Finished

Finished, a photo by gibsonsgolfer on Flickr.

It was nine months ago this week that I had two strokes that knocked me out physically and mentally. I felt I was in fairly good condition at the time and even today there is no final answer on what caused the strokes, only that they were located in my brain stem.

I had been doing some training at the time for the Vancouver Sun Run, an event I had often planned to enter, but only seldom had I made the trip to Vancouver to do the run. On December 10, two days before the first stroke, I completed a 5.41km run in 46:57, an 8:41 pace. Two days later, my ability to run was gone.

Since getting out of the hospital I have found a new interest in walking / shuffling. I set myself a goal to do a 10K and on June 26, I achieved that goal, albeit slowly. I went 10.57km in 1:42:48, an average pace of 9:43 and according to my GPS map, I did the first 5km in 47:45.

Today I ran with my daughter, Chelsea, in memory of my son-in-law Elias who passed away 2 years ago from brain cancer. She has become an advocate for other widows - helping herself along the way - and was running today in support of the Liz Logelin Foundation, a positive support group for widows in need. I set up the course for her and we did a touch over 5km - 5.05km - in a time of 44:49, not as fast as pre-stroke, but I was very pleased with the result.

Will I try the 10km in Vancouver next year? We'll see.

Checked off

As many of you know I had a couple of strokes in December. The doctors are still uncertain why, but they hit my brain stem and sent me for a physical loop. I'm still in recovery mode, and likely will be for years ahead. Though I'm starting to play golf again, the scores aren't quite there, but that is not what this post is about.

Before my stroke, I was doing my annual thinking about and bits and pieces training for the Vancouver Sun Run, a 10K event. I was also dabbling with the idea of doing the April Fools Run, a half marathon here on the Coast. I do these things (thinking and training a bit) though I've only run the 10K in one year.

My time at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre was a real experience, meeting lots of folks with both interesting and tragic stories. I asked those working with me to push me hard and I would try being motivated towards recovery. When I left there in February this year, I could walk slowly, losing balance occasionally, and definitely not run. Today, I still can't run or really even jog smoothly, but I can do my shuffle. Today, I achieved a goal.

I have to say thanks to my friend Doug Rich. Dug is an internet/golfing/met up close friend. He is a part time musician and has written a couple of songs that are in my music file. Last month, I saw Doug on a trip we made down to their place in Washington and mentioned to him that sometimes when I work out, along comes his song, "Nasty Thoughts and Dirty Words" (it isn't really nasty or dirty) and that motivates me. It is written about himself and some members of our golf buddies going out to play a round.


Today I was about the 7K mark, just passing my this year's personal best, and thinking I should stop and phone home for a ride. Then the song came on and the next five minutes flew by. When my friend and IronWoman Kelly Newell's name came along in the song, I knew I had to keep pushing. I will never forget reading Kelly's journal of her first IronMan event.

About the 9km point, my iPhone stopped telling me the distance I had run, so I went right past the the road I would finally turn on to go home, instead finishing through the Inglis Trail. When I go home there was still nothing from my phone, but I decided I must have made 10K enough it was a bit more.

Half Marathon ahead? Who knows. Let's try and get the golf scores down the high 80s and low 90s first.