Zen and the Art of Riding with Hemorrhoids

Training: Week 3, Day 2
Distance: 13 miles
Time: 1 hour
Weather: 79 & Muggy
Song: Lights by the Editors




'June Snow'









The exhilaration for training leveled itself out today-- I forgot how hard it is to climb back on the bike after you've been off for a week! I'm experiencing some of Week One's general aches and pains, and I feel really slow. By Friday I should back on track, but for now I'm a smidgen sore.

Tomorrow I have to face every woman's fear-- purchasing bicycle shorts. They're short and tight and the bike shop I frequent is an all male staff--- but, oh, the padding, blessed padding of bicycle shorts! I've never owned a pair, I've always 'toughed' it out and hoped I'd develop... callouses?

But now I'm older, wiser and have a few exit speed bumps, so I'm going to treat myself. Now that the heat of last week's health problems are over, I can see how easy it would be for me to slip back into denial about my health. Five years ago I would have kept training and going to work until I passed out from the pain. Now I purposely step back and let myself heal. Not that I'm not Mrs. Suzie Sunshine about it, in fact, I'm actually very....moody about it, and my husband is a saint for still loving and caring for me.

Something I keep saying over and over again is "Colitis is just something that happened to me, it's not who I am." From the outside this is a simple statement, but to me it is a profound statement of truth that took years for me to understand.

And when I'm bogged down I have to continuously remind myself that colitis is just part of my life. I can either stop and deal with it. Or I can ignore it and deal with it later.

Experience has taught me it's better to deal with it immediately.