Running Free: Dream and Live

Friday, April 17, 2009

Dream and Live

EXPLORE * DREAM * DISCOVER *

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails." Mark Twain

I love this quote. It's totally true. We must live TODAY, for tomorrow is not promised. It reminded me that today is a gift and living life to the fullest is our gift back. I went to this site and got totally jacked up. I mean REALLY jacked up. As in crazy, pounding heart, insanely jacked. I guess that I am an adrenaline junkie. I love the idea of running and competing in exciting places. Pushing the limits. Taking risks. TCC really opened my eyes to this adventure racing thing. Doing incredible things in amazing places. Seeing just what you are made of. Seeing the whole YOU that God made. We are capable of so much more than most of us will ever know. I love people who are willing to dig deep and to experience an adventure that will change their life. I also checked out this site. Crap. I hate it when this happens. These races make me want to SCREAM with excitement. Hold me back, I think I losing control.

Tomorrow Leslie and I are running on the Western States trail from Foresthill to Last Chance and back. That run is always a butt kicker no matter how fit you are. I have been wanting to get up there for awhile, so I know that it will be a good day for a training run. This run will be a test to see if I should or can run Miwok 100k in two weeks. Ever since Lake Sonoma 50, I have had pain in both feet. Stretching and ice are the order of the week.

I challenge you to stretch your limits this year. Take a risk that you would not normally feel comfortable doing. Live the life you have imagined. I dare you. No, I double dare you.

2 comments:

shawn said...: double daring me, are you? !?!? Well, today i walked (and ran some) around Spring Lake today by myself and that felt good and also not so good because it felt like my chest was crushing into my lungs. But it felt good that I did this alone and not waiting for someone to join me. I'm not a runner like you, but since you are my sister, I know I can run, too. I am signing up for a beginning running group beginning May 6th. I will commit to that. And then see what happens. I need to stretch my limits. I want to run through my comfort zone and see what I find on the other side...; April 18, 2009 at 7:51 PM
Unknown said...: Kelly, did you know Leonardo is doing the Western States 100. Feel like doing some pacing??
Henry; April 24, 2009 at 8:29 AM

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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.''