The Active Life

Tyler and I went on a lovely run on the morning of May 26 on the beach in Morro Bay, towards Morro Rock. 4.15 miles one day and 5 miles two days later. I forgot to tell you all about my running journey!!

In January 2012 I had a surgery procedure called  a pilonidal cystectomy performed. Basically I had a cyst removed from my tailbone area. I remember that day very clearly, from arriving 3 hours early and getting into a cap and gown to being wheeled into the cold operating room and being injected with liquid fire that knocked me out. Next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room with several other gurneys occupied with patients still in a slumber. After being discharged from the hospital, I went home and laid on my stomach as I could naturally not sit.

Nausea overwhelmed me for the first two days after the surgery. For the following four months I continued to lay on my couch, rarely sitting because it was painful and uncomfortable. I lay mostly on my stomach and only got up a few times to hobble around.

Eventually I got the stitches removed and healing was apparently going well. However, my lack of sitting and walking began to take a toll on my hips and my body in general. I lost about 20 pounds and my hips grew very stiff. All of the muscles in my legs because non-existent. I felt a lot weaker as well.

With the help of iodine and a special pillow, my incision finally healed after a long eight months. I started stretching to try to get full movement and elasticity in my hips again, but I was afraid to work out or run for fear that I would feel pain or that my incision would open up again (It had trouble sealing closed). For that reason, I did not want to try to run or exercise too vigorously for a long time.

After a year, I finally decided I wanted to jog. It was not okay for a 23 year old like me to lose her breath so easily. Yes, I was scared. Yes, I was nervous. But I was determined. A little reinforcer for my new goal was the Nike+ running app. It is a neat app that I downloaded on my phone, and it keeps track of your distance and time.

So, after a year, I put on my soccer shorts and cute Nike shoes, and hit the "Start" button! It felt so weird! My legs felt extremely wobbly and I was so out of breath. It was not a "good run" in the least but I kept going. I ran 1.5 miles that day...and I felt GREAT afterward! No pain or discomfort to worry about and I oddly enough enjoyed feeling my meager muscles throb and hearing myself breathe so heavily. I wanted to do it again the next day.

Slowly but surely I started putting in the miles. My 10.5 minute miles turned into faster times and the distance I ran grew longer. I am by no means fast, just a bit faster than I was. It has been about four months now since I started running again and I am enjoying it so much! It is my goal to run at least three times a week and since I sit at a desk at work all day, running allows me to stretch my legs and get some physical activity in. Running has also helped me relieve stress, look more fit for my husband, and has rejuvenated me in so many other ways! For example, I used to drink coffee every morning and had done so for the past two years. However it has been about a month since I stopped drinking a cup every morning! I no longer rely on the caffeine to energize me for the day.
Overall, I've really enjoyed running again and am grateful to God for allowing me to come to this point in my life again. A place where I'm pain free and healed, and can be active again. I'd like to thank my husband also for always encouraging me and also my sister in law Jessica for running with a slow poke like me!

So I encourage you all to take that step to a more active lifestyle even if you're nervous or scared. You can do it! I'm sure you're all wondering what my running playlist consists of right? Well, that's an easy one--Lecrae of course!