My first stop in my journey was with a personal trainer one of my doctors, Dr. Keith Stout, recommended. This trainer had worked with other people who had had a brain event like mine. He felt comfortable sending me his way. During this time, I was unable to keep count of my own reps and had difficulty with proprioception, that part of our brain that tells us where our body is or feet are positioned without looking. My balance was off in weird unexplainable ways. My attention, another unconscious brain function was skewed. But he was kind, patient, and it helped get me started. Then, I got plugged in to physical and speech therapy at Baptist Hospital. My Speech Therapist, Amy Wilson, also a runner, was incredibly helpful in helping me to retrain my attention. I could zone out into the fog and not realize I was doing so. She helped me fight my way out of the fog. ( My brain is more than a bit unique, as I suffered a significant injury in a childhood fall that resulted in a subdural hematoma, hygroma and bilateral craniotomy, the area that spawned the SAH of 2012 )
This February 27th, will mark 3 years since blood in my cerebral spinal fluid was like poison to my brain cells and nervous system. Every day was a miserable journey of foggy confusion and discomfort, but that is history. Even on tough days, I will not look back. Every journey starts with a single step. Many new single steps brought me to the point that I can share this today.
When I began this personal journey of recovery from the Subarachnoid Hemorrhage that stole my muscle tone, balance, and my strength from me, I did just that. Each single new step I took, I scrawled a record of them, to encourage myself to keep going. Looking back, on the pages of a magazine I got in a doctors office free health magazine, I had scrawled across the top a rough plan for the first week I decided to fight back the weakness. I planned on trying to do a bit of each exercise as many days of the week as I could for one week. I crossed off the day as I did so. I was not ready to walk outside alone, and walking alone was not going to bring strength back to my arms, abs, etc. I had nothing to lose. The first week was hard, but I found if I did not try to do this I felt like I had let myself down. I didn't think about it, I just zoned out and did it. I put some music on or a show on HGTV, and did the s30 minutes of a total body toning plan. I could not do all the reps as suggested. I did not like some of the exercises that were pictured, as they were hard for me. But I tried. Every day I tried. When my husband ran on the treadmill, I did this. When he was not at work, he would enforce a walk around the neighborhood as I have mentioned before. He would not let me quit.
(You can see the days I crossed off my progress across the top of this page if you look closely. )
With each passing day, the routine got easier. I could do a few more. ( If you look back into my first few blog entries, you can find both of these workout pages pictured, if you are interested in an easy at home body tone up that you can do at home, anytime of day.) I know cause I did this for weeks, months, adding more reps as I went. I still do them on rest days now.
Back to the scribbles at the top! I read in the recent Women's Running magazine about PR, meaning your personal record (time) for running. This PR can be attributed to how many days you try a new physical activity. It can be how far or how long you walk. Each time you work out and complete a day, week or longer, each time you can do even one more set or reps, each time YOU walk further or longer and keep going, you are setting your own Personal Record, or your own Personal Best. It feels so empowering when you can set your own goal, then surpass it. It is winning. And those who know me, know how much I like to win. It's not just about the shiny trophy or medal, and I do have a collection. That collection from before I got sick, is what drove me to want to work to try to do it again.
Winning is about setting a Personal Record. Completing a week of work outs, going the extra mile. Winning is completing your first 5K, in a walk or run to prove that you can to yourself. All these things set the course of your personal journey to wellness, strength, confidence and anti aging.
An ad at the very back of this great issue of Women's Running that I picked up at Barnes and Noble after a run and over a well earned Latte, is for a book. The red book has one word printed across the cover. BELIEVE. It is a running journal. The ad states "Running is about You" Forget how everyone else trains or looks. This is your running journey. Unleash it with the Believe Training journal from two pro runners, Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas. The idea behind the book is to give you a guide to go the distance, not just in running, but in life. No matter why you run, the book is designed to empower you to enjoy the journey and see what you can do. This sounds like good advice. You can keep your own stats or try this journal. I am going to seek it out and take a look.
Its now about 3 months until my big personal challenge at the Senior Games. This may be my one BIG race, so I have nothing to lose! Neither do you! No matter what my time is, my goal is to be my Personal Best!
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