Well we did it!! Raising $20,000 for cystic fibrosis, Team 65Roses ran and ran hard in Miami on January 31. It was an early 6:15 am start but early didn’t mean any cooler. Humid and very warm was the weather and I just knew we were in for the hottest race of my life yet. This one was for my friend Mel, who passed away after a long battle with CF..she also nicknamed me “Half-Marathon,” this is was for you Mel!

My morning: 4 am wake up call, mass amount of stretching, foam rolling, a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, water, iced coffee, Gatorade and inhaled Pulmozyme. Some of the 65Roses crew met in our hotel lobby so we could all walk to the start together. We made that as entertaining and fun as you can as 5:15 in the morning though and really got pumped!

Rose, Mike and I all hung together at the start, corralled in letter F. FYI, Mike is a double lung transplant patient who rocks my socks off and Rosie is a magical 30-some year old with CF who is one of my dear friends for life..all 3 of us together brings out a whole new kind of monster that nobody can even imagine.

The gun went off and after 10 minutes we hit the start line…18,000 people waiting to start takes some time! Starting out smart and slow is always good, especially in this heat and when you’re not feeling 100%. By the end of mile 1 my head was drenched with sweat We all stayed together for the first 3 miles and then Mike decided to split and go ahead. After that Rose and I picked up Matt who ran with us until mile 10. At a potty stop, Matt and I talked and his nephew has CF! Very cool that Uncle Matt is rocking 13.1 for the kid.

For a while Rose ventured ahead but at the CF Spirit Station is seemed like she fell from the sky and was placed right next to me. After I GU’d up and rehydrated I turned back to see her running up to me. Perfect timing as I was ready to have her by my side crackin jokes and laughing with me, much needed to get through the last 3 miles. We stayed together until the finish which was awesome! We started together and finished together, the way we had hoped!

Overall the race was just awesome! My lungs felt awesome and not fatigued at all. My legs were tired by mile 12 only because I wasn’t able to run since the end of December. We finished in 2 hours and 21 minutes which is great despite the heat. I was curious to see how salty my sweat would be because since I started the clinical trial for Vertex my sweat has been much less salty…I gotta say that it was pretty darn salty, must of been the heat!

My brother Jason and his wife Carrie came down from Orlando to watch and also enjoy some Miami. I can’t thank them enough for that support! There’s nothing better than seeing people you love after you cross the finish line.

Oh and I forgot to say that I was awarded the 2010 INSPIRE Award at the Team 65Roses dinner. Such an honor!! I am definitely planning to run with my new friends next year and raise even more dough for CF!

Rock CF,

Emily

1/29/10

I can’t lie my friends…I’ve been slacking on this training blog. One reason is I haven’t been able to really get my runs in since around Christmas! Laaaaame! The good thing is I have been hitting the Trenton Athletic Club, 90 minutes a day, 6 days a week. So my cardio is stellar. Also, I saw a specialist on Tuesday and we discovered the route of my sciatica, back pain, knee pain and inability to physically run….HAMSTRINGS!

I left there with a piece of paper that had a stretch on it but I’ve never felt so encouraged by one piece of paper! This stretch instantly restored my muscle weakness in less than 1 minute…you may!!

Feeling strong enough that I am going to run the Miami 1/2 Marathon for sure this Sunday. The past week or two I was able to get a few runs in despite some pain; but the past few days I’ve been on the mend. This is thanks to Dr. Shapiro and my incredible PT Greg who is making sure I get the most of every session and he only wants to see me get back to my training.

So, I leave Detroit at 7am tomorrow and head down to the sunshine state. There is a team 65Roses dinner tomorrow night that I’m speaking at. It should be an amazing time to catch up with Rosie-my dear CF mermaid friend, Joy- my energizer bunny running CF friend and finally meet Mike-the gangsta w/CF who is also hitting the streets with us Sunday. I think Miami may explode when we all meet!! Watch the news…

I’ll give a full race day recap for sure. Also look for videos of us bringing down the karaoke house tomorrow night!!!

Rock CF..lets outrun cystic fibrosis,

Em

(Click the running me to donate!)

I hope this letter finds you warm, because it is 16 degrees as I type this! Too cold…I need to go to Miami….

Funny thing is I AM going to Miami on January 31 to run my 3rd half marathon with the 65 Roses Team. There are 40 or so people running for this awesome cause and 3 of them happen to be my friends. They’re not just any friends though. These 3 people have cystic fibrosis too! I’m not sure Miami will be able to handle us when we all combine our superpowers and tear up their streets….Hopefully I’ll be able to hang out with the Golden Girls and enjoy some cheesecake after the race…Blanche is so fun!

Cystic fibrosis is a marathon disease. It isn’t a 5k or 10k. CF never lets up and we have to fight each day to stay healthy and on top! This is why I continue to train and run for these races. To keep myself healthy and also to spread awareness and raise funds to help Rock CF!

Today I am asking for some help from you. $13.10…This is what I am asking people to donate to help me reach my $500 fundraising goal for Team 65 Roses. If you donate a dollar per mile that I will be running, that’s $13.10. For most people it’s much easier to reach into their wallet than it is to run 13.1 miles. I’m hoping you will take the “easy” way out and donate…OR join me as I run my first full marathon Saturday April 10, 2010 in Dearborn, MI!

**We are getting closer to setting the date for Just Let Me Breathe 2010! You’re going to love what I have up my short sleeves!**
Rock CF,
Emily

Let it begin my friends! A new year and a new decade!

So far I am feeling very good about 20-10. Although I don’t like even numbers I think I can look past it for the whole year, knowing that 20-11 will be next.

I’m on day 12 of the Vertex VX-770 clinical trial drug…let me say that I wish with all of my heart that this drug makes it to market and available to CF patients asap. It is impossible to describe how well I feel right now. My cough is almost non existent and when I do cough it’s all throaty, not productive and not coming from deep inside my lungs. I can take a semi full breath and blow it out with no problems. Tuesday I head for my two week testing so I’ll post about my PFT numbers.

Big plans are underway for the year. I’m running my very first Full Marathon in April, the Martian and it’s right here in Michigan. January 31 is my 3rd half marathon and I am wishing and hoping that we can get my hip/knee/leg problem under wraps so I can continue my training. Luckily I had a very solid base before the injury and I’m still cross training 6 days a week since I cannot run. My CF Doc, who is the coolest person and also a runner, is scheduling my yearly bone density test early to rule out any fractures. Once my lower half gets healthy the combination with the new Vertex drug could be amazing. Boston Qualifier? Hahaha yeah right!!

Off to my bike I go! It’s too cold to go out there to the gym, so I’ll spin it out downstairs.

Rock CF,

Em

Check out this “Where Are They Now?” feature from the New York Times. This year I was part of both the Running Voices and Voices of Cystic Fibrosis feature for Tara Parker-Pope’s Well Blog. Here is a little end of year recap that features myself and two others! What a great nightcap for 2009.

December 31, 2009, 10:34 am

Patient Voices: Where Are They Now?

(Click on the pic to read the whole article!)

Well I’ve been discharged from physical therapy for my achilles tendon, good news!! They can’t get rid of me that fast though because I’m back in it for my back, hip and other related areas. After my longest run last Sunday I was laid up for three days. I couldn’t walk without basically dragging my left leg and I was in some major pain! Sciatic? Sacroiliac joint! Monday and Tuesday I limped around. Wednesday I flew early in the am to spend Christmas with my brother Jason in Orlando, Fl. I felt a teeny bit better that day but still was not feeling it. Hanging out with Jay was so much fun and it was nice to be able to relax and let my body heal a little.

Thursday I woke up and wasn’t feeling too bad, so I went up to my brothers work out place and hopped on the bike for an hour then did my arm routine. Christmas Day my brother slept in a little so I went and did another bout of cardio. I’m happy to say that I have worked out at the Trenton Athletic Club for my usual 90 minutes of cross training on the elliptical and bike which is feeling pretty sweet! YAY!

Currently I’m unable to get my runs in but I’m going to give that a try tomorrow after therapy to see how it feels. Greg is working on everything possible to get me back on the road. The Miami Half Marathon is January 31…not sweating about it yet because I know I will be back!!

Hopefully ya’ll had an awesome Christmas (or whatever other Holiday you celebrate)! After hanging with my bro, I was able to be back home on December 26 to celebrate Christmas with the rest of my family. Here’s me with my #1 gal, baby Kacey!!

Click on the cute pic of Kacey to Donate!

I’m about $300 away from meeting my fundraising goal for the 1/2 Marathon…$13.10 is what I am hoping I can get people to donate as this is the amount of miles I’ll be running for Cystic Fibrosis.

Check ya all later…and wait for some incredibly exciting news from me!!

Rock CF,

Emily

I’ve decided to be honest here and not sugar coat any of my training..so lets just say this weekend was rough! Thursday I saw my incredible CF Dr. Tom Sisson at U of M. So happy to see him to catch up but the best part is that he’s a runner and gives me advice and tips. Timing was great for this visit because it was right when my hip was acting a fool. He thinks it’s a hip flexor issue and showed me a great stretch, he also took an x-ray to make sure there isn’t a fracture. Thursday night I was supposed to run 7 miles and was only able to run 2.5 and then I had to walk the rest, on a treadmill. It was as fun as it sounds!

Friday was 90 minutes of cardio, so I was back at the Trenton Athletic club working out with the old timers!

Yesterday I stretched the heck out of that bad boy, hit the foam roller numerous times and as of today during the 10 mile run, my hip was tolerable.

Here’s the Debbie Downer thing though. My left leg, the entire leg, is not being awesome and causing me to limp around like a dope. I cannot put pressure on my left side and stepping up on it is not a good idea as my leg buckles. Saturday was my rest day because today was the 10 mile long run and my body needed some rest. So the run today was not complete quality. I hobbled through, running about a minute per mile slower than usual and was in constant pain. The more I think about it, I should have cut out early.

Tomorrow morning I visit Dr. E, my chiro and then I head to my last PT appointment for a week. We’ve got a lot to figure out and some decisions to make about my training this week…the elliptical may be my friend this week..even in Florida for Christmas!

Check in with ya’ll later.

Em

I gotta say thanks again to the Trenton Athletic Club for sponsoring me during my training. After my “adjustment” this morning, I hit the elliptical over at TAC for 90 minutes and then I worked on my arms for about a half an hour. The coolest part about the membership there is the free classes. Last night I checked out the yoga calss…it was pretty good! I’m used to the Lululemon classes which are a different feel, but this was a good complement to my 7 mile run yesterday. Stretching out sore muscles is goooooood!

I’ve been hitting the chiropractor for almost a week now and I’m loving it! Dr. E/Ellen gets me and is right there for me as I train for the half and full marathon. She’s almost got my lower back pain eliminated, yeah the same back pain that had me on the couch last week unable to move. Rock on!
The training continues!

Rock CF,

Emily

Yesterdays 7.65 miler went really well! It was a bit misty and squishy out but the temp was great. It’s always a good feeling when you dress perfectly for the weather. Not too much or not enough clothing, but just right. This gives my mind a break from worrying about being too hot or too cold and lets me concentrate on my run.

My hip felt pretty good during the run. A little tightness and soreness in the hamstring while running but none in the hip. The only time that hip flared was when I had to stop and wait for traffic to pass. Getting started was like winding up a toy but eventually it would get into the rhythm. Behind my left knee was pretty sore during the run but that didn’t throw my stride off yesterday.

I iced and used a heating pad on all of my sore body parts last night. Getting out of bed wasn’t easy today though. When I stood up my hip killed and my left knee and leg felt like it was going to buckle. Still pretty annoying and sore but I’ll have my PT check it all out tomorrow. On a good note, since starting at the chiropractor my lower back pain has been greatly reduced!

90 min of cardio and my arm workout today!! Bring it on baby!

Rock CF,

Emily

Just run and have fun, that’s all you can do on a day like Friday. It was in the teens (even lower with the wind chill) and windier than heck. Kevin and I scheduled our long run of 9 miles for Friday because it was the only day that fit our schedules…there is no backing out or missing a long run, so we just did it!

I geared up in running tights with my thicker Detroit Marathon running pants over top. Up stairs I had on a tank top, running hoodie, my new Pearl Izumi jacket and a wind breaker type coat. Two pair of gloves and a winter running hat and we set off on a crazy run! The first 5+ miles were brutal!! Right into the wind and that cold air sucked the breathe out of my lungs. It was pretty hard to find a good breathing pattern and I’m not sure I did until about mile 6 or 7, once the wind was at our backs.

Overall the run wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped. My right hip, inside by my groin has been flaring up the past couple of weeks. It never hurt during runs, only after and when I was getting out of bed or walking up or down stairs. Well during the entire run Friday my hip was killing me. The pain ran down my hamstring and they felt so tight. I’m really pretty peeved about this. Greg has been working on it in PT a bit but the pain is still there and it’s bad. Today I’m dialing up a 7 mile run with Kevin and I’m just hoping a miracle happens and I can run pain free..stay tuned!

Saturday was my 90 minutes on the elliptical..this is actually getting pretty fun! I’m playing around with the settings and speeds and it feels like I’m getting a decent work out on this thing. Plus I get to bump my music really loud and rock out. The funniest part of being at a gym is watching other people! This is a general observation so don’t get mad guys BUT hear me out. A big majority, like Biiiiig majority of the guys (young and old) that come into the cardio room only spend an average of 5 minutes on a machine.What is that doing for you? Not kidding at all. A few will stick with me for a 25-30 minutes, but most rock out a cool 5 minutes then hit the weights again. Seriously? You need to burn the fat before you build the muscle..This is what keeps me going back to the gym!

Less than 2 weeks until Christmas!

Rock CF,

Emily