Sunday, September 1, 2013

Letters To Myself...A Mental Note

 I often wonder what my life would look like had I not had cancer and become a runner.  Who would I be? Would I have awoken the sleeping giant of fitness enthusiast in me, or would I have continued on in the lifestyle I was existing in? I'd like to think that I would have gotten tired of being fat and unhealthy but I just don't know.  It's amazing to me that it took a life threatening disease to come to my senses and cause me to change my entire lifestyle.  

Life has a way of throwing me curve balls just when I think things are going great.  Why now? Why after all this time did this have to come to the surface iu such a painful wrenching way to my soul? Did I just not want to see the reality of what was going on?  Oh, I thought I was listening to my body speak to me, but I see now that I was not listening hard enough.  I let small pains and bits and pieces of important information come and go without even a nod in their direction.  I thought I had it all under control but I forgot two very important things, nutrition and my lack of normalcy.  Normal has never been my forte'.  I couldn't just have one thyroid disease at an early age I had to have three and I couldn't just have low Vitamin D I had to have Chronic critical low Vitamin D due to my bodies inability to process this vital nutrient.  How could I forget or rather ignore the nutrition and think everything was going to turn out alright?  

I know that all the stuff that's happening to my body will work itself out, one way or another, it's trusting in the process that has me worked up.  Giving up running my half marathon for the second time in two years has been heartbreaking, yet I know that it's what is best for my body.  Yet a small part of me wants to run it anyway, the consequences be dammed.  I won't do that though, it would be like running in the direction of danger just because I can, and frankly that's stupid. 

If I could just look back several months to my newly healed self I would tell her to focus on more than getting her mileage back up and for pity's sake take the damn vitamin D every day...and don't forget....get your protein in one way or another. I'd tell her that even though she could run long distances, maybe it wasn't the smart thing to do, and that running a half marathon would not define who she is. I'd tell her to just enjoy the shorter runs and focus on being as physically healthy as she could be.  Ah yes, hindsight...there is that!

If I could give one piece of advice to someone out there I'd tell them that nutrition is just as important as physical exercise.   We all want to be faster, better etc...but when is the cost to much.  I'm here to tell you, the cost is always too high when it comes to your body...it's the only one we get so take care of it and in the end it will take care of you.

I'm gearing up for more testing to see why I'm having this pelvic bone pain.  Is it a fracture, probably not. Could it be osteitis fibrosa?  Possibly.  Is this Thyroid cancer metastasized in the pelvic bones? We shall see! All I know is I'm in horrible bone jarring pain and cannot run nor can I sit or stand for long before I'm relegated to laying on a heating pad in bed, which is every day by mid morning.  This is not the life I envisioned while getting healthy, yet it is the life I live and I'll find joy however and wherever I can because it could always be worse.  I am blessed beyond measure and I am so very thankful for each and every blessing in my life.  That includes all you lovely people from the blog-o-sphere that have become my friends.  

Blessings and hugs, here is what has become my new hobby now that I have so much free time to just laze around...LOL enjoy! I call my new hobby Cloudy Thoughts Photography...What say you?




"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

So Very Frustrated!

Warning:  This will be a whinny post full of my sadness and frustrations, so if you don't want to hear it feel free to move on, I won't hold it against you!

I am feeling sorry for myself.  This pelvic pain has been a constant reminder of my bodies inadequacies for running.  Maybe that is not the right word, yet it is how I feel.  The doctor ordered new x-rays that of course showed no new fracture (surprise, surprise).  The fact that the x-ray showed no pelvic fracture does not surprise me, as x-rays rarely show a pelvic fracture, but now the doctor has me off running for a week (it's been a week as of Saturday 8-24) and the pain hasn't really changed, I still cannot sit for long and the pain is still present. 

That being said, running wasn't bothering me while in the moment, but I think that it was/is exacerbating the problem.  I have been good this last week and have not run one step.  I did go to the gym and use the non-impact machines and yesterday I walked for 49 minutes so I have gotten in some exercise, just not my preferred exercise.  

While on my walk yesterday morning I started to talk to God again.  We have (or I should say I have) been incommunicado lately. I realized that running has been an idol and I have put it above my relationship with God,  I had to lay running at God's feet and give it to Him and repent.  It is heartbreaking to me that I have put running above the One who loves me most, and it saddens me that I may not be able to run (ever) again due to my physical problems.  

My relationship with God should be more important than running or anything else and sadly it has become a distant love and for that I am solely to blame and it's up to me to fix that,  for it is me that has gone off on a tangent, God has always been here waiting for me. He is always there for me (and you) just waiting for me to lean on Him and rest in His loving arms and look to Him for answers instead of trying to do my own thing.  

Doing my own thing has always led to disaster, yet here I am again.  Thankfully God does not look at us like we think He does, we assume when we do something wrong He looks at us sternly and says "OMG how could you do this" or maybe "I am so disappointed in you"...Thankfully that is not how He sees us.  If we are His children He looks at us with love, forgiveness and mercy and because He loves us it saddens Him when we decide to do things on our own (and put other things/people above Him) especially when those things/people take us down paths He would rather us not go (because He knows the pain and anguish that awaits us).  I thank God that He loves me and forgives me when I repent, and takes me into His arms and comforts me (like now) when my heart is broken.  

Running is/has been my passion and I'm sad I can't run right now,  but even more I want God to be my passion and I only ask that I can one day run without pain, if that fits into Gods will for my life.

Physically I may have another pelvic fracture or it may be osteoporosis, or it could be bone cancer as thyroid cancer will metastasize to the bones of the pelvis first. The doctor did inform me that for some reason my body does not metabolize vitamin D, either from the sun or a pill, very well, and that I have been chronically very deficient for some time and most likely will be for the rest of my life. I went to the Herb shop and found some fast absorbing Liquid Sunshine with 5000 I.U. and am now taking that every day.  I am also having a problem getting in enough protein which is essential for bone growth, maintenance and renewal, so I am working on that in regards to my food.  

Currently I am waiting to hear back from the doctor to see what he wants me to do now that I have taken a week off from running, I fear his response will be "Continue doing what you are doing". He was going to see if my cancer doctor wants to move my scans up and have them done now to check for bone cancer in the pelvis and also whether he wants to order an MRI or a bone density scan. 

So for now I am not running and trying desperately (probably foolishly) to hold on to the hope that I can still run my half next month.  In my mind I could still run it, even knowing that it will cause me more pain. (and possibly injure me more) Physically I know I can do it, mentally I know(-ish) that I shouldn't run it as it could cause a more serious condition that may cause permanent damage etc. End of rant.  

So that's it folks, that's all she wrote, as the saying goes. May God richly bless you all.  I hope that your week turns out to be a beautiful one.   
Blessings and hugs.

 


"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Friday, August 9, 2013

80lbs Down!

I honestly don't know why the weight loss is working now as opposed to before.  The only thing I can think of is I have changed the way I think.  I have become a determined individual, and not only that but someone who needs to see what life is like as a healthy fit and happy person.  I feel great and love the life I can now live.

It's been awhile since I've been on, life has been busy.  My 16yr old son got a job and it's been an involved process, I am a proud mama for sure. He has a four hour orientation tomorrow a few towns away and since driving for that long in the car hurts me, his father is going to drive him.  While he is there the hubs and my 17yr old son will go to the in-laws and play cards while they wait.  I will stay home and if I'm lucky and the smoke lifts I'll get a long run in outside.  If the smoke doesn't life I'll go to the gym and get my run in there...ugh!  

In other news...The sciatica is still here but not quite as bad...I still cannot sit for long without significant pain but it's all good.  The acupuncture helped a lot with some of the other symptoms of the sciatica so it's all good.  I'm done with acupuncture for now, but may try it again in the future if need be.  

My workouts the last week or so...

July 29th
  • Arc Trainer 30 minutes (3 miles)
  • Weights 15 minutes

July 30th
  • AMT Trainer 21 minutes (2 miles)
  • Weights 15 minutes

July 31
  • Ran 57 minutes on Dreadmill (4.3 miles run/walk)

August 1
  • Rest day

August 2
  • AMT 23 minutes (2.3 miles)
  • Ran 35 minutes on Dreadmill (3 miles run/walk)
  • Cleaning Susan's House 120 minutes
August 3 
  • Rest day...Niece got married!

August 4
  • AMT 51 minutes (5.3 miles)
  • Weights 14 minutes

August 5
  • AMT 41 minutes (5 miles)

August 6
  • Rest day

August 7
  • AMT 20 minutes (2 miles)
  • Ran 47 minutes on Dreadmill (4.04 miles run/walk)

August 8
  • Ran 47 minutes outside! (4.1 miles)

Current obsessions...
  • Catching up on all my favorite TV shows (On Demand)
  • Onion bagels
  • Yogurt with Cheerios
  • Soaking up Vitamin D (The sun when it appears through smoke)
  • Reading "Collapse" and "Under The Dome" on my Kindle Touch
  • Beyonce' Heat Rush Shimmering Body Spray Mist
  • Brazilian keratin therapy Flat Iron Spray
  • Spritz Cookies 
Clearly I've been enjoying my summer...it has been such a great relaxing and semi-peaceful summer thus far. How about y'all?  What has your summer been like and what are your current obsessions?

Here's a cute picture of my fur baby Weenie girl with her makeup on (chalk)
 

Blessings and hugs!
 



"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

 © 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

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