I Did the Unthinkable... I Joined a Gym

So, MarathonFest starts in two weeks. I really want to make their morning runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I would be rushed to make it back home, shower, and leave for work on time. My mom had the idea of joining a gym that's located on my way to work and use their showers instead so that I won't be as rushed to get ready after my runs. First, I was thinking of Planet Fitness because they're cheap. Then, I was talking while walking the mall with my cube neighbor, Ashleigh, on our lunch break and she was telling me about the the Athletic Apex Health Club that will be opening in the mall soon. She's already joined and took me to their info area so that I could learn more about it.  Not only do they have private showers, they also have shampoo, soup, conditioner, and a towel service. They have an aroma therapy room where they host yoga and Pilates. They have another room for Zuma and other class and yet another room for spin classes. They have tons of work out equipment and even an outdoor workout area for their version of crossfit. 

Even though I was just looking for a gym for showers, I ended up convincing myself that I could benefit from cross training for the marathon, so I registered. I decided to pay annually rather than monthly and locked in my lifetime guaranteed rate that averages about $20 per month. There's no contract, so I can cancel anytime I want and they will refund based on the pro rata share of my annual membership status (months used in annual membership).  Athletic Apex is scheduled to open next month. Hopefully it opens in time for my MarathonFest showering needs. If it doesn't, I might just have to rush to get ready until it opens.  I'm excited to start strength training and cross training.  Maybe I'm working toward getting into the best shape of my life for the NYC marathon. Although I've been in some pretty wicked awesome shape in my life, so it'll take a lot of work to get there.  I might even do some classes with Ashleigh before and/or after work.

Rough News and a Shitty Run

My mom had an eye appointment a couple weeks ago and she found out that diabetes has worsened her eyesight. She took the news pretty hard and was a bitch while she digested the news. She didn't really talk about it, but was angry at everyone regardless. It was unsettling to me because no matter what bad news I get about my own health issues, I do not take it out on others. In my opinion, she acted like a child. Well, last week she went to a different eye doctor to get a second opinion. This doctor noticed it was her peripheral vision that was affected and ordered her to get an MRI because sudden loss of peripheral vision can indicate a stroke.  She got the MRI and will get the result this Thursday. In the mean time, she is not allowed to drive. Thankfully, she has taken this news in stride. Although I can't imagine how frustrating it would be not to be able to drive. As much as we butt heads I never wish for anything bad to happen to her. I love her even if our relationship is twisted. We had a family meeting and so far everyone's taking turns driving her around.

I had a really shitty run on Saturday. I was already unmotivated Friday night because the weather report said it was going to be raining Saturday morning. I found the following quote to help motivate me: It's hard to beat a person who never gives up.  I started my eight mile run as soon as the sun came up. Surprisingly, it didn't rain, but the overcast created wicked sticky humidity to run through. After three miles, I took off my shirt and wrung it out because it was drenched in sweat. I need to start working out my abs so that I feel comfortable running in just a sports bra. By mile five, I was ready to quit and that's when "it's hard to beat a person who never gives up" popped into my head as motivation. After six miles, I wanted to cry. Running is hard and it's easy to forget that sometimes. I slowed my pace way down and walked more often than I probably should have, but I somehow managed to log eight miles. Even though it was a shitty run, runs like that will make me stronger and mentally tougher. Hopefully, next time I won't want to quit or cry.  Running is a love/hate relationship.

Hello Appetite, Hello Energy

My appetite is crazy and I'm not sure if it's because of the new medication or because I'm training for a marathon. I've been hungrier than usual in the past week or two. I find myself snacking at work and eating two dinners some nights. My bowel movements have been absolutely beautiful. I've considered taking pictures and framing them. It's been a long time since I've had such awesome poop like this that I forgot it could be this amazing! Taking a dump is effortless, and I think it's because my stricture is fully stretched.

Although I wouldn't go as far as saying that my energy is through the roof, I will say that my energy has increased in the past couple weeks. I'm not as inclined to take naps. I'm going to bed way later because I'm not dead tired by 8pm like I usually am. I find that I have more energy to take care of myself. I'm actually showering every day. It might be gross, but I usually only shower a few times a week because it wears me out. Not only have I been showering every day, but I've also been shaving regularly. I haven't just been brushing my teeth in the morning, I've been brushing them at night, too. I haven't just been doing the bare minimum of laundry because laundry sucks the energy out of me, I've actually been washing my towels and sheets, too! Hygiene is a lot of work, but if my energy keeps increasing I have big plans for new routines.

10 Minute Miles

My NYC Marathon training is going well!  I'm still on track. I'm honestly surprised how well I was able to jump back into my training schedule without missing a beat. Sure, I missed a few runs, but my recovery was so quick that it didn't slow me down too much. It's way easier to run when my ass isn't in pain. I didn't modify my training schedule at all last week. In fact, I'm running faster than I have in years. Today, I finished The Get Your Rear in Gear 5K (3.1 miles) in 31:02, which means I kept exactly a 10 minute per mile pace!!! Go me! There were quite a few Florida hills along the course that slowed me down a little, but I'm still happy with a 10 minute/mile pace. My Fitbit thought I climbed 15 flights of stairs. I finished 5th in my gender's age bracket, 21 - 30 year olds. It felt awesome to finish strong knowing that I wouldn't have been able to run like this a couple months ago. The weather is already hotter than balls and summer is just getting started. The good news is that I know I could run faster in cooler weather. I'm happy it will likely be cold in NYC in November as long as it doesn't snow. Side note: I've never ran in snow before.

I've been feeling great lately! My BM's are beautiful! I'm running off of less sleep. This past week I only averaged 6 hours of sleep per night. My appetite is increasing and I've been hungry a lot. I hope Remicade continues to make me feel strong and healthy.

Work Gossip

Do any of you remember that captivating guy at the Corporate 5K I blogged about a few weeks back?  Well, last week, after I was finishing a contract with my supervisor, she asked, "Did you know someone likes you?"  Of course, I was confused because it's probably extremely difficult for anyone not to like me.

She informed me that someone in the office is attracted to me. He came downstairs looking for me the morning I was out of the office for my Remicade infusion and asked my supervisor about me. It's peculiar that he hasn't tried to track me down since.

I teased Taylor with this information knowing she would want more details than I have acquired and knowing I wouldn't pursue a relationship with a co-worker. She raised a few valid questions. Do I avoid relationships because I'm scared of falling in love? "Do I think I deserve to find love? 

Even though it makes me feel good that someone finds me attractive, I do avoid relationships. Commitment scares the shit out of me. I can barely handle the responsibility of taking care of myself, so I can't imagine, nor do I desire, the responsibility it takes to take care of a relationship. Just thinking about the task of loving someone freaks me out. What if I get tired?I've never even been in love, so I probably don't fully understand the energy it takes; however, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Perhaps I'm selfish, but I'm quite happy with myself.

I feel undeserving of the kind of love I would be interested in. I would need someone willing and able to care for me more than I  can offer in return and that's not a life I feel I can ask anyone to live. I wouldn't want typical wife/girlfriend duties to be solely my own. Responsibilities shall be shared and interchangeable. What guy is going to be okay with that?

A Faster Gear

It's been a busy week.

Last Monday, I had dinner with my old friend, Brittany. She's not that old, our friendship dates back to the good ole days of childhood though. It's always great catching up and getting her perspective on this thing called life. Britt, is one of my biggest motivators and supporters and her gentle advice helped to pull me out of my last depression. I love you, Britt!

Last Tuesday, I received my first Remicade infusion, so I worked late throughout the week to make up lost time so that I wouldn't have to use vacation time. After working a few nine hour days last week, I wondered how I survived 12 hour work days when I worked at Mazda. I only managed to get in one four mile run during the week, but I kicked ass and averaged an 11:07 minute per mile pace. That's about the pace I was running before my surgery! Hell yeah!

Friday night, my friend, Veronica, from Texas arrived around 11pm. Normally, I would be fast asleep at that time. Especially, considering I planned to wake up at 6:15am to start my 6 mile run before the sun had a chance to heat things up. I didn't go to bed until around 1am, but I didn't let lack of sleep be an excuse to push back my 6 mile training run. When I started my 6 mile run, I felt my body kick into a faster gear. After two miles, my sister, Kim, joined me on rollerblades to keep me company. I told her I may have went out too fast in the beginning and I might start slowing down, but I was able to maintain that faster gear until mile 5 when I slowed down only to find the faster gear again for mile 6. I ran 6 miles in one hour and five minutes! My average pace was 10:51 minutes per mile.  I didn't take any walk breaks and every other mile I took a quick 10-15 second break to hydrate. It felt amazing! In fact, I'm still on a runner's high from it. How the heck do I get faster the farther I run?

I went to the MarathonFest info session at Track Shack to learn more about the training program. I was able to talk one on one with the program director. I showed her my split times for my six mile run and she told me that would place me in the 4:30-4:45 pace group, which is a 9:45-11:00 minutes per mile. I didn't realize I was that fast. I registered for MarathonFest. It starts the beginning of June and I'm hoping I'll be able to train to finish NYC in less than 5 hours. PR, here I come!

I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Veronica, her mom, my sisters, and my mom. I made breakfast for everyone on Mother's day, which is a huge feat for me. I wanted to quit, but I managed to finish the pancakes and bacon. We also went to Sak comedy for Mother's Day. It takes a lot out of me to be that social for that lengh of time. It's been fun to visit with them; however, I am in dire need for a long nap.

Next time, I'll blog about work gossip. (this is my reminder)

Remicade

I had my first Remicade infusion on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016.  My mom drove me to my infusion appointment because she didn't believe I would be well enough to drive afterwards. It was nice to have a chauffeur for the day, but I would have been okay to drive myself. After I signed in at the front desk, I took a seat in the waiting room. It's no surprise that I was the youngest one in the waiting room by at least thirty or forty years. Sally, my nurse, called me back. Sally is the same nurse that helped me figure out insurance and the Remistart program. She asked me a few questions and began searching for a vein to insert the IV. When she found a vein on the first try, I confessed my love to her. Next, she began preparing Remicade to inject into my saline bag. The Remicade dose is based off of how much I weigh. Once I was all hooked up, Sally walked me into her spacious office that has three comfy reclining chairs facing her desk. Two of the three chairs were occupied by other patients getting infusions, so I took the empty one.  Sally offered me water and coffee before sitting at her desk. Throughout the infusion, the other patients didn't talk, so I put on my Beat headphones, closed my eyes, and listened to music. Soon, the patients were done with their infusions and I was the only patient left. Intermittently, Sally got up to check the flow of the infusion. It was rather boring. The IV was a little uncomfortable and I felt a slight burning sensation while the medicine went into my vein. Cimzia also gave a burning sensation while being injected, so I didn't think much of it. It didn't take near as long as expected. My appointment was at 10am and I was done by 11:50am. I think I had a headache before I got the infusion, but after the infusion I had a really bad headache. Overall, it was no big deal...it's just my new normal.

My co-worker's mom used to get headaches and nausea from the Remicade and her nurse started putting something into the saline bag to prevent those side effects. I plan on talking with my nurse if I experience a bad headache again after my infusion on May 17th.

Another New Chapter Begins

On Tuesday, May 3rd I will get my first Remicade infusion. I've spoken with three different patients or someone related to the patient with Crohn's disease that have taken Remicade, so I pretty much know what to expect. One patient was on Remicade for 5 years, one was on Remicade for 7 years, and one was only on Remicade for 3 weeks.  Clearly, everyone's body takes a different period of time before building antibodies and rejecting the medication.  At the very least, my wish is that Remicade will work for a minimum of eight months so that I can get through the NYC Marathon with very few issues. I'm not nervous, I'm just curious to see what kind of results and/or side effects I'll experience while on Remicade. I also had a great follow-up appointment with my colorectal on Friday. She cleared me to start running again. According to the surgery report I have "significant perianal Crohn's disease..." Usually the scale is moderate to severe, so I'm not sure where "significant" is located on the scale. 

I'm seriously considering joining the running group MarathonFest. In fact, I plan to attend an information session this Saturday to learn more about the program to make sure it will fit my training needs. I've even convinced a running friend to come to the info session with me to see if we will be interested in the same pace group within MarathonFest. If we decide to sign up, group runs start the beginning of June. Since I'm training for the NYC Marathon, the first run on the schedule is a 10 miler. Even though I'm a little intimidated by that, I already had a 10 miler scheduled that same weekend anyway on the schedule I made for myself. I'm going to challenge myself in the month of May to work on maintaining speed as I increase mileage so that I'll be able to get into the pace group I want, 11:30 - 12:45, which would give me between a 5:10 - 5:30 marathon time. I know I can maintain that pace for 4 miles, but I'll have to work hard to be able to maintain that pace for 10 miles. Oh, by the way, if I can maintain that pace on race day, I will PR!!! I think I owe it to myself to get a good support system that will encourage me along this journey. Plus, I'm hoping to meet other local runners that will be going to the NYC Marathon.  At least I have a month to improve my time.