Health upate

Well, I had my CAT scan today. I will be having endoscopic sinus surgery on January 27. He says I can put it off until then since I've basically had this problem for a long time. I opted to put it off because I need to get a massively important project finished at work by then, and I would really like to get through the half marathon as well.

I'll be completely down for a week after the surgery, and then it will be about 6 weeks before I am actually healthy again (and that is 6 weeks of no physical exertion). Joy. But, after all the healing, I am supposed to feel much better, and I am all for that. I just want to feel normal again. I miss normal (though, apparently my normal is a little crappy compared to most people - who knew?).

So, that's that. Sinuses will be dealt with after the run, and I'll just have to push through until then.

As for my foot, it's still a mess. My sister and brother-in-law (physical therapists, the both of them) had a look at it when I was home, and they say I've irritated a tendon or something (they were more specific). There's a bump, it's uncomfortable, and there's an awful creaking when I move my toes. There's some pain when I walk - nothing serious, but it's still not good. I worry about it, but I figure I'll somehow limp through come race day.

For now, I am trying to ice it and rest (as prescribed by the sis and bro), and I'll have to see how it feels for the long run Saturday.

I am a mess.

12 Miles

So, I'm a bit behind on posting this, but it's the holidays so what can you expect? I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and has a fantastic beginning to the new year.

So, last Saturday we had our big 12-miler. I was not excited about the run at all. In fact, I was a bit terrified. It definitely didn't help that I have been so off of my schedule because of the illness.

I didn't run all week leading up to the run. I planned to, but things just didn't work out that way. We had to be out at Terry Hershey Park by 6am, and it's a fair drive from home to get out there, so I woke up at 4:45am. WAY too early. I had to leave a holiday party really early the night before in order to get enough sleep.

They make a pretty big deal out of this run, and I'm glad they do it that way. It is a scary distance, so the support helps out a lot. All of the separate Houston area training groups come out for this run (we all generally train closer to home), so it is a pretty large group. We got there, signed in, and milled around for a bit. Then we had an awesome inspirational message from Kelli (she makes me cry every time), warmed up, and headed out.

I liked running the trails at Terry Hershey better than our normal routes. They are away from roads and much more peaceful and spacious. We never had to run single pace to let people by, which was nice for us.

We did managed to make it through 12 miles. We definitely didn't run the whole way, but I think that we ran more than we walked. I don't know what I would have done without Kelli - it really is easier to get through these things with her there.

We made it to the first water stop without too much trouble, but the second water stop was WAY further than I think it should have been, so we had to stop and take our gels without water. We were crashing without them, so we really didn't have a choice. Knowing how far we had to go on the way back, we took the gels earlier, which wasn't so great on my stomach.

I was already feeling pretty exhausted by the halfway point, but it was nice to know that we were on the way back. At some point, I became focused on just getting through the distance somehow. 12 miles is a really, really long way.

It was nice to have people out cheering us on, and it made us run when we maybe wanted to walk because we didn't want them to see us walk.

I started feeling a pain in the top of my right foot about a mile from the finish. It lasted for quite a while after, hurting every time I put my foot down. I'm a bit worried about what is going on with it.

We did somehow manage to finish. For the last couple of miles, we just couldn't believe we weren't at the end yet. We came around every turn expecting to see the end and seeing only more trees and more trail. It was tough. Finishing felt really fantastic, though. They had a big tent with lots of snacks and drinks at the end.

It took us over 3 hours (including stops) to get through it, but we were happy with that. We came in behind some of the insane people training for the full marathon (they did 21 miles).

I was so happy that we managed to finish. I wish that I could have hung around and talked to people longer, but I needed to get myself home. I was starting to crash, and I hurt in so many different places. It was really rough.

Recovery had to wait, as I had to pack and clean up and do laundry the rest of the day in order to drive 7 1/2 hours home the next day. I did get to rest some over the holiday, though.

I had a pretty frustrating attempt at a long run this morning. I decided to do my weekly long run today (Friday) instead of tomorrow since I've got a long drive back to Houston on Sunday, and it's not fun to drive when everything hurts.

I knew it wouldn't be good when I started out. My health seems to be declining again, and I woke up feeling pretty questionable. I decided to attempt the run anyway.

There's a roughly 3 miles loop around the lake in my parents' neighborhood, so I planned on running around it 3 times, with rest stops at the bottom of the driveway (I left Gatorade and gels in the mailbox). It was a good plan, and should have been a fairly nice run. It was nice outside - the ground was wet form last night's rain, but the rain had passed and the temperature was just slightly cool. Great running weather really.

It is really, really hilly here. I felt like the entire loop only contained one small distance of flat road - the rest was either up or down. It wasn't exactly an easy route, but hills are good for training, so I thought I would do the best I could and walk when I needed to.

Well, it didn't go well. It wasn't far in before the pain in my foot got pretty bad - a stabbing pain right at the top of my foot whenever I stepped. Then my sinuses started pounding. It wasn't a heavy pounding, just a light, dull one far in the back.

By the time I made it around once (walking several times), I had decided to call it quits. I have my CAT scan on Tuesday, and it wouldn't be smart to do anything to make myself more sick before they take the scan. The doctor wanted me as healthy as possible for that, and I definitely seem to be getting worse. So the sinus issues, paired with a bit of worry about what's going on with my foot, put a stop to the running for this weekend.

I am pretty frustrated with the fact that I needed to stop. A little under 3 miles is at least something, but it is definitely not the 10 miles I was supposed to do. I guess I'll see how this week goes and then try to get through the 8 miles next weekend.

Really, though, the big frustration for me is that I was on track to be able to run the full distance. I made it through the 10 miles without having to walk, and I was getting most of the assigned runs in. Then I got sick, and that all got really screwed up. I feel like I'll be lucky to finish at all now, and I will definitely be walking a chunk of the distance. It's just really frustrating to me. I was so close.

Oh well, I have to get healthy. Hopefully this week will be full of answers.

Thank you all so much for all of your support. So far, you have helped me to raise $2250 to help fight blood cancers. We are so close to my goal of $3000, and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You are all amazing.

And we're back...sort of

I didn't run all week. It was actually a huge relief to come home after work and not have to run. I've been slowly feeling somewhat better. I still don't feel good, but I don't feel as bad as I have. I finished the antibiotics on Thursday, and I'm almost done with the steroids. It is a relief to know that the effects of the drugs will be gone soon, but I am also a bit worried that the symptoms will come back. Here's hoping.

I went out to Memorial this morning for the group long run. I was a bit worried since it had been so long since I got a decent run in, but I really felt like I needed to get back into it.

Luckily, Kelli was there this week, so I had company. It really is so much easier to run with someone there to distract you.

We did somewhere between 8 and 9 miles this morning. It was pretty rough, and we definitely walked chunks of it, but we finished. It wasn't fun, and my knee started to hurt about halfway in, but it felt good to get through it. It made me think that I will actually finish in January, one way or the other. I don't feel bad about the walking, because my body is still not healthy, and I need to make myself take it easy. I can't push myself as hard as I would like right now.

But I got through it, and that's what matters. We'll see how this week goes. I'm going to try to get 3 daily runs in, then Saturday is our big 12-miler. Crazy!

Aaaaannnd...sick

Well, last week definitely failed to go as planned.

I ran roughly 20 minutes on Tuesday. It almost didn’t happen at all – it was chilly and wet and dark outside when I got home, but I forced myself out there anyway. I had to stop and walk a couple of times, as my body just didn’t seem to want to do it, but I didn’t do too badly, considering. I was red-faced and breathing hard when I got home. It reminded me more of my earlier runs than my more recent ones.

I actually pulled off a decent 30-minute run on Wednesday. It didn’t feel great, but I ran the whole way, with a stop half-way through for water (the meds dehydrate my pretty badly). It felt like I was getting back on track.

Thursday didn’t go so well. I intended to run 35 minutes, but 10 minutes in I felt really rough, so I turned around and part-ran, part-walked back home. So, I only got in a little over 20 minutes.

I did some serious soul-searching Friday night. I’ve been really sick, and I’ve been pushing my body to do something more physically demanding than anything I have ever done before. I am not someone who takes quitting lightly, but I also don’t want to cause any serious damage to my health. I think that Friday night was the first time that I seriously considered giving up. I mean, it would be one thing to quit because I was tired or cold or just didn’t want to anymore, but I am sick, and this whole thing is taking a fairly serious physical and emotional toll on me.

I decided to head out to practice on Saturday morning and talk to the coach about what I should do. She told me to skip the long run (that’s 2 in a row I’ve missed, now – I haven’t done a long run in 2 weeks) and go home. She says that I got through the 10 mile fine 2 weeks ago, so I should be able to finish the half in January. I am supposed to take it easy (especially while I’m still on the meds) and run only when and how far feels ok. I’ll show up for the 12-miler in 2 weeks and see how that goes, and I will make my decision from there. She thinks that I should be able to finish the half, especially if I am willing to walk part of it, without too much more work on my part.

So that’s where I stand. I am taking it easy this week and trying to let my body heal. I will try to work in a couple of short runs after work depending on how my body is feeling, and I will either show up for the long run Saturday morning or plan on doing my own, shorter long run on Sunday. I am taking things as they come, and I will plan on at least walking the half in January. I will see this thing through, one way or the other.

My CAT scan is scheduled for December 30th, so whatever comes of that will eventually have to be factored into this plan.

The best laid plans…

sick sucks

I am SOOO sick. Seriously, it’s a bit ridiculous.

Running plan for last week:

Monday – 30 minutes
Tuesday – 35 minutes
Wednesday – Travel to Iowa, no run
Thursday – 35 minutes on treadmill at hotel (i.e. the “not running in sub-freezing temperatures” plan)
Friday – 40 minutes on treadmill
Saturday – Travel back to Houston, miss scheduled long run
Sunday – Make-up 9 mile long run


What actually happened:

Monday – I was still in so much pain from Saturday’s 10 miles that I decided I needed another rest day to let myself heal.
Tuesday – I got home from work feeling a bit sick and still hurting a lot, so I decided on a 15 minute short run to try to stretch everything out. Nothing felt right.
Wednesday – I woke up at 3am incredibly sick, drove to the airport, flew to Denver, then to Omaha, where I met my family for the 3 ½ hour drive to Emmetsburg, Iowa. I arrived in terrible shape.
Thursday and Friday – I struggled through remaining upright through our family visit. I was way too sick to run, and I probably would have considered myself too sick to even get out of bed if there weren’t places I felt I really needed to be (a story for another place).
Saturday – Another really rough travel day – flying is painful if you have sinus issues.
Sunday – I was still too sick to even consider running.


So, yeah, last week was a complete failure.

Monday I went to see an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialist. He told me that I am a mess, that it isn’t normal to get sick as often as I do, and that I bled into my eardrum during the flight (which explains some of the pain). He needs to do a CAT scan to determine the source of my troubles, but he wouldn’t be able to see anything useful in my current state. So, I am on yet another regimen of medications. He put me on a stronger antibiotic (I was still on the last course of “strong” stuff when I got sick last week), and a course of steroids. I will be on those for a couple of weeks, then I will wait a couple of days after finishing them before going in for the CAT scan. It looks like that will be scheduled either right before or right after Christmas. Hopefully, a solution to my problem will soon follow.

The drugs are really screwing with me. Antibiotics always mess with my stomach, and the steroids make me jittery and blur my ability to think straight. I don’t like feeling this way at all. Of course, my sinuses do feel MUCH better, but the rest of me feels off now.

The doctor did say I could keep running, though. As you might imagine, feeling the way I do doesn’t make me really excited about the running.

I didn’t run Monday (scheduled run: 30 minutes), because I felt awful after my appointment (the first does of steroids came in a massive shot). Yesterday (Tuesday), I wasn’t feeling so good when I got home from work, but I didn’t want to skip another run, so I decided to shorten the recommended run a bit (scheduled: 40 minutes) and see how my body reacted. I wanted to at least start adjusting to running again, so I set out to do 20 minutes.

Running sick is even less fun than running. I made it through about 7 minutes before my body started to disagree with the running idea. And that annoying side cramp managed to come back. I ended up walking a couple of times for about a minute each in the middle of the run in order to alleviate the pain. I did most of the return run without having to stop, but by the time I got home, I was terribly out of breath and just feeling awful. But, hey, I ran.

Part of me really wants to quit this whole thing right now – I am sick, I am miserable, and I am struggling to keep the rest of my life in order. But I refuse to give up. This cause is important to me, I have put in so much effort, and so many people have donated money and supported me through this mess. I intend to do everything I can to cross that finish line in January. And right now, that means running sick.

Tonight is supposed to be track practice, and tomorrow is supposed to be a 45 minute run. I am going to attempt 30 minutes tonight, and I will probably shorten tomorrow’s run to 35 minutes. We are scheduled for a long run of 10 miles on Saturday. I intend to go out there and attempt it. I might end up walking part of it, since I don’t know how I’ll be feeling by then. I did miss a week and a half of runs (including the last long run), so I don’t know how my body will react. I know I can do 10 miles, though, so at least I have that.

A month and a half left, then I can do whatever I need to fix this sinus problem and be healthy again. I can’t wait for the end of January.