Running Free: Dreaming of the extreme

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Dreaming of the extreme

I have been so consumed with Hardrock lately, that I haven't really been very interested in blogging. Watching this video makes me want to sign up ASAP! Pacing there two years ago was one of the most incredible things I have done. Maybe if I sign up I will be picked in the lottery. Fingers and toes crossed:)

My training has been consistent, but without any real long runs. I am going to run TRT 50 miler this Saturday and I don't feel real confident about it. I wish I had gotten in a few more long runs. Oh well, I struggle there regardless if I am very trained or hardly trained. I shoulda, coulda, woulda. I am just going to show up and do my best! What else can I say? One thing that is know for sure is that I will be sporting my favorite running socks. Drymax. Anything else is not worth my time. Try them, you will LOVE them.

My son Caleb and I are going on a 3 day backpacking trip to the Emigrant Wilderness area in two weeks. We are both excited at the thought of spending some quality time together. Two days after we get back he is headed for a 25 day trip in Europe! Then he is strapped for four more years of Graduate School. This is a perfect time for him to travel.

My twisted sis, Suzanna, just got back from pacing at Badwater. She paced Kermit Cuff and she summed up her experience there as only, EPIC! Gotta love those extreme adventures!

Have a great weekend and get out and move.

Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable, and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. Eckhart Tolle

2 comments:

Drs. Cynthia and David said...: Thanks for the link to the video Kelly. It teared me up, really beautiful high country and effort. Good luck at TRT this weekend! I'm sure you'll be more than prepared despite shorter runs, probably more so because you've allowed your body time to recover for some time now.

Cynthia; July 17, 2009 at 1:25 AM
Unknown said...: Drymax socks are the best. That and Zeasorb foot powder do the trick so that getting blisters are a lot less of a possibility.; July 28, 2009 at 11:48 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.''