With the date of my first ever ultramarathon lingering only 5 weeks away, and my first marathon scheduled to take place in just 7 day's time, I knew I couldn't let anything stop me from completing my 20km training run today- not even the painful bloating, wind and heaviness I was suffering today thanks to what I call my stupid Endo (Endometriosis).
I took my beloved cavoodle Georgie out for me for the first 10km loop. It was a bit of a struggle getting going at the start and then again at about 8km, when the stomach pains kicked in properly. Now these aren't your normal 'quick I need to get to a toilet in the middle of my run' stomach pains either; the pain feels like a layer of sharp ache has been stitched just under the skin covering the entire abdomen area. This is a pain that feels worse when your stomach is extended after activities such as drinking, which just happens to be something that can't actually be avoided when running long distances in the heat!
So, after a quick swap over of dogs (I was accompanied by my energetic grandog Charlie cavoodle on the second 10km loop), I set out again, attempting to ignore the fact that the degree of difficulty for the run was increasing significantly with every passing kilometer.
By the time we made it to the 13.5 kilometer mark I was really starting to question how I would be able to make it to the 20km mark. Unhelpful thoughts were starting to set in and they weren't helping with the battle to get to the end. Taking stock of the situation, I stopped running, ate a few handfuls of trail mix and allowed myself to walk until the next white road marker (sometimes you just have to understand that your body needs a break).
Just as I was lamenting the unfairness of having to deal with the unpredictability of endo and its related issues interfering with the already difficult task of training for a marathon, I heard a sound behind me that I wasn't expecting to hear. It was my wonderful husband! After finishing his morning bike ride, he had ridden around my running loop to check in on me. WOW!
He could see I was struggling and decided to stay with me for the rest of my run. I can't tell you how grateful I was just to have him there with me. He didn't even have to talk to me, he just rode next to me and made me feel like everything would be ok; I would make it to the end, I would achieve the training target and I would survive the temporary pain. It was serious like running with a warm hug around me and it helped me to keep running the whole way to the end of the 20km.
(I even told him he could keep riding home but he insisted on staying with me).
In my post run shower I reflected on just how lucky I am to have such a supportive husband. Just like today, when he was by my side as I was trying to persist through my misery causing pains, he's been by my side for my whole endo journey; through the specialists, surgeries and support meetings, through the good days and the bad.
I just feel so lucky and I hope he knows just how grateful I am. I only wish every other endo sufferer could be so fortunate.
5 week to go until our first Ultramarathon together and I am really looking forward to the adventure now!
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