Summing up SMA.

August is SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Awareness month.  There are a lot of technical medical terms associated with SMA that can quickly get confusing. 
Here are a few things you should know about SMA and then there is an awesome visual aid that has been passed around the internet that really puts things into perspective. 

*SMA is an inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration/weakness. 
*SMA Type 1 is the most severe kind of SMA. Teagan's sweet friend Getty has Type 1.
*SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children.  It occurs in nearly 1 out of every 6,000 births.
*1 in EVERY 40 people unknowingly carries the gene. No matter their ethnicity.  Their gender.  Their race.
Now, if that alone didn't shock you then let this picture sink into your brain:

Half Marathon.

Well, 13.105 miles later, the race was complete in 2 hours 41 minutes and 20 seconds.  I had a flood of different emotions before the race, during the race and after the race.  Even right now I feel a sense of pride in myself.  This is something I haven’t felt in a long time and I can’t wait to try it again. 

I do want to take a minute to thank those of you who donated to the cause I was running for.  The research for the cure of SMA is crucial and I take it very seriously, especially after corresponding with Getty and Sophia’s mom.  I feel the need to fight for it; to fight for them and to fight for future babies.  Especially when researchers say the cure for this disease is so close.

I also want to write a special thanks to my husband and my sweet baby girl.  They selflessly gave me time to train and were right there at the finish line cheering me on in the cold rain.  My parents also came to the race and were a constant support during my training and my run.  G.P.S., Inc was also a financial sponsor for this race. 

The half marathon was something I don’t think you can mentally prepare for until you’ve ran your first one.  I went in as prepared as I could have been in spite of the circumstances.  I trained mileage, hills and speed but I was unable to prepare for the weather.  Nothing prepares you for the mind game of the actual race. 
Next race I will be sure to study the actual elevation of the course because to be quite honest, I don’t know that many people were prepared for the intensity of the hills we conquered.  They were all very steep and there were a lot of them.  The runners didn’t have a lot of flat ground to run in between the hills.  During the start of the race I was dead set on not walking until at least mile 9 because I’d trained to 8 miles in under 1 hr and 15 minutes and knew I could do that without walking.  That was without the hills…so, needless to say I did a little walking in the first 9 miles.  Overall I think I only walk a mile or so out of 13 so I see that as a triumph.  Around mile 11 my calves started to cramp.  I have never felt cramping like I did that day.  It felt better to run then it did to walk but my body was starting to get tired.  At that point the race became a mind game and I feel proud that I was able to overcome it.  The finish line was the best part of the race.  Not because it was the end but because when I came around the curve of the track (the last leg was on a track) I saw Josh and Teagan standing in the infield waving and yelling to me.  Then I came around the curve and saw my mom and knew she was crying and then I saw my dad with the camera.  I started to cry a little at that point but sped up because I was running to them.  I was running to be in the arms of four people who provide me with constant support, no questions asked.  As I crossed the finish line they called my name, gave me a bottle of water and slipped a medal over my head.  My first running medal.  I was swollen with a sense of pride.

After the race was a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion and paid and happiness.  I was cold and wet but I had my family around me and that kept my mind off things.  Teagan was very excited about the medal and played with it while I tried to stretch my hot/cold extremities.  After I tried to stretch and we took some pictures we made our way to get me a little food and more water.  I had to prepare for the 2 hour ride home.  We made it just fine!

Overall, I am pretty proud of myself.  Sure, there are a few things I will do differently next time like:

Make sure my Ipod is put on correctly (it was on upside down) so I can adjust it when I need to. 

Make sure to study the elevation of the course.

Make sure to eat enough the night before and the morning of.

Be prepared for the weather (I didn’t have “rain” apparel).   

Overall, I feel like the race was a success.  I honestly can’t wait to get my running shoes back on and train for my next one! 

This is why I run.

Will you help find a cure? Will you donate to my half marathon fundraiser?  The whole point of my training and running the race on December 11th is to raise money to help find a cure for SMA.  So, I am asking you to do what Josh and I have done.  We took $10 that would have gone to Teagan's Christmas and put it towards this.  We want to teach her that Christmas isn't about the presents.  We want to teach her that Christmas is a time to help those who need us.  What better way to explain giving to those in need then at Christmas time? What better way to show it then to help children who could die without a cure?  A cure that could come SOON with money to research the cure.  What will you do? Will you help and donate? Even if you don't donate to my run (which the money goes to Sophia's Cure, Inc) please donate to something this year.

Here is the website to donate. ( Crowdrise )  All it takes is $10.  My goal is to raise $1000 by December 10th.  My goal is to raise $1000 towards the research of a cure for SMA.  Will you help me?

Need a laugh? Read on...

If you have been following the drama of the insoles this last week then you will find this especially humorous.

I will give you a little background on the insole drama just in case you have no idea what I am about to talk about.  I went to the doctor last week because my left foot was killing me after running.  The doctor told me to get insoles for my shoes and I would be good to go.  After the appointment I rushed to the drug store to get the insoles and assumed (shame, shame) I would be alright after that (mistake number 1).  I attempted to run at home that very night and broke down in tears and almost had to have Josh come get me because my foot hurt so bad.  I just assumed it was the wrong insole, not that my foot was still hurting from earlier (mistake number 2).  After an incredible serving of ice cream I decided I would just order the correct insoles, have them overnighted and take back the wrong ones.  The insoles were delivered yesterday.  They were the same ones I had already.  Things brings us to today and the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me in a while....

I decided I was just going to the place the doctor told me to get the insoles originally.  So, after I dropped Teagan off and checked in a the office I took my lunch break early and headed out to downtown Hickory.  This is about a 25 minute drive each way but almost all interstate so it's not too bad.  I get to the drug store and I feel the excitement and anxiety creeping in.  Are they going to have them? They HAVE to have them.  If they don't have them what am I going to do?  I bravely walk in and hand the lady at the counter the paper the doctor gave me with the specific name brand, type of insole and the item number written at the top.  I asked if they had this particular item number in stock.  She looked at the paper, up at me and then down at the paper again.  My cheeks started flushing because I just knew they didn't have any in stock. 

Are you ready for this??

She looked back up at me and kindly said, "Ma'am, this is our phone number.  It's not an item number."  Yeah, just let that sink in for a minute. 

As you can imagine, my face turns bright red but I try my best to hide it.  I just looked dumbfounded at her and managed an "Oh".  She said she could show me where they were in the store so she led me to the roundabout they were on. She shows me the SAME INSOLES I've bought twice.  I look at the back and tell her I need the insoles specifically for flat feet.  This is for mild to high arches.  She looked at me and told me this was what I needed because this provided that amount of support for people who had flat feet.  Needless to say my face turned bright red again.  I told her thank you and left.  With my head down in shame. 

The end result was me taking one pair back, keeping the ones I had overnighted and planning on a run tonight.  Hope you laughed as hard as I did. 

Here's to my run tonight and raising more money for SMA Research.  If you'd like to donate there are 25 days left to donate.  We've reached $280 which means we have $720 left to go before we meet our goal.  Help me raise money to find a cure for this disease.

Running progress.

"Everyone who has run knows that its most important value is in removing tension and allowing a release from whatever other cares the day may bring." -Jimmy Carter


Today, I needed this quote before my run.  Sure, I ran according to my training guide but the run kind of sucked.  I wasn't focused.  I wasn't able to feed Teagan at lunch because she was asleep and feeding/cuddling with her in the middle of the day just does something good to my soul.  I wasn't able to block out the spiderweb of thoughts in my head.  Okay, enough of my rainy day blues mood. 
Training is going pretty well.  I've condensed an 8 week program into a 6 week program because I didn't have to start out on the initial building up from scratch thing.  I've been in "official" training mode since Tuesday (oddly enough by the program Monday was a day of rest).  I'm feeling pretty good.  My IT (iliotibial) band is acting up again but should be fine if I remember to wear my brace when I run.  That 13.1 number is kind of daunting but I'm determined to cross the finish line running on December 12th. 
I am however, kind of disappointed in the fundraising.  I plan on starting letters this evening to send out to people.  I realize the holiday's are racing (no pun intended) upon us but all I'm asking for is, well anything.  $1-$1,000 will be gladly accepted.  Also, for any runners (or non-runners) who would like to join my "team" on Crowdrise I would really appreciate it.  Or if you would just like to help raise money or awareness! Just let me know!

Have you met Getty?

If you have noticed my blog lately you can see that I've streamlined the layout a little bit.  I've left up the necessary things and the items I feel are important.  If you look to the right of this blog post and see a button that says "Getty Owl, helping Baby Getty" I'd like for you to click on it after you're finished reading this post.  I want to you to not only read the blog but look up at the top and click on What is SMA and read it.  I did and I've decided to do something about it...or at least help.  I don't remember how I came to know about Getty's blog  (maybe I was drawn to the owl) but I do know that I keep up with it regularly and the strength of Getty and her parents never ceases to amaze me.  They recently got to go on a small vacation and sweet Getty, 7 mths, almost kicked her parents out of the hotel bed (read their latest post).  Getty's mom, Kate, introducded me to Sophia's parents.  Sophia's parents are raising money for the research of SMA1 (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) because Sophia, 20 mths, also has SMA1. 
Anyway, most of you know I have been saying for MONTHS that i was going to carve out some Mommy time, that I was going to get back into shape and that I was going to get back into running.  Well, as usual, life gets in the way...it tends to do that when you have a baby (NOT COMPLAINING).  I decided that if I were going to reach my goals then I needed to have a reason to reach them.  Something I felt was bigger and more important then my selfish reasons.  After reading that you could say, isn't staying healthy for Teagan a good enough reason? Yes, it is.  I am healthy. I can run around after her, I can carry her for hours and I take care of any need she has.  Teagan is also, Thank God, healthy. Getty is not. Sophia is not.  Babies with SMA1 are not.  And there is no cure.  Yet.
So, this is my challenge.  This is the thing I needed to light a fire under my rear end.  I am going to run for Getty and Sophia.  I want to help raise awareness for SMA1.  Josh and I have discussed wanting Teagan to know from an early age how important it is to help people.  How is she to learn that if we don't provide an example for her to follow?
My goal is to raise $1,000 by December 10th, obviously more would be great.  I will be racing a half marathon on December 12th.  Training is going to be difficult because
a) Teagan is still nursing and so I have to be back from my runs no later then 7:45pm in the evening.  Also, on the weekends I will have to schedule my runs around her eating schedule (I don't make enough extra for her to bottle feed during the weekends).
b) Running a half marathon is HARD. There is no question that the training is going to be grueling.

Even if I get to the race and I'm not completely ready I have already decide I will go through with it.  If I have to walk/run for 13.1 miles then so be it.  I will cross the finish line with my head held high. 

So, if you would like to donate to this cause I have set up an account on Crowdrise .  If you don't feel comfortable giving money online then you can contact me at RiciReid@gmail.com and we can figure out something. 


Here are some facts about SMA Kate sent me:

SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children.
SMA is estimated to occur in nearly 1 out of every 6,000 births.
1 in every 40 people, or nearly 10 million Americans, UNKNOWINGLY carries the gene responsible for SMA. Few have any known family history.
SMA is a pan-ethnic disease and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or gender.
There is currently no treatment and no cure, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) selected SMA as the disease closest to treatment of more than 600 neurological disorders.
Researchers estimate that a viable treatment and/or cure is attainable in as little as 5 years – IF provided adequate resources.
The American College of Medical Genetics recommends that SMA carrier testing be made available to ALL couples planning a family, regardless of ethnicity or family history.
 
If you would like to know more about SMA1 here are some websites Kate suggested to me:
Families of SMA
Fight SMA