Running Free: Seeing old friends

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Seeing old friends

Today was a special day for me. I got to have breakfast with four friends from College. I hadn't seen any of them for over 30 years!! It sure felt great to laugh and reminisce about our wild days. Last night my old school's football team was inducted into the Hall of Fame. They had a big dinner celebration and I was invited to go, but decided to stay home instead. It would have been great to see all of the guys from the team, but I felt it would be best to leave the past, the past. So meeting up with four girlfriends seemed like a less complex thing to do. I am so thankful to have gotten together with them. I also got to see all of the pictures from the dinner and so it was almost like being there!! Great fun!

On the running side of things....well, that sucks. I am contacting my Doctor tomorrow because I am just not feeling that good. I am really tired and I have no power in my legs. My Lupus numbers are up and I am feeling weird. It's as if I am a balloon and the air has been released. " Help!!! I've fallen, but I can't get up!"

Lot's of stress in my life right now is not helping and I am feeling like I need to STOP THE BUS, I WANT TO GET OFF!! Not such an easy task, so I've got some work to do both emotionally and physically.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and today it is raining. Kind of like my life right now. Some days are diamonds and some days are stones. Let's all make this next week a Diamond week!

"The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be." -Shakti Gawain

2 comments:

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...: Kelly, sorry for it all. I love your attitude though. btw - thanks for the writing in the sand and stone lesson from the previous posting!; March 7, 2011 at 8:18 AM
Olga said...: Kel, I hope you're feeling better. The only one I am coming West this year is SD 50M in May. Keep fighting.; March 21, 2011 at 1:17 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.''