Spring it is NOT

It is April 9th and both our girls had soccer games while it was flurrying! Crazy and insane weather! T2 and her team had a 1-1 tie and T1 and her team had a 3-1 win. They played at the same time in two different locations. Their schedules this season are the most overlapped in a long time and the Chief is at sea and my bestie is a single parent now. To top things off, T2 has three Tuesday night games, which is scout night. But my bestie and I WILL make this work. We always have, we always will.

E.o.t.T.: This… and Fail

“It is funny how when you have autoimmune diseases your normal is the equivalent of someone else’s awful. Which is okay because they shouldn’t have to feel the pain we do or understand it. We wouldn’t wish this pain on anybody.”

Exactly. This. But like my rheumatologist said, “The good thing about running in the cold is that everyone’s joints will ache and you can tell them that this is what you run with every day!”

So I ran a 5K Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis this morning and what a fail.

Let me back up. I had my personal best time at the 5K I ran for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Thought things would just transition right to training for the next race in 8 weeks. Didn’t exactly happen that way. We lost time for one thing or another. Oh, yeah, two incidences of tonsillitis in the month of November. Now I remember.

I remember the first time I tried running a 5K with the Chief walking Crook and Heddie and meeting me back at the car. Not bueno. 35:27 or something like that. 3 minutes slower than my new record. And … I had to walk some. Ugh.

About 10 days ago I developed intense pain in my left hand. Gripping the steering wheel or the bar at the gym made me want to jump out of my skin. And the residual burning pain… for the birds! I knew it wasn’t the bone so I also knew if I went to a clinic and they saw nothing on x-rays, I would be going to an orthopedist anyway. I just went right to the ortho. And yup, bones looked great. “Are you sure it is not numb or tingling?” “Yup. No tingling. Pain and burning.” So the PA went out to consult with the doctor. “She’s describing… Is it possible?….” then loudly from the doctor, “I don’t see why not. It’s entirely possible.”

“So, anatomically hands and feet are the same. Have you ever heard of a neuroma?” I had. My mother had them. In her feet. We’re talking about my hand. “What you’re describing is like that and I checked with Doctor So-and-so to see if he agreed and it is entirely possible that you have a neuroma in your hand.”

Seriously? Can I be any more of a medical freak?

6 days of prednisone to see if we couldn’t get the inflammation under control and no heavy lifting for 1 to 2 weeks. Oh, and don’t make a fist when running (my middle finger presses right on the spot when I make a fist). At first I wasn’t going to take the steroids because I really didn’t have a lot of pain at the appointment. The following morning I was driving the girls to school because I was subbing and I just barely touched the steering wheel and @#$%^&.

T1: Hey, Mom. Don’t use that hand in school. You might say something.

T2: Yeah. You might embarrass me.

Me: Thanks for your concern. Feeling the love.

I took the meds as soon as I got home from the job.

6 days seemed to only barely take the edge off. Of course I still tried benching (less weight though). I thought I’d feel like Wonder Woman like I did back when I took a short course of prednisone when we didn’t know I had PsA. Nope. I was so messed up and exhausted. Not a good week. I did manage to get in a full 5K but I didn’t time it to see where I was at–I was just wanting to get a full 5K in a week before the race. My sprints weren’t bad but I was running into the wind.

The pain is gradually becoming less and less so hopefully I can avoid a cortisone shot. Just the thought of that sends me into an anxiety attack.

Back to the race. I partied the day before. Sodas, caffeine, cookies, whoopie pies, chicken salad, etc. When we came home, I was a little hungry but didn’t eat anything. I couldn’t unwind at all and tossed and turned and finally took a third of a sleeping pill. 7 a.m. came way too early. Should have known when the cold wasn’t making me do the pee-pee dance that I was dehydrated. By mile 1 I was feeling queasy. My blood sugar was dropping fast. I needed more protein last night and perhaps this morning. After the race I was shaking for quite a while as I waiting for the watered down hot chocolate and the delicious scone the Chief and the girls brought me to take effect. Even later at church a friend remarked that I looked pale and puny.

The only thing in my defense is that for an arthritis run, there were way too many hills and there is a feeling amongst even the fastest runners the course was a bit longer than a 5K. I was psyched out by the course–I wish I had been mentally prepared. I couldn’t help it. I had to walk and that is the kiss of death because it hurts so much more to start back up. Everyone is congratulating me for finishing but it doesn’t feel like finishing if I had to walk portions.

Worst time results ever. 😦

P.S. Due to the tonsillitis, I am looking forward to possibly having a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Yeah me.

E.o.t.T.: I DID IT!

“But wait, Let me take a Selfie” Before and After

4 AM and I can’t sleep anymore. I went to bed at 10:30 so the almost 6 hours of sleep is pretty much what I get each night. For once I didn’t try to go back to sleep, knowing if I cat-napped I could wake up even more tired.

5:20 AM I start to get the rest of the family up. I’m showered and I grab some breakfast biscuits and a protein shake. I begin to roll out and stretch. I use the monster band my trainer loaned me to stretch my Achilles and calf muscles, hoping to prevent inflammation.

5:52 AM we drive to downtown and see all the road closures gearing up for the big event. The Chief pulls over and I hop out considering the new traffic patterns. He still has to drop off the girls and then get out of the downtown area to park near the finish line.

6:30 AM It is a chilly morning, about 55 degrees, but I will take it. The 90 degree days the week before had me concerned … I learned I really can’t run in temperatures over 73 degrees. My four friends from childhood find me in the bathroom line. They got me a Captain America head band (because they thought it was Wonder Woman–no joking) but it is the thought that counts. I wear it proudly.

6:50 AM Time for pictures and selfies

6:55 AM Marine Corps Color Guard and National Anthem

7 AM Shot gun start

It was hard to estimate the size of the crowd running the 5K. Official numbers are about 750.

If I would change anything, I would have waited at the back of the crowd because it was almost impossible to start–practically tripping over people who were also struggling or who had chosen to walk. I lost a little time but not much.

I have to dig deep. I had been training for this. 8 weeks of slowly building up to not only running the full 5k but conquering the two notorious hills in the first two miles. I had only gotten up both without stopping once and in the rain. I had completed a 5k just 10 days before with mild hills in 34 minutes so I set a goal for these killer hills of 33-36 minutes.

I left two friends behind. Two others ran with me for a bit. One passed me and I passed the other. I thought about trying to keep up with her but the fear of burning out early on the hills–which she had no idea about–made me stick to my plan and run solo.

I made it up the first, long gradual hill. I grabbed a quick cup of Gatorade and managed one sip before spilling most of it on me.

There was a lady in front of me with neon teal shoes. I matched her pace stride for stride about 4 feet behind her. Could I make it up the second gruelling hill without stopping? Then my tunes changed: first, Glorious Day by Casting Crowns. Not exactly the fastest song to run to but inspiring nonetheless. Then as I was cresting the hill over the highway, God’s Not Dead by the Newsboys.

Thank you, God.

Seriously, my playlist was on shuffle and these were the only two religious songs on it. Anything could have played: Gimme, Gimme, Gimme or Bang a Gong … but these two songs play on the toughest part of the hill. More than a coincidence in my book.

My pacer started to slow down and I knew I needed to crest the hill and take it all the way to the end. I passed her and dug a little deeper. Two ladder trucks had the American Flag suspended over the runners just before they rounded the corner for the final 1.1 miles. Pretty inspiring.

I found the Chief, his brother and the girlfriend standing on the grassy area by the last major intersection before the home stretch. I pumped my fists up in the air. It was the best having Chief there to see me complete something that doesn’t come easy. The Chief started yelling for me to take off my headphones: “Your song! Your song!”

Eye of the Tiger! Playing by the area DJ stationed near the finishing stretch.

I was supposed to find someone ahead of me to try to pass, to push myself to the end. The field was a little wide and I wasn’t sure I could catch anyone. If only I had known my one friend was less than a minute ahead of me. UGH.

My stopwatch read 35:05. I did it and I didn’t walk a single step on my first 5k with hills. And not just any hills.

Official time: 35:03. In my age bracket I am #30 out of 112 (40-49 year-olds). Of my actual age (40) there seem to be only 12 of us and I’m 7th; 4th female.

My friend beat me by less than a minute. Her time was actually the same as my Turkey Trot results which is a flat course. So I guess I should be pretty impressed that with killer hills I only slowed down by less than a minute. If I was faster with mild hills I’m sure with no hills my pace is a bit faster than it used to be.

The Chief thinks it is funny I keep muttering, “I can’t believe L beat me.” In my defense I just discovered she is 5–FIVE–years younger than me. The rest of the friends, also all younger than me, came in behind us.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

 

ESPN Celebrates Veterans Day Live From The United States Merchant Marine Academy | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

ESPN Celebrates Veterans Day Live From The United States Merchant Marine Academy | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

 

USMMA and Tom Selleck? I may just have to watch ESPN a little more!