Keep going

So yesterday was my infusion of biologics at the hospital. It went well, but today I feel very tired, heavy and lifeless. With a headache in bonus. Nothing new. It always does that. The difference is that I'm trying something new. I slept 9 hours instead of 14, like I'd usually do. It was really hard to kick my butt out of bed this morning, but it's a great improvement over my previous "days after infusions".

I don't think sleeping the extra hours helped, because it used to take me about a week to get back to a normal sleeping routine after that. So now I'm trying to continue life as normally as possible and see how it's going to be. I don't feel any different than the other times, I don't feel more tired because I didn't sleep as much. I feel tired as usual.

The cool thing is that I've been following my training plan this week, even though I was not feeling at my best before the infusion. Yesterday, before going to the hospital, I hit the gym and the pool. I think this is a good combination for me, as the stress put on my joints by the weights is relieved once I get in the pool. And it makes me feel sooooo goood!

Today I feel it in my muscles, a sign I did something right. It's not crazy painful, just enough so I know I'm getting something out of it. I'm currently trying to convince myself that the easy 30 min biking on the trainer on Zone 1 is a great idea. It is! Really. As I said before, once I'm moving I feel good....so maybe at least I could accomplish something today.

So I guess, I'm just going to fill my bottle of water, put some gatorade powder in it, and once that is done, might as well setup the bike on the trainer...

Fighting my Demon

Tomorrow I will have my next biologics infusion. It's about time. Fall temperatures in Canada are not very forgiving for people living with Arthritis. Some doctors say that those suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis aren't affected by weather changes, etc... I can tell you it affects me!

This week was not easy. The last week before my infusion I always feel the effects of my medication (Remicade) wear off. This means I wake up in pain in the morning, I have no drive to do anything, even things I know will make me feel better...

Monday was the worst. I just couldn't get up. I had dreams about pain, and woke up in pain. Not a very good night of sleep. It doesn't happen so often, but I have to remember that this is normal for me, during fall. I hate waking up depressed, not wanting to do anything but lie down and hope it'll get better.

Most of the time, I know what to do to feel better: just do, don't think. But it's hard. Getting started is the hardest. It's painful, I feel like I have no energy, no will. Being in pain takes a lot of energy from a person by the way. It is tiring. But once I've started, my focus is on accomplishing something, and my attention goes away from the pain. I have to remember that it is one of the best ways to feel better: Just DO.

I think it applies to most people in a lot of situations, being physical pain or mental demons. Sometimes we don't put our focus in the right place to be able to move forward. We look at our past or current situation, overanalyze, and we are stuck running in circles.

All that is needed to go to the next step, is simply to take that next step! How you do it doesn't really matters, you can always improve along the way. But waiting until the stars are aligned, waiting to feel better mentally, physically, etc. will just prevent you from experiencing, learning and improving.

This applies to my situation. Yes I have arthritis, but I'M NORMAL. I just have "some issue" that prevents me to move forward sometimes, like other people have demons. I have to remember that the best way to get over my demon is to move forward and DO. At least, if I don't feel much better physically, I will have the satisfaction of accomplishing something.

Be Thankful

I’m currently sitting on a comfortable hospital chair, getting an IV to treat a debilitating disease, rheumatoid arthritis. It’s amazing that just 5 days ago I was racing in a triathlon. It’s incredible how I feel right now.

I have to come here at Mount Sinai Hospital every 2 months, sit in a chair for 4 hours to get that life changing infusion. The medication is called Remicade, and I’ve been on it for more than 2 years now. Remicade is a biologic medication that has been working incredibly well for me. I wouldn’t be where I am right now.

I wouldn’t be planning for next year’s racing season. I wouldn’t be able to ride for 2 hours, or even simply enjoy a walk on the beach with my husband and the dog playing around.

I know because I’ve been there. I’ve been stuck to my bed, not able to get up, not because I didn’t want to, but because my joints didn’t want to. I’ve been suffering from walking for only 15 minutes, or even just standing in one of the many line-ups the city life brings us.

I’ve been crying from desperation, wondering why it was happening to me, why no medication worked and doubting it was worth even fighting for. Remicade came at a right time in my life. I was ready for a change, not only on the medication side, but also in the way I took care of myself. I know Remicade is a big part of it, but at the same time I started to trust my capacities, take a better care of myself, by eating better, drinking less and exercising. I also have to give credit to my husband, whose support made a huge difference, and still does.

Yes I still have some bad days, but they are comparable to the good days from 5 years ago! As long as I don’t forget this, I will be happy.

I don’t need to win a triathlon (or relay, or Aquabike), I just need to be there. Body and soul. Being able to be there is the greatest gift I have. And it doesn’t just apply to triathlons. It applies to every single aspect of my life. Everybody should realize that they are lucky to be able to do whatever they’re doing.

Be Thankful.

I'll blame it on caffeine...

Caffeine Crash!?!
I didn't swim yesterday. Didn't do yoga, and I still have to kick my behind to at least get my ride in today.
My body is out of sync. My joints are great, even my fingers feel normal lately! But my energy level is down. I'm blaming caffeine.

About two weeks ago, I decided I wanted to get rid of my caffeine addiction. I used to have a big cup (more like 2 cups) of coffee every single day. I know it's not that bad, but as soon as I would spend a day not having coffee, I'd get a crazy strong, handicapping headache, that would go away if I would drink coffee. So I decided I didn't want to depend on my daily coffee to function normally. I tried a couple of days without coffee. Ouch! It really hurts and doesn't stop. I guess I wasn't patient enough with it...

So I decided I would try to drink green tea. It has much less caffeine, compared to coffee (15mg compared to 135mg), but that's depending on how strong you make your tea/coffee. So I suppose I've been making it too strong, because after 1 week of green tea, I still have a headache if I don't drink green tea. Yesterday, I had no caffeine intake. And I was not functional.

I've been doing research and found that bit of information, according to Wiki:
"Withdrawal symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, and stomach aches—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days...may cause feelings of fatigue and drowsiness... A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks..."

Yep, except for the anxiety and stomach aches, it sounds like me right now :(

I just have to be patient and wait until the effects go away. It shouldn't take too long. Wiki also confirms that a small dose of caffeine should ease the withdrawal, so I'm going to reduce dramatically the strength of my green tea!

I was able to quit smoking, cold turkey, 6 years ago, so I'm sure I can get rid of my caffeine addiction as well! I love coffee, but at least I'm going to be able to enjoy it on my own terms, instead of needing it!

First Open Water Swim

I did it. Lake Ontario, 60 degrees. It IS cold! Even with a wetsuit. Especially the first couple of minutes in the water. Filling the wetsuit with water was a shocking experience.

After waiting for the water to warm up in my wetsuit, I started to get used to the cold on my hands and feet. Then another shock. My face! Arg. For two minutes I get an ice cream headache. Probably my brain trying to tell me this is not such a good idea. But I ignored it and pushed to get to that first buoy.

Once I started swimming, I forgot about the cold. All that was in my mind is the openness, the fresh air, the smell of the water. Anything else than chlorine is good! And my goal, different from usual, getting to a buoy, swimming straight. How wonderful it is not to look at a line at the bottom of a pool, feeling the waves and trying to be in sync with nature. This is how swimming was meant to be.

It might sound weird, but my first experience with open water swimming was far from being scary. Just a bit cold. So I did only about 1100m, which I think is acceptable for a first time, and in 60 degrees water. I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to the next group swims, I'm actually thinking about going twice a week, when my initial plan was once a week in the lake and twice in the pool.

I have to say this boosts my swimming motivation, which was extremely down lately...

Lazy Swim

Yesterday I had a 2500m swimming workout scheduled. Usually, I would go in the morning, right after yoga. But I had a tight schedule and I decided to wait for my husband, who had a scheduled 1 hour swimming when he comes back from work.

We hit the pool around 7:00 pm. I knew before touching the water that it would be hard. Not hard physically, but mentally. I just couldn't push myself to go harder. And I couldn't keep a proper form. It's the first time I felt so lazy in the water. I had to call it a day, and jump back in the whirlpool...It would have been useless to just continue swimming lazily without an acceptable stroke form. So, that was it.

A 300m warmup, 200m fist drill, 200m look forward drill, 300m straight. A loooong 29 minutes 15 seconds 1000m, for a terrible pace of 2:55/100m. Ok, it was mostly drills and warmup, but still, it doesn't look good!

Oh well, at least I did my modified (to give my finger a break) strength training, including legs and core, and also yoga.

Today I have a short bike ride schedule, I should go very soon. I promised I wouldn't go outside with my bike until Sunday, to make sure my right index finger is not too stressed by impacts. So it's indoor training for now.

Talking about my finger...it's a bit better, but it starts to feel like an inflamed tendon, a problem I've had before and where I had to have a cortisone injection right in there (ouch). This is arthritis related, and I guess it's part of the stuff I have to expect from time to time...

At least my morale is good, and we are planning a mtb ride to Albion hills on Sunday (pray for a nice weather!!), where I will be able to try my wetsuit in the lake! Can't wait!

Numb, Numb and Still Numb

I've had my bike for over 6 months now, but I haven't ridden it much outside yet. There was winter, and I did a lot of indoor training, but come spring, I took my mtb out for rides instead of my tri bike, the main reason is that my seat was very uncomfortable. So now I got a new saddle (Fizik) which I love very much, and there's no more reason not to go out with that bike.

I guess I'm a chicken , I just started using the clipless pedals and that was very scary for me at first. It took me a lot of kicks in the butt to get out there with my tri bike. I love biking, but I'm far from being comfortable, compared to my mtb.

In fact, today was my second time only. Clipless was fine, didn't have a problem and I can really appreciate how useful they are. I didn't talk about my first ride with clipless yet, but that story will be coming soon.

Of course I'm not very confident, and I suppose it's going to take a while. But the main problem is that after only a couple of minutes, my right index finger became numb, especially the tip, and it made me even less confident about controlling my bike. I suppose aero position would be more comfortable, but don't get me started on this one, I'm far from that point right now! So after a 25 minutes ride only, I came back home.

My finger is still a bit numb now, 2 hours after my ride, and I was wondering what might cause that. If it was my bike fit (and I got a bike fit at my LBS), than I thought I would have felt something in both hands if my weight was too much forward (which I found out is wrong)...I also wear biking gloves with a very good padding.

So I discussed on the Trifuel forum about my problems, and here's the feedback I got.

Problem #1: There might be too much weight on my hands, caused by either my seat angle pointing downwards, or by my handlebars being too low. This could be compressing some nerve.

Problem #2: My grip is too tight. But without confidence, I don't see very much how I can loosen up a bit. Hey, I'm just holding on for dear life here! :p No but seriously, I think I'm a bit too stressed, but you can't blame me, it's a lot of new things at the same time for me!

So, I'll have to experiment a bit I suppose, but I also don't want to damage any nerve. I'm hoping that numbness goes away quickly! I think it's getting better...or am I just getting used to it?

I did it!

Yesterday was my charity swim for Arthritis. 5000 meters straight swim. It took me 1h45 to complete it. Not bad, considering I haven't had time to train as seriously as I would have loved to. It was the first time I swam that far. Now I know I can do it!

The best thing about it, is that I was able to keep my pace the entire time. Some people passed me, and I ended up passing them towards the end. I suppose that my time is not really amazing, but it confirms that I have the endurance. I think I would have been able to continue for a longer time. The hardest part was not physical. It was challenging mentally.

In practice, the furthest I swam was 3500m, and I always had energy left after these. During my swim yesterday, past 3500m, it's not so much the lack of energy but rather the motivation that I had to fight for. The last 1000m was especially hard. I knew I would be able to complete it, but at the same time, I started to be more aware of what could go wrong. I was used to have cramps to the toes, or side stiches during training, and to get some arthritic pain in the finger (from keeping the hand in the same position for a long time) and in the ankles (from pushing the wall repeatedly). So I was expecting some or all of these during my long swim, but fortunately none of them happened!

Of course last night I had to take some antiinflamatories to make sure I wouldn't suffer too much today, but it's surprisingly good! I have some stiffness in the shoulders, but nothing joint related, it's muscular. I also have some finger pain, but nothing really out of the ordinary.

So yes, I'm going to do it again next year. Oh! and I was able to raise over $600 for the Arthritis Society. It was really worth it! For now, my next objective is to do open water swimming. As I didn't do any yet, I don't really know what to expect. But I would like to complete at least a 2000m open water swim before the end of the summer. I will continue swimming in the pool, and also biking outdoor! Spring is here now, and I'll be able to get out there more often! (even being busy shouldn't be an excuse, but sometimes reality and desires are two different things!)

Feeling Alive Again!

Yesterday, I went for a long bike ride. Outdoor!!! It was my third bike ride not in front of the T.V. since the start of 2007. 10 perfect degrees (50 f). Lots of wind (40km/h, 50km/h gusts) that seemed to change direction to face me all the time. No sun. Just spring shades of grey and brown.

2 hours and half of pure pleasure. I was far from being fast, averaging 16km/h. I didn't put a lot of miles in (38km, or 23.6 mi). But feeling the wind on my face, getting to see different landscapes, moving and getting somewhere made it the best ride I've had since last summer. I find it's much easier to give a physical effort when you're distracted by other things around you. Don't get me wrong, I pay attention to the road, obstacles, my heart rate, the time and distance. But it's so much easier to push yourself outdoor. Indoor, my demons are catching up too easily with me: "Arg I can't hold that for too long!" Outside, they can't catch me. They vanish in the air. Maybe the wind helped to hold them back yesterday :)


Unfortunately, the next couple of days will not be as nice. Rain and/or snow. So I'll go back to my TV. Oh well, at least I have something to look forward to!

I'm back

It's been two months since I've checked anything not work related on the internet, which is quite unusual. I used to go nuts if I didn't read my usual blogs and news sites daily!
Ok, when I started this blog, I thought I could be consistent, and write regularly... It lasted one month. For my defense, I have to say that a lot happened lately and writing about it didn't seem to be a priority.
I still get trifuel newsletters, and started catching up today.
Now that things are (kind of) back to normal, I want to take more time to write about it. I'm not promising I will write every day, but it won't be months between posts anymore.

At the start of the year, my best friend from childhood (also my cousin's high school sweetheart), got into a snowmobile accident in Quebec. She had a broken scapula and a headache. The hospital sent her home...Two nights after that, her parents found her having convulsions in her bed, she was transferred to a trauma centre. Her brain had swelled and there was excess liquid. She got brain surgery, and they plunged her in an induced coma. We had no idea if she would survive. If she was to survive, the possibilities of long term disabilities were there. There were a lot of complications, we didn't really know what to expect.
After a week, she finally woke up, and, although very confused at the beginning, she came back all herself! Some physiotherapy to do, but the doctors are saying that there will be no permanent damage! What a scare! I have to say it changes perspectives...

I was also extremely busy at work, the real estate market in the Greater Toronto Area is really picking up!

Now for the training. Well, I've had ups and downs. It has been hard to incorporate regular training in my schedule. Not that I don't have time, I know I can find time for it. I've made plans, but I believe I've left too much room for unexpected stuff. I am better when I force myself to stick to something. It's a good thing I just bike and swim!

There's also the health part, I've had a couple of bad joints days, a result from the stress, and a delay of a couple of days for getting my medication. When that happens, it takes me a while to move again. I know it will be better as soon as I start moving, but at the same time the kick needed to get up and do it is huge!

So I've been doing maybe 3 workouts on average per week, which is far from being enough. Swimming here and there, biking sometimes, cardio-muscular workouts and some yoga. I've signed up for a 5000M charity swim for April. So I have to get serious. I know I can do that. I won't be so fast (I expect 1:30 to 1:40), but I'll do it. This is the Foresters' Swim for Arthritis, if you are interested in sponsoring me.

So, here's my plan for the next 2 months (reduce by 60% every 4 weeks for rest):
Monday Rest
Tuesday 6:30am Swim Drills + speed 2000m
Wednesday 6:30am cardio (warmup) strenght workout + short bike (40-60 minutes)
Thursday 6:30am Swim Drills + speed 2000m
Friday 6:30am cardio (warmup) strenght workout + short bike (40-60 minutes)
Saturday 9:00am cardio (warmup) strenght workout + long bike (1:30-3:00)
Sunday 9:00am Swim 2000m straight

Add yoga every night at 10:00 before bed.
I know this is not much compared to some of you hardcore guys, but this is hardcore for me! :o)
I'll let you know how it goes.

My first time...

So much happened since the last time I wrote that I was postponing on writing about everything.

First of all, training last week was not so good. Change of temperature, laziness and the prospect of dipping my feet in water early on the dark mornings held me back too much. I also had difficulty with going early to bed, so I was not starting really fresh on mornings.

Another thing: I have to resist the snooze button! Not so long ago, I was a night hawk. I really love getting up early and feeling I actually accomplish things during my day, but apparently, I forgot about it and have to relearn some things. I started better this week (biked on Monday and this morning, and swam yesterday)! Actually, I had some extra motivation: new toys!

It was Toronto’s fall bike show this week-end. An inventory blow-out sale…I knew before getting there it would be hard to resist. I didn’t know at what point though! My first idea when I decided to commit to an Aquabike, was to do my first couple of races on my mountain bike. I’ve never had a road bike in my life, and I knew I would like to get one eventually, I just didn’t know how soon I could.

Hubby, being very supportive, helped a lot with the decisions on that day…Ouch for the wallet, but hey you should have seen my smile! :-) I was in fact alternating between smiles and shaking my head…

So my first idea was to get a road bike. And I got one. Entry level Specialized Allez, satisfying and was running quite smooth. Also didn’t hurt too much the budget (750$ CAD taxes in for brand new). Once I got that, we started thinking: if I get a bike right now, might as well get a trainer, so that I can ride it as much as possible, especially during winter…So we start looking for a good trainer. We spot one, a fluid CycleOps for 300$ CAD + tax (usually worth 400$). We decide that we want to go (again) around the different kiosks to check if there are better prices for the same trainer. There’s a lot of competition in there, so might as well try to take advantage of it!

So my bb, comes back to me after a couple of minutes, and asks me to follow him. Cool, he found a good deal! Well, yeah, it was a good deal: a tri bike! Arg! I had my bike already! I was not shopping for a bike anymore! So my husband decided to keep my road bike for himself, and I got an entry level 2005 never used tri bike (Quintana Roo) for (900$ CAD taxes in.) plus a fluid trainer for 260$ taxes in. Boy, what a day!

And it was not over, I had to get biking shoes + pedals, another computer…So it ended up being pretty expensive, but I’m almost done with guilt by now.

Was a tri bike necessary? Definitely not! Especially because I’m not doing the running portion. But my idea was to buy an entry level bike and upgrade in a couple of years, so meanwhile I’ll have a bit of fun.

I’m a road/tri bike virgin! Never rode them, never even try clipless before!

So this week I did some experiment. The first time I tried to unclip, I simply wasn’t able to. Good thing I got that trainer! :-) The second time, I hurt my ankle. Then I checked if the release tension was at the minimum. Did some adjustment here and there, and it is better. I still don’t think I’m ready for a ride out there, as I have difficulty to unclip quickly, but I’m getting there.

This morning, I did one leg drills. Oof I have some work to do with my left leg! As expected, it’s my weak leg, and I’m quite clumsy with it. Not only am I a rightie, but it’s also the left side that was first affected when I was a kid. I wore crutches often and was relying on my right leg most of the time. So it’s pretty cool that I can now focus on improving this side!

I also tried the aero position. Thank god, I already have a good core and my back seems to support it pretty well. I can also guess I’ll be scared to death trying that on the road. I’ll have to get used to the position first. It’ll probably take me a while to get confident enough. Once I get there, I know the main difficulty will be with my neck, to look forward while riding and still try to be comfortable.
Any exercise ideas to reinforce that area?

Oh, and I also need to give a name to my bike! Got any idea for the tri bike? By the way, it’s a she; I reserve the masculine name for my mtn bike. :-)

Nice Fall Rides

Thanksgiving was last week-end in Canada. So we (hubby and me) decided to go on a mtn bike ride. Fall colors are starting to pop-up, and it was definetely gorgeous! We had the perfect weather for a ride, 20 degrees (celcius...68 in fahrenheit), and quite sunny, although the trees were closing on the trail and not letting too much light in.

The only problem? I have been slacking a bit in the last couple of weeks...I have an excuse, but sometimes I feel like I'm abusing that excuse. The thing is, I get medication every 2 months to treat Arthritis (that's on top of the regular drugs I take). This infusion leaves me exhausted. I usually sleep a lot (probably too much) in the couple of days following it, and it is really difficult to get back to a regular routine. I guess I should force myself to do a bit more, rather than relaxing totally. I go swimming here and there, and biking when I feel I can. I wonder if I'm not too lazy and should try to keep my schedule even if I feel tired. I noticed that being regular in everything I'm doing is essential to help me feel good. I know this applies to most people, but especially in my case, as every single thing I do out of the ordinary throws my balance off.

Anyway, we went to Albion Hills on Saturday, and although the trails aren't too technical (except for the single tracks that I don't attack too much), it is a very good workout. I had to restrain myself from pushing though. I really enjoy giving all I can to get on top of the hill, but I was riding anaerobic most of the time! So after only 11km (6.8 mi) I had to stop! :( I should be building my endurance right now, not pushing it so much. I don't know if it's because I lost so quickly what I gained before my infusion, or if it's because my body was not ready for a hard work out like that, but I was disappointed all the same. Anyway, we were able to stop and take a couple of nice pics, here are a couple...

Also, I went on a swim on Sunday (1300M). It was great because I got some technique drills in: Catch ups, side swim and one arm. It was bad because I swim in my condo pool , which doesn't make me feel like I optimize the drills and once I get the momentum I hit the wall. I also went later than usual (9am) and there were people swimming already. When I go around 6:30 or 7:00, I usually have to pool all for me, which is great! I will probably get into a masters swim program next year, but for now, this will do.

We went for a path ride (paved) yesterday, and it was good. We rode for about an hour and half, and I managed to keep it aerobic (zone3), except for that last climb. The cool thing is, I remember, at the start of the summer, I was not able to do that last climb! :)

I still don't have my training plan yet, I will work on it this week. I believe that once you know where you're going, and how you plan to do it, you're halfway there. The rest is just kicks in the butt! :)

A bit about me and why I decided to commit

I was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis when I was 5 years old. I couldn't do any high impact sport during my childhood. I was the kid forced to go to the library during physical education classes. At least I became good enough at swimming! I did a bit of competing, but because I was not a top performer in the club, I was kinda left aside by the coaches that were putting more energy in promising swimmers. I lost some interest in swimming because of that. I didn't like the "compete to win" mentality, I was mostly the "do it as best as you can" kind, especially in my condition!

At 14, my doctor decided to stop completely my medication (not good), it seemed like I was back to normal! I went nuts. I tried every sport I could and was really enjoying life and appreciating each moment. You heard that before, but yes, you really only enjoy things fully when you lost them. The thing is, having been diagnosed so young, I did not know at that time what I was missing. I was therefore discovering life in a new light.

The blast came to me when I was 17. After feeling pain I thought was due to a twisted ankle, I had to go to the doctor and they told me that it was back! But this time, it really hit hard. You're a teen, everybody around you is at the best they've ever been, you're at your worst. I've tasted what it felt to be in good shape. It made it feel much worse. Everything went quickly. Most of the time, I had to use crutches. My ankles, toes, knees, elbows, fingers, wrists and neck were affected. And no medication would help, not even what used to work before.

At 20, there were days I couldn't get up from my bed, both my legs wouldn't support me. My boyfriend at that time had to carry me to the bathroom. Simple buttons or zippers were a nightmare for me. I was crying from pain and was totally depressed. I was also not taking good care of myself, it was an endless cycle. You move less because it hurts like hell, and it gets worse because you're not moving enough. When my doctor told me that if it continued like that, I would be stuck in a wheelchair before I turned 25, I got angry. I just decided this wouldn't happen. I got a new doctor (I thank the old one today for shaking me out of my situation). I went on cortisone for a while until I heard about biologics (expensive!!! but not much for such a miracle).

Since I was 22, my situation has just been improving, and I became more and more active. Now, at 26, I am living a perfectly normal life (except that I can't run), and nobody would guess I've been through that.

I've always admired triathletes and wished I could someday participate in such an event. I also like the community feel, and how a lot of people are competing for the personnal accomplishment, rather than the glory. Until last year, there were triathlons and duathlons, but nothing that would combine swimming and biking, mostly the only two sports I could hope one day to put together for multisports, without endangering my joints. And yes, last year, some US triathlons decided to introduce Aquabike! I learned about it only recently, and was totally delighted! Then Canada got in this year, and it is getting popular. There are a lot of people out there that can't do high impact sports, because of injuries or diseases.

So, with that said, I'm very enthusiastic about having the possibility to show everybody (especially people that have had a similar experience) that I've been through all this and today it is possible for me to get out there and enjoy the chance I have to be able to do this stuff!

Anyway, wish you all a good day!

Sorry for the long story, I tried to make it as short as possible! :-)