limit it as a stressor by keeping a balance between sleep, work, and training.

*I sleep a min of 9 hours a night and typically take 1-2 hour naps three or more times a week.

*I train 12-16 hours a week now (far less than before)

*Hydration is a key component in my gut letting me train.  Make sure you are ALWAYS drinking. I get hydration IV's from my doc to help with this

*A missed workout is a missed workout...no makeups...your body is telling you something.

*Running....oh the anxiety!!!  I've found I can only do intervals and even tempo runs (z2+) no more than 1x/week.  I COULD do more but I spend more time looking for restrooms than I do actually running.

Tips:

*You are the biggest advocate of your body.

*Find a coach that will listen to you and work "with" you.  If you know your body can not handle "x" then let them know.
*Never expect anyone to understand what you are truly dealing with.  Trust that you do know what is best for your body and listen to yourself. Being type-A I often find myslef thinking I am being lazy, or "talking" myself down from hard training. This is NOT the case.  Trust in YOU!

*The people that matter are the ones that you can talk with and who will not judge you or make you feel "less" because of your disease. Those are the people that matter....keep them close by!

Teresa@tnmultisports.com