I went into this marathon with a goal, which was to run a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, and I achieved what I set out to do.
However, the week leading up to this race was by far from relaxing. It was one of the most stressful weeks I have had in a while, and none of this stress had to do with the marathon. The weekend before the Boston Marathon, my dog Rex had another accident that caused a disc in his back to slip. He had already been through this two months prior, and the only way to fix this issue was to do surgery or put him down. The stresses of figuring out the right move, either spending another 8k or saying goodbye to our furry 3-year-old best friend, were unbearable. Phil and I took the easiest path for our hearts, yet it was painful for our bank accounts to do another surgery.
After a weekend of stress, I had a clinic appointment to make sure everything looked good for Marathon Monday. I was feeling great, but strangely, my PFT's were down 5%. My PFTs have been phenomenal since starting Trikafta, so even a 5% decrease still seemed perfect on paper, but my doctor and I both knew that a 5% drop is a lot and could indicate something more was going on. We decided to increase the use of my steroid inhaler and blamed the decrease on my asthma and the current weather. Looking back, I now know that the decline in lung function was due to me brewing a cold and a sinus infection.
Getting a cold can be a "death sentence" for anyone with cystic fibrosis. Before Trikafta, when I would get sick, it would end up in my lungs and have to be put on antibiotics. It was always a battle, and my running would be the first thing that would go downhill. When I felt that cold develop, I immediately felt a rush of emotions. I remembered the past and how everything would change within days of feeling and running well to barely breathing and running in pain. On Wednesday, my doctor put me on an antibiotic to help prevent an infection from becoming more than a cold. My sinuses felt awful, and I had a slight cough that had started.
To help prevent this cold from progressing, I started doing every preventative measure I could take, Sinus rinses, antibiotics, rest/ sleep, vitamin C, and hydration. Thankfully, this cold never stinted my running.
However, I now entered a new potential danger which was "what if I have Covid-19"!!! Yes, I was flipping out!!! The chances of me getting covid were slim, I have both vaccines, and I have had covid myself back in March. I coach at Tufts University, and getting tested weekly is part of their protocol. If I were tested positive, all my hard work would be for nothing because then I would not be able to run Boston!!
I got tested on Thursday, and I painfully waited for my results. Usually, the results come back pretty quickly, but they took their swell old time this time. My heart stopped when I got the message at 9 pm on Friday that my results were in... I opened the message and. I. WAS. NEGATIVE (obviously, since we know I already ran haha). What a relief!!!!
After having a sigh of relief, I told myself it was time to focus and stop worrying because worrying is added stress which will not help as race day approaches near.
Click for Part 2