Category Archives: Rheumatoid Arthritis

May 16 2013
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Fitness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Solitary Fun

Day 234: Walk Eve, Lululemon

Recently I’ve been posting about how crazy things have been at work. Well because I have been working a lot, I was able to take today off. I treated myself to a new phone case from Anthropologie and a first trip to Lululemon. Really, my first time in their store. I’ve only heard about their amazing fabrics and cute styles. Today I decided that I needed a new pair of athletic capris/pants for the Arthritis Walk TOMORROW. (Woo hoo!)

At first, I was a little intimidated. Everyone in the store-both working and shopping-obviously either runs or does yoga, or maybe both, every day. There are a lot of different styles and fabrics and the sizing is a little different. The first two pairs of capris I tried on made me feel lumpy and out of shape. But then two employees approached me to help. They were so nice and really interested in the walk. They assured me that I was choosing the right size and pointed me toward some more relaxed fabrics better suited to an activity like walking. After that, I started to fall in love. Everything in the store is soft and cute and comes in fun colors.

By the time I left, I had told both employees all about the arthritis walk and restrained myself from spending too much money. They wished me luck on my way out, and I never felt better about buying expensive athletic gear. Yes gear, because I got pants and a super cute tank.

May 05 2013
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Friends and Family, Fun for Couples, Games, Outdoor Fun, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Day 223: Kids, Suburbs, Kids

After doing a little party clean up and recovery, the hubs and I headed out to the burbs to visit some friends and their kids.

First stop, J and A and their son in Buffalo Grove. We played soccer and baseball in their yard and a matching game in their home. Then we picked up Portillos (obviously a suburban favorite) and took it to V and J and their two children in Northbrook. After dinner we were treated to a game and a few musical numbers courtesy of their 6 year old.

I had a lot of fun and did my best to keep up with the seemingly endless supply of energy in all three of the kids. The hubs was great! Especially playing with the first boy, who is two and a half and just wanted to do sports the whole time. It’s also nice (and fun) to see friends as parents, to watch their kids grow up and to be a part of so many great families’ lives.

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May 04 2013
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Food/Drink Fun, Friends and Family, Games, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Day 222: Arthritis Party

I posted before about inviting people to a fundraising party for Team Year of Fun. Tonight was that party.

The date wasn’t a very good one for a lot of people so we ended up with a small crew of friends, many of whom had already donated. I did, however, have an iPad out at the party so a couple people donated and even more signed up to walk with me. Their donations and postings on Facebook drove other people to donate and Team Year of Fun ended having a little boom that blasted us back into second place! (Although I just checked now, since I’m writing this after the weekend, and another team has swooped in raising over $5,000 leaving us in third).

The party itself was a lot of fun. The hubs set up a quesadilla bar full of ingredients. People built their own and then the hubs grilled it for them. We played games and chatted. A few people even played a version of the 1980s game Battleship with shots of beer standing in for the ships (see picture below). It was fun to have people over, talk about the walk and spur some donations!

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May 02 2013
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Fitness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Solitary Fun

Day 220: Walk Progress Part 2

Thursdays are my write-from-home day for work. I love writing from home because I actually find it less distracting than the office. I can also take a break for an Elphie training walk. I’m so proud of my progress: since last week I’ve taken almost two minutes off of my average minute per mile pace. It is down from 17:51 to 16. I went 2.2 miles in 35 minutes, 8 seconds. Ready to take on the arthritis walk in 2 weeks!

Apr 27 2013
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Fitness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Solitary Fun

Day 215: Walk Progress

Elphie and I walked alone today and went 2.31 miles! It took us 41 minutes, 19 seconds with a minutes per mile average of 17 minutes, 51 seconds. Again, I know all of this because of Map My Walk, which I mentioned last week in my first post about walk training.

MMW uses GPS to track my walk as I go and saves all of my data from every walk I’ve recorded. I can look back through the history to see if I’m improving my mile time, if I’m habitually taking the same route, or if I am actually walking as much as I think I am. I can even specify between dog walk (at times more erratic with pauses) and regular walk (better pace control, no pauses). MMW keeps me honest and motivates me to do better.

I was pretty proud of the 2.31 miles today. My knees aren’t to keen on it now but that is something I’m continuing to work on. I just love the feeling of getting stronger for the Arthritis Walk!

As always, if you want to join my team or donate, click here

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