Running Free: A Nice Weekend

Sunday, October 4, 2009

A Nice Weekend

My upper body is going to look soooo good by the time I can run again........
I've been back at the gym and feeling strong. It's funny how strong I feel lifting weights when I am not running. I kinda feel like a superstar. Just kidding. Thursday, I go back to the Doctor to have my sutures out and hopefully get the dressing off of my foot. I can't wait. The bummer is that when I touch my toes through the bandages it feels like it has been burned and that it is RAW. I can't imagine wearing socks and shoes after Thurs. We will see.

On the running side of things. I do have to say that I miss running more than I thought I would. The downtime has been good in a lot of ways, but I find myself longing to run on the trails and I feel like I've got that horrible condition called FOMO. (Fear of missing out). So many of my friends have just finished some incredibly beautiful 100 milers and Suz is busy busting up the road in preparation for her first 24 hour run. Instead of running, I got hyper one day and tore the butt ugly wood paneling off of the wall in our family room. Now I am trying to figure out what to do with the wall that is covered in dried glue and lots of little holes. It's a project that is definitely keeping me busy. It's a project that I wouldn't have touched if I was busy running in the hills. Oh well.

Yesterday, Matt and I went up to the Silverado Country Club in Napa and relaxed poolside for a couple of hours with Wally and Angie and the kids. It was fun to be back up there, as I haven't been there since I was a kid. I felt really nostalgic remembering being there and all the fun we had when we were little. I thought about my Dad a lot yesterday. He has been gone for 20 years now.

Shawn, Matt and I went to a party tonight to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of our gym being opened. There was music, dancing and lot's of food and drink. It was really fun to see people we knew, and kind of sad to see how many people we did not know. I recognized a lot of people, but didn't know them to even strike up a conversation with. It was mostly a people watching party and sometimes those are the most fun of all.

2 comments:

Angela and Jen said...: Kelly, I love your blog and will bookmark it. We will inspire each other as our bodies mend. How about if we meet next year at Man Against Horse?; October 11, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Emily Richardson Photography said...: Kelly you are an amazing women, I just love reading your blogs! You are so inspiring!!!; November 19, 2009 at 8:14 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.''