Growing up, Kelly Pietkiwicz, 29, wasn’t a runner. Sprints were her least favorite form of exercise, and she gravitated to swimming and competitive cheerleading instead.
But while she was preparing to move to Nashville, Tennessee, from Memphis after college, she wanted to find a way to keep connected to Memphis.
The answer? The St. Jude’s Half Marathon.
“St. Jude’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, and I had volunteered there,” she told Runner’s World. “My sister Micky was also leaving Memphis, and we both felt like we needed a way to keep Memphis a part of our lives.”
So when she saw friends posting on social media posting about the race, she jokingly suggested to her sister that they should do it.
“We’d never been runners. But I just thought, ‘Let’s try and see.’ It would be time we’d get to spend together, and we could hold each other accountable,” she said.
[She was able to push through, completing her first half in December 2017? She had the surgery in March of 2018 will take you through everything you need to know to get started, step by step.]
The Start of Some Scary Symptoms
On the recommendation of a friend, Pietkiwicz and her sister started following Hal Higdon’s training program to prepare. At first, training went well.
But then she started to experience painful and heavy periods, as well as lightheadedness and painful bowel movements. She tried to stick to the program, but the symptoms hindered her running.
“There were many runs that I would start and then have to find a bathroom five minutes in, or halfway through, or stop completely,” she said. “And some mornings I would wake up and just know, I cannot run today.”
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She was able to push through, completing her first half in December 2017.
“I was really struggling with working out,” she said. “One day I was in so much pain, I couldn’t stand up. I thought I had appendicitis, so I went to the emergency room.”
After running several tests, they couldn’t find anything wrong and sent her home. But a few hours later, she got a call from her doctor: She had two cysts the size of lacrosse balls on her ovaries and a fibroid tumor From Runners World for New Balance.
Her doctor let the cysts burst on their own (“It was very painful”), and decided to monitor the tumor. She was put on birth control pills—which were meant to lighten or stop her periods—but was still experiencing the same symptoms.
“In the span of about two-and-a-half months, I ended up having five periods,” Pietkiwicz said. “They were extremely heavy. I had a lot of fatigue, and I couldn’t keep food down. I was nauseous all the time.”
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“I was scared to go out with friends, because I knew I’d have to come home and throw up. I’d sleep on the bathroom floor, because it was the coldest place I could find that helped me fight nausea,” she said. “At the time, I was also traveling a lot for work, and was anxious about not being home if something worse ended up happening and I was away.”
Getting a Diagnosis
Pietkiwicz sought out a new gynecologist, who helped put her concerns at ease by listening and running more tests to find out what was going on.
“We ruled out IBS (irritable bowel syndrome),” she said. “But she was very sure that I had endometriosis in January of 2018.”
Endometriosis is a painful disorder of the ovaries, fallopian tubes and pelvis, where the tissue that lines the uterus (called the endometrium) grows outside of the uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic. It causes symptoms like pelvic pain, severe cramping, extremely heavy periods, and even infertility.
The disorder doesn’t show up on ultrasounds or imaging scans, so doctors usually use laproscopic surgery—a minimally invasive surgery which uses small incisions in the abdomen and the aid of a tiny camera—to help diagnose it and determine its stage and the best treatment plan for it.
She had the surgery in March of 2018.
“The laproscopic surgery found that the majority of the endometrium was near my colon, which explained my painful bowel movements and general nausea,” she said. Docs also removed the fibroid tumor from her uterus.
One of the first things she did after being diagnosed was create a running tank with the phrase “One In My Tribe,” because 1 in 10 women have endometriosis.
“I wanted to help raise money for research for the Running Shoes - Gear, because sadly, there isn’t a cure for endometriosis. But this was a positive thing I could do,” she said.
Running With Endometriosis
Since Pietkiwicz’s diagnosis, it’s been a difficult road to find the right treatment.
In August 2018 she started to receive Lupron shots, which suppress hormones that cause endometrial tissue to grow. The shots temporarily sent her into early menopause, with hot flashes and all. After three months, she switched to another endometriosis medication called Orilissa, which has also been an adjustment.
“I’ve been on it for a few months now, and I recently had an ER visit,” she said. “I felt like I was having a heart attack. Everything seemed really foggy, and they said it was most likely due to my hormones being all over the place.”
Besides medication, her doctors also encouraged her to stay active and on a workout routine as part of her treatment. She credits running with helping her stay strong both physically and mentally through it all.
“I try to work out as much as I can. Getting up and moving helps so much to manage the pain, but some days are still really hard,” Pietkiwicz said.
Still, she tries to work out at least five times a week, running during three of those days and cross-training during the rest.
“I’ve had to learn to have grace for myself if I’m having a bad endometriosis day,” she said. Some days, that can be something less strenuous like walking, and other days, it could mean an unexpected rest day.
Lacing up doesn’t just help manage the physical symptoms, though: It helps tamp down the anxiety caused as a side effect of her meds.
“Running helps put me in a better mindset and just clear my mind,” Pietkiwicz said. “It’s also become such a social thing for me. The running community is one of the most welcoming and supportive communities out there. And it’s become therapy running with my girlfriends, stretching and talking about life.”
Looking Forward
Ironically, her endometriosis, which can make running difficult at times, has actually given her more confidence in the sport and her abilities.
“Before I was officially diagnosed, I would have so much fatigue and just uneasiness with running and exercising that I just thought running wasn’t for me or that I wasn’t a good runner,” she said. Once she got diagnosed, though, it made her look at her body in a different way. “It was so empowering to realize that I could run a half marathon with pretty severe pain and symptoms, and it really reinforced the idea that we can truly do anything we put our mind to.”
She continues to look forward, attending group runs with Fleet Feet in Nashville and organized fun runs with St. Jude’s.
Pietkiwicz is still running races, too. She completed her second St. Jude’s Half Marathon in December 2018 with her sister Micky, raising close to $2,000 to support the charity. And she has signed up for two more 5Ks this spring.
Her endometriosis diagnosis has also encouraged her friends to be more open about talking about their periods and gynecologic health.
“The more we talk about things, the more comfortable we become, and the more confident we get to get the help we need,” she said. “So many women are told to shrug it off when it comes to really painful periods or other issues, that it’s just the card we’ve been dealt. But it’s not how it has to be.”
Emily Shiffer has worked as a writer for over 10 years, covering everything from health and wellness to entertainment and celebrities. She previously was on staff at SUCCESS, Men's Health, and Prevention NYC Marathoner Ran Home After Chemo Women's Health, Runner's World, PEOPLE, and more. Emily is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she majored in magazine journalism at the Medill School of Journalism and minored in musicology. Currently residing in Charleston, South Carolina, Emily enjoys instructing barre, surfing, and long walks on the beach with her miniature Dachshund, Gertrude.
