Goals for 2010 reached

I ran 10 half marathons in 10 different states in 2010. The last three I haven't posted about yet. These three include the Marshall University Marathon and half, White River Marathon in Arkansas, and the Route 66 Marathon and half in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Something very tragic happened at the last race, so I just haven't felt like writing about these races yet. In time, I will include them.

In 2010, I also completed 52 books. I enjoyed this goal so much that I'm extending it to this year as well. Except this year I want to read MORE than 52 books.

Race 7: October 17 - Denver, CO

Saturday, October 16, Steven and I woke up before dawn to head to the airport for our flight. We parked, and took the shuttle to the terminal. Surprisingly, we made it to our gate with plenty of time since I refused the full body scan and received a very lengthy and intimate pat down. After sleeping on our flight, we landed in Denver feeling a bit discombobulated. We picked up our rental car, and drove to a small coffee shop downtown for, breakfast, tea (for me) and coffee (for Steven).

After refueling, we went to the race expo to check in and get our race packets and bibs. The expo was a nice size, and we ended up with a lot of freebies. I had fun sampling gels, drinks, and other snacks. (Luckily, I don’t have stomach problems in races!) Steven managed to score two free technical shirts. Gotta love the freebies!

I had to write on the inspiration board at the expo.

Outside the expo

At the expo -- Steven's super fast time!

At the expo -- sporting the Elvis mask

Since UT was playing, as soon as we left the expo went over to the bar at the Hard Rock Café to watch the game. While we were there, six very intoxicated, middle-aged UT fans came in to watch the game, too. And somehow they convinced Steven to do a few shots with him, despite the fact that he had to run 13.1 miles the following day. I wisely stuck with water.

Steven with his fellow UT fans

They kept buying Steven shots to celebrate the game

At the Hard Rock bar

When the game was over, we checked into our hotel and rested before going to dinner at the Cheeky Monk Belgium Beer Café. I had a salad and a three cheese mac ‘n cheese dish. The mac n’ cheese was a little heavy, but I don’t get sick to my stomach when I run. In fact, I feel nauseous if I don’t eat before I run.

At the Cheeky Monk

Unfortunately, the service was really slow, so our meal took over 1.5 hours. We got back to our hotel pretty late, which meant we didn’t sleep as long as I wanted. Morning came a bit too early. But we groggily got up, ate, and walked the mile from our hotel to the race start.

The busy start line

For an inaugural race, it was a lot more crowded with participants than I expected. Steven and I squeezed into our corral and waited to start. Even after the race started, it took over 20 minutes for our corral to reach the start line. With 16,000 runners, it takes a while to start!

Yay! Texans!

One of the bands on the course

We ran a nice pace—slower than I’m used to. Steven is in great shape, but he excels at shorter distances. He can kick my rear in a 5k race. But I have a faster half marathon time than he does. So it was a nice steady race for me—no pain, and plenty of opportunities to take photos.

Steven running

My soul-mate

There weren't many supporters on the course, but these women rocked! They were at every turn!

I have mixed feelings about the race. The course was well designed. Running through the park was lovely, and running downhill to the finish was really nice. But the crowd support was poor for such a large race. And being a Rock ‘N Roll marathon and half, I expected more bands. I was surprised by the long stretches of silence. I was even more surprised that there was no sunscreen at the medical aid tents. We were running at altitude—sunscreen is a must. Even though I liberally applied sunscreen before the race, there was a point where I wanted to reapply because it was sunnier than I expected. So many larger races have sunscreen available. It was a bit ridiculous that this race did not. I think that for the second year of the race, the race directors have a few things to improve. But overall it was a very pleasant race. And I having Steven run it with me made it even better!

Steven finishing the race

Fall health update

I haven’t been updating, but luckily it’s not because my lupus is getting the best of me. It’s because I’ve been busy writing, studying, and trying to stay on top of daily tasks. I still have to sleep more than the average person, and sometimes feel weak and tired. But with the Plaquenil and Imuran, I am so much better than I was. The joint pain is still there, but I’m now used to it and it doesn’t get in my way.

Race 6: June 6—Ann Arbor, MI

With wedding planning--and now a huge pile of thank you notes to write--I haven’t updated this as often as I would like. But with my first race of the fall season tomorrow, I decided I needed to post about my last race.

The Illinois Capitol Building

On June 4, my husband, our dog, and I packed up our car and started the 8 hour drive from St. Louis to Ann Arbor. We took our time driving there because we wanted to stop in Springfield, IL to visit the capitol. We were being tourists for the weekend!

Our trunk was full of camping gear—we were going to stop in Indiana and spend the night in our tent. But we both got too tired before we made it to the state park where we had planned to camp. So it was the iPhone and hotwire.com to the rescue! We found an inexpensive room and stopped for the night.

The next morning, we got up and drove to Michigan. We decided to take a slight detour –we went to Lansing to see Michigan’s capitol. It was pretty, but not nearly as impressive as Illinois’s. We made it to Ann Arbor to the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon expo with an hour to spare! My husband walked the dog around a grassy field while I went and picked up my runner’s packet. We then had plenty of time to explore Ann Arbor.

The Michigan Capitol Building

Downtown Ann Arbor has several food options with outdoor seating, so we decided to have dinner outside at a Japanese-French fusion café. The food was very interesting and delicious. While sitting and eating, numerous people stopped and asked us about our dog. She had just been to the groomer for a haircut, and so many people told us she looked like a young black fox! She received so much attention that weekend!

Part of our dinner at the Japanese-French cafe

After eating dinner, then dessert (ice cream and cupcakes!), we wandered around downtown and attended an African American Heritage Festival. Again, the dog received a lot of attention—and a hot dog! She was in doggie heaven!

Samoa cupcake

Toasted coconut ice cream

African American Heritage Festival

After a couple of hours, it started to rain, so we decided to go drive to our campsite and set up our tent for the night. When we arrived at the campsite, the park ranger informed us that there was a tornado headed in our direction. She suggested that we find a hotel instead of camping. By this time, the rain was pouring and the campgrounds were all soaked. We agreed that a hotel would be a better option. Once again, the iPhone and hotwire.com rescued us. We found an inexpensive, pet-friendly hotel room, and crashed for the night.

I didn’t sleep well because our darling dog is terrified of storms. She wanted to be as close to me as possible, and her trembling kept me awake. But I did manage to get a few hours rest before I needed to be in Dexter.

Looking tired in our hotel on race morning

On race morning, my husband drove me to the township of Dexter and dropped me off. (He then went back to the hotel to sleep some more!) Shortly after I arrived at the starting line, the race officials announced that the tornado uprooted a tree, and the tree was now blocking the course. We had to wait an extra 30 minutes before starting. This threw a lot of people off because they had already consumed their pre-run energy drinks and bars.

Once the tree was cleared, we all took off. The course was beautiful. We ran alongside a river, which was bursting with water from the storms. The scenery was lush and green—very serene. The only negative about the course was the actual road that we ran on. We ran from Dexter to downtown Ann Arbor, and the road was filled with potholes. I tripped several times, and saw others stumbling in the holes as well. But, overall, this was a lovely course with a surprising number of race supporters.

The sign for the race near the finish line in downtown Ann Arbor

The race ended in downtown Ann Arbor, where the Taste of Ann Arbor Festival was being held. I met my husband near the recovery tents (I had called him when I reached mile 10 to make sure he was awake). After a long run, I went and enjoyed some Indian food at one of the festival tents. Yum!

My medal and race number

Enjoying the Taste of Ann Arbor

Brief update

So, I haven't updated this page in a while. Not for lack of running or because I was too sick to write. But I haven't added to this page because I was too busy getting ready for my wedding. Even though my husband and I have been legally married over a year (we got married at the Justice of the Peace in Richardson, TX), we had planned to have a more traditional ceremony and reception this year. On August 14, 2010, we got married...again. It was a beautiful and fun ceremony. But planning the wedding and making the decorations, bouquets, cupcakes, save-the-date booklets, invitations, and other odds and ends proved to be very time consuming.

Now that the wedding is over, I still have to write thank you notes and find a home for all the wonderful gifts that we received. But now I at least have time to write.

As far as my health is concerned, the Imuran seems to be working well. The only problem is that it does it's job very well--it really suppresses my immune system. This keeps my immune system from attacking my body, but it also keeps my immune system from attacking invading pathogens. This means that anytime I'm around someone sick, I have to be extra careful. And when I was recently around my adorable niece and nephew, I caught a 72 hour stomach bug and a 2 week cold. But it was worth it to play with them!

My most recent half marathon was on June 6 in Ann Arbor, MI. Most places are not race heavy during the summer--the summer is a time for light training. But now that it's cooling off a bit, the fall race season is starting. So far, I'm registered for two races this fall: Denver and Tulsa. I need 2 more to reach my goal of 10 this year (50 races in 5 years equals 10 a year). I think I will be running one in Iowa and possibly one in Arkansas. I'm researching races tonight!

Prednisone side effects

Recently, I had to take two rounds of medrol dose packs. Although I took these for allergies and not for lupus, the side effects are still the same. Since I am often on prednisone for my lupus, I felt I should share the side effects of this medication.

First, it can affect the bones. I have to take calcium supplements when I take prednisone. I also drink a glass of milk when I take the prednisone.

Second, it makes me very irrational and emotional. I feel so sorry for my poor husband who has to deal with my prednisone temper. I know it’s not fun for him.

Third, I become ravenous on the medication. I will eat anything and everything. I’ll even eat things that I normally do not touch—like heavily processed beef or pork products. With these two recent rounds of steroids, I gained 15 lbs and felt really puffy and bloated. I hate sharing unflattering photos, but I think some people don’t fully understand what lupus patients go through. We’re sick without the medications, but the medications have side effects that make us miserable and sick as well. When we are having a flare, it is a lose-lose situation.

I've gained a lot around my arms. Too bad it's not muscle :)

The prednisone has helped me gain around my midsection, my arms, and under my arms. It's not flattering--I look a little pregnant when I'm not. But in a few weeks I should be back to my normal size. After all, I have a beautiful, fitted wedding dress to fit into :)

A slight Buddha belly!

Update to June 4th

Late in the evening on May 27, my husband and I packed up my car and drove down to Fort Worth, TX to make preparations for our “real” wedding. My husband had worked all day and was exhausted, so I drove for 550 miles straight while he slept. When he took over and drove the remaining 120 miles, I was too wired to sleep. I didn’t fall asleep until an hour after we arrived at his mother’s house. And even then, I only slept 4 hours. I was exhausted, and my sleep cycle was completely thrown off. A good sleep schedule is so important--especially for those with chronic illnesses like lupus. Each time I sat down, I fell asleep. This means that I missed out on a lot of time with family. Steven and his younger sister played Wii games, I slept. I slept while she beat him a bumper pool. I just kept dozing off.

Somehow, I managed to make it through the weekend—through catering appointments and visits with friends. Then, on Monday, I drove Steven to the airport so he could return to Missouri in time for work on Tuesday. I then drove, with the dog, to the Houston area to see my parents. At my parents, I worked on several wedding crafts and finished many projects. I have now punched out all of the guest favor boxes. The pearl wreath for the front door is done—and I have the hot glue burn marks to prove it! The ribbon streamers for the send off are started. Despite still feeling off my sleep schedule, I got a lot done before leaving on Thursday morning.

The dog and I had to leave early Thursday morning to drive back to Missouri. I needed to get back fairly early on Friday to pack for the Dexter to Ann Arbor 1/2 marathon. We hit the road on Thursday, playing tourist so we could stretch our legs and walk every hour or so. After a lot of driving and about an hour of sleep at a rest stop, Lady and I made it back to St Louis at about 7:00 a.m. on Friday. This was more than enough time to nap and pack for the Ann Arbor trip.

Steroids

Well, I'm back on Prednisone. I'm actually on it for my allergies (my husband and I went on a long hike, and the allergens jumped at the chance to attack), but I'm slightly relieved because my joints have been aching. Specifically, the joints in my hands and feet. They throb when I wake in the morning. They fill uncomfortably when I run--like the blood pumped to them is unable to return to my heart.

But Prednisone is not without it's many side effects. For starters, I get so irritable on it. Whenever I am on it, I joke about my "roid rage." I'm ashamed to admit that my horribly grumpy behavior has been hard on my husband. I was so uncontrolably angry yesterday--his birthday--and I fear that I may have made his birthday a bit unpleasant. I didn't mean to--I really just couldn't control myself at all. I feel awful about it, and he's been so understanding. But I find it horrifying how I behave when I'm on this medicine. I just go a bit mad. But it works. It works well.

It also works well for weight gain--another side effect that I hate. In the last 40 hours, I have gained 8 pounds. Most of this weight came from the birthday cupcakes that I just couldn't stop eating. I wasn't even hungry--Prednisone just gives me this uncontrollable urge to eat everything in the kitchen. I even ate foods that I hate and, under normal conditions, will not touch. I devoured some sort of mystery meat and a lot of salami. I couldn't stand either one, but I had to eat them. It's horrifying. And it really upsets my stomach. When I eat things that my stomach isn't used to (e.g., red meat), my stomach punishes me for it.

But Prednisone helps keep my eyes from swelling shut during allergy season, and it relieves a lot of my daily Lupus pain and inflammation. And sometimes, just sometimes, those pros outweigh the cons.

Race 5: May 8 -- Quincy, IL

On the morning of the race, my husband and I woke up at 4:00 a.m. I needed to pick up my packet by 6:55 a.m., and with the 2.5 hour drive, we needed to leave by 4:25 a.m. We quickly got ready, which included packing food and water for the dog since we were bringing her with us. We loaded the car with snacks and clean clothes for me to change into, and hit the road.

When we left, it was a little chilly, but not unbearable. And when I looked up the weather report for Quincy on Friday, the weather channel stated that it would be in the 50s and pleasant. And the weather channel was wrong. It was sunny and beautiful, but it was in the 40s with a fierce and biting wind. I was thankful that at the last minute I decided to bring my jacket.

The wind was rough on me during the race—it chilled me to the point of shivering. And since my joints don’t appreciate being chilled, they started throbbing. This caused me to push a little harder—I wanted to get done as soon as possible. But no matter how hard I pushed, the wind seemed to push that much harder. I struggled to stay on the road as it blew me to the side. With the stiff creaking of my joints and my inability to stand up to the fierce wind, I felt like a human wind chime.

But even with the harsh wind, it was a beautiful race. We ran along the banks of the Mississippi, through large wooded areas peppered with small farms. It was peaceful. And even though it was a small race, the race support was amazing. There were so many people who braved the cold weather to cheer us on. The whole race just had such a pleasant vibe—even with the wind.

I was wearing my “CURE LUPUS” singlet under my jacket, and for the first two miles, I did not dare remove the jacket and face the cold air. But I started thinking about my goal of raising awareness. How was I supposed to raise awareness when no one could even see what I was running for? So, a bit reluctantly, I removed my jacket and tied it around my waist. I only put my jacket back on once—at mile 10 I started shivering and needed the warmth. But at mile 11, I removed it again and completed the race with my singlet showing. I received several “Way to go Running for a Cure” and “Come on CURE LUPUS” cheers, and I knew my decision to run without my jacket obstructing my singlet was the right thing to do.

Reacing the finish line with my CURE LUPUS singlet visible

I texted my husband at mile 11 to let him know I was close, and when I got to the finish, he and the dog ran next to me. I was very surprised that despite my struggles with the wind, my time was a PR. I came in at 2:06:35, which is below a ten minute mile. And it excites me to think about how much faster my time might have been if I didn’t have to run against the wind.

With handfuls of snacks after the race

After the race, I snagged two handfuls of food (I was starving), and sat down with my husband and our dog. Feeling a bit refreshed, I went to the car to take a runner’s shower—a wipe down with baby wipes—and change into clean clothes. Warmer and refueled, I went to explore the banks of the river with Steven and Lady.

Steven patiently waiting for me to finish snacking

LadyBug watching other runners cross the finish line

Clean, warm, and happy after the race!

May 10: A very brief update

I am officially 10% of the way to my goal to run 50 races in 50 places in less than 5 years! I have now completed a half marathon in 5 states: Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. Only 45 states to go!

(I'm very sleepy, so I will post about my fifth race later.)