Accept and move on

Wow, never in a million years did I think this blog would take a totally different turn. I can assure you this, I will still run. In fact, running with Gastroparesis is actually good! Running aids with digestion, and I need all the help I can get.

I have taken the past two weeks to accept the fact that I have a chronic illness. However, it will not define who I am. I am a child of God, wife, mother, friend, sister, runner, who happens to live with a chronic illness.

I know that there will be good days and bad days, and I will try and make the most of each one. I have recently switched doctors and am meeting my new one, at the end of the month.

I am not going to lie and tell you this was easy to accept. There were many tears shed and "Why me?" moments. I have to trust God and know that I have GP for a reason.

Things change in an instant

You may or may not have read my post about getting some tests done recently. In a nutshell, I have been having reflux symptoms and severe indigestion. I had an endospopy, gastric emptying scan and an ultrasound. There have been a few "attacks" as I call them, where I have severe pain in my stomach area, way up high. This has brought me to the emergency room, only to wait a few hours and the symptoms are gone. Never to be seen by a doctor. The pain is severe. Not knowing what caused it makes it even harder to fix or avoid.

The gastric emptying scan revealed that I have Gastroparesis. I hadn't heard about it until the nurse called me. Unfortunately, there isn't a cure. There's not enough awareness for it.

What is it? Here's the definition from the Mayo-Clinic.

"Gastroparesis is a condition in which the muscles in your stomach don't function normally.
Ordinarily, strong muscular contractions propel food through your digestive tract. But in gastroparesis, the muscles in the wall of your stomach work poorly or not at all. This prevents your stomach from emptying properly. Gastroparesis can interfere with digestion, cause nausea and vomiting, and cause problems with blood sugar levels and nutrition.
There is no cure for gastroparesis. Making changes to your diet may help you cope with gastroparesis signs and symptoms, but that's not always enough. Gastroparesis medications may offer some relief, but some can cause serious side effects. "

I have to modify my diet. I have been eating clean for about 2 1/2 years and pretty much most of what I've been eating is not good for me. No whole wheat, whole grain, brown rice, raw veggies (especially broccoli and cauliflower), no fruits for the most part. For those that know me, this is what I eat every day. Fiber is bad for me because it's harder to digest.

It's scary, not knowing if what I just ate will trigger an attack. It's frustrating with no relief in sight.

I'm one of the lucky ones. Most people with GP can't even eat solid food.

It's disheartening when you're faced with a trial, especially when there's no end in sight. This is something I have to learn to live with. I have to accept it and move on. Here's some verses that bring me comfort in the midst of the storm:

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." (Romans 5:3-5)

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20)

ING Miami- race recap

Since we stayed at El Cheapo, the walls were pretty thin. I could hear the neighbors clomping around in the hallway. Nightlife in SoBe starts around midnight, so I knew we would probably deal with this.


I woke up at 4am, before my alarm, and decided to get ready. I layed out all my stuff the night before. The forecast said there was a 40% chance of rain. It was going to be hot and humid. I think the weather was going to be 68-72 degrees. My ideal weather for a race is 60.


We left and drove over to Bayside and found parking close to the start and finish. (Another $15) The start and finish were on the same street just a few blocks from each other.

Out hotel didn't have coffee. (The nerve!) So we hit up a gas station for some coffee to get things going. Runners, you know what I mean.
We headed a few blocks over to the bag check. I checked a long sleeve because sometimes I get cold after races, some flip flops, aleve, and shorts.


We then, hit up the porta-potties and there were long lines. The lines moved prety quickly and we did our thing.

Post-porta potty smiles. 

We had a few minutes to sit until we were told to move to our corrals. There were about 20,000 total runners and it was hard to find where exactly my corral was.

After the opening ceremonies, I waited about 20 minutes before my corral (the turtle corral) started moving. This was the longest wait ever. I was thirsty already.

Off we go. We headed over a bridge to SoBe. The cruise ships were all lit up. It was so pretty. I took some really good pictures.

Then as we were on SoBe, I tried to take some self portraits of me running. That one turned out really good to. Really, I'm kidding.

On SoBe, there weren't that many spectators. It was then, around mile 4-5 that my hopes of doing the full were down the tubes. I was keeping a marathon pace just in case I felt good enough to run it, but wasn't feeling 100% healed from my injuries. So I decided to run comfortably, as this was not going to be a PR race.


I loved running down Ocean Drive past all of the famous hotel/restaurants. There were some "interesting" aromas coming from the hotel rooms. I will leave it at that.

Running on Ocean Drive.

We ran through various neighborhoods and finally headed over a small bridge back toward DT. At this point I stopped trying to take blurry pics with my phone. I managed to finish in 2:16:24. Not my best time, but certainly not my worst. I am just thankful to be able to run.


Since my friend was running the full marathon, I decided to watch the other runners come in. I love watching the pain/agony/pride/and accomplishment on people's faces as they cross the finish.

Running is so much more than a sport. It is a way of life. It pushes you beyond your limits. It makes you believe that you can truly do anything you set your mind to. 

After finding my friend, we met some of the group from our area for lunch at a nearby hotel. I'm the jolly green giant on the far right.

I would definitely run this race again. I think there were more then enough water stops. I would try to stay closer to the the start and finish lines to avoid to have to pay so much for parking throughout the weekend. Although we didn't make a vacation out of this, there are plenty of things to do that are family friendly.  Although, the woman who took off her top at the gear check or the man who changed his shorts barely covered by a trash bag were not "kid-friendly". I think I'm going to have nightmares.


Oh, and it would help if you know a little Spanish in Miami. It's the primary, not the secondary language over there.