Saying Good Bye to Running

I love running.  It is a mental game that keeps my mind engaged while kicking any stress I was feeling to the curb.  2011 was the year from hell.  I spent most of hell year dreaming about running.  I read runners blogs (still do), Internet articles, magazines, I received a Garmin Forerunner for Christmas in the hopes I would be healthy enough to use it the next year.  I looked at race schedules, set up training schedules for myself and was fully prepared to get out there and RUN when I recovered from hell year.  There are road blocks that are standing in the way of my running.

1.  I supinate, badly.  I have yet to go to a foot Doctor to get insoles.  This also make my back hurt and my hips go out of alignment.
2.  I get heart palpitations.  I have in fact gone to the Doctor for this.  My cardiologist basically said there is nothing wrong with me ( besides my fatness) and to never come back again.  
3.  Pleurisy.  Last year, my gall bladder spent the entire year trying to kill me (Hell year).  No one was able to figure this out for months.  The main part of it’s attack was inflaming my right lung.  Worst pain of my life.  I would rather go through the gall bladder surgery, recovery, and still present pain repercussions then to ever have pleurisy ever, ever again.  My right lung still isn’t right. Humidity still hurts, and be active still hurts.  I am very careful with it.

I was very upset.  What was I going to do?  I needed to loose weight, get stronger, and to do that I needed to be engaged in my workout.  First I went to a gym.  3-4 days a week.  I ran a little, recumbant biked a little, and hit the weights.  I was never able to so the cardio long enough to burn any real calories though.  Then Spring came and my husband and I were spending a lot of nights out walking the dog together.  He was counting it as cardio, and he can lose weight by walking.  I can not.  Again, I was stuck.

The answer was cycling.  The following quote says it much better then I can:

“"Right now my bike is a symbol of strength and flexibility. It reminds me that my life isn’t under my control, but there are no dead ends. Life is hard. The last year has been hard for me and it’s been hard for many of the people I love. But in the midst of struggles there is still joy. And that joy is worth pursuing and worth working for. I love running. I love my bike. And if someday I can neither run nor ride, I will find something else to do.”
Source

My journey into cycling has been recent, but it has also been wonderful.

But that’s a blog for another time.