my first 5k

Once upon a time I was a track star in High School. I started as a freshman and was varsity every year and qualified for the state meet every year. My senior year I actually even placed at State. Pretty awesome for someone like me and considering that I had been diagnosed with Asthma. Oh Asthma would have been nice, then I could have built up endurance like everyone told me I should be able to do. However, unbeknownst to everyone at the time I had a tumor growing in my throat, it was the real problem, blocking off my airway, no amount of asthma drugs was going to fix that.

So every year I ran it got harder and harder for me. After High School I took a college class that required us to run a mile 5x a week. Folks, I couldn't do it. I'm not a wuss, I knew when I was getting close to a RED asthma attack and quite frankly I couldn't afford to have one of those on the school track and wait for someone to come get me. Nor could I pay for an ER visit. It just wasn't prudent. So I remember calling my mother and telling her how I felt. I remember her telling me to run as much as I could and then walk the rest and call it good.

After Gary and I got married we did a few biopsies and the like on my thyroid with the tumors we could see. I was still having trouble and it didn't make sense that no matter what I did or how I used my inhalers I still couldn't go on a bike ride etc. I was also experiencing issues that I couldn't breathe when I turned my head to the side or got short of breath while eating, and I don't eat fast. So we fought for a referral to an Endocrinologist. The Doc we were seeing didn't want to refer us because he figured he could handle Thyroid issues just fine. Well, I was done being a guinea pig. The Endo got right down to business after waiting 3 months for our first visit in March of 2005. We took tests, checked for cancer and when the biopsy came back inconclusive but she could see I had plenty of tumors and cysts and a wicked history she recommended a total Thyroidectomy on June 10, 2005. Dr. Douglas Lichti was the surgeon and can I say, after 3 surgeries with 3 different surgeons (for other reasons) he is my favorite surgeon. His work was amazing and he has the best bedside manner.
My almost 1 year old Olea, me, my mother, who had a partial thyroidectomy and Surgery Monkey.

Folks, I can breathe. Gary and I both agree that surgery was one of the best things we have done, it's helped with my fritzed Thyroid and my "asthma." I know can build up endurance and do stuff like a normal humanoid. It's pretty dang awesome.

YA, I've had the thought, dang, I could have been so awesome if I didn't have that huge tumor in my throat!

So this year a friend invited me to go running with her doing the couch to 5k program. I had already been running about a mile off and on and figured it would be good to have company. By Sept 17th we had completed the program one way or another with our various schedules. We ran it using time as our measure and not distance so the last run I had calculated we ran 4.7k. I figured 5 wasn't that far off so I paid and signed up for a local 5k raising money for an elementary school library. It would have been nice to have someone to run with but the girls I run with were all off on other things that day. So I ran alone. Grandma got up early (thanks to Olea) and helped the kids make signs.
My little cheering squad

The starting line

The run with my cheering squad (Gary mans the camera)

Gary says, "there's DeeDee doing a fun run... ya, I agree, it's crazy, but good for her, and I will go eat a doughnut."

The end

This is no big deal for most people, I know. But for me it is. My time isn't anything to brag about, but I did it.

I did it 5 months pregnant. I wasn't the first, and I wasn't the last.