Here I am, 9 1/2 weeks away from running my fifth marathon in the beautiful Bahamian sun in honour of one of my closest friends and I'm suffering from a major lack of motivation. Though I have done solo marathon training before and I am running this one for a cause close to my heart, I am struggling to get out there and get the kilometers under me that I so desperately need. As any marathon runner will tell you - you can't fake a marathon.
I recently had the pleasure of having Katherine, Andrea and Heather for a weekend visit in my new digs. It was a visit that I needed more than I was willing to admit. I find that when I'm struggling the most with motivation, a visit from these ladies usually gives me the kick in the butt that I need! It was so great to have them here and to hear their struggles and have them be honest with me about how each of them are currently handling their arthritis. It may sound terrible but having them be honest about their issues gives me a motivational boost to get out there and pound the pavement because I can and they can't. Now if only they would visit weekly, the remaining 9 1/2 weeks of training will go by in a flash!
So, in an effort to gather up all of the motivation I can find, I will share a couple of other memorable moments where I drew on something or someone to keep me motivated and get me through. The first one that sticks out was the half marathon I ran in the driving rain two weeks after my Gramma passed away. I was drenched to the bone and only finished one lap of the two lap course and had nothing left in my legs or in my heart. So I turned my thoughts to the one thing that had consumed me for the three previous weeks - my Gramma and what she meant to me in my life. If anyone was watching me during that last lap, they would have seen me laughing at moments we'd shared, talking to myself and reminding myself that Gramma wouldn't have given up. She taught me many things but most importantly, she taught me strength and I pulled on that strength that day to get me across the finish line. Thank you Gramma for your strength.
When I ran my first marathon with the Joints in Motion program in the Caymans I suffered the worst leg cramps I have ever had. Ironically, this was also a two lap course and my hamstrings started to tighten on me at about the 23km mark. By the time I hit kilometer 32 my hamstrings were as hard as rocks and gave me little ease of movement. The motivation to get me across the finish line that day came at first from Katherine, an easy motivator as she was the person I was running the marathon in honour of. Thinking of everything that she had been through since her diagnosis and before, including double foot surgery, kept me moving and seeking the finish line. About 2 kms before the finish was a Joints in Motion cheering section with Andrea cheering her heart out. Her spirit and smile gave me the boost that I needed to finish those last 2 kms. Thank you Katherine and Andrea for your amazing spirit.
Through the marathon in the Caymans I met Heather. Heather was so similar athletically to me prior to her Rheumatiod Arthritis diagnosis that I frequently think of her when I'm struggling with a run. I finish more runs that I care to admit because I don't know what I would do if I was in Heather's shoes. I know how much I need running and skiing and physical activity and I don't know how I would fare if I was faced with my doctor telling me that I could no longer do those things. So I finish the hard training runs for Heather whose determination to run gives me the motivation that I need. Thank you Heather for never giving up.
Now this is where you come in. I know there aren't many of you who are willing to run with me in Armstrong to get me through the next 2 months of 25 - 36km runs. Instead, I would love it if you would share something that you've used for motivation in the past or still use for motivation today. I have some tough training ahead and would love any and all support you can muster to get me through the long cold runs. With your support, I can do this!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Empathy...
Well here we go, it's been two months since my last blog post! Bah! Sporadic blog posting was never my intention but so it seems to be the case with me up to now. As I have embarked on the beginning of my training regimen for the marathon in January, something has occurred to me...
For the past two years now I have told you some of the challenges that Katherine, Heather and Andrea face as a person living with arthritis. I've shared with you some very personal details of Katherine's life especially in an attempt to find some understanding on what drives me to raise money for this group of diseases and do what I can to find a cure for Arthritis. What I haven't shared with you is what I think the main reason as to why I empathize so much with these three beautiful women. I too have lived with a "silent disease" that took over my life for 16 years. Clinical depression.
This confession of sorts probably comes as a pretty big shock to many of you as there have been very, very few people in my life aside from my immediate family that I ever had the courage to tell. I am a people pleasing perfectionist by nature and the last thing I ever want is attention or sympathy from others for something I struggled to understand and come to terms with myself. Never mind the social stigma associated with a mental health concern. I was a high acheiving student and athlete at the time of my diagnosis.... How could I ever let out my secret? So, in my quest to never upset others, I suffered and struggled to survive in silence. This silence probably contributed to the length of time it took me to finally get to the place I've been in for the past 3 1/2 years, healthy!
Depression, like arthritis comes in various forms and there is no cure-all medication or therapy. There are good days, bad days and very bad days and every case is like starting from scratch again for the specialists that deal with this disease. Though there are common therapy themes; medication and psychotherapy are usually the first two suggestions for treatment, every person responds differently and not all medications work for everyone. It took me 16 long years of seeking treatment, fighting to get my mental health back and striving for that ever elusive "normal" diagnosis. I firmly believe that if it wasn't for this life experience, I wouldn't have the ability to understand what I do about what Katherine, Heather and Andrea go through. I can't fathom the pain they live with, but I know all too well the mental struggle of wondering, "why me?"
Depression in my life has given me the gift of knowing what I am and what I am not capable of. I know that I need to surround myself with genuine, honest, like minded people. I know I need to stay physically active and I know that I will always be harder on myself, on and off the proverbial field, than anyone else could ever be. The people pleasing perfectionist in me is very much alive but I have a much greater understanding of whom she really is because of clinical depression.
Katherine, Heather and Andrea, believe me when I tell you that I would be and have been honoured to be there for you during your very bad days. I remember them all too well and I know that I only let one or two people really know when I was having one. Thank you for sharing your stories and personal details with me and allowing me to share them with others. You are more special than you know.
For the past two years now I have told you some of the challenges that Katherine, Heather and Andrea face as a person living with arthritis. I've shared with you some very personal details of Katherine's life especially in an attempt to find some understanding on what drives me to raise money for this group of diseases and do what I can to find a cure for Arthritis. What I haven't shared with you is what I think the main reason as to why I empathize so much with these three beautiful women. I too have lived with a "silent disease" that took over my life for 16 years. Clinical depression.
This confession of sorts probably comes as a pretty big shock to many of you as there have been very, very few people in my life aside from my immediate family that I ever had the courage to tell. I am a people pleasing perfectionist by nature and the last thing I ever want is attention or sympathy from others for something I struggled to understand and come to terms with myself. Never mind the social stigma associated with a mental health concern. I was a high acheiving student and athlete at the time of my diagnosis.... How could I ever let out my secret? So, in my quest to never upset others, I suffered and struggled to survive in silence. This silence probably contributed to the length of time it took me to finally get to the place I've been in for the past 3 1/2 years, healthy!
Depression, like arthritis comes in various forms and there is no cure-all medication or therapy. There are good days, bad days and very bad days and every case is like starting from scratch again for the specialists that deal with this disease. Though there are common therapy themes; medication and psychotherapy are usually the first two suggestions for treatment, every person responds differently and not all medications work for everyone. It took me 16 long years of seeking treatment, fighting to get my mental health back and striving for that ever elusive "normal" diagnosis. I firmly believe that if it wasn't for this life experience, I wouldn't have the ability to understand what I do about what Katherine, Heather and Andrea go through. I can't fathom the pain they live with, but I know all too well the mental struggle of wondering, "why me?"
Depression in my life has given me the gift of knowing what I am and what I am not capable of. I know that I need to surround myself with genuine, honest, like minded people. I know I need to stay physically active and I know that I will always be harder on myself, on and off the proverbial field, than anyone else could ever be. The people pleasing perfectionist in me is very much alive but I have a much greater understanding of whom she really is because of clinical depression.
Katherine, Heather and Andrea, believe me when I tell you that I would be and have been honoured to be there for you during your very bad days. I remember them all too well and I know that I only let one or two people really know when I was having one. Thank you for sharing your stories and personal details with me and allowing me to share them with others. You are more special than you know.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Currently Accepting Rattlesnake Avoidance Tips!!!
Yesterday was day one of living up in the beautiful Okanagan and what better way to adjust than bring a sense of normalcy to my new surroundings so off for a run I went! In true Lisa fashion I revisited one of the often thrown around terms from my ski racing days, "go big or go home". Because why not "adjust" by going out for the longest run I've done in a month at a higher altitude than my usual sea level and in far warmer temperatures than my body is used to. As I was out for my run a couple of things occurred to me that I thought I would share with you...
1) While I'm used to the possibility of running into a bear while out for my run, one thing I'd not considered nor have any idea on how to survive is "running into" a rattlesnake! Off I went on my run along the road I live on which is a typical 2-lane road with no shoulder. Every now and then a car would pass and I would move over to the minimal slice of dirt/dry grass on the side of the road. This practice came to an abrupt halt when I realized that the "rattling" sound that I kept hearing was not a sprinkler, as there were none in sight never mind in earshot, but most likely the sound of a rattlesnake!!! The dilemma then became; play chicken with the cars who didn't look like they wanted to move over or risk stepping on something that rattled. I went with the obvious choice of winning many a chicken game with cars. Thank you friendly neighbours for moving over!!!
2) This one is for my tri-city running buddies... I think I've mentioned before that the road I am now living on goes downhill both ways (that reminds me of the stories my parents used to tell me about their walk to school in the snow "uphill both ways") but I digress... When your options are to go downhill one way or downhill the other way to start your run, I think you see where I'm going as to how the run finishes... Yup - UPHILL! For my first run out I decided to go the "flatter" of the two options and went right which is mostly rolling hills until you hit the 2.5km mark. This is where you hit a David like hill. Did I mention that I'm also at a higher altitude? Though it is a nice quiet lovely run with beautiful scenery, I'm thinking we will need to revisit this route a little later in the summer when I have my lungs and legs in better shape!
3) Summer - so amazing once the sunshine comes out that we all feel energized and ready to take on the world. As is common practice, with the sun comes heat which means going for a run at 10am is NOT a wise decision! Just to bring some temperatures into the mix for you, as I set out for my 10am, 10km run the thermometer already read 25 degrees. The heat was radiating up from the road and along the 10km route at 10am there was maybe a grand total of 500 meters of shade and zero breeze. Let's just say I'm extremely thankful that I came back to a pool and an air conditioned house and was able to bring my body temperature down a few notches when I finished my poorly planned mid-morning run!
The take away lessons of my, "I should know better", "go big or go home" run yesterday are as follows;
- get a couple of adjustment shorter runs under my belt before trying to be superwoman
- find a road route with shade to avoid heat exhaustion
- figure out what the heck one is supposed to do when going head to head with a rattler
- get my butt out of bed early to beat the heat
- go easy on the hills while I adjust to my new surroundings
- probably at the top of my list; find a running group to join so I can learn some local routes and tips for running in this area
Hopefully this resonates with some of you and you too can learn from my oversights. Here's to the next couple of runs going a little smoother now that I have acknowledged my mistakes??? I will keep you posted!
1) While I'm used to the possibility of running into a bear while out for my run, one thing I'd not considered nor have any idea on how to survive is "running into" a rattlesnake! Off I went on my run along the road I live on which is a typical 2-lane road with no shoulder. Every now and then a car would pass and I would move over to the minimal slice of dirt/dry grass on the side of the road. This practice came to an abrupt halt when I realized that the "rattling" sound that I kept hearing was not a sprinkler, as there were none in sight never mind in earshot, but most likely the sound of a rattlesnake!!! The dilemma then became; play chicken with the cars who didn't look like they wanted to move over or risk stepping on something that rattled. I went with the obvious choice of winning many a chicken game with cars. Thank you friendly neighbours for moving over!!!
2) This one is for my tri-city running buddies... I think I've mentioned before that the road I am now living on goes downhill both ways (that reminds me of the stories my parents used to tell me about their walk to school in the snow "uphill both ways") but I digress... When your options are to go downhill one way or downhill the other way to start your run, I think you see where I'm going as to how the run finishes... Yup - UPHILL! For my first run out I decided to go the "flatter" of the two options and went right which is mostly rolling hills until you hit the 2.5km mark. This is where you hit a David like hill. Did I mention that I'm also at a higher altitude? Though it is a nice quiet lovely run with beautiful scenery, I'm thinking we will need to revisit this route a little later in the summer when I have my lungs and legs in better shape!
3) Summer - so amazing once the sunshine comes out that we all feel energized and ready to take on the world. As is common practice, with the sun comes heat which means going for a run at 10am is NOT a wise decision! Just to bring some temperatures into the mix for you, as I set out for my 10am, 10km run the thermometer already read 25 degrees. The heat was radiating up from the road and along the 10km route at 10am there was maybe a grand total of 500 meters of shade and zero breeze. Let's just say I'm extremely thankful that I came back to a pool and an air conditioned house and was able to bring my body temperature down a few notches when I finished my poorly planned mid-morning run!
The take away lessons of my, "I should know better", "go big or go home" run yesterday are as follows;
- get a couple of adjustment shorter runs under my belt before trying to be superwoman
- find a road route with shade to avoid heat exhaustion
- figure out what the heck one is supposed to do when going head to head with a rattler
- get my butt out of bed early to beat the heat
- go easy on the hills while I adjust to my new surroundings
- probably at the top of my list; find a running group to join so I can learn some local routes and tips for running in this area
Hopefully this resonates with some of you and you too can learn from my oversights. Here's to the next couple of runs going a little smoother now that I have acknowledged my mistakes??? I will keep you posted!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Huge Thank Yous!!!
Here I am, 5 1/2 months away from running the Bahamas Marathon in January 2013 with the Joints in Motion Team to raise money for the Arthritis Society and I've met and surpassed my original fundraising goal of $4,900. Today I made it to my second goal of $7,000 raised for the Arthritis Society and I have a GIANT smile on my face. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who donated to me - especially all my former Cypress Capital colleagues, many of whom donated for the second time!
Your support means so much to me and it means even more to Katherine, Heather, Andrea and of course East Coast Kim. Without these funds, these four incredible women would not be able to do the many everyday tasks they can complete today thanks to drug advances and research for Rheumatoid Arthritis. These funds go towards much needed research and those of us on the Bahamas Team know just how important drug research is as we lost one of our team-mates a couple of months ago to complications from her Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I can't explain how perfect the timing is on this for me as I embark on my next journey of moving to the Okanagan away from all those who have supported me during the past 2 events. It gives me the oportunity to settle in to my new environment without the added stress of trying to finish off my fundraising. I'm sure I will find a new support system quickly and have already been fortunate enough to have made some great connections up there and am looking forward to their support during the training phase that kicks off this summer!
I will definitely keep up my blog even though my fundraising portion is complete as I will need the support more than ever during my marathon training phase trying to find new running routes and new running buddies to keep me going through the long runs this fall/winter. I'm thinking I may need to invest in a treadmill as this West Coast girl doesn't run well in the snow!
Thank you again to all of my donors, as with last time, I am humbled by those who fundraise for a living - it is no easy task!!! Best wishes for an incredible summer to all!
Your support means so much to me and it means even more to Katherine, Heather, Andrea and of course East Coast Kim. Without these funds, these four incredible women would not be able to do the many everyday tasks they can complete today thanks to drug advances and research for Rheumatoid Arthritis. These funds go towards much needed research and those of us on the Bahamas Team know just how important drug research is as we lost one of our team-mates a couple of months ago to complications from her Rheumatoid Arthritis.
I can't explain how perfect the timing is on this for me as I embark on my next journey of moving to the Okanagan away from all those who have supported me during the past 2 events. It gives me the oportunity to settle in to my new environment without the added stress of trying to finish off my fundraising. I'm sure I will find a new support system quickly and have already been fortunate enough to have made some great connections up there and am looking forward to their support during the training phase that kicks off this summer!
I will definitely keep up my blog even though my fundraising portion is complete as I will need the support more than ever during my marathon training phase trying to find new running routes and new running buddies to keep me going through the long runs this fall/winter. I'm thinking I may need to invest in a treadmill as this West Coast girl doesn't run well in the snow!
Thank you again to all of my donors, as with last time, I am humbled by those who fundraise for a living - it is no easy task!!! Best wishes for an incredible summer to all!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Sadness causes reflection...
I heard some news today that dampened my heart and had me thinking about what this next journey for Joints in Motion in January 2013 means to me. Sadly one of the members of the BC Joints in Motion team that was to travel to the Bahamas with us as a Cheer Team member passed away last week of complications from her arthritis. She was 36 and had been living with a form of arthritis, juvenile onset rheumatiod arthritis, since the age of 8. She had exhausted all available medications on the market for her form of arthritis and was on the newest drug which was released in October 2011. Every other drug had run it's course and was no longer effective in treating her arthritis.
The reason why I'm sharing this with you is because this is the reality for someone living with arthritis. Each drug is only effective for so long before it runs it's course and each patient finds success with only some of the drugs making funding for research so incredibly important for this group of diseases. The Arthritis Society is 100% donor funded, it no longer receives goverment funding and hasn't for many years now which is why programs like Joints in Motion are so important to raise awareness and get more donors like you.
Today was a tough day for me. There is one other person out there who knows what the experience in the Caymans with Joints in Motion meant to me as she was with me down there, my Mom. Fortunately today my Mom came downtown Vancouver to meet me for lunch and I had the opportunity to share my sadness with her. Though I never met the person who passed away, I had tears streaming down my face as I told my Mom the news. My sadness is for the incredibly brave people in my life that I knew before or met in the Caymans who face this debilitating, life changing disease with a bravery I could only hope to muster should it be me. They inspire me to be a better person and are the reason why I signed up to do another marathon to raise more money for the Arthritis Society in January 2013.
In all honesty I've been really bad with both my training and my fundraising lately and have decided that all changes today. I will be updating this blog more often with my training and fundraising progress, news on fundraising events and stories of my journey to raise another $4900 for the Arthritis Society. Those of you that know me know that I am not one to ask for help and I'm absolutely terrible at asking for donations. Well today is the day that changes too. I know too many special people living with arthritis to not ask for your help and I can't lose any of them!
I know that there are many causes out there and many different charities that need assistance. I am asking you to consider donating to my fundraising for the Arthritis Society this year as one of your donations. The link to my fundraising page is at the top right hand corner of this page. Click on "Donate Now" and you will be re-directed to my page where you can donate online. Should you wish to make an offline donation, please send me a message and I will arrange that with you offline. Thank you taking the time to read my blog, stay tuned as I'm sure I will have some humourous stories to tell along my journey again this year. Most importantly, thank you for your support!
The reason why I'm sharing this with you is because this is the reality for someone living with arthritis. Each drug is only effective for so long before it runs it's course and each patient finds success with only some of the drugs making funding for research so incredibly important for this group of diseases. The Arthritis Society is 100% donor funded, it no longer receives goverment funding and hasn't for many years now which is why programs like Joints in Motion are so important to raise awareness and get more donors like you.
Today was a tough day for me. There is one other person out there who knows what the experience in the Caymans with Joints in Motion meant to me as she was with me down there, my Mom. Fortunately today my Mom came downtown Vancouver to meet me for lunch and I had the opportunity to share my sadness with her. Though I never met the person who passed away, I had tears streaming down my face as I told my Mom the news. My sadness is for the incredibly brave people in my life that I knew before or met in the Caymans who face this debilitating, life changing disease with a bravery I could only hope to muster should it be me. They inspire me to be a better person and are the reason why I signed up to do another marathon to raise more money for the Arthritis Society in January 2013.
In all honesty I've been really bad with both my training and my fundraising lately and have decided that all changes today. I will be updating this blog more often with my training and fundraising progress, news on fundraising events and stories of my journey to raise another $4900 for the Arthritis Society. Those of you that know me know that I am not one to ask for help and I'm absolutely terrible at asking for donations. Well today is the day that changes too. I know too many special people living with arthritis to not ask for your help and I can't lose any of them!
I know that there are many causes out there and many different charities that need assistance. I am asking you to consider donating to my fundraising for the Arthritis Society this year as one of your donations. The link to my fundraising page is at the top right hand corner of this page. Click on "Donate Now" and you will be re-directed to my page where you can donate online. Should you wish to make an offline donation, please send me a message and I will arrange that with you offline. Thank you taking the time to read my blog, stay tuned as I'm sure I will have some humourous stories to tell along my journey again this year. Most importantly, thank you for your support!
Friday, February 3, 2012
My Weekend with Three Inspiring Ladies
I know, I know, it's been awhile yet again... I never know where the time goes, I suppose this means I'm having fun!?! But I digress...
When I signed up for a second time to run a marathon with "Joints in Motion" I took back to this blog space and told you that I would regale you with stories of those I've met along the way who have inspired me to tackle this fundraising and training task yet again. I hope to ok some of these anecdotes with them in the coming weeks and months, however, for now I thought I'd share with you a weekend I experienced with them. These three ladies have shown me what it really takes to be a strong woman and face the curveballs (Rheumatiod Athrirtis in their case) life tends to throw our way with grace, humour, and most special to me - candor.
The Jingle Bell Walk for Arthritis was on November 20th 2011 and Katherine and I had done this the year before I ran the Cayman Marathon to support the Arthritis Society and wanted to do it again. Katherine, as many of you know, is my Arthritis hero and the person I ran the Cayman Marathon for and whom I will be running in honour of yet again in the Bahamas in January 2013. The master plan for the Caymans was for Katherine to be there too but that didn't work out as planned. While I was in the Caymans I had the opportunity to meet two very special women. Andrea and Heather both live with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and were diagnosed a couple of years before Katherine was. I knew while I was in the Caymans that I had to find some way to get Katherine in touch with these ladies after seeing the immediate bond they shared in truly "knowing" what the other was going through. While I love and am grateful that Katherine feels that she can share her struggles, embarassing side effects and feelings of extreme frustration about her disease with me, as much as I try, I really don't have a clue what she's going through. Andrea and Heather know it all too well and so I decided to invite the two of them over to Vancouver to join Katherine and I for the Jingle Bell walk. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into...
I picked both Andrea and Heather up from the ferry on Saturday morning and had a whole bunch of items on my list of things we could do that afternoon - evening to catch up before doing the walk and meeting Katherine the next morning. Just a side note, before I get any further keep in mind that I was not spending my time with 85-90 year old ladies... Andrea is in her late 20's and Heather is in her mid 30's... The first hiccup in my master plan for the weekend came when we got to my car, nothing that "able bodied" Lisa would even consider but - my Mazda, though normal height, is actually quite low and even though they both tried their best to disguise it, it was hard for them not only to get into my car but even harder to get out of my car!
So we head to the first stop on the list - the Arcteryx outlet! We're all outdoorsy types and I heard a rumour that they had ridiculous deals so off we went. An hour of driving later we were in North Van and both Andrea and Heather's legs needed some coaxing to get out of the car after sitting for that long - again, not something I considered... While walking around in the outlet Heather commented about hearing a clicking sound... Andrea says with a smile on her face as always, "oh that's my hip, it makes that sound when I'm tired and not walking correctly". That's right, late 20's and has already had a hip replacement and more recently a shoulder replacement! This woman is amazing!
Back in the not-so-low rider car we go - let's be honest, I brought them over for a couple days of torture! Off to grab a coffee and walk along the trails in Port Moody to show them my "hood". We get our coffees in the coffee shop and I suggested we sit for a bit to eat our pastries and then walk with our coffees. This is where they both do a scan of the shop and all the available chairs to seek out chairs that they would be able to get out of... Again, not something I would even fathom having to think about when going for coffee with friends! After finishing our pastries we head out for the km walk to the pier and back which was nice but I could tell it a bit much to walk that far and then get back into - yup, you guessed it, my not-so-low rider for more driving.
A couple more stops that day and then off to my parents for the night to crash. Well if you ask them I think they did quite enjoy sharing the double bed and chatting about their struggles well into the night but again, it was a double bed shared with two amazing women who had to talk themselves into getting out of it to start their day in the morning. I know this part as I heard them both discussing it. I admit that I have to talk myself out of bed in the morning sometimes too, but it's just a mental battle about wanting to stay cozy, not a pep-talk that though it's going to hurt my joints to get out of bed, it's better for them to move as much pain as that will cause!
Off to the walk we went on Sunday morning and I had the pleasure of introducing the ladies to Katherine. They shared an instant bond over a disease that has taken their bodies and severely aged them and made them seriously consider the best way of doing even the smallest "easiest" task. I am so happy that they were both able to make it over to meet Katherine and visit me - as much torture as I put them through! Thank you Andrea and Heather for an "eye opening" weekend, letting me into your world (though you probably didn't realize it at the time) and for being two incredible resources and avenues of support for Katherine. I am forever grateful to you both!
I hope this small snippet of my weekend has given all of you some insight into why I am raising money to try and find relief for those that live with this disease. As promised, I have finally written and posted my donation page - it details some of the struggles Katherine has gone through since becoming a Mom and is well worth the read! The link to my personal page is at the top right of this blog, just click on the donate now button and it will direct you to my page. Thank you all for your continued support - I wouldn't be able to accomplish this goal a second time without you all!
When I signed up for a second time to run a marathon with "Joints in Motion" I took back to this blog space and told you that I would regale you with stories of those I've met along the way who have inspired me to tackle this fundraising and training task yet again. I hope to ok some of these anecdotes with them in the coming weeks and months, however, for now I thought I'd share with you a weekend I experienced with them. These three ladies have shown me what it really takes to be a strong woman and face the curveballs (Rheumatiod Athrirtis in their case) life tends to throw our way with grace, humour, and most special to me - candor.
The Jingle Bell Walk for Arthritis was on November 20th 2011 and Katherine and I had done this the year before I ran the Cayman Marathon to support the Arthritis Society and wanted to do it again. Katherine, as many of you know, is my Arthritis hero and the person I ran the Cayman Marathon for and whom I will be running in honour of yet again in the Bahamas in January 2013. The master plan for the Caymans was for Katherine to be there too but that didn't work out as planned. While I was in the Caymans I had the opportunity to meet two very special women. Andrea and Heather both live with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and were diagnosed a couple of years before Katherine was. I knew while I was in the Caymans that I had to find some way to get Katherine in touch with these ladies after seeing the immediate bond they shared in truly "knowing" what the other was going through. While I love and am grateful that Katherine feels that she can share her struggles, embarassing side effects and feelings of extreme frustration about her disease with me, as much as I try, I really don't have a clue what she's going through. Andrea and Heather know it all too well and so I decided to invite the two of them over to Vancouver to join Katherine and I for the Jingle Bell walk. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into...
I picked both Andrea and Heather up from the ferry on Saturday morning and had a whole bunch of items on my list of things we could do that afternoon - evening to catch up before doing the walk and meeting Katherine the next morning. Just a side note, before I get any further keep in mind that I was not spending my time with 85-90 year old ladies... Andrea is in her late 20's and Heather is in her mid 30's... The first hiccup in my master plan for the weekend came when we got to my car, nothing that "able bodied" Lisa would even consider but - my Mazda, though normal height, is actually quite low and even though they both tried their best to disguise it, it was hard for them not only to get into my car but even harder to get out of my car!
So we head to the first stop on the list - the Arcteryx outlet! We're all outdoorsy types and I heard a rumour that they had ridiculous deals so off we went. An hour of driving later we were in North Van and both Andrea and Heather's legs needed some coaxing to get out of the car after sitting for that long - again, not something I considered... While walking around in the outlet Heather commented about hearing a clicking sound... Andrea says with a smile on her face as always, "oh that's my hip, it makes that sound when I'm tired and not walking correctly". That's right, late 20's and has already had a hip replacement and more recently a shoulder replacement! This woman is amazing!
Back in the not-so-low rider car we go - let's be honest, I brought them over for a couple days of torture! Off to grab a coffee and walk along the trails in Port Moody to show them my "hood". We get our coffees in the coffee shop and I suggested we sit for a bit to eat our pastries and then walk with our coffees. This is where they both do a scan of the shop and all the available chairs to seek out chairs that they would be able to get out of... Again, not something I would even fathom having to think about when going for coffee with friends! After finishing our pastries we head out for the km walk to the pier and back which was nice but I could tell it a bit much to walk that far and then get back into - yup, you guessed it, my not-so-low rider for more driving.
A couple more stops that day and then off to my parents for the night to crash. Well if you ask them I think they did quite enjoy sharing the double bed and chatting about their struggles well into the night but again, it was a double bed shared with two amazing women who had to talk themselves into getting out of it to start their day in the morning. I know this part as I heard them both discussing it. I admit that I have to talk myself out of bed in the morning sometimes too, but it's just a mental battle about wanting to stay cozy, not a pep-talk that though it's going to hurt my joints to get out of bed, it's better for them to move as much pain as that will cause!
Off to the walk we went on Sunday morning and I had the pleasure of introducing the ladies to Katherine. They shared an instant bond over a disease that has taken their bodies and severely aged them and made them seriously consider the best way of doing even the smallest "easiest" task. I am so happy that they were both able to make it over to meet Katherine and visit me - as much torture as I put them through! Thank you Andrea and Heather for an "eye opening" weekend, letting me into your world (though you probably didn't realize it at the time) and for being two incredible resources and avenues of support for Katherine. I am forever grateful to you both!
I hope this small snippet of my weekend has given all of you some insight into why I am raising money to try and find relief for those that live with this disease. As promised, I have finally written and posted my donation page - it details some of the struggles Katherine has gone through since becoming a Mom and is well worth the read! The link to my personal page is at the top right of this blog, just click on the donate now button and it will direct you to my page. Thank you all for your continued support - I wouldn't be able to accomplish this goal a second time without you all!
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