Believe to Achieve

Day 2 + on oral steroids (antiinflammatory).  4 days to go on taper.  Starting to actually notice it working.  Even attempted a half mile run-- no pain in foot but a sudden surge of back and thigh pain that almost put me to the ground.  Hard to describe.  I would not be able to run through that.  It was intense and actually quite scary.  It felt like my knees to my back were buckling underneath me.  My goal was to run 3.25 laps (1/2 miles) before spin.  I almost was unsure I could do the spin class it was that scary.  But I just took it really easy.  Nothing strenuous although the instructor had us do hills the entire class.  This was my first work out since BM but this reaction was not due to that.  I think it has to do with the steroids inhibiting my adrenal glands and I am super sensitive to medications of that sort.  I have had Cushing's Syndrome twice in my life from steroids.  At least this is only for 6 days total.  The last time I had Cushing's syndrome, I was taking large doses of prednisone for inadvertently on my very first 16 miler EVER (in the summer before my first SGM in 1995) wiping myself with a poison ivy leaf after peeing in the woods.  I had the worst reaction everywhere on my lower body and hands and arms.  It lasted over two months!!!  Most embarassing moment ever in my life as I forgot I had even wiped myself with the leaves of three (let them be) and did not know why I had welts all over my hands legs and other areas of major swelling.  Hence my training for SGM was quite interesting back then. I ran only 3-4 times a week but  I still qualified for Boston which was my goal (3:36:34 -- no chip back then, it took me 1:42 to get to the starting line, per my journal).  I then ran the 100th Boston with (go figure) an injured right foot (now it's my left).  I had a bunionectomy two weeks later.  Isn't this all ironic???????   Hey at least I was 13 minutes faster :D.    It snowed two days before the marathon so the weather was windy and cool on race day.   Ahhh.... the memories!!!