And for Christmas this year.....I get.....

A couple of weeks ago I came down with that cold I posted about. After a couple days of those antibiotics I thought I had this mo fo under control and on its' way out. Things changed after 1 week of being on those meds though. Apparently my body was like "oh you know didn't!" and decided to react in a not awesome way to them. I started to feel like I had the flu. My whole body ached, I had the chills, my joints killed and my nose started to get full. Also my cough started back up. I did a little research and saw that these symptoms were side effects of both meds so my doc and I decided to hold them to see if things improved. Twelve hours after stopping them I started to feel so much better, and by the second day I felt great...except for this cough.

Fast forward to Friday night and Saturday...this cough has gotten much much much worse. It's a cough that my family and close friends have not heard in years, since before starting Kalydeco/Blue Lightning really. Not only is the cough bad, but my sides and chest hurt, you can hear crackles when I breath and I've been sleeping twelve hours a night. So unlike me.

So, how? "How can you still get a lung infection now that you're taking Blue Lightning?" my best friend asked this week. It's a very valid question that I'm sure a lot of others wonder too. Kalydeco is not a cure. Sure it treats the underlying cause of CF and helps my CFTR protein function better to alleviate my symptoms, but it does not cure CF. My friends and family have seen the very best ever of me over the past two years thanks to Kalydeco. (and exercising and eating well :) ) No coughing for the first year and a half straight,  PFT's that I had never seen before and listening to my speeches saying how "I have never in my life felt better than I do now."

But I still have CF. I still culture pseudomonas, and those buggers can still work really hard together to turn into an infection. This infection is really testing me though, and seems like it hit harder than the infections I've had in the past when I wasn't on Blue Lightning.

Last night I was talking on the phone with my best Ute friend Somer who said, "Oh mannn can't you just wait until after Christmas?" I then started to cough and she quickly replied, "Nope! You're going in tomorrow..." It's now Christmas Eve and I am heading into the U to get things started. My doctor was on call last night and has everything lined up for when I get in there. Hopefully we can get the desensitization going today and get things working.

Spending Christmas in the hospital is not new for me or all of my CF friends. It's what we do to get better. We used to strategically plan the stays so they would fall over Christmas break. I expected them. This ordeal is more unexpected and well, annoying. I have been looking forward to seeing my nieces on Christmas Eve and morning, especially seeing Kacey have a stroke when she gets that damn Dodge Charger Police Car we got for her.  Hopefully someone will capture this magic on video for me!

I did score an incredible Christmas sweater from a friend this week that I plan to wear tomorrow at the hospital. It definitely has three dogs on it and two are wearing gold chains....so that's enough to make you go cray!

3...when were you diagnosed...and 4

Ok funniest work out moment happened this morning, you may not laugh but it was kind of like an SNL skit.

I hit the early morning weight class with Armstrong today. This is a popular class with the older crowd, but don't be fooled, the 84 year old woman has a tighter body than most 20 year olds and the other silver fox has arms larger than my legs. This is no joke.

There is a little portion of that class that takes us to the wall for some wall sits, the kind of sits that don't end and your legs feel like they could catch on fire. Luckily Armstrong I deal with this pain by looking at each other and laughing..it really helps.

Well today...today was hilarious. I was wearing the "Train. Breathe. Out Run CF" shirt. As we were walking over to the wall next to take a squat, our very nice instructor read my shirt. Just as my legs started to burn she asked what CF was...and then the conversation continued like this:

Instructor: "Do you know someone with CF?"
Me: "I know someone very well."I say settling into my square
Instructor: "Who?" she asked as my right leg started to shake.
Me: "Me" I pointed to myself with the dumbell as I raised it up for a curl.
Instructor: "You have CF? and 2..and 3..."
Me: "Yep I do!"
Instructor: "And 4...when were you diagnosed? and 5..."
Me: "18 Months old...1983." By this time my I was ready to not be squatting anymore.
Instructor: "Wow" and hold the squat..."Are you a doctor..6, 7, 8.."
Me: "I wish..."

Mind you..She is wearing a headset mic while teaching so that everyone in the gym can hear her. So, as she is instructing people on what to do, and counting, she is asking me these questions out of the opposite side of her mouth. It was hilarious!!!

Good start to the day..

Kale Power Celebration

*Go ahead and click that picture above to see the Top 10 Benefits of Eating Kale*

That leafy green stuff is good..and it is damn good for you so you should eat it! This week I've been on quite a kick and above is one of the most delicious ways I have ever had it.

Attention CF circle, kale could be really great for us: Kale is loaded with Vitamin A, K (2 vitamins we already take more of), has more calcium per calorie than milk (osteopenia/osteoperosis?), high in fiber (you know...), great anti-inflammatory ..the list goes on, just click the pic.

Here is what's in that picture above: Kale salad (see recipe below) with a diced baked sweet potato, tasty red lentils in a fab sauce (see recipe), a KBC pumpkin ale, my fruit bowl..and a leg lamp nightlight. Oh..and of course my Nook that is in the process of cleaning my Altera nebs.

Kale Salad- Adapted from the December Whole Living Magazine recipe.

 Now called Em's Super Kale and Sweet Potato Salad

Makes 2 Servings

To be honest..when I make up my own stuff I don't measure. So what listed below is just me guessing.

Bake 2 small or 1 large sweet potato(es) in oven (375 for 35 minutes or so..ish, maybe)

When done, let cool and dice

For Kale Salad

Couple cups of diced Kale

3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Crushed Garlic

 Pinch Red pepper flakes

 Salt to taste 

Pepper to taste

 1/2 of a Lemon juiced

Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

Mix Olive oil,  garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and lemon in bowl. Pour over kale. Add parmesan cheese. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before eat.

Red Lentils- Recipe on the back of the Trader Joe's Red Lentil Bag

1 Cup red split lentils

2-1/4 broth (I use veggie)

1/4 white vermouth (I used some Charles Shaw Shiraz)

1 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tsp. black pepper

Everyday Seasoning Salt to taste (Sea salt in my world)

1 tbsp. olive oil

Heat oil in pan; add lentils, toss to coat; about 1 minute. Add broth, wine and seasoning. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat until tender and the liquids almost absorbed, about 12 minutes. 

More Kale Ideas

- Kale Chips

- Blend into your favorite smoothie with a frozen banana, almond butter, or frozen berries, yogurt, kefir etc..

- Soup it up!

That's all I got for now...eat well and be happy!

Love Part Deux

Ok so my "I love you" brother called me last night to clarify some things after he read the Love post. He wanted to tell me a little story about how those 3 words won him his beautiful wife.

When he was working at his old department, his now wife was working there too. She was a cute gal that was charmed right away by my brothers humor and niceness. One day before they even were dating she heard him on the phone with someone. When she heard him end the call with "I love you babe" she thought "Oh shit..he's got a girlfriend!" Boooooo...

What she didn't know was that on the other line was...ME! When she found this out she was relieved and totally in love with him. What a nice caring guy who talks to his sister that way....<Insert the "awwwwww" audience track from Saved By The Bell>

So there it is..the "I love you" wins again!

Oh and I am overwhelmed with the I love you's on Facebook, texts and even a love note written on a Trader Joe's receipt stuck on my windshield after yoga.

I...luvu.

Em

I love you so much!

"I love you" is not a phrase that my family voiced very often when I was growing up. Don't get me wrong, my family is so tight and we love each other more than can be put into words, but we just never really said "those 3 words" to each other. We just knew!

My best friends Reebs and Steph say it to each other, their oldest sister Linds and their mom at the end of every phone call or when they leave each others house...mind boggling! I didn't know what to think when I first heard these words being thrown around so much about 10 years ago when we first started hanging out.

In my early 20's my brother older brother Adam started throwing this phrase around when he would end our phone calls. He is the cop, wrestler, football, Styx singing guy, so this also blew my mind.  Eventually the "I love you's" spread on to my parents from my brother and I would hear my dad saying it back to my bro before hanging up. My uncles in NYC started sneaking it into our phone conversations and my dad is saying it more too....What is happening with all this Love?

I'm at the point where I can type and email or sign birthday cards that end with "I love you," no problem whatsoever. It's the end of a phone call when I have to respond the my brother or my dad's 3 words..I get flustered and muster out a quick "Love you too!' Those two words just seem much easier to say than those three for some reason. 

This weekend I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my folks, brother, sis n law and two nieces. My other bro and sis n law were in Cali..missed them big time.! Here's the deal. My 3 year old niece K has no problem throwing these three word around and I have absolutely no problem saying them back to her.

When she was supposed to be napping on Friday she called down for me. I went up there and she asked me to lay with her, so I did for a few minutes hoping that would do the trick. While lying there facing each other she put her little arm around me and gave me a big squeeze. She said "My best friend...I love yo soooo much Ellily!" This was the cutest and one of the most amazing moments in my life. I responded with "I love you!" and she said "I love you more!" If this totally cute and innocent 3 year old can throw these three words around so easily, why can't I?

I did talk about this with a friend last week who has the exact same problem that I have. He grew up never saying it and now is married to someone who says it all the time, this is a life changer. He says he is learning to use it more and showers his sons with the words all the time.. At least I'm not in this boat alone!

So here is to learning how to say these three words without clamming up and mumbling out "luvutwo.."

I. Love. You.

Em

Finisher But Never Finished...

Isn't this shirt sweet? I saw the (re)vici booth at the Beach2Battleship race expo and knew that these guys were pumping out some sweet products. When I spoke with the master minds behind this company I realized right away that they "get it." Cool gear that people want to wear beyond race day or  race weekend..this is something that I'm focused on doing with Rock CF and the Rock CF Rivers races.

When I first eyed the Finisher But Never Finished shirts the phrase immediately resonated with me.   I of course had to get one of these shirts and ended up with the dark charcoal gray color that I wore the day after I Finished the big race.

Even though I bought it before I actually finished my first half iron distance, that didn't matter. Having finished 7 half marathons, tons of other 5k's & 10k's, 300+ mile bike rides from Detroit to Chicago or D.C. to Pittsburgh, all of these allowed me the right to wear this, right?...BUT  Finisher But Never Finished goes beyond the road I run on or the bike journeys I take. It summarizes my whole life, and really anyone else who lives with a chronic or illness. We fight battles large and small, come out on top and cross that finish line (sometimes crawling through), but there will always be more fighting. We go into the hospital to treat lung infections, have surgeries or procedures, and we come out a finisher...but we are not finished.

There will be a day when we are all Finished (thank you Blue Lightning for helping to give my expiration date a little boost) but until then we all will continue to be Finishers in our everyday battles!

I suggest you head over to read about this awesome company..and maybe pick up a shirt or two!

Em

Thank You's and the funniest story of the week

It hit me at 6am the day after the race as I hobbled into the bathroom..I did it! I didn't just do it though, I raced it. The soreness in the legs and the bruised up toes showed me that I poured out all I had in me during the race. Also I realized that I pushed myself for 5 hours and 45 minutes straight with no rest, eating just enough to fuel my body. When I think about this it becomes real...and I become so excited for the next one!

I have so many people to thank for getting me through training, and the race.

All of my fam for all the encouragement during training and for keeping up with my training. Baby K for being the best cheerleader ever. My training friends who rode and ran with me..Armstrong, Jess, John, Sarah and all the GP runners. Steph and Reebs for feeding me and for helping me fulfill my fro-yo needs.

Sage Rountree for offering me nutrition advise early on in my 13 week program. Her advice changed my whole way of thinking when it comes to nutrition before, during and after training/racing. I swear it was the best advice I've gotten in a long long time.

EPIC Powersports! My buddy Matt from Epic hooked me up with all my Hammer nutrition for training and the race. The Latte Perpetuem was the bomb but I especially love the chocolate Recoverite! I swear that stuff is why I was ready to drink beer and freestyle walk after I finished the race! All of my Michigan friends who ride make sure you check these guys out if you're up in the Traverse City area.

PPD- Ned, Lee, Elizabeth, David, Wendy, Maryssa, Jessica, Kara and everyone who works there. You guys are the absolute nicest and genuine people and I am so proud to be a part of your team!

Here is a highlight from the whole experience:

After the race we hung for a while and then when back to the hotel to shower and rest for a few. We headed back downtown for dinner around 6pm. When we got out of the car a group of parents who had kids running came up and stopped me. They saw my speech at the athlete's dinner and wanted to chat and ask me how I did in the race. Super cool to meet them! This happened a few more times around town during the night.

The BEST was this though...We were standing near the finish where some people were crossing the line and others were making the turn for their final 13.1 (a sad place to watch btw..yikes). 2 drunk suburban ladies in their 50's walk past and I mess with them a little bit and ask if they're going to run next year. One of them stops and turns and says, "I need to ask you something...." This always makes me nervous.. "Did I see you on TV yesterday?" We laugh and say yes. Her girlfriend  says "Shut the F*** up! You can't see.." The less drunk one says "I've been staring at the ground for 2 weeks. I had detached retina surgery..but I remember seeing you."  The other lady continued on and the drunk(er) one again says "shut the f*** up!" When she said this it wasn't in excitement, no, she was staring at me weirdly and in disbelief. Again the back and forth about "You can't see.." "Yes I can, it is you!"....when they finally left we were dying! Totally made the whole trip!

Check the Rock CF site for the news clips...www.LetsRockCF.org

PPD Beach2Battleship Race Recap

PPD Beach to Battleship Half Iron Distance Triathlon Recap

6:18.48...blew my goal out of the water!

     WOW! Training really paid off big time...I'm still so amped up right now about the race and will try and do a decent race recap here. So much happened during the race and especially in the days leading up to the event. A huge pep rally at PPD to meet my amazing fellow Heroes and Team PPD, speaking at the official athlete's dinner, visiting the local cancer centers and being on the news 4 or so times on 4 different channels. It was craZZY!

Here is the race recap..I broke it into sections to make it easier to read.

Pre Race/T1

I actually slept really well Friday night before the race which was awesome. At 4:55am I got a text from my amazing swimming partner Scott asking what our bib number was. He wanted locate my bike so he knew where he was heading after his swim for T1. He is in charge of T1 for the race anyway so he was there at 3am already. At 5:05 I popped up and hit the lobby for a surprisingly piping hot fresh cup of coffee. A whole wheat bagel with almond butter and a banana was washed down with some chocolate coconut water and my morning routine of the vest and Pulmozyme. When my routine finished I grabbed all my stuff and headed to meet Willie (an amazing PPD Hero) and his wife for a ride to the start. I had a cool 3 chilly hours until Scott would come out of the water and send me on my way. Luckily I ran into an old friend who I went to high school with who was swimming in the full relay, rather quickly I may add. I also got to chat with my buddy Keith who came up from Florida to race the 1/2 and then hung with all the PPD peeps as we awaited our fish to arrive. A quick ride on the foam roller that I brought and then some stretching and I was ready to get this thing started! 27minutes and 53 seconds after the start of the Relay teams swim, my buddy Scott came darting into T1 screaming my name. I screamed back and in a snap he had that timing strap around my left ankle, I pulled my bike off the rack and hauled ass to the Exit. My Cat Eye odometer sensor on my wheel was knocking as I was running my bike but a great bike mechanic volunteer fixed it in seconds and I was on my way!! Talk about adrenaline! Geeze!!

T1 Transition time: 3.35

PPD B2B Bike

Bike

3:17.41

 (I now need a tri bike!)

       I owe my speedy bike time (speedy for me) to my dad. Two days before the race I had my bike tuned up at a cool shop in Wilmington. As we were unloading it to T1 on Friday he noticed that my back tire wasn't spinning all that well. Turns out the brake was very tight. I wouldn't have caught that so I'm super thankful he did. We aren't sure if it was like that for all of my 13 weeks of training ;/ or if it happened at the shop. Luckily the bike guy at T1 put it on the stand and loosened it right up. 

     The bike course was awesome! To get out of the Wrightsville Beach area we had to loop around and cross a bridge. Once we crossed the bridge we took a right and were on a long straight stretch for quite a while. That first stretch was something I wasn't expecting. My legs definitely were overwhelmed at first by my body and minds excitement to race. It took them about 5 miles to really get going. Thankfully there were awesome crowds of people in the first few miles who screamed "Go PPD!!" Some even realized that it was me riding past and giving them a thumbs up,  and they screamed my name...now how cool is that? How'd they know it was me? Well my ugly mug was on posters all over the PPD offices and at the race expo. Those cheers really got me through those first few miles and in the right mindset to get rocking. My speeds were crazy! 18-20 mph was what my computer was showing and I wasn't mashing at all. Either the wind was at my back or indeed I had been training for weeks with some tight break resistance. Hey, I'm blonde....

     About 5 miles in David, who is the CEO of PPD and incredible guy came riding past me. We had some laughs and then he said he was feeling good and busted out ahead. Pretty cool! At about mile 15 I hear a loud voice scream "chuuummp"  and I knew who it was right away, Eric and Garrett, my wild PPD heroes who ride as a father son tandem. *Read about their amazing story here!* As they wizzed by me we trash talked for a bit and then I saw them at the first aid station.  When I pulled off, a lady asked how I was and then helped me fill my bottle with water. She was just so cool and it was magical how quickly she got me squared away. That volunteer made my day! 

     I was back on the road in a jiffy and cruising at an average of 17.7 mph. People were still yelling "go PPD" and there were again a few "Go Emily's" scattered about too. The coolest was when other riders would cruise by and say "go girl" or give some other encouragements. My favorite was the guy who roared by me but had enough time to yell "I know who you are! You are the poster girrl!! Go!!!!" So cool. I was able to talk Tigers with a few guys, tell someone about cystic fibrosis and also explain what PPD does. A long stretch of the course cruised along Interstate 40...have you ever biked a race on an interstate? It was sweet..and fast! We had a few viaducts to cruise over but I gotta say again, this new "resistance" training paid off. I told myself at each little uphill I came to was like my tune ups in the hospital.  The start of the climbs were when I was sick and going into the hospital. As I cruised up the hill that is when I was on the up and up and the meds were kicking in. When I got to the top it was when I was at my best. And cruising downhill was when I was discharged. This little mind trick worked and I buzzed up the hills!

     My nutrition plan was spot on. I drank 1 full bottle of water every hour, my bottle of Perpetuem over the 3 hours and took in some Heed too. A Hammer Gel at hour 1 & 3, and my PB+J Bonk Bar at 2 hours. 2 Salt Stick caps every hour and 4 enzymes twice on the ride. Because my ride was at least 30 minutes faster than I was planning I didn't need that extra gel on the bike which was cool. 

     I gotta say that I am still excited about the double hand off I made at the last aid station. One girl had 2 bottles in her hand. She handed 1 to the guy right in front of me and then I said to here "'let's go for 2!" So she stuck that hand out with that bottle and I snatched it on my way by. We both laughed and cheered but it wasn't over there though. Right after her I spotted a girl holding gels. We made a seamless handoff and I was now the proud owner of 2 gels that would go into my jersey and get me through the run. Nothing like going 2 for 2 at a station! The best part was the bottle of water had a big hole in it. So every time I squeezed it to take a drink I got drenched..luckily it was hot and I could really appreciate the bath.

     I kept looking at my time and started doing math. "Am I really going to finish around 3hrs15? There must be some fierce headwinds that we are going to turn into." When a cool local racer told me that we were in the headwinds already, that's when I knew I was smoking the bike. I was SO geeked but then nervous...I told my mom, dad and the PPD peeps I would be in T2 30 minutes after my new arrival time!

     As I powered up the last bridge, slowly at this point (mile 55.5'ish) I was ready to be off the bike and in my running shoes. Magically that moment happened and I cruised into the chute to loud screams from my family and PPD friends..they didn't miss me!! This race has the only indoor transition area which was great. I handed my bike to a volunteer, hobbled to my T2 bag, changed shoes, peed (Real bathrooms!!) and put on my Rock CF hat and race number and hit the road. 

T2 Transition 4:14

PPD B2B- Run

Run

2:25.27

     As I came back out the shoot I saw my mom, dad and friends and they were going wild. One of them started running next to me screaming my name. They said I looked great when I ran by them...looks are deceiving because my legs did not know what the hell to do haha. 

     The chute brings you onto the boardwalk along the Cape Fear river. As I tried to figure out what I was doing a nice lady ran up beside me, put her hand on my back and said "I work with a lot of CF kids..." and then she said some more nice things that were just what I needed to hear. At this point I didn't feel like I was moving at all, my mouth was SO dry, my lungs were trying to figure things out and I had some doubts. About a 1/2 mile in though I came to another team of PPD peeps who went crazy when they saw me. The pic below is from that moment and honestly I'm surprised because it looks like I am actually running! It sure as hell felt like I was shuffling with 2 bricks attached to my feet.  Let's talk about feet right now though...apparently I didn't tie my shoes tight enough because now I am the proud owner of bilateral pointer toe bloody bruises that will soon be losing their nails. Yay life! But hey, if that's what hurts the most after all this I'm ok with it!

Back to the race....I got some quick high fives, a water and an orange which I quickly spit out. It looked better on the table than in my mouth. 

     This crew gave me the encouragement that I needed to get going. That is until that damn hill that you have to go up to get out of town. It was a quick steep one about 3/4-1mile in so I decided to walk up it, along with every other person in front and behind me. From that point on though I didn't walk during the 13.1 once (except through each aid station). 

     As I plugged along the first 2 miles the temps really got to me. My mouth was still super dry and I felt so damn hot. Out of nowhere a voice from behind says "Emily! Do you need some water?" Sure enough a guy on a bike pulls up next to me with a bottle of water. Really? Was this a dream? I drank as much as I could, he wished me luck and then I thanked him 1,000 times. 

     The first 4 miles of the run were the toughest for me. Once I got past 4 my lungs relaxed, my legs were back and I was on it; popping salt tabs, gelling up a couple times, and drinking water, Heed or cola at each station. 

     The best part of the run was seeing all 5 of the other PPD Hereos. Mary was the first to fly past me. She was the running portion of a 1/2 relay team and is in some kick your ass shape. I got a good chest bump from Eric and Garrett and then I saw my buddy Willie at a turn. Other Team PPD peeps were all over the course so that was fun to see them and share some encouraging words, like these from Lee as he stormed past "Rock Cffffff!!!" These are what got me through this hot hot run. The miles between 6-10 were great with more encouraging words from fellow runners. One guy even ran up behind me saying "Hey! You got any of those blue pills???" He must have seen my PPD speech on Thursday...referring to Blue Lightning, aka Kalydeco.

     At mile 10.5 I caught up with Katie (who also has CF, is a PPD Hero, kicks ass, and did the run portion of the 1/2). She was hacking a little and we were both not loving the heat so we decided to bring it home together. We joked and laughed until we came to the best moment of the entire race. In front of us was her brother and dad at a bar around mile 11.5, with......BEER!!! Her brother handed a frothy ale to her and at the same time we both yelled "We can't share!!!" (CF patients have to be careful with cross contamination issues) In the blink of an eye her dad had a stout in my hands and we both took giant swigs. Holy cow, that was heaven in my mouth and we are convinced that is what got us to the finish!

     We got through the last longest mile of our lives and headed down that same damn hill I walked up in the beginning. The PPD crew was in the same spot screaming as we went by. When we got even closer to the finish Scott was there waiting...he said "let's do this together"...so yeah, that was amazing! Scott and I joined hands and the 3 of us with cystic fibrosis headed toward the finish line, kind of hearing the announcer say our names and that we were PPD Heroes, we ran across the finish line together with our arms held high!!!! My mom, dad, our friends from Florida, the other heroes families and more PPD crew was at the finish yelling for us. It was AMAZING!

Scott and I hugged it out and I thanked him for a lightning (not blue) fast swim. David from PPD was at the finish line and presented us with our medals BLING! Such an incredible feeling.

 (Katie and me)

I felt better after this race than any 4 hour ride or long run I did during the 13 weeks of training. Sticking to my nutrition guide (thank you Sage Rountree!!) was definitely the key to success. 

At the finish  I refueled with my Recoverite that my mama and pops did up for me and then I just soaked it all in. Amazing amazing amazing...amazing.

A sports reporter for the Star News paper was waiting for me at the finish. He'd spoken with my parents already and also to Scott who has a story that I still can't believe. You can read the article

Cystic fibrosis, love of fitness bring competitors together for B2B here.

     This was by far the most challenging experience of my life and I still can't believe I completed it especially finishing 30 minutes faster than my goal time. I could go on for hours and days about everything that happened during the whole thing. The awareness for cystic fibrosis and for clinical trials was really highlighted this week. I cannot thank the team at PPD enough for this opportunity. The energy that the team of Heroes brought to Wilmington is still blowing my mind. I think we need a reality show...

     

     Stay tuned for more pics of the race, the events, the news coverage and some hilarious stories that happened after the race!

When's the next race??

The Final Countdown!

It is officially Race Week!!!

Tomorrow my mom, pops and I will be hitting the road southeast toward Wilmington, North Carolina. I have 3 bags packed already, one for my speaking outfits, one for my bike and run gear, 1 for snacks and nebulizers..actually add 1 more, my vest! It ain't easy to travel light when you have CF.

We will drive a while tomorrow, spend the night and then head into the Wil Wednesday a.m. In the early afternoon I have a meeting with the PPD heroes and crew to go through a dress rehearsal for Thursday's Hero Awards. After the rehearsal I gotta bust over to Bike Cycles to get my bike tuned up and pick up some last minute gear.

Big week ahead!!

My folks picked up their first smart phones yesterday, the Galaxy 3's...It's a really nice phone and their commercials make me want one, even though I'm an iPhoner. The plan is for me to hold tutoring sessions from the backseat during the drive down. This should be pretty interesting..maybe even worth recording. All I need for them to be able to do on Saturday is to take pictures and video and be able to share those via text and perhaps Facebook... let's cross our fingers! I am confident that they can master this.

How many of you have had your parents join the smart world?Perhaps I will write a book about my experiences with this, no not the iron man, but "Guiding Your Parents into the New World of Technology." Step 1:Have a bottle of whiskey on hand... Step 2: Drink it..together.

Next stop Wilmington!

Hitting the Clinic

This morning I got a call from my mini me/3 year old niece K who said that she is now a doctor. Interesting...In case you didn't already know,  she told me recently that she has 3 grandchildren. She basically puts Doogie Howser to shame. A 3 year old doctor with 3 grand kids..Sorry NPH!

So when she told me she was a doctor I asked if she could help me with my foot. She responded with  "I am at the clinic..." Hmm I thought; she isn't allowed to hang out with Lindsey Lohan anymore and I know she's clean, but why the clinic?  "The clinic is at my house." Oh she calls the doctors office the clinic...better keep an eye on who she is hanging out with and watching on TV...

She instructed that I must take a shower, brush my teeth and hurry there quickly. What would she be doing when I got to the clinic? Look in my ears, put a hammer in my mouth and the make me say "ahhhh" and then throw that away. Interesting.

After explaining how this process would work, she asked if I like apple juice. Of course I do! She told me that when I get to the clinic there is some apple juice in the fridge, so just open it up and have some. That would definitely fix me. She finished the conversation with another, "hurry up and get here, and come quickly!"

Just before getting this phone call from my new doctor, I began receiving picture messages of the youngest Rock CF star, my other niece LoLo. She was wearing that red Rock CF shirt that K wore when she was a little thing. Matching the shirt were some red and white striped pants, cute ass grin and sticky outty hair..why....!??

How do you say no to these things! My new clinic, my new doctor and my baby Rock CF'er are 3 hours away...I was so tempted to just drop what I was doing (packing for the IRONMAN!), get in my car and drive there.

After this race I need to see these nuggets!

Pink! Even the stoner kid is aware..

Whoa...October.

So we ALL know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Pink ribbons are everywhere, plastered on cereal boxes, soup cans, Kitchen Aids,  NFL football players and refs wear pink jockstraps, pizza boxes are pink...the list is endless. It truly is amazing the support that this cause gets, in the awareness side and the fundraising side.

I am definitely not going to get into my views about the whole thing regarding funding and research. I don't consider myself knowledgable enough about it all so I won't bother, but I do have some strong feelings about some issues. BUT if you have time track down Pink Ribbon, Inc. and give it a watch....(You can stream it on Netflix)

What I am going to say today is, damn, they truly have succeeded in one thing...AWARENESS! Everyone knows and is talking about breast cancer. Everyone.

Around lunchtime I snuck out for a short 3 mile run and on my way back I crossed paths with a stoner kid on a skateboard who was clearly skipping school.  With his fist thrust in the air he yelled to me "Whoooo, keep it up! Yeaaah! Let's cure breast cancer!" Baffled I couldn't respond and I just giggled to myself. Holy shit I thought, everyone and I mean evvvvveryone is talking about breast cancer. I wasn't wearing any pink, I had no ribbons anywhere, I was just running!

I gotta hand it to everyone working in the breast cancer worlds because it truly is amazing. Congratulations on making sure the who world is aware this month and everyday..it's mind blowing! Now if only we could get some more amazing treatments for this horrific disease so these women, men, families and friends won't have to suffer so badly. The last thing I want is to see any of my friends and or family members go through this...Finding out what causes breast cancer and narrowing focus and more education on preventative measures.. ok ok ok...I'll stop right here.

All I'm saying is that you just wait until May when it is CF awareness month..I can guarantee no stoner on a skateboard will be screaming "Let's cure cystic fibrosis!" as I run by..what I can guarantee is that amazing new treatments have been developed and are being developed and we are Out Running CF!

That's Just Cold

Toe covers, a beanie and full fingered gloves just about sums up yesterday's ride. It was my first time using all three of my new Pearl Izumi items and I was pretty excited to hit the streets in my new gear. The excitement wore off about 1/4 mile in when I realized that it was f'ing cold.

The thought of my warm cozy bed was dancing in my mind like sugar plum ferries, but I continued on toward downtown. I had to get a decent ride in so I figured I better get some miles downtown because I was getting a little bored with the normal ride around town. Passing the Pochontas statue and gets a little old ... . As I cruised down Jefferson toward Belle Isle around 9 a.m. my fingers started to turn into little icicles but the rest of my body was warm. The sun started to peek out and then stayed out the rest of the ride which really came in handy as I think it thawed out my fingers! I hit a few laps around the Isle which was semi quiet for a beautiful morning.

As I was riding I of course was planning my lunch menu for the day. Because it was cold I needed some warm comfort food. My selections were minimal at home but I did remember that I had some potato pierogi in freezer. Aha..! So I spent the next hour thinking about how to prepare them, what to serve with them (peas and carrot, celery and pear juice) and how good they would be. As I hit the 2 hour mark of my ride I played a little cat and mouse with an older guy cycling. As he caught back up to me it was clear that he was from Europe..he asked about the mileage around the isle, so I filled him in on that and then he told me that cycling is good for his injured knee..ummm, ok cool.  But where are you from?? Italy I first thought but I was wrong. "Poland" he says as I fire back with "I was just thinking about the pierogi I am having for lunch!!" He got a good laugh even though he most likely only understood the word pierogi. He decided to turn it on, cycle away and I never saw him again. It was entertaining for a few minutes at least.

Also while on one of my laps there were two dudes running, most likely training for the Freep. One had a zipped up wind jacket but as I rode past him I got a tiny peek at the shirt he had on underneath. Black with a red logo..hmm..could it be? I tried to stalk them a little more but no dice. As I cruised downtown more toward the river walk and saw the guys again. This time his jacket was around his waist revealing his shirt. Sure enough he was rocking the 2011 Rock CF Rivers black with red half shirt! When I saw this I smiled like a fool...the could have thought that something was wrong with me because I was just looking at them and smiling.. but it made my day!

Hoping to get 56 miles in, I finished up with 47 instead. I didn't eat a big enough breakfast and I couldn't get my energy to come back that last hour, even with some Hammer Gel..plus I was chilly and my legs were a little beat from Saturday's 10 miler. I didn't feel bad calling it a day because it was a great ride and it proved that I am tough enough to ride in the semi cold weather!

Rest and yin yoga today!

Why am I doing this? G.l.o.r.i.a..

Last long run before the PPD Beach 2 Battleship Half Ironman!!

Click the logo above to see my PPD Hero video!

That's right folks, we are 14 days away from the biggest race and one of the coolest opportunities of my life. Armstrong asked me on the run this morning if I was getting nervous..saying no would be a lie. I am not nervous that anything will go wrong or that I won't do well in the race, it's more of an "I am so excited for everything that is going to happen and now I have butterflies whenever I think about it!"Not only will I be doing my first 1/2 iron man, but I'll also be speaking a few different times around town and meeting some incredible people; other PPD heroes and of course everyone at PPD!

Yesterday I started back with my PT guru Greg who is going to do enough to get my knee and hip feeling good but not too much that could inflame anything. Everything felt pretty damn good today. No knee or IT issues after 10 so that's a good sign. My hip was a little sore but nothing that would alter my stride or stop me.

I got my last double digit run in at 7am today, 10.2 miles. Now I will start to dial everything down while staying healthy and not doing anything stupid....that is hard to do. Becky ran the first 6'ish with me and then I finished up 4 on my own.  Today's run wasn't my best, I was coughing quite a bit,  spitting some sticky situations up, my lungs felt harsh and my stomach wasn't 100%. No big deal though...Could be the 18 bean soup I've been eating all week, or the shredded wheat cereal...definitely dropping my fiber next week and the week after. Yikes.

Around mile 8 this morning my mind really started to wander. Thoughts about the race were running (and cycling) through my head, how's my transition going to work? Is my nutrition and fueling going to work? I gotta make sure I pack everything!..and a whole lot more. I also started to think of how big of an event this is, how much time and training I've put in, and what it really means for me. In 5 years I've done 7 half marathons, multiple 275-350 mile bike trips and have spoken to crowds of 10-5,000. 4 of these half marathons and 3 of these 300+ mile rides were done before I was on blue lighting/Kalydeco when my lung function sucked and I was in the hospital 2-3 times a year. When I started running I couldn't even run a block without coughing and spitting and gasping for breath. Slowly I built up and in 2 weeks I'll be biking 56 miles and then running 13.1 miles? Hey, wha happen?...of course this is after my awesome "Violent Phlegms" teammate and fellow CF rockstar Scott swims the 1.2 miles and tags me. Leading up to the race I will be joining a few other PPD Heroes where we will be telling our clinical trial and personal stores to groups around Wilmington, N.C. Exciting stuff here.

During these last 2 miles today thoughts also went to all of my CF friends around the world. Mostly I thought about my friend Gloria who passed away almost 2 years ago now. She lived in the neighborhood where I bike and run daily and she is constantly on my mind while training. Today though it really hit me and I had a really tough time finishing those last two miles. Why isn't she here anymore? Why am I able to train so much and then in two weeks do a half ironman distance triathlon, something that only like 70,000'ish people sign up to do each  year? (I may be off a little..) There has got to be a reason for this of course and I realize now after living through so many of these "why" moments, that this is the way life goes and you cannot change it. You simply, not it's usually not simple, must keep moving forward. All I know is that I miss Glo and I'm going to take her spirit to N.C. with me to do this race. We both loved The Who so maybe if I start to go crazy on the course I will sing the entire Tommy soundtrack in my mind during the race, although she like Quadrophenia better.....

The coming weeks will be amazing and I will be excited with anticipation for everything that's coming up. I cannot thank my friends and family who have trained with me to make sure that I will be ready; 5:30 am rides, 6 am runs, windy as hell rides, hot rides, dark and cold rides, shitty runs, flat tires, ice cream rides and funny stories. Next weekend will officially kick off my carb load week with the Pancake run! I've never felt more ready for a race before...so let's do this!

Go Green and Go Tigers!!!!!

Under Pressure...

Well it's a good thing I ran that Spring Lake Oktoberfest 1/2 Marathon with my brother yesterday!

On Friday I was in touch with my physical therapist who I haven't seen in over a year (it's a good thing!), except at the Rock CF Rivers 1/2 . I told him what's been going on with my left hip, can't sleep on that side, aches pretty bad on the outside by the joint, and the range of motion isn't amazing. Thankfully he is going to get me in on next week to start cranking away. My CF Doc thinks it could be an inflamed bursa in my hip...sounds about right but we will see how it reacts to my super PT's treatment.

I guess I should tell my PT that now my knee is going to need some love too. This is where the 1/2 from yesterday comes in. My brother Adam and I ran this race a couple years ago together and we decided to give it another go yesterday. The timing worked well with my training and he has been training his ass off all summer. We went in yesterday to run and not race which sounded quite good to me...cannot get hurt..

My brother has been hit with some very recent IT band issues, so when I heard this a few weeks ago I immediately prescribed him the foam roller. After laughing through the painful tears that the roller of death inflicts, he realized that it actually does help. So before we left his house yesterday a.m. we both took a ride on the roller..

After mingling with other runners, some who have done Rock CF, we had a great slow start and first 8 miles or so. This course has a lot of up and downs which helped to flare up his IT just over half way through. He powered through very well only stretching when I had to make a pp stop and a couple other times. He decided that his ITB wasn't going to stop him just as my left knee started to give out. Real cool. By give out I mean, lock up and alter my stride while inflicting sharp pain. This same knee thing has happened during my last two half marathons. Once at mile 5 while in Canada during the Freep. When this happened I thought, "I am not getting stuck in another country!" So I  just kept hobbling and finished in 2:03. This also happened at mile 11 during the Martian half as well when I was on par to break 2 hours...I finished in 2:04...laaaame.

My 10.8 mile run last week showed no signs of this knee situation coming into play. I was confident going in yesterday that only my hip would be a little sore after the race, not my knee. To say I was shocked, and pissed is an understatement! Luckily my super PT Greg has treated this, an inflamed bursa sack, for me before. Now I just need to tell him that he will be treating that and my hip...in 1 week before the biggest race of my life!!

Cue- Queen's Under Pressure

He is a magical man and I have no doubt in my mind that he will tune me up. I'll hit my chiro once a week until the race and utilize that massage coupon I have too...oh and course yoga! My training has paid off and I definitely feel ready to tackle 69.1 so a little bump in the road will not stop me.

Keep on keepin on.

Great morning of training yesterday!

It was a chilly one on that bike, and if that temp dips down another degree for the next ride my toe covers and full gloves are coming out. It was balmy!! These a.m. rides are also getting pretty damn dark. Armstrong is sans front light and her back light won't clip on anything sometimes...so she rides like a phantom and relies on spotty streetlights and my lighted up self.

We rode about an hour together and then I got 40 more minutes in until my left foot was cold and numb. It was a brick day so when I got home I had to wait until my foot thawed out before I ran..so I made my oatmeal and then hit the roads. A slow but good 40 minute run and I was home sipping coffee and eating my oatmeal w/cinnamon & flax, topped with greek yogurt and....drum roll please.................Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter! Yep it is the season folks and yesterday was my official opener. You gotta get into this stuff stat.

Also yesterday was a big CF Foundation fundraiser called Shoot for the Cure. I'm not a huge gun person but my bro is a cop so I speak Glock. Also my dad hunts so I am down with shotguns. The event yesterday was at the Detroit Gun Club and basically over 100 people were out there shoot clay pigeons. It was pretty damn cool! Last time I went I actually shot but because I'm 3 weeks away from the race I didn't want to risk anything.

After they shot and had a few drinks, glad they drank affffter, I got up and gave a little pep talk. All I can say is that of all the events I have spoken at (which is a lot), even the black ties, this group was the most generous group I have ever seen. One guy gave $5,000 on the spot after my speech and several other threw in some K's as well. It was awesome and totally made my day! THANK YOU to Roush Racing for sponsoring this incredible event and also thanks to everyone at the Michigan CFF offices. YOU ROCK!!

Tomorrow my bro Adam and I are running the Spring Lake Oktoberfest 1/2 marathon. It is a training run so my plan is to run really slow and just get the miles in. Even if I have to use a taser to slow my brother down I will..it's crunch time!

Em

Blowout

The above scene is becoming too familiar these days.

Today's blowout was amazing! The sound it made scared the crap out of me and my friend Sarah who I was riding with. I had started riding at 7am, then picked Sarah up at 8:30 with plans to ride until 10am. At 8:35 I got a call from Reebs saying she was locked out of her house. Good thing I checked my phone when I did...So we played lock smith and rode up with my key to let Reebs in. That was the start to the day. Just minutes after that we were on our way to get some good miles in and *insert missile sound here*, my back tire blew! 

This is the same tire that took 3 tubes last Wednesday to fix. Monday night the tire was flat again so I took it to my local shop last night to get fixed. It seemed to be cool this a.m. but apparently the tire slit and glass chunk in there was not good. Last nights service and tubes and today's new tire and tube added up nicely..But while I'm at it I should get a new front tire, new tire levers and a tune up.....I am about ready to sell my kidney. Oh and I need more Hammer and Heed supplies...so yeah at least 1 kidney will go on the market, followed by another appendage of the buyers choice.

Luckily Sarah was able to ride home and driver her Navigator back to rescue me and take me to the bike shop..yes she is a baller and yes Kwame did lease this car for her too. So our ride didn't go as planned but it was eventful and we got some good laughs in. I'll probably head out later tonight for another hour or so since I only got 1 hour and 45 min in this a.m. And damn it was a good ride too. No wind and it was WARM!

Ta ta for now...off for some CFF calls and meetings!

Em

Catching Mad Zzzz's

The title says it all...sleep.

Boy I'll tell ya, it has been a great weekend of sleeping. A cracked window lets this cool fall weather blow through which instantly puts me down for the count. Like a baby.

Getting that long run in on Saturday allowed me to sleep in to a cool 8:10 am on Sunday. I know, I know, that is just outrageous. 8:10? Wasted so much of my day...That night I clocked in about 10 solid hours. Today I slept until 7:30 which again brought me in at a cool 9 hours. I am well rested for the week ahead!

See, when you are training a lot sleep is a prized possession. Most of my training starts at either 5:30, 6 or 7, so sleeping past those times is like holding a fuzzy puppy to your face.

Let's get back to the fall season though. Fall usually means chillier temps right? Exactly..this morning it was a balmy 39 degrees when I awoke from my slumber. That is just TOO cold to be on a bike, at least until my new Pearl Izumi cold gear arrives! During this training I have become obsessed with the weather. So having an idea of the almost freezing morning temps, I arranged our ride today to be in the evening when it will be in the 60's. Brilliant!

Off to a slow flow yoga to keep this body going!

30 Mile Run?

My favorite day of training...weekend long run!

I just wrapped up a 10.8'er and things are feeling good. The plan was 10 miles but if you're like me and don't wear a watch or have a GPS then sometimes your runs aren't exactly spot on...today was that kind of day.

Armstrong was in for 5+ miles with me, so last night I mapped out what I thought was going to be that and then a solid 10 for me. But why go 5 when you can go 6.3? Or why go 10 when you can go 10.8? So my cartography skills are slightly off...never said I was a map expert, but I am full of surprises.

I fueled up with 1.5 whole wheat waffles with almond butter and my daddy's blackberry jam, 1/2 a banana and some G2 with a SaltStick tab...let me say though, that was .5 too many waffles. A bit too much in the tummy for the first few miles. Luckily things settled down because I was seeking out bushes along the way.

Instead of doing my usual water planting along the course we thought we would stop at Subway about 4 miles in for, as Armstrong testifies, has "the best water...they should bottle and sell that shit!" We get up to Subway and they are.....CLOSED...who needs a footlong at 7:59am? Nobody. Luckily the little Market next door was open and the nice kid working the register ran and got us each a cup of water. I told her we were going long today...30 miles, and needed that water. The look on her face was brilliant. The water shooting out of Becky's mouth was priceless...gotta keep these kids on their toes.

After GU'ing up and having a tiny glass of water at Armstrong's residence I ventured on to finish my 10 miler. Got home and did some big time stretching and foaming and then mapped the run, realizing that I'm an ass.

Refueled with some oatmeal with cinnamon & flax topped with greek yogurt, bananas, blueberries and almonds. Yummy town USA.

My left hip is a little crazy but nothing a foam roller, yoga, ice, heat, Advil and beer can't handle! A light yoga tomorrow and some rest sounds like a good Sunday..Oh, and a damn Lions WIN too please.

Brick.

So yesterday's 2nd workout was what I like to call....a "shit show." Because my morning workout was cut in half by that wet storm I decided to take on a couple more hours of riding in the afternoon. It was super sunny and warmed up a bit but it was really, really (I say this in an angry voice) windy. Sometimes if I'm not having an incredible day that wind can get a bit taxing on my old nerves. 35 minutes in I threw in the towel..my blood sugar dropped really low, I was super cranky and I just listened to my bod and called it a day. No biggie. I capped off the night with some yin yoga though and hit the hay before 10.

Now do you think I would let myself off that easy yesterday? No, no no...I decided to get up at 5:15, have a cup of coffee, a saltstick, half a Powerbar (don't recommend the vanilla crisp btw) and then I hopped on my bike and got 14 miles in. My day called for a 45'ish minute run, so after the bike I ran over and met up with Jess and Tater (her pup) and we hit the streets. I got about 5.6 good miles in.

Everything is feeling really good right now! Less than one month until race day!

Post brick breakfast today? Hold on to your Stroh's, it was a great one!
My Bananas Gone Wild  recipe:
Thick cut oats with cinnamon & flax
Chocolate chips
Almond butter
Almond milk
Topped with bananas!

Give that baby a whirl..I did put too many chocolate chips in so they melted into a chocolate soup. Hey you live and you learn!

Easy yoga tomorrow then a 10 miler on Sunday.

Thar She Blows..

Last night it was the tire..this a.m.? Storm! Wind, rain, thunder & lightning. This almost sounds like the Captain Planet theme song. The only thing missing is, Heart!

Today I was aiming for the 4 hour ride + 15-20 min run...this was all cut a little short and I only got 2 hours of riding in. Because of my tire and having no tubes or anything to help if iI got in a jam, I decided to stay close instead of heading downtown or far east. I did a few loops down by the water for about an hour and was accompanied by some serious wind gusts. The wind was a little psycho though because it really didn't know which way to blow, this just made it pretty entertaining. 20 mph in one directing, 14 in the other. Love these days.

After my windy hour I headed east (or north..I really don't know) and started to do some loops up there. Into the wind one way and a little help from the wind the other. It was actually pretty fun and I was looking forward to another 2 hours...that is until the raindrops started.1 hour and 45min in they started dropping. Then they were dropping a little harder, and then a little more. Once the thunder and lightning started I hauled ass back toward my crib. The faster I pedaled the harder the rain fell and the wind blew. With each flash of lightning I did a self check "do I feel electric? is my hair standing up?"...After 15 minutes of hard riding in the downpour, into the wind and dodging puddles, my wet and dirty ass made it home. Straight to the shower I went to warm up!

Hopping on the trainer crossed my mind, rather briefly..I'll probably head out this afternoon when it dries up for another 1/.5-2 hour ride and a little run. This week of riding is cray craaaay!

On a side note, I've got some nice congestion going on this week. Blue Lightning is in my system but it just feels like it is taking longer to kick in. This is my 3rd time stopping and restarting it and it seems like each time I restart it takes longer and I don't really make it back to my highest peak. Thinking or worrying about it isn't worth is soI just ride and run harder, and spit along the way!

Here's to a dry afternoon!

Em

Windy Wednesday becomes....flat

You are the wind beneath my wings...or the wind against my face. Today was a little windy! Armstrong and I decided last night (at the TCBY Rock CF Fundraiser) that instead of riding at 6 am when it would be 40 degrees, we should ride at 6pm when it would be 66. Sounded good to me! I just realized that there are a lot of 6's happening in this paragraph. Hmmmm...maybe that is a sign to where this is going.


Our plan was to start adding in some speed work today. Nothing more I want to do on a windy day than add in some speed. We did it though and it was actually pretty sweet! The wind really wasn't that bad and we got in a few sprints before I ran something over that jolted my back end, of the bike... ;)
We finished up a sprint and I then I saw it...the flat tire! Boooooooooo.

In my trusty pack I had a tire lever, a tube, and a co2 pump. Ready to rock this shit. I got the wheel off the bike and just as I was struggling my ass off to pop the tire, two guys rolled up and offered to help. Why yes, I will accept your help fellas.  After watching them both, together, work to get the tire off  I didn't feel so bad that I couldn't get it off. This baby was like glued into my rim. Once they finally got it off (breaking my tire lever) they popped my new tube and, filled it up annnd...flat. This baby wouldn't hold air. Took the tire back off and sure enough there was a hole in it. New tube round 2..wouldn't hold air. COOL! Now I have really stumped these guys. Armstrong decided to head home so she could get her car to drive me home because we all saw no hope with this tire situation...

After inspecting my rim, the tire and anything that could be inspected, we found nothing. What is going on? 3rd time was definitely a charm though. This baby filled up and held air. Bing bango! The guys went on their way and I waited with a handful of tubes, co2's and boxes waiting for Becky. She came and gathered my trash and  I was back on the road. Definitely owe these guys new co2's and some tubes. Luckily I know where one of them works.

Off for some Zzzz's, 4 hour ride + 15 minute run in the am. Cold gear is out because I've got a feeling I will be looking at icicles in the am.

Peace.

The Beat the Rain Mile..

Reo Speedwagon's "Riding the storm out" was running through my head on this mornings run...the forecast looked wet but when I woke up to run there was no sign or sound of drizzle. After a good foam roller session and some coffee I hit the streets for an hour run.

I went with my Newton's today and that seemed to be a good choice. My feet felt good, and so did the rest of my bod. I set cruise control at a pretty low pace and just coasted through these miles today. The sky grew darker by the mile and by the time I was on my last two it was very dark. A nice man walking his dogs even stopped me to tell me to be careful, a nasty cloud was moving our way fast. This became an opportunity to turn it on a little bit. Hammering out the last two miles at a fairly speedy pace felt good...almost like I was racing this black cloud. Looking up to the sky at every block it came closer and closer...

Luckily I made it home before it even began to spit. Yeehaw!! Another dry run!

Yesterday I got a decent cycling session in. Tomorrow I am going to do some speedy riding with Armstrong and shoot for a 4 hour + 15 run situation on Thursday. The mornings are getting cold so I have a cart full of cold weather gear on the Pearl Izumi site...just need $$$$$ to pay for it!

I hate few things more than being cold on a bike...the other things I will leave alone for now. So wonder your little hearts out.

Happy "Shiver Me Tuesday" Rock CF Fundraiser day at TCBY in the Village! I will be indulging tonight in a "training treat"of chocolate and vanilla fro yo with Caramel, Fudge, banana and peanut butter cups...I hear this combo makes you ride really fast in the am...

Aaaaand We are Back on Track!

I'm going to break this post into two parts. 1) My return to Blue Lightning 2) Training Fun

Blue Lightning
It came! My first Blue Lightning prescription came on Thursday and I tossed back my first dose after dinner that night. The best thing about getting the script? The price tag that is attached to this monthly bottle...all I'm saying is that it is a 5 digit number that is pretty close to the number of hours in a day... ;) Oh thank heaven that I have the insurance that I do..My copay is $0!

The cough that I had going on early in the week seems to be clearing up quickly and my sinuses are back on track. No more giant slugs flying out of these nostrils. Woohoo!

Training
34 Days until B2B 

Well well well...this what a nice week of training. Yesterday was supposed to be another 4 hour ride + 20 minute run. The plan was to meet Armstrong at 6am to get pedaling. I awoke to some drizzle but over texts we decided we will ride "unless it starts to downpour, then we are out!" Cycling over to her corner (yep, she works the corner) the rain got harder. She was there and we both just laughed and said screw this, let's ride later.  So I rode home twisted out my soaking wet clothes and carried my bike upstairs and threw it on my trainer. While watching an episode of Downton Abbey and then Ellen I got about 90 minutes in. That trainer is so damn annoying, I don't know how people can stay on it for hours. Drenched in sweat I threw in the towel knowing that I'd get more riding in later.

At about 4:15 and a much sunnier setting I hopped on my bike (Minty) and started riding. I got about 30 minutes in before Armstrong joined in. After storms there is always wind...right? Well there was yesterday, and also a lot of cars and really terrible drivers. On one stretch I was definitely almost a goner. A car flew by us just brushing my left arm. Definitely earned a beer for that one. We got about 2 hours of nice riding in and called it a night. On my way home I almost had a lady drive directly into me head on. She was even looking right at me, speeding and not moving over. Amazing shit. That one earned me 2 pieces of pizza ;) So yeah I didn't get 4 hours in but 3.5 hours..and I didn't do the run because I was running in the am. Fine with me.

To get ready for this am's run I had a couple huge pieces of veggie pizza and a beer with Reebs, while of course, watching 2 episodes of Downton Abbey. My signature "nightcap" of cereal topped the night off.

So today's run...I had to get 90 minutes in which in my life that's about 9 miles. Armstrong agreed to run about 4 miles with me at 7 so that was cool. After some coffee, sips of G2, a SaltStick cap and 1/2 a protein Powerbar I hit the road at 6:45am and ran the roughly 1.32 miles to her house. A nice head start on the 9 miles. We hammered out the first loop together while talking about food and the crazy people that I encounter downtown. It was a really fun way to knock a few miles out!

I circled home for a quick shot of G2 with extra salt and half of a GU...I know, call the po po, you should take GU with water..but I survived. Also at my 5.75 mile pit stop I changed shoes. I've been running in Newton's for about a month now and have really been liking the results. Natural and forward running..and no pain is always good! This week though I noticed a little tweak in my right foot by my toe, right where the Newton's makes you land. It could just be from the Harvest Stompede uphills but I want to make sure no stress fracture or anything is popping up.

Armstrong let me borrow a new pair of borrowed Saucony Hurricane 14's to try. So I swapped into those for the 2nd part of my niner. These shoes fit well but aren't as cushioned as they say..BUT they helped my foot track really well and actually felt like they could be made for my weird feet. I felt like I was running more forward even in these (TY Newtons!) The second half of the run went really well and I felt very strong. Not tired or fatigued at all. So I may alternate shoes during the week see how I'm feeling for my long weekend runs. I love an option!

Post run nutrition today? Hahaha... OH wait, Armstrong told me yesterday that she was cursing me because with CF I can eat so much. Yep that is definitely one of the best parts of having CF :) Of course keeping as natural and whole foody as possible, but a lot of eating does happen in my world..especially when training for 2/3 of a 1/2 Iron Man.

So here's what I did this am post run:

Shake/Smoothie/Frozen Situation
1 Frozen banana
1 Little carton of chocolate soy milk
1 Tbsp of coconut oil
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup blueberries

Food
TJ's whole wheat waffle topped with:
1 heaping scoop of almond butter with flax seeds
Dash of cinnamon
Drizzled Michigan honey

Overall a super great week of training! My goal is to keep training smart, not over doing anything, eating well, doing yoga and a lot of stretching. We are nearing the home stretch...not sure when the official home stretch day but we are getting close!!

Ok I'm hungry again...

Em

7 Days without my Lightning!

Well....that's different.

I just got back from the toughest run of the year, a measly 5.5 miler. The 7 mile Stompede through the hilly wineries was easier than this one. How is that possible? Well here is the answer..7 days without Blue Lightning aka Kalydeco, aka the little blue pill....and the drug that has allowed me breathe and live like I've never done before.

Unsure about the impact of Kalydeco Check out this vid to see just how cool it is...


It took about 5 days of no BL to really notice that I was returning to my old "CF" self. Much more coughing, a lot more thick and sticky mucus, smelly foul tasting shit in my lungs and breathing when running, cycling and in yoga was a lot different.

Of course with me nothing is ever easy. Something always happens when I am planning a big event, always! So this little hiccup during my most intense training ever was just a test. Todays run I was sweating a ton, my head started throbbing after 3 miles and my sweat was waaaaaaay salty, like the good old days. Definitely a very grounding day.

On my walk home from the run I was thinking and then I  realized how lucky I am. Really. To be in the 4% that benefits from this pill is amazing. Feeling not up to par for a week but knowing that when I again start taking this little blue pill I will feel totally different is just crazy. I realize that some of my friends are struggling to get through the day, or are running and exercising while feeling like crap,  and I can take 1 pill (along with my inhaled meds, vest and 40 enzymes) that makes me feel like I can run around the world.

The run today really made me appreciate all of the running and cycling I did over the years while not on Blue Lightning too. It really was tough! And now that I am on it I am not taking any of this for granted. Testing my limits with this 1/2 Iron Man training and making the most out of this new life is what I have to do. Now that I can breathe and live, I feel like I  have to do as much as I can and keep challenging myself. REST is a 4 letter word and it is too easy!

If you're just catching up I ended my clinical trials for Kalydeco on Thursday and there is a little gap between getting the real deal (my first real prescription) from my pharmacy. Because the cost of this drug, it's not so easy as to just phone it in to your local CVS and pick it up later that day. I had to get prior approval from my insurance which took a few days and then we had to make sure someone was home to sign for it. No leaving this precious package on the front porch!

**I did just get an update from my pops...the eagle has landed!! I will be starting back on Blue Lightning today!!

Lots of morning cycling happened this week. Tomorrow is my 4 hour ride + 20 minute run...stay tuned for the after report!

Cheers to Blue Lightning!

Em

Harvest Stompede...and a stompede it was!

"This is hilarious...." is what I heard from a younger girl in the first few hundred feet of the morning's Harvest Stompede yesterday, hilarious indeed.

As 850+ of us lined up at the foothills of the Ciccone Winery in Suttons Bay, ready to tackle the 5K or 7 Miler, we saw the rain get eaten alive by sunlight and rainbows. The rain did leave some extremely muddy trails, especially at the start! Both races lined up together and would be together for the first 1.25 miles or so, so all 850 of us dodging wine vines, grapes, mud, puddles and each other eventually working our way up a little hill and into a flat where we could finally spread out.

Fun trivia (That some of you, especially the obsessed may know)...Madonna aka Madge ya know? This is her dad's winery. So while my mom and I were sweating up hills and mud my dad was schmoozing it up with Mr Madge getting wine tips. 

Back to the race....the first 2 miles felt like forever. Maybe because I missed the mile 1 sign? I don't know. Let me just say this here. I live and train in southeastern Michigan. It is FLAT...this race was up north near Traverse City in Suttons Bay. Sutton's Bay is know for its' wineries. What makes wineries successful? HILLS! This course was hilly, and by hilly I mean uphills that would go up rapidly, wind, go up some more and then some more. BUT because I have been training this little ass off I nailed the hills. While most people that I saw were walking up the hills I just put my head down, shortened my stance and powered up those babies. At times yes it was hilarious because I was barely moving, but I was not walking. Talk about a good feeling.

Miles 4-5 were again, hilarious. They really make you feel like you are climbing Mt. Everest to get to the 4 mile mark. At the top of that hill was a little sign that said LOOK with in arrow pointing left. Of course I looked and to my left was an incredible view of the bay (I think) from way up high. Definitely worth that little neon sign. Winding up to mile 5 there were more... wait for it, hills. We ran through Black Star Farms, rows of grape vines and then back down toward Ciccone.

Of course at mile 6 the unexpected happened...rain...oh and some cross winds. Of course! It started as a cool drizzle and eventually a grew into a downpour. What do you do when that happens though? Laugh and keep on running.  I wound my way back toward the finish area, which is where the start was and knew that a few last hills were in the cards. Head down I rolled up those little guys and ran down a row of vines to the Finish....where I had a failed attempt at grape stomping. My parents were there and my dad even managed to snap a shot of me coming down the hill.

1 hour and 12 minutes was my time and was actually about 7-8 minutes faster than I had planned/hoped.  I was using this race for training and that was it. Holding back and just coasting along was my goal and it seemed to work. Next year I'll try to race it and see what happens but I have too many hours of healthy training in for this 1/2 iron man in to push it too far and get injured.

We ended the morning with a dry shirt, hot coffee and breakfast at the Omlette Shop in Traverse City. This issue of Runner's World is all about pancakes so I could not resist. I went for the whole grain pancakes that had sunflower seeds and walnuts in them...and of course some of my mom's omlette and potatoes.

4 hour ride and 20 minute run tomorrow!

Em

P.S. I must point out now that my 62 year old mom also ran yesterday. She has been running for a few years now but again, FLAT runs/races. The Harvest 5K yesterday was by far her hilliest run ever but she did great! I am super proud of her and am happy to hear she will be back next year to shave some minutes off her time..now that we know what we are in for.