A Cold? No Thanks!

I had a few germs threatening to take over a couple of days before last week's Island Girl. Beginnings of a cold, hint of a sore throat, low grade fever. No thanks, not interested.

 

I have a few favourite ways to nip that stuff in the bud - lots of rest, lots of water, let the fever do the work of killing germs, and watch my nutrition. My absolutely favourite go-to foods when I'm feeling under the weather are Terminator smoothies from Booster Juice (berries, bananas, orange juice, echinacea) and bowls of yellow dal from my favourite Indian place. It might be all in my head, but there's something about the comforting warmth of soft lentils stewed with turmeric, garlic and spicy peppers that does the trick every time.

 

So by race day, I looked like this:  



 

5.5K and smiling. The lady in pink looks pretty happy too!

 

Thumbs up for my daughter (and my son, further back on the beach)

The germs threatened to make a come back the day after the race, but after a good night's sleep, a Terminator smoothie and a bowl of dal, I felt as good as new. Fingers crossed that I`m really over this!

 

What are your favourite tricks for warding off a cold?

 

This week's recap -

 

Took things easy at the beginning of the week - walked the dog a few times but that`s all that my tight calves and tender shins would allow. Time for new shoes!

 

Rest of the week - got the the gym for a circuit and abs workout, down to the track for a few slow laps, did a 3K run around the neighbourhood, and took the kids to the park a couple of times to shoot hoops. My son and I love to play one-on-one, and all of a sudden, my daughter is tall enough to sink shots herself! We had so much fun getting out sweat on - fabulous!

WOOHOO!

 

 

Love the after-dinner trips to the park at this time of year. Any time the weather is nice, actually.

 



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?

Is it possible to cram for a 5K?

I hope so! Between work being nuts and and getting sick, exercise has been thin around here for the past few weeks. Fingers crossed for a good 5K on May 14.

Saturday - Fighting off last week's strep throat and chest infection. Spent most of the day napping, then went to the theatre in the evening - we had tickets to see The Railway Children. Kids loved the performance - interesting story, unique set and a real steam engine! Also fun to go out on a Saturday evening. Sun was down when we came out of the theatre, CN Tower was lit up. Neat thing: the show was staged in a temporary theatre that one the grounds of a refurbished train roundhouse, and there are train engines on display as party of the roundhouse landscaping. Climbed around on the trains after the show. Fun!

In the hammock. No better place to be on a warm spring day.

Sunday - Mother's Day, but I was a bit too sick to notice. Kids made me fabulous cards and husband made a lovely breakfast. I spent the morning moving slowly. Planted a dozen peas. Spent the rest of the day moving slowly. I heart my hammock.

Monday - Back to work. Thank goodness the antibiotics have finally kicked in. Once again - too busy to get away from my desk at lunchtime. This is not a good trend and I'm trying to figure out how to get back on track. The good news is that it was a beautiful day, so I got the kids to do their homework outside while I rearranged some plants in the garden. We also planted our tomatoes! Two whole plants worth. It's a small garden.

Tuesday - 1K walk in the morning. Spent the evening getting my son ready for a school trip - he leaves at 6am tomorrow for a couple of days :-(

Wednesday - MADE IT TO ZUMBA! Did the full class, half a circuit and 30 pushups. Felt SO SO good to get sweaty!

After Zumba. So sweaty and so happy :-)

Thursday - Made it to Zumba again! Did the full class and 33 pushups afterwards. Picked up my son later on - he had a fantastic time in Ottawa! He loved the War Museum in particular and came home with stories of having seen a bullet-riddled UN jeep - and one of Hitler's cars. Eeek.

Friday - Stairs to 7 in AM. Evening was spent driving my daughter out of town for camping with her Sparks group. Amazed that neither of us cried during our goodbyes - but I did get a bit teary at dinner later when she wasn't with us. Oh, mom. Such a softie.

What I'm reading this week - Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle.

There Go My Plans for Operating Heavy Machinery This Weekend

Go figure - I ate well and exercised all winter and didn't get so much as a sniffle. As soon as my job hit a really busy patch this month, exercise got sacrificed, I started eating more convenience food (read: food court every day for lunch) - and I got sick. Started off as a cold but over the course of the week turned into a chest infection and strep throat. Surprise, surprise - when we stop taking care of ourselves, the germs come over for a party.

So - this week was thin on moving. Here's a recap:

Saturday - Ran around in the morning, getting a haircut, taking my daughter to a bday party, shopping for summer clothes for both kids. Got some good bending and stretching in later in the day - son and I played Frisbee for a while, and then both kids and I planted 75 freesia bulbs in the front garden. Hoping for a splash of colur - and some nice fragrance - later in the season after the tulips fade. Starting to get the sniffles.

Check out those finisher's medals!
Husband & his twin sister after crossing the finish line at their first 10K - May 2010

Sunday - Race day for my husband and SIL, their very first 10K! They had to get up pretty early to get to the start, but they went strong and finished with a smile. PBs of 1:14 (him) and 1:11 (her).  Came home talking about what they want to sign up for next, and how they think they'll do next time. Meanwhile - our BIL and nephews came over for the morning. Playtime and lots of giggling before we celebrated the finishers by making them a big brunch. Afterwards, I spent a bit of time in the garden planting some mini narcissis.  

I had a few friends doing this event too, and have to tell you - looking at their photos made me pine for the energy of being at an event, the thrill of showing up at the start, the high from crossing a finish line, and the bling in the swag bag! Looking forward to my next 5K in 2 weeks, and the expo the day before :-)

Monday - 1/2 of a Curves circuit + 30 pushups after dinner. Achoo!

Wednesday - Stairs to 7 in AM.

Friday - Ow, my throat. Broke down and went to the walkin clinic after dinner. Time to take meds, rest and eat well. These meds are making me blissfully drowsy :-)

Prescription-strength cough syrup, antibiotics and TWO inhalers.
Glad I decided to stop trying to tough this thing out.

What I'm reading this week: The Year of Finding Memory by Judy Fong Bates. Very interesting to see how her experiences growing up influenced Midnight at the Dragon Cafe  and China Dog and other Tales from a Chinese Laundry.