"Don't let the fat chick beat you"?

I have been racing for about 5 years now. I am not a typical runner or even triathlete. I fight with serious medical conditions every step of the way, but each step makes me stronger. I have two boys both with special needs and I have learned to chalk that up to making me stronger as well.


It is with sad heart that I must report that lupus has won the battle this year, but trust me when I say the war is far from over! My racing days are not over by any stretch of the imagination. This is just a minor setback that will make me stronger.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Condescending

28 April 2012

I am not sure why there are times when people, who don’t mean to be, sound down right antagonistic, while others don’t.  The week before I did Moab, I was slower than dirt on the treadmill and I just wasn’t feeling it.  I was in the locker room getting changed and this woman made a comment that I motivated her to keep going.  I am sure she didn’t mean it this way, but all I could hear was I didn’t want to let the fat chick out do me on the treadmill so I kept going. She went on to talk about half marathons and blah, blah, blah.  For whatever reason it stuck me wrong.  And I commented back about the fact I have already completed around 10 marathons at which point her jaw dropped! This week, on Wednesday, I wasn’t feeling it, but I went ahead and was working on my lower body weights and this older gentlemen who was obviously a weight lifter made a comment about keep up the good work or something like that.  For whatever reason I appreciated that comment.  I don’t know. 

I want to say this week was better than last! The schedule was pretty much the same, to a degree. 

Cardio
Weights
Monday
Treadmill
Swimming
Lower body
Tuesday
Treadmill
Spinning
Upper body
Wednesday
Treadmill
Swimming
Lower body
Thursday
Treadmill (outside and inside!!!!)
Upper body
Friday
Yoga
OFF!
Saturday
10 miles
Off!
Sunday
Off!!!!!
Off!




Last weekend my car crapped out again (same thing happened less than two months ago) so of course it went back to the garage… lucky for me the garage is less than three miles away so when it was time to pick up my car (again) I just worked it into my training session! I did half of my run on Thursday outside and the other half inside!  The bad thing is on my way to school less than two hours later I was zooming down the interstate and my tire shredded!  I was so greatful I got my amazing workout in otherwise I don’t think I would have been that calm!
 

Tomorrow is a rest day and I think my body is really looking forward to it! Next weekend I am hoping to be running a half marathon, but it is up to my sister to determine if she thinks I can handle it (I will try to push myself to hard)







~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Weekly wrap up

24 Apr 12

Ok, so I am a little late… a lot has been going on.  First off last week’s training was AWESOME!!!!! I ran just shy of 20 miles! 


Cardio
Weights
Monday
Treadmill
Swimming
Lower body
Tuesday
Treadmill
Spinning
Upper body
Wednesday
Treadmill
Swimming
Lower body
Thursday
Treadmill
Upper body
Friday
OFF!
OFF!
Saturday
8 miles (treadmill)
Off!
Sunday
Spin
Off!



This week, the plan is to do the same thing as last week with two minor changes… my long run will be 10 (ish) miles this week and I want to get a yoga class in there somewhere. 

With that all said and done the job search continues… I really enjoy window shopping, mostly at my favorite sporting good sites. On one of my more frequented sites I notice a little thing at the bottom of the page a little thing about employment, a Creative Marketing Manager to be exact.  You had better believe I sent my resume in!  If I were to get a job like that I would be ecstatic, if not I would fully understand, but it is still nice to dream!

Oh! And last week I lost 6.4 pounds!




~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Friday, April 20, 2012

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my Gosh!

20 Apr 12
I almost feel like a little kid getting ready for Christmas… Six months from right now I will be in the middle of my first FULL iron distance triathlon.  After this week of training (which isn’t even complete yet) I am feeling really good about this race. 

I realize today is only Friday, but I would put this week of training WAY up there on the scale of awesomeness.  So far I have more than 11 miles on the treadmill, 2 ½ miles in the pool and an butt kicker of a spin class done.  I had planned on hitting a yoga class today, but the day got filled with medical stuff, which isn’t a bad thing.  Tomorrow is my long run, I am supposed to meet with the ladies of the BRC Fit group, but I am not sure my lungs would be happy if I tried to do a long run in Garden of the Gods, so I might just hit my favorite trail and keep it nice and easy.  Sunday depending on how I am feeling, I will either head up north to cheer on a friend or I will hit the trails on my bike.  I guess we will have to see. 

Six months… You hear me???? SIX MONTHS… I can’t wait!

Oh! And I have successfully written down everything I have consumed to far this week AND only had one soda a day!

Please keep them in your prayers!





~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Monday, April 16, 2012

Perspective

16 Apr 12

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

I the past month there have been at least two occasions when I have wanted to walk up to a complete stranger (or someone I had just met) and given them a hug (and one big hug to a friend).  I try to be nice to everyone, sometimes it doesn’t work so well (nobody’s perfect!) but it is something I do honestly try to do.  Today was a two hug day (didn’t give them, but sure wanted to).  The first one was an old man at the VA who was being spoken to by his doctor(????) in the hallway, he was being told that one of his numbers was way to high and he is running the risk of bleeding to death and blah, blah, blah.  The doc was asking him if there has been any changes she was not aware of; alcohol use, herbal tea, diet change, etc.  After a little pause, he told her his wife hasn’t been well lately.  Long story short, I have no idea what his medical issue is, nor is it really relevant, this poor man was just told he is in dangerous condition and all I could think about was this poor guy was just given horrific news and with his wife not feeling well, what are the chances he is just going to bottle it up and not tell her so she can help.  I know that is what BOTH my parents would do! It made me think about my kidneys and liver.  Mine are just in bad shape, they still work and knowing they aren’t perfect scared the crap out of me and I basically went crying to my family, I can’t imagine getting worse news and not having anyone to turn to. 

To make it a two hug day, a friend who is currently deployed in Afghanistan has had a REALLY rough week, and this is in addition to all the stress he is under over there.  His cousin died… then he finds out that his grandfather’s cancer has spread to far.  Really???

All I can say is…



Oh! And please keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. 




~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Toys!

16 Apr 12

I am not sure how runners/triathletes survived all those years ago.  I mean, when I first started running there was no such thing as an iPod!  Ok, when I first started running seriously anything over a half a mile was just plain straight out stupid! I was a sprinter, give me a break! When I started going further distances I had a nifty little Walkman!  But really I didn’t run with it often, then there was the diskman which really wasn’t conducive for running because the CD would skip.  Six years ago I got my grubby little hands on my very first iPod, ok, it was my sister’s but she was nice enough to share!  We have always had watches, and now we have GPS watches that can do all but do the running for you!  Heart rate monitors, moisture wicking clothes…

People complain about how boring running is without music, which by the way is against USAT regulations (the running with music part, they could care less if you find it boring).  On a treadmill I completely agree with this, on the trails it is easier to go without the music.  The bike, I will wear headphones on a spin bike and only a spin bike.  Once I am on my road bike forget it, it is way too much of a safety hazard.  To me it that isn’t a huge deal.  Now, what really needs music is swimming!  I have tried singing while I swim, but I almost drown! Thanks to H2O Audio that has been solved.  They have made this fabulous little thingy that you can put an iPod in and go swimming!  Now, you can’t just jump in the pool and you are good to go. Once you get everything situated you can start rocking you swim! 

Every time I head out to the pool I have my handy swim bag with me.  Ok, yes, if you want to be frugal you can get away with just a swim suit.  But then your eyes get all red and the chlorine in your hair, and blah, blah, blah.  So I took a long hard look at my swim bag… I have my swim fins, Forearm Fulcrums, swim paddles, lap counter, GPS watch, Swim cap (or two), goggles, my H2O Audio thingy (which you can get cheaper at amazon.com), my little towel thingy.  Oh, and of course my swim workout book, pages are water proof and has a whole bunch of workouts listed.  Do I really need all this stuff??? Yea, I do!  Of course I do!

Today’s gym visit was wonderful!  I had some wardrobe issues while on the treadmill so I only did 30 minutes, I got lower body weight session in and the I decided it was time to try to drown myself in the pool, not really.  I enjoyed a comfortable mile in the pool.  My shoulder didn’t act up which made me so happy!

Tomorrow the goal is treadmill with upper body weights and then spin class.





~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sugar and Spice and Nothing Made of Salt

15 Apr 12

Everyone once in a while (seems more often at times) you end up with a week of complete and absolute upheaval, that was last week.  Health wise I am currently a guinea pig, I am off one med (that messes with lungs and liver), I get all sorts of lab work (I really wish they would learn I need those liquids too!), x-rays, EKGs and blah, blah, blah.  We shall see how all that turns out.
Training wise, this week went pretty well, sort of.  I got treadmill, spin, swimming and yoga in this week. I was supposed to run with the run group on Saturday, but Freddie had different plans! He decided to lay on my alarm so it didn’t go off.  But, Jose and I did some weight lifting in the way of yard work.

Today I experience something new…  I am used to the fact that if I eat something with a higher salt content my fingers turn into sausages.  Today, I was supposed to have lunch with my family (parents, sister and kiddos) but the place we were going is closed on Sundays! So my mom and dad decided to go home, but my kiddos were still hungry so we ended up at their favorite Chinese place.  Well, I know I have to be careful today I got a rude wakeup call to just how much attention I need to pay.  In less than an hour after eating I was feeling like crap, my legs were swelling and it was just no fun.  My legs are still swollen, but they are calming down some, I am hoping they will be all better tomorrow.  I return to my rheumy next week and this is something I will be bringing up with him. 

This week I planned on starting the Body for Life Challenge, but the protein drinks they require participates to use have to much sodium for me, so that is not going to happen.  I still want to do something similar, but it will be a slightly modified version.  I too before pictures and there is no way in hell I am posting them!

Tomorrow is Day 1, Week 1! Goal this week – 5 days of training!



~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Friday, April 6, 2012

Less than 200 days and counting


6 April 2012

According to my countdown I have 198 day, 13 hours and well and some change until my first iron distance triathlon. I have a long way to go, but I know I will be successful in crossing that finish line with my head held high!

Today I didn’t make it to the gym, Cuervo is swinging to hard and the school gets upset when he loses it and they can’t reach me.  So Freddie, Charlie and I have come up with a solution.  I am enjoying watching MASH, between each episode I take one of them out for our mile loop.  We shall see how many miles I have done by the time kiddos come home.  Charlie will only get a lap or two once kids start getting out of school I can’t take him out anymore, he isn’t very social with strangers. 

Next week school starts and it will be a change in schedule.  Oh well, hopefully I will get some pool time this weekend. 

Well, MASH is over and it is Charlie’s turn!




~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Thursday, April 5, 2012

American Soldier

5 April 2012


This picture was taken the day I left Iraq in 2004.
Last night one of my Facebook friends (the mother of a friend of mine) posted “Dear God in heaven, please watch over Michael, keep him safe…”and it got me to thinking.  This lady has three kids, one daughter (teacher) and two sons (soldiers), I spoke to her on the one once (a long time ago) and she is the sweetest person I have ever I have ever had the chance to speak to.  She has waved good bye to both of her boys multiple times as they were sent overseas to either Iraq or Afghanistan.  I spent 14 months in Iraq with her older son way back when, so I have somewhat of an understanding what life is like over there. When I was deployed my mom and dad took my kids for me and worried every second of every day I was gone.  She gets the privilege of dealing worrying about two children being in harm’s way.  

These are some of the guys (and gal) I worked with.
As I type this I am sitting on my bed with my dogs curled up on either side of me, fan blowing because it is a little warm, TV on, flushing toilet less than 15 feet away, running water and, well, do I really need to go on?  Oh! And there are no explosions going off anywhere near me! I hear people complaining about stupid stuff, and I am just as guilty as the next guy, and there are people who make these issues look so petty it isn’t even funny.  I was medically discharged from the military because of a non-combat related injury (nerve damage) I sustained while in Iraq. At first I was bitter and I had nothing respectful to say.  After a fairly short period of time I finally realized that not only did I come home alive I came back with all my limbs attached.  I realized that people I care about are going back time and time and time again.  Some of them are coming back with the majority of their marbles missing.  Most are coming back with nightmares. 

I would love for everyone to take a moment and actually think about how lucky we are over here safe.  Think about what these men and women are doing for us. I do not care if you agree with the reason we are in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, think about the service members.  Think about their loved ones. 

Any and all prayers for the soldiers currently serving, a special prayer for those who are serving in harm’s way, and a special mention for Michael, Carl and AJ would be greatly appreciated.





~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Colorado Weather

4 April 2012
If there is one thing I have learned over the past almost 13 years is never make solidified plans.  I love going to Tuesday morning spin class.  Thanks to the Colorado weather my kiddos had a snow day yesterday, we didn’t get much snow but it was bitter. I figured we would use it as a lazy day, until my afternoon VA appointment.  Jose enjoyed watching TV and Cuervo decided it was his job to keep the fur kids warm (he curled up with them and took a nap). 

This morning I watched the news through a very blurry cracked eye, school was on!!!!!!  The boys got off to school with no drama and then it was my turn to get up and get moving.  Luckily there was an 8:45 spin class, it wasn’t with Tony, but I really wanted to get a spin class in so I cheated on Tony.  I love Tony’s personality, he makes the class so much fun! Tim, on the other hand… I was texting an old friend through ¾ of the class, but I did get a good sweat in.  After class I hit the treadmill for a turtle pace mile.  My right foot was a little cranky for a bit, but soon got over it.  As I was leaving the gym I realized I was missing my little gym buddy.  Ok, he and I have a lot of work to do when it comes to proper weight training, but it is kind of nice to have him there with me.  It will be interesting once Cuervo can go in that area too! 

Oh well, tomorrow… I don’t know what I want to do.  Spin class is out, I can’t stand that instructor – WAY to screechy! Hot yoga is a possibility.  I will get my turtle treadmill (or outside) time in I am thinking about a nice swim, I don’t’ know.  Tomorrow will tell!



~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Lupus Day Proclamation

3 April 2012
I am a firm believer in advocacy.  When I started racing I would make sure I would get at least one cancer racer a year because both my grandfather and my uncle died as a result of cancer.  I am still a HUGE supporter of Susan G. Komen, I try to do Tri for the Cure every year and last year I did Ride for the Cure (really enjoyed it).

It has been about four year since a doctor started talking to me about the possibility of having an autoimmune disease.  When the doc started mentioning Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) all I could see was my life as I knew it was over.  When the RA blood test came back negative I assumed I was in the free and clear. I tried to ignore the fact that things were not right, but I knew damn well that there was something going on with my body.  Nearly a year later my primary care doc started putting one and one together and sent me to lab for a FULL work-up… My blood work came back and low and behold her suspensions were confirmed.  She asked if anyone in my family had an autoimmune disease, I had no idea what she was talking about.  She explained that I was showing signs of having lupus, but wanted to recheck my blood work in a few months.  I started doing research and not liking the answers I was finding.  Unfortunately there was no celebrity spokesperson for autoimmune diseases.  A few months later my test results were the same.  Since my doc is only a family practice doctor (and the best damn one I have ever met) she couldn’t officially diagnose me.  She put in a referral for a rheumatologist to figure out for certain if she was correct with her suspected diagnosis of lupus.  I did not realize just how long the wait would be, I figured a few weeks maybe a month, yea, right! It was a few months! While I was waiting I went into a flare up (not realizing what was going on at the time).  I hurt all over, I could not get rid of the feeling that an elephant was sitting on my chest, it was horrible!  When I finally got into see the rheumy I got to enjoy all the tests all over again (she wanted to make sure the lab didn’t just mess up), made me fill out an insane questionnaire, and politely informed me that I had better keep my job (with medical insurance) because I was no longer insurable.  Her bedside manor was horrible, she did, however, confirm the diagnosis of lupus.  After my second appointment I received a letter stating she would no longer be my rheumy and I had 30 days to find a new doctor, no reason was given.  After googling her I found out this is not an uncommon practice of hers.  Luckily there was a rheumy in my primary doc’s building and he was able to get in me within a couple of months! His whole office is great!  I have been with him ever since, I did get lectured when I ended up in the ER due to back pain and did not notify him right away, but I should have known better.

Long story short, hmmm according to my word count I am already over 500 words, so I guess it is to late for that!!!!!  Sadly, lupus is not a well-known disease.  Even sadder there is no cure.  My goal is to spread the word about lupus as much as I can.  One of the groups I support is Cure4Lupus.org, they are urging people to request a proclamation from their states’ governor to make 10 May 12 Lupus Day.  I submitted my on Sunday and got my proclamation today! I was so excited! So, here in Colorado the 12th of May 2012 is Lupus Day!



~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~

Monday, April 2, 2012

Flying dog!!!!!

2 April 2012
Spring break is now over and the kiddos are back in school!  Last week started off really well and then it went downhill! Wednesday Jose woke up in tears! No, it wasn’t because I tried to kill him the previous two days. He was crying because his ear hurt really bad.  The plan was the kiddos were going to head over to G&P’s (grandma/papa’s) to help out again, well, that got changed.  I was able to get an appointment for Jose in the morning, and Cuervo went to G&P’s. Jose had a nasty ear infection and sinus infection.  He decided he wanted a mommy day instead of heading to G&P’s.  Thursday we went over to help a friend with yard work.  In a matter of about 5 hours, we got done what would have taken her weeks!  I made sure Jose and I had plenty of sunscreen on, but I paid the price for spending that much time in the sun.  Friday I went to breakfast with former coworkers and then relaxed rest of the day, the boys and I watched Scooby Doo rest of the day!!!!!!

Saturday (Happy birthday to my dad!!!), I had planned on getting up and hitting the trail for my weekly long run. Yea, I felt like doggy doo! I rolled over and went back to sleep! I got up for my dad’s birthday lunch.  We did make a trip to the hardware store (my front yard doesn’t look really nice and I have big plans for it) to pick up a few things on the way home.  Sunday I wished I could just die!  After getting my boys to my dad for church (it was Palm Sunday they were going to church) I went back to sleep. 
So here we are, spring break is over and the crappy weather is blowing in.  I am feeling better today, so I figured I would take Freddie out for my 3 mile loop… Freddie is a 60 pound boxer, shortly after we got off our street poor Freddie got blown off the curb! I said crappy weather was BLOWING in! He got back up on the sidewalk, turned around and gave me the look of Mommy!!!!! He is fine, he didn’t get hurt (if he did, I wouldn’t have thought it was so funny). Unfortunately my back started going nuts again.  Freddie and I were on the dirt trail and I was bending over trying to stretch my back, we turned around and headed back to the sidewalk to head home and this nice lady stopped and asked if I was ok.  See there are nice people out there!
Tomorrow I think I have an appointment during spin class time, I am not sure, I need to check.  But I will hit the gym, might hit the pool!





~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~