Hi, friends! Happy Hump Day!
I spent the morning trying to defer my registrations for the summer races on my calendar. (I haven’t had any success yet.) Tomorrow night, I’m supposed to run the Squantum 5-miler, on Monday the Harvard Pilgrim 10K, and the Boilermaker the following weekend. Clearly, my colitis has bad timing. I’m really in no shape to run any of these races right now.
I’m bummed that I wasted money on the registration fees, but not running these races makes me so sad. I feel like I was finally getting into a grove with my training. I (finally) wasn’t dealing with injuries, my speed was increasing, and I felt strong all over. I was really looking forward to these summer races. I’m disappointed that I’m probably losing some of the gains that I’ve made, but I know I can get it back. It’s just going to take some hard work!
This might sound really cheesy, but Runner’s World (the magazine and website) are really keeping my outlook positive about running. I mean, I’m generally a negative person (I swear, just ask Mal!), so it would be really easy for me to slip into a dark, depressing hole and think that I will never run without GI issues again. But, with the whole Runner’s World thing, my thinking is: the more I obsess about the running, the easier it will be (mentally) to motivate myself through the hard times, especially when I head out for my first run after I am well again. My legs already feel tired just thinking about it!
Over the past few days, I’ve spent time flagging inspiring stories from the June and July issues of Runner’s World. If these people can overcome serious obstacles to achieve their running goals, so can I! Here are a couple of the runner stories that have really struck a chord with me. They definitely put things in perspective.
Gladys Burrill
At 92 years old, Gladys Burrill finished the 2010 Honolulu Marathon in 9:53:16, setting a Guinness World Record for the oldest women to complete the distance. Burrill ran her first marathon at 86 years old. Never say never!
Eric Cornell
In 2001, Eric Cornell, 49, won the Nobel Prize in Physics for creating the coldest matter ever known. He’s also a runner, who participates in his favorite race, the Bolder Boulder 10-K, which takes place every May in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado.
In October 2004, Cornell developed an ache in his left shoulder. The pain got worse, so he headed to the emergency room, where doctors opened up his arm and found an alarming amount of dead tissue. His diagnosis? Necrotizing fasciitis”” a potentially lethal infection known as flesh-eating bacteria. It had spread well beyond his shoulder. By the time they figured out the problem, it became less a question of whether doctors could save his arm and more could they save his life.
In the end, doctors amputated Cornell’s arm, shoulder, clavicle, and scapula. When Cornell regained consciousness two and a half weeks later, he was unable to stand or even sit up. He needed a tracheotomy to help him breathe; he also suffered severe pain on his legs where surgeons had removed skin to graft onto his wound. Nevertheless, over the next few days he embraced his physical therapy routine, treating his rehabilitation like race training.
In May 2005, seven months after his diagnosis, Cornell returned to the Bolder Boulder. Walking it with his daughter Eliza, he finished in two hours. In 2008, Cornell ran the race in 53:35.
Feel Great Weight
This week’s Feel Great Weight post is about my recent colitis diagnosis: A Bump in the Weight-Loss Road: When a Health Problem Gets in the Way.
Question of the Day
Who’s your running hero?
P.S. I’m giving away Popchip on Trading Up Downtown today!