Monday, Dec 28: Strength training and stretching/yoga

My husband has learned that when I don't feel well, I eat ramen or order Papa John's breadsticks. Last night, it was a Papa John’s breadsticks sort of night. (We are out of ramen.) I don’t know what it is about these breadsticks, but they are comfort encased in a pillowy layer of dough. But I digress.

Yesterday, I called in sick to work. This is the third day this month that I’ve had to call in. I’m very lucky because the partners at the firm that I work for are extremely kind and understanding. Even so, I don’t want to be the sickly employee. I want them to know they can rely on me, not question if I’ll be too sick or weak to come in. It’s quite irritating when my body and my mind want two different things—my body wants to rest, while I want to be active. Yesterday, I had to listen to my body. My glands were so swollen and my body so achy—I pretty much stayed in bed all day.

Needless to say, I didn’t do the strength training that I had planned. This isn’t to say I didn’t try. I tried. I got through two sets of lateral and forward raises with two pound weights and was exhausted. I tried to push past the exhaustion and did ten tricep raises before throwing in the towel. I was spent. Pathetic. Sometimes this body really frustrates me. I see my husband--he can stay up late, get up early, and has plenty of energy--I’m jealous. I want to have that energy level, too!

Sunday, Dec 27: 5 mile run

I knew it was snowing well before my husband woke up, looked out the window, and exclaimed, like an excited child, “It’s snowing again!” I could feel it in my fingers, and in my hip joints. I was very reluctant to leave the warmth of the electric mattress pad. I wanted to stay toasty all day.

But, like every Sunday, we had a long run to accomplish. We needed to get in a good 5 mile run today. So, I wrapped myself up in layers of clothing, and around 3:00 p.m., Steven and I headed out for our run. First, we ran to Schnucks so I could drop off some prescriptions—including a refill for my plaquenil for lupus. Then we ran back to the entrance of the park, and ran in the park for about 3.6 miles. (The roundtrip Schnucks run was 1.43 miles).

Today, Steven reminded me of a Runner’s World article that I read last night. In his article, “A Few Rules to Run By,” Mark Remy states, “…Done properly, running is fun. Even when you do it improperly, running is still inherently, liberatingly fun. If you doubt this, just spend a few minutes watching a child or a dog in any wide open space. Their glee is instinctual and undeniable.” I could just see Steven’s delight as he sped past me, not worrying one bit about the slippery ice underfoot. Today, Steven was what I wanted to be. Today, his running was liberating.

I was too busy aching, and too conscious of the slick surface under me, to fully enjoy my run. In fact, I kept thinking about how relieved I was that I forgot my watch. I couldn’t focus on the time, but instead had to focus on the run itself. Had I brought my watch, I’m sure I would be sorely disappointed in myself.

It’s disappointing to see myself change from a runner to more of a walker. I know in the spring, after it warms up a bit, I will be running stronger. But right now, I can’t help but feel a little bit disappointed. On the other hand, it’s so exhilarating seeing Steven transform into a distance runner. I’m so excited and feel so blessed to be a part of his training for his first half marathon!

Saturday, Dec 26: Cross training

Does shopping the day-after-Christmas sales count as cross training? If so, I got in 5 to 6 hours. If not, then I didn't do anything for cross training.

Friday, Dec 25: rest day

It was a lovely white Christmas--but not too much white! I needed to drop off some library books, so Steven and I walked through the park to the library drop off and back. It was 25 degrees, so I was wearing insulated pants, snow boots, my parka, and two pairs of gloves. I stayed pretty toasty, even in the biting wind.

Going straight to and from the library is a three mile trip. By walking around the park, we added at least an extra mile. It was a fun and flurry-filled four mile hike.

At about 7 p.m., Steven and I decided to go ice skating in the park. Nothing says winter quite like an outdoor skating rink in the snow! We skated for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, with a couple of breaks. It was really cold, but we had a blast! I hope everyone else had as wonderful of a Christmas as we did!

Thursday, Dec 24: 3 mile run

For the second day in a row, I decided not to run. I was just too physically exhausted. Instead of running, I went to bed early and slept for almost 18 hours. I think I might have a nasty little cold virus giving me some grief!

Wednesday, Dec 23: 2 mile run

I did not do my two mile run. I wasn't feeling well, and decided to take a quick nap before running. Well, that quick nap turned into an eleven hour deep sleep. I'm a little disappointed in myself. But I realize I need to focus on what comes next--and not what did or did not happen.

Tuesday, Dec 22: Strength training

Since we ran last night, I decided to switch up my schedule a bit. A three mile run was on the schedule for tonight, but I didn't get to do any strength training last night. Therefore, I switched my Monday and Tuesday workout. Tomorrow my schedule will be back on track.

Lupus: sores and shirts

I’ve been really stressed lately, which is not good for my lupus. And with the cold weather, I’ve been getting more sores on my face—mostly in, under, and around my nose and mouth. I’m a little embarrassed about how I look in the photos, but I wanted to honestly share my full experience while training for these races. Therefore, I’m posting these photos. The first one shows the sores that are currently under my nose and around my mouth. The second one is from a year and a half ago—I just stumbled upon it and was shocked at the sore under my right nostril. I look like I’ve been punched in the nose!



On a more positive note, Steven bought me a singlet for Christmas. I’ve used freezer paper and paint to make it my “running for a cure” shirt. Because of the thin, wicking fabric of the singlet, the paint bled a little. But I still like it. And if anyone is close enough to notice the bleeding, then they are standing way too close :-)


Before:



Front:



Back:

Monday, Dec 21: Big River Running Store run

The Big River Running Store hosted a run tonight to view Christmas lights. It wasn’t a race—just a running gathering. There were two run choices: a 5.1 mile run or a 2.9 mile run. Since Monday is supposed to be a run-free day for me (it’s strength training and stretching day), and since I’m not sure how I would have handled the 5.1 mile run, we decided to run the 2.9 mile route. It was an easy route with a really easy pace. And it took us down a road that the residents’ have dubbed “Candy Cane Lane.” It’s one of those streets where the residents take pride in their over-the-top Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, I do not have steady hands, so I am horrible at night photography. I did not get any good shots of Candy Cane Lane. In fact, most of my pictures from the night are blurry.

When we made it back to the store, there were trays of cookies, thermoses of coffee and cocoa, Gatorade, eggnog, pumpkin spice milk, and chocolate mint milk waiting for us. As I am whenever there are free sweets, I was in absolute Heaven. One lady even laughed as I took a photo of the cookie trays. But then she followed my lead and did the same thing!



Tonight, I was warm enough that I didn’t really hurt much more than usual. However, when we got home, I crashed for four hours. I just started to feel horrible all over, and climbed into bed. I was only planning on resting a bit, but my resting turned into a very long nap. Now I’m catching up on what I was supposed to do when we got home.

Sunday, Dec 20: 4 mile run

At about 3:00 p.m., when it was still only 29 degrees, my husband and I hit the park for a four mile run. I have had a very difficult weekend, emotionally and physically. Therefore, I did not do as well as I would have liked. I kept coughing during our run, and my lungs felt like they were on fire. I had to stop periodically to catch my breath.

Timewise, we had an okay run. We averaged 9:04 for the first three miles. The fourth mile took us 11:12 because I kept having to stop to cough and breathe.

On a more positive note, with our layering, we both stayed nice and toasty warm--even when it started to snow a little! I think we'll be wearing similar layers tomorrow when we go for a 2.9 mile Christmas light viewing run with a local running group. There's cocoa and coffee after the run tomorrow, so it should be wonderful! Let's hope I can get rid of this cough and congestion before then.