Day 10: “Uh Oh Toe”

October 7, 2015 / jennylabaw / 3 Comments

Day 10: Monday, September 28^th

Blue Mesa Reservoir to Gunnison

Dedicated To:

Lin Sutton, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Amber Rose Galloway, Carlsbad, CA

Heather Lakmann, Redding, CA

Beth Bringle, Redding, CA

It’s was the start of new work week and HWY 50 was busy as people buzzed by to work. We started around 8am from last night’s stopping point (a mile or so from Blue Mesa Reservoir). A fairly uneventful day but I really felt great. About 3 miles in we got off the highway and onto a frontage road that paralleled it. Marcus jumped on his bike to join me, of course with a camera in my face, and we chatted it up as we approached Gunnison. It’s amazing how much faster the time goes when you have someone to talk to.

About 7 miles into the run I was getting pretty hungry so stopped for a rest on the curb and grabbed my homemade True Nature Kitchen baby food pouch out of my bag. I cracked the lid open with excitement to get some nutrition in me. The first swallow tasted a bit different than usual, but had just told Marcus how good they were, so offered him a taste. He said, “It’s kinda spicy”. I said, “Well yeah, it has black pepper in it”. Then I proceeded to take another gulp and that time couldn’t handle it and spit it out in the gutter. It literally gagged me. Vaughn saw my dramatic spitting and came out of the truck laughing and to kindly take the pouch from me. I said, “It’s rancid, it’s gotta be rancid.” With the hunger immediately gone from that bad taste, we got back to running. Turns out, my essential oil and Epsom salt liquid soap spilled all over the kitchen in Big Blue and infused EVERYTHING around it. So, not rancid, but my insides are bubbly clean now!

As we continued through town, it was a surprisingly great to see a bit of civilization. I am very much a country girl and would love to spend all of my time in the woods, but after days of loneliness, turns out seeing a stop light and a Safeway makes you smile. The plan that day was to only go to the end of town, but again I was feeling decent and wanted to get a head start on the next day… so when Tory said “28 miles to Crested Butte” (the destination for the next day)… I kept chugging along. My feet were swelling and the numbness was wearing off. Each step was painful, but somehow I just kept going saying “one more mile” to my crew each time I saw them. Finally at 14 miles into the day, I asked Tory if she would walk the last mile to make it a solid 15 miles (6 miles into the next day)!

As Tory and I were walking that last mile, I had my shoes in hand to let my toes get some relief. We’re just chatting up a storm and all of a sudden we see a bus sized motorcoach in the large shoulder coming at us at about 55mph. They pulled to the shoulder (with us in plain view) to let other cars pass them, but weren’t slowing down. Tory bailed off into the stickers on the side of the road, but me in socks (and half way delirious with hunger and fatigued) didn’t quite comprehend what was happening. I got out of the way, but not without scaring the dickens out of Marcus (who was right behind us).

Surviving another potentially life-threatening event on the road, we crossed the highway, jumped in the rigs and headed back to our hotel that was donated for the night. When we got to the hotel my pinky toe was really in pain… A LOT of pain. Enough pain that we were contemplating going to visit a physical therapists office for advice. But with the suggestions of friends, Tory’s amazing touch, flushing with the MarcPro and hours of elevation… my toe had enough relief to take the pups to a park and get them some much needed play time. We played ball until dusk, headed back to the hotel and crashed with hopes that my toes would hold through to start the day tomorrow.

Lesson Learned:

Probably not a good idea to walk on the side of a highway in socks

Day 9: “Keep Moving Forward”

October 4, 2015 / jennylabaw / Leave a comment

Day 9, Sunday, September 27^th

Gateview to Blue Mesa Reservoir

Dedicated To:

Katie Raines, Naples, FL

Sophia Martinez, Danville, CA

Gabby Martinez, Danville, CA

Ashley Griffiths, Lymington, UK

Last night, we all gathered around the map after Tory and Pam had made a run into Gunnison (the direction I was heading in the morning). They came back fairly concerned with the road safety of the next day as the shoulder was almost obsolete and who knows what the traffic would be like. After some discussion we saw a possible route of CR-26, which would bypass the highway for most of the mileage. Vaughn and Tory then took off to find the mileage/condition of that road and Vaughn’s last words were, “We’ll see ya in about an hour”…. 2.5 hours later and pitch black, Pam and I were sitting around the campfire contemplating whether or not we should jump in the truck to go rescue them. Did their car break down? Did they run out of gas? No service… so who knows. Minutes before Pam had a complete anxiety attack, we saw headlights. Good news..they were safe! Bad news… the road wasn’t accessible.

So, on the shoulder-less highway of 149 we took off just after dawn to avoid as much traffic as we could. I started the morning with a good 3 mile climb, then descended 2.5 miles into a one-horse town, then immediately climbed for another 3 miles….then it was slightly downhill the remainder of the 16.1 miles to Blue Mesa Reservoir. I obeyed the law and ran into traffic when the road ahead was visible… if not then I ran on the right side of the road, with Vaughn behind me in “Big Blue” (our nickname for the RV) protecting me from the crazies on the road. Every time a car would come up on us, he would give me a gentle “honk honk” to make me aware to be prepared to dive into the sage brush on the side of the road.

The day was fairly uneventful. There were basically no trees, so I was subject to the sun again. But luckily it didn’t get too hot until about 12 miles left. However, the combo of the heat on the black asphalt and the downhill grade, my feet were beginning to hurt pretty bad. There’s no way to prevent your toes from being jammed in the front of your shoes when repetitively pounding the pavement downhill. I stopped with 9 miles to go to grab a snack and check on my feet. Let’s just say they weren’t good. Blisters on blisters. Tory and I did some doctoring, put on dry socks, then slid on my shoes to start at it again.

The first few steps are always the most painful, then they start to go numb. By about 1 mile in, they were numb enough to run with a semi-normal gait and charge to Blue Mesa Reservoir. One foot in front of the other… on step at a time… just “Keep moving forward”. I thought of dear Katie Raines today when the steps were so hard (as I have several days so far on this journey). Katie’s mother, Lenora Raines, contacted me when I announced Move Mountains. She told me of her daughter Katie and that she lost Katie to SUDEP. Lenora gave me words of wisdom that I have carried with me when those steps get heavy and hard. As Katie fought epilepsy, she used the words “Keep moving forward” to give her courage and strength. Thank you Katie and Lenora… you are with me sweet Katie, every step you’re in my heart and when things get hard you’re in my mind.

Suddenly, around a bend, Blue Mesa Reservoir came into sight… I was almost there. I rounded the bend and saw a bridge way up in the distance. I looked at Vaughn and desperately asked, “Is that my bridge?”… “Yes!”, he said. I was almost done for the day. It looked like it was 4 miles ahead, but my watch said only 1.5 miles until the end of my projected mileage for the day. Keep Moving Forward!!! I tried to focus on anything but the pain in my feet and the doubt in my mind for the distance to go. The smell of fish from the lake, the smell of sage as my feet stomped through on the side of the road, the sound of Marcus’ drone as he captured the last minutes of the run that day. Then I saw a straight shot to the bridge… I made it. 24.6 miles and I walked across HWY 50 to where Tory and Marcus were waiting for me.

We jumped in the cars, headed to Mesa Campground where we would call home for the night. Tory worked on my legs for about 2 hours that day… She said, “I work until your muscles give up”. They were definitely starting to feel the mileage at this point. As I was getting worked on, Dave from True Nature Kitchen showed up with a fresh set of meals and the new addition to our road warrior team for the next couple of days. We filled our bellies and then Tory offered to join me for a little head start on the day tomorrow. Marcus took us to where I ended a few hours earlier. We walked (me in flip flops for some toe relief) on the side of HWY 50 as cars buzzed past us. Tory got a taste of the trip from my vantage point. A bit scarier I think… but we made it 1.5 miles more than I would have if she wasn’t by my side. Thank you Tory for being so wonderful.

We went to bed with the Super Blood Moon protecting us, filling our dreams and prepping us for the next day. Once again, we finish a day with a positive mind set and ready for the next days’ adventures.

Lesson Learned:

1- There are no better words for what I am doing than from the special words of Miss Katie Raines… “Keep Moving Forward”. Take that with you in life and no obstacle will knock you down!

Day 8: Lonely Road

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 / jennylabaw / 3 Comments

Day 8, Saturday, September 26^th

Lake City to Gateview (21 miles)

Dedicated To:

Sara K. Halperin, Charleston, SC

Grace Howe, Collingwod, Ontario

Amy Sayers, Sturgis, MI

Jesse Swinburnson, Lake Stevens, WA

Bennett Levine, Lake City, CO

Confident that a day of rest would leave me feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle a new week on the road, I bandaged up my toe, put on all my gear, prepped my pack and laced up my tennies. Pam, Macus, Tory and Vaughn efficiently packed up our lives from the last 3 days in one sleeping location and we were on the road 3 miles into Lake City to start at the Hensen Creek Bridge, where I stopped two days before.

At the end of the bridge was a family friend and Lake City local, Phllip Virden along with two other locals Greg and Martha Levine. Phillp kindly handed me a gift bag full of Lake City memorabilia from the movie theater that he owns. I seriously could move here. This small town life is what I was born into and love. Greg and Martha got to chatting with me about their son Bennett. He is 11 years old and would have been out there too but was tired. Totally get it buddy! Anyways, Greg went onto explain that Bennett also has epilepsy. He has gelastic seizures, which are identified by uncontrolled giggling. They found that Bennett had a tumor on his brain, called hypothalamic hamartoma (HH). Just over a month ago, Bennett had brain surgery to remove the mass on his brain and since has been off meds and seizure free. His parents ran out of town with me about a mile to chat about epilepsy, hear my experience, share their experience and possibly just feel like they had someone to relate to. In a town as small as Lake City, they don’t have a neurologist in any sort of close proximity, so they have to communicate remotely most of the time between two different doctors…one in Denver and one in Houston (where Bennett had his surgery). It helped me greatly to be able to chat with them and I can only hope that sharing my experience helped them as well. If nothing else, Bennett is a tough cookie… had him in my mind all day today. Thank you for the love Lake City!

After we exchanged hugs and they said good luck… I was on my way up State Highway 149 north toward Gateview. It was the beginning of several solo days. The morning air was crisp, I had on gloves and my beanie… but quickly the sun came out and I stripped off layers and put on my shades. It was going to be a great day!

Hwy 149 has VERY narrow shoulders… something I never paid attention to much on roads before… but I’m sure I will now notice forever. There were a couple close calls, jumping over guardrails and darting across the street around the winding turns to make sure I was always on the outside of the curve. I felt like Danica Patrick on foot… just WAY slower. J

Before I knew it, the dense trees I had become accustomed to for days started to become a bit more sparse and the sun beating down on the asphalt radiated up. I could feel the heat penetrate my shoes and absorb into the sole of my foot. What started out as a great day was starting to look and FEEL like it was heading down the other side of the spectrum. My legs were getting heavy, my body was exhausted, my mind was starting to go placed I didn’t want it to. The road was becoming a lonely place. Time to dig deep and focus on why I am doing this. Young Bennett Levine raced through my head and gave me occasional bursts of energy to keep moving.

Tory and Pam had driven ahead to find a camp spot and as they returned I had Marcus ask the how much farther I had to go. They came back and enthusiastically said “4 miles”. NO… NOOOOO!!!! My watch said that I have less than a mile… thinking today was a 17 mile day. Dang Google Maps! Marcus got on his bike when he saw how crushed I was with the less-than-good news and he rode some miles with me (of course simultaneously filming). As we winded around the hot road, sweat pouring in my eyes and pain with each step… I saw the truck parked ahead in the distance and picked up the pace. When you see a finish line, somehow your body finds this energy you didn’t think you had. Striding it out, I narrowed the gap between myself and the day’s ending point… tears started to pour down my face, I lost the rhythm of my breathing and finally collapsed as I reached my support team.

I did it… we did it… all of us!

Lessons Learned:

Thinking you have less distance than you really do is deflating.
Having someone by your side (running or riding) makes things WAY better.

Day 6: “Lydia”

September 29, 2015September 28, 2015 / jennylabaw / 5 Comments

Day 6 Thursday, September 24th

Cinnamon Pass to Lake City (17.1 miles)

Dedicated To:

Anna Stevinson, Burlington, WI

Lydia Shaeffer, Burlinton, WI

Sebastian Mayen, Guatemala

Elijah Cloukey, Bowdoinham, ME

I could feel it was day 6. I woke tired and questioning if I could do this another day. But… I didn’t have any option… I was going to do this and I knew once I started I could finish. Just had to take that first step. Vaughn and Marcus drove me part way back up Cinnamon Pass where I stopped yesterday with Tory, my mom and Sam right behind us in my truck. We winded through the aspens on the jeep road and I realized this was the first time that I have seen my route before running it. Up until now every step was new territory. The day before we had set up a Karin on the road to know where exactly I had stopped. It seemed like FOREVER to get to that point, which didn’t help my mindset as to how that day was going to feel.

When we finally saw the rock pile on our right, we turned the cars around, Sam and I jumped out, hugged everyone and off we went. I’m not sure I could have started without her this morning. She was feeling much better and chugged along with me for another 3 miles… she was getting tired and urged me to go forward… but then I find out she ran an addition 3 on her own for epilepsy…makes me tear up! As I took off on my own, I kept thinking, “Once you hit the pavement, it’s only 2.5 miles to the cabins, then only 3 more miles to town…then rest day!”

This was the first day that my thoughts controlled me. I bounced from positive thoughts of how amazing it is to be running through the mountains to negative thoughts of how hard it is to be running alone to moments of clarity of how lucky I am to be running at all. I’ve read that while ultra running you will have aches and pains that bounce around from minute to minute and I experiences this that day too. One minute my left Achilles was aching, then next it moved to my right knee, the next to my left hip, then next my upper back… My mind was beating me.

Then all of a sudden, I see Marcus and Vaughn ahead of me telling me to stop and look ahead. 100 yards ahead in the shade of the aspen stood a moose…broad side on the right of road. I was awe-struck. It was a beautiful moment… a moment that for some reason brought little Lydia Shaeffer into my mind…and she stayed there until I got to the cabins 8 miles or so later.

When I hit the cabins where my crew was waiting… I sat and the dirt and started crying and explained that Lydia carried me through. Lydia Shaeffer and her best friend, Anna Stevinson, both from Burlington, Wisconsin are two adorable little girls who have both battled epilepsy. On May 11, 2014 (Mother’s Day that year) the world lost an angel… Lydia died of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death of epilepsy) at the young age of 7. She had a seizure in her sleep and didn’t wake up. Anna lost her best friend. I will go more into this at some point in the near future, but what is so sad about this story is that Lydia was on a waiting list to get medicinal marijuana in the form of CBD oil. Anit-seizure meds didn’t work for her…she was just patiently waiting for the one thing she and her family knew could help. There is so much proof in CBD oil helping control seizure activity, yet it is still illegal in most states. In Wisconsin, they had just passed the law one month before Lydia’s death, but Lydia didn’t get it in time. The law was revisited shortly after and renamed “Lydia’s Law”. On this day, Lydia and the strength this young girl must have possessed carried me through…all the way into Lake City, 3 more miles up the road.

Pictured Left: Precious Anna who is now in second grade and loves “eating healthy” and is playing flag football this year.

Pictured Right: Lydia… the angel that I never got to meet but hold dear in my heart.

Once in Lake City, my team and the Lake City locals made a small dream come true. In the middle of my run, I passed Tory and said…”I want gluten free pancakes”. I knew in my heart there was no way we would be getting GF anything in Lake City (SMALL town). However, once I crossed the Henson Creek Bridge in town and called it a day at 17.1 miles… Pam announced that my special order pancakes were on their way. We headed to the cutest little restaurant called Poker Alice owned by Steve and Linda. Turns out Pam came into town and asked if they had GF pancakes and explained what we were doing. Linda said, “We don’t even make breakfast, but I’ll tell ya what… If you go get the ingredients we’ll whip you up some GF pancakes.” And they did just that… in fact we had about 12 GF pancakes between all of us (I ate 4 of them!!!). When we were headed out, Steve handed us a generous donation to the cause. We asked where Linda was and he said she was upstairs on oxygen. Turns out she was just getting over a bad bout of pneumonia and he told her she could make the pancakes if she promised to go upstairs right afterwards. People are so amazingly kind. Steve and Linda, those pancakes made the end to my first week (123 miles in) complete! Thank you!

Now… a day off!

Lessons Learned:

Little girls have the power to help Move Mountains! Thank you Lydia and Anna.
Small things make the biggest difference in life (ie: Seeing the moose, GF Pancakes)

Day 4 – “Take A Step Back In Time”

September 27, 2015 / jennylabaw / 2 Comments

Day 4 Tuesday, September 22nd

Little Molas Lake Campground to Silverton, CO – “Take A Step Back In Time”

Dedicated To:

Jake Pitts, Cumbria, England

Sean Coonce, Vancouver, BC

Emily McMurrian, Wiggins, MO

I woke up to find Matt had taken off early in the morning and left me the most touching note on the camp chair along with a set of headphones saying “music is a must”. If only my phone hadn’t crashed the day before leaving Chico, meaning all my music is on “the cloud” and only accessible with service, which was slim pickin’s at this point. Fixing that is a definite priority!

However, this run required no distraction with music. Running down Molas Pass into Silverton, CO was the start of “god’s country” in my mind. With the crisp morning air brushing against my cheeks, the vibrant yellow, orange and red aspens filling my eyes, and the sound of the awakening wildlife… my heart was full. I was home in the mountains! We winded down Molas Pass and suddenly around one curve the sleepy little town of Silverton came into view. Each step brought me closer to this historic mining town nestled in the San Juan mountains. When we hit town, I felt good and decided to keep running through town and up Country Road 2… making gains on the next days mileage. The Animas River rushed past me on the right and large mountains on either side made me realize how small we really are in this world. I am one person, just a small being, but with the team I have by my side, the support I have from all over the world and a common goal in sight… we truly can and are moving mountains.

At the 8.75 mile marker that day, my legs and body were ready for a break after the jarring downhill grade. We headed into town, grabbed lunch at Hungry Moose with the ever-generous Victor serving up some world famous green chili. The fatigue was apparent in all four of our faces… it’d been a long 4 days. Time for a shower and a nap. We climbed the red carpet staircase up to the Teller House Hotel where we would call home for the night. In a town of 629 people the amount of trust is commendable. Instead of checking into the hotel, there was a note that said something to the effect of “Please find the door with your name on it and make yourself at home. The key to your door will be on the table. Thank you, Mike”. The sign you see when you first drive into town is so fitting… “Take A Step Back In Time”. I could totally live here!

Tory crashed, Vaughn took a 45minute shower, and Marcus and I headed to the local baseball field to let the pups play ball (they have been so patient with endless hours in the car). I sat there hand in hand with Marcus, looking over the San Juans as rain started to fall out of the sky and had a moment of peacefulness. I realized that I had run around 80 miles in 4 days and no sign or symptom of seizure activity. Increased stress and lack of sleep are big triggers for epilepsy and with those two factors in high effect, I still was remaining stable. I owe it 100% to my supporters… I will say it again and again… I could not do this without you!

After Ziggy and Pogo seemed fulfilled with their activity for the day, Marcus and I went to Mineral Creek to soak my aching toe and swollen feet in the freezing water before heading back to the hotel for some rest. The goal of taking a nap was quickly put to a halt as my energy levels rose when my mom returned to the mission with Pam Davis (chef extraordinaire for True Nature Kitchen) as well as Samantha Guterres (a client and friend of mine from the bay area who came to run a few miles with me for epilepsy). The team for the next 2 days was together! Instead of a nap we hit up the Montanya Distillery. Well they hit it up, I just pounded water and enjoyed their company while we watched a torrential downpour outside.

Out stomachs started to rumble while we waited for a break in the rain, but to no avail we darted across puddles of main street to the RV where Pam and mom had heated up some grub for the night. Packed like sardines in the RV, we were continuing to bond as a family and make memories.

Following dinner was Epsom salt bath for the feetsies and reading from a gifted book… basically the foot care bible! Thank you to the Carey’s! I know have at least legit literature to try and take care of my trick toe.

Lessons Learned:

Smart to keep going and get extra miles if you feel good.
Having my mom with me makes everything better…always has and always will.

Move Mountains: A Run for Epilepsy

August 5, 2015August 12, 2015 / jennylabaw / 1 Comment

The following video pretty much says it all…

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~Confucius

In my case it’s only 500 miles for Move Mountains: A Run for Epilepsy, but in reality it’s been journey of thousands and thousands of miles. Since I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 8 there have been physical, mental and emotional battles I have fought through. None of these battles would have been won without taking that first single step forward with loved ones by my side, people that believed in me more than I believed in myself. Now it’s my turn to give back. I am going to be running 500 miles, one step at a time, for each person out there that needs someone to take that first single step with them. Someone that can inspire them to keep going. Someone that can give them the courage to stand up and rise above. Someone that will be there for them to cry on, relate to and grow with.

I ask that you join me in my upcoming run across the state of Colorado, starting September 19th. Join me by running any part of the route you wish (Move Mountains Schedule). Join me by donating to the cause. Join me by attending any of the PR events along the way. Join me by following the event on this site and through my social media channels.

Together, we can Move Mountains.

LaBawLife

Move Mountains

Athletes vs Epilepsy

Day 10: “Uh Oh Toe”