It Truly is Step by Step

Hi everyone,

It's hard to believe that this is my first post to this blog since the first days of January 2015.  So much has, inevitably, happened since then, and it's my intention to use this post as an update.

But first, let's recap why this blog was started...
In short, having been through a number of health issues, it was to chronicle my progress as I Battled Back to full fitness.  You can read the full version here.

Challenge announcement...
On April 4th 2014 I announced that the Battling Back challenge would involve swimming the equivalent of a marathon.  You can read the full announcement here.

Bicep injury and eventual postponement
Very early in my swim training I sustained what I initially thought was a strain of my left bicep.  But it didn't stop me, despite what others, including my unofficial coach, told me.  Eventually though, having come to terms with the fact that the injury was being made far worse with every stroke, I made the decision to postpone the challenge and attempt to rehab what I then believed to be a tear to the muscle.  You can read the full announcement here.  

So what has happened since then?
The biggest thing of note is that more than 2 years after the postponement, I am yet to get back into the pool.  No, I didn't seek the suggested medical advice for a very long time, but I did try and immobilize the arm as much as possible.  While I'm right handed, complete immobilization proved to be impossible.  But I did and still do try.

I've had general health issues, including severe anemia (caused by a vitamin B-12 deficiency), which has resulted in significant fatigue.  While I've not been swimming, I tried other workouts, but many of those were painful, due to the arm injury.  Indeed every day tasks were and sometimes still are painful.

To that end, knowing that as stubborn as I am, I could not go on without medical  attention, I mentioned it to my doctor.  After he poked, prodded and pulled his diagnosis came as somewhat of a surprise; severe tendonitis.  Immediately he referred me to orthopedics, who in turn, without seeing me, referred me through to physical therapy.  I await that initial appointment on September 12.

Why and what now?
The timing of this post comes at the beginning of my personal year.  I celebrated my birthday last Friday and as such have been reflecting on a lot of things...

Yes, it's over 2 years since I sustained the injury.  Yes, during that time I came to realize that my swimming days were over.  But I've never lost sight of the ethos of the challenge I set myself.

I don't mind admitting that I've put some of the weight back on that I lost during the training.  Given the injury, I'm likely in a worse state physically than I was as I began the training.  But today marks a renewal of the determination I showed then.

Yes, I will be and indeed am already in pain before my next workout, which I'll do soon after this post is published.  But what I am and will go through is nothing compared to what some of those closest to me are going through.  I will BATTLE BACK.

In time, I will announce a new charity challenge; taking into account any and all physicians advice and my own capabilities.  Will it be on land or in the water?  Only time will tell.  But I assure you that it WILL happen, and I'll once again use this blog to document my progress; step by step.

Thank you.
Em

A New Year Begins

Hi everyone,

It's a little hard to believe that my last update was over four months ago and I'm so sorry I didn't get another post out after announcing the postponement of the Battling Back 2014 Challenge!

Very, very sadly one of the men, the heroes, who had inspired me to Battle Back, passed away just days after my last post. Dr. William Lee Graham, my best friend's father and the man I know and love as Dad, lost his courageous year-long battle with cancer on August 9, 2014.

Dr. Graham had joined the US Navy on Pearl Harbor day, the day the US joined WWII. A great American Patriot, a great American Hero; faithful servant of his country and his Lord and Savior, at whose side he rests; an inspiration to his family and all those who's lives he touched, including mine.

After rightly taking some time out to focus on him and his beloved family, I returned to my workout regimen. However, the injury that had caused the postponement was proving as stubborn as I was in recognizing it's existence and I soon realized that only total rest would allow it to heal. If I hadn't taken a complete break I risked needing surgery to fix the muscle.

Complete immobilization of the arm was out of the question, but I rested it as much as possible. I moved house the first week in November and I was pleasantly surprised how the arm held up, despite all the lifting I had to do.

In the weeks since then I've continued to rest the arm as much as possible and will now slowly, very carefully begin what will be a long rehab. To that end, on this, the first Monday of 2015, I've this evening completed my first workout in around 3 months. I'm understandably a bit tired, but the arm seems fine as of this moment :)

I'm not yet ready to reveal any of the details of the rescheduled challenge, but what I will say is that due to the injury it won't now be water based. That decision was one that took some time and indeed a lot of prayer to make, but I know that it's one that had to be made, just as the postponement did. Even if the arm heals completely, a single long distance swim would be too risky.

So, as a new year begins, I reaffirm my commitment to you, to my Lord and Savior, to my heavenly inspiration and indeed to me too, that I WILL continue Battling Back. At this very moment I'm unsure how often I'll update this blog, but I'm aiming to do so at least weekly.

Thank you so much for your continued love and support. It truly means so much to me!

God bless,
Em

Invitation, review and plans

Hi everyone,

Whereas we've focused on either retrospectively looking back at the 2009 challenge, or at my training notes for the 2014 challenge in recent posts, in today's we'll review my journey so far and look forward to this year's challenge. But first, it's...

Over to you ~ an invitation
We've all got a story to tell and I'd love to help you share yours, or those of your loved ones with the readers of this blog.

~ Have you, or do you know anyone who has served in the military, however long ago it was?

~ Perhaps, with the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One approaching, you'd like to share something of that time, or of another conflict, of which we know there have been many

~ Have you overcome adversity in any way?

If you'd like to share anything, you can contact me either via my Facebook page, or by email to emlouisef {at} gmail {dot} com. The address is written in this way here so it's not picked up spam bots, so remember to remove the spaces and replace @ and .

Battling Back 2014 ~ Review and planning
It's now six weeks to the day since my first very tentative, 15 minute workout that left me exhausted. Those six weeks have seemingly flown by, at least they have for me. Here are a few questions that we'll use periodically to review and plan, a kind of interview with myself...

Did I truly realize then the enormity of the task at hand? Yes, I really was starting from the beginning, physically, so I knew it would be VERY tough, but as I've said before, if I'd not been mentally and spiritually ready, I couldn't have gotten even to this point.

Did I think I'd have progressed to the point I'm at now? No! Although I had a rough idea of how the training would progress, I really was taking baby steps and especially with not feeling well for the first few weeks, I've surprised myself so much.

Did I have any idea that in just five pool sessions, I'd have already swum seven and a half miles? NO WAY! See above answer.

What was my expected weight loss at this point? I honestly didn't have a target for this point. All I knew was that I'd have around 15 to 20 pounds to lose over the course of the journey. I'm very pleasantly surprised to have lost 9 pounds already.

How am I feeling? I'm feeling GREAT! I'm so much stronger, so much fitter, my posture has improved and I'm a lot more toned. I'm enjoying seeing and feeling the physical changes. I'm happier within myself too and can HONESTLY say I'm loving every aspect of my journey, be it the workouts/ training or the planning and organizational aspects of the challenge, of which there are many.

Are there any changes to the already announced challenge plans? YES! If you missed the amended distance in a previous post, this has gone up from the original 23+ miles to 26 miles 385 yards, or marathon distance. Because of this, I can now confirm the start date WILL be Friday, October 10, 2014 and there will be 17 individual swim sessions, every other day, until the already announced end date of Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

The individual sessions will be of varying length, with the absolute maximum distance to be 2 miles/ 96 laps of the pool.

As of today, there are 22 weeks until the start date!

What are the next steps? This last week I've changed my workout/ training routine up from what it was. Next week it will change again, exchanging one of the cardio sessions for another pool based session. Because of this, I now need to take more notice of my nutritional needs. I've been watching what I eat since I began, adding more protein and carbs and have, for example, stopped drinking soda in favor of a lot of water. From this point I'm also introducing protein and sports drinks pre and post workout, to ensure I'm at my best and can recover quickly. I will continue to give my all during each and every training session.

I've registered the event with the UK based charity, Help for Heroes, but I still need to confirm the US based charity that will benefit from the challenge and once that happens I'll truly begin my fundraising push. If in the meantime anyone would like to sponsor me, please contact me by the details above.

Anything else to add? Once again, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for all your support, encouragement and inspiration. Words cannot describe what it means to me. I thank God for each of you and for keeping me free of injury and safe during each session.

God bless,
Em

Ultimate lifeguard

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by, I'm honored to have you here.

In the majority of my posts, I've focused mainly on the physical aspects of my battle back to fitness and the challenge ahead. Today though, I want to say some more about both the mental and spiritual side of it, which is equally, if not more important, than the physicality.

In the Challenge announcement and training post, I spoke about how I'm now both mentally and spiritually stronger than for a very long time, if ever. I couldn't have set out on this journey if I wasn't ready in that way. Indeed that's the main reason why this year's challenge is taking place almost five years after the last, because if I wasn't where I am now in those respects, I'd risk failing to reach my goal and that is not a risk I would ever take.

In the majority of posts to the blog, I've mentioned all those who are inspiring, supporting and encouraging me. I know I'm never alone, each of you are with me. Jesus is too. Despite my mental/ spiritual strength, determination and yes, stubbornness, I couldn't do it without any of you, or Him.

Before each and every training session, I spend a few minutes in prayer, asking Him to strengthen and support me, to protect me from injury. Then, soon after I'm done, or in this Wednesday's case immediately I'd completed the last lap and was still stood in the pool, I say a prayer of thanks for getting me through the workout, and for everyone who is inspiring, supporting and encouraging me.

After I'd shared Wednesday's post and story of my latest achievements in the pool, one of my friends, Larry, posted the photo below on my Facebook wall, saying he thought is was appropriate for me, given the challenge. Thank you Larry!

It is appropriate for me, but it's SO true for all of us. Jesus Christ, IS our ultimate lifeguard.

God bless,
Em

Step by Step 2009 ~ part 2

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by today, it's great to have you here. Today we continue our look back at journal entries I wrote when I truly and quite literally got into my stride in training for the 2009 challenge. If you missed part 1, you can read it HERE.

December 1, 2009 -Walk minus 27 days! Hello December!
Did a 10 miler today. Worst weather faced so far, but nothing compared to what it *could* be like on hike itself. I'm feeling great physically and truly motivated to give this everything I've got.
The guys and girls risking their lives, just doing their job, is what motivates and inspires me; as do the memories of the trip I took in high school. 

December 2, 2009 - Walk minus 26 days!
Rest day from training. I'm not resting though, I'm concentrating on the fundraising today. If you'd like to sponsor me, please send me a private message. Thanks to everyone for all your support. 

December 3, 2009 - Walk minus 25 days! Did a gentle 3 miler this morning, due to having a lot of work to do today. Feeling well rested after yesterday's rest day  

December 4, 2009 - Walk minus 24 days!
Another slack training day, only 6 miles completed today. I'm as determined as ever to give this my all. Now work has quietened down the training can really intensify, starting with a 12 miler tomorrow! 

December 5, 2009 - Walk minus 23 days!
Did my first 12 mile training hike since Tuesday. I'm feeling great. Thanks again for your support and encouragement, it means so much to me  

December 6, 2009 - Walk minus 22 days!
Rest day! I'm determined to enjoy it, as it may be my last for a while
I spoke to someone yesterday who has corporate connections. They may well have some news for me, by the end of the week, regarding some corporate sponsorship. I'm also hoping to have some news about others by then too.

Next week's schedule has changed a little from that I mentioned earlier in the week.

I'm having blood tests taken in the morning (Mon 12/7), so I won't be doing a 12 mile training session afterwards. Not a great idea! I will, instead, be doing a gentler 4 miler afterwards.

Tuesday (12/8) remains as planned at 4 miles.
I won't now be having a rest day on Wednesday (12/9), instead, I will be doing a 12 miler.
Thursday (12/10) remains as planned at 12 miles.
Friday (12/11) will be either 6 or 10 miles.
Saturday (12/12) will be 12 miles.
Sunday (12/13) WILL be a REST DAY. 

December 7, 2009 - Walk minus 21 days!
I did a short 4 miler this morning. I can't believe that this time in just 3 weeks we'll have completed Day 1 of the hike! WOW!
I may be the one physically doing the hike, but knowing that everyone is with me on this means so much. It keeps me strong. I've been quite tired today, mentally as well as physically.

There are times when just thinking about the schedule for the next four weeks tires me out! I know resting is just as important as the training, if not more so. My last 12 mile training session will happen two weeks from now. That really brings it home how close we're getting to this!

In my next post, I'll be sharing more of this year's Step by Step journal entries, including some photos. Thanks again for your support everyone, it really does mean so much to me.

God bless,

Em

Challenge announcement and training

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by today and if this is your first visit, WELCOME, it's great to have you here! This post is likely to be another long one, but as with everything else, it's very important, so please do stay with me to the end. Thank you!

BATTLING BACK CHALLENGE
In the first post of note to the blog, Why "Battling Back"? and in most posts since, I've hinted at the nature of this year's charity challenge, which follows on from one I did in late 2009, but I've not revealed the nature of the challenge. Well folks, the wait is very nearly over, at least for the announcement!

You've waited nearly a WEEK for it, but I've waited over FOUR YEARS to make it, having decided on the nature of the challenge even as I traveled back from the last one! So, without further delay I can FINALLY announce...

"The "Battling Back Military Charity Challenge" will be a multi-session endurance swim, undertaken by myself, Rev. Em L. Fairley, with a total distance at this point to be determined, but I can confirm that it will be NOT LESS than TWENTY THREE MILES. The total distance to be covered will be split into individual swim sessions of around TWO MILES. While the exact start date is still to be determined, it will be around MID OCTOBER 2014, the exact date will be announced nearer the time. The exact end date IS known and because this is a challenge in aid of two military charities, a fitting end date can be announced at this time; November 11, 2014, Veteran's/ Armistice Day. This end date is all the more poignant this year, the one hundredth anniversary of the start of First World War, being as a trip to the Battlefields of the Somme when I was a teenager helped shape who I am and my love and support for the military."

MY BATTLE
Before I go into detail about my initial training, I want to go into a little more detail about why this challenge has been titled "Battling Back". In the Why "Battling Back"? post I mentioned that I'm now mentally and indeed spiritually stronger than I've ever been and you can find more details about that in a previously written, but ever evolving article, that I've written for our Ministry page on Facebook. Please do take a look at that.

Each of us faces our own battles, and I've never been one to make the exact nature of my own known, not even to some of my closest friends. Instead I've always put others first and will continue to do so. But having said that, and having titled both the blog and the challenge itself Battling Back, it is right and proper that I say what I'm about to...

I've always battled depression, for years without the need for medication. At times of extreme stress, I'd hit the pool and swimming became my therapy as I swam more than a mile at a time. In the months before the 2009 challenge, I added the gym to my routine and so when the offer came up, I was able to go out on twelve mile training sessions, having done nowhere near that previously.

I vowed at the end of the challenge to maintain my fitness level and as I've stated numerous times now, work towards the new challenge. However, in the year that followed, my mental health took a nosedive and for the first time in my life I knew that I now needed medication to help me, which I began immediately and so did the long route to recovery.

I have been off the medication now for eight months or so, having needed them for over three years. At my lowest, I became severely agoraphobic, only leaving the house when I absolutely had to and returning as soon as I could.

As a result, having been at my slimmest before starting the meds, I'd gained over forty pounds by late spring last year. In the time since then, I've dropped around twenty, but if I'm to have any chance of completing the Battling Back challenge, I need to lose the rest, though with the needed strength and stamina for the challenge and with muscle weighing more than fat, I'll be happy with around another fifteen off.

TRAINING 
I've not done any sort of training for years, other than prescribed exercises to overcome a shoulder injury that I briefly mentioned in the post A few notes of thanks. So, I really am starting over, right from the beginning and as such, I'm starting slowly, but with a long term plan which will get me to the start date ready and able to complete it. I'll be training three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I started training last Friday, March 28, the day before the blog was started. My first priority is to work on some cardio and I found a relatively short, 16 minute long dance workout on YouTube. It might be short, but I gave it my all and by the end of it, I felt it.

By this Monday's session, 3/31/14, the niggly cough I'd started with over the weekend was getting worse, but having only just started, I was determined to keep going. For this reason, I did a double session, repeating the video. At the end I felt I'd gotten somewhere and rewarded myself with a long soak to help both my breathing and aching muscles.

On Wednesday, 4/2/14, I wasn't so fortunate. Still battling the cough, I only managed 20 minutes, but I paced myself and was so glad to have done more than the basic.

Today, Friday, 4/4/14, I'm finally feeling better, though the cough is still persisting a little. I knew that I wanted to push myself and I did so. Today I started the third rep and did my longest workout yet, getting to forty minutes before stopping.

Looking to next week, I'll continue with the home cardio workouts on Monday and Wednesday, but hope to hit the pool for the first time next Friday. From there I'll be aiming to do one pool session between two cardio.

I'm still having to be careful with my shoulder, though as of now, it's holding up great. In about a month, I'll take my cardio sessions into the gym and add in some strength training and weights, perhaps switching up to two pool sessions when I make the change.

I've got more than six months before the start of the challenge and I know that given my determination, as well as the support and inspiration I'm getting from everyone, that I will succeed in Battling Back to physical fitness personally and that the challenge will also succeed.

Thank YOU for being a part of my journey, it truly does mean so much!

God bless,
Em

Why "Battling Back"?

Hi everyone,

In this post I want to explain why I’ve given both the blog and more importantly the charity challenge coming up in October/ November the title of “Battling Back”. There are multiple reasons and so the post will be a long one, but it is by it’s very nature so important.

We begin by going back to my early childhood, to a conversation I heard between two adult relatives. The older relative was talking to the younger about his experiences of serving with the British Army in Africa during the Second World War. Despite being so young, I was transfixed by the conversation and so began my interest in the military.

A few years passed by and then, during my 10th grade, I went to France on a school trip, to the Battlefields of the Somme. During that three day February vacation, the fog, which made visibility almost nil, never lifted. This made what I was already expecting to be an emotional experience, into a life changing event for me.

During those three days, we didn't just visit many of the cemeteries where the thousands upon thousands of heroes where laid to rest. We also walked in the very trenches and across the crater scarred battlefields where they fell, including those at Passchendaele.

On our last evening, we visited the Menin Gate at Ypres, for the sounding of the Last Post. The ceremony takes place every evening to commemorate all those who gave their lives.

Though I was born almost 60 years after the end of the war, those three days brought everything totally to life for me. I was there, amongst the brave boys, for that's all many of them were. I saw what they saw, I felt what they were feeling, the nerves, the dread of what was around the corner or overhead. Those three days have helped shape the person I am today. A PROUD supporter of the military, PROUD of the men and women who risk, and all to often pay, with their lives. Men and women doing a job they love, for their country, fighting for the freedom of others.

In 2007, a British couple started a charity with the aim of “doing their bit” for wounded service personnel. I’ve been a supporter of “Help for Heroes”, (H4H), since the charity was just days old, proudly wearing my turquoise, blue and red wristband constantly, to the point where you can even see it in pics taken moments after my daughter’s birth.

In 2009, a group of friends, who I’d met through Facebook, hiked Hadrian’s Wall in northern England for H4H, a distance of 84 miles in 5 days. I was inspired to join them the following year, but me being me (I’m not the most patient of people), I decided to do something else just as challenging before then, but unfortunately that event had to be postponed for business reasons. I was very disappointed at having to postpone, but as a friend said to me at the time “Sometimes you have to focus on YOU. There are certain things that are important to all of us; things outside of ourselves; good things and worthy things; worthy of attention from ourselves and others; but sometimes we have to focus on ourselves, HAVE to.”

Then that November, indeed the day after Thanksgiving, I received an email from a complete stranger. He’d seen the postponed event for the charity and rather generously invited me to join him on his own and I read the email in a state of disbelief. The offer was to join with him and a group of others in hiking Hadrian’s Wall, the starting date being December 28, 2009, just 31 days later. After thinking about it and talking to my closest friends, I decided to take him up on the offer.

During each of the days that followed and indeed during the event itself, I kept a detailed journal, which I’ll share with you in a number of future posts here on the blog. It was another life changing event for me. When it ended, though weakened in body, I was strengthened in spirit and determination.

In the days that followed even as I recovered, I resolved to work towards another challenge, which would this time not only raise funds for H4H, but because by that point I’d adopted America as my home, also for a US based military charity.

The resolve to share the funds was strengthened when, in May 2010, the son of a childhood friend of one of my best friends was critically injured and lost his leg while serving with the US Marines in Afghanistan. I didn’t know either of them then, but in the weeks that followed, I got to know Margaret and learned that not only had her youngest son, Eli, been recently injured, but her eldest, Alex, had also been less severely so while also serving with the Marines in Iraq. I knew then that I wanted Margaret to be the one to nominate the US charity.

Unfortunately, as the months passed and I watched with so much admiration as Eli got stronger, my own health, both mental and physical, deteriorated to the point where the challenge had to be postponed indefinitely.

Now though, having recovered my mental strength to the point where I feel stronger than I truly have ever felt, I’m as determined as ever, if not more so, that the charity challenge will DEFINITELY be going ahead this year. However I won’t, for now, reveal the exact nature of the challenge, instead you’ll have to wait for another post for that. SORRY, but I will say this...

I’ve today written to Margaret asking her to nominate the US charity, as I always promised I would.

The challenge will conclude on November 11, 2014, Veteran’s Day, by way of a tribute to all who have served in the military and who are themselves BATTLING BACK.

In training for the challenge, having regained my mental strength, I’ll be BATTLING BACK to peak physical health.

Before concluding this very long post, I’d like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has served and continues to serve and protect. Each one of you, together with others, are my inspiration.

God bless
Em