use it or lose it

I did a triathlon today!

One year ago I did my first sprint triathlon and it was in part to prove to myself that I could do it, lupus or not.  That was almost two years after my diagnosis. It was something I never could have imagined doing when I was at the height of my symptoms.  As I look back it was a milestone, a “take that lupus!” moment.

One year and a lot of lifestyle changes later, I finished my second sprint triathlon but this time my motivation was different: I did it for my sister.

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I’ve always known that exercise was an important part of my self-care for lupus.  It helps with mood, joint pain and stiffness, constipation, circulation, weight, etc.  But knowing something is good for you doesn’t make it magically easy to do. I struggle to get myself to exercise especially when I’m having a flare or am fatigued.  I convince myself that I need sleep more than exercise (which is probably true sometimes but not as often as I say it). But recently I have recently gained a new motivation for exercising.

As I’ve written before, my sister sustained a spinal cord injury which has left her paralyzed from the waist down.  She gave me a new perspective on exercise and movement in general: don’t take it for granted. “Don’t take walking for granted.”  “Don’t take being able to use the stairs for granted.” “Don’t take the ability to get up off the couch for granted.”

I never thought to be thankful that I could run…but I am.  Sometimes I feel odd doing all this exercise (running, swimming, cycling, yoga) when she can’t do any of it at this point.  But my sister is a huge advocate for me getting enough exercise because she knows it’s good for me and because I can, and that’s not something to take for granted.  

So today, be thankful for the movement you do have.  Take the stairs, park a little further away from the store, walk around for 5 minutes during lunch, play with your dog, do some yoga or chair exercises, whatever it is that gets you moving and don’t take the ability to do that thing for granted. 🙂

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P.S. I’ve made a lot of lifestyle changes in the past year and my race time, weight, and difference expressions in the pictures from one triathlon to the next show it. I’ll be writing more about the changes I made soon!