Arizona and CF

Question - A friend of mine has a 5 year old with CF and she's been pretty sick ever since they moved to Portland, probably due to the weather. They've heard from a lot of people that they should move to Arizona because the dry heat helps people with CF. What are your thoughts on this? Would you suggest the move? Is there anything they should worry about? I was much healthier when I was living in SoCal out by the high desert, but I don't want to go on just my experiences. I want to know how CFers in Arizona feel. Any opinion and feedback would be much appreciated.

'''''''

Answer - I've lived in AZ my whole life. With that said, I've had the opportunity to travel and stay in many places. The only place that I have breathed any better was southern California. Not LA, but Orange County or SD. I myself do not do well with humidity or cold, but it could be a result of being used to what I'm used to. I've heard many other CFers say the same thing however.

The stuff that you have to worry about in AZ is allergies and dust. A lot of people say they battle allergies a bit when first moving here. And there are some days that dust is in the air, so it is best to stay inside. Those days are the exception however. Most days are clear and sunny and perfect for exercise!!


""""

What about the rest of you? Do you think weather/climate has a negative or positive on your experience with CF? Do me a favor - in the comment section, tell me where you live and wether or not the climate there has a positive effect, negative effect or no effect. Or, if you decide to write a blog on the topic, please leave the link in the comment section.

Thanks guys!!

Wash Sprints

This past week has been pretty terrible for weather here in "sunny" Arizona. It seems like every time I get ready for a run, the skies open up and it starts to pour. I have to admit, it's really throwing me off of my game. I still start each morning out with a walk however by bundling up, throwing my hoodie on and just "toughing" it out. It's actually pretty peaceful to walk in the rain. I can tell you that I enjoy it far more than Jezzabel does. She still acts like she's going to melt every time she even thinks about rain. Anyway, getting that morning walk in for me is crucial. If I don't get that walk in, the "ick" feeling in my lungs will usually stay with me throughout the day.

Although the afternoon runs haven't been going as planned, Mandi and I have discovered another way to exercise. The wash behind her parent's house. Now, for those of you not from the desert. A wash is basically a river bed that rarely sees a drop of water and most of the time is "over grown" with some vegetation and random cacti. Lucky for us, her parent's house backs directly up to one. This has proven to be a great way to get in a quick workout and something the JBell thoroughly enjoys. See, Jezzy isn't the most disciplined walkee in the world and often tugs on her leash. The beauty of the wash, we're the only ones down there and she is leash free. I can't begin to tell you how much she loves it. It's nice for Mandi and I also as we can focus more on each other than constantly yanking back J Beezy.

We started a new game with Jezzabel that has proven to be quite the workout. While Jezzy is busy sniffing around and not paying attention, Mandi and I sneak off. Then just as we're getting out of eye site from her, we call her name and sprint the other direction. We run until J catches us. I'm not sure how many wind sprints we did today, but I know it was a lot and I was FOR SURE winded! We also managed to play a game of hide and seek which Jezzabel proved to be way too good at.

Point is, something is better than nothing. The weather doesn't always cooperate with what we want to get done and 5 minutes of sprints are better than sitting on the couch watching Judge Judy (although I did that also). Hopefully the weather holds up tomorrow, I push through this head cold I'm experiencing and maybe, just maybe I'll actually be able to run after putting on my shoes!

Support Systems, Sunsets and (Foot) Support Systems

So every Thursday I'm going to highlight some of the things that I'm thankful for that week. Sometimes the negative issues that come with Cystic Fibrosis can overshadow all of the good stuff going on in our lives. I have so much to be thankful for that I will never be able to cover it all, but I figured that a nice little reminder each week could be a good thing. I hope you enjoy.

- I'm so thankful for my support system. This includes my family, my friends, my girlfriend, and all of you bloggy buddies (RSR had 948 hits yesterday!) out there. It's so important to have people to lean on when times get tough and I need somebody's strength and encouragement (or food) to get me through the day or certain period in my life. This is just a small example of something my support system does for me- When I'm in the hospital, I NEVER eat hospital food for dinner, you heard that right, NEVER. My family comes every single night and brings me dinner. Whether it's my mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend, Mandi or a surprise visit from a stranger, someone is there to keep me company and bring me some "real" food. This may seem like a small thing, but I appreciate it beyond measure and hope they feel as valued as I see them.

- I'm so thankful for the Arizona weather. Sure it's hot, but it's also clear blue skies (mostly) and beautiful sunsets EVERYDAY. I always have access to a pool and I often just bob up and down on a raft and appreciate the crystal clear sky above me. I've lived in AZ all of my life and have yet to get tired of clear, bright and sunny days. The sunsets? I must say "WOW!" 360 out of the 365 days of the year when I look west and see the sun falling behind the horizon. The colors that are produced in the sky are so vivid and wonderful that a picture doesn't even do them justice; you have to see it with your own eyes.

- I'm so thankful that my foot feels better. One reason I chose to start running was because I hated it. Seriously, I've never before run in my life. Sure, I had a couple months out of my life when I would run on a treadmill and such, but I never kept it up. I for sure never wanted to run outside on the hard surface of the streets or sidewalk. No way. Too painful. Too hard. I didn't want to go through the pain to do something that I wasn't very good at and couldn't keep up. So naturally, when I decided that I needed to change some things around in my life and focus even more on my health, I chose running. I needed an enemy to defeat. I needed something to challenge me and mock me if you will. Running does just that. I started to actually "enjoy" running after a while. Not because it felt better, it still hurts like heck every time I run, but because of the challenge. So when that challenge got taken away because of my foot problems, I was upset. I actually WANTED to run and admittedly, I missed it. I recently got some specially made foot orthotics and so far, so good. I'm back to running and I can't wait to defeat this "enemy".

Lungs a Little Tighter Than Normal

6:30am: Because yesterday went so well I decided to do another long walk this morning, but this time Jeezy for Sheezy got the invite. She was super excited when I told her to grab her leash and we were out the door in a jiffy. Just to backtrack a little, I had trouble falling asleep last night (and it had nothing to do with the 2 cups of coffee at 9pm :)), but I woke up feeling refreshed this morning. My lungs also felt pretty mucus free although they were a little tight. Anyway J Bell and I took off on our adventure and the weather was again being my friend. It was actually a little hotter this morning, but I think it may have just felt that way cause I was directly in the sun's ray the whole time. Yesterday I was walking in the shade for about half the time. Today's walk was also different because half of it was uphill or slightly uphill. Talk about getting the lungs going!

The walk felt good and my feet almost held up the whole time. The ball of my right foot burned about .5 miles into the walk (which is new) and my left foot didn't hurt until about the 2.5 mile mark. I kept a good pace the whole time and J Bell helped out with only going potty about 4 times and rarely stopping to sniff. I think after the second uphill she didn't have the energy to veer off course and do any sniffing. Her tongue was flopping all over the place and you could tell she just wanted to get home. I could have gone longer, but I didn't want her to have a stroke this morning. My lungs opened up and I was able to get a good amount up and out. They still feel a bit tight, but I'm thinking they will be just fine after a treatment. I just need to ice my feet and suck on my nebulizer and this will be a great start to an even greater day!

Total Distance: 3.0 miles Time: 55'58"

4:00pm: So the rest of the day kind of got away from me. I was working on some stuff that I started this morning and before I knew it, it was 4. I had about 45 minutes to get in a workout before I had to get ready for a CFF event. I thought about skipping today and making it up tomorrow, but I figured that I had time to at least do something. I went to the gym and did two burnout sets. One on chest and the other on back. For chest, I started with 145lbs and did that as many times as I could. Then I took off 20 lbs. and did that as many times as I could and then took off another 20 and so on. I finally got all of the way down to the bar and I was only able to do it about 19 times. My chest felt like it had been torn. For back, I did the same type of thing but I did it with wide grip pull ups and instead of going down in weight, I went down in assistance. For instance, I started with 100 lbs. of assistance and worked my way down to 40 lbs. in 15 lbs. increments and did pull ups each time until I couldn't manage to hold myself up. Have I managed to confuse you yet? I hope so :)

Anyway, the key message for today is even if you're short on time, make sure you do SOMETHING. You've got to get your body into a habit. And for what it's worth, there's not many habits better for your lungs than exercise.

Total Distance for Day: 3.0 miles

Furthest Walk So Far!!!

6:45am: I decided to give a new loop a try this morning so I could walk in a different neighborhood and check out some cool houses. About a mile north of me is a neighborhood that I would absolutely love to live in cause each house is on at least half an acre and it feels like you're in another world. It's still in the heart of the city, but you have no traffic noise and it's mostly green all around with mountain views. Of course this is why it would cost me about 700,000 to get even a fixer upper in that neighborhood. A boy can dream though can't he?

Anyways, I took off this morning with an already slightly sore foot from yesterday but I was thinking that it only needed to be stretched out. The weather was PERFECT with a slight breeze and the sun shining. I may need to do a long walk at this time more often. I didn't bring J Bell along with me cause I didn't know exactly where I was going (and it's a good thing cause I had to jump a wall) and I didn't feel like stopping 800 times to let her do her business and sniff everything. I just wanted to take in the beautiful scenery and the gorgeous weather. I walked and walked, turned and went straight, up hill down hill, every which way it felt like this morning. I wasn't sure how long the walk was going to be (I went back and drove it later), but I really didn't care, I was enjoying it way too much to stop.

I also moved a lot up this morning. Without having Jezzabel attached to my arm I am able to keep up a faster pace. That faster pace gets me more short of breath and coughing which brings the mucus a flowing. I got up stuff that was way deep down in. At first I was coughing a little too deep and thought about tossing my cookies, but eventually that sick feeling subsided and I was able to cough deep enough to get the junk out but not deep enough to cough my stomach out. My legs started to get a little fatigued at about the 2.5 mile mark and it was getting hotter by the minute. Next time I'll leave a little earlier to avoid that heat on the way home. I drank almost 30 ounces on the walk though so I was plenty hydrated.

All in all it was a great morning and the furthest distance that I've walked so far (not including hikes)!

Total Distance: 3.6 miles Time: 1:03'43"

1:00pm: The rest of the day was full of work and "putting out fires" but I did manage to get to the gym. It was my shoulder and leg day which is by far the easiest day I have. It is also the quickest which came in handy on a hectic day such as today. I'm taking it easy on my legs for two reasons: one, to not put a lot of pressure on my foot, and two, cause I don't want to have big ol' legs. My calves definitely have room for growth, but all of the calf exercises make my foot hurt. My shoulders felt really good today and I only had pain on the last set of the last lift. Mandi and I didn't take any time off between sets and were in constant rotation between shoulders and legs. It ended up being a nice little cardio session as well. Current Weight: 186 lbs

Total Distance for Day: 3.6 miles

Dead Legs

6:00am: My legs were absolute toast this morning! And in case you're wondering, that's a bad thing. I mean, I love me some toast, don't get me wrong, but in this case, not so much! I had about 75% less sensation in my legs when I woke this morning compared to the rest of my body. How do I know it was 75% less you ask? I ask you, "What's your favorite color?".

Sorry, I was just trying to distract you cause I have no idea how I came up with the 75% number. Anyway, just know that I was extremely tired and dead-legged this morning and the prospect of walking wasn't firing me up in any way, shape, or form. I finally convinced myself that it would be better for all of humanity if I got up and wobbled over to the sick to clear out my airbags. Same ol' same ol' there, thick, dark, and a lovely taste.

I actually brought up a lot more stuff than usual this morning on the walk. It was clear for the most part, which was good, it just seemed like it wouldn't ever stop coming up. It didn't help that my nose was full of junk either. I basically coughed or snorted the whole 2.1 miles and if I had to throw another number out it would be 1. I think I coughed and blew about 1 pound of mucus or snot out of my body so far today. How do I know it was 1 pound you ask? Just kidding.

The pace was good this morning and the weather could not have been better. I'd guess that it was about 65 degrees out without a cloud in the sky. The sun was shining bright yet there was a cool breeze. I'm so fortunate to have this weather in AZ. It definitely puts me in the best position to take care of myself. I can't use a crummy day as an excuse not to get my workouts in....ok, ok, maybe 5 days a year I can!

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 36'02"

12:00pm: I went off to the gym today to work my chest and back. I felt pretty strong and I was able to increase the weight or reps for almost every lift. I'm still doing 4 lifts for chest and 4 lifts for back. The only thing that I've added recently is doing one of those 4 lifts at a heavy weight and less reps. For chest I do bench at a heavier weight and do 3 sets of 5 reps, and for back I do upright row 3 sets of 5 reps. I've been doing this type of routine for 2 weeks now and I've been able to increase the weight on the lift every time.

After lifting, I needed to get my run/walk in because I'll be going to a CFF event tonight that starts at 6. Mandi and I wouldn't have time to get our run/walk in after she gets off from work. When I stepped on the treadmill I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I warmed up for about two minutes and then increased the speed so I could get into a run. I ended up running .4 miles straight before I had a little coughing fit and lost my air. I'm sure people in the gym thought I was infected with Bird Flu or something. The guy next to me kept on looking over with fear in his eyes. Oh well, just another day in the life. Anyway, after running the .4, I decided that I would walk for a bit and then do .3 straight. I did .3 at a higher speed than I did .4 and then I took another walking break. After catching my wind I decided to do .2 with the plan on doing .1 to finish. I did .2 at the highest speed yet, but with about .05 miles left I felt a bad burning sensation in my left shin and ankle. I pushed through it to finish the .2, but I was in some pain. Needless to say, I didn't end up doing .1 to finish and just walked to the nearest "even" number.

I ended up doing a total of 1.6 miles which I am very happy about cause I ran .9 of them. I can't really bend my left foot down without any pain, but I'm hoping some ice and rest will take care of that. I sweat today more than I have sweat at any time during the past 6 weeks. When I hopped off of the treadmill my lungs felt extremely open and overall I felt fresh. I will need to work the treadmill into my routine more often. Current Weight: 187 lbs.

Total Distance: 1.6 miles Time: 22'36"

Total Distance Run/Walked for Day: 3.7 miles