I’ve been out-of-town for the past couple of days visiting Jarrod’s wonderful family up in New York and Pennsylvania, so I’m running a little behind on my posts. But I had my first experience flying with an ostomy, so I’ll be sure to post about it soon. Ok, time to play catch up…
Days 10-12 Prompt: Incorporate more exercise into your life. You don’t need to run miles everyday or work yourself to exhaustion, just get up and go for a short walk at the very least. I know how hard it is to be in pain or just feel like crap overall, but it’s so important for you physically and mentally to get moving. Don’t let your disease or your pain hold you hostage. How are you going to be active today? (from Full Frontal Ostomy)
This is so up my alley right now! Well, I am not by any means a consistent exerciser. In fact, I haven’t kept to any sort of routine since I danced in middle and high-school. In college, I had a few times where I’d start running or going to the gym, but it never lasted longer than a week or two. It’s probably been about 10 years since I’ve actually kept my body in shape.
Especially since I’ve graduated from college, I’ve wanted to get back into an exercise routine. I mean, once you hit about 25, it’s all downhill from here, right? Basically, I want to get into the habit now, when I’m young that’ll continue on as I get older. But about the time I graduated from college is when my Crohn’s started to get really active and hasn’t quieted down since. Therefore, I haven’t been in a place where I’ve felt good enough to put forth the necessary effort and definitely haven’t had the energy.
But ever since my surgery, I’ve been feeling so much better that I’ve been very motivated to start really exercising again. I think my Crohn’s feeling better has made me want to feel better in other ways, i.e. working out and eating healthier. But as I told you all earlier this week, I like having a goal in mind, so I’ve decided I want to train for a triathlon. So for the past few weeks, I’ve been going to gym at least 3 times a week and really pushing myself in my work outs.
I’ve hit a few road blocks due to some residual inflammation, especially in my knees, so I’m not sure if I’ll be ready for a race as soon as I’d like, but I will do it, sooner or later. It’s truly amazing how much better you feel once you get into the routine. And even after just a few weeks, I already find that if I don’t make it to the gym for more than one day, I do miss it.