Resolution Run? Half-Check!

Well, hello there!

It's been a while, I know.

Turns out that in addition to the gall bladder attack I mentioned last time, I also had a fairly large gallstone working its way through my system (TMI? Sorry!) and ended up with obstructive jaundice. I've spent the last two weeks super tired, nauseous and extremely itchy ALL THE TIME, and...yellow! Yeesh.

Needless to say, there hasn't been a lot of moving going on over the last three weeks.

Good news: I have a bunch of followup doctor's appointments in my near future, but I have been cleared to go back to the gym. I tried, but only managed 3/4 of a light workout earlier this week. Bah.

Here's some great news: Looks like this is clearing up. I FINALLY felt like myself again by the end of this week. Just in time for today's Resolution Run!

My son, sister-in-law and nephew all ran this one too! We lucked out with the weather - drizzly but a pleasant 4C and NO WIND - but it was a very, very boring course. Great way to finish off the year, though!

I started strong but ran out of steam pretty fast and ended up pulling out at the end of the first lap, at the 2.5K mark. Not surprising, considering that I could barely walk my dog around the block 10 days ago.


It's a drag, but I'm at peace with it.

Starting chute. My sister-in-law and I in orange with my son between us. Can't see him, but my nephew's there too.

And we're off! Two ladies in orange and one orange-haired kid. Still can't see my nephew.

My brother-in-law, younger nephew and daughter watching the action

Me sprinting in to the half-way / finish line. Managed 2.5K in 18:20. I would have PR'd if I could have kept this up!

There's my nephew, sprinting to the finish line! He's a SPEEDY KID.  34:15
This was his first 5K. He started planning his races for 2012 before he crossed the finish line today.

My SIL sprinting behind her son. She's pretty speedy too. Another PR for today.  34:30

I walked back to meet my son and sprinted in the last 100 metres with him.
Notice how he's pulling ahead of me here. Another speedy kid. His legs are moving so fast that they're blurry!

Yep, that's another PR set today. 38:15.

Sarah and Rachel were there too. And they set more PRs!

All done and ready to go out for brunch

So - what's next?

First - celebrate New Year's Eve tonight with family and good friends. :-)

Next - Get back to the gym and build myself back up, get back in the pool, and keep a close eye on a few event websites for registration to open. More about that later.

Happy New Year! What's at the top of your list for 2012?

You Have Got to be Kidding Me

Mere moments after hitting publish on last week's post about being grateful to be at the end of a hectic work season, I started to feel unwell. Tired, nauseous, achy. SO tired. Did what I could to help get the house ready - we were having the extended family over the next day for lunch to celebrate my son's birthday - but I felt like I was moving through molasses. Went to bed oh so early.

Next day, I was better but still moving slowly. Baked a cake. Tidied up. But generally had to rely on my husband to do most of the work. Family arrived and we took the dogs to the dog park while my husband finished off the cooking. Found myself doing a lot of sitting around during the party, and ultimately went to bed for the night at 4pm after everyone left.

Huh.

I assumed that I was crashing hard after getting through that hectic period at work, and that perhaps I'd overdone it a bit at bootcamp, maybe strained a muscle.

Spent the next few days generally achy, tired, nauseous. With an increasingly painful ache just under my ribs. Which lead to very poor sleep and an aching back.

I finally got to the doctor yesterday and it turns out to be a gall bladder attack.

Seriously?

After losing so much weight, generally eating well and getting daily exercise?

Well, gall bladder problems do run in my family. And I had been terrifically stressed. And eating wayyy too much takeout and pre-holiday treats during the busy time.

Still, this seems like such a cliche, coming mere weeks after I turned 40. Actually, it feels like middle age just reared up and slapped me.

You could say that I'm taking it personally.

Growl.

Next steps - changing to an ultra low-fat diet has helped immediately.Will stick to this for the better part of a week to give things a chance to really calm down. Seeing the chiro for an adjustment helped - my posture was way, wayyyy off after being in pain for almost a week. Back to the gym in a few days. Having an ultrasound later in the week to look for stones. After that - well, watch the stress and watch the treats.

On the good side - this should help me break through the plateau I've been stuck in for the past few months. I've lost a few pounds this week, but let's see if they stay off or if they were just water weight...

Anything throw you off your game recently? How are you coping with it?

All Work and No Play...

Well, you know how that goes.

My office moved to a stunningly beautiful space last weekend. It's already a real pleasure to be working in this new environment. But getting to that point took a lot of work. Packing, tearing down, moving, unpacking. And such.

Many, many long days late last week, all weekend and this week.

Which put my life way, way out of balance. And even though it was just for over a week, it took quite a toll. Overtired. Stressed. Missing my family. Grumpy.

A huge thank you to my husband for holding things together during the past week.

I still have a lot of work to catch up on but things are more or less back to normal now. I am enjoying a lazy Saturday morning with my coffee right now. Looking forward to the days ahead, celebrating my son's birthday and Christmas.

I did make sure that I got proper nutrition and got to the gym a few times. Not interested in getting sick, y'know. And exercise is a tonic.

Speaking of the gym - our Boot Camp group has been having some fun lately after our workouts with "Hey, can anybody..."

As in - can anyone do a bridge? Can anyone do a cartwheel? Can anyone do those pushups where you manage to clap in between each one?

This has been a hilarious way to end our workouts. Nicely tired but also pumped up on endorphins makes us a bit silly. And laughing is such a great way to wind down the day.

It's also been fantastic exercise in teaching ourselves not to automatically say "I can't", and instead give whatever it is a try. And if it turns out that you really can't? Well, that just means that you can't today. Gives you something to work towards, doesn't it?

Which means that I'm practicing cartwheels these days.

I wonder - what can you do?

Here's this week's recap -

Saturday - Work, work and more work.

Early Sunday morning walk

Sunday - 2K dog walk first thing, then headed to work.

Monday - Work, work, work.

Tuesday - Work, work. Got Stella to the dog park (2K round trip), had a file of fun playing soccer with her for a good 15 minutes.

Taking a quick breather. I guess it makes sense that a shepherd would love soccer!

Wednesday - 1K dog walk, Curves machines + 5 mins stairstepper + 15 mins Zumba + 290 assorted crunches + 3 sets of 30 pushups (that's 90!); 2K dog walk.

Thursday - Zumba class, Curves machines + 380 assorted crunches + 30/30/40 pushups (that's 100!) and then 5 of those pushups where you manage to clap inbetween each one. WOOHOO!

Friday - Worked late. Family crawled into bed with me for cuddles and a DVD. Glad to see the end of this work week.

Rudolph Run? Check!

I mentioned last week that my 7-year-old daughter was organizing a 1K/3K fun run. We held the run this past weekend, and we had a great time!

From the poster made by her brother

The weather was...wet...but we still had a great turnout. 25 people had signed up, a few backed out because of the rain, but then a few extra came! In the end, we had 27 runners (11 kids, 16 adults) and 3 dogs.

We had planned on an 11am start, but we ended up sending people out in waves as soon as they arrived. So much better than standing around in the rain and getting chiily.

My daughter said a few "thanks for coming", then yelled TWEET to send the first wave out (we forgot the whistle!)

First wave heading out - me in red, my daughter in pink, my son to the right

 She and a friend ended up doing the 1K twice - once with the first wave, once with the second.

These folks came in from out of town for this - THANKS!

We made jingle bell necklaces  for everyone - and believe me - it was SO great to hear all of the jingling in the grey, gloomy weather!

Apples, crackers and water at the finish line - and umbrellas

Hanging out, having some snacks and waiting for the last wave of the 3K-ers to come in

 The good thing about the rain? We pretty much had the park to ourselves!

With Kat - our first run together since the St. Pat's 5K earlier this year

I have to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to this event. On a Sunday morning. Did I mention that it was raining?. So amazing!

Everyone was wearing a big smile, too. In the rain. Fabulous!

The kids were really eager to go through the race routines, the same way we all are - put on their official bibs, run the course, have some after race-snacks, hang out and feel great.

Each of the adults mentioned that it's important to help a kid go for it when they have a big idea like this. I agree completely - and as a parent, I can't thank them enough for their support for my daughter's plan. I think she fully expected that if she held a race, some people would show up, even if it was just her immediate family. I don't think she realizes how fabulous it was that she had such a great turnout. regardless of the weather. Even her teacher came out and cheered us on!

And not only did these folks show up, they also helped her raise about $200 for the Terry Fox Foundation.

I'm speechless.

Thank you.

We're going to have to think about doing this again next year...!

Here's this week's recap -

Saturday - Curves in the morning. Daughter and I went to the ballet to see Romeo & Juliet in the evening. Lovely performance!

Sunday - the Rudolph Run (I ran the 1K); 2K run/walk with Stella later in the day

Monday - 2K dog park walk, Curves circuit + boot camp (5 mins on stairstepper, 30 pushups, 290 assorted crunches), 2K dog walk

Tuesday - rest day.

Wednesday - Cuves circuit + boot camp (10 mins on stairstepper, 30 + 30 pushups, 150 assorted crunches, 2 minute plank), 2K dog run/walk. Oh - and I signed up for the...

http://www.spartanrace.com/
Who's going to get muddy with me?

...for June 2012. It's 5K with 12-15 obstacles. Because if there's one thing the Warrior Dash taught me, it's that I'm stronger than I think I am. Also that I have a twisted idea of what fun looks like. It's also possible that I'm having a bit of amnesia about how exhausting the Dash was. But what better way to test out how strong boot camp is making me? :-)

Thursday - Curves circuit + boot camp (6 mins on stairstepper, 60 pushups, 280 assorted crunches). And I did a bridge again ;-)

Friday - My office is moving this weekend, and so I worked a 14-hour day packing, organizing, cleaning and such. According to My Fitness Pal, that's about 89 billion calories burned. Phew!