March 31st Non Hike: Rest When Needed (so you can go the distance).

Most days I have that little tune from Nemo going through my head on a loop “just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” I‘m not good at asking for help, taking a break, making myself a priority (ever) or any of the other skills required for survival when you are a caretaker. Ironically, exactly one month from when we head to the canyon, and I am going to blog about taking a break. This weekend there was no practice hike.

I guess overall the topic of pacing myself has always been a challenge for me. Not only on the trail, but with big projects project and with life in general. I used to tend to come out fast and furious and burn out before the end. When I used to run half and full marathons for the Run for Our Sons campaign, I learned how training for the race became a great analogy to our life with DMD. It was all about a constant steady pace through the times you have energy and want to run as well as through the pain that makes you want to crawl. Holding yourself back from running when your emotions take over is just as important as learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable for the tough times. Knowing things will continue to change when you are in both spaces is essential to help prepare for the long haul. I think in DMD we all run in the beginning after the diagnosis but have no idea how long the journey is going to be. Pacing ourselves becomes essential for survival.

So on that note, we all got some great rest this weekend. I was able to hang with some friends who have a son who’s a bit ahead of Anthony in his progression and I can’t tell you the strategies, comfort and confidence we all got from that visit. It helped ease the transition not only hearing how to do things more easily and efficient but also knowing we are not alone and it is going to be just fine.

I spent the weekend working on the logistics such as food, gear, team coordination, hotel reservations and reaching more sponsors. We now have a base camp for the top with a handful of volunteers, a halfway camp with 6 staying for the change out team, 19 going to the bottom and 6 that are strong enough to climb in and out and fill in where needed. We also have several friends and family coming to just day hike and do the final part of the climb out with us.

Now it’s time to get back to the physical part. We are down to 30 days and still have so much training to do! We will be hiking next Sunday @ 8am and I’m hoping we are all renewed and stronger after a little break. I believe we are all still hiking on our own and mentally preparing for the climb ahead. The break personally helped charge me back up and I think Anthony and Oliver needed it as well. See you on the trail and if you see me trudging uphill just know I will most likely listening to that cute little Dora voice singing in my head, “just keep swimming. Just keep swimming…”