20 minutes this morning and probably nothing this evening. I need an easy day.
But things are good. The swelling has gone down and I can eat normally. Plus I talked with my nurse practitioner today and she said that my ferritin has gone up from 11 or 14 or something around there to 37. That's still on the low end but higher than any previous results.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Day 103
No run this morning, I'm dealing with a swollen something in my neck just below and behind my ears; I guess I'm still a bit lymphy. I woke up and I couldn't eat or drink because it hurt too much to swallow stuff down, even little sips. This happens every so often and never lasts much more than a day. Now it's getting better and I can sip liquids but I'm so hungry I'm not really hungry anymore.
once this happened to me the day of a long run. I had a bit of trouble drinking before it but figured the problem would go away. It didn't but stubbornness and good weather kept me going for about 21 miles, and then I was STARVING. I'd burned through approx 2000 calories without refueling. The post clinic was closed so I went to a pharmacy and asked for antibiotics or something. The pharmacy was, no, you need a doctor for that. I told him I was STARVING. He looked at me like I was nuts. I was so vexed, I wanted to go off on a tirade about how Western culture is so used to placating emotions and misinterpreted urges by robotically cramming down copious amounts of empty calories so nobody is hungry, just lonely or bored, but I AM REALLY STARVING. Respect that! But I controlled myself. I went to the post clinic the next day because the thing wasn't quite gone and I was still failing to get enough nourishment down to fight the hunger, and the doctor had problems understanding my issue too but he gave me antibiotics and the issue went away quickly. Usually I don't bother with antibiotics but that time I was STARVING. They didn't understand. With the long term gut issue I had back then, I was almost always hungry anyway, but STARVING was a whole new level.
I'm not used to being hungry like that anymore! As my digestive system recovers, I've noticed that my portions have been gradually shrinking; my system is getting used to needing less. My husband and I have gotten so used to serving each other the same sized portions that I have to remind myself that, no, I don't have to eat that much anymore.
But now I'm hungry and I want to eat something soon.
I also feel a bit odd today because I got a message from my nurse to phone her back. She'd phoned while I was in TX. I tried phoning back but she's off today. It might just be a paperwork issue. LOL
Will see if I eat and/or run later on and update accordingly.
update: 40 min jog with the dog--hopefully it'll get core temp revved up a bit so that the swelling will go down! I can drink now but haven't tried eating yet. 100 sit ups, some pushups...trying to get more consistent with those.
update update: 10 min jogging to my parents' house--thank goodness I can eat now! we went out for sushi. :)
once this happened to me the day of a long run. I had a bit of trouble drinking before it but figured the problem would go away. It didn't but stubbornness and good weather kept me going for about 21 miles, and then I was STARVING. I'd burned through approx 2000 calories without refueling. The post clinic was closed so I went to a pharmacy and asked for antibiotics or something. The pharmacy was, no, you need a doctor for that. I told him I was STARVING. He looked at me like I was nuts. I was so vexed, I wanted to go off on a tirade about how Western culture is so used to placating emotions and misinterpreted urges by robotically cramming down copious amounts of empty calories so nobody is hungry, just lonely or bored, but I AM REALLY STARVING. Respect that! But I controlled myself. I went to the post clinic the next day because the thing wasn't quite gone and I was still failing to get enough nourishment down to fight the hunger, and the doctor had problems understanding my issue too but he gave me antibiotics and the issue went away quickly. Usually I don't bother with antibiotics but that time I was STARVING. They didn't understand. With the long term gut issue I had back then, I was almost always hungry anyway, but STARVING was a whole new level.
I'm not used to being hungry like that anymore! As my digestive system recovers, I've noticed that my portions have been gradually shrinking; my system is getting used to needing less. My husband and I have gotten so used to serving each other the same sized portions that I have to remind myself that, no, I don't have to eat that much anymore.
But now I'm hungry and I want to eat something soon.
I also feel a bit odd today because I got a message from my nurse to phone her back. She'd phoned while I was in TX. I tried phoning back but she's off today. It might just be a paperwork issue. LOL
Will see if I eat and/or run later on and update accordingly.
update: 40 min jog with the dog--hopefully it'll get core temp revved up a bit so that the swelling will go down! I can drink now but haven't tried eating yet. 100 sit ups, some pushups...trying to get more consistent with those.
update update: 10 min jogging to my parents' house--thank goodness I can eat now! we went out for sushi. :)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Day 102
30ish minutes jogging yesterday, stiff after being in planes and dealing with Continental's crap. Usually it's best to announce gate changes before boarding is complete, right? Fortunately, most of the plane wasn't told either so they had to wait for us. Nice of them! And then the plane had mechanical problems...
The funny thing was, when I was waiting for the plane at the original gate, I noticed that the people also waiting at that gate seemed somewhat different from most of the people in that place:
mother dealing with her children in a reasonable and effective fashion using multi-syllable words instead of the same old empty repeated threat or bribe (unlike the woman who was watching the children kicking the back of my seat on the previous flight)
Orthodox priest
fit lady who looked like she was in the process of male to female-reassignment. She looked like she was near the end, actually, but it's hard to disguise the thicker rib cage and thinner hips of male puberty when wearing lycra. She was more toned than 99% of the people wearing lycra in that place, so props to her. Or maybe she was dealing with a different endocrine balance. I'm curious about these issues (have been ever since I was told that women don't have visible adam's apples, but I do!)
fit young lady not exposing too much skin
no visible tramp stamps--I like seeing good tattoos, but the poor little blurry butterfly/amphibian/dolphin/?? clinging onto the bulge of dimply flesh squished up from underneath low-rise pants really breaks my heart
no threadbare sweats or doughy people poured into their clothes
old fit people
no weirdly grey complexions
Ok, I hate us vs them stereotypes but after a couple of hours walking around people in that airport, I noticed a slight difference in this bunch and figured that we all headed to the same place and not SC or wherever.
And then I overheard someone asking about the Ottawa flight--I actually had asked if a previous flight being boarded was for Ottawa--no, Omaha. So I figured that the Ottawa flight was delayed because it was still displayed at that gate and the gate attendant didn't correct me. And then I heard her say to someone else a short time later, oh, Ottawa? what? Gate A10. So I went to the shuttle bus and then, gradually, was rejoined by the rest of that same crowd!
I slept lots last night and got up around 9 and headed out about twenty minutes later. My dog forced me out...he hasn't run all week and was pretty anxious to go. But it was cold out! I had to wear a hat and gloves and layers. After a while, I saw slight flurries even! It was a bit abrupt to go from wringing out the sweat in my tank top and short-shorts to that! The wind was monstrous.
A good run, though. I was tired but it felt good to run. I actually brought the Garmin again to check the distance of the route: 1:20/ 8.54 miles. Ok, the route was actually 7.6ish miles but I kept coasting to get to 80 minutes. LOL
Then 100 full sit ups for the very first time in my life! I'm still dealing with push up issues and some soreness and swelling in my armpits/chest/shoulders, but the sit ups are going well.
The funny thing was, when I was waiting for the plane at the original gate, I noticed that the people also waiting at that gate seemed somewhat different from most of the people in that place:
mother dealing with her children in a reasonable and effective fashion using multi-syllable words instead of the same old empty repeated threat or bribe (unlike the woman who was watching the children kicking the back of my seat on the previous flight)
Orthodox priest
fit lady who looked like she was in the process of male to female-reassignment. She looked like she was near the end, actually, but it's hard to disguise the thicker rib cage and thinner hips of male puberty when wearing lycra. She was more toned than 99% of the people wearing lycra in that place, so props to her. Or maybe she was dealing with a different endocrine balance. I'm curious about these issues (have been ever since I was told that women don't have visible adam's apples, but I do!)
fit young lady not exposing too much skin
no visible tramp stamps--I like seeing good tattoos, but the poor little blurry butterfly/amphibian/dolphin/?? clinging onto the bulge of dimply flesh squished up from underneath low-rise pants really breaks my heart
no threadbare sweats or doughy people poured into their clothes
old fit people
no weirdly grey complexions
Ok, I hate us vs them stereotypes but after a couple of hours walking around people in that airport, I noticed a slight difference in this bunch and figured that we all headed to the same place and not SC or wherever.
And then I overheard someone asking about the Ottawa flight--I actually had asked if a previous flight being boarded was for Ottawa--no, Omaha. So I figured that the Ottawa flight was delayed because it was still displayed at that gate and the gate attendant didn't correct me. And then I heard her say to someone else a short time later, oh, Ottawa? what? Gate A10. So I went to the shuttle bus and then, gradually, was rejoined by the rest of that same crowd!
I slept lots last night and got up around 9 and headed out about twenty minutes later. My dog forced me out...he hasn't run all week and was pretty anxious to go. But it was cold out! I had to wear a hat and gloves and layers. After a while, I saw slight flurries even! It was a bit abrupt to go from wringing out the sweat in my tank top and short-shorts to that! The wind was monstrous.
A good run, though. I was tired but it felt good to run. I actually brought the Garmin again to check the distance of the route: 1:20/ 8.54 miles. Ok, the route was actually 7.6ish miles but I kept coasting to get to 80 minutes. LOL
Then 100 full sit ups for the very first time in my life! I'm still dealing with push up issues and some soreness and swelling in my armpits/chest/shoulders, but the sit ups are going well.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Day 100!
Somehow I forgot to post this yesterday.
I woke up feeling a bit swollen and sore: lymph glands. Had some wheat slipped past my teeth or was I fighting something else? Not sure, but I jogged around for about 20 minutes outside. It felt too hot. I retreated to the fitness room, cranked the aircon down to 62 degrees, and hopped on the TM. After a 5 minute warm up, I started my VO2max intervals.
Fortunately, my legs felt better than the rest of me. I managed the first 3 minute interval and decided that the rest could be 3 minutes as well, as opposed to 2.5 minutes like last time.
The recovery/jog interval was very boring, though, so I shortened it to 2 minutes. This was a bit premature: my legs felt a bit lactic-acidy heavy during the next interval. My next break was 2.5 minutes--boring, but more reasonable. My legs were still a little burnt, though, and I was beginning to contemplate doing 4 intervals instead of the planned 5. Another 3 minutes of faster running, another 2.5 minutes of jogging, and I was geared up for the fourth and final.
Paradoxically, I felt really strong mentally during my intervals. No counting down or up, no covering the timer with a towel and trying to be somewhere else--I was fully in the exercise for perhaps the first true and honest time. It's uncomfortable, ENJOY IT. Feel how much more goes into going faster. Feel the momentum. Feel the hum of jacked up metabolism. Feel the discomfort. Feel the progress. Feel it, feel it, feel it. It was a revelation of sorts. There was a mirror and I was smiling. Maybe mostly grimacing, but it was good to acknowledge that I was stronger and under more duress.
Anyway, the fourth interval went by quickly and then I started jogging to cool off...but, wait! At least do a little bit, maybe two minutes for a fifth interval, just to see? The thought of doing another interval was onerous; I had to start it quickly. Two minutes' recovery, and I was off again.
Drawback of tricking myself: I wasn't fully committed and thus it started to get rather hard and I played mind games for the last minute and a half.
Benefit of tricking myself: once I got past a minute and a half, I felt triumphant. Tired, desperate for distraction, but happy.
I'm hoping to get up to 4 minute intervals for VO2 max before Emilie's Run...I think that will be good enough for the time being.
Total run: an hour.
I woke up feeling a bit swollen and sore: lymph glands. Had some wheat slipped past my teeth or was I fighting something else? Not sure, but I jogged around for about 20 minutes outside. It felt too hot. I retreated to the fitness room, cranked the aircon down to 62 degrees, and hopped on the TM. After a 5 minute warm up, I started my VO2max intervals.
Fortunately, my legs felt better than the rest of me. I managed the first 3 minute interval and decided that the rest could be 3 minutes as well, as opposed to 2.5 minutes like last time.
The recovery/jog interval was very boring, though, so I shortened it to 2 minutes. This was a bit premature: my legs felt a bit lactic-acidy heavy during the next interval. My next break was 2.5 minutes--boring, but more reasonable. My legs were still a little burnt, though, and I was beginning to contemplate doing 4 intervals instead of the planned 5. Another 3 minutes of faster running, another 2.5 minutes of jogging, and I was geared up for the fourth and final.
Paradoxically, I felt really strong mentally during my intervals. No counting down or up, no covering the timer with a towel and trying to be somewhere else--I was fully in the exercise for perhaps the first true and honest time. It's uncomfortable, ENJOY IT. Feel how much more goes into going faster. Feel the momentum. Feel the hum of jacked up metabolism. Feel the discomfort. Feel the progress. Feel it, feel it, feel it. It was a revelation of sorts. There was a mirror and I was smiling. Maybe mostly grimacing, but it was good to acknowledge that I was stronger and under more duress.
Anyway, the fourth interval went by quickly and then I started jogging to cool off...but, wait! At least do a little bit, maybe two minutes for a fifth interval, just to see? The thought of doing another interval was onerous; I had to start it quickly. Two minutes' recovery, and I was off again.
Drawback of tricking myself: I wasn't fully committed and thus it started to get rather hard and I played mind games for the last minute and a half.
Benefit of tricking myself: once I got past a minute and a half, I felt triumphant. Tired, desperate for distraction, but happy.
I'm hoping to get up to 4 minute intervals for VO2 max before Emilie's Run...I think that will be good enough for the time being.
Total run: an hour.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Day 99
I didn't make it to the zoo today. This wasn't the original plan, especially since I felt a bit sluggish and it felt a bit more humid and hot out there even though I started almost an hour earlier today...but once I started rolling, it seemed like a good time to aim for the zoo.
The riverwalk path stops after a while, but the route continues to the zoo--I think it eventually rejoins the river and this is the part I'm curious about. I stopped with the path yesterday; today I went up, crossed the street, and took a few minutes to get out of a dead end path and through a park and into another couple of dead ends...finally, I was on another path, a really nice one beside a golf course. That turned into a somewhat ratty bike path behind a commercial street, and then that ended at Mulberry Street. Yes, I remember the name!
Turns out that I was on the right path, but should have turned left onto Mulberry for a bit...well, I'll take a look at one of the maps on the route next time I attempt this. I might try on Friday and do speedwork on Thursday because a long run after tempo or intervals often feels really good...will see how I feel tomorrow. I really want to see the rest of the route because I think it'll be nicer than the last part I ran. It wasn't bad or nasty, just not as good as the part right beside the river.
I chafed a bit today probably because it was more humid. It's still drier than back home, though--running in 25ishC here felt like running in 17C or so there.
The riverwalk path stops after a while, but the route continues to the zoo--I think it eventually rejoins the river and this is the part I'm curious about. I stopped with the path yesterday; today I went up, crossed the street, and took a few minutes to get out of a dead end path and through a park and into another couple of dead ends...finally, I was on another path, a really nice one beside a golf course. That turned into a somewhat ratty bike path behind a commercial street, and then that ended at Mulberry Street. Yes, I remember the name!
Turns out that I was on the right path, but should have turned left onto Mulberry for a bit...well, I'll take a look at one of the maps on the route next time I attempt this. I might try on Friday and do speedwork on Thursday because a long run after tempo or intervals often feels really good...will see how I feel tomorrow. I really want to see the rest of the route because I think it'll be nicer than the last part I ran. It wasn't bad or nasty, just not as good as the part right beside the river.
I chafed a bit today probably because it was more humid. It's still drier than back home, though--running in 25ishC here felt like running in 17C or so there.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Day 98
I jogged for 70 minutes this morning, nice easy run on the riverwalk. I didn't make it all the way to the end but I think this will be my goal for this trip. I'm not sure how long it is, though! I will have to wake up earlier and start when it's cooler when I attempt it; I wanted to wake up earlier today but I didn't sleep well. I'm surprised that my run was as good as it was. I started off tired and stiff but loosened up. It helps that there are at least a couple of water fountains on the route (I've been carrying a water bottle too) and the air is a lot drier here. And there is a lot of shade. Though it's hotter than home, I feel more comfortable. No chafing, either!
I'm enjoying the riverwalk. Some of it is by restaurants and hotels and this gets pretty packed in the evening, but other parts remain pretty empty. And there's hardly anyone at all in the morning, mostly landscape workers and other joggers. The vegetation is gorgeous, lots of sub-tropical plants, magnolia trees, eucalyptus, some water gardens, some flowers, especially honeysuckle which is blooming now. It's lovely running in perfume! It doesn't smell the same as my perfumed runs in Florida, but it inspires a similar feeling of being on a lovelier plane. And the non-vascular parts of the path are yet organic as well--the path has straight sections, but also many gentle curves and dips and rises, and it has texture. It's mostly concrete, but a lot of it has inlays or patterns, and there is some stone of varying roughness, some grates, some pebbles. My shoes are pretty thin so I can feel the variety. It's mesmerizing and sometimes surprisingly harder running on art. A little ridge of grout or concrete sets off a flurry of sensation. I will be sad to return home to miles of asphalt; I'd forgotten how boring that is. Back to the riverwalk: there's art beside and above too, tilework, some sculpture, most memorably the suspended fish below the I-35 underpass. Going under a major highway like that can be very dismal, but someone had the vision to put a school of fish sculptures under there which somehow masks the shadows and the drone and whine of cars overhead. The city of San Antonio has done a really good job with the riverwalk. I wish that the NCC back home could have a look...some things they do really well, but there's always room for improvement. I think the underpass under the Queensway needs some floating fish!
I'm enjoying the riverwalk. Some of it is by restaurants and hotels and this gets pretty packed in the evening, but other parts remain pretty empty. And there's hardly anyone at all in the morning, mostly landscape workers and other joggers. The vegetation is gorgeous, lots of sub-tropical plants, magnolia trees, eucalyptus, some water gardens, some flowers, especially honeysuckle which is blooming now. It's lovely running in perfume! It doesn't smell the same as my perfumed runs in Florida, but it inspires a similar feeling of being on a lovelier plane. And the non-vascular parts of the path are yet organic as well--the path has straight sections, but also many gentle curves and dips and rises, and it has texture. It's mostly concrete, but a lot of it has inlays or patterns, and there is some stone of varying roughness, some grates, some pebbles. My shoes are pretty thin so I can feel the variety. It's mesmerizing and sometimes surprisingly harder running on art. A little ridge of grout or concrete sets off a flurry of sensation. I will be sad to return home to miles of asphalt; I'd forgotten how boring that is. Back to the riverwalk: there's art beside and above too, tilework, some sculpture, most memorably the suspended fish below the I-35 underpass. Going under a major highway like that can be very dismal, but someone had the vision to put a school of fish sculptures under there which somehow masks the shadows and the drone and whine of cars overhead. The city of San Antonio has done a really good job with the riverwalk. I wish that the NCC back home could have a look...some things they do really well, but there's always room for improvement. I think the underpass under the Queensway needs some floating fish!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Day 97
Saturday: ran 80 minutes with my husband and the dog. A good run although we had a pretty upsetting incident: some guy in a truck yelling a load of insults at us. He launched them out of the blue. We were standing waiting for a light; we were dirty and sweaty and in short-shorts and with our muscly mutt. he's not your typical 'nice' lab or golden or whatever purebred although typically much better behaved :) We got him from a pound after some degenerate starved him and supposedly cut his ears off with scissors among other abuses; now he's filled out and very glossy, either gorgeous or scary depending on who you talk to, but either way, we're not the type of people this guy was screaming about. Now it seems pretty funny, and it's pretty clear that this guy was dealing with wayward DNA and/or neurotransmitters. But at the time, it was upsetting and I wanted him to ram his truck into some inanimate object and snuff out his overactive amygdala. Nobody needs that sort of crap.
But, thank goodness for the golden rule of shitty people: I rarely encounter the same one twice and, in my fortunately limited experience, the rare time I have, they weren't shitty the second time.
Sunday: no run, traveling to San Antonio!
Today: ran for one hour and 36 minutes: I jogged for an hour then did an interval workout on the TM: 6X 2.5 min VO2max, 2 min recovery jogs. I'm really pleased with this--I ate a bit of wheat accidentally yesterday and had aches in the evening (didn't help I was crammed in the very last row on my last flight, very uncomfortable) and diarrhea this morning.
Fortunately, I seem to be fine now...I maybe could have done my VO2 max intervals a bit faster, say 8.7-8 mph instead of 8.6, but they felt solid enough and I was thrilled to do as much as I did. It was really pleasant jogging along the riverwalk,it was shady and still sort of cool, and the hotel exercise room, though it didn't look promising at first glance, turned out to be wonderful. They have a couple of fancy and solid TMs (dunno the brand, but the display monitor (with TV option) is newer than any other I've seen before), and a very good air-con system. I entered the room and it felt COOL. Too many exercise places have temps hovering around 20C--way too hot for running. This one was at 65F, had a good fan, and controls so I could have dropped the temperature even further. I'm not sure how much I'll be using the exercise room; since it's so nice, I'm toying with the idea of doing some speedwork on Wednesday as well as Friday, making use of the TM while I have it. Will see how I feel.
Meanwhile, I'm going to be eating well this week. Just had a good lunch at a good Mexican restaurant, lengua (beef tongue) and a margarita to celebrate my arrival.
But, thank goodness for the golden rule of shitty people: I rarely encounter the same one twice and, in my fortunately limited experience, the rare time I have, they weren't shitty the second time.
Sunday: no run, traveling to San Antonio!
Today: ran for one hour and 36 minutes: I jogged for an hour then did an interval workout on the TM: 6X 2.5 min VO2max, 2 min recovery jogs. I'm really pleased with this--I ate a bit of wheat accidentally yesterday and had aches in the evening (didn't help I was crammed in the very last row on my last flight, very uncomfortable) and diarrhea this morning.
Fortunately, I seem to be fine now...I maybe could have done my VO2 max intervals a bit faster, say 8.7-8 mph instead of 8.6, but they felt solid enough and I was thrilled to do as much as I did. It was really pleasant jogging along the riverwalk,it was shady and still sort of cool, and the hotel exercise room, though it didn't look promising at first glance, turned out to be wonderful. They have a couple of fancy and solid TMs (dunno the brand, but the display monitor (with TV option) is newer than any other I've seen before), and a very good air-con system. I entered the room and it felt COOL. Too many exercise places have temps hovering around 20C--way too hot for running. This one was at 65F, had a good fan, and controls so I could have dropped the temperature even further. I'm not sure how much I'll be using the exercise room; since it's so nice, I'm toying with the idea of doing some speedwork on Wednesday as well as Friday, making use of the TM while I have it. Will see how I feel.
Meanwhile, I'm going to be eating well this week. Just had a good lunch at a good Mexican restaurant, lengua (beef tongue) and a margarita to celebrate my arrival.
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