Who Am I?

Welcome to Running From the Runs.  If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or have ever experienced a bout of food poisoning or the flu, you can likely relate to this blog and find humour in the awkward and uncomfortable world of digestive problems.

Who am I?  

Well, first and foremost, I am a redhead and readily acknowledge that this is an integral part of my identity.  As a redhead I have endured many a joke – both of the unsavoury and predictable variety, but have come to love this feature in spite of what others may say.  As a redhead I am fierce, fiery, passionate and sensitive in all the ways this can be interpreted.  In addition to the hair, I am a proud Nova Scotian currently living in Halifax with my American husband (who I met in France).  I have a great love for French language and French culture and adore travelling in Europe – however, not often enough! 

What can you learn by reading my blog?  Well, you can learn about functioning normally while managing your IBS.  You will often leave smiling, or even better, laughing at some of the situations I have encountered as a result of IBS. 

Is this blog only about IBS?  No – definitely not!  A key component of this blog is to create a space where IBS-sufferers can learn something and find a safe haven in the knowledge that there are other people out there experiencing similar issues.  However, not everyone wants to talk about butts all day long, including me; therefore, this blog is also a health and wellness blog where I will focus on other aspects of health including: making healthy choices in the kitchen, various forms of exercise, stress management and also my fur baby Hugo! 

What else?  As some of you who have been reading for awhile will likely know, I am extremely injury-prone.  This blog started off as a challenge to try to manage my IBS while learning how to run … until I did a number on the vast majority of my lower body; I have been icing, x-raying, massaging, foam rolling and generally making the rounds of any medical practitioner that will see me.  I had moved on from running to spinning, until I managed to injure myself doing that, too!  For now I am sticking to tame exercise including yoga, recumbent bike, elliptical, walking and swimming. 

In other news, I love reading and you will often note references to Miss Scarlett O’Hara of Gone With the Wind fame.  My iPod is packed with Bon Jovi, Ben Harper, Eminem, Mumford and Sons and Roxette.  My day job includes working as a public servant and part-time as a Justice of the Peace marrying people.  In between that I freelance write and guest blog whenever I have the opportunity.  Not too long ago I decided that my BA and MA in French were not enough and am now pursuing studies in public relations.  I can safely say I am never bored!   

I hope you enjoy reading my blog – please feel free to comment and to question.  I take great pleasure in hearing your feedback and hope that for those with IBS, that this helps you in some way.  It is high time we stopped hiding behind the bathroom stall and talked to each other. 

Please contact me here about any questions relating to freelance writing or guest blogging.

Connect with me on Twitter and Instagram. 

Happy reading!

Lyndin

Bringing Home the Baby ...

Last week my husband and I had the great pleasure of adopting our first puppy - an eight-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog named Hugo.

Hugo's arrival home

Needless to say, our life changed pretty quickly.  This became crystal clear when in the middle of the night, my husband sat up in bed, looked at me and said ... "go get the ball" ... and rolled over and went back to sleep.

My conversations this week have sounded like this "have a pee", "have a pee on the grass", "no peeing in the house", "no biting", "be gentle", "have a poop", "no! don't poop there!", "come out from under the deck" and "good boy, Hugo, Mommy loves you!".  If I were my neighbour I would lose my mind if I heard any more about peeing in the grass.

Our little goof, into everything! 

Loving the "wilderness" in our backyard

It has been really fun watching him learn so much in only one week.  He has learned to come and to sit - we are still working on lie down.  He has learned to climb stairs, to ride in the car, to wrestle with his new friend Leo the poodle, to sleep in his crate, to work the room at a party, to be "gentle" (lick instead of bite) and he is slowly learning to go for a walk.

Hugo's first solo car ride

My husband and I are having great fun raising our little pup and have spent the vast majority of the week in our backyard or at the soccer field across the street.  I have not been up this early consistently since my days of lifeguardiing - 5:30 am on Friday morning running around the field with him, and I enjoyed it!