What do you mean you can't breath??

Asthma Diagnosis

Ever since I can remember, I have always struggled with my breathing, never able to take a full breath.  The winter I was 8 or 9 years old, I became sick with a cold.  This cold turned out to be different.  My mom noticed that I was having trouble breathing, to the point that I was wheezing.  We went to the emergency room, where the doctor decided to give me a breathing treatment.  Now, for those of you fortunate enough to not have done a breathing treatment before, count yourselves lucky.  A breathing treatment involves using a nebulizer machine that changes the liquid medication into a mist so that it can be easily inhaled into the lungs.  The nebulizer looks like this:

There are two ways to have the patient inhale the misted medicine:
1. a t-piece

2. a mask

For whatever reason, the ER doctor decided to administer the nebulizer treatment to me using the mask.  Now imagine that you're 8 or 9 years old, you can't breath, you're scared.....and this futuristic looking mask is handed to you that has smoke coming out of it.  Needless to say, I freaked out.  My mom finally calmed me down enough for the doctor to put the mask on me.  I did feel better after doing the breathing treatment.

Turns out that I had ASTHMA.  What is asthma?  Here is a picture that explains it best:

Living With Asthma

Triggers

As I mentioned above, I don't know what it's like to take a full breath of air.  While I don't always feel that my asthma effects me, cold weather and exercise are my triggers.  I dread the winter season, because I know that being outside and breathing the cold air could trigger my asthma and make it more difficult to breath.  Anytime I catch a cold, it goes straight to my lungs; I have learned to use my albuterol (rescue) inhaler as soon as I feel ANY tightness in my chest, whether I feel symptoms of a cold or not.  I also use my albuterol inhaler before each exercise session, whether I'll be running or doing some other form of cardio.

Lung Capacity

I never knew how bad my lungs were, until I started going to an allergist.  My allergist (who is AWESOME and very knowledgeable) is also an asthma expert, so during my first visit he had my lung capacity measured.  I had to blow as hard as I could into a T-piece, similar to what is used during a nebulizer treatment.  This was connected to a computer, which records the amount (volume) and speed (flow) of air that I inhale and exhale.  This is called a spirometry test:

During that first test, we found out that my lungs were working at 60% capacity; normal capacity is 80% and above.  Because of this, my allergist put me a daily steroid inhaler, hoping that it would increase my lung capacity.  In subsequent visits over the past 2.5 years, my lung capacity HAS increased to 80-something percent, so we tried decreasing the dosage of my daily steroid inhaler.  Because of the cold, wet winter that we've had this year, my lung capacity has decreased to 79%; while that is still good [higher than what I had started at when I first started going to my allergist], it is below the 80% that my allergist wants me to be at.  As of March 21st, my daily inhaler has been changed from a steroid to a combination steriod/bronchial dilator.  We will see at my follow up appointment at the end of May if this new medicine is working as it should, increasing my lung capacity.  My albuterol inhaler was also switched to one that works my whole lung, not just the top part.

One of the things I love about my allergist, besides his true knowledge about allergies and asthma, is that he wants to eventually get my lung capacity high enough to be able to wean me off of all asthma medicine.  I can hardly wait for the day when I can breath as well as the majority of the population!!

The Start

The Idea

My running journey started right before high school.  The street we lived on at the time had a hill at the top, leading to one of the major roads that ran through my hometown of Lakewood, Ohio.  One day during 8th grade, my siblings and I were walking back home from somewhere with one of our uncles.  My brothers and sister took off running down that hill towards our house.  I was running behind them, with my uncle.  As I lengthened my stride to get down that hill, he mentioned that I have the perfect stride for a runner and that I should consider joining the cross country team in high school.  By this point in 8th grade, I was already super nervous about starting high school in the fall [there would be too many students.....what if I forget the combination to my locker....etc.], so when my uncle mentioned joining the cross country team I immediately jumped on it, figuring it would be a great way to instantly belong somewhere in high school.

High School

Cross Country Team

During the August right before my freshmen year started, I joined the cross country team.  The first practice I went to was brutal, running about 3 miles in the Cleveland Metroparks; the team had already been practicing for a week, but I missed that week due to attending the Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris' annual scout leadership camp [where I became a certified patrol leader].  I felt out of place, and true to my shy and quiet personality, I didn't talk much with my teammates.....but the good thing is that they initiated conversations with me and included me in things that they were doing.  Seeing my teammates in the school hallways and the camaraderie we had at practice helped me get through those first few months of high school.  I was always the slowest runner [I always ran in the JV races at the XC meets] and felt frustrated by that, but I stuck with it.  I admired and hero-worshiped the juniors and seniors on the team, so when several of them told me that they admired my determination and stubbornness [Thank you, Tanja, Maggie, Helen], I was on cloud nine.

I ended up only being on the cross country team for the first 2 years of high school.  I joined the team my junior year, but the difficulty I was having in my AP [Advanced Placement] Chemistry class affected my GPA, so when the cross country coach pulled me aside to tell me that I may be kicked off of the team due to my grades, I decided that it was best for me if I left the team on my own decision, especially knowing that my classes would only get more difficult in the 2 years left until high school graduation.

Track

I also ran track in high school, but only my freshmen year.  I knew before I joined the track team that I wasn't a sprinter, I was a distance runner, so I competed in the 1600 and 2 mile events.  I quickly realized that even though I liked being on the team, and the camaraderie, I did not like running on the track as a distance runner; during the events at the meet, I would lose track of how many laps I had run, especially once the front runners passed me because, just like on the cross country team, I was the slowest runner.

Post High School

After high school, I didn't run at all, focusing instead on my college classes and working, since I was paying for my own college education.  After college, I moved 9 hours away from Cleveland to southern Virginia [where I didn't know a single person] for my first teaching job. My first year of teaching was rough, to put it mildly.  When the school district decided to not renew my teaching contract for a 2nd year with them [which was a blessing in disguise], I was offered a teaching job in Richmond, Virginia.  Moving to Richmond was the best thing that has happened to me so far.  

2010 Monument Avenue 10K

Shortly after moving to Richmond, Virginia in August of 2007, I joined Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church (GCPC).  Not knowing a single person in Richmond, I was looking for something familiar and found it at the church.  GCPC is located in the heart of Richmond, on historic Monument Avenue between Allen Ave. and Lombardy St.  

Being new to Richmond, I didn't know about the annual Monument 10K race.  The spring of 2010, my church friends starting gearing up for the race.  Because GCPC is on Monument, right on the 10K route, we were going to have a hospitality station on the front patio of the church.  I decided to help out with the hospitality station, not knowing at the time what a huge impact it would have on my life.  

The morning of the race, it was FREEZING cold [in the 40s] but sunny.  After helping set up the tables on the patio with the food, I walked over to Lombardy St. to watch the 1 mile kids run.  Then the 10K run began.  I soon realized, as the waves and waves of runner, joggers, and walkers went by, that everyone was having so much FUN.  Back in high school, I had never thought running could be FUN, but here were THOUSANDS of people running/jogging/walking with smiles on their faces.  Right then, I made myself a promise that one day I would run or jog or walk in the 10K too.

2011

I had been having pain on the outside edge of my right foot, so I finally went to see a podiatrist.  After sending me for an MRI on my foot, he said that I had partially torn the tendon that runs along the outside edge of my foot [probably due to a rolled, or sprained, ankle from several years ago].  After giving me a cortisone shot for it, and fitting me with orthotics, I thought the pain would disappear.  After several months of the pain still being there, I went back to see my podiatrist again.  After a physical examination of my foot, during which he squeezed my toes together and I jumped out of the chair, he diagnosed it as Morton's Neuroma.  Morton's Neuroma is when the nerve gets pinched and then enlarges and causes discomfort/pain.  I'm guessing, based on what he said are the causes, that wearing high heels that were too small and ill-fitting pinched my toes together and in turn caused the nerve between my 3rd and 4th toe to enlarge.  My podiatrist suggestion for treatment was a shot of alcohol to the area to try and kill the nerve; I would go back every 2 weeks for a shot, for a total of 3 or 4 shots.  Let me tell you, those shots HURT like the dickens.  After getting the 4th shot, and the pain not lessening, I asked him when we move on to the next recommended treatment [surgery to remove that part of the nerve].  He stopped, looked at me, and said, "No more shots, we need to do the surgery."  I almost had a nervous breakdown right then [I had never had surgery], and told him no, I wouldn't do the surgery; but after going home and thinking about being in pain for the rest of my life, I decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Removing the Morton's Neuroma

After the surgery, I would have to stay completely off of my foot for 3-4 days, so I scheduled my foot surgery for the Friday before Thanksgiving, knowing that I would only have to miss a few days from work with the shortened week.  My surgery was on the morning of November 18, 2011.  The surgery went well, but waking up from the anesthesia was horrible for me......I had a reaction to the anesthesia, so I woke up nauseous, and the anti-nausea medicine the recovery nurse gave me in my IV slowed my heart rate down and decreased the oxygen in my blood to the point that I fell asleep and couldn't be woken up for 2 hours.   

Let me just say that recovering from surgery did not happen as quickly as I was expecting [this was the first major surgery, with anesthesia, that I had had].  My foot was in a surgical shoe for 3 weeks, and one of my co-workers was kind enough to lend me some crutches so that I could get around quicker.  I had to wear a plastic boot over my foot that was vacuum-sealed to my leg whenever I showered, so that my stitches would not get wet.

2012

Even after those 3 weeks were up, and my outer stitches had healed, my foot did not feel 100% back to normal until about 6 months later.  After finally feeling that my foot was back to 100%, I saved the money I received as birthday gifts in May of 2012 so that I could buy a new pair of running shoes and start running.  Life happened instead, and I had to use the $100 I had saved to buy a new wheel rim for my car [a huge pothole that I ran over had bent the rim, and so it needed to be replaced].  I was quite sad and frustrated to not be able to start running.  A kind soul at my church heard about what happened, and so anonymously gave me a $100 Visa gift card to use towards the purchase of new running shoes.  Needless to say, I was shocked and grateful when I saw the gift card and note that accompanied it:

I went to Road Runner Running Store in the Carytown section of Richmond and bought myself a pair of running shoes with that gift card:

First Race Since High School

And so, in mid-June of 2012 I began my running journey.  My mom had starting running back in February of 2012 using the Couch to 5K app, so she recommended that I use that app to get myself started in running.  That summer, I diligently followed the program, working on my running 3 days each week, slowly building up to running 3 miles by alternating running and walking.  What surprised me the most is how much I LOVED those running workouts, and I would look forward to them each time.  Towards the end of the 8 week Couch to 5K program, I was looking for a 5K race that would take place in the area right around the time that I would finish the program.  I had heard about the Sportsbackers organization here in Richmond, which organizes several events in Richmond throughout the year (mostly related to running), so I decided to search on their website for a 5K.  Turns out that I had missed all of the 5Ks, which took place at the beginning of the summer......but they had an 8K race in November, the morning of the Richmond Marathon.  Seeing as there wasn't a 5K, and I had never run an 8K (5.1 miles), I decided to sign up for the 8K training team.

So on November 17, 2012 I ran my first race since high school, almost exactly a year after my foot surgery.  I was so proud of myself when I crossed that finish line in an exactly an hour [the time goal I had set for myself based on my per mile pace during the training runs].  

2013

Bucket List Item

When I began my running journey in June of 2012, I had told my mom that I wanted to run the Monument 10K in 2013.  Since she had also been running, she decided to run the 10K with me.  I again knew that I would do a better job training for the race by following a plan, so I joined the 10K training team through the Sportsbackers.  My mom and I did end up running the Monument 10K together on April 13, 2013; even though I had trained for the race, I stuck with my mom throughout the race [even when she said to go ahead and run at my own pace, she'd see me at the finish].

A week after the Monument 10K, I did the Color Me Rad fun run with a group of my friends.  I had a blast doing this run, though it wasn't much of a run, since most people walked it.

#2013point1

During the summer of 2013, I became lazy and did not run at all.  Towards the end of the summer, I knew that I wanted to get back into running again, but I knew that if I didn't have a goal to work towards I wouldn't stick with running.  I knew that the next race I wanted to do was a half marathon, but I was scared because I had never done a half marathon before.  After looking at training plans, I knew that I would not have enough time to train for the Richmond half marathon in November, so I swallowed my fear and anxiety and signed up for the Virginia Runner Blue & Gray Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, Virginia in December.  This would be my first race that I would train for by myself, without a group......but thanks to my participation in the two Sportsbackers training teams, I had made several friends in the Richmond running community, whose expertise and advice I would ask for several times throughout my half marathon training.

I started my half marathon training on Labor Day, with apprehension and excitement.  Just like I did when I started my running journey, I used an app [the Half Marathon Trainer by Zen Labs] to get myself back into running again; this app alternating walking and running, just like the Couch to 5K app.  At the end of September I developed a really bad sinus infection, which put me out of commission of running for 2.5 weeks.  Because I had missed so much training time, I feared that I wouldn't be ready for the half marathon.  After talking to my running buddies, they all agreed that I should just continue where I left off and that I should be good to go for the race.

The weekend of the half marathon race, the meteorologists were predicting an ice storm for this area of Virginia.  The few days leading up to the race, I kept praying that the race would not be called off; I had worked/trained too hard for this race.  The morning of the race, December 8, 2013, it was freezing cold but no precipitation had fallen, so the race was on.  I had driven up to Fredericksburg the afternoon before with my friend Vanessa in order to be prepared for the race in the morning [Vanessa was there for moral support and to drive my exhausted body back to Richmond after the race].  Since up to now I had only run races in Richmond, and races organized by the Sportsbackers, I was expecting several thousand runners.  To my surprise, there were only about 500 runners waiting at the starting line.  In order to calm my nerves, I struck up conversations with the runners around me, and learned that this is always a small race and that most had run it at least once before.  One of my co-workers was also running the half marathon, but knowing that she's a faster runner, I didn't think I'd see her [except for maybe at the start].  Sure enough, only a few hundred yards passed the starting line, she passed me with a tap on my shoulder and I didn't see her after that [even though the race course was an out and back].  The precipitation held off for a little while after the start of the race, but then the snow started to fall.  I had run in snow before, back at the beginning of the year while training for the Monument 10K, so I wasn't worried.  I stuck with my race plan, which was to alternate running for 4 minutes, then walking for 1 minute.  After awhile, most people had passed me [this seems to be a recurring thing for me], but I kept plugging along.  Then the sleet started.....and then the rain.....then back to snow.....and it continued to alternate.

I was not prepared for the constant hills that were along the course.  Around mile 7 or 8 my hamstrings and quads were starting to cramp, but I pushed through.  Around mile 9, there were only a handful of people running near me, either in front of me or behind me.  At mile 10 I hit a wall, so after completing my 4 minute run, I stopped and walked.  I almost had a meltdown [it was FREEZING, my legs hurt, no one was around me], but I decided to just walk the last 2.5 miles.  The snow turned to freezing rain right around that time, so my mantra became "One foot in front of the other.  Just put one foot in front of the other.  Don't stop."  I knew my friend Andrea was waiting for me back at the finish line, but it seemed so far away, especially since I had to walk back up the hilly street we had run down towards the beginning.  Another thing that had me almost freaking out was that there was a 3.5 hour time limit on the race; since I had never done a half marathon before, I didn't know if I would make this cut off time.  Up until I stopped running around mile 10.5, I was making good time, even with me walking/jogging.  I did finish the race, crossing the finish line in 3 hours 8 minutes.  By this point I was so cold and numb that I was moving on autopilot.  I'm so glad that Andrea was there to capture me finishing my first half marathon!

2014

Monument 10K- Round 2

Because I had run the Monument 10K with my mom last year, at her pace, I wanted to run this year's 10K at my pace.  I again joined the Sportsbackers 10K training team, but this year I joined the Manchester Y group, which is coached by some of my running buddies [Tammy Harrison, Alan Harrison, Dexter Ramey]; this year I wanted to train with friends, instead of with a bunch of strangers.  I knew it would be different to run and train with friends, but I didn't realize how much different it would be.  Each week's group run was like running with family: everyone was so positive and encouraging, and we all had fun.  This winter's extreme cold and dryness took a toll on my lungs and affected my 10K training.  During each training run I would hope and pray that this would be the run that I could run the whole way through, but each time I would have to stop and alternate running and walking.  But through it all, I stuck with the training schedule and kept up, though a bit slower than last year.  

This year, I decided to join The Massey Challenge while I trained for the 10K.  Cancer runs in my family and I am tired of hearing about friends or family friends being diagnosed with some form of cancer, so I decided to help the VCU Massey Cancer Center reach their goal of raising more than $500,000 to fuel Massey's life-saving research.  My goal was to raise $600; by race day, I had raised $620!

My parents came down to cheer me on during the 10K; my boyfriend Jason was also there.  Even though I had been dealing with congestion the week before the race, I still finished 6 minutes faster than my mom's and my time last year.

Biting the Bullet: Next Goal

Back during last fall, several of my running friends ran in the Richmond Marathon, which got me thinking.  Could I run a full marathon??  Who was I?  What happened to Miss Scaredy Cat who is afraid to do anything??  I met with Tammy and Alan for lunch one weekend during 10K training to get their advice on whether or not I could train for the Richmond Marathon with the training team, considering I'd be out of town for about 6 weeks this summer.  They reassured me that I would still be able to do it, especially since I had trained for a half marathon by myself and that the tougher/longer runs would be in the fall which I would be back in town for.  The day after the Monument 10K, I decided to just bite the bullet and sign up for the Marathon Training Team.  

This blog came to fruition at Tammy's suggestion, to help keep me accountable about my training this summer while I'm away at Hungarian Scout camp and home in Cleveland visiting family and friends.   Check back frequently to see how I'm doing!