Goal Was Failed, but Not My Mission

It was off to the races on my first full day out of the Hole. Let me first just say that it was absolutely awesome to wake up next to my wife in our own bed and not look over to my left and see her sleeping on a hospital cot. It was also simply splendid to take a shower in my own shower and make coffee just the way I like it first thing in the morning. But enough about that as I'm sure most of you either know what I'm talking about, can imagine what I'm talking about or you're simply sick of me talking about it.

All of those things were great, but what I was most excited for was being able to run in my neighborhood. We moved into this house after we were married (May 22nd) and the only running I had done was on a treadmill at the local gym due to the fact that it was hotter than the sun's surface outside most days. We would ride our bikes and drive through the neighborhood often, but believe it or not, I actually dreamed of one day running through it. That was a big part of this last hospital stay.

My lungs weren't doing terrible when I checked in, but I was having issues with bleeding. Every time I would push my self in the gym, on the treadmill or on the StairMaster, I would cough up blood. No bueno. I didn't get it taken care of right away cause I "wasn't that sick" and I figured it would eventually stop. Well, after two months it hadn't stopped and I was now sicker. It got to the point where I found it hard to keep up with working out and leisurely bike rides. That's when I knew I had to get in and get this taken care of once and for all. Fortunately for me, I didn't wait until my lung function was down in the dumps to get in. I've done that a few times before and I can promise you that it never turns out well. Anyways, got in, got out, and now I'm ready to roll.

So today for my run I had a pre-marked path in mind that I was going to try and conquer. The loop I picked out was 2.3 miles long and this morning when I woke up I had dreams of running it all the first time out. I felt good starting out. The sun was setting, the air was cool and my lungs felt open.

After .5 miles, I couldn't run any further.

That's ok though. I started to walk to catch my breath and get my legs back up under me. I let one song go by and then it was off to the races again. All told I ran/walked for about 40 minutes. 16 of those I ran. I've got to say, I didn't conquer the vaunted course like I had in my dreams, but here's the deal, I will. When I first started running 18 months ago I couldn't run for .1 miles. Now, I was able to run .5 at a much faster pace the first day back. Not bad at all. I'll take that every day of the week.

So here's my mission. I want to be able to run that 2.3 mile loop straight in 4 weeks. I want to increase my FEV1 from 70% to 75% over that same period of time. Mandi is going to sign me up for a 5k in late December/early January that I will run at length and under a pre-determined time. So there it is. That's what WILL happen over the next few months. Why? Because I will stop at nothing to see this through. No excuses.