Running stinks but so does SUDEP

#Running2Live Series

Okay guys, I promised myself, I promised you, I promised my husband, but most important I promised my daughter, I would start running. But seriously, running stinks. I’ve made a little progress. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

Step 1: Sneakers

I pulled out my sneakers. They still fit which is good because I really don’t want to go buy a new pair. But maybe that doesn’t count since I pulled them out to take a pic for the last blog post. hmmm, oh well.

Step 2: Gear

The timing of this was perfect. My sister gave me a big fat gift certificate to GAP/Banana Republic/Piperlime/Athleta/OldNavy. I looked on all the sites and wanted to get the best bang for my buck so I bought some workout gear from Old Navy. They were having an after christmas sale. So with my gift certificate I was able to get two pairs of workout pants and a workout top I will be able to wear throughout the winter. Oh did I mention, it is damn cold here.

Step 3: Map My Run

I went online to MapMyRun.com to create a 1 mile, 1.5 mile, and a 3.1 mile loop. Then I showed my daughter the loops. She agreed they were not that bad. However, I might feel differently when I am actually trying to run them.

When I told a friend I had mapped my run she asked details that made it clear to me she thought I had actually run one of these loops. I laughed and said, “Oh I haven’t run yet, I just mapped the run.”

Step 4: Get outside

We have sort of a big goofy dog as seen above. She’s always happy to go for another walk. So, I decided to take the dog on a walk following the 1 mile loop. That was a good start especially since it was freezing out.

The next day I took her for what I hoped would be a run. That adventure was not nearly as successful. I knew the dog would not be a good running partner but she was a good excuse to get outside. That turned into more of a run/walk/sniff/stop/bark at other dogs/walk/sniff/run/walk. This was not what I had in mind. But at least I got outside.

More later

That’s all I’ve done so far. I’ll let you know how the next round goes. Keep your fingers crossed I don’t take a header. After all, I’m not the most graceful creature.

Jessica K. Smith Founder and CEO; Executive Director

Jessica Keenan Smith is a patient advocate and epilepsy community leader with more than 15 years of experience. As Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy and Executive Director of ASENT she bridges the gap between the scientific and patient communities, with a particular focus on the needs of the epilepsies. Jessica Keenan Smith is Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy, an award winning online resource for people affected by epilepsy to share stories and access in-depth information on the disease. Since 2009, Living Well With Epilepsy (https://livingwellwithepilepsy.com) has been featured in Forbes, Wired, NBC, NPR and the cover story of Epilepsy Advocate Magazine and has partnered with companies such as UCB, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Eisai, and more. Ms. Smith is also the Executive Director of the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (ASENT) (https://asent.org), an organization that brings together leaders from industry, academia, government and advocacy who are engaged in bringing drugs and devices to market across all neurologic disease states. In this role she is responsible for leading a successful scientific journal and annual scientific conference with speakers from all over the world.

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Epilepsy