running + auto immune diseases + common myths

not many people know this, but i am a runner who also suffers from an unknown auto immune disease, which began in July of 2006, so it will be ten years next year. it's kind of crazy to me, to have lived with so many different ailments for a very long time (chronic joint pain, chronic fatigue, low iron, migraines, sensitivity to sunlight, heat/cold, among other things). a while ago, i wrote the following post to answer some myths/question that i frequently get. please remember that there are many people who have auto immune diseases and their answers may be different! please be kind!

have you ever met someone with an autoimmune disease? some people are very open about what they have, while others keep it quiet. i’m somewhere in between. i don’t spill the beans about it immediately when i meet someone, but i also don’t shy away from explaining it. i even enjoy talking to others about it – not because i feel that i am special (trust me, i wouldn’t wish this on anyone), but i enjoy the chance to educate people. in particular, i tend to shy away from talking about my illness when i am running with my groupies, mostly because i don’t want to sound like a sob-story. plus, people tend to be aghast that i’m even running! i just want to look and be as normal as possible (though my body constantly tells me otherwise)!

anyways, i thought i’d list out some myths or things people have told me when they discover i have an autoimmune!

• are you contagious?! of course not! if i were contagious, i would quarantine myself to avoid giving it to others! being contagious also means i’d have something like a virus, which means it wouldn’t be a chronic problem. so when i tell you i have chronic fatigue or potentially have Lupus, don’t take two steps back! 

• you look perfectly normal! this can either be a complement or a negative to me. i suppose it might be different for each individual. for me, however, i like hearing i look like normal, especially since i feel anything but normal 99 percent of the time. however, if i’m having a flare up or a bad day, it’s the last thing i want to hear. sometimes i suffer so bad and it’s aggravating that i’m the only one who knows. internal illnesses are really blind handicaps and often, i feel bad for being sick. sometimes i feel people second-guess what i say or how i feel simply because they can’t SEE my disability. 

• how did you get something so horrible?! this is something i’d like to know. actually, i’d like to know WHAT i have, and then WHERE i got it from. if you’re a scientist or a doctor and you discover what i have, i will probably love you forever.

during a collegiate running race (my worst race ever), 2010. i was carrying quite a bit of excess weight and wasn't terribly serious about running at the time. interesting fact: i still own those running shorts...

• will you die? um, yes. but last i checked, so will you. perhaps i might die first, but who knows. 

• why the heck do you run if you have a disease? this is probably the second-most popular question i get, mostly because i run like it’s nobody’s business. back when i realized i had a long-term problem, my rheumotologist told me to take up some form of exercise (preferably swimming, yoga, pilates) to keep my joints from getting stiff. he also suggested it might help my fatigue. so what sport did i choose? running, of course! at the time, i was having trouble walking....
  
  GO BIG OR GO HOME!
  
  my rheumotologist probably thinks i’m crazy, but so what. he doesn’t have to live in my body and i will run until it’s physically impossible to do so. i can’t even count the ways running helps my illness – it gives me more energy, my joints are much less stiff, it helps my digestion issues among other things. 

there you have it. the next time you encounter someone with an autoimmune illness or something of the like, you will be more informed! autoimmune diseases are nasty and bad and horrible…but underneath the joint pain, fatigue and stuff, we’re just like you too!

2015! very serious about running and proving all my doctors wrong! also, my running friend Pam is the bomb!

i only included this photo because my leg muscles look pretty sick ;)

Mid-week recap!

Okay, I promise that despite the fact that I have NO readers, I'm still going to get on this blog train! I really miss writing!

Let me preface this blog recap of my weekend and week by saying that I just got the new Garmin Forerunner 225 and I am LOVING it. Love the built-in heart rate monitor as well as all the other features. I'm looking into doing more heart-rate training for future races (will not be employing this method 53 days -- yes, we're down to DAYS -- before my second full marathon). I'm really excited about heart-rate training.

Onto my weekend recap:

Over the weekend, we spent time in West Michigan. Saturday was beautiful, so  the Engineer and I logged 13 miles together. It was quite the run, as we slept in a tent the night before and I was feeling sore that morning. We ran from our campground to a nearby lighthouse that was at the halfway point of our run. It was so neat to stop at the halfway mark and just enjoy the scenery! Unfortunately, I have no pictures as I wasn't carrying my phone, but here are some pictures of Lake Michigan from the storm that rolled in later on Saturday/Sunday.

"Big Red" - the lighthouse in Holland

South Haven

Holland State Park

I find it amusing that people make fun of Lake Michigan because it's "just a lake" but what they don't realize is that Lake Michigan can get some pretty enormous storms that generate a lot of dangerous waves. It's very easy to get swept away in a rip tide or the current if you're not careful!

I'm not a fan of Wikipedia, but here's more info on Holland, Michigan and Lake Michigan!

Tuesday:

I jumped back into the running game and logged 6 miles with my running group and then 3 more  solo miles, for a total of 9. I don't often do solo miles after a group run, but yesterday, it made me appreciate my running group even more!

Wednesday:

Logged 7 slower miles. I have a 19 miler, so I'm trying to take it easy but not too easy. Tried to see what it was like to use the heart rate monitor on a run and boy is it interesting!

Today was also a frustrating day. My run was slower than I would like and I've been having some phone issues. Naturally, food was a good thing to turn to!

Everyone, pickle popcorn is amazing and so is Twinings Green Tea with pomegranate, strawberry and raspberry. Go get yourself some of both! My day is already looking up, so cheers!

Have you ever tried heart rate training?

Anyone else tried Trader Joe's popcorn with pickle?!