History

I decided to post a brief history of my marathon running. I realized that some people don't know my past -- so here is a quick synopsis.

I started running after my first daughter was born - around December 1999. I'd run on and off through college and lost 45 lbs right after high school. I loved to rock climb and mtn bike so I was active. When I was dating my husband, we of course ate out a lot and I didn't get in as much exercise as I had been doing and my weight steadily increased. I was also really tired all of the time. I was eventually diagnosed with thyroid tumors. The biopsy came back inconclusive for cancer so we had to have it removed (nearly the entire thyroid) in 2000. I've struggled with my weight because of the thyroid condition for quite awhile -- thus, the marathon. I did my first marathon in June 2000 - Alaska -- It was exhilarating! I didn't do my second until May of 2003 after my second daughter was born. After that I started doing 2 a year, 3 a year -- 6 one year and so on and so on - I've done a total of 15 since 2000. I LOVE distance. I'm not a terribly fast runner but I have fairly good endurance.

In 2005 I started training for an ultra - 50K - and a week before the race (April 06)I came down with a nasty case of Achilles tendinitis that landed me in a cast -- yes, it was so bad my doctor put me in a cast so it wouldn't rupture as I walked through daily life. It was hard not running... but I eventually got back and did 3 marathons that year. 2007 was the worst year ever! It started off great... I ran the Yakima marathon but had some intermittent hip pain that slowed me down -- recovered from that, did a lot of biking and an endurance du, ran Hood to Coast and then fractured my leg at a boy scout camp fundraiser. Yes, not even running-related. I was off of running, biking, even the elliptical -- my doctor wanted me to do nothing weight-bearing and he's a running doctor so usually pretty lenient with how soon you can get back at it. I got depressed.... truly depressed and stopped just about everything. I think my running really keeps me mentally sound and without any physical activity I just fell in to a complete funk. I finally saw a doctor and got on a low dose anti-depressant. Still don't feel great, but better. I fractured my leg in September, a month before I was scheduled to run Chicago. Now, we all know what a disaster Chicago was, so that wasn't that big of a deal. I still went and saw my friends run and most finish. Mental illness runs strong in my family so I know it's 'real'. It's just hard to realize it when it's happening to you. I've been off of running now for 7 months. I want to be back where I could just pound out a marathon every month if I wanted too..... I just want the old 'me' back and I finally feel like I'm on the right path.

Shel