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Why Recovery is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
On April 18, I finished my 20th marathon. My time—4 hours and 16 minutes—was the slowest I’d ever run. But that didn’t matter—because this was the Boston Marathon, a dream of mine ever since I started running marathons in 1981. Now at 63 years old, I can check this off my bucket list. But why this is so special to me is not that it is my high point as a runner, instead it is the gift this has been for me as a recovering alcoholic.
Ten years ago, running a marathon, let alone running the Boston Marathon, was incomprehensible. My life was in shambles. I was awaiting transport to a regional prison in Glendive, Mont., where I would spend the next six months in a very intense alcohol and drug rehab program. Physically, my six-year binge had taken its toll on my legs; peripheral neuropathy was affecting my ability to walk. Somewhere in the middle of that prison stretch, I had a turning point. I thought about the classic line from the movie Shawshank Redemption when Andy DeFrain says to Red “It comes down to a choice really, get busy living, or get busy dying.”
My best thinking had gotten me into prison so maybe it was time to make a choice to live and go all in for the recovery program this place was offering. Once committed, I found the hope I so desperately needed, on page 152 of the AA Big Book: “The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead.”
There is another line in the AA Big Book that is also true. “Yes, there is a long period of reconstruction ahead.” I never liked that line because it reminded me of how difficult the process is after a person gets sober. Recovery is not about stopping drinking; it is about staying stopped and even more, about learning to live in sobriety. Recovery is truly a marathon. But I have discovered in the 10 years of working my recovery program that this can be the best marathon a person ever runs.
The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead! You can get all of your life back and more, much more than you ever imagined. And I am not alone. My wife went with me to Boston to cheer me on, as did a friend in recovery from my home group. Boston is where she grew up, and it was a chance to both see her daughter and celebrate how life can become so good in recovery. She camped out at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill, just before I had to start that climb at mile 20.5. She’d made a sign—in Bronco Orange of course, and had the others in my AA group sign it to cheer me on. That encouragement was what I needed to make that climb and finish strong.
I don’t know if I’ll ever run Boston again, or even another full marathon, but I do know that the marathon of recovery I am in now is worth every step. And the full life I’m experiencing now… I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
If you find yourself facing alcohol addiction rehab with trepidation and dread, I hope my message can offer some hope and inspiration. And if you join The Foundry, I hope I am able to talk with you about the vibrancy of life that comes with recovery.
-R.J. Koerper, Life Recovery Therapist Consultant with The Foundry

Addressing Your Own Fears and Anxiety While Your Family Member is in Treatment
Family members address and navigate through seemingly endless stormy waters once their family member enters treatment. Having a family member in treatment is demanding of our time and resources and most of all, it’s emotionally exhausting.
Our worry and anxiety fluctuate throughout the process and we often find ourselves in a constant state of “fight or flight.” This helps to keep us prepared to take action when dealing with a crisis or a threat. It is a constant state that keeps us striving to take “control” of the fear or worry. The challenge of taking “control” of a situation this way is that it really only works if we are in physical danger. When dealing with anxiety, perceived or real, our version of taking “control” becomes more of a problem…an emotionally exhausting problem.
There is no doubt that our fear is real, especially when our family member’s needs must be met through more intensive interventions. However, our tendency to allow our thoughts to create and exacerbate anxiety keeps us in this state of automatic response, constantly reacting to our perceived fears using ineffective tools to take “control.”
Below are 10 useful ways to manage your anxiety more effectively as you engage in this journey with your family:
10 Ways to have Long-Term Success with Managing your Anxiety:
- Find control within ourselves to decrease the need to control “the situation”
- Change negative beliefs
- Cultivate new approaches to thinking
- Increase awareness of thoughts and storylines that we follow, especially those that always increase anxiety
- Learn how to stop replaying the past and rehearsing a dissatisfying future
- Decrease self–judgment and blame
- Distinguish between urgency and importance when it comes to situations that need addressed
- Increase self-awareness and identify patterns that are impacting our success as a parent
- Change language to change behavior to increase self-awareness
- Learn how to decrease expectations and truly allow for acceptance
- While it can seem challenging to change how we think and cope with difficult situations, we must also remember that a loved one is trying to learn an entirely new life without addiction. In our Family Program we can work with you and your loved one to create a new path together.
Jen Murphy, M.Ed., LPC is the Family Director at The Foundry, a rehab and substance abuse treatment center in Colorado, providing services specifically for Foundry family members to provide support and guidance throughout their family member’s treatment process. In our work with families we continually honor the family’s therapeutic process and creatively support the unique needs of each individual family. Jen Murphy can be contacted at jen.murphy@foundrytreatmentcenter.com

Detox from Alcohol, Heroin & Meth: What to Expect
Addiction is a battle for anyone who experiences it, but the next daunting task for anyone who wants achieve recovery is the detoxification process. The thought of having to stop the substance of choice is the first step to finding sobriety and peace.
Everyone is different, and the detox period can last anywhere from 24 hours to weeks. Here is a brief outline that can be used as to what may be expected during the detox process. The most important thing overall is to go into it with a willing attitude, and a positive thought process that you can do this! The first step to freedom!
Alcohol Detox:
Alcohol detoxification can be broken down into three stages depending on the severity of alcohol consumption. The first stage involves anxiety, insomnia, nausea, and abdominal pain. These symptoms can be expected 8 hours after the last drink. Next, the body may experience increased blood pressure, increased body temperature and respiration, irregular heart rate, mental confusion, sweating, irritability, and heightened mood disturbances which comes 24-72 hours after the last drink. The last stage involves possibility or hallucinations, fever, seizure, and agitation which tends to begin 72+ hours after the last drink. Alcohol detoxification can be life threatening, so it is recommended that it be done in a supervised setting.
Heroin Detox:
Heroin withdrawal symptoms typically begin about 12 hours after the last use, and can peak around day 1-3 and gradually subside between 5-7 days after the initial onset. The symptoms of heroin detox can be described as “super flu” with some of the symptoms including cold sweats, depression and anxiety, loss of appetite, unstable moods, muscle cramping, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and seizures. The distress during this process can be debilitating, sometimes leading people back to use. In this case the next use can be lethal, especially if the user takes too much of the drug in order to compensate for the withdrawal effects.
Methamphetamine Detox:
Methamphetamine, referred to as “meth”, is referred to as “the most dangerous drug on earth” due to its wide range of availability. Detoxing from meth is not pleasant, however it is not one of the more dangerous drugs to detox from. Symptoms include deep, dark depression, decreased energy, increased sleeping, teeth grinding, night sweats, emotional instability, irritability, resumption of eating leading to weight gain, anxiety, cravings, suicidal ideations or suicide.
It is recommended that whenever someone chooses to come off of substance use, it be done in a supervised detox center or treatment center. Asking for help is the first step, but also knowing what to expect can be helpful. Withdrawal is a challenging process, and no matter how quick or long it is, it is hard not to create expectations that it is not going to be enjoyable.
With strength and hope, anyone struggling with addiction can make this important step in the right direction. Always remember the detoxification process is only the first step. Once clean, long term treatment center will be the next destination. Aftercare can provide the tools to help maintain sobriety and find healthy coping mechanisms.
Sonia Kulberg is an Addiction Tech at Foundry Treatment Center Steamboat, a rehab and substance abuse treatment center in Colorado, and provides support to those in recovery throughout their stay in residential treatment.

Energy Bombs
Ingredients
- 1 cup of peanut butter
- ¼ cup chopped dried fruits (raisins, apricots, dates, mangos, etc.)
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- ¼ cup dry coconut flakes
- 1 Tablespoons of chia seeds
- 1 Tablespoon of flax seeds
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
These are super easy to make! You might have to add more or less oats to make the balls stick together!
- Start by mixing the peanut butter and honey together.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Feel the mixture with your hands and see if it all sticks together, if the mixture does not stick together try adding more honey or peanut butter. If the mixture is too runny try adding more oats.
- Once mixture is the right consistency, make it into bombs and put in the fridge.
Notes
- Add whatever combination of dried fruits and nuts that you want!
- Add some chocolate chips!
- Add some cocoa powder to make Chocolate Bombs!

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Call today to get started on your journey or if you have any questions.
(844) 955 1066