Off and Running — Team Challenge Training Starts

We’ve now entered Week Four of our Team Challenge training. Week Three wrapped up last Saturday with our third three-mile run through Milwaukee’s East Side and Lake Park.

Once I completed the most recent three-mile run, I actually felt okay. My muscles still ached like they had after all of the previous training runs, but each run seems to be getting a little easier, and I was glad I’d made the decision to train with Team Challenge. More importantly, I’m actually beginning to believe that I might be able to achieve my goal and get into shape in order to run a half marathon by November.

It’s still tough to get up early every day and run/train, especially on those “bad Crohn’s days” when your body decides it just won’t coöperate with anything you want to do. Fortunately — like most Crohn’s and colitis sufferers — I’ve gotten very good at pushing myself and my limits in order to prevent Crohn’s from controlling my life. In a weird way, having Crohn’s disease may actually have strengthened my drive and ability to persevere when pursuing challenging goals like long distance running. So when it comes to running the event in San Antonio on November 16, I say, “Bring it on!”

To show your support for my Team Challenge effort, or to keep track of my fundraising progress, please visit my participant page on the Team Challenge website. And thanks in advance to each and every one of you who is helping make a difference for the 1.4 million Americans who suffer from Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

*The best source for information about Crohn’s disease is the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, also known as CCFA. CCFA is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. CCFA provides accurate, current, disease-related information to the public, health care professionals, and patients and their families. The CCFA Information Resource Center can be reached at: 888.694.8872. The CCFA website is www.ccfa.org.