2 years ago, in honor of one of my favorite races, the Avenue of the Giants Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10K, I routed my own 1/2 Marathon and set out on the course. The in-person race had been canceled due to the pandemic, but I was determined to run on my own and eat a fat, juicy burger and fries as a reward.
As you can see in the photo above, I wore a nose strip to help with my oxygen intake…You see, I still couldn’t figure out why I was so dizzy and winded all the time and was trying to discover a reason that made sense for an otherwise healthy and fit 34 year old. As it turned out, I had already experienced 3 (+ or-) strokes in the week leading up to this run.
4/29/2020-My first stroke was super mild. Just some dizziness and spots in my vision…This one may have even been just a TIA, but I have no way of knowing for sure.
4/30/2020-My second stroke was a doozy! I tried to cracked my neck and immediately felt dizzy. I stood up and had intense vertigo and fell down a couple times until I just stayed down. I got a terrible headache and remained dizzy and nauseous for some time.
5/01/2020-The third was an ocular migraine. I had a headache with intense vision problems: partial blindness, spots in my vision, flashing lights and orbs. This went on all day.
Even though these ‘episodes’ kept happening, I was determined to run 13.1 miles on May 3rd, 2020. I started out pretty rough. I remember having a hard time catching my breath, but decided that I just needed to warm up a little. At about mile #2, I checked my FitBit to see what my pace was looking like. It said I was keeping about a 12min/mile pace which is 2+ minutes slower than usual. I thought “There is no Fucking way that is accurate!!”…So my stubborn-ass turned it off and kept on charging ahead with my brain in a fog and my legs feeling like jello.
I was sucking wind at mile 8. I stopped at a bench to rest(something that I have never done in my entire running tenure). I looked down the road and made a choice: I could head east and be home in one mile, or I could continue south and finish the full 13.1….Obviously I continued on the route as planned(I mean, have you met me!?)
I found myself completely lacking energy. I was sluggish and exhausted. Every step was painful and I wasn’t sure why. I couldn’t catch my breath and was forced to stop every 2 to 5 minutes to rest and recover a little.
I finished the ‘race’ and finally made it home to order my burger & fries but was almost too tired to eat. I recall lying in bed with my food laid out next to me feeling like death(and was likely close to it).
Having VAD means having limited blood supply to your brain. Aside from having strokes, there was so much more wrong with my body every moment of every day for weeks and weeks. I had occluded arteries that fed blood to my brain. My brain was constantly starved of oxygen, and running was very likely one of the worst things that I could’ve done at that time.
As bad as this experience was pounding the pavement, I hated being restricted in the months that followed my diagnosis. As soon as I was cleared to run, I was overjoyed.
One year ago, May 2, 2021, I ran that same ‘race’ I had routed for myself the year before. It was such a beautiful and emotional experience. I had wonderful friends come out and cheer me on along the roadside and at the ‘finish line’. I cried and beamed with pride!
It is now becoming an annual event… This Sunday, May 1st 2022, I am running the ‘2nd Annual Stroke Recovery Run’. Wish me luck! More stories to come…
Post Half Marathon
05/03/2020
1st Annual Stroke Recovery Half Marathon
05/02/2021
