Pneumonia Marathon

Sunday, despite my father's protest, I ran in the Amica Iron Horse Half Marathon in my hometown/still-always-at-my-parents-house in Simsbury.  I ran this exact race last year as my first ever half marathon.  I couldn't wait to get back out there again this year for my second half.

I have been training for this race for the last few months.  Truth be told, after last years race, I never stopped running long distances, which really made training for this time around much more fun and I had some of the best runs I have ever had in my life.

I could not wait to get out on the course at Iron Horse and really see what I had in me...

Well...what I had in me...pneumonia.

The true heartache I felt this past week after my doctor told me that I had pneumonia was devastating. My doctor seemed uneasy that I was taking the "half-glass full" approach when I told her on Friday that I had a half marathon planned for Sunday and "it's 48 hours away, that is a long time...". 

My mom and dad were extremely worried, rightfully so, I sounded like I could pop a lung at any moment.

At the starting line I really became nervous, and I am 100% sure my mom's "mothers intuition" kicked in...she asked me if I wanted her to run with me.  My mom is a sub 2 hour half marathon runner, I am a 2:30 half-marathoner... I felt awful to ask her to slow her pace down completely and damn well knowing I wouldn't be at my normal pace today...so I said no...

After about 3 minutes and realizing I needed to take the support where it was being offered, I asked my mom to run with me.  

It was truly awesome.  My mom and I are lone wolf runners.  She is ahead of the pack and I am bring up the rear.  But Sunday she ran right along side me, telling me stories and talking to me to keep my mind off the fact I was suffering through 13.1 miles.

I told my mom over and over I just felt defeated while on our run, I held back tears and around mile 8 I thought I might as well just call it quits now because it was starting to get extremely hard to breathe and I let the defeat get to me.

But with my mom by my side we kept going and I made the turn to mile 9 and we stumbled across another pair of mother-daughter running buddies and it helped the next 4 miles pretty much fly by. Everyone talked about different races they had done, planned on doing and everything else.  I listened, which helped me keep my mind off everything.  

I would not have completed that race if I didn't have my mom beside me the whole time.  I am 100% certain I would have bailed out at mile 8 and sat in the car to wait for her.  But my mother supported me and did more for me than she will ever know.  I got to spend 13.1 miles running with my support system, my idol and my best friend.  

In the last few weeks my mom has been by my side while I received some health news I wasn't expecting.  Two weeks ago I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD).  Unfortunately there is no treatment and no cure for this disease. Quick and dirty: There are cysts growing on my kidneys that my kidneys will eventually succumb too resulting in me needing dialysis and/or a kidney transplant.  Inevitable but nothing I can't handle.

At first, I wanted to just give up, eat my feelings in a jar of Nutella, and scream.  But I channeled everything I was feeling into my training for this half marathon, never missing a run.  I used the time pounding the pavement as a therapy, the sweat as a cleansing and the air filling my lungs as hope.  I am not PKD and PKD won't get me.

I never thought I would have as many doctors appointments as I have had in the last couple months but every appointment I had, my mother was by my side just like she was during the race.

After what I have been going through, rather quietly (oddly enough), in the last few weeks, I knew I needed to run that race regardless of the pneumonia because I deserved too.  I deserved to show these stupid kidneys that I am NOT to be messed with, I am going to put up a hell of fight until they decide they can't fight for me anymore.  (Right now my kidneys are doing a very good job fighting, just for the record)

I completed my second half marathon WITH pneumonia WITH my Mom by my side WITH kidneys that hate me...take that life...TAKE THAT!