Health Issues

Before I dive into some of the details of what I've been dealing with since the beginning of the year, please note that I'm doing okay from a CF-related standpoint. The lungs are doing just fine, it's some other areas that aren't holding up as well.

My issues all started in early January when it felt like I never had any energy, wasn't seeing any improvements in my running (despite running every day), and could easily sleep 14 hours a day if I let myself. Additionally, I was losing weight.

I finally went to the doc to see what was causing this "chronic fatigue" and after running the gamut of blood tests, he decided that anemia was the culprit. This totally made sense and I was happy to finally know why I was feeling like crap all the time. It was decided that I would need a colonoscopy to see if there was any internal bleeding that was causing the anemia.

In meeting with a couple of specialists prior to the procedure, they didn't agree that I was anemic, and after they showed me my the blood-count numbers, I could see that my original doctor was just grasping at straws when making that diagnosis. It was still a good idea to have the colonoscopy, as well as an endoscopy in order to look for any abnormalities in my digestive track that could be causing the weight loss and fatigue.

Last Monday I went in for both procedures, and when reviewing the findings with my doctor immediately afterwards, I was shown where there are several severe stenosis in my large intestine, a couple of which were nearly impassible with the doctors scope. These areas are blocked with bulging lumps of aliens-esque weirdness. Hard to tell if they were cysts/tumors or just massive swelling. Additionally there were some funky black marks on my colon wall that couldn't be identified.

These items alarmed my GI doc enough that he wanted me to go straight to the hospital for a follow up CT scan and so I could meet with a surgeon, if need be. This sense of urgency was lost at the hospital when - after being admitted for 2 days - the doctors finally release me saying: "CT scans aren't really good at showing soft-tissue imaging, we can't proceed without your biopsy results". Geez. It would have been nice to know this before being admitted to the hospital... not looking forward to that bill.

So as it sits now, I'm awaiting biopsy results in hopes of finally finding out what the heck is wrong with me. I'm tired of feeling like absolute crap all the time, and regardless of the diagnosis - even if it is Crohn's or cancer - I need to know what's wrong with me so I can start taking steps towards getting right again. Right now I have lost 11 lbs, and am dealing with incessant stabbing pains in my stomach. I was supposed to have the biopsy results on Friday, but I still haven't heard anything as I write this.

Brooks

CF Documentary

In January 2012 Holly and I were interviewed and filmed for an upcoming documentary on individuals with CF (as well as their significant others) who are thriving and accomplishing incredible feats despite dealing with the disease.

After recently checking on the progress of the movie, I discovered it is now in post-production, and the full trailer can be seen here:

http://www.livingxtreme.org/

Additionally, here is the poster for the film. Why does this picture look so familiar?!

Lastly, I've updated my race schedule for 2013. My next blog post will explain why it is so empty... not the best news to share, unfortunately.

Brooks

Streaking!!

The last time I was streaking in 2011, I won Brew 2 Brew in April and ran my marathon PR at the Boston Marathon a couple weeks later. After months of lethargy and lack of ambition, I decided that getting a nice consecutive days running streak going again might be just what the doctor ordered to get in shape and motivated again for my 2013 adventures. (What type of streaking did you THINK I was talking about?!)

That being the case, I write you on Day 64. I have run at least one mile every day this year. My average weekly volume is probably floating between 30 - 40 miles, but I feel like I have good base fitness from the running and the intensity of the runs I have been doing.

I have started to formulate a race plan for 2013 that so far consists of 3 road marathons, a 50 miler, and of course, Leadville in August. It just dawned on me that my first road marathon is only about 8 weeks away so it's time to up the mileage volume and get serious about speed. I don't care which race it happens in, but I want a new marathon PR sometime this year. Ideally it would be under 2:45, but even a minute faster than my current best would be acceptable.

Here are the races planned:

• Colorado Marathon - Ft Collins - May 5th
• Colfax Marathon - Denver - May 19th
• Jemez 50 Miler - Los Alamos, NM - May 25th
• San Francisco Marathon - Mid-June
• Leadville 100 - August

On the tentative list would be the recently resurrected "Moab Alpine to Slickrock 50" aka the MAS 50 in Utah in September. It was my very first 50 miler back in 2008 and I'd love to run it again to see how much I've progressed after 5 years of this crazy long distance running stuff.

My last CF checkup was in late December, and while I wasn't doing ANY running at the time, I'm pleased to report that I had the highest PFT readings (pulmonary function test) that I've had since I was 18. I was at 95% of what a fully healthy individuals lungs should be if they are my same age, height, weight, gender, etc. Not bad at all!

Finally, Holly and I have been married for almost 5 months now, with no talks of divorce so far, so I consider that another victory ;)
JK, babe... I love you.

You should hear from me before May, and I'll keep everyone in the loop if anything exciting happens in the interim.

Brooks

Where Did the Summer Go?

So I have obviously been M.I.A. for a while and I apologize. A lot has happened since August, but I have some decent excuses for not writing in so long. Here goes:

1. A soul-crushing DNF after 97 miles at Leadville. My motivation to do anything associated with running went down the toilet after this year's DNF. I was going for 4 consecutive finishes, and my body just shut down right before the boulevard... I was in 14th or 15th at the time. This lead to:
2. Virtually NO running for almost two and a half months. (Only exception was my decision to run the Bear Chase 50 miler on September 30th. I was 33 minutes slower than last year, but at least it was a FINISH! 7:31, 5th overall.
3. A wedding and honeymoon in Mexico, and adjusting to life with Holly as an old married couple!
4. I turned the BIG 3-0... another crushing blow psychologically that ruined my motivation to get up in the morning.
5. Work: Stressful schedule and increased responsibility in the last 3 months had lead to running not being the priority.

Okay, okay, these are all just lame excuses, but I'm slowly starting to get some miles in again, and my next post will be my 2013 race schedule.

Brooks

Changes Leading Up to Leadville 2012

The 2012 edition of the Leadville Trail 100 is just days away, and for the 4th consecutive year, I'm planning on toeing the starting line. This being the case, I'm long overdue for a running related post to recap my summer, and my training.

Something you might notice towards the top of the page is that my running log seems to have stopped months ago. No, I have not actually stopped running, however, I have stopped logging mileage or wearing a watch. I'm not going to profess to be a "zen" runner or anything like that, but rather, my laziness and lack of desire to track these things (or put a new battery in my watch) has led to a new found freedom and overall enjoyment of running. I've still managed a long run (20+) just about every week since I stopped tracking miles, and I've run at least a mile or two almost every day for about 6 weeks. Exactly how much? I can't really tell you because I don't know myself...

While this is fun, I'm slightly apprehensive going into next week's race. Have I done enough? Am I ready? Honestly, I think so, but my confidence is pretty low right now since I haven't had an ultra finish since February's 100 miler in Texas.

I'd love to beat my 2010 LT100 time of 19:57, but I'm not going to give a predicted time, goal time, or predicted finish... I'll leave that to Karl. All I want to worry about is running until I see that blinking stoplight on 6th Street calling me home!

Next time I write, I'll hopefully have big buckle #4 around my waist and a fun story for all.

Brooks

Busy These Days

So I've been out of commission on the blogging front for several months now, but for good reason.
Here's the cliff-notes version of my life since February:

• Set a 5k PR on St. Patrick's Day. 18:12. Not impressive, I know, but it's not a distance I care to train for.
• Got engaged to my lovely girlfriend (now fiance), Holly!
• Watched Fast Andy race at the 100k World Championships in Seregno, Italy.
• Attempted Collegiate Peaks 50 one day after getting back from Italy. Jet lag, lack of training, and being at sea level for nearly 2 weeks resulted in my only finishing the 25 mile event. Managed 6th overall.
• Colorado Colfax Marathon: Yesterday I came within seconds of my marathon PR from Boston last year by running 2:50.02. No training. No speedwork. 4th overall.

Having had some decent results at the couple events I've entered, as of late, I'm getting my motivation back to train hard for Leadville in August. I've not run over 35-40 miles per week for 2 months now, but somehow I'm maintaining good fitness, so I can only imagine what some decent mileage could lead to.

Next time I post, I hope to have more good news.

Off to plan a wedding...

Trailrunner Interview

After last week's finish at Rocky, Trail Runner magazine contacted me for a follow up interview about the race. Having written an article about me in the December 2011 issue, they were following this event closely to see how I did.

Here's the link to the published article:
http://trailrunnermag.com/trblast/020912dirt.html

And here's a link to the full unedited interview:
http://drysidenotes.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/dominating-a-follow-up-with-brooks-williams/

Brooks