My First Post!

Being a psychologist, I'd like to start each blog with a thought or an inspiring quotation.


Today's quotation is one of my favorites:
"Think you can, think you can't - either way you're right!" Henry Ford


Now, let me start by telling you a bit about myself and the things I hope to accomplish in 2010.


1) I would love to run my first half-marathon in Ottawa on May 30th, 2010.

 This is me running my first 10K. To give you a little background, I ran my first full minute non-stop some time around July 2009. By September I was running 3 times 10 minutes interspersed with 2 minutes of walking. On September 12th I ran my first 5K and I was freaking proud of myself! On November 18th I ran 7K. Slowly but surely, as they say. Then last Thursday, December 31st, I ended 2009 with a 10K! And I felt amazing!! Now the goal is to run a half-marathon in May and to try and stay injury-free. When I run longer distances, I use the Running Room technique (run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute). It doesn't affect the time much and it's the best way to avoid injuries (let's be honest, especially at my age).

2) I would love to stay off prednisone (an oral corticosteroid with horrid side-effects - for those who are lucky enough not to know this).

Me, on prednisone in April 2008 (By then I had been taking a minimum of 5 to 10mg of prednisone daily for approximately 3 years).

SO, I improved my eating habits significantly

I reduced stress - that's me in Bologna, Italy in June 2009

And I started running

Oh and I changed my hair colour :)

Finally, in July 2009 I was completely weaned from prednisone (note the lack of swelling in my face). But, it's not over yet. Since then, I've had to take prednisone four times (usually around 25mg for 7 to 10 days). The longest I've been prednisone-free is about 56 days. So the countdown continues...so far it's been 46 days since the last dose. You can follow my prednisone progress on the top right side of this page.

For those of you who have asthma and are wondering if running is a possibility for you. Of course, first you need to talk with your doctor, but let me tell you what other meds I take, just so you get the full picture. Although I am "pretty much" off prednisone, I still take 1 puff of Advair, 2 puffs of Alvesco and I do the sinus rinse with a nebule of Pulmicort added (all this twice a day, morning and night). PLUS, once every 4 weeks I get two injections of Xolair. There you have it for the meds. Of course, due to the side-effects of corticosteroids, I take calcium every day (the more natural liquid kind cause the other causes major constipation) and 10,000iu of vitamine D once a week. Okay, I think that's really it. 

Now here's a quick summary of my other life.

This is my uber husband of 28 years

My princess

My handsome boy and his lovely girlfriend

My eldest, the passionate artist (at the mike doing slam poetry)

That's it for today - there's still lots to cover, but we've got time!

Cheers!

Daily training log

15 minutes on the bike

15 minutes on treadmill walking with weights in hands (5 lbs - arms at 90 degree angle)
30 minutes of Muscle training
10 minutes of Stretching