1/2 marathon completed WITH tissue expanders in!!!

So, I did it!!!!!  I completed the Seawheeze 1/2 Marathon in Vancouver, Canada!!!!  This was no easy feat....I had to start training for it AS SOON as my surgeon approved me to run and I felt O.K. (even after he approved me to run, it still felt SUPER weird to run and my chest would get really warm and tight, due to my increasing heart rate and blood flow to the area).  I didn't let this stop me and I would try to run a little bit more each day!!!  Also, something I should add in here: I was training all the way up until the day before my first surgery as well (March 18, 2014) and could comfortably run 5 miles at about a 9:18 pace so picking it back up wasn't as hard as if I had started from scratch.  Nonetheless, it was challenging!!!

The hubby and I pre-race

I had a couple of set backs the two times I had to go in last minute emergency style (husband rushing to pick me up from work or home to take me back to the surgeon) to have saline removed from Thelma (the left expander) because the pain was causing my arm to go numb, dizziness and excruciating ripping/stabbing sensation on my sternum (no doubt the chest muscle literally being ripped from the origin site), ouch!!!  Each time Thelma would get tighter, it would limit my shoulder flexion and extension, meaning it became very difficult to swing my arm as I ran.  This posed a problem during my sprint training runs and my longer runs due to the fact that you have to pump your arms full ROM and super fast while sprinting and during the long runs you are swinging your arms through their full ROM for an extended period of time.

Even with all the training I did, come race day, my chest still felt tight and my left arm had problems swinging for probably the first 3 miles!!!  Even after that I still noticed that it was a bit tight,  But, I flew all the way to Vancouver, Canada to run Lululemon's 1/2 marathon and there was NO WAY I was giving up!!! :)  I was a bit bummed because I didn't feel as amazing as I thought I would....and who knows, it could have been the travelling, eating differently, sleeping differently, being surrounded by 10,000 other runners, etc.  The weekend before my husband and I had run 6 miles together and I felt AMAZING at a 9:10 average pace!!!!  We finished the half marathon in 2 hours and 16 minutes at a 10:19 average pace.  My husband was amazing and ran it with me the entire time even though he could have smoked me!!!

Running on the Vancouver Seawall

I'm happy to have completed it as it was a big goal of mine and I'm also really happy I was able to accomplish something so big before my second surgery (which is in exactly 9 days from today)!!!  The perseverance and determination I had towards my training definitely helped me succeed and push myself to my limits!!!!  Ladies, if I could run a 1/2 marathon 5 months after my PDM WITH my tissue expanders still in, YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!!!!!  So, set your goals and work for them!!

Before            and              After

(notice how excited we are after, a run can't stop us!!)

Lululemon rocks my socks off....it was way more than just a run.  Yoga and a concert as well!!