Running Free: Training runs and having fun

Friday, August 10, 2007

Training runs and having fun

Tomorrow is the inaugural Headlands 50-100 mile race in Sausalito, Calif. I am running the 50 mile as a training run for Wasatch 100 in Sept. My friend Bill Bradley is running the 100 mile. I do have to say that I am happy to be doing only the 50 mile. It's a tough course with beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and of the ocean.

My training has been lousy at best. With 29 more days until Wasatch, it's time to get it together. I talked to my pacer Sunny Blende last night and we are going to have fun out there on the beautiful trails in Utah. We are planning on going on a night run next week to try out our lights and just visit.

I was asked to pace at the San Diego 100 mile in October by my friend, Melanie Johnson. It took about 2 seconds to respond with a big, I'd love to! I have paced Melanie at Wasatch before and we really had a great time. It's a great opportunity to get a chance to run on a course that I have never seen before. I am looking forward to it.

Let me explain the pic of ah, Kelly Bonds, or ah, Barry Ridgway. I came home one day to find that a picture of me running that was on our computers wallpaper, was gone and Barry Bonds was in it's place. Matt thought he was so funny, because he knows that I do not like Barry. We all got a good laugh out of that one. Chelsea came up with a better idea. While Matt was at work she morphed my face onto Barry's and now Matt has the best of both worlds. Everytime he turns on the computer he gets to see Barry and me. Lucky guy!!

4 comments:

Olga said...: Have a blast, Kelly! I'll be near by running Cool night and then might stop by Headlands on Sunday to pick up my friend - though I hope he'd be done and home by then:) And SD is a beautiful course!; August 10, 2007 at 10:23 AM
kelly said...: Have fun out at Cool. That sounds like fun. I hope your training is going well. I wish we lived closer so that we could train together.; August 10, 2007 at 10:58 AM
Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...: LOLOLOL Hey Kelly Bonds---ahhh that's funny...ya I am not a fan of barry either, the guy is under major tax evasion, no doubt used steriods...u dont get that big in a short period not using roids like he did and then the way he acts and talks like he is above everyone..(he may be good with his family--so that is good, but who really knows on that one either) well it all comes around he will have to answer sooner or later:-)

Have a great Training run!!; August 11, 2007 at 8:38 AM
kelly said...: Hey Bob, thanks and I am glad that I am not the only one who doesn't like Barry. Have a great day!; August 12, 2007 at 5:30 PM

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Not Even Lupus Can Slow Ridgway

NOT EVEN LUPUS CAN SLOW RIDGWAY Published on June 26, 2004 © 2004- The Press Democrat BYLINE: BRUCE MEADOWS Three years ago when she was diagnosed with lupus, Kelly Ridgway didn't take much time plotting her course. ``I figured I could lay on the couch and be a drug-seeker for pain or I could choose to be as healthy as I can be,'' said Ridgway, 46, an outpatient surgery nurse at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Ridgway, defying the odds, is entered in the Western States 100 Endurance Run, which starts at the base of Squaw Valley at 5 this morning and ends 100 miles away in Auburn. ``I see people at the hospital in horrible shape because of lupus, but I realized I had a choice how to deal with it,'' Ridgway said. Lupus is a chronic auto-immune disease affecting mainly women. The immune system attacks the body's own tissues as a foreign substance, producing antibodies to fight it. The cause of the disease is unknown although research has shown it occurs when a specific set of susceptible genes is exposed to a combination of environmental factors such as infectious agents, certain drugs, excessive ultraviolet light, physical trauma or emotional stress. Ridgway said she has been a ``serious runner'' for 14 years and has also competed in 50- and 100-mile events on horseback. She started running to get in shape after the last of her three children -- Caleb (18), Chelsea (16) and Courtney (14) -- were born. ``I've found I really love ultras,'' said Ridgway, a single mother who graduated from Montgomery High, then earned a nursing degree from Santa Rosa JC. Dr. Lisa Kremer, Ridgway's rheumatologist said, fatigue is the most universal symptom of lupus. ``For somebody to run 100 miles with an auto-immune disease is incredible.'' Ridgway first experienced flu-like symptoms, then fatigue. ``But when I started having problems with cognitive stuff, I knew there was something more to it.'' She was having trouble doing simple math or even finding her way around town. ``I thought of all sorts of things, including a brain tumor,'' said Ridgway. Ridgway has been training with Santa Rosan Karen Hanke, 42, and Suzanna Bon, 39 of Sonoma. This is the second Western States for Hanke, who finished last year in 29 hours, 47 minutes, running the last 70 miles on severely blistered feet. It is the first Western States for Ridgway and Bon. Because of the glut of applicants -- more than 1,000 annually apply for 400 spots -- runners must not only qualify with an acceptable 50-mile run time but also get lucky by having their name drawn by lot. Bon, whose goal is ``just to finish although I'd love to do it in under 24 hours,'' is impressed with Ridgway's effort. ``Kelly is strong and smart about training,'' said Bon. ``We'll run at our own pace this weekend, not together, but we want to do the best we can.'' Ridgway sees herself as a runner who happens to have lupus. ``My case is relatively minor and medication has really helped,'' said Ridgway, who logs 75 miles a week. ``But I don't know anybody with lupus who runs as much as I do.'' She has bouts of fatigue and deals with them. ``There are days I am really tired and need to come home and rest for a while,'' she said. But this weekend there will no place to rest. ``I'm not the type to quit,'' she said. ``I will persevere.'' Kremer said people with lupus react differently to the disease. ``Some have a real tough time with it and others take it as a challenge,'' said the doctor. ``In general, a disease like lupus provokes self-evaluation ... some patients look at it as a way to straighten out their lives, physically and socially.'' Kremer said most lupus patients with a positive outlook exercise to some degree. ``For them, making an effort is a personal victory.'' Ridgway, who left for Squaw Valley Thursday, has been on the Western States course before, having competed in the Tevis Cup horse race and also working the run the past two years as a medical helper. ``It's beautiful ... I fell in love with the trail,'' she said. ``I'm excited but not nervous.'' Ridgway will be tested following the race to determine how running 100 miles affects a lupus patient. ``I know I am capable of doing this.'' She likes to run, even 100 miles, because it makes her feel healthy and alive. ``Maybe in some ways this will speak to people who are trying to make choices,'' she said. ``You can push ahead and take charge of your life.''