Well, I made my longest run today, 7 miles. Now I feel like I just might make it. I completed 1/4 of my goal and if I can do 1/4 I can do 1/2. If I can do 1/2, I can do a full. Now it's just a matter of following my training and, as my doctors are telling me (and my family and friends as well), listen to your body.
This last week I met with my Polomologist about my lungs and my breathing. We looked at x-rays and blood work and, for the most part everything is normal. As we looked at my chest x-rays I was reminded of how banged up my ribs are. My left lung and rib cage is completely normal but my right side is a jumbled mess. We could even see some of the staples still left inside of me from the repair work. My right lung has a lot of scaring, which explains the shortness of breath and lack of lung capacity. Dr. Nelson ordered a breathing test to measure my lung capacity and breathing so we'll see what happens with that.
For the most part, Dr. Nelson wasn't as admit about not doing the Marathon as Dr. Halgager is but he did recommend caution and taking things slow. He suggested making sure why this was important to me and being sure to watch myself.
Today reminded me as to why I'm doing this. I would say that I can honestly answer inquires into how I'm doing with a resounding better than 100%. I would say that last December I was close to 100% but I realized then that that wasn't where I wanted to be. Then, I was an over weight, out of shape 45+ year old man. Now, 2 years after my accident, I'm only slightly overweight, better shaped, under 50 year old man (who can run up to 7 miles without stopping). I would say I'm about 110% now. But how much better can it be?
Good for you, what an inspiration!
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