Face the sunshine

I feel like I've ended the first month of 2018 on a high as I took part in the monthly 5k at Kedleston Hall. This event is organised by Jog Derbyshire and costs just £2 per person with 5k and 10k options. The only jogging I have done is a handful of parkruns and as I heard people singing the chorus of 'mud glorious mud' as we warmed I did think about going back to the car as I wondered just what I had signed up to! The course was more of a trail than I have been used to with parkruns, with lots of mud to contend with near the end. My trainers just about stayed on but I nearly went face down a few times. I plan to use this event to help me increase the distance I can jog, so in the future I'll do more than 5k on the day and gradually work up to 10k. The 10k route sounded interesting as it isn't just another circuit of the 5k but takes a different route around the estate. I wasn't too optimistic about what my time would be as this was my first 5k of 2018...

I carry a small emergency supply kit with me in case I needed to do a bag change.  I use a Cath Kidston gadget case which is an ideal size for everything I need and looks like a cosmetics case in my handbag.  Here's what's in my supply kit: SenSura Mio pre-cut bag so I don't have to carry scissors around with me or cut a bag if I had a leak Brava remover wipes to help get the old bag off my skin Black bags to dispose of waste items Cavilon barrier wipes to ensure the new bag adheres to my skin Stomahesive paste Brava elastic tape to help increase wear time of my bag A Radar key in case I use a disabled toilet A Dioralyte sachet in case I ever feel dehydrated I always have Andrex wet wipes in my handbag and although not ideal to use directly on the skin around your stoma, I would make do with these in an emergency and have a good clean of the area and ensure it wasn't too sore when back home.

I have a love/hate relationship with personal goals as I feel that you can really beat yourself up if you don't meet them however they do give you something to aim for and a sense of achievement if you have met or exceeded them. I could probably think of about 50 fitness goals if I really sat and thought about everything I would want to do but I've limited it to 5 that I would like to do during 2018.... Improve my overall fitness so I can look to more comfortably run 5K and improve my time  Strengthen my core so I reduce the risk of a hernia forming (and can be better at dreaded burpees!)  Tone my arms  Tone all the way round my stomach and back area which has been really affected by weight gain from steroids and two lots of abdominal surgery  Look to accomplish another event like a GO TRI 

I'm now 10 months post surgery and at the start of the new year had a bit of a 'review' of what I was doing to keep active. I felt I was almost coasting in terms of exercising and a large part of that was because I was still getting back into it after surgery and there were some things I was being careful with. I've introduced core exercises slowly, I've been mindful of my abdomen area when exercising and even now I've been advised not to use anything like a rowing machine or bike where I am sitting down or squatting too deeply due to the nature of the surgery. I can do these things again in time but I am not rushing into them to create complications. I've recently changed gyms as the one I was going to just didn't provide the range or amount of classes to challenge me or help improve and maintain my fitness. It was ideal for me when I initially joined back in 2015 after recently having surgery and having a hernia. It was a small health club where I fe...

In October 2017 I tried paddleboarding for the first time. As I was 6 months post surgery I tried not to fall in the water and if I did not to hang around in there for too long as areas were still healing! Having a strong core gives you a headstart in paddleboarding so after abdominal surgery I knew it would be a bit of a challenge. I also don't think I have very good balance and this also really helps with this activity.  I actually managed to progress from kneeling to standing during the session and was happy enough to leave it at that...I didn't try many active turns when standing as I was worried about falling in as well as not actually being able to get back on the paddleboard again. I wasn't as worried about falling into the water but more the sensation of when you fall your body generally naturally reacts with everything tensing as the feeling of falling kicks in and I was worried about pulling muscles in my abdomen area. I was happy enough to cruise along the ri...

"Keep your  face  to the  sunshine  and you cannot see the shadows . It's what the sunflowers do." This Helen Keller quote was the inspiration for this blog. Sunflowers were my favourite flower when I was younger, I was born in April so have learnt to see the beauty in April showers and I truly believe light will always shine through even in the darkest of places. Posts on this blog will aim to show that you can live an active, healthy and happy life with an invisible illness.