Long Overdue Update!

I can't believe I haven't been in here in 2 months! I think I may have run a total of 6 miles between then and now. But I'm hoping that is about to change!!!!!

I decided to call the GI doc I saw 5 years ago for stomach pain at the time. I had burned my entire GI tract from too much Excederine back then. I was taking that for pain...(had a hysterectomy 5 years October) and the doc said it would take years for the tract to heal. I have been having pain ever since, but chalked it up to that. I'm a PRO at ignoring stuff.

When I told him my symptoms he immediately said my leg problems are from being dehydrated!!! I thought " WHAT"????? How can that be???????? It's been 2 years since these problems started. Can you be dehydrated for 2 years and not catch it in the labwork??? So I have cut out beer (one week today) and trying to cut back on coffee. I've upped my fluid intake and am drinking more water.

Anyway...I saw this doc last week and he did an upper endoscopy last Monday. He said I have gastritis and a possible infection. He took a biopsy to identify the infection and I see him Tuesday afternoon to find out how he's going to treat it. I am soooo hopeful this is the answer! I do notice my headaches have stopped. I love that!

My fingers are crossed...my toes too!!

Hmmmmm

Well, I know right where my running shoes are. All of my sports bras are clean. I have a drawer full of socks. My fave running outfit is washed, dried and waiting. I have 2 fuel belts and plenty of GU packs/chomps. I noticed today, that my ears are not sore from my headphones rubbing them. I even cut all my hair off and was looking forward to running without a hat on.

I noticed this the other day when I was wondering when I'd be back out on the road. Wednesday seemed like just another day where I wasn't feeling well. Had a headache as usual and my legs were really cramping and painful. Especially my right leg/foot. I was nauseous and just feeling crummy. My daughter, Kirstin, offered to work for me (just one plus of us working together) and I felt relieved to be able to lay down.

At about 6pm, I felt a sharp pain in the center of my chest. I stood up and it got worse. It was hard to breathe and I felt dizzy and more nauseous. After 10 minutes it relaxed, I was soaked from sweat so I jumped in the shower. It happened again while I was in there so I got right out and called to my other daughter, Kerri. She called 911 and Bobby. By the time the EMTs came I felt fine again and felt stupid. But then it happened again while they were here so off we went. Happened again in the ambulance so he gave me a spray of nitroglycerin.

Long story short...it happened off and on for about 5 hours. CAT scan looked fine, blood pressure came back down and the cardiac enzymes were fine. Doc said he couldn't be sure it was not my heart so I spent the night. It did not happen again, just little twinges now and then. I went home the next day, have to take aspirin daily and follow up with my doc. A nurse suggested seeing my GYN in case it was ovarian cysts bursting. As much as I'd love to chalk it up to cysts, I've had them burst before and it never hurt my chest, just very low in the abdomen. But we'll see...I'll see my GYN. I don't have an appendix, gallbladder or uterus so it was narrowed down pretty quickly. It did remind me of gallbladder pain but more intense, like labor contractions.

I feel fine today, just headache and light headed. My legs still hurt. I haven't been out running for 3 weeks. I haven't been to the gym either because I was hoping if I took it easy I'd be out and running since the marathon is in 2 weeks. nope.

So I will miss another marathon. No sugar coating this one. I am extremely unhappy. I'm angry and disappointed. And that's all I have to say I guess.

3 Weeks To Gasparilla Marathon!

Wow, did that come up quick!! I'm very excited! The last 2 weeks have been tough training. I haven't been able to get through 7 miles without a lot of walking. My old problems have returned at a very bad time. I started to FREAK OUT, but decided that wouldn't get me anywhere but in a worse slump. Instead I've re-evaluated my goal for this marathon. Like I had a choice...LOL...

I am going to run an easy 5-6 miles today to see if I can get that groovy-groove back and if so (fingers crossed!) I plan on running for about 3 hours on Saturday. Distance will not be determined before hand...I'm just running to make sure I have the endurance. Time VS distance!

The Boston Qualifying attempt is shelved for this race. Yes, I was very disappointed. I figured I would miss it by about 20 minutes anyway, but I was going to start off with the 4 hour pace team and take it from there. Now I will start the race with about a 10:20 pace for a couple miles and slowly speed it up. If it's feeling good, I should get to a 9:15 pace by about 5-6 miles and I'm hoping to hold that for a while. I feel that by starting out slower than need be will be the key to a successful marathon.

Taking the pressure of a huge shave for this race has made me remember something really, really important. I LOVE TO RUN. I also love to set and attain goals, but the most important thing I so need to remember is I LOVE TO RUN. The one thing I will be doing on Feb 28, 2010 is running. I win!! So whether I get to the finish line in 4:00:59 or 5:00:59 should be irrelevant. But it's NOT!! Hahaha!! I still want a sub 4:30 finish, don't let me fool ya, but my attitude is morphing toward a "take it easier" approach, that's all. It is what it is.

I'll set a new goal for the finish time after Saturday's longy-long run. I'm looking at it as a "see-where-I'm-at" training run. With just 3 weeks to go I should pretty much be able to predict my race finish time.

Happy running everyone!!!!

Lamarque 5K Jan 16, 2010

This was the 2nd time I've run Lamarque 5K. I love that it's only 5 miles from home because I know all my runner friends will be there. The first time I ran this race, I had only been running for about 8 weeks. I was still very new and didn't know a whole lot of people. I knew The Morgan's, the Geyer's and a few others. At this race, I met 3 people who have always stood out in my mind for their friendliness and advice. They seemed to know I didn't know many people and made a point to welcome me.

First was Josephine. I used to call her "blue shoes" before I finally learned her name. She's in her sixties (which you'd NEVER believe) and had won Grand Masters. As she stood on the stage in front of my husband and I, Bobby leaned over to me and whispered "Look at her legs!! Fantastic"!!!! LOL...I agreed. Josephine is a beautiful woman, inside and out and I am so proud to be her friend. We joked yesterday about it being our anniversary, but in my heart I know we were meant to be friends. Love her!

Second person I met was Chuck. He's a JOKERRRR!!! LOL...we talked for awhile while waiting for awards to start. He told us a few stories about his running days. In fact, I talked him into telling me his most favorite running story EVER because I wanted to compile stories for a journal. Chuck is a fun runner. I always look forward to seeing him at the races. He is another favorite of mine.

Third person I met that day was Dick Shank. As I was remembering him last week, I realized I had not seen or talked with him in quite a while. I figured it was because I'd been sick last year and somehow missed him at the few races I did make it to. Luckily, we were connected through the yahoo Zoomers page and I had his email. I shot an email to him last week asking if he'd be at the Lamarque run. A few days later I was happy to see he'd responded to my email!! I happily opened the reply and instantly felt the tears come. The response was from Dick's wife Eileen. She said she was sorry to have to tell me that Dick had died of cancer last September. No. I am so sorry I didn't try to contact him sooner. I wish I had been able to tell him what a wonderful person he was and even though we didn't know each other really well, he made a lasting impression on me. Dick was in his 80's, very tall and a great runner. He told me he saw potential in me, that he thought I was a natural. He told me to stick with it. He said I'd get faster before I knew it. I can picture Dick and Eileen with their friendly smiles and welcoming words like it was yesterday. I feel sad, but glad I had the chance to meet Dick.

The running world, the whole world, has lost a special man to cancer once again. Dick, you may be gone but you'll never be forgotten. May you rest in peace, no more pain or sickness. Lamarque 5K was not the same without you.

River, Roots and Ruts Race Report (LATE)

For some reason the pics won't let me edit....so they're backward (time-wise...end first) !!!!!!

Frank, Kim and Ed

Kim

In case you missed the last pic....Kim again

Scott crossing finish line!!! YAY!!!!!!! 2:09 finish!!!

Scott ans Kim crossing finish line!!!

And he's OFF!!!!! GO SCOTT!!!!!

Frozen fingers chip exchange!!! BRRRRR!!!

I couldn't undo the velcro...haha!!!

Scott waiting patiently and freezing.

Scott at a NOT FUNNY sign..ha!

And we're off and running!!!!

Crazy half naked kids. Where are their mothers????

Scott and Kim at the finish! Did I mention 2:09???

Brrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Getting ready...do I look happy or what?????

Jan 3rd I got an email from Sherry that she was injured and unable to run this relay with her husband. She was looking for a replacement partner for Scott and was anyone interested? !!!!!!! I immediatley wanted to do it, but I saw that this message had gone out to a few people and I was just reading it about 10 hours late. Feeling bummed, I logged off. Thought about it and logged back in. I figured the spot would be covered, but just in case I shot a reply saying I'd love to do it if they still needed a partner. Unbelievably, I got a message from Sherry that the spot was still open and I had it if I wanted it!!!! YAY!!!!

This race is very, very popular and had filled up a while ago. It's a major trail run that I honestly would never have signed up for because of my balance issues and numb feet. Those two troubles equal BADNESS on a trail...LOL...but I've been feeling FABULOUS the last 2 months, balance and leg/feet pain have been much improved so I WAS IN! Sherry and Scott know I've just returned to training and they understood my times might be blah considering I never trail run, but their optamism inspired me. Gave me mucho confidence. Sherry repeatedly told me to run it as a "fun run" and not worry about times. Yeah right...lol...I reminded her we were both cut from the same cloth and I was planning to run my ass off. Especially since I'd be wearing HER NAME!! Extra pressure!!!

We drove together and arrived at the park at about 35 degrees. Yes. 35 freezing degrees. Oh, and it was about 6:30am. Sherry and Scott gave me the first leg which was 6 miles and flatter. (thank you guys again). The track kids were in shirts only and as a mother, I wanted to cover them with blankets. Crazy kids. I saw 2 of my favorite friends!!! Ed and frank were there for the relay too...I was thrilled to see them. We saw a few others that we know, and I met Sondra's brother too.

We all lined up at the start, not minding for once that we were crunched together. Did I mention it was freezing??? I opted to keep my long sleeved t-shirt on over my running top and I'm glad I did. The first 3/4 mile was pretty flat but winding, pace was about 8:30. Then I hit a mountain. I went easy for the first 2 because I have a full mary in 7 weeks (didn't want an injury) but the third mountain looked like I'd need some momentum. I flew up to the top so fast that I found myself in the air looking down the steep decline! It was exhilerating!!!! I almost fell running down that, but I managed to stay on my feet.

The path got very narrow and I found myself stuck behind a woman for awhile. Finally the path widened and I kinda yelled out "passing on your left!" and heard an echo of that about 6 times behind me...lol. She let us go and I let the people behind me pass. I had enough pressure running for Sherry, I didn't need the 6 pairs of feet stomping behind me...lol

I was averaging about a 9 minute pace, but I really started bowing to the steep hills by mile 3 or so. It wouldn't be worth missing my full mary. There were a few very cool turns that actually went around the base of a hill...like running on the inside of a bowl! The woods and path made for a relaxing atmosphere but the cold was, well...cold. At one point I tried to blow on my frozen fingers but the air turned cold before it hit my hands. My right foot was numb and the big toe was KILLING me. I knew it was the cold.

A couple times I could have gone off track but thankfully a man in a bright orange t-shirt was ahead of me and I could catch glimpses of him enough to follow. By 5.5 miles in, I could hear people cheering so I knew I was close. I stayed steady watching for a clearing for the chip exchange. As I shot down a hill, I heard my name and was shocked to see Sherry and Scott IN THE WOODS! No clearing...just a wider path for the trade...I almost ran past them but Scott reached out and literally pulled me off the trail....Hhahaha! My hands were so frozen I couldn't undo the velcro fastening for the chip...brrrrrr!!! I made that in about 61 minutes. Not bad!

Scott took off, glad to be running instead of standing in the cold. Sherry had my sweatshirt with her and I happily put that back on! Then we walked to the fnish line to wait for Scott.

Scott had the last leg, which was 7.1 miles and much harder. After about an hour, I left Sherry at the finish line and walked to the 13 mile post so I could run in with Scott. He came flying around the corner and I yelled "How'd it go???" I'm laughing NOW, but he yelled right back..."That SUCKED!!!!""" In that split second I thought 2 things at the same time....1) Poor Scott and 2) Thank God I had the first leg!! Isn't that awful???? But he's a way better athlete so it was kind of even LMAO!!! Just kidding Scottt....heehee!!! (about the fair part, cuz he is a better athlete)

Scott came in at 68 minutes, giving us a 2:09 finish time!!! AWESOME!!! We came in 4th for mixed relay too!! We were very pleased!! I just had the best time running that relay. Great friends, wonderful opportunity and what a cool trail that was. I am now a trail lover! Sherry assures me I did her name proud and for that I'm so happy. I got to keep the finishers medal, it's made from recycled glass! I'll get a pic of it... We hit a stop for hot coffee for the ride home. We sooo needed to defrost! I was sick for 3-4 days with a bad cold after that, but it was worth it.

Thank you Sherry and Scott, for the great time, the opportunity to run a race I never would have signed up for and for our friendship. And guess what? I'm STILL smiling!!