Akron Marathon

This post is a major TMI so there is your disclaimer. Just go to the bottom for pictures and stop reading now if you don't want to hear about gross stuff.

One of my friends here in Columbus talked me into signing up to run the Akron Marathon. The race was September 29 and I signed up the end of May, so I had plenty of time to train. My last run in Columbus (before we moved to NC for the summer) was supposed to be seven miles. My two friends were ahead of me in their training and we wanted to run together on the Olentangy River trail, so I decided I would just do ten with them. And that was the first time I noticed blood in my stool after finishing the run. See, there is the TMI. I warned you!

Okay, so we move to NC. It was so nice to be with family for the training (and have so many huge hills to prepare me). I had babysitters and company for my runs. My mom rode her bike next to me for the long runs. She was such a trooper and always cheered me on. My long runs were on Saturdays, so it was only those days I consistently had this symptom. I thought maybe it was just normal. I felt fine with the exception of feeling a little flu-ish and over exerted, which was expected for putting in so many miles. I was pushing myself every run. I really wanted to do well on race day. I thought it would be awesome to qualify for Boston, but told myself I would be happy if I just ran somewhere around a nine minute mile. The symptoms worsened and by the time we got back to Columbus this was happening every time I ran, even on my "short" 5-8 mile runs. 

The day after we got back I saw my PCP, basically just to tell her what was going on. I felt totally fine, and thought it was out of the question that something could actually be wrong. The appointment was way quiet and somber. Finally, I broke the ice and said, "I'm sure you don't want to worry me, but what are you thinking this could be?" She said she was considering many things, ulcerative colitis, ischemic colitis, and Crohn's with my autoimmune disease (JRA) hx. They drew my blood there in the office, ordered a stool cx, colonoscopy, and GI consult. I requested to see a sports med doctor as well. She said I might just have to jog/walk the marathon and be happy with finishing, but that was out of the question for me. I was going to do it and try or not run it at all. Ideally we would come to a conclusion before race day. 

Unfortunately, the earliest I could get in for the scope was after the race, so I called the gastro office and was able to get in for the consultation on a cancellation just a week after seeing my PCP. Oh, and my blood work and stool cx all came back normal. Okay, so I see the GI. He was this super nice Indian guy, probably late 30s. I told him I was frustrated and sad because I put so much time and effort into training, and it was looking like I couldn't even really try to do well in the race because we couldn't do the colonoscopy until after September 29. He must have just felt super bad for me or was intrigued that I was having these symptoms that mostly old unhealthy people have, because he said, "Let me check my schedule... we'll just squeeze you in on Tuesday." So within 10 days I was able to have all this testing done. And about a week or two later I saw the sports med doctor, who basically confirmed what the other doctors thought was going on. I was having episodes of intestinal ischemia. It was exercise induced. The sports med doctor was familiar with the condition, so that made me feel better about it. Can you tell I was a little doubtful about the diagnosis? I guess in the mouth of three doctors the word was established... ;)

The recommendation was absolutely no marathon and I need to take it way easy on the half marathon. If I experienced any abdominal cramping or pain, I was to stop immediately. The adrenaline just gets you, though. All the other runners, working hard, breathing hard. I just got caught up in it all. So my official time was 1:47:08, just under Boston pace. I was glad I gave my best effort. (Easy to say when I didn't end up having to go to the ER for a blood transfusion or bowel resection.) The first couple miles it's impossible to run your pace because you're stuck in a sea of people. I had to run a few miles at sub-eight pace to make up for the first few slow miles.

I still think... how weird!

Oh, the prognosis. Apparently the only known cure, so-to-speak, is rest, and that's no guarantee. I had to rest for at least a month, per the sports med doctor. One month has turned into longer. I'm okay with that for now.

It was sort of a whirlwind experience with the training, health complications, and race day, but it was worth it. I give Angie a hard time because she talked me into it, but I have to thank her since I got my six pack back!

Kelli, me, and Angie before the race. Kelli and I stayed the night at my friend Karen's parents' house about 30 minutes outside Akron. It was nice to have such awesome supportive husbands take care of the babes so we could get some good sleep.

 I missed Reese a lot! It was my first night away from her and I was so excited to see her, and of course my other number one fan! This is about 15 minutes after crossing the finish line. I couldn't really hold Reese much because I was not feeling well, as you can imagine... we had to go to the car so I could lie down for an hour or so and force myself to eat a little.

 Awesome Dads

We made the babes shirts. Frost's shirt said "26.2 baby!" Reese's shirt said "My mom is faster than my Dad!" and Madison's shirt said "My mom just ran 26.2 miles... what did yours do?"

Kelli and Angie did amazing in the marathon. They both beat their goals.

 

 Our little little girlies! Reese spilled some of her breakfast. Ha.

 After our marathon picture session, we went to Chili's to eat and relax and talk about the day's excitement.