Run Like Hell

With the weather being so beautiful in Denver lately, I have attempted to get my lazy butt back into shape. Before I received the Envoy Esteem implant I was running about 5-10 miles 5-6 days a week! I was actually hoping to run a marathon at the end of last summer but between having to move into a new home, my husband losing his job, and my Esteem surgery, it just didn’t seem possible.

My recovery from surgery was pretty tough (story for another time) and by the time I started to feel like myself again, it was too cold outside and was getting dark before I would get home from work. I had bought myself a treadmill about a year or two before and, unfortunately, we had lost a few pieces during our recent move.  Time went by, things got busy, and I slowly drifted out of my routine. Completely. I swear, there is just something about the winter, snow, and cold weather that makes me not want to do anything but curl up on the couch and watch movies or read a good book.  So it has been a loooooooooong, cold, lazy winter for me, to say the least.

I got the “okay” from our veterinarian that I could finally run with my puppy! So, I decided to treat myself to some new “kicks”, which are pretty darn cute, I must admit (see picture below). It is hard to tell from the picture but they are a bright, raspberry pink! Very “me”.  THANK YOU DSW! I also found some very cute Tory Burch look a likes (ballet flats AND black paten leather flip flops. VERY excited about them). Did I mention I love shoes? :)

People always think that I am crazy for having “run a marathon” as an item on my bucket list but it has always been a dream of mine. Actually, when I told this to one of my friends his response was “it is on my bucket list to NOT run a marathon”.

I have to admit, didn’t always like running. In middle school, our gym teachers would randomly have us run a timed mile once a month and I would try desperately to get out of it if I could (i.e., fake a cramp, twist my ankle, etc. You name it. I probably said it.). When I reached high school and started to play sports more competitively, I realized I would much rather run a timed mile (7-8 minutes) than an hour of intervals and sprints! It wasn’t until college, when I was able to run on my own time, that I realized how great it made me feel. It helped me release tension and clear my head, which was quite helpful when I spent the majority of my senior year in the library writing my thesis. Running just made everything feel better; it still does.

Anyways, as I set out for my very first run of the spring season, I turned on my Nike+ App on my iphone and hit the pavement. The first thing I noticed was how GREAT the music sounded! I honestly couldn’t believe my ears! When I tried to listen to music a few months ago on my iphone, it sounded like crap so I just gave up on using it but this time it was unreal! SO much of a difference compared to last time. Also, I didn’t even have to fool around with the settings on my Esteem to make it sound good, it just sounded magical on its own!

As the song switched, I found that it seemed a bit loud to me. When I went to turn it down, I noticed that the volume level was on 6 out of 16! When I would run before my implant, I wouldn’t be able to wear my hearing aids so I would have to blast the volume as loud as it would go, and even still, it would sound all muffled. I would have to specifically choose songs for my “running mix” that had a deep base backbeat because, well, that is all that I could hear. But today was great, much better than I ever could have hoped or imagined. I can’t wait until I have both of my ears done because I can only imagine it will be twice as awesome!

And you know what was even more amazing than this?!?!?! When Rufus (my pup) stopped to play with some other dogs, I was able to take my earphone out confidently and have a conversation with the other dog owners! When I would run before the implant, I would dread running into someone I knew in fear that I wouldn’t be able to hear them without my hearing aids in, which is actually part of the reason I bought myself a treadmill and avoided going to gyms or exercising with other people. It is truly is amazing being able to hear in any situation and feeling much more confident in these types of situations. I think this is honestly the most amazing thing about the Esteem implant!

So, I made it a whole 1.5 miles for my first run! Ha! I am definitely out of shape and have lots of work to do! I am not sure if I am just really out of shape or if I am just hearing much better, but I breath REALLY loudly when I run… I was able to hear this over the music even! That is something I need to work on so people don't think I am going into cardiac arrest when I run! 

So while today was a great day, there was one thing that did bother me… the wind. When the wind would pick up I would have a difficult time hearing the music which was a bit frustrating. When I asked my husband about this he said that he can hear it but it doesn’t interfere with music. But it did a lot for me today… I hope this is something that will get better with more time and some adjustment!