I am Spartan!

Yep we did it! Yesterday we ran the Spartan sprint and yes it was we, it was most definitely a team effort and thanks go to the rest of the team for making it such a great experience.

Yep it was tough, there was mud, there was fire, there was lots of half naked men, which may have helped us girls round the course....

There were some truly remarkable people there and I feel very proud to have been part of it.

That me in the middle!

 

 

Ok so we conquered wall climbs, not easy when you are wee, thanks go to the boys for a leg up! We walked for, what seemed like, miles through a freezing river and deep is all relative to how tall you are. We climbed over stuff, we crawled under stuff, including barbed wire, up and down a hill! We tried (and I failed) to do the monkey bars and the rope climb, we tried to throw an arrow into a bale, so close but it didn't stick. We jumped over fire, we pulled tires, we hoisted the Hurcules Hoist and we did a whole heap of other stuff that I can't remember. But most of all we had an amazing time! And we did it, we finished it and we finished it with a smile!

 

 

 

For me I made it through with only dislocated toes and a heap of bruises so I am delighted! I think I am still functioning on adrenalin so waiting for the catch up exhaustion but it was all worth it. I met a fellow Bendy in the car park whose friend had been taking part and she was so happy to see someone doing it for EDS, really made my day! Yes I wish I'd trained harder and prepared more but am delighted with how well we made it through.

 

So that is it the challenge is done.......

 

 

What's next?

 

There is still time to sponsor me if you would like, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/bendyspartan/

 



Cheating!

Saturday was a cheat day. We could eat whatever we fancied either for a meal or for the whole day. I was apprehensive, I've been enjoying this healthy eating lark and not struggled anywhere near as much as I thought I would. even under extreme temptation my resolve has remained strong. but what if I started then couldn't stop??

I went for the cheat meal and a treat approach, so stuck with the plan all day. I struggled to think what I wanted, I had no major cravings so went the tried and tested bread, cheese and chocolate!
Tuna and cheese melt baguette, it was nice enough and I do love bread (and cheese for that matter) and yes I enjoyed it. However, it left me feeling bloated and overly full (even though I ate the same amount of calories as I have been eating). I stood for quite sometime at the chocolate counter deciding what to have, nothing really grabbed my fancy, but its chocolate it's all nice, right?

Went for a twirl and (I can't believe I am typing this) had one finger and to be honest that was plenty, it was a bit too sweet and sickly! Obviously I struggled through and ate the other finger - it was a cheat day after all, but I left myself feeling sick!

So it would seem that by cutting out the bad stuff, only a tiny bit will be sufficient to satisfy cravings.

Saturday night was also the first night in the past couple of weeks when I have been kept awake with EDS aches and pains. Now it may well be coincidence but I have noticed an improvement in the general pain levels while I have been on the 'detox'. Hmmmm this healthy eating might just be worth it.

Only 6 days left of the plan, then it is the Spartan Sprint (gulp) and then what? Watch this space.....

Fair weather blogging!

It would appear I am a fair weather blogger! I have been struggling a lot and if I am honest I am not good at admitting it. So the fact that I am here typing shows I am feeling better. I think when you have a condition that leaves you in pain pretty much all of the time you become really good at putting on a front and looking to the outside world that all is fine. It is hard to let that guard drop because if it does you might just not get back to functioning like a normal human again.

But actually this time it was not so much a really bad flare up, although I have been knackered and things have been popping it wasn't really any worse than normal. It was more of a mental thing.

When I started this the Spartan Sprint was very much the end game. That was what I was working towards, while trying to raise a bit of awareness (and money please feel free to donate https://www.justgiving.com/bendyspartan/) about EDS. Within my circle of friends I have done that, people who have people I their family have been in touch and it has been great to feel like I have aided understanding a little bit.

So the Spartan, well I think that has been part of the problem. With less than a month to go I am not as fit as I wanted to be, although my expectations were perhaps a little unrealistic. I was genuinely concerned about making it round, both because of fitness and the fear of something dislocating. In my head I think I had convinced myself that if I got fit enough EDS would magically heal itself. Hmmmmm that isn't going to happen, you numpty!

So yes I have been struggling, I have still been plodding along and training, maybe not as much as I could have but I have been trying.

Yesterday I went to bootcamp. Now I would like to point out that this isn't a military style shout at you till you cry kind of bootcamp. It is a very lovely group of folk that just want you to do your best. I went. It was a struggle to get there but I went. First off it was blooming freezing, I had a subluxation of the shoulder after dislocating it on Saturday with a heap of muscle pain around it, my back is not 100% aligned and is refusing to go back in and I have the usual dislocating toes. I thought about not going. But I went. I told myself I would modify and I wouldn't do any shoulder stuff. But I was there and I thought well I just try and do as much as I could. I did it, I gave 100% and I completed everything. It might not have looked like it to anyone else but it was a huge achievement for me.

Not only did it get me through bootcamp but it has given me the confidence to believe I can get round the Spartan. I had visions of galloping round the course, leaping over obstacles, gracefully rising to the top of the rope climb. Yeah, there is going to be nothing graceful about me hauling my bahooki round, over and under to get to the finish! But I will get to the finish, dislocations, subluxations it doesn't matter I can push on through and I can do it.

And do you know what the Spartan isn't the end, I have a feeling it is just the beginning!

Another year gone by.....

Today I turn 36. Yep I am officially on my way to 40 and it feels great! Now in the grand scheme of things 36 is not really very old, I'd go so far as to say it's pretty youthful. Obviously in my head I am still around about 23 :-)

I am genuinely happy to be heading for my forties because I am doing so fit (well maybe not fit but getting there), active, healthy, managing HEDS in the most without medication. Something that when I was 17 was not a given. I think I have mentioned on here before when I was first diagnosed I was told there was a good chance that when I was in my thirties I would struggle to walk, the word wheelchair was used......

In my late teens and early twenties I relied a fair bit on painkillers which resulted in stomach issues.

In my thirties I feel fitter and stronger than ever. I have a huge amount to be grateful for I have an awesome family, the best daughter (even if she is a little nuts), brilliant friends, a great job, in the grand scheme of things I am healthy. Yeah I have bad days where everything hurts but I also have days where I can run like the wind, ok, ok that is a large exaggeration but I can move at a pace that is faster than walking and for me that rocks.

This week came the sad news that #Stephensstory had come to end. But my goodness what an inspirational man. And do you know what his story hasn't come to an end, his story will live on, it will continue to inspire, to give hope, it will no doubt save lives.

So yes I am getting older and for that I am thankful. Let us stop worrying about wrinkles, grey hair, things going south and let us celebrate the life we have lived and the life we have to come. Take a look in the mirror - you are awesome!