Chris helps run a charity for pancreatic cancer, called POR or Pants Off Racing. They put on an annual run and this year it is in November, but during the year there are several other events with the charity. Every year they put a team together and run the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon. I wasn’t going to go this year, but my cousin and his girlfriend are running and it was his first one ever. I decided I could make it since we took the train so I could stretch, walk around and even recline to a comfortable position. The biggest part was that I didn’t bring my wheelchair or my crutches. I was very nervous, but knew I should give it a try and that I’d been feeling good last week.

We watched the race and everyone did so well! Pat and Chris both placed in their age groups so they were apart of the awards ceremony and won bottles of wine. Congrats boys! After the race, there is a wine tasting. It was very crowded and I haven’t felt like drinking much. I was also really needing to lie down and rest for a bit to be able to keep up for the rest of the day. I went back to our hotel room and took a nap and did my PT exercises.

The rest of the day we spent in Los Olivos, wine tasting. My favorite was Saarloos & Sons because of the cupcake pairing and the beautiful house and garden area. It ended up being really nice weather, just super windy. Our group was super fun and everyone was so nice and helpful finding me seats everywhere and walking slowly with me. By the end of the night, I was in more pain then I really wanted to admit. Mentally, I wanted to keep up with everyone, but I realized I just couldn’t push myself or my hip much further. I cut the night early and got a good nights sleep. In the morning, my pain was gone. I did my PT exercises and still felt pretty good.

All in all, I am so proud of myself and am definitely seeing the progress I’ve made. I can’t believe I made it all weekend with only my cane. It’s almost been two weeks since I last used my crutches or wheelchair and that’s HUGE! I am exhausted from the weekend, but I am in no extra pain and actually my hip feels pretty good, it’s just my back that’s hurting. Yay for making it through a whole weekend away and not having to miss out on something!!!