As I had shared previously, I began having some issues with the joints in my hands, feet, and right shoulder a couple days before Ironman Boulder. I had spent the entire previous week sick as a dog with some type of stomach virus the in the preceding days, and it was bad enough that I was seriously questioning if I'd be able to compete on August 2nd. After beginning medication for my stomach, I felt "okay" on Wednesday, July 29th and we decided to make the trip the following day. On Friday, July 31st, I woke up with searing pains in my feet and fingers. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! It felt like someone had taken hammers to my feet while I was sleeping. I iced and took ibuprofen, which helped a little but I was still very concerned. Why couldn't I just have a touch a good luck going into this thing? Mentally, I began preparing myself to get through my 140.6 mile race in adverse physical condition.
As swimming and biking are low impact, this went okay (other than clipping and unclipping during the ride...I quickly noted that when I unclipped on my right, a shot of pain went through my body). You would think that this would keep me pedaling along, but no, I stopped pretty much every hour to drink, eat, and use the facilities. I was unconcerned about the run. If I actually made it through my bike ride, I could suffer through my run.
WRONG.
Those 26.2 miles were terrible.
After I finally finished the race, the pain in my feet was unbearable. I barely slept the night afterwards because my bode hurt so bad.
Upon returning to Nebraska, I gave my body a week to heal before I decided to head to the doctor. I explained the entire timeline of events in detail, not sure what was notable and what wasn't.
I was quickly diagnosed with reactive arthritis. Here was the first thing that I read from the printout from Mayo Clinic that my doctor gave me: Reactive arthritis is joint pain and swelling triggered by an infection in another part of your body — most often your intestines or urinary tract. Reactive arthritis isn't common. For most people, signs and symptoms of reactive arthritis come and go, eventually disappearing within 12 months. So--this made total sense. I dealt with major stomach issues and then woke up with horrible joint pain a few days later. AND it can last for a YEAR?! UGH. Great.
At this point, my feet were swollen so badly I could barely walk. My husband (who is great, by the way, so I am not complaining right now) was questioning if I was being dramatic. I was quick to note that I had just finished an Ironman, and I there was no way that I would be whining about a little foot pain unless it was really warranted. I was prescribed 15 days of steroids to help me get to a more manageable state before starting a prescription of daily painkillers.
So here we are at day 2 of my painkillers. I am feeling pretty good, almost normal. I am not sure if this is strictly because of the steroids and now the next prescription, but I feel ready to make a new goal. What will it be...I have been feeling a little lost without a big event to train and look towards in my future.
What have I been doing for workouts late? Well, I took about 10 days completely off post Iron. After that, as I was still dealing with my foot issues, I have been sticking primarily to my spin bike and the elliptical. Because I am a runner, and it makes no sense in my mind not to do so, I have been adding in shorter runs, mostly at night (the pain is worse in the morning) of about 3 miles or so.
I started back to work soon after Ironman Boulder. Thus far, I have been managing my training schedule of 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by 40 minutes of spinning in the mornings before my hour commute to work. To get all this in, my alarm typically goes off at 4:26am. I try to add in my short run before I leave Columbus (where I work) so that it doesn't interfere with my evenings with my family. As I am a person who needs a lot of sleep, I am not sure if I can do this day in and day out, but so far I have been feeling good.
As far as family life is concerned, all is great! Quinn and Anders are both starting dance lessons this fall, and Quinn is enrolled in Awana. Philip and I are teaching our final year of Godparents as our kiddos are now seniors. I continue to teach Life Skills to students with developmental disabilities and am loving my job. My students are kind and hard working, and I have been blessed with wonderful co-workers. Anders continues to receive feeding therapy, and while he has been experiencing hardships keeping his calories in, he remains very interested in eating and drinking. He is happy, upbeat, and social.
Hope that the school year is off to a smooth start for you and your kiddos! Happy running! :)
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