Boulder Half-Marathon: Painful lesson learned

Last Monday I had the day off work and decided to test my new running skills by going for some significant distance. I didn't expect to run the entire time, but I wanted to push myself to run farther than I've run before. In the end, I went for 8 miles, ran 6 of those miles, 4 of those straight through for an hour solid. I was hurtin' by the end of the day and the next. Then on Wednesday I had some dizziness and other MS symptoms crop up that lasted for about a week.

Lesson learned... painfully.

I went too hard too soon in my training and the MS let me know that it wasn't happy with me. I've come a long way in my physical fitness, but I still have to be mindful of pushing myself too hard. When I go too hard I don't just have to contend with strained or sore muscles, I've got a whole host of other issues to contend with, including dizziness and mind numbing fatigue. It took me a week and a half to fully recover and start feeling human again.

BikeMS, here we go again...

I just officially registered for the 2012 Colorado/Wyoming Chapter BikeMS ride. The ride starts early June 30th in Westminster Colorado and ends July 1st at the same location. The total mileage of the ride is 150 miles.

Last year's BikeMS was my first event ever and it was the event that started my quest for all things active and challenging. It was from BikeMS that I went onto doing two triathlons last year and now I'm training for a half-marathon and the goal of completing four triathlons this year. BikeMS was the fuse that started it all.

A big part of participating in BikeMS is fundraising, events like BikeMS go along way towards raising awareness about MS and funds that go towards helping find new treatments and hopefully one day a cure. Last year, between BikeMS and the Boulder Sunset Triathlon, I raised almost $1,000 for MS, this year I want to double that amount.

I'm not a wealthy person, I'm not a doctor or scientist, when it comes to MS the only thing I can do with it is live with it. Riding and fundraising is the only way I can make a meaningful contribution that can go towards helping fight this condition.

So I am asking for help in raising funds. You can make a donation at my BikeMS participant's page, any amount you can afford is welcome and much appreciated.

Training in full swing

Only 78 days until the Boulder Half-Marathon and I've got my training in full swing. I spent the past couple of weeks getting back into shape and now I'm trying to boost my running time so I can go long distances. Today I went for about 8 miles and ran for the majority of the time.

Going for greater distances, I'm noticing that my feet start to go numb after about 3 miles. It's really annoying. I can't tell if it's an MS thing, back out-of-wack thing, or running form. OR it could be all of the above. I figure that the smart thing to do would be for me to call the neurologist my aunt recommended and make an appointment. I haven't had an MRI in over a year, and it's probably a good idea to get one to try and rule out any obvious MS related issues (i.e. new lesion development on my spine). Then if it is MS related, maybe the doctor could prescribe some type of physical therapy to help with my form to keep my feet from going numb when I run.

Happy New Year!!

Good Bye 2011, Hello 2012!!

I'm really excited for what this year can bring. 2011 was a good year for me in terms of the positive changes and the growth I've made and I'm looking forward continuing forward in 2012.

I have some big plans for myself this year jumping off from what I accomplished in 2011. My first big thing I'm doing is the Boulder Half-Marathon on April 1st.  It will be my first half-marathon. After the half-marathon my goal is to do at least four triathlons this year, two of them Olympic distance, and the two day BikeMS. Jeremy and I also want to hike up a 14er this summer as well.

My big goal for 2012 is to remain MS symptom free and I feel that continuing to be active and getting into shape will serve to further that goal.