I Outrun CF.

Yesterday was a great day for the CF community at large. All over the nation, and in fact the world, we got together (virtually) to "out run" CF. The Rock CF and CysticLife foundations teamed up to put on a special virtual race that could be run anywhere, by anyone and at any distance. When putting together an event like this you never quite know how it's going to turn out and I think that the foundations behind it are very pleased and surprised with the results. We had runners, joggers and walkers post pictures from all over the world on the Outrun CF Facebook page as well as their own personal blogs which I've included some examples here here here here here here here here and here. I mean seriously how cool is that? It was as simple as registering online (over 200 people did just that), putting on your T-shirt and getting a group together (or running solo) all in the name of out running CF. It really warms my heart when you can see the community get together and get behind something as simple as this. It was as if with one loud voice we all screamed that we were not going to take this lying down and we were going to do what we had to do to literally out run CF!

So how did I out run CF yesterday? Well, at 7:30 in the morning I laced up my shoes, mapped out my course and then hit the pavement (right after my morning treatment of course!). I set out to do a 5K not knowing whether I would run the entire time or do some walking intermittently between the runs. The answer is I ran as well as walked. I certainly wanted to run the entire time but I didn't have the legs nor the lungs yesterday morning. Good news is that my legs probably held me back more than my lungs did. This entire last week I ran every single day and by the time Sunday rolled around my legs were pretty fatigued. After being in the hospital for 28 days it definitely takes some time to get my conditioning to the point that I can run for three straight miles. However this time out of the Hole I'm further along than most times due to all the workouts I did while in the hospital. All in all I was very happy with my time and my distance and most of all that I was out running CF with each step.

Mandi also outran CF yesterday. Under doctors orders she's not allowed to run just yet however she did manage to walk 6 miles. I know it's killing her not being able to run and she is counting down the days until she gets the green light. Right now she just has to take it easy as our little peanut grows. Mandi's definition of "taking it easy" is different than most others though. She's been doing all that she can to stay active and generally takes at least two walks a day plus whatever she has going on at the gym. Her dedication to stay fit and healthy is such a large driving force for me in my journey to awesome health and lung function.

I encourage all of you to click on the links above, "like" the Outrun CF Facebook page and check out all the blogs yesterday that were out running CF. If you have any blogs or pictures that you'd like to share of you out running CF please include the link in the comment section below. Thank you all who participated and please know that this was not a one-time event! If you weren't able to out run CF yesterday I promise that you'll be out running CF in the near future!