HFA Symposium

Here we are... My BioRx family at the HFA Symposium, having a great time meeting new people! 

HFA symposium

Here I am with 2 more important people in my marathon quest. Angie Forsyth, my hemophilia PT, and Rich Pezzillo, my blood brother and 1st hemophiliac, that I am aware of, to run a marathon... Does that make me the 1st FEMALE hemophiliac to run 26.2 miles? As far as I know... it does! 

Rich spoke at an inhibitor conference a couple years ago about his experience running a marathon as a hemophiliac. I did not know him personally at the time, and while he was speaking I was thinking he was completely insane... Little did I know that eventually my mind would be changed.  After getting to know him on the Gears for Good bike ride last fall, I realized he is more like me than I thought, just exercising to be a healthier hemophiliac. I began to wonder... Is it possible for a person with a target knee joint, such as myself, to run 26.2 miles??? Well, the more I exercise and gain muscle strength around my knees, the more comfortable I feel with the idea that I am able to complete such a task. 

With all the bleeds I have had in my right knee, I had once felt a great deal of "crackling" when I would move it certain ways, such as squatting, or bending down to pick up something from the floor... All you hemos with target joints know what I am talking about. After these past couple years of exercising, that "crackling" feeling has almost completely disappeared!!  I believe that in doing the right kinds of strength training and total body work outs that my team of professionals have helped me with, my knee has actually IMPROVED instead of DEGENERATING!!!

HFA Symposium

What a treat to see my blood brother & cycling buddy/cycling mentor, Barry Haarde, and his mom, Emily! ... And in front of a poster of ourselves mid ride near my home. That is the Eau Gallie Causeway in the background for all my local followers. We rode on one of the most popular running/cycling areas in Brevard county. Barry always has great tips for me to improve my cycling skills. Thanks, Barry!

March 28, 2014

This morning I had the opportunity to run with my hemophilia PT, Angie! As you can see, I have my compression calf sleeves on and my knee braces. Since I am working the HFA conference for several days, on my feet, wearing dress shoes (not the norm for me), I want to be extra careful not to strain my knees.  Another beautiful day on Bayshore Drive, but getting pretty humid. Angie gave me some great tips on working with my local PT and trainer to look at my back muscles to be sure I maintain good running (and cycling)  posture. 

We did 4 miles in 45 minutes. 

March 27, 2014

In Tampa this week for HFA. Ran 6 miles this morning in 1:05, thinking about all my blood brothers & sisters and fellow Hemo moms that I get to catch up with while here! Felt great to get back out on the same road we run Gasparilla on each February... Looks a lot different with car traffic instead of thousands of runners. :)

This picture was taken at the 3 mile mark with the hotel so small in the background. I really enjoy running along Tampa Bay!

March 13, 2014

Haven't really run much since the Excalibur 10 miler. No excuses, just haven't done it. Today, I decided I better get back on the wagon, so I brought Ace with me on a 2.67 mile run in about 30 minutes. Nothing to write home about, but also not too shabby. I think Ace got his money's worth.  ;)

March 9, 2014

Back on the bike! I pulled Alex behind me and we rode about 6 miles. Alex is gaining weight... I am guessing I am now pulling about 80'ish pounds.

March 8, 2014

Jeff and I played in a scramble golf tournament with our friends, Jay & Andrew. We ended up in 2nd place!

This brings up something I would like to share.  I was diagnosed at age 11.  At that time, before my diagnosis, I was very active and participated in more contact sports, such as volleyball.  When I hit my knee on the playground at school, a ripple effect happened that changed my life.  My knee swelled up to the size of a softball and was extremely painful!  I lived in small town Iowa, and the doctors were not sure what was happening to me.  The first thing they tried was aspirating my knee.  OUCH!!!  If you don't know what that is... basically, sticking a giant needle into the knee joint and extracting fluid.  This did not help in the least.  They took X-rays, which showed nothing.  Next step, orthoscopic, exploratory surgery... to take a closer look at the inside of my knee to hopefully find out what was happening.  Well... the day before surgery, during the pre-op blood work, the found a hiccup in my bleeding times.  Surgery was cancelled and more blood tests were ordered.  At this point they knew I had a bleeding disorder, I was given Fresh Frozen Plazma to stop the bleeding into my knee.  I was then sent to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for more blood tests.  It was there I was diagnosed with Moderate Hemophilia A. At that time, I had 4% FVIII in my blood.  I was switched to Cryoprecipitate for bleeds, until recombinate products came out.  Because my knee joint was delayed in getting the appropriate treatment for such a long time, I now have damaged cartilage.  My doctors told me, it is not healthy for me to participate in the sports that I loved.  It was suggested to me to try something less stressful, like golf.  I have been playing ever since and loving every minute of golf.

 

The reason I bring this up: The ideas of what we should and shouldn't do as people with hemophilia have changed dramatically throughout the years.  We now know that being active, and increasing your muscle strength, can actually reduce the amount of bleeds.  I am living proof.  I never dreamed I would be able to run on my damaged knee... but here I am preparing for a marathon.  Don't take this the wrong way, this has taken LOTS of careful training, starting with swimming, which most people with hemophilia know by now, is the safest form of exercise.  I have worked with my team of experts to make sure I don't hurt myself in the process of becoming and staying healthy. 

 

It was 5 years ago that my husband, Jeff, and I started to change our lifestyle and become healthier people.  After swimming for several months, I switched to cycling, then eventually, when my leg muscles were strong enough, running.  I have lost about 45 pounds so far, and I can definitely tell a difference in they way my knee reacts to things.  (BTW, Jeff has lost over 100 pounds!)  During my 1st few 5K races, I would wear my knee brace and factor up prior to the run.  My muscle strength is such that now I can run 5K's without a brace or factor.  I do still wear my brace and factor prior to longer runs.  I will also factor up before longer cycling events, but no knee brace for that.  It causes more harm than good on the bike, for me.

 

March 2, 2014: Excalibur 10 Miler: I ran in 1:45:21. 
I had gotten new shoes on Wednesday... a new brand, one I have never worn.  I was reluctant to use them for the race, but I haven't gotten new running shoes in over a year and a half, so my old shoes were worn out and not supportive enough.  The staff at the running store recommended wearing the new shoes as much as possible between the time I brought them home and the time of the race, so they would comform a bit to my feet.  It seemed to work, as I am feeling pretty good today.  My knees are ok and my hip has only a little pain, I am guessing residual from the Disney race in January. 
I did factor up before the race, since it was a fairly big distance for me.

Video of Kim Philo finishing the Excaliber 10-Miler!

2/21/14 & 2/22/14 Gasparilla Distance Classic

On Saturday, I ran 15K in 1:44:05. I did treat before this run to protect my knee.  9'ish miles is quite a distance... but I will be getting more and more practice at this as this year goes on.  :)

On Sunday, I ran 8K in 53:25.

I participated in what they called the Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus Challenge... I got a medal for each race and an extra medal for the challenge to commemorate "2 days... 14.2 miles"!  That's 3 items of BLING!

This is always a great weekend of running! We had even more fun this year decorating Alex's running stroller as a pirate ship. Jeff did the stroller run with Alex.  Lucky for Alex he had a boat, because it started to rain during their run!