Adult Onset Athlete

Last Wed as we were walking to the car after our Wed group run, another runner, Chris, used the term "Adult Onset Athlete." She said that it was original, that she had read it somewhere. I really liked the term! It describes exactly where I am at.

We really weren't encouraged much in sports growing up. We played a summer or two of Tee Ball and one fall of soccer. I liked Soccer, but my mom thought that we got too dirty, so that was nixed.

As an adult, I did take horseback riding lessons for several years. That did require my legs to be strengthened and a certain amount of stamina. But, I could only afford lessons once a week, so it wasn't the regular exercise it might have been.

Running is a new thing for me. I feel like I am making progress. Last Wed I ran fairly far ahead of the Tiger Group. Laurel was subbing for Peggy. She encouraged me to try moving up a group. So, I may try Group 10 on Wed.

The hard part is that I joined the Lake Run Club for two competing reasons. One was the exercise. I've always admired people who could run. The second reason was social. If I run in a different group I will be moving on without Katie and Chris.They are the people I've most connected with. But perhaps moving up will give me a chance to meet a couple more people.

Adult Onset Athlete. I've noticed some advantages to this. One is that I feel better. Running is somewhat painful at times because you push yourself. But there is a good feeling of accomplishment. Second is that I am tired. I know this might not sound like a great thing, but I have a history of difficulty sleeping. This has amazingly gone by the wayside in a dramatic way. Third, my clothes fit differently.

I need to be off to work. Have you considered becoming an adult onset athlete?

Catch the Wave Run Fun?

Okay, so a couple weeks ago I joined the Lake Run Club in Bloomington-Normal, IL. They have a beginners class called "Catch the Wave." I joined 2 weeks late and quickly discovered that I was in group 10 (the slow group.) Last week, they added a "transitional group" for those of us who were unable to run for 6 minutes straight. Of course, by last week, everyone was up to running 8 minutes walking for a few and running 8 . . . .

I felt a bit let down to drop into the transitional group. Last week we walked 2 minutes and ran 2 minutes. I managed to stay towards the front of the group.

Tonight I can actually said I had fun while running. Yes, I know this is hard to believe. But I was able to run the two minutes and only do one minute of walking. Amazingly, I could do it and hold a conversation. All tallied up, I ran about 20 minutes and between warm up and the walk intervals, exercised an additional 20. Total exercise for the day was 40 minutes.

But the amazing part is that I actually enjoyed it. Three of us are getting together Saturday for a "run."

Add to that, I've been working out at Curves. They have a machine that measures body fat. While I won't tell you my weight or what my total body fat count is, I will say that when they measured it yesterday it had gone down by three pounds of fat.


And at work, my office is participating in a county wide health challenge. It lasts 8 weeks. We participate as a team and get points for various activities (exercise, eating fruits/vegetables, reading something about health, drinking water.) Monday I managed to earn 45 points. Tuesday I earned 42 points. Today, earned 52 points. It's actually kind of fun to do as a group.

I just never imagined thinking of a run (/walk)as fun.

40 to 40 (Gratitude 28)

Today I am grateful for health and health care. Too often I can take these things for granted -- particularly the health care piece. I am thankful that I have health insurance. While it doesn't pick up everything, it picks up a good portion of things.

It makes me sad to think of people who don't have health insurance. That is a scary place to be. But the price of individual health insurance is exorbitant. For almost a year I paid COBRA to keep my health insurance. For just me, it was over $300 a month. I cannot imagine what it would be with a family.

So, I am thankful for my general health even though I feel like I'm catching a cold right now!

The Metal Detector

Iron. We all need it in our bodies. We get it from food. Some take vitamin supplements. But it is generally agreed upon fact that we need it.

My body, however, has other ideas. Sigh. A couple years ago I had a routine physical. They thought my iron was low and had me take a supplement. Not much happened so they sent me to a hematologist. He prescribed horse pill, prescription only iron pills. The thing they measure the iron with is actually a protein that the iron bonds to. The first time they did the test, I was an 8. I took those horse, pills and it moved to a 12. Right direction, right?

Yes, but not enough it seems. I guess the level should be between 60 and 120 or something like that. And I'm at a 12? The doctor said that for whatever reason, my body was not absorbing the iron so he suggested intravenous iron. By the time I had my 8 appointments for it, I was at 499. Can anyone say, "Beware of metal detectors?"

Over the last couple years we've watched it drop. Suddenly, in the last month or two it's dropped significantly quickly. So, I'm back on my iron IV's.

It's not that big of deal but they cannot tell me why. That is the frustrating part.

So, if we travel together and I set off the metal detector you'll know what to tell them!