New developments

This is not the post I wanted to write.

I'm still hanging onto my goal of running a half-marathon in a little under 6 months, but unfortunately it looks like my training won't go nearly as smoothly as I once thought.

I had it all planned out - adding 1 kilometre to my long runs every other week, I'd have lots of time to make it to 21 km.  Two weeks ago I ran 11km on a treadmill at my gym.  The week before last, I could only manage 8.  Last week I decided to get all geared up and outside, but after 1.5km I had to turn around and go home because of sharp pains that rippled through my lower abdomen with every footfall.  I didn't know what it was, exactly, but it was low and up my left side, which meant it was in my colon.  I've been told I have left-sided colitis, which means if I draw a large L on my lower abdomen I'm basically tracing where my disease manifests.

When I was first diagnosed, I thought - oh, well that's crummy, but whatever I'll take medicine and the bleeding will stop and hey back to normal!  I had no idea that 'life-long' meant 'for as long as you're alive', not in any real sense, and I didn't know it could have an effect on how I felt that wasn't centred just to my 'guts'.

Turns out that tired, sick feeling I've been walking around with hasn't been the usual attempts to side-step whatever bug-de-jour is chasing around the school halls - it's the UC.  And it turns out that high-impact exercises like running can cause a whole lot of discomfort.  Full disclosure - I'm pretty sure it was gas on the weekend that caused that pain.  But since when is gas so bad it feels like needles, and wakes you up in the middle of the night so that you can desperately take child's pose close to the toilet in case you fulfill the growing impulse to throw up?

A fair bit of crying has happened in the last couple of days.
That's the bad news.

The good news is, I'm determined.  I'm going to find other ways to get high-cardio exercises, and see if I can't get myself through this rough patch, often called a 'flare' by other UC sufferers.  They don't last forever, I'm not sure how to make it go away but it won't be this bad forever.  I'll try my very best to keep on with my goal to make the half-marathon in May, but at the very least I'm going to do my very best to be good to myself.  Some nights, like this one, it might mean that I stay home and put on my onesie and ride the waves of post-dinner nausea with my dog on one side and my partner on the other.  Others it might be getting on the treadmill (actively NOT comparing myself to the woman beside me who has been on it for 45 minutes with no walk-breaks) before I head over to the testosterone pit aka weight-lifting area of the gym.  Maybe I should just write a post about how much fun that is.

Anyway - to those of you who keep reading, thank you, and to those of you who would like to know more about ulcerative colitis, there are a myriad of great websites online - but here are a couple I've read through so far:

http://believeucan.ca/
www.ccfc.ca/

It's hard to ask for prayers or even well-wishes, though they are appreciated, because although it might be a small thing, it can feel like a lot to receive.  I am, however, going to ask for them.  I have many, many blessings in my life, but I'm a little scared.  So, in advance, thank you for any kind thoughts or good energy you have to spare.

- Kate

The great monster dash of 2013!

So it's been awhile!  Honestly, longer than I intended.  As you can see I've now put a link to a PayPal account and fundraising thermometer on the right side of my blog here, but please - wait before you donate!  The reason why I delayed this post is related to why, so please read on (or skip to the bottom, whatever).

Mah gear.

Last weekend I ran a 10 kilometer 'race' (in quotation marks because it wasn't about speed) with one of my closest friends in Toronto: the Monster Dash!  It was my 2nd time running a full 10k, and I felt ready for it, if not a little nervous.  My running buddy does that distance on a regular basis, and I was only just worked up to it. 

I'd been feeling some pain in my lower right calf, and after looking it up realized it was likely related to my achilles tendon.  My friend had found a product called Kinesiology Tape, so we both tried it out.  Worked like a charm!  I picked up a simple brace for a knee that was complaining as well, and I think it helped provide some good support too.

We were 'Team Doin' It!' and boy did we.  Click for larger!

We traveled to the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital that hosted the event and took in the sights of various characters - it was a Halloween event!  There was a kids' "Spooky Mile" and a 5k, and most of the really serious costumes were seen on those runners.  Those of us doing 10 didn't want too much going on!  We opted for bacon and eggs - simple and runnable, and surprisingly popular?  We got a lot of "Hey bacon and eggs!" calls.  Yeah, we were surprised too.

Just before we started.

Crossing the finish line!

The race mostly took place in the dark, and after the sun was down for a while, the temperature really dropped.  I struggled to finish up a rather steep hill that for some crazy reason was left towards the end - specifically I started to experience some pretty sharp pain in my right hip.  This is where I reveal the not-so-great news: last year I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and while I knew it affected my 'guts', I didn't know that it can also have other symptoms.  I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think one of them might have shown up in me, and it can cause pain in the joints.  I'm going to see my specialist this week, but in the meantime running is painful.  I ran another 10k today and was fighting not to limp up any sort of small incline.  For this reason I was waited to write this entry, in case I get bad news from the doctor, but I finally figured I might as well share the experience and just hope for the best! 

Reveling in our victory.

It was tough to get through the end of the Monster Dash, but thanks to my stubborn streak and my friend's amazing cheerleading, we did it!  Our time didn't even stink that much, considering I was pretty slow!  It came out to about 1:08, if I recall.  And we got awesome medals, which double as beer bottle openers, for the record! 

I was really proud to finish another race, and to push through my discomfort.  My hope is that with help from experts, I'll be able to find ways to work with my condition and still finish the half-marathon in May.  I'm hesitant to ask for donations yet though, until I know if it is still a goal I can keep.  I will definitely keep all of you posted!

Thank you so much for reading, again, and wish me luck!