That's my new mantra.
I woke on Monday morning with the desire to get back into walking. I think spending the day at the Mud Run helped motivate me. That and seeing the pictures of myself that different friends took. How is it that an additional 5 lbs from last year at this time looks like 50? And how did I look thinner in one picture and a lot like a contestant from Biggest Loser in another? Regardless, I knew it was time to take action. That or confiscate the cameras that magnified me, thereby only allowing my image to be captured by more flattering equipment.
Ugh, hold on. There's a mosquito literally the size of a helicopter on the wall and I can't concentrate...you know it's bad when the cats won't approach it.
...there. Anyway, I set out to walk my previously familiar course of 3.4 miles. I was a little less than halfway down the road (.25mi) when my legs began to tingle and go numb. I thought about turning around and going back home, but I'm too stupid to stop when my body tells me to. I continued on and, despite numbness in parts of my legs, other areas became quite painful. I was soon feeling every step of that walk and my sneakers were taking the brunt of it, scuffed toe after scuffed toe. But, by God's grace, I actually completed the entire course. It took several hours for the numbness-followed-by-vibrating, popping, stinging sensations to go away, but I'm pleased to say that they did! I woke up the following morning, got myself all dolled up to do that same walk (hair pulled up 'field hockey style', husband's giant t-shirt, ripped sweat shorts, loosely tied sneaks), and set out on the course. I was amazed at how much farther I was able to walk before the numbness/pain/toe scuffs set in, and how much less time it took for appropriate sensations to return to my legs afterwards. Today was Day 3, and I was nearly finished the course before my legs began to act up.
Who knows how tomorrow will be or the days following. That's part of the thrill of living with ms, right? You never know. What I do know is that I don't want to miss out on a day of function and appreciation of every blessing I have. If that means dragging one foot in front of the other for an hour, stopping intermittently to stare at the beautiful sky and listening in as the birds place their bets as to how far I'll go before tripping, then I'm all in!
Hey, if nothing else, I could end up with a new pair of sneakers out of it all...
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