The first hard moment started with training. I came down with COVID April 2022. My first sign was, of course, horrible diarrhea. The COVID diarrhea lasted for months and it caused both a Crohn’s and microscopic colitis flare. Trying to run with uncontrollable diarrhea seemed impossible. I did my usual planning ahead that I do for all my training runs; a necessity as an IBD patient. Before a normal run I always know where the bathrooms, porta potties and woods are located. And I would run at least a mile loop before thinking of joining anyone else on a run. And I get up an hour before heading out the door for an everyday run.
I love love running! It is my passion and makes me so happy! And when I deal with flares I still run. So the hard part was not the running and dealing with the flare but dealing with the severity of the flare and the massive isolation. I spent much of this training cycle running solo because I never knew when I would have to use the bathroom (porta potty, the woods). It also caused slower than normal runs because of all the stops I had to make. It would not be unusual for me to stop at least five times on a 6-7 mile run. And there were more than two handfuls worth of runs where I would have to come home to shower because of an accident on the roads.
There were many hard parts about the marathon but the ones that caused me the most stress and anxiety was the bus ride to the start and running across the beautiful Verrazano bridge. The bus ride to the start is about 40 minutes and then you have security checks. There are zero bathrooms on the bus ride or on the walk to the security check. So score one for me when I made it on the bus through the security check with no bathroom issue. Good moment- ran over the Verrazano bridge with no accident.
Now mind you, I did do my pre race prep the night before and morning of the race. I did an enema and suppository starting around 5:00 pm the night before the race. The morning before the race I got up at 3:30 am, ran an easy mile on the treadmill, took some lomotil (prescription strength imodium). I set out to walk to the buses which were about 10 plus blocks from my hotel and had to make a fast dash into a bathroom.
A good moment. I met a person from the Charlotte area when I exited the building. Someone to chat with on the way down to the buses, in the long line to the buses and while walking to the athletes village. After getting to the start village I had to say goodbye to my new friend because we were in different start villages. But on the way to my start village I met a woman named Kelli. Yes, Kelli with an I just like my name. We sat together for the entire time before the race.
All the fun began when the race started. The part I loved the most was after crossing the bridge- the fans, the noise! But the in-betweens were the thoughts in my head about the weight gain, the lack of true training. It came and went through the race. Thankful for being able to run a marathon and then moments later disappointed in my running pace and how I looked physically.
It seems easy for people to comment on my weight loss, weight gain, weight being the same. For those that want to know. I know my weight. I know when I have lost too much, gained too much or am at my normal weight. Most of the time this change is not my doing but is because of my autoimmune conditions and medicine I have to take. No need to comment on the weight. Just be a support person or if you can not do that then make no comments on the weight front. Believe me we Crohn’s people know. I get weighed every 6 weeks for my infusion.
I loved hearing and seeing my friend Suzanne on First Avenue. She took this photo of me when I looked back because she was yelling my name. Thanks Suzanne for being there!
And I loved that my best friend from NYU, the amazing Kate, got a group of kids to yell for me farther down First Avenue. So fun! BUT one of my favorite parts was entering Central Park. I fell in love with running in Central Park when I went to NYU and did long runs and races there. My first half marathon ever was in Central Park!
Near the end I could hear Kate yelling for me but I could not see her and then I heard Ali (she has been like my fav for a long time as a runner because she has Crohn’s and has now made it to the big leagues in the running broadcasting community) announce my finish by saying here comes a Team Challenge Finisher! I cried after I finished because I really was not sure with all my Crohn’s and other autoimmune conditions that I would make it to the finish line but I did.
After I crossed the finish line I saw someone I ran with once in Charlotte right before the marathon. A young fast runner and super sweet and humble. I actually saw her pass me (she started a wave behind me) and I thought there goes Emily she looks great. I think it was around mile 18-19. It was her first marathon and she was killing it on this hot day! As I was walking down the finishers path I saw her sitting down. I sat down next to her and we talked for a good bit. And then I realized I needed to get up or I would be stuck there so I knew she had to get up. I told her that and we got up and walked out of the park together. It was so fun to reconnect with her and hear her experience. Y’all she rocked this race!
I was excited to finish the NYC marathon because I felt I was under trained because of Crohn’s. BUT I am more excited and proud of the fact that my husband Pete and I raised over $30,000 for Team Challenge, the endurance fundraising arm of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Thank y’all who believed in and supported my cause. Let’s pray for a better life for those with Crohn’s and Colitis and for more understanding and support from our community.
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