Comfort Zones

I just learned of a book that is produced by the Asacol brand that is a traveler’s book detailing where public restrooms are and even ranks them by cleanliness, etc.! The title of the book is “Comfort Zones.” In yesterday’s blog [link] I suggested that somebody should do this and I am excited that somebody actually did! In fact, I will be handing them out at the Triathlon National Championships in Portland, OR. I will update this post with more information pertaining to this book at a later date.

Boston Public (Restrooms)

So anybody who has UC knows that when the time comes to use the restroom there is not always one readily available. I was visiting Boston one day and experienced just how hard it can be to find a restroom even in a large, highly developed region like Boston (it probably would have been easier in an underdeveloped third world nation).

I do not like to take chances once I feel that I need to use the restroom and begin the search process immediately. My mom and wife were with me and they wanted some Starbucks coffee. I knew of a Starbucks about two blocks away and, thus the journey began. It took a little time to go those two blocks because my 2 year-old daughter wanted to walk. When we got to Starbucks they said they did not have a restroom even for customers. I saw that there was a Dunkin Donuts across the street and just left my family at Starbucks to go use the restroom there.

Dunkin Donuts has often been my refuge since I have had UC. They are great: always have restrooms, usually do not mind if you just come to use the restroom, usually they are clean, and, in New England, there is a Dunkin Donuts every two street blocks. Well, I found the one (and maybe the only) Dunkin Donuts without a public restroom. It is in Boston across from a Starbucks.

I decided to walk further down the street to find a restroom. I stopped in a University dorm and could see a restroom, but the guard monitoring the hallway to the restroom had no sympathy for me and instead gave me directions to a public restroom in a nearby mall – three blocks away. Fine, I went to the mall. I forgot to mention that this was a Sunday morning and when I arrived at the small shopping mall the restroom was locked and had a sign on it to get tokens from a retailer. No retailers were opening for another hour. Tough luck.

By now I was a few blocks from a hotel that I was familiar with and I went into the lobby to use their restroom. Of all days, they had a plumbing problem in the men’s restroom, so I went to ask the attendant at the desk if I could use the women’s restroom. He asked, “Why don’t you just use the restroom at the Starbucks next door.”

And yes, finally, this restroom was available. As I sat in the restroom I thought, if an employee asked that I buy something to use the restroom, would they believe that I have a Starbucks caramel apple cider waiting for me across town at another Starbucks? Somebody should write a travelers’ book for the porcelain bound so that finding a restroom while traveling does not turn into a wild goose chase.

Last Sunday's New York Times

On the front page of last Sunday’s, June 17th, New York Times was an article about a technology that I helped to developed and am an inventor on one of the patents. The story, “Erasing Tattoos: Out of Regret or for a New Canvas,” [link] mostly discusses the current tattoo removal process and need for a better solution. While consulting for Freedom 2, I have worked on a solution – described in the article – that will be hitting the market this fall. The technology is a new type of ink comprised of tiny spheres that contain dyes that can be easily removed after only a single treatment. For more information visit the Freedom 2 website [link].

New England Triathlon

On June 10th I had my first triathlon of the season; and my only triathlon before the National Championships. It was the New England Triathlon in Worcester, MA and consisted of a 0.5 mile swim, 12.8 mile bike and 3.2 mile run. I was feeling pretty sick (sore throat and headache) that morning and did not really feel like doing a warm-up. So instead I just took my time setting up my transition space and sat in the shade until the race started. This also gave me the opportunity to speak with the most inspirational, and well-known, amateur triathletes: Dick and Rick Hoyt. If you do not know their story visit their website [link] and you will be inspired, even if you are not an athlete.

The swim was in a calm lake with warm water, but I wore my wetsuit so that I could practice the transition into the bike after the swim. I just stayed relaxed for the swim and did not try to race and that strategy worked well. I came out of the water feeling good and ready to get on the bike. I found out later that I was the fourth one out of the water and it was my best swim performance ever!

The bike went very well also, well, except for the first mile or so. As I was cycling away from the transition area I began to put my shoes on and mistakenly pulled the Velcro strap out of its loop. Try threading a needle while moving 20 mph! I was able to get it within the first mile but did get passed by three other cyclists. After that, the bike portion was smooth and I was able to hold a strong position.

The run is always my favorite because, given my running background, I am faster than most of the other athletes and can reel in each one who was faster on the bike. I was fourth to cross the finish line and the third athlete in my age group. I was very pleased with this race and credit my success mostly to staying relaxed. Hopefully I can control my nerves at the National Championships and stay as relaxed.

Weight shifts

I lost a total of 33 pounds in the first two months after I began to experience symptoms of UC (No, this is not an endorsement for a weight loss program and was rather unpleasant). As an athlete I was already slender and perhaps a little underweight to start with. This large amount of weight loss left me feeling weak and frail, as much of the weight lost was muscle mass.

For this reason, I have kept a close watch on my weight and use it as an indicator of how well I am controlling my UC. There have been a number of fluctuations in my weight and it has been difficult to determine whether it is due to improvement/worsening of my UC, medication side-effects (particularly with steroid therapy), dehydration from UC or training, or just a result of my training.

My weight has rebounded about 15 pounds in the past two years and is about 15 pounds away from my pre-UC weight. I expect that I am near a plateau in my weight gain and would feel that I have successfully controlled my UC if my weight maintains its current level. It has been very difficult to gain weight and my weight has often taken sudden shifts making the process seem like one step forward, two steps back.

Triathlon training has certainly had a large impact on both the gain and loss of weight, but I also contribute the rebound in weight to being disciplined in my UC treatment such as watching what I eat and taking Asacol regularly.

UC Fashion

Generally, I dress for comfort (a true graduate student) and have found that some details of my style of dress have changed over the past two years as a direct result of my UC. And no mom, I do not mean how my cloths are loose due to weight loss ;-). For instance, I rarely wear a belt. Prior to experiencing UC symptoms I often wore a belt because I believed it looked nice and prevented my shirt from coming un-tucked in addition to its purpose of keeping my pants up.

When I was in the height of my symptoms I stopped wearing a belt, well, because it was keeping my pants up. I had many problems with urgency and a belt was just one more thing that got in the way and slowed me down in the rush to the toilet. Besides, at that time I had no control over my UC and rarely left the house and did not care much about my appearance.

As my symptoms improved, I refrained from bringing the belt back into my daily attire; a little because of the fear of an urgent need to use the restroom, but also because while sitting the belt was uncomfortable. Belts have a tendency to push on the lower abdomen when in the sitting position and this, being the location of most of my pain and discomfort, only added more discomfort.

Despite being nearly symptom free, the only time I wear a belt is when, in a fashion sense, it is truly needed. This has become my fashion and is a direct carry-over from my UC conditions. One belt that I never stopped wearing, however, is my number belt for triathlon races.

A Few Changes

I have made a few changes to my 2007 race season schedule. I have added a few races and dropped one due to a conflict. I will not be doing one of my most favorite races, the Falmouth Road Race.
I have also added a link to Endurance Planet on the Favorite Links page. Endurance Planet is a daily podcast relating to endurance sports and is a great resource for triathlon tips through the experience of other triathletes, distance runners, etcetra.

Surprise (1-day) flare

It has been more than 3 months since I have experienced my last flare-up of UC. From my experience with UC I have found that flares tend to arise suddenly and then take many days or weeks for the symptoms of intense abdominal pain, bleeding and frequent-uncontrollable bowel movements to gradually subside. This trend has made me realize the importance of discipline in handling UC. I want to have control of my UC and as a result I maintain a disciplined diet, take my medication as prescribed and make efforts to reduce stress.

Despite being able to control this most common type of flare, I have experience a different type of flare that I have yet to understand. I call it the surprise flare as I can never really understand what caused the flare. These flares seem to occaisionally come despite having a careful diet and sticking to my medication. They also seem to only last a single day or even just a few hours, but isolated by weeks or more from any other symptoms. This is an aspect of frustration I have with UC; it can be unpredictable. Even though I have been able to control and prevent the most problematic symptoms of UC, it seems that I get these surprise flares as an occaisional reminder that I have UC.

Although I have been flare-free for many months, I know that I must stay disciplined with my diet and medication to prevent symptoms. Perhaps this long-term discipline is what has kept the surprise flares away over the past months.