Long road ahead...

I finally have some reprieve from the constant pain of the Fibromyalgia. I am no longer laying in bed near tears because my body hurts all over and there is nothing I can do. I am finally getting some much needed rest that allows me to function and get my arse to work and on the treadmill or outside to run. My knees were just about healed from my recent falls. The first while hiking with K&K and the second when falling on concrete while simply walking to my car. The first was mostly bumps and bruises and the second involved a bit of blood and a handy gentlemen nearby that as kind enough to patch me up. However, during a weekend trip to Raleigh, NC to see long time friend of mine, I took a couple of stumbles while doing some trail running. Loved the train, loved the run, didn't love the fall so much, lol. Unfortunately, this time I didn't have my handy gentlemen to patch me up and I had to do it all on my own. My right knee is now covered in a bandage the size of a tennis ball. Oh well, such is life of a runner, I suppose. Or at least, a clumsy one like myself.

While I've continued to run since my 10 mile race I have certainly cut back on the mileage. No more 8-10 mile runs. In fact, not even any 6 mile runs. It seems my body has limited itself to 4 miles per run for the moment. However, it seems to be working as certain womanly functions have returned and the pain from not having it, has subsided. This is good news as it means no return trip to the doctor for an ultrasound to look for cysts. Woohoo! I've heard its "normal" for women athletes to get to a point where certain functions cease to continue. However, I wouldn't have considered myself an athlete. At least I'll know what to expect this time when I begin training for my half marathon in October.

Yes folks, I did officially sign up for the Baltimore Runners Half-Marathon in October 2010. It appears I am right on track as far as my goals go. This year, half-marathon; next year, full on Marathon. That'll be 26.2 miles. Damn, the thought of it just exhausts me but excites the hell out of me at the same time.

Anyway, back on track….

I am currently training for a 31 mile bike ride through Lancaster, PA , to take place on August 15^th. The bike riding has been a nice change from my usual Sunday run but will be coming to an end. The half-marathon is in mid-October and I need at least 12 weeks to train. Come the 1^st of September, I'll be back on a training schedule running 3 days a week working my way back up to running 13.1 miles. I completed the 10 mile race in June and can't wait to do 13. In fact I think I'll start a tradition and the first time I will run 13 miles will be the day of the race. It worked out so well for the 10 mile race, why not try it again.

And so folks, I have a long road ahead of biking riding and running. Can't think of anything better.

Discombobulated

It's been a week now and still, I am hurting all over. Not only am I hurting all over but I apparently have a lack of coordination this morning.

By noon, I had walked into the "tower" on my desk, bumped my elbow into the wall, spilled hot tea in my lap and tripped over my own shoes, at least twice. During lunch, I spilled tea on the book that I was reading. What the heck?! I feel completely and totally discombobulated. My brain and my body just aren't conversing the way that I'd like.

I'm not sure that I'm tired as I went to sleep last night at 10 pm and slept wonderfully until 7 am this morning. Though, I did nod off during lunch today while reading a book that I am really enjoying, so perhaps that is an issue. I don't believe I have over exercised - I ran 4 miles last Tuesday, skipped my Thursday run and rested until Saturday, when I enjoyed a strenuous 4 mile hike (if that) and a had fantastic 16 mile bike ride on Sunday. Obviously, I am not lacking of exercise either. So why is the Fibromyalgia still acting up!?!?!?!?

Today I rest. Tomorrow, I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be up to a 4-6 mile run. Same on Thursday. Saturday will be spin, come hell or high water and another long bike ride on Sunday. I am still skipping my strength training to give myself proper rest days and as of today, doubling up on my meds. I will not let this slow me down, even if the pain is taking it's toll. Unfortunately, what worries me the most is the extreme exhaustion which is bound to set in soon, if I can't get this under control.

If ever there were a time I were to pick up faith and pray, now would be the time, haha.

To run or not to run?

This is one of those rare days, when no amount of medication can stop the pain.

When I woke up yesterday I noticed I was feeling a little achy but nothing too horrible. I have a mystery bruise on my right knee that is extremely tender, as is the skin around it. I have a long bruise on my left thigh that is also inflamed and painful. At least I know where that one came from (biking accident with the mentee on Sunday). Bruises, injuries, these can cause some flair ups, but are not usually too much of an issue.

Given the bit of pain I was feeling tired so I went to bed at 10:30 pm last night, thinking I'd be rested and get up at 6 am this morning to do my CardioX routine. Boy was I wrong.

I don't think it was the pain that kept me up initially, but the constant chatter in my brain. Of course, the storm that hit pretty hard last night around 11:30 pm, didn't help either. By midnight, I was on my laptop uploading photos for a girlfriend, something I was suppose to have done a week or so ago. By 3 am I was on the laptop again, googling scenes from "Reality Bites", don't ask why. By 5:30 am I realized that hey, I am actually up and could get out of bed to exercise at 6 am but by this point, due to the lack of sleep, it seemed as though every muscle and joint in my body was just down right pissed off and was not going to exercise, even if I did ask nicely.

When my alarm went off at 7 am, I got out of bed, slowly got dressed and made my way to work. I am moving like an 80 year old woman this morning and am wishing I could cover my entire body in bio freeze or soak in a hot tub or at the very least, need to pick up some Epsom salt for a hot bath this evening.

Thankfully, I don't have these days too often but wish I had the key to figure out what triggers them. The lack of sleep doesn't help. Stress doesn't help. Too much or not enough exercise doesn't help. Which brings me to the dilemma of the day. It's Tuesday, my day to run. Do I feel like I could physically run 6 miles right now? Hell no! But, will running help exhaust me enough to get a decent night sleep? Maybe. Or will I wake up tomorrow morning in worse shape than I am now?

It's days like these that I understand why there are people out there who say the pain is debilitating. But, I find strength in knowing that for me, this usually passes in a day or so. I hope that is something I will always be able to count on.

Thank you for giving me my wings...

My first race was the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k and it took place on June 28,2009. I had just started my interval training earlier that year and had only started "running" a short time before this race. There were two other runners with me that day. One, my good friend Wendy and the other, her good friend Chuck. Thanks to Wendy, we had become Team Bug. I was the lady bug, Wendy the butterfly and Chuck, the dragon fly. We were an awesome team.

I started running in part, because of Wendy. She and another friend of ours would meet up in the wee hours of the morning before the week day started, but the two of them would go about their 3 mile run and I would do my 2 mile walk. My hope was to eventually be able to join them. By the time I got good enough to join them, they weren't running in the mornings anymore, if at all.

So here we are, the day of the race, the three of us happily dressed as bugs, ready to get our flight on and I had conflicting feelings about this race and up until the moment the race started, I wasn't sure what my plan was. Wendy had asked me to run the race with her and Chuck and because of that, I felt I should keep pace with her. However, by then my pace had picked up a bit and running with her meant not running at my best. I have never been a competative person. I always hated sports and how you'd be put down if you weren't as fast as the other kids or didn't do as well and so, it wasn't in my nature to want to "beat" anyone. However, if I was going to run a race, I wanted to have the best possible time I could manage. As the race started, the adreneline kicked in and it was that moment that I decided I was going to run this race for me. I finished in 32 minutes and 02 seconds with a 10:47 min per mile average pace. That was the fastest I'd ever run a 5k. I felt great crossing that finish line and knew it was the first of many races to come.

So here we are, a year later and although I've run a 10k and even a 10 miler since, I was back to once again run the Baltimore Women's Classk 5k on June 27, 2010. My goal this time was to set a PR, a personal record. My goal was to beat my time from my first race. This time it was just me running the race and because I had no help, I didn't wear my wings. Instead, I wore a lady bug t-shirt that I'd worn for my 10 mile race. It wasn't the same without Team Bug and the official costume but the race day fun and excitment from all the other runners had me all a buzz. I started out with the the 10 min pace group, knowing I'd at least hit my 10 min mile goal but was hoping for better and I got it. As soon as the gun went off, I took off, giving it every once of energy I had. Not only did I beat my time, but I blew it out of the water - 27 minutes and 57 seconds. I had a 9 minute pace, my best ever. I look forward to trying to beat my time again next year.

As for the butterfly in my first race, I had just enough energy to run my way through the incoming crowd and search her out. I may not have ran the race with her, but I was delighted to join her as she crossed the finish line.

Thank you, Wendy, for giving my wings.

Mission Accomplished!

Somewhere along the way in this weight loss journey of mine I began running. In the beginning it was more of a walk/jog really with a 20 minute mile and eventually, after much interval training, I began running a 15 minute mile.

Soon enough it was suggested that I run my first race, the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k, on June 28, 2009. I ran 3.1 miles in 32 minutes and 02 seconds with a 10:47 average pace per mile.

My next race was the Catonsville Fall into Fitness 10K on September 26, 2009. I ran 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 58 seconds with a 9:50 average pace per mile.

My next milestone, was the Baltimore 10 Miler on June 19, 2010. The most I'd ever run was 8 miles, once, last summer. My typical mileage back then was 6 miles. After the winter set in, I started focusing more on spin and zumba classes to keep me entertained indoors and my average became 4 miles, on a treadmill. I started training for this race in March 2010, with the help of the Nike+ "Coach". My goal, was to complete the training for a half marathon, figuring if I can run 13 miles, the Baltimore 10 Miler would be a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of bumps along the way that threw a wrench in my training. A back injury, a family emergency that involved a trip to California and in the last 3 weeks before the big race, a concussion from a silly pool accident. Needless to say, at this point I was more than 3 weeks behind in my training and the most I'd ever ran was 8 miles, twice! To say that I was concerned about whether or not I could even complete the race at this point was a huge understatement. Even though I joked about it, there was a small part of me that actually feared I may pass out halfway through.

Well, yesterday was the big day and not only did I complete the race, but I totally aced it!!! I completed 10 miles in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 22 seconds with a 9:47 average pace per mile. I ran the whole damn thing, didn't even need to slow down and the hills weren't nearly as bad as I anticipated. It felt amazing and can't wait to run a half-marathon next!

Thank you very much for the support from my friends and family. Couldn't have made it through without you!

The struggle continues...

I'd like to say that it's been a few weeks since my spectacular pool show and that I'm fully recovered, but tis not so.

The first run after my concussion was actually pretty damn good. Got through 6 miles no problem and was feeling great. Not even a headache. The 2nd run after my concussion, not so much. Was suppose to complete 8 miles, my last chance to complete 8 miles prior to the big run mind you, and I struggled to complete just 6 miles. In fact, if it weren't for my running partner, CCJ, I'd have gone home after 4 miles. I've had two additional runs since then, one really tough and one that felt pretty good. Seems I'm alternating between "I'm screwed" and "Hey, maybe I'll make it through after all".

In addition to the struggles with running, I'm still having neck pain, the occasional nausea, had some unexplained weight loss (since regained), an odd bug bite that resulted in a hard lump in my left thigh for 3 days (can bug bites cause vomiting and nausea?) and in general, just not feeling myself. Chalk it up to lingering symptoms of the concussion, maybe nerves, bad timing. Well, the reason doesn't really matter. The important part is that I've been stress eating since Sunday night (hence the regaining of the unexplained weight loss) and wonder if I'm self sabotaging myself at this point, as I count down the final days leading up to my big 10 mile race.

As if all of the above wasn't enough, the Fibromyalgia has been pretty pissed off the last couple of days too. It's been content to linger in my thighs and left ankle. I'm guess this is due to the lack of exercise. The chiropractor told me to postpone my boxing session next week, due to the continued neck pain (and I will) but do hope to get back to somewhat of a normal routine as of Monday, at 6 am. Not hope...I will. As Jillian Michael's said...saying you will try is giving yourself an excuse to fail. I will not try to get up at 6 am on Monday, but simply will get up at 6 am on Monday.

The race is this Saturday and I have to admit, my feelings on that are pretty mixed right now. I'm doubting whether or not I'll be able to run all 10 miles. If I have to walk any portion of it, that will be failure as far as I'm concerned. Walking isn't RUNNING a 10 mile race. I'm looking forward to getting it over with, looking forward to running for the sake of running again, and not because I'm training.

Even though I know I have support from my friends and family, I admit I am disappointed I won't have a familiar face to cheer me on from the other side of the finish line. Seems it might be almost anti-climatic to complete such a feat (a feat for me at least) and not have a friend there to share a celebratory hug with, give a high five to or even, I admit, maybe even share a tear with and take some pre and post run pictures with.

But, despite all of the recent events, I will run the race. I am undettered!

Stay tuned for the results next week!

Note to self....

Do not swim into the wall of the pool.

OK, so by now I guess it's getting out. I did something stupid and am embarrassed to even tell people.

I swam face first into the side of a pool.

No, I didn't dive into the pool. I was swimming across the short end of the pool with my scuba mask on and I guess it distorted my perception, as I simply didn't see the wall and swam full force, into it. If it weren't for my scuba mask, I'd probably have a broken nose and my forehead would be split open.

To say that I felt the impact of my head pressing into my spine would be an understatement. The pain was immediate and although I couldn't really move my head up and down too much, I could move it left to right. I hoped that the pain would go away and continued to swim a bit off and on, trying to ignore the pain. I wasn't really concerned about a concussion, because I didn't hit my head, but my face. My concern was the possibility of compressing a nerve or herniating a disc.

It didn't take long for the headache to set in and it continued on through to Tuesday. At that point, I called the chiropractor to tell them what happened and he suggested I come in for an x-ray. By the time I got there, I was nauseous and thought I was going to be sick. Wednesday came around and I was told that my x-rays were clean with no fractures, but driving, elevators and stairs made me sick and my headache had not dissipated.

By now, it's been 48 hours and for the 2nd time that day, my good friend Tracy recommended that I should call my regular MD because the nausea wasn't normal. Thankfully, I happen to be dating a resident neurosurgeon andafter talking to him, I decided to go to the ER. I was told this was something I should have done on Monday. Well, I swam into the wall of the pool. Obviously, I wasn't thinking all that clearly!

Tracy agreed to be my chauffeur for the evening and drove me to St. Joseph's Hospital in Towson. This would be my 3rd visit in three years. Although this was my longest wait in their ER ever, I have to admit, it still wasn't all that bad. We arrived around 9 pm and left around midnight. As usual, the staff were very nice and helpful. After an exam and a CT scan, it was determined that I had a concussion and was sent home with prescriptions for the pain and nausea and suggested a couple of days of rest.

Sadly, it actually took more time to get the pain prescription filled than it did to get through the ER. After last nights vicodine wore off, the headache returned and I was up at 6 am this morning. Worked out well I suppose as I had to wait for Comcast to come fix my DVR box. They arrived bright and early at 7:30 am and was out the door 20 minutes later. By 8 am, I was at Walgreens dropping off my prescriptions in hopes of relief. By 8:35 am, I found out there was a problem with my pain prescription and no such relief would be had for the next 8 hours as I repeatedly called the pharmacy to see if they'd reached someone at the hospital to give them the required DEA#. By 3 pm I gave up on the pharmacy getting what they needed and called my physician to call in the prescription. Relief finally came around 5 pm. Score again for the Good Dr!

So here I sit, updating my blog and hoping within a few days, I'll be back to running. This is yet another set back with the training for my 10 mile race, which is only a couple of weeks away. Let's hope I make it.