Running for Moms and Midwives

Maternity care in the United States is in a real crisis. About 18 months ago I came up with a plan to run across America to raise money to grow our Community School of Midwifery and train more culturally diverse midwives. I have decided that 2016 is the year to make this happen. Don't have a solid date yet. I first need to find sponsors to be able to crew the run from LA to New York, and then I hope raise the funds we need to grow the Community School and scholarship more students who will best serve women that currently can not access midwifery care. 

It's like I've found a deeper drive than has ever been there before. This has been the most grueling training week yet. I've decided I have to raise my goal that was 2400 miles for 2015 to be above 4000 miles. Tomorrow I will complete 4 more miles with a tire and then 6 more miles without a tire , making 75.5 miles this week,  my highest mile week of the year. In the next couple of weeks I want to get up to a 100 mile or above per week average. It's time to raise the bar. I'm running across America people for moms and midwives! 

New goal for 2016 - The Forest Gump Stunt

I'm reviving my goal to run coast-to-coast. Projected date in 2016 coming pending being able to get support crew! I've started tire pulling and did 8 miles of tire pull hill repeats today, and 3 more bonus miles. I want to hit 77 miles this week by Sunday night and make this my biggest mileage week so far this year. 

I hit 604 miles today YTD meaning I've hit 25% of my goal. Now with my new goal to run transcontinental next year I may have to up my 2015 mileage goal! 

Cleared to run Wasatch 100 with POTS!

This year, I once again made the lottery into the Wasatch 100. Wasatch 100 finish and belt buckle is my dream, and a difficult course for a Potsie, because of the intense hill climbs. But I've poured my heart and soul into training hills this year, and have started tire pulling to improve my ability to be speedy on hill climbs. I want a Wasatch 100 finish more than about any other race. I want to not be chasing cut-offs. 

This year, due to my activism and public openness about POTS, Wasatch 100 race committee requested a medical clearance letter for me to be able to run the race. I respect their concern for the health and safety of runners, and it gave me an opportunity to see Dr. Elizabeth Joy again, the wonderful doctor who was able to properly diagnose me in 2010, and put me on the right path to symptom management with POTS. 

I had a full physical with her today, and she also told me that she is putting some of her POTS patients on high intensity exercise programs because she sees a lot of symptom improvement with more intense exercise with dysautonomia. It was very validating to hear support for my high intense training and that running 100 milers is good for me. She gave me the letter of clearance and clean bill of health that Wasatch 100 needed. And it was also good to check in with her and be validated in my running plans and supported in running with POTS. I've clocked 570 miles so far for 2015, and my next big run will be Squaw Peak 50 in June, I'm hoping for a sub 15 hour finish for Squaw Peak this year! 

Thank you once again Dr. joy for your knowledge of Dysautonomia and support in achieving my running dreams! 

39 miles and counting

I'm a little behind for January due to The Community School of Midwifery launching into our 3rd year last Friday. I plan on completing a 30 mile run on Saturday to catch up and meet a minimum of 200 miles for January towards 2400 miles in 2015. 

It appears that I may be changing the name of my campaign as I just discovered that ACNM has a Miles for Midwives Marathon that they host yearly, so to keep in good comradery I'm looking for a new name for my campaign. I'm open to suggestions.

This year is the first year our school started with 3 classes, and we wi have our first graduating class in November of this year. We hope to raise over $150,000 to support MANAs division of research for supporting the advancement of high-quality midwifery care and to move our school forward with accreditation and support to grow our local and distance education program. 

To donate to my campaign go to:

http://www.gofundme.com/j3tknc #gofundme

Facebook break and Wisdom Self

I've temporarily deactivated my Facebook account. My purpose is kind of like a vision quest of sorts. I'm disconnecting with most of my social media outlets for the next 10 days, and I'm also on a Neera Cleanse. I'm hoping to pray and meditate a lot to get direction and light for some very important decisions and to have clarity on what is most important to focus on. 

Lemons and limes squeezed, MaldeBal Syrup, Cayenne pepper, and water. I am still running Miles for Midwives, and I will still blog for the next 10 days. 

Today it's 90 minutes on the eliptical and 30 minutes stair master. 

Miles for Midwives 17.2 down

I had intended on running 18 miles yesterday, and only got 2. So I geared up and went out on the Icy roads for 10 tonight and will finish 5 more on the treadmill in a bit. 

It wasn't POTS that kept me from running last night, it was a document I started writing about how trauma effects DNA and how maternal stress effects the temperament, stress resiliency, and emotional intelligence in offspring. I refered a lot to Dr. Fredrick Wirth who authored the Prenatal Parenting book and program, and I also discussed additional research supporting his theories. I could see his contagious smile and laugh as I wrote and before I new it i had been writing for 4 hours. It was 2 am and running had slipped my mind. 

My current writing,  started as a document on finding the Wisdom Self verses Mind identification in the treatment of severe trauma. But I wrote an additional section on the how generational trauma effects gene expression transgenerationally and why caring for mothers is so important. Dr. Wirth was a huge supporter of midwives, and I'm grateful for my foundation in Prenatal Parenting that is adding to the work I do with women now. 

The article I wrote last night and literature review i conducted in the process reafirms the importance of me following through with the Miles for Midwives campaign. 

To make a donation: 

http://www.gofundme.com/j3tknc

Miles for Midwives is Underway!

I've logged my first 4.7 miles of the year! Only 2395.3 to go and I've also raised $35 so far! I'm hoping to raise $150,000 this year to support research and education in midwifery. 

I had set out to run 8 tonight, but I'm having a lot of POTS symptoms today. Namely my heart rate is jumping all over the place and indicative of needing rest and more electrolytes. I will sleep tonight and then set out for a 15-18 mile run tomorrow. 

View my campaign and donate at:

http://www.gofundme.com/j3tknc

Follow me on Strava at:

http://www.strava.com/athletes/7394044?utm_source=top-nav

I will be blogging almost daily this year and also writing more specifically about being a distance runner with POTS and what it is like day in and day out. I have periods that I barely notice I have POTS (or at least my symptoms are easier to ignore) and I have stretches when I have difficulty getting out of bed, thinking straight, and I just don't feel well. 

I've been having a difficult stretch with POTS for the past 2 months. It was triggered by flying to St. Louis to the MANA conference, and then a few weeks later flying to Wisconsin. I've been slowly getting better but days like today are difficult to move at all. I know it's going to be a struggle to run or even get out of bed day when my heart rate is doing this. The picture below shows what happens when i go from a laying position to standing up when my symptoms are more severe. Ironically forcing myself to run and move makes these symptoms lessen and more manageable and my heart rate actually regulates better when I am training for 100 mile races.