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Finally!!

Whoo Hoo!!! Finally my blood pressure is down to where it should be. It's taken quite a while to get it there - now to make it stay. I've been watching what I eat and guarding it closely and gently exercising. It's been slowly coming back down so this morning I was pleasantly surprised by these beautiful numbers!!

This struggle is real! It's difficult to not get frustrated when you are doing everything right and it refuses to come down or just inches down. Just a real reminder that I have to stay on top of symptoms if I want to keep doing what I love to do.

To be totally honest, I was very worried last week that my running days were over. My heart rate kept spiking and at the weirdest times. It would shoot up to 120 while I was sleeping!! Not like that's super dangerous or anything - just odd and frustrating. I got on the treadmill for a walk and it would shoot up to 180 and be all over the place up-and-down-and-up again. Then last week it started settling down a bit and I was able to get a couple of walks in.

Earlier this week I got to run 2 gentle miles and I think they were the sweetest miles I've ever covered in my life!! You think I'm kidding? I started very slowly and did a super long walking warm-up with a constant eye on my heart rate. I had no palpitations so that was good. Last week my heart was leaping around in my chest like it was doing the aerobic exercises. That's when I had to quit and kind of start over or reset. And I was eating right - it was just all wrong.

Once I got warmed up I tried some light jogging and my heart rate held steady - and stayed in my normal range. It acted just like it was supposed to. I decided to just do 2 miles to avoid any chance of an overdo - even though it wasn't long - it was sweet. This week, I've been gradually adding in more gentle exercise and should be back to running the rest of this week.

I'd really like to ignore all this like it didn't exist. I'm super jealous of all my running buddies who can just go and go. I hate that I have to stop and let my body recover from time to time. I want to train for a marathon (and haven't given up yet!!) but about the time I get going real good my body says "no" and goes into shut down mode. But don't count me out yet!!! I'm a fighter.

I learned some things about myself last week when I thought my running days were over. I learned I don't give up. I already had some plans in my head and was figuring out ways to exercise and be fit even if running wasn't allowed. And I surprised myself by maintaining a really positive attitude.

All that doesn't matter now - as I am back up and running - quite literally. I'm moving forward ever so gently after this stark reminder that I do have to be careful. I do have to monitor a lot more things than most of my running friends. But I am still moving forward....and every step's a victory!
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