Saturday, Jan 16: 5k race

Goal: 3.1 mile run
Actual: 3.1 mile walk

When you have lupus, the last thing you want to do is try to strengthen your immune system. Although it isn’t ideal, it’s much better to have a weakened immune system attacking your body’s cells and systems than to have a strong immune system attacking your body. Therefore, in cold and flu season, I don’t take Airborne and garlic tablets to keep my immune system strong. And, inevitably, when someone around me gets a cold, I get one too. Unfortunately, my counterpart at work caught a cold, and despite all of the precautions she took (she kept cleaning the phones, keyboards, and door knobs), I managed to catch a cold.

With a cold, I have even less energy than normal. So, I’ve been taking Dayquil and sublingual Vitamin B to feel better and more energetic. The Dayquil definitely helps with the headache, congestion, and coughing. But the downside to taking Dayquil is that I can’t run when I take it. Two of the ingredients in Dayquil can be dehydrating, and if you add running to that, that can be a problem. Especially for someone like me whose lupus might be attacking the kidneys.

Because I had a cold, and because I took Dayquil, I didn’t get to run in the Frozen Bun Run. But I consulted with my medical expert (my mother), and she said I could walk it if I took extra care to stay hydrated. This is exactly what I did. I drank A LOT of water before the race, had two cups during the race, and had two cups at the post-race refueling station.

Walking a race is not nearly as much fun as running it. Especially since I didn’t have my running partner next to me (I told him to go ahead and run it). But I kept a good, steady pace and finished in just over 39 minutes. I can’t really complain about walking a 13 min/mile! I was surprised that I finished before some of the runners!

The Frozen Bun Run was connected with the Annual Ice Festival on Delmar. After the run, my husband and I walked down Delmar to admire all of the ice sculptures. Some were so intricately designed—they were amazing. With the decent walking time, the ice sculptures, and the delicious food at the refueling tent, I had an awesome time despite not being able to run!