KittyCat on Fire…or is just crazy!!

Hope you had a great weekend. I spent my Saturday with close friends, another beautiful day up here so we had a BBQ.

I am getting to a stage in my running that I am getting frustrated with the MIA stamina! I know it will come back but I am so impatient!  I decided today to do two runs, but didn’t plan it well…..

This morning I headed out after 10am (Mr Mac, my dog was at the vet this morning for his yearly vaccination, which interfered with my normal 9:30am run schedule!) and I went back out with my good friend, its nice running with her, we both keep each others pace in check not running too fast nor too slow.

 

However, could not believe that our enjoyable run resulted in us running nearly 1 min 30 secs slower!!! Both of us saying that it felt as if we ran faster compared to Friday’s run.

Got home to a phone call from school that my son had taken unwell, so this sweaty mess pitched up to collect him!

Now,  Mondays is kickboxing night and also to practice my Taekwondo patterns (I am green belt now, working on Won-Hyo, pronounced won-yo) it was a beast of a session, lots of stretching and I feel like I am now 2 foot taller. My leg was shoved in a position that has never been in that position, nor do I expect it to be shoved in such a position ever again.  Yes reader, I had my leg literally head height and I had to keep it in that position for 30 seconds.  Tears reader, tears sprung to my eyes!

Essentially, my class this evening was all about the stretches, I feel like an elastic band, so needless to say, since I was again a sweaty mess for the 2nd time today…what the hell, lets go for a small run!  WTF!!!

 

I was knackered, I was beat, but I have absolutely no clue how I managed to run that distance in that time.

Think tomorrow will be a Starbucks day, as I think my legs are going to make me pay for this evening!

 

Keeping Active, Keeping Good.

Wow…its been a while hasn’t it.  I never intended my blog to be purely about living with Lupus, but, it has unintentionally worked out to be so, so, when I feel good I honestly feel there is nothing worth writing about.  I do feel good (apart from an annoying cough!) still training hard with kickboxing, but also training for the Nairnshire Challenge.  This is a challenge my beloved husband thought we should do, which involves a 12.2 mile run and a 17.7 cycle!  I know what you are thinking…Why is she married to him…hmmmm I am seriously thinking that same thing!

Also, last month was an exciting time with my Kickboxing and Taekwondo. I graded to green tag, it was so difficult as I actually had a flare in my knees and the ball of my right foot, I also came over my ankle when I was doing repetitive roundhouse kicks, but I pushed myself through as I was so determined to do it.  I am now literally halfway to my black belt now.  Granted it gets harder from now and I am no longer classed as a beginner

Other new was I competed in my first Kickboxing competition at the end of March, it was a charity event raising funds for Breast Cancer Awareness and Help The Heroes fund.  I was attending the event anyway with my kids and my instructor was keen for me to compete, if anything for experience, I was actually adamant that I was not competing up to the point I was registering my kids.  I had started Kickboxing and Taekwondo purely for fun and fitness, I am committed to the sport for my illness too, it makes me be active and also through the sport I found a job that I love, so I am doing what I enjoy I don’t need to compete.  However, I ended up registering as I was put on the spot, but I could always pull out…I have an aunt who is fighting breast cancer right now, so just putting in money for that charity was enough for me.  But the more I watched the competitions the more I got the bug.

My daughter did really well, it was also her first time, first of many by the looks of it, she came away with 3rd place in her category and I was just bursting with pride.  I did decide to enter my category, I lost my fight by 1 point, I was delighted, yes I lost but my opponent was one belt of black belt, but I was delighted I did do, I really do think I would have regretted it had I not.  Before the competition my left wrist was slightly puffy and had a bit of pain in it, but the adrenaline I was going through was like a pain-killer and from that point on the swelling and pain disappeared and I have been in a good place since then *touches wood*

I also took the big step and got myself a new tattoo

 

Its my lupus butterfly with the lupus awareness ribbon as the body, I left it uncoloured so I could decide it I wanted to leave it black…I have decided to go back when its finished healing to get the purple added And it looks good with my Lupus Awareness Band, which you can get from  http://www.lupusuk.org.uk/ and of course my faithful Ionic Balance Band

Never giving up

I saw this picture the other day, and it so struck a cord with me. For those regular followers out there you will already know how much I enjoy my sports, swimming, running, taekwondo and kickboxing.  I last ran in October when I completed the Loch Ness Baxter’s 10k unfortunately I ran it in a Lupus flare, which afterwards floored me for over 2 months, and I obviously had to withdraw from the 1/2 marathon that I was signed up to, 2wks after the 10k.

I kept going with my Taekwondo, mainly because that is just working on the patterns and theory, but had to give the kickboxing side a miss for about 3wks, still to this day I sometimes struggle with certain aspects of the sport, but I always give it a go.  I have a wonderful instructor who knows of my issues, and will quite often adapt exercises for me so I don’t miss out….however, when it comes to the technical side of the sport, I can pack a mean punch and strike an awesome roundhouse kick to the head lol

My point to this post is, I had an appointment with my rheumatologist on Monday afternoon.  I am in remission just now which is GREAT! although, apparently, I have a puffy right knee, but it’s not bothering me.  I finally admitted to him the extent of my sports, telling him also that even if I am flaring I will continue to participate in my sports.  Not doing so for me, makes me depressed and I hate feeling idle regardless to the state of my lupus.

I could sense an eye roll coming on, I do recall him telling me to not participate in any high impact sports, and I could really not choose anything less high impact to my joints!

So, I just asked told him I can continue with my sports, if I am in remission, and have been involved in my sports at least twice a week regardless if I am flaring or not, there is no further impact to my joints or my internal organs. My lovely rhematologist told me he has 20yrs until he retires, so he will master the no eye rolling by then lol He has given his blessing for me to continue but to be sensible, which is what I have always done.  I have said, there will be a time when I can no longer participate in what I do, but today is not that day and for as long as I feel fit enough to do it, then I will continue to kick ass and run!!

Have a flare free weekend