By Eden J. BerubeThird Year Health Promotion Major

Wellness Choices for a Healthy Active LifestylePE-2850-F3

On the Way to Wellness

What is my SMART Goal really about?

My SMART goal has to have incorporated these key five factors:

S: My SMART goal has to be SPECIFICM: My SMART goal has to be MEASUREABLE

A: My SMART goal has to be ATTAINABLER: My SMART goal has to be REALISTIC

T: My SMART goal has to be TIMELY

The Specifics

In July 2011, I was diagnosed with Polyarteritis Nodosa (also known as PAN). At the time of the diagnosis, I was very sick and had had for the past 2 months stopped exercising regularly due to my body’s complications. After the diagnosis, the treatments and procedures were so complicated that I had put off my exercising regime until my body could handle daily exercise. Up until about September, I had gone to the gym a few times per week which was different than my previous habit of six days per week. My endurance and tolerance for running 30-60 minutes a day had dropped dramatically, and my goal is to work up to running 60 minutes at 6 miles per hour at least 6 days per week within1 month like I had in the past.

Taking on Serious Measures

My SMART goal must be Measureable. So, here are the specific steps and directions I will take when it comes to making sure my SMART goal is Measureable:I will divide the amount of time I wish to build my endurance to (60 minutes) into quarters, and then divide the month into quarters and deal with each quarter separately. For the first week of the month, I will run for 15 minutes per day. During week 2, I will run for 30 minutes per day. During week 3, I will run for 45 minutes per day, and for week 4 I will run for 60 minutes per day to train my body at that level. However, I realize that my body may not be able to make it at an immediate 6 miles per hour. So, for Week 1, I will start running at 5.4 miles per hour. Every day during that week, I will go .1 mile faster every day when running, which will lead me to be able to run at 6 mph on the last day of that week. For week 2, I will do the same. However, by then my body will have had a decent amount of training and my running from there out will start at 6 mph.

Attain to Maintain

My SMART goal is definitely attainable. I only take evening and online courses, so to help me stay on track, I will pick a time every day that I devote myself to working on my goal. Every day at 10:00 a.m., I will head down to the Cardio Theatre at PSU. I also have a back up space to run in case the Cardio Theatre is closed. If it is, I will use the Fitness Room at the HUB. I am also notifying my closest friend about my goal so she can help keep me on track if needed.

The two images display PSU’s Fitness Facilities, located in the Hartman Union Building. I will be using these facilities to attain my goal!

Let’s Really be Realistic

My SMART goal is very realistic. Now that I have the proper medicine that I need to control my PAN, my body definitely is in shape to continue my running. Also, I have been able to run at 6 mph for 60 minutes in the past, so there is no reason why I can not do that now!

Time to be Timely!I believe that 1 month is a good amount of time to accomplish my goal because it is easy to measure out, like I have done in quarters. So, by November 16, 2011 I will be able to run for 60 minutes at 6 miles per hour at least 6 days per week! After I reach this goal, I will continue to keep up my endurance and run daily.

Setbacks to be Aware of• Due to the fact that the medication I am on attacks my immune

system, there are some days where I may be too sick to run. If this happens, I will just continue on with the plan the day that I am able to run again.

• PAN is an auto-immune disease, so there may be days where my body spontaneously attacks itself and my ankles are not in good condition to run (throughout the time when the PAN was at its worst, my ankles swelled up to about 5 times their regular size, making it difficult to function

• I may have to visit Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital unexpectedly, which could interfere with my running time.

• Due to the fact that PAN attacks the blood vessels that lead to my major organs, my heart may be in danger if the running overstresses it; which would mean I would have to give myself a break.

• My lungs have popped capillaries, so on some days breathing might be difficult and running may just be to much for my body.

To-Do List

There are some very important things that I must do every day to ensure that my body is at its best; so I am

able to run. This includes:-Drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day

-Getting enough fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein-Try to get between 6-8 hours of sleep every night

-Listening to my body! If I feel that I am not able to run on a certain day, I should rest. It is best to take one day of rest, rather than

overworking myself and needing to take an additional few days off because I didn’t listen to my body.

I did it!

Today I proudly ran for 60 minutes at 6 miles per hour!

I did experience a few set backs throughout my experience. These setbacks

were:10/20: I had to go to Dartmouth unexpectedly, and was gone all day; which cut into my running time10/30: I caught a virus and was to ill to run11/06: My ankles were to sore to run

Despite these setbacks, I did complete my SMART goal and am very proud of myself!

Polyarteritis Nodosa

Here are a few pictures of Polyarteritus Nodosa and a few of the symptoms that I experience. Please note that the images shown are not of me, but of other individuals with PAN.

The bruises that appear on

my legs are also happening to my organs

Spring 2011 is when my PAN was starting to

elevate to its worst- every day I had ankles identical and a lot of times worse than the above image

The bruises on my body range from black and

blue to red speckles

Polyarteritus Nodosa

Here is a short clip on Polyarteritis Nodosa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udGvshRMVkg

Sources for Images

• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov• www.dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu

• www.christopherandjentri.blogspot.com

• www.plymouth.edu