January is coming to an end, already!

Here we are almost a 12^th of the way done with the year already! It is nice starting off a new year, last year’s headaches are over and this year has a whole new feel to it.

Trying to start off on the right foot I am happy to report I enjoyed a nice race weekend where I completed 42.4 miles over a three day period (5K on Friday, half marathon on Saturday and full marathon on Sunday). I had to walk the majority of it, but I really enjoyed it. Then I got to spend time with my family which made it even better!

I have signed up for the majority of my races for the year already. Since I will be doing a full Ironman next year (yes, I am starting to get excited) I am pulling my attention to bike a little more this year than I have in the past. Since I have a century ride in June I am working on getting my toosh ready! I have a whole two triathlons on the books this year (one sprint, one half ironman) and come runs. I only have one more marathon left this year and that isn’t until October. I have 96.2 run racing miles left this year!

For better or worse I found out the day after I got back from the race weekend vacation that I do have both lupus and RA, which that does have some baring on my races but I will try my best to make sure it doesn’t stop me completely. I understand that I MUST listen to my body and when I have to take a day or two off, I had better do it or I will get stuck take a month or two off (that would not make me happy!).

Next on the race schedule is a 5K and that isn’t until March!!! I am still putting some running time in, ok, not right now because I have been hit by the nasty crud that is going around, but I have been putting time in on the treadmill! Hopefully after a few days sleep I will be able to get back on schedule!

One weekend 42.4 miles

Once again I manged to make it through another Goofy Challenge. Actually I completed the Dopey Challenge; I did Goofy plus the 5k! All in all it was a great race weekend.

Friday, we woke up at around 4am, we got on the bus around 5 and hung out at the start line until the race started at 7am. Cuervo was up with me and Jose was back with my sister. As soon as we hit the start line Cuervo took off (kind of expected that). I stuck to my plan. I was going to run/walk, take it nice and easy. I stopped to get a picture with Little Chef (the rat from Ratatouille), got the the finish line feeling great, got my medal, my snack bag and started looking from everyone else. While I was in the picture line Jose found me. I stopped at a security guard and asked for help finding Cuervo (mention the words 'bipolar' and 'no meds yet' people get very helpful!). My sister finished and sent me a text letting me know that she had seen Cuervo (he was cheering her on as she crossed the finish line) but didn't know where he had gone. We started really looking for him (a little on the panicked side), I found someone who was willing to page him, but got a text from my sister saying she has him and we are all good and he was fine (he didn't start freaking out, which is something he has been known to do). We got back to the room, all cleaned up and continued with out day!

Saturday we woke up at a disgusting time (2am), we were on the bus by 3 am. I decided to wear my CW-X tights, with Nike pants over the top with a Under Armor bra and shirt. The race send off was great; fireworks and the works! I have to say, this is one of my favorite courses. Again, I took it nice and slow, I kept a very close eye on how much water I was drinking (I have to be very careful not to over hydrate, on the same token, I have to make sure I don't get dehydrated). I had my sharkies with me, I had forgotten about them until about mile 8. I crossed the finish line feeling good. Ok, my feet were a little sore (my heel has been pissy lately).

Sunday morning was another morning of waking up at an obscene time. Once again, everyone got up at 2 am, on the bus by 3. Both mornings I did get the marathon breakfast boxes (banana, bagel, peanut butter, water and granola bar). I wore my new Running Girl capri running skirt (I know, you shouldn't wear anything new on race day, I was already chafing from Saturday, I didn't care!), my “Chick Interrupted” t-shirt and my CW-X bra. I felt great the first 10 miles. I was still feeling strong my mile 13. I started having issues about 15 or so, my knee got a little grouchy. Mile 20 my feet were starting to get mad. I met a gentleman who did the Boulder Boulder, talked to him for a little ways. I was at Mile 21 before I knew it (mile 20 – 21 was the boring mile). I was at mile 23 and met a nice kid who said pretty soon he will prove a lot of people wrong (Tyler had been told by a lot of people that he would not be able to complete a marathon). My iPod and my watch both died before left him. I started pacing a local runner who had also done all three races. We talked to each other until we hit the finish area, I had to do my usual sprint across the line. Yes, I am suffering from some very uncomfortable chaffing, I have had to wear my knee brace the past few days and my feet (mostly my heels) are very sore but I feel good. I am glad I did it, I wish that I didn't deal with a flare up this past October/November, but I over came it.

I was very slow all three races, but I am glad I took it easy, I am glad I knew my body was not at 100% and, for once, I listened to it.

Next on my agenda is a century ride, but that isn't for a few months. I will not be running another marathon until October. I am kind of excited turning my focus to another spot, but I will still be putting in a few miles each week. I will also be adding swimming back in, assuming my shoulder plays nice.

Family during the holidays

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
I realize I have been hiding for a while, but I have had issues I am still trying to come to terms with. That is not the point right now. I was at Starbucks this morning and I asked one of the baristas how her Christmas was. She said it was great because her family is all of about 4 minutes away. That got me to thinking about the holidays and family. I live in a military town, it is rare to have family nearby, but then again in this day and age, military or not most of us do not live near our families. I have one friend stationed in Germany who had to face the weather in Europe to come home for the holidays. I, however, live all of about six miles away from my parents (I know this because I will run to their house, get a drink of water and run home!). My parents are a huge part of my family. My boys go to church with my dad. My mom (the true matriarch of the family) drives my boys to appointments when I can’t because of work, watches them for me when they are sick (unless it is the stomach bug then they are all mine!). When I need some ‘me’ time, my parents invite the boys over to their house, and so on. This year my parents are going on a nice long vacation, all my mom really wanted for Christmas was to go out for dinner. She didn’t want to cook, she didn’t want to clean, she wanted to go out and enjoy herself and be able to get ready for her trip with nothing to worry about. So, that is what we gave her. Ok, it cost over $200, but for everything she does for me, it was well worth it to see how happy she was!
My sister gets to play a major role in my children’s lives. Ok, we live with her, she is like their second mom. We joke around about my younger son being her child. This kid has been caught so many times curled up in the bathroom in the middle of the night reading (we keep the bathroom light on), my sister was caught a time or two doing the exact same thing. A lot of his oddities are similar to my sister’s! My older son, is a (not so) little version of me. He tries a lot of the same antics I used to pull, and to bad for him, I know them so he doesn’t get away with them, but he does get credit for trying!
My family might drive me nuts on a regular basis but I think I would truly be lost without them. I kind of like living close to them (not that I wouldn’t move if the opportunity presented itself, but I am grateful for having them near).
I wish everyone a happy New Year!

Update

Ok, it has been a while since I posted, but I swear I have a good reason! I almost want to say all hell has been breaking loose, but it is more like all hell is going in the right direction!
Not only was last Wednesday my birthday, I managed to be stupid enough to schedule my follow up appointment on that day (I know, what was I thinking!). Prior to my appointment I received a call from the doc’s office telling me my Vitamin D was low and I need to start taking supplements NOW! I of course googled it and found out Vitamin D (specially D3 [the one I was low on]) is from the sun. Hello, I run marathons and triathlons, I get plenty of sun time (and most of the time I only put sunscreen on my face!). Then I looked further into it “what causes vitamin D deficieny?” my friend google told me, cancer, cancer, cancer, lupus, cancer. Great! And I am going to the doc’s office on my birthday why? Somehow I managed to clear my head and figured if it were that bad, well they would call me in sooner!
Wednesday morning I dropped off my kids and headed to the gym. I only did 5 miles, my HR spiked to over 180 and averaged in the 170s! WHAT???? I never spike higher than the 170s and average in the 150s (max). Next I went to the doc…
Not only was Vitamin D low, my B12 was low too! My ANA level is still making the doc suspect lupus and I have a referral to a rheumatologist (aka rheumy). My x-rays looked good (YAY! No arthritis!), I was told to up my one of my meds and come back in a month.
Then Saturday came around (still tired as all get out), my sister, my kids and I went out to pick up a few things. I had to hold on to my younger son for dear life so I would fall over! He left me to get something, I reached out to grab something and my sister had to grab me before I fell. I called my doc back on Monday and he said lower the dosage back to what it was! He called me back into his office yesterday (still having dizzy issues, but rest of the problems were kind of calming down), took me off that medicine completely (but he is pretty sure that is not what is causing it), just in case! He also put me on an anti-dizzy medicine to see if that helps. No I am just waiting for my rheumy appt to be scheduled. First they look at my file (should be done beginning of next week), then I get a priority level, then I get scheduled (late December/early January). Until then I do what I can and hang on for the ride.
I have had to modify my training a lot lately. Trying to be realistic; for the first 10 miles, I will run a song, walk a song. After 10 miles, I will run one song every mile. I promised my sister I will not hit my favorite trail in case I need emergency medical transportation! My favorite trail can go miles with no easy road access. Saturday I will run around my neighborhood, Sunday I will leave my neighborhood, but both days I will be doing sidewalk runs. If I didn’t agree to this I have a feeling my sister would have hidden my running shoes!

I am back!

I have now put 7 miles under my belt for the week so far and I feel great! The last two weeks kicked my butt and for once I actually listened to my body! I made it to the treadmill yesterday and got 3 miles in, today I managed to get 4 in on the elliptical machine; I was very careful not to use the handle things!
I have seventy odd days until race weekend and I am now thinking about what to wear! I have fallen madly in love with my CW-X tights, no matter what I wear I always have them on underneath! Since this will be a race weekend (not just a one race thing) I will be making sure my legs get all the support possible! With that said, the question is what to wear over the top! Trust me, me in just running tights – not a pretty site (I did do that once, and yea, never again!). I am a fan of running skirts, sadly SkirtSports’ skirts don’t work right on me (if they fit my thighs, the waste falls down!). I have been considering giving Running Skirts a shot (I love their purple plaid skirt). I have found a few shirts I will probably get for that weekend. I would love some input on Running Skirts products.
Tonight I go pick up my car from the garage (it died last night while I was trying to leave work!), then off to class and then home zzzzzzzz!

Waiting and Training and Waiting and...

At this point in time I am only get tidbits of information. I went to PT and luckily he needed my x-rays so I was able to get the results from him and it is a good thing he is as cute as he is otherwise I would have thrown something at him! My x-rays looked good, bones are good, spacing of my vertebra are all good. In the same breath he said he didn’t expect to see anything with just an x-ray. Then why waste my insurance on them? Talk about frustrating! But I am happy with those results, that means no arthritis!
I spent the majority of the weekend, again, sleeping in and taking everything slow and not even really looking at my running shoes. I did think about the fact I was laying in bed being completely lazy while the Denver marathon was off and going, then I fell asleep again! I did find out that lupus flair ups are even worse one week prior to that time of month, which would explain a lot! This morning when I got out of bed I felt so much better! I have energy, I still have a little bit of pain, but it is manageable without the happy pills.
I finally got a call from the doc’s office telling me I need to start taking Vitamin D right now! I am as low as I can go without falling out of the healthy range. Rest of my results the doctor will discuss with me when I go in next week. I don’t like that, but I can live with it. Today is the first day in a while I actually feel like climbing on the treadmill. I will be smart and walk more than run (taking it nice and easy), depending on how this week goes, I might have to pull my training from Intermediate II down to Intermediate I . Or even scrap that and go to Runner’s World and create a 12 week program and kind start at square one again. After looking at the two schedules, I am pretty sure at a minimum I will go from the Intermediate II to a modified Intermediate I

I have to say, this whole Lupus thing has, for the first time ever, got me to slow down and listen to my body. I have to know when I truly don’t feel well vs. just not wanting to do something. The past two weeks I have felt like crap and instead of trying to tell myself ‘you are fine, just push through it’ I am now able to look forward and keep my excitement about my upcoming race. I am still tender but I am not landing myself on the bench! Oh! And PT on Friday – wonderful! He took it nice and gentle and the grinding in my neck has decreased, my constant headache is just annoying now and not painful!

Self Assessment

I am still waiting for answers, this sucks. I know they had my x-rays back on Wednesday, and the lab said most of the results are less than a 24 hour turn around. I have an appointment on the 27th but that is over a week and a half away (and if it is anything other than ‘you are perfectly healthy’ I don’t want to hear it on my birthday!). “The results are sitting on the doctor’s desk and blah, blah, blah” Get them off the doctor’s desk and tell me what the hell is going on! Sorry, this is really getting to me! I will know my x-ray results this afternoon because I told the doc’s office that my PT wants a copy (well, he does!) luckily I see him this afternoon.
I am going to try to head out for some miles this weekend. If I was the whole way, fine! I plan on taking it nice and easy, if I can run a little bit without hurting I will do so. I just have to get out and get moving, the stationary bike SUCKS! According to my training schedule I have 7 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday. I will do what I can and not worry about the rest, if I need to down grade my training plan I will. I am not going to kill myself just to get my miles in. If need be I will train to WALK the races. It is all about having fun.
On a sort of unrelated note, it is Self Assessment time at work. One of my greatest qualities is my attitude/personality. I am always happy go lucky and willing to help anyone and everyone. This past year, Jose has been in the ER twice, urgent care twice, a ton of other things going on. Cuervo has been to urgent care once, had a run in with the cops/paramedics/firemen. My grandfather passed away. I found out there is a very good chance I have lupus, my back went nuts (right in the middle of trying to get a proposal out), my baby girl (canine) died… The list goes on and on, yet somehow I have managed to keep my happy go lucky façade at work even though all I really want to do is break down and cry or scream or tell certain individuals where to shove it! My supervisor (officially she has no right being a supervisor, but my official supervisor has put her in that position) didn’t even realize I was even in any pain when my back went out until I called her and told her I had been put on bed rest until further notice (most of my co-workers saw/commented how stiff I was). I do have to say, this woman is very oblivious about what is going on unless it directly affects her. I understand that is how some people are, I am just not that way. I also have the ability of getting stuff done fast because I have gotten to know people and they are more often than not more than happy to help me. My work signature block quote says Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle ~James M. Barrie you also never know when you might need their help! Plus it is just plain better to be nice to people!