Since my recovery process is in full force now, I feel that it is time to resume some sort of running regimen like I had before. My friend Emily from work was talking about running a 5k and how the people that have offered to run with her are either doing Iron Man contests or have barely ran a day in their life and are just going to walk the entire time. Her conversation led to me offering to run it with her since I was about the same running level as her.
So the running process started last Friday, starting with a short jaunt around the neighborhood (right at a mile). I didn't want to do my old route (2.5 miles) for fear it would be too much. I worked the weekend as usual and then resumed to full running route last night (Tuesday). I am SO out of shape. I used to be able to run a mile straight through and now I'm huffing and puffing feeling like I will die. My body also takes longer to recover than it used to. I think that is just normal though.
Normal...such a hard word for someone for Fibromyalgia to deal with. Since nobody knows what causes this disease there really is no cure, therefore you have to study your own body to know what sets off your symptoms. Its hard to decipher between what is normal body aches and pains after a workout and normal fibromyalgia symptoms. People already think that we are hypochondriacs, and some of us are, or at least have those tendencies, and then we actually try to heal ourselves and we hurt, not knowing which pain is from a disease or from our bodies trying to heal. It's a very confusing process and (God forbid) that we talk about our muscle hurting after a run. We already talk about our pain as it is. I have had Fibromyalgia half of my life now and it is hard to remember what my original normal was...LOL! So a healing process is a hard process.
So here is what I propose to do. I refuse to focus on the pain. I will now focus on my body getting healthy again. I will work hard to put my body to the test and study what makes me hurt. If I push too hard, I have learned something about my health and what I can do. If I push myself and don't hurt so bad, I have found a limit that I can handle and work to eventually master and try to push past it as well. Fibromyalgia is NOT a reason to not exercise and eat right. It is an excellent reason to exercise and eat right. I see so many people with Fibromyalgia use it as their excuse to stay in bed all day. And while sometimes that is definitely needed, I see people who milk that excuse and refuse to push to regain their health. They give up.
Don't give up on yourself! This life is too amazing to miss out on. If you don't like something about yourself, change it, or work really hard to make it better. Surround yourself with positive people and ditch the ones that constantly bring you down. And for Pete's sake, get outside and walk, run, enjoy the outdoors. God made this earth a beautiful place. He made our bodies resilient beings that can heal themselves from the inside out. Start working on your life if you don't like it and make it the best one. My goals when I am on my death bed is to look back from this day on and say, "I don't regret a thing. I lived my life to its fullest!" And I will accomplish that goal!
Have a great day fibro friends! God bless!
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