Couch potato to 5k Check-in

So last week, Danielle checked in, and talked a little bit about her past running history. The only running I ever did was in High School when I was on the tennis team. We had to run two miles on the outdoor track as a warm-up before practice. Umm, It pretty much always sucked, and it never felt particularly good; but that 2 miles did help keep us fit for our matches. So between the ages of 18 - 41, I did almost "zero" running!
Growing up, I came from a pretty athletic family. My sister played volleyball, basketball, and softball; my brother played soccer, hockey, and baseball. My parents and siblings were big golfers, too. I always kept active and enjoyed being out in nature. I enjoyed walking my dog, hiking, and lots of other forms of exercise but nothing competitive. For awhile, I was into racquetball and tennis, and then cross country skiing, biking, and a little bit of kayaking. This activity was mostly reserved for weekends and I was consistently active through the years.
Of course, dancing was my first love and I was involved in either taking classes, performing, or some combination of the two from about age 4 - 28. I finished graduate school when I was 28, and since then, my work as a dance/movement therapist has been a priority. I am active in my work with the different client populations (groups and individuals) I serve. However, it doesn't result in any sort of aerobic workout, or strength training needed to keep in really good shape. My work is about being witness to, educating, and facilitating therapeutic process related to individual treatment goals and objectives, based on the body/mind connection. (*To learn more go to: Creative Arts Counseling and Consulting.)
Many of you know about my own health crisis which prompted the start up of this blog. I'm currently writing about my journey through illness, and hope to finish this book next year. It chronicles the past several years, where I was faced with my own health crisis and will highlight lessons learned on the road to recovery from heart disease. From 2004 - 2009, I had 3 heart attacks and 3 angioplasty procedures, a total of 9 stents, and a heart bypass operation last December.
Within this time frame, from September 2008 - September 2009, I was fortunate to have a whole year without any heart "events". During this year, (my second year at a new job), I had begun to build up some vacation time, so I was able to go a few places. That spring I went with my husband to the Catskill mountains, and we climbed one of the highest mountains there, Slide Mountain. (picture to the right..."almost to the summit!") To be able to complete this, felt like a huge accomplishment and both my husband and I were very proud.
Accomplishing this goal, felt so good, I decided to set another one. I wanted to try and run a half marathon. Of course, I never had run more than 2 or 3 miles in my life. I was inspired by a friend of mine who had gone from never having run before to finishing the Marine Corp Marathon in the same year. My goal at that time was to try and complete a half marathon. I tentatively had two picked out: The "More" magazine 1/2 marathon; or the Lake Placid 1/2 marathon. The summer of 2009, I was just getting to where I could run a 5k without stopping. However, that fall, my plans had to be put on hold indefinitely as this was when I had my third myocardial infarction, the most serious of the three.
Continuing to have angioplasty and stents placed in my LAD after each heart event seemed ridiculous to me. The LAD is the Left Anterior Descending Artery; it is also referred to as "The Widowmaker" due to how deadly blockages prove to be in this important vessel. Each time there had been an "event" it had been the result of a problem with this vessel. The stents never corrected the problem, they served as a temporary "fix". In my case, I believe that the irritation caused by the stents increased the inflammation and proved to be more of a problem than a solution for me. (*This is my opinion only; Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition. This information in this blog is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.) You've heard the definition of insanity (usually attributed to Albert Einstein)? "Insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over, and then expecting different results."
I then had a total of 9 stents which the Doctor's referred to as a "full metal jacket". Soon enough, I suspected the stents would close or crack, cause pain, and flu-like symptoms leading to another heart attack. I didn't know how many more times I could "bounce"' back. I was exhausted. In December, my question was answered. On December 10th, 2009, I left work early, feeling like I had the flu. I ended up driving myself to the hospital where I was told I needed to have open heart bypass. The recovery process was long and painful. For the first time in many years, I felt some optimism because I kept my heart in very good shape throughout all of these "events" and "procedures". With the one new artery (which is what I needed), I was told that my heart was now "pristine".
Although this period of time had taken its toll on my spirit and psyche, I knew that if I kept bringing my body to yoga, meditation, nature, etc.. and continued to nurture myself, and allow myself to be nurtured and loved that the resilient nature that is inherent in each one of us would break through and my "light" would shine again.
It's been 11 months now since the operation. I'm healthy, grateful, and enjoying life today. I'm looking forward to participating in the "It's a wonderful run" 5k on December 11 with Danielle. I'm still not running the whole 3.2 miles, but I'm working on it, and enjoying the process.
While I don't think of myself as particularly wise, I have learned a few things. Two of these are: 1. Our natural state is one of Health. Our bodies want to heal. This is documented in ancient texts and by modern research. 2. Radical Acceptance for where you are in every moment allows you to begin to realize the power and perfection of Now. You're perfection right now, in this moment, no matter whether your goal is to finish a 5k or an ironman/woman event! That being said, we still have to take action toward our goals and so I must close for now, to go out for my run/walk.
To your health,
Chris

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition. This information in this blog is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.

Danielle's Training Check-in

I am so excited about this new goal and challenge I have set for myself in running a 5k and honored that Chris has asked me to share my experience. I have always loved the idea of discovering new challenges, setting a goal and working towards achieving whatever it may be. First and foremost, I have to admit that I have always had a complete love/hate relationship with running and about 5 years ago the hate part took over. Growing up, I was always involved in sports and of course with each activity entailed some amount of running. However, I didn’t really begin to run distances until my early twenties. My older brother, who is an avid runner initially peaked my interest due to his love and dedication to the sport. At the time, I would crank up my Walkman (yes, Walkman) and trudge along. I didn’t necessarily love to run and can honestly say never experienced that illusive "Runner's High". What hooked me and kept me going was the camaraderie and support I found along the way with other runners. I was hooked on running dates, planning races with friends and most importantly connecting with my brother on a shared interest. I relished in his visits home from college where the two of us would go for a run. It was a rare time where the two of us could be alone and talk, and along the way he would motivate me to keep going. As my stamina increased and my network of runner friends grew, I impulsively signed myself up for a half marathon. The first person I told was my brother, who was excited and beyond supportive. The problem was that I didn’t have a clear plan as to how I would achieve this goal. I just kept running as usual and fairly quickly became defeated. I could not fathom getting to the level of finishing an entire 12.2 miles, what was I thinking? Just as impulsively as I signed up for the race, I decided to quit. I phoned my brother telling him that I would not be running the race. His response “Well, if that’s what you want to do that’s fine, but I never took you as a quitter”. The transparent reverse psychology in those words, changed my thinking. So in a mere 3 weeks, I feverishly ran and had myself up to 8 miles. I did run the race and made it through, but it was grueling, and that’s an understatement. I continued to run moderately after that and about five years ago decided to completely stop. The love/hate relationship had shifted to one of hatred. I was finding absolutely zero pleasure in the activity.
I realized that I needed to find other ways to move my body that felt better for me. I begin mountain biking, hiking and yoga and fell in love with all of them. I loved pushing my body, but more than that loved feeling connected to my body and my environment. I began to honor my body and to listen to it. When I was tired I slowed down, if on a hike I was pulled to look at a unusual flower I did and if I just wanted to sit and soak in my surroundings that was okay. A Walkman (or now I pod) was always required to distract me and get me to the finish line. With this new found body/mind wisdom, the enticement of running began to flutter back into my mind.
Coincidentally, around this same time, Chris asked me to join her in training for a 5k. I was hesitant at first, but decided to give it a try, employing my ability to listen and honor my body. I am in a different place in my life and running may be a new experience.
I have slowly started the training process with clear goals and I feel much more attuned with what my body needs and can tolerate now. I realize, that for me, going to a gym or running on a treadmill does not give me energy, but in fact takes it away. I have fallen in love with running outside on trails, especially with my dog Bella, who is grateful to be along for the run. Bella has taught me that it is fantastic to run full speed ahead, and glorious to stop and look around at something intriguing. I am curious and excited to learn more about myself and to continue to share my journey with everyone.
~Danielle

Do you have a SMART goal you're trying to achieve?

Hi everyone,
I want to introduce you to a friend and colleague of mine, Dr. Danielle Cornia. We've been working together for the past 6 months, in a partial hospital program for both women and men with eating disorders. It's called, Centre Syracuse. Dr. Cornia has worked with individuals with eating disorders in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She has previously worked on the inpatient Eating Disorders Unit at the Western Psychiatric Institute in Pittsburgh, Pa. At the University of Pittsburgh she conducted research on college athletes who had eating disorders. Her current research interests include: cognitive-behavioral treatment of eating disorders and community education about eating disorders.
I especially enjoy working with Danielle because with my education and training in Creative Arts Psychotherapy; Working together, we create a balance of weaving both non-verbal and verbal approaches, accessing both right brain function and left brain function to help our clients. Creative Arts Therapies can be integrated into a comprehensive team approach to treatment for eating disorders in order to help patients to increase awareness and expression of feelings and may help to relax patient defenses, given the utilization of non-verbal techniques (Fallon & Wonderlich, 1997). Together we use a variety of techniques to achieve a balance of generating affect, and emotional containment. It's been an absolute delight. (*We have a multidisciplinary team at Centre Syracuse with extensive education and training in the treatment of eating disorders. Check out our website: Centre Syracuse.)

Danielle will be joining me here, "Creating Your Health", once a week. Blogging about our mutual goal of running a 5k on Saturday, December 11, 2010. We have signed up for the: It's a Wonderful Run race in Seneca Falls, New York. Here is a link to a video clip: Countdown to It's a Wonderful Run!
We set this goal for ourselves, because we both believe that goal-setting is important and can be a powerful way of motivating people, and motivating ourselves.

For me, December 11, 2010, marks my one year anniversary from my hospitalization leading up to my open heart bypass operation. To run a 5k on this date, is meaningful.

The value of goal-setting is recognized and accepted as one of the most useful motivation theories in industrial and organizational psychology, and human resource management. We've all probably heard about SMART goals? SMART being the mnemonic for setting objectives used in both project and performance management, as well as personal development.*

S: specific
M: measurable
A: attainable
R: relevant
T: time-framed

The 5k fits the bill as being a SMART goal. I have to admit, while I love to get exercise outdoors (love hiking, kayaking, biking, etc..), I've never been much of a runner. This will be a challenge. stay tuned.

To your good health,

Chris

*The first known uses of the term occur in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran.^[1]

Fallon, P., & Wonderlich, S. A. (1997). Sexual abuse and other forms of trauma. In Garner, D., M., & Garfinkel, P. E. Handbook of treatment for eating disorders (2nd Edition). New York: The Guilford Press.