Let the Sun Shine

 Sun and Serotonin

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As I was in the middle of my surgeries and pain, I realized how important the sun was for me.

I have always loved to be in the heat.  I love to sweet and work hard.  I loved training!

I thought being on my workouts in the morning was the primary reason that I felt so good later in the day, however I have learned it was also due to the vitamin D that my body was soaking in.  

I was seeing first hand what a lack of vitamin D would do to a persons mood.  I was fighting not only the physical pain from the accident but also the lack of serotonin in my brain.  I was beginning to feel very frustrated!

 My doctor told me to stand in the sun with out sunglasses and allow my eyes and body to "soak up the sun" for a minimum of 20 min. twice a day!
 
Her reason:  Our serotonin  (the chemical responsible for mood elevation in the brain) levels are increased in the presence of the sun.

What a difference! Of course the warmth of the sun felt great but so did the effects of the sun on my brain!

When we are in the middle of an insurmountable event we must remember there are always things we can do to get through it.  

Missed Olympics Vol. 8

2008 Bejing Dissapointment

 

Despite all the work and failed dreams there were huge lessons learned and love made stronger.

From 2005-2008 I worked more on race walking than anything I had ever done before.  I was obsessive from what I ate to when I slept. My work outs were on average 3-5 hours each day.

A normal work out was spent with hours walking and then time spent with visualization, positive affirmations,  breathing and relaxation techniques, toning, weight training and pilates.  

I really loved the self discipline I was gaining.    

Strangely my workouts at altitude in Utah were better than my races, which were closer to sea level and much more humid.   I learned a lot.

I was able to compete at races where my brother, John Nunn was competing, spending precious time with him as adults.

We traveled as a family to most of the races. Scheduling vacations around locations and dates of races I was competing in.    I loved the experience and I learned more about my family in the process.. 

We became “Team Carnagie”! 

Father’s Day of 2008 was my last race of the season and my last chance to qualify for Olympic Trials.  Scott was opening a new restaurant so my sister-in-law, Christy  watched the kids for me. I planned on doing this race on my own.  However, Scott's father,   Nolan, surprised me and was there to support and cheer me on.

Despite all the family support, Scott's encouragement and the miles and miles walked,  I was unsuccessful.   I had done everything I could to qualify for Olympic Trials. 

Beaten down mentally, I was ready for some rest and much needed physical recovery.

After some time off.   I began running.  I thought that if I had a different athletic focus it would recharge me.   

The goal:  a marathon.  However because running and race walking are so different, I realized the running was not good for my joints. 

After 6 months I stopped the running and returned to race walking with cycling as my cross training.  I guess you could say running is not for me.   I am a race walker through and through.

 2009 was a year we would not want to live again but are thankful for the memories made and hugs shared.  We lost several loved ones. Six(6) members of our family passed away within one years time.  We took the year to spend time with  family and friends. 

Scott's father, Nolan was one of those who left this earth. He will be forever missed.

Missed Olympics Vol.7

Mile after Mile

Scott, Mariah, Russell and Laura - Disneyland '05

 Family Support is Everything

Scott knew I was serious about wanting to do everything possible to fulfill my goal of competing in the Olympics. 

He is the voice of reason and helped me put into perspective what would be required.  We discussed each aspect of how it would happen and how it might effect the family. 

Scott said he would support and encourage me but we needed to be realistic.  He knows me so well.....   Without a coach he said it might be rather difficult but he had seen so many changes in me that he knew I was serious and determined. 

I knew all things would come into place at the right time. 

Within a few weeks (under 11) I was walking about 5-6 miles a day, lifting weights and I now weighed about 113 pounds (total weight loss 27 pounds).

I had learned how to eat correctly, hydrate and rest.   I learned to listen to my body. I had more energy and enthusiasm than I had felt in many years.

I called my brother, John,  and shared by goal with him.  He said he would talk with his coach to see if he would be willing to help me as well.  

John Nunn & Laura Carngie (Brother and Sister)

Coach Enrique Pena said he was willing but the distance between Utah and California would create difficulties.


Our Plan:  Coach would email me my workouts and I would email him my times and reports.   I made several trips to California and I worked with him in person.

I was excited.  I was greatly thankful for the support I was blessed with.  Family and friends began to encourage and support me.  

I loved what I was doing.  I was very disciplined.  I had a strict schedule and I stuck to it.  

Salt Lake, 2006

I spent 2 - 3  hours a day completing my physical workouts.  On occasion I would video my workouts and compare them to the world's best athlete's.  I made notes, worked on drills and spent an additional hour each day on visualizing and mental training.  Twice a day I would repeat my personal positive affirmations.

Some of my favorite work outs were the speed days when I would listen to the Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack and push my self as hard as I physically could to increase turn over of the  rotation of my hips and to lengthen my stride length. 

Amazing feelings happen when you are on a very long workout.  In reality it is your mind against your body.  I was forced to experience so many emotions and physical feelings.  There were countless times when I felt  physically spent, ready to quit. 

I was  able to "erase" one element of my physical existence at a time.  Leaving me with only my mental faculties to control my body, instead of allowing my body to control my mind.   I was more focused.   


Scott, Russell and Mariah were willing to combine my races with some of our family vacations.
California, Florida, Nevada.... I was always blessed to have them by my side cheering me on and sometimes even as my aid support.

Russell and Mariah - Great Support!

I found I enjoyed my time with my family even more because I was gaining a clear mind.  I relished  each moment with them.  This time felt inclusive of love, acceptance and mutual appreciation, instead of feeling all of my existence muddled up and crammed into one singular act.  I truly felt I was on a divine path. 

Missed Olympics Vol. 6

Getting Healthy

Scott, John Nunn and Laura - Greece 2004 Olympics

Time For a Plan Of Action

In 2004 when we returned from our trip to Europe and Greece I thought long and hard for several months about what I wanted to do.

 By the end of January 2005 I had to take a serious look at myself.  I was 140 pounds and at 5 foot 4 1/2 inches I was unhealthy, over weight and slow! 

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It was time to pray.  

I mean really pray, for direction and inspiration as to if I should tackle the goal or re-evaluate.  

I felt a quiet thought come into my mind asking “If you knew you would not fail, what would you do?”  I knew the answer.  I had to change.  

I had to change from the inside out!  What I ate, how I ate, what I thought and what I said to myself and I had to begin training. 
 
Before I even told my husband what my goal was I talked to a dear friend of mine who I knew ran marathons and was a personal trainer.  I told her I needed to get fit.  Very fit.  I did not tell her why and she did not ask, all she said was “let me know when you are serious”.  I told her I was serious and I wanted to start as soon as possible.  

The process was hard but very structured.  She taught me that I had to retrain even my taste buds.  Eating only what was good for  me.  She showed me a 21 day plan for changing my eating habits. And we started to work out together.  I gave 100% dedication to the process ahead. 

I started to see a difference and my husband did too. 

Scott asked me why I was so focused.  He knew it was more than just wanting to loose a few pounds.   I told him of my goal.  I wanted to race walk again and do everything I could to compete in the Olympics. 

Missed Olympics Vol. 5

The Power to Motivate

John Nunn US Army WCAP Photo

 A hearts desire becomes the motivation .......

Surprisingly it was my younger brother, John Nunn, who really took off with Race Walking.   He was the one that helped me revisit my childhood dream of competing in the Olympics. 

He was a runner thru high school but was given the opportunity to race walk in college for a scholarship. He took the opportunity and has never looked back!  

 

Wining race after race nationally and competing internationally, he earned the right to compete as a United States Athlete in the 2004 Olympics in Greece. 

My husband, Scott, pampered me with a trip  to Greece to watch my brother compete. 

And that is when it happened ..... I realized the desire to challenge myself in race walking was still alive and  screaming  inside to be tested....

Missed Olympics Vol.4

Soul Mates

Marriage and Family

My senior year was spent at home in the U.S. with my family.  I was excited about life and the opportunities it held.  I actually had my first business during my senior year and learned a great deal from that as well. 

I graduated High School and moved back into Denver to attend a fashion design school.  While in Denver I met and later married my soul mate. 

 I was off on another journey.  A new part in my life, bringing even more joy and happiness as we have learned together and welcomed two children into our home and moved from Colorado to Utah.  What rich blessings God has for us. 

Well since this is about my race walking I will carry on.  

I would at times race walk a little here and a little there.  I took up cycling and did a 73 mile race at one time.  I say race but I was in it just to learn and try something new. 

 

 

Missed Olympics Vol. 3

Rotary and the Philippines

Rotary has blessed my life.....

During my high school years (graduated in 1991),  I continued to train and work on my race walking. I was able to compete in some of the race walking events in Denver and continued to do very well. Race walking did not become an Olympic sport for women until 1992. 

I was blessed with one of the most fantastic opportunities in my life and it came to me while living in this town.   My father is a Rotarian so our family was able to host many guests in our home from all over the world.

As a sophomore our Rotary District hosted a Group Study Exchange, adult study group from the Philippines.  We were lucky enough to have 3 women stay with us for about 1 week.  A week that helped to change my life.  I was born in Germany.  I always  wanted to, if possible, to be an exchange student to Germany.  

Well these lovely ladies suggested I apply to the Philippines.  Their description of an Asian country made me curious.  So I applied and was accepted.   

My junior year of high school I went to the Philippines! I fell in love with Asia and Philipinos.

So many memories come flooding back as I think of what an experience this was for me.  I lived with two of the most amazing families on the earth. 

Strangers who opened their home to me, a strange American teenager, who quickly became my Philipino parents and brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles whose relationships are still there today.  

 I had never been anywhere before in my life outside of my family, where I felt so instantly loved and accepted. 

 I was blessed to have some amazing experiences there, that have helped mold me into who I am now. 
 

Missed Olympics- Mary Lou Retton Vol. 2

Missed Olympics- 1984 Olympics and Mary Lou Retton

http://karolyiscamps.com

 1984 Olympics and Mary Lou Retton

I remember watching the 1984 Olympics when Mary Lou Retton won the Gold Medal wondering if I could ever do the same in Race Walking.  My father wanted me to have a dream.  He took me one day to meet Mary Lou Retton and her coach, Bela Karolyi.

 I would practice by my self on the Jr. High track after school in the evenings and on weekends during the summer and I participated in track during the school year.  Competing in every local race walking event that was possible.

 I even met with  a coach from the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs the summer of my 8th grade year.  My father took me to meet with him.  I do not remember the man’s name but he was very nice.  I believe he was one of the coaches for the wrestling  there.  He took my father and me on a tour of the training center and mentioned that even though the U.S. at the time did not have an official Race Walking coach, as long as I continued to hold a U.S. ranking that I could live at and use the resources in the Training Center.  I was 15.

 Living in Denver I may have traveled to Colorado Springs on a regular basis to take advantage of the offer but just before my ninth grade began my family moved away from Denver to a small, rural, farming town in support of my fathers employment. I was not happy about the move and I wrote a very angry letter to my father.  At 15 I felt my whole family should accommodate me and my wishes.

My mother had very good foresight, even though I did not think so at the time, she refused to allow me to live at the Olympic Training Center by myself while my family was going to be over three hours away.  Funny thing is, there were wonderful experiences that I was able to have because of that move that I do not know if I ever would have had other wise.  


As a side note.  My father in his wisdom kept the letter I wrote and showed it to me a few years ago.  Needles to say we both had a very good laugh. 

Missed Olympics - How my dream began Vol.1

  Missed Olympics- How My Dream Began

 

 

The Olympics.... Is it only a dream?

  When I was a young girl  having just moved to Colorado my mother tried her best to find low cost activities that all five children would enjoy doing together. 
 While reading The Denver Post she saw there was a competitive running race  on a Saturday morning, with a Race Walk  and a family fun run as well.  We went as a family.   We all enjoyed the event and surprisingly a few of us won the race in our age divisions. I was only 11 at the time. My parents spoke to the race coordinator,  Bob Carlson about upcoming events.  

 I remember at this, our first race, I saw a very tall beautiful blonde woman walking in a very peculiar way. She was fast... seamed to me, very fast.  I watched her as she warmed up for the race.  What was she doing with her feet?  How was she moving her arms?  I tried to study different elements of her walk.  The race began and I tried to mimic what she had been doing.  I finished the race.  I know I received a card, a warning of breaking form, but some how I finished the race and had won in my age division. 

Viisha Sedlak

 It turned out the lady I was watching was  Viisha Sedlak.  Viisha as I learned was a former fashion model turned athlete, who was ranked third in the world as an ultra-distance runner and had recently converted to Race Walking. She became the #1 world ranked masters female race walker and was  undefeated for eight years as she set 24 world records.  As well as other incredible accomplishments. What an inspiration.


 As a family we continued to participate in races. I won many of the races.  I had a great time.   When I would win I received medals, trophies and sometimes shoes from the supporting running stores.  Are you kidding me? 

Free shoes!  I still remember the first time I was able to go chose a new pair of NICE running shoes. Running shoes because the sport of race walking was still in its infant stage in the U.S.   But WOW, A brand new pair of shoes from a running store.  Not from Kmart.  I was hooked!

PTSD and Nightmares

Re-Occurring Nightmares

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After someone is exposed to a traumatic event or experience they are likely to experience a few nightmares related to the traumatic incident that they experienced. 

Some people will experience recurring nightmares for a long period of time. These recurring nightmares play a large role and are a defining symptom in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

It is common for 71-96% of patients diagnosed with
PTSD to suffer from nightmares.  

The Mayo Clinic give great encouragement:

"Many people who go through traumatic events have difficulty adjusting and coping for a while. But with time and taking care of yourself, such traumatic reactions usually get better. In some cases, though, the symptoms can get worse or last for months or even years. Sometimes they may completely shake up your life. In a case such as this, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder.

Getting treatment as soon as possible after post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms develop may prevent long-term post-traumatic stress disorder. "

Belief Systems Challenged

Basic Beliefs

Generally in life, it takes time to change our basic belief systems, yet in the midst of trauma our beliefs are challenged in a matter of seconds!

 

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“With trauma, however, basic beliefs can change quickly and dramatically, the way an earthquake can suddenly shift the course of a river. A belief may intensify, become absolute, reverse itself, or collapse altogether”

 (Rosenbloom & Williams, 1999, p.67)

Trama Challenges our Basic Securities

Balance in Life

We have Basic Securities that create a balanced Emotional and Physical foundation as to how we live our life.

 

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Trauma affects the Physical, Emotional and our Mental abilities.

As humans we have basic psychological needs. 

We have the need to feel relatively safe.

And the need to trust other people.

We expect to have some control over our lives.

We want to feel that we are of value.

We have an inate need to feel close to other people.

The Headington Institute shares this information:

Safety: Traumatic events can alter your assumptions
and beliefs about how safe the world really is.

Trust: When a traumatic event is man-made, 
it can undermine the basic 
sense of trust you have in other people.

Control: Traumatic events can shatter 
your ideas and ideals about how much 
control you really have over your life and choices.

Esteem and value: Traumatic events can disrupt 
your sense of self-worth, self-esteem, and inherent value.

Intimacy: Impaired trust following traumatic events 
can make intimacy with other people difficult.

 

It is possible to find hope and peace following a traumatic event - I found it imperative to allow myself to feel what I was feeling .  At times it was very dark but... as I allowed my human mind to experience life I was able to move through more peacefully.

Why can I not sleep? 

I have asked my self this question over and over since my accident in May of 2011.  

After the onset of the accident and the physical pain that ensued, I found myself totally unable to find a comfortable position to sleep.  I lived on the family couch for just over a year and a half!  

I did not want to wake up my family as I struggled to sleep.  For much of the first year following the accident I slept less than a few hours a night and it would take all night to accumulate those hours.

photo source

The National Sleep Foundation states:

Some people with sleep problems and anxiety 

have post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

 PTSD is a reaction to a traumatic stressful event 

resulting in a feeling of a loss of control and an 

inability to help yourself in a bad situation. 

It’s often experienced by people 

who are in situations that range 

from combat to rape, 

but it can be caused by a variety of events.

I will be honest: At the beginning, I spent hours and hours awake at night crying due to the lack of sleep, physical pain and emotional drain.....

 

Feeling of Re-Occuring Fear

Amygdala

What's your amygdala got to do with Stress?

Repetitive exposure to triggers... means that it can take less and less to activate the amygdala and send you into high-alert. 

This can cause the feeling of being chronically alert and jumpy after exposure to trauma.

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Trauma's effect on your body.

How Trauma hurts


 Approximately 1,500 biochemical reactions are triggered within your body when you experience a  traumatic event. These reactions are designed to help you handle a threat.    

A Fight or Flight response is initiated.


As you recognize a threat or danger  Adrenaline  and several endocrine hormones are released into your bloodstream.

Increased glucocorticoids stimulate the hippocampus.  The Hippocampus is responsible for converting an experience into a lasting memory. 

The Headington Institute states that : 

Other effects of increased adrenaline and endocrine hormones in combination include: 
Increased cortisol production. Cortisol is a steroid that counters pain and inflammation and keeps blood-sugar at a certain level.


Increased blood sugar. This blood sugar is used to feed your brain and muscles.


Increased heart rate. Blood is pumped more quickly around your body.


Changes in blood-flow. Arterial blood pressure increases. Blood is diverted away from your hands, feet and stomach, and towards your brain and major muscle groups. This helps the brain assess the threat and prepares the muscles for action.


Increased platelet levels. More platelets in your bloodstream help your blood to clot better and faster if you are physically injured.


Increased endorphin levels. Endorphins help to dull any pain you might experience. This helps you ignore pain long enough to act in ways that might help you survive.

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I can tell you from personal experience that it is useful to have these responses at the exact moment or onset of trauma ---- however sustained high stress levels cause continued damage on your body, mind and spirit.

 Follow My story here.

Seat Belts Save Lives

 Seat Belts Save Lives

There is an auto accident that takes place, somewhere 

in the nation every 14 seconds!

 There are over 200 million drivers on the streets and highways of the United States,  & U.S. overseas territories.  

An average  30,000 persons  are killed and another 2.3 million drivers and other occupants suffer non-non fatal injuries per year.

The CDC states:    Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States among persons aged 5--34 years. 

Seat belts have been shown to be the most effective method for reducing injuries among adults in the event of a crash.

As a Nation we are using our seat belts more.   Self-reported seat belt use has continued to increase, reaching a high of 85.0% in 2008.   In 1982, only 11% of U.S. residents reported seat belt use.

We expect to be safe or that it will happen to someone else .... 

NOT ME!!!

My accident took place in Utah- By an adult driver, on dry clear roads around 8:30 in the morning.  I was wearing my seat belt and had been obeying the laws and rules of the road and it still happened to me.  

I too became one of the all-too forgotten statistics.

In Utah, the death rate per 100 million miles traveled equaled .93, which was lower than the United States total of 1.10.

However......

In 2011, there were 52,287 total auto accident injuries in the state of Utah. 

From fender benders to quadriplegic's  

we are just one of the numbers!