Nobody said this would be easy

I’ve now been running for almost three weeks and realizing that training for a half marathon is hard work. Don’t get me wrong — I assumed this would be a challenge. After all, if it was easy, then in the end I wouldn’t feel like I had accomplished anything.

These first few weeks, our Saturday group trainings have been 3-mile runs. And during the week, I do my solo runs after work — typically a couple miles every other evening. Non-run days are used for cross-training — in my case, that usually means 30-45 minutes tooling around on my bike.

The importance of Team Challenge (and defeating Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) was further illustrated this week when one my teammates ended up in the hospital due to Crohn’s complications. (And unfortunately, as of tonight he’s still there.) I suspected something was up when he couldn’t run during last Saturday’s practice. (Amazingly, however, he still showed up to cheer on the rest of us and hand out water as we ran past.) Since I also have Crohn’s, I understand exactly what he’s going through and wish him the best as he struggles to get past this current flare.

As I typed that last paragraph, I was once again reminded that my struggle to train for a half marathon is nothing compared to the struggle each of the 1.4 million Americans with Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis goes through when fighting a flare, facing hospitalization, recovering from major surgery, or just trying to make it through each week. I struggle now (with running and fundraising) so someday all of us with these diseases can stop struggling and start having normal lives.

In closing, thanks to coach Rick, Team Challenge manager Becky, all of you who’ve donated and everyone else that’s been so supportive. Thank you — together we will make a difference!

Running for a cure

As you might have guessed from the Las Vegas Half Marathon logo that’s just appeared in the right column of my blog, I’m made the ambitious decision to run that event on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009.

Why would I – someone who has been a couch potato for years and has a spotty (at best) health record – decide to undertake such a physical challenge? Because it’s one way I can make a difference and move us closer to finding a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America’s (CCFA’s) Team Challenge program trains individuals to run or walk a half marathon while raising funds to find a cure for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. CCFA also is the official race charity for the Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon, so running raises awareness of Crohn’s and colitis as well.

Running this half marathon is a major personal challenge, but I am committed and with your help I will succeed. If you’d like to show your support, please make a donation on my Team Challenge fundraising page. (Thanks in advance!) Meanwhile, I’ll provide periodic updates on my training progress here on this blog. Together we will beat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis!

Living with Crohn’s – One person’s story

One of the first things I want do for this new blog is provide some background information about my personal experiences with Crohn’s disease, and try to convey why I feel so passionately that we must do everything possible to cure and eliminate Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

In the Beginning
I started experiencing digestive problems around age 10 or 11, but in those days it unfortunately was common to go undiagnosed/misdiagnosed for months (or even years). Within a matter of weeks I went from seemingly completely healthy to unable to keep down food, severe abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, and various other symptoms that would be scary at any age. My doctor worked through various diagnoses, from flu to food allergies to intestinal parasites. In my case, it took over a year until a Pediatric GI specialist finally correctly diagnosed Crohn’s disease.

And we’re off …

Time to take the leap and start blogging. It seems these days like everyone I know is blogging, Twittering, Facebooking, etc. I may be in my 40s, but I’ve been using the Internet almost since the day Al Gore invented it. So it’s long overdue that I start being interactive online.

I suspect that once this blog has been going for several months, it may look very different than what I envision right now. But with that disclaimer out of the way, here’s how I plan to use this blog:

1. As a place to talk about life with Crohn’s disease — I’ve had Crohn’s since I was 12-years-old, and (unfortunately) it’s a regular part of my life. Perhaps by sharing my experiences I can help others who also struggle with this disease.
2. As a place to talk about my “maker” hobby — I’ve always been someone who loves to experiment with mechanical and electronic devices, disassemble things to see how they work, etc. For those of you who read Make magazine, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ll share my occasional projects (successful and otherwise) here.
3. As a place to share some offbeat observations about the world — It’s been my suspicion for most of my life that God (or “The Big Guy” as I usually refer to him) has a strong sense of humor, and I hope to share the occasional story or observation that illustrates The Big Guy’s humor.

I hope you’ll fine the information here to be valuable and worth your reading time. Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you think.