Yes ma'am. Thanks for the reminder.
Hey guys! So Reach the Beach happened. My recap has yet to. Oye … it will 
Thank you for your patience.
But today let’s talk about fears. We all have fears, and there are times in life when your biggest fear threatens to stand in the way of your goals.
For me that time was Reach the Beach. Running a 24 hour relay presents some scary situations. Running alone in pitch darkness, spending hours in a van with internet friends, running upwards of 19 miles in 24 hours while not sleeping. It had the recipe to be an all day fear fest. Fun too … but in a whoa, I’m outside of my comfort zone kinda way.
My fear focused around one question. A question that I frequently asked anyone with relay experience in the weeks leading up to the race … “What is the bathroom situation like?”
Yup, this post is about to get a little uncomfortable, but stick with me.
Anyone who is close to me knows I ask this question a lot. I could write a guide book to many parts of the world entitled “Where to find a clean public toilet”
Why? Well … I have Crohn’s Disease. Yikes, it sounds dramatic when I type it out like that. I have been living with this illness for most of my life and while it seriously sucks I have it mostly under control. Yes there are flare ups, yes I have a laundry list of foods that I have to avoid, yes I spend lots of time in the bathroom. No I don’t really want to talk about it, I just want to know where the closest bathroom is. Thank you
Its likely that I will not talk about Crohn’s a lot on this blog … if you want to read about someone kicking Crohn’s and taking names, you should head on over to Ali’s blog. In fact she recently wrote an amazing post which articulates to perfection how life with Crohn’s is. She’s awesome.
Ok, now that thats out …
Back to my freaking out about the relay. I never really know how my stomach is going to act, like I said I have it mainly under control, but the sheer unpredictability of it had me stressed out … which makes Crohn’s worse. Awesome.
I spent about a week cursing my decision to sign up for this. Who do I think I am? I have Crohn’s … I can’t relay. I can’t be stuck in a van with no immediate access to a bathroom. WHAT was I thinking?? I never even share hotel rooms with friends … sleepovers are my worst nightmare, etc, etc. Boo Hoo. Suck it up Gia. You are a tough gal, you’ll figure it out.
Thats my tough gal dance. Be scared.
And so I hopped in a van and covered 200 miles with new friends. And Crohn’s. Here are the ways I dealt with my fear …
1. Honesty. I told my van mates about my Crohn’s. I told them about the foods I need to avoid. I laid it all out on the line … they need to know that emergent situations may arise.
2. I listened to my body. There were moments when my stomach hurt, when I was feeling the onset of a disaster. The best thing for me to do in these moments is to take a time out. The race gets really exciting, there is cheering on of your van mates, socializing at the exchanges, meeting other crazy runners. To take a moment and lie down in the back of the van was not the cool kid thing to do, but I did it anyway …
3. I never left the van without tissues and anti bac gel. I had pockets full of both these 2 things at all times, even while running. You never know … you just never know. Nuff said.
4. I quickly realized that I wasn’t a minority. As it turns out, 24 hours with weird food and lots of running can make most runner’s tummies upset. Sorry to say it, but I found this pretty great. Bonding. One pit stop at a time.
5. I just did it. Fear, discomfort and the unknown were with me at all times, but they didn’t control me . I had 2 options, to let Crohn’s ruin my experience or to live my experience in spite of Crohn’s. I choose the latter and I’m pretty jazzed that I did.
Your turn, what fears have you avoided facing lately? Or better yet, what fears have you shown who’s boss?
