Grappling With PD

The  Sunday weather was good, even before sunrise.  It was a bit cold, but with no rain it was easy enough to deal with the temperature.   My shoes were still wet and muddy from yesterday, but everything was freshly laundered.  Unlike Friday night, I was still asleep when my alarm went off at 3 AM.  I like to get an early start, for several reasons--to have plenty of time to eat and let my stomach settle; to take my pills and ensure they are working before I leave the house; to take care of any bathroom issues before leaving the house, if possible; and to do whatever chores I did not take care of the day before. Prior to this weekend, I have always gone through registration and then struggled to put on my headband and armbands.  It is not uncommon for folks to watch, and even offer to help, which is great.  This weekend, however, I asked if I could use the ADA parking, and the event staff graciously granted my request.  This gave me the optio...

  It rained most of the day Friday, and it was still raining Saturday morning as I prepared to drive to the venue.  As usual, I gathered far too many things--just in case--some stashed in my duffel bag for bag check, others in my hydration backpack, and the most important ones for my pockets.  I wedged my feet into my trusty Salomon trail running shoes, which have been dedicated to Spartan races since my first time just over five years ago.  It was a challenge getting my feet into them, even with the special shoe horn that I was given by the occupational therapist in the hospital in Boone, NC a year and a half ago. I left early and got there early.  Still raining.  I reorganized my things and ultimately decided to leave just about everything behind.  I did not want my bag-check duffel bag to sit in the rain for hours, although I could have packed its contents into a trash bag and put the trash bag into the duffel.  I decided to carry as little as ...