gwennefarrell

I was so happy to be running along my beloved beach this morning after doing some boring runs at our trailer resort. I hit the road at 5:15am so it was still quite dark. But, when I was on my return run the sun was coming up and I looked at our bay and thought wow, is that ever beautiful. The mountains were silhouetted, the water was so calm there wasn’t a ripple and the colours of the awakening sun and blue sky reflecting off that water were amazing. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

My husband and I were chatting this weekend about my runs and he voiced his concerns about my safety. One issue was the fact that I wear AirPods so that I can listen to a book. I assured him I keep the volume low. I want to be able to hear people coming up behind me. I also want to be able to hear vehicles when I am crossing intersections (note we had an interesting conversation how hearing vehicles can be challenging with more electric cars being added to the mix). Another topic is my visibility especially when I start my runs before daybreak. I have resolved this issue by purchasing a running jacket that is a very bright colour and has reflective stripes.

Another major safety concern is the railway tracks that in an 8 km run I cross 4 times. My husband works in the railway construction industry and is often in charge of site safety so if there is one thing I give a lot of respect to it is trains. I remember years ago meeting a young man while I was at physio. He and a friend had been playing chicken on the railway tracks and the train won. This young man was learning to walk again after having lost more than half of his foot from this incident. I also recall a woman a few years ago who was out on a run wearing headphones so didn’t hear the train approaching as she was crossing the tracks and unfortunately she was struck and killed. For me it is simple, I stop every time I cross those tracks and take a long look in both directions so that I know it is safe to cross. I also never try to beat the train if I see the red signal lights start flashing. According to my husband once they start it is 22 seconds before the crossing gate comes down. Not for me, flashing lights mean I am not crossing those tracks until the train has passed.

I know some of this is just common sense but being safe when you are out walking/running is important. I also believe it is my responsibility to do everything I can to stay safe.

I’m having a lovely long weekend at the lake with my husband and our Corgi, Scottie. Tom has spent so little time with our young dog that I thought it would be great for the two of them to get some time together. Scottie is used to having her sidekick, Freya the chihuahua, with her at all times along with her 3 cats who Scottie bathes everyday so I’m sure to her this is very strange being here with just us at the trailer. Yesterday we took things a little further and left her completely on her own in the trailer for a couple hours. We we got back I feared we would likely find destruction and some doggie accidents but nope, everything was just as we had left it. Apparently I need to have a little more confidence in my dog as well as myself.

I have posted previously how I tend to get a little lazy at the trailer and work out less. This trip I committed to trying to keep to my normal workouts and for the most part I have been able to do that. I’ve also posted before about how incredibly boring running around the trailer park is but this time I was listening to a really good book so that helps.

At the beginning of the week I heard back from my coach on this week’s training. If you recall after I successfully did several 10 km runs my coach decided I should do 12 km. When she gave me that challenge she advised after 2 Saturdays doing a 12 km we would go back to the 10 km runs. While I was not overly optimistic but gave it my best try the 12 km’s did not kill me. But imagine my shock when I read this week’s instructions, interval training, then on run days 5 km, 8 km and 14 km. Wait what???? I already exceeded my goal, I don’t want to run a 14 km. Coach assured me I could do this and after I have pulled off two 14 km runs we’ll go back to my now beloved 10 km’s.

So bright and early this morning I set off but I knew there was no way I could spend the next 2 1/2 hours just running through the trailer park so I hit the road (literally) and started running along the highway. Fortunately there is a very wide should that allowed me to feel comfortable despite the heavy traffic. I have to say I have driven that highway 100’s of times but the run this morning gave me the opportunity to notice many interesting things that you just don’t have a chance to see when driving. For example, there was a house with a retaining wall in the front and that retaining wall was being used to help grow an amazing variety of squash. I kept running until I knew I had been at it for 1 1/4 hours and then turned around and headed back. It’s funny but once I passed that 1/2 way mark I started to believe I could actually pull this off and I did, 14 km. Truthfully I didn’t think I had it in me but I do. 1 more 14 km run next Saturday and then doing a 10 km will feel like a piece of cake.

And I have to admit saying I ran 14 km’s today makes me feel pretty proud.

Yesterday we took my dog to see my brother, they have both been missing each other terribly. When we got to the hospital we realized there was an anti-Vaxxer/anti vaccine mandate rally going on (note, while that was how it was branded there were a lot of conspiracy signs there as well). I absolutely acknowledge the right to protest but what they did was horrible. Not only did they offend frontline healthcare workers but they also took up all the parking spots that are supposed to be for those attending the hospital, if you wanted me to support for your ‘freedom’ it is long gone.

So, not sure where I am actually going with this blog other than for the 1st tine since this pandemic began, I am spending time with Tom. To be clear, I mean several days with just the 2 of us (oh, and our dog who barely knows Tom). Given the fact that we have seen each other only 13 days since March 2020, spending 6 days together is pretty exciting.

Despite our wanting to spend time together, I am still running. This morning was 8km and I plan on 5km tomorrow. We also spent today cleaning both inside and outside the trailer. Moreover, while out walking the dog Tom got to witness me out on my run, he told me that while I say I am slow, he thinks I am running a nice, comfortable pace.

I’m going to sum it up with this, hubby and I are finally together but that can’t distract from what I need to do each day. Having said that, he looked at me today and said, wow, your calf muscles are amazing!

Once again the weather sucked today. I had 2 choices, do my interval training outside and get soaked or run on the dreaded treadmill. I opted for the latter and decided I just have to get used to long runs using that machine. I was doing pretty good up to the 8th interval (though had to open the garage door to let some cool air in) when my Fitbit went a little wonky and marked the training as finished. I so wanted to complete today’s training so checked the time on my watch and decided to just run the equivalent of those last 2 intervals, 24 minutes. Got through it and I admit I felt pretty good.

I have always thought that as I got fit and developed muscles that my metabolism would improve. That would explain how I can eat a bit more now but still maintain my current weight. However, metabolism slows down as you lose weight. Hold it, what? According to the Mayo Clinic your basal metabolic rate is higher the heavier you are. I thought this must be some kind of mistake but every credible website I visited said the same thing. Apparently it is a myth that skinny people have a higher metabolic rate, the calories your body burns is impacted by a lot of things including hereditary factors, hormonal levels, age and(wait for it) your physical activity.

Now here’s some interesting information that I found, 50-70% of the calories you burn each day come from just operating your body. That means using your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc. The more overweight you are the higher that percentage will be as your body has to work harder. That made sense to me as my chiropractor talked to me about how my heart didn’t have to work as hard to pump my blood and feed things like all those fat cells.

So what is the point of working so hard to lose all this weight and build these muscles? Well, we know from all my test results that I am far healthier. Those muscles I have worked so hard at developing now are far more efficient at processing the food I put in my body particularly the healthy carbs. Most importantly my muscles now help the cells in my body be less insulin resistant.

Ok, all this work didn’t do the changes in my metabolism that I thought. It actually did much better things so I think I’ll just keep at it.

Today I did my 2nd 12 km run and once again it didn’t kill me. This time I admit I prepped myself a bit better. Instead of worrying about not being able to do it I spent some time yesterday reminding myself I did this last week so I could do it again and it would probably be easier. Well, it wasn’t easier and once again km’s 9 and 10 were the toughest but I pushed through them. I have to say it is really uplifting when you realize hey, I just ran 12 friggin’ km’s.

About a year ago as I was really starting to ramp up my fitness I thought I should add some strength training. I started with my upper body using 2 lb weights (now 5 lb weights are getting a bit easy so I may up those). I had no intention of developing bulky muscles, just ones that looked toned and I have accomplished that. I do an upper body workout at least 5 days a week and I will say compared to doing a 12 km run it is a piece of cake.

As part of that workout routine I also do some lower body strength training. This started with doing bridge exercises and wow did they help build my glutes and my quads. But then my physio upped the ante and had me add squats (particularly to build up my right quad), more challenging bridges and exercises to improve my hip muscles. Now my legs are strong as tree trunks and those muscles in my quads and hamstrings look amazing.

But I think the most important are the exercises I have done to strengthen my core. I have learned that your abs are not all you need for core strength rather it is all the muscles that support your spine including the back and pelvic muscles. Bridge exercises, if done correctly, work out all of your core muscles with the added bonus of strengthening your quads and glutes. I was told by both my chiropractor and physio to stay away from ab crunches as they really compress your spine. Instead I do a set of very challenging lifts which need strong abs. Planking can also give you a great ab workout but I hate doing them so my physio taught me a great modified plank which does the same thing. I will note my abs are now more toned than they have ever been.

The bottom line is my strength workouts have made all of my muscles strong and toned. Not only do they look good but I have not had back or neck issues in over a year. That in itself makes the hard work worth it after suffering with chronic spinal issues for over a decade.

So, add some strength exercises to your routine, you will be so glad you did.

This morning I was supposed to do an 8 km run but it was pouring rain. I decided to hit the treadmill as I really didn’t want to get soaked. However, I’m not not comfortable doing a long run on my very old treadmill so opted for a brisk 8 km walk. Tomorrow is supposed to be drier so I’ll get my 8 km run done then.

Saturday after doing a 12 km run I felt I needed a reward. I went to the Levi’s store for some new jeans (I now enjoy wearing jeans). I picked out a pair of straight legs in my size and after looking around I opted for a 2nd pair that were ‘skinny’ jeans. Tried them both on and other than being too long (as most pants are on me) I was happy. Then it hit me, for the 1st time when buying new clothes I had no doubt such a small size would fit me, I have just accepted that is what I wear. It’s funny, at a size 18 it was easy to accept that was who I am. Coming to grips that I am such a small size now has been a while in coming.

Off I went to the tailor to get those jeans and another 4 pair of slacks hemmed along with 5 dresses that needed to be cut down. I really like all of these dresses but they are a size 10 and I just can’t pull that off anymore. I spent an hour with the tailor and was so excited to see how those dresses are going to look once they are taken in. I am now proud of my new figure and have gotten a bit vain in being excited to show it off.

I’ve said since I started these posts that I have not just been getting physically healthy but mentally healthy as well. I am just thrilled to realize how far my confidence has come over the last few months and I plan on it staying at this level.

Today is my little brother’s birthday. Tomorrow marks 15 weeks that he has been in the hospital and during that time he has fought several infections, fractured his shoulder, had a femoral bypass surgery, had surgery on his foot all of which culminated in him having a lower leg amputation. You would think with all of this it would be hard to celebrate his birthday but nope, we have a lot to celebrate and doing so is far healthier mentally than dwelling on what has happened over the past several months.

So let’s start with the big picture, lil’ bro’ is still with us. They warned us when he under going the bypass surgery that he may not survive but he did. His shoulder has healed and his latest infection is clearing up. His stump is apparently shaped really well and today they will remove 1/2 his staples. Even more exciting is today he started using the parallel bars (side story, I asked how that went and he said at first it was really weird because he kept trying to step on his missing foot). These are all awesome reasons to celebrate.

My sister and I had hoped he would be at the local hospital by now and had planned on kidnapping him for a few hours to go out and see friends. When we realized that wasn’t going to happen we planned his birthday party at Abbotsford Regional Hospital. That included a big lunch (I will probably work hard for the rest of the week to get rid of those carbs and calories), his beloved cheesecake, a beer, cards and gifts from friends, numerous phone calls and a large bouquet of balloons (the one with dogs barking to the tune of Happy Birthday was my personal favourite). The family (including the pets) spoiled him with lots of gifts so all in all this was a fun celebration.

But doing this was really important for all of us. Yes, the past 15 weeks has been difficult for all of us, especially Drew. Having said that, looking at a fair sized list of positives instead of looking back at the negatives made this celebration mentally lifting. There is more to come as he continues along this difficult journey and I for one will keep looking for those things to celebrate.

Don’t let going through a tough time be your excuse not to celebrate the good things in life.

Let’s recap my goals to lay out this new milestone. Last year it was to walk 10,000 steps each day, that has long since been surpassed. I then wanted to lose a total of 82 lbs but somehow it ended up being 102 lbs. Finally, when I turned 55 I set a goal of being able to run 10 km by the summer and I hit that goal 3 weeks ago. Being the over achiever that I am even that goal has been stepped up.

As I have mentioned I do what my coach says without questions, whatever she says goes. She had her own goal to get me to a 10 km injury free and her strategy obviously has worked because here I am having done 3 10 km runs without an injury.

Each week I message my coach with how training for the week went. She then provides me with what I am to do for the next week. Last Sunday I sent the weekly message letting her know I had done a 5 km, 8 km and 10 km run along with a day of interval training. She responded that I was doing fabulous and that this week I was to do a 5 km and an 8 km but for the long run today I was to do a 12 km. Wait, what?? No, my goal was a 10 km run and I am doing that, there is no way I can add 2 more km’s.

Needless to say there was a phone call to my coach who was very encouraging and reminded me I am already basically doing this with my interval training. So this morning I set off at 6am (I had a slightly bigger breakfast to help my energy level). It was a good day for a run with the temperature perfect. I hit the 8 km mark and thought there is no way I’ve got another 4 km in me. I struggled to the 10 km mark and realized there were no more inclines or hills left and I only had about 9 blocks to go and for the first time I thought I just might be able to do this. I started counting down the blocks in my head and when I got to the last 1 I kept chanting you got this! Yes I Gwenne Farrell, the formerly short fat chick, just ran for 12 km’s!

Today I offer a huge shout out to Coach Kelly for always believing that I can do it even when I am convinced I can’t. There is not a challenge you have given me that I haven’t met. I think I am now finally going to start referring to myself as a runner.

I have a number of strength exercises that I do each day. I start with some weights for my upper body then do some squats followed by floor work on my yoga mat. Now my young corgi loves it when I get down on that mat because she thinks that means it is time to give me lots of kisses. I have taken to locking her in a bedroom when I am on the floor so that I can get my routine done. However, yesterday she decided that when I do my squats it must be play time. So, as I go down into a squat she jumps on me. As I straighten up she jumps off me. To her this is a great game and I noticed today when the same thing was happening that she looked like she was smiling. I’ve decided I’m just going to let her keep doing this if it makes her happy.

Several years ago my brother had one of his big toes amputated. At the time I was devastated for him so I just couldn’t look at his foot because seeing that spot where the toe used to be upset me so much. I always made him keep that foot covered when he was around me. Well, now it is looking at the stump where his lower leg used to be. When I saw him the day after the amputation I geared myself up to be strong because if he could handle this so could I. But I admit, that first time seeing his stump just about brought me to my knees. I swore to myself I would never let him see me upset about this and I force myself to look at the stump every time I see him and ask questions about it. I have also done a ton of research into what happens next next in terms of making it fit into his prosthetic.

Monday we had a meet and greet with my brother’s prosthetist and now it was time to learn all about that stump. The prosthetist showed me how the stump was a perfect shape and what they will be doing to manipulate it to fit well in a prosthetic. Trust me this was very detailed information. She asked my brother how much he weighed before the amputation and when he answered she advised he now weighed 5 lbs less because that is the weight of a lower limb. The more she talked the more comfortable my brother and I got and so we started asking questions. One response that floored me is that the cost of the prosthetic (covered under our provincial health plan) is $10,000. I was stunned and the prosthetist explained that the foot component alone cost $5,000.

When I left after that meeting I realized that even when I had first walked into the hospital room seeing the stump didn’t bother me. Yes, it is sad to see but it didn’t freak me out. I thought about it on my long drive home from the hospital and I know a big part of the reason is the fact that I am mentally so much stronger now. Sure, I had to dig down deep those first few visits with my brother but when I was out running I could strengthen my resolve that I had to be ok with my brother’s new look. I don’t think even a year ago I could have gotten to this place of acceptance so quickly but I am here now.

Remember, mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness.

I had a great day on Sunday. We arranged to get together with a group of ladies from a service organization that my sister and I belong to. What a hoot! Not only was it fabulous to see them all after so long but when we got together it was like we hadn’t been apart for a year and a half. We enjoyed a few beverages and had lots of laughs. It was the best way to spend an afternoon.

I was up early this morning to get my interval training done. I’m still doing 10 intervals of 12 minutes running and 1 minute walking. I checked my weather app and thought I can get away with wearing a talk top as it wasn’t terribly cool. The app also said it was cloudy but as it was still dark out I couldn’t really check the clouds. There was no mention of rain for the next 2 hours so off I went. After my warm up I started running and within 5 minutes it had started raining. It was a light rain so I thought this won’t be too bad. I was wrong. The longer I ran the heavier it rained. I got to interval number 8 and decided enough of this, I’ll hit the 10 km mark and quit. By that point I was soaked and cold and it was torture.

I don’t feel bad about skipping that last interval. Running is not supposed to make you physically uncomfortable. I know if I force myself to run when I am really not enjoying it then it becomes an excuse to give up and I refuse to do that. I know I did everything right by checking the weather and dressing appropriately (based on the info I had). Really, if I had known it was going to rain I would have worn an entirely different outfit. Did skipping that last interval impact my training, of course not. I still got in a good workout and that is the important thing.

So, if something makes your walks/runs miserable, give yourself a break.