Running Free: On to the New Year!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

On to the New Year!

Wow, Christmas came and went so fast! All that stressing and it's already over. I had a wonderful Christmas and Santa brought me everything I asked for. I couldn't be happier. My youngest daughter Courtney turned 20 today. I can't believe that she is not a teenager anymore. We celebrated with family at her favorite Thai restaurant. Always lot's of fun.

I entered UTMB on December 23rd. I will be notified in a couple of weeks if I am in. I am a little bit nervous thinking of this race. It is a 103 miles and you have 46 hours to complete this mountainous race. It is a loop course around the Mont Blanc massif starting in France, south through Italy, north though Switzerland and back west into France for the finish. There is 31,000 ft. of total climbing. 1800' more than the 29029' of Mt. Everest! My goal for this race is just to finish it. I don't care about my time. I want to enjoy the journey and finish without sickness or injury. I will have to be very serious about my training and that is exciting.

I am doing well on my gluten free diet. I have not lost any weight, (I don't need to lose), but I feel so much better. I don't have that full feeling through my stomach like I did. I am giving it about a month. I hope that I see the results that I want in that time. I am hoping that the pain I have at night will lessen and I can sleep better. I also hope that my arthritis decreases too. Wow, I sound like a train wreck! All I really want is to be the healthiest I can be.

All my kids are home for the Holidays and that has been special. Caleb flies home tomorrow and Courtney goes back to school in January. Chelsea just moved home and Matt's son Lloyd is here too. I am going to miss Caleb and Courtney. Have a wonderful week, my blogger friends!

Face your Fears...........
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it... You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

1 comment:

Angela and Jen said...: The race sounds VERY exciting! And beautiful. You can do it. You inspire me. I have some 2010 goals of my own hatching in my brain, so stay tuned. You look marvelous in your coat. Looking great is the most important part of all! Love, Jen; December 28, 2009 at 11:41 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.''