Tag: Stomach

Whenever

You know I used to pretty good about posting weekly recaps on Mondays. Then Tuesdays… and now? Whenever, wherever… Oops, Shakira moment.

Yeah, my tendency to turn everything into a song lyric has been working overdrive lately. A new way to deal with stress? Throw some levity into life? Who knows.

Any who.

The previous week saw one bike session and sadly only one running session. Boo. I had plans for more, I really did. I can’t seem to get myself running after work again. It’s not a dark thing- night running is kind of fun but I also can’t put my finger on what it is. But I really need to work on it.

I went out for my first virtual race of the year on Saturday- Oakland 5000. It went about as well as I could have expected considering my lack of running lately. Granted it was also an unseasonably warm day but maybe I should stop making excuses? My pace is what it is now and it will remain that way until I decide to make it something different.

I had plans for a nice trail run but things went off the rails Saturday night. I took the Pops to urgent care in the evening- for a tick! Ok, there are some downsides to trails. He’s fine but we picked up dinner at a burger place and eating later than normal and a burger at that sent my damn GI system into a tailspin. I was a mess for the next 72 hours. Yay, me. I probably need to up one of my meds but I really don’t want to. The top drawer in my bedside table resembles a drug store. Grrr.

Which also hammered home my last dr’s appointment. So now I am watching my carbs, cutting back on artificial sugars which is a pain. Hell, even my toothpaste has been swapped out.

Tell me something good!

Napa Valley Marathon- Half Recap

Disclaimer: I received a VIP entry into Napa Valley Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I knew Napa Valley was going to be interesting, I just had no idea how much that was true.

In other words- a new personal worst! And a PR for port-a-potty stops.

Race morning dawned early and a little chilly. I dressed and headed off for the start line. My stomach literally spasmed the moment I got out of the car. Um, what?

I headed to the tasting room at Conn Creek Winery which was the VIP area. People- a warm room and real bathrooms are so worth it. However my stomach felt ok again. Hmmm.

I met up with Stephanie from Run Strong Run and we headed to the start. Actually a little late- most runners had already started- we crossed the start line with the 3:00 hour pacers. We soon separated but it was nice ststarting with someone.

There’s a really tiny balloon in this pic

Miles 1-2 11:35, 12:16
I was feeling ok, but I knew I was out of shape so after about half a mile, I turned on my run/ walk intervals. I was enjoying the perfect cloudy weather and watching hot air balloons rise with the sun over pretty vineyards. Exactly what I had hoped for.

Mile 3 12:49
We had reached the first aid station, water bathroom and electrolytes- but I was fine. Half a mile later I was not fine. Not at all.

Miles 4-6 12:45, 12:27, 17:20
Oh dear lord- where is next aid station?!?? This is a problem. Oh look pretty views, oh, ow, stomach bad. Just before mile 6- oh, hallelujah- an aid station.

Miles 7-8 12:45, 16:45
Ok, that was rough and I’m still not feeling great but let’s keep moving. Nope. Stomach doesn’t agree and now I’m worried there’s not another station until mile 9. Oh lord. Except, wait! Another station just before 8!

Miles 9- 11 12:50, 13:09, 13:51
Again I tried to run on. Nope- mostly walking. Stomach cramped again, badly a little after mile 10. And yes there was a station, but I decided to try and walk it out. I think I walked for 10 minutes straight somewhere in there.

Miles 12-13 13:07, 13:37
I am so close! Oh, here come the first and second marathon runners- ok that was kind of cool. Wouldn’t have seen them if I wasn’t having issues, right??? Trying to find the bright side here. The weather was still good, and I still loved looking at the scenery around me even if we were in town now. Oh— there’s the high school!! The finish!

Finish- 2:58:15

So yeah, that was not my best showing. Oddly enough, as rough as it was, I never once thought about quitting. I knew I was going to finish- eventually- it was just taking more energy than I thought. More energy to move slower but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and kept moving forward.

The course was so pretty, I really do love running by vineyards, I really do. Also this course is very PR-able- flat in a way that didn’t feel flat to me. I kind of feel like I need vindication- this is definitely a race I will run again. There were also VIP perks I missed out on post race- my stomach was not cooperating at all. Boo.

Napa Valley- I will run you again.

Ever had your body completely rebel during a race?

Week 46- Huh

So that was interesesting.

Know how much running I got in last week?

0. Zilch. Nada.

That wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I had plans to run multiple nights after work. But like I mentioned in my last post, I need to rearrange how I run. This realization came about on Thursday so I was irritated that I had been lazy Monday through Wednesday. Well, unless dancing around the kitchen on Monday while I graded 4 pounds of cheese counts as a workout. No?

Friday was day one of the morning experiment- fail. Did start decorating the work tree er… trees.

Saturday- again fail. Which might not have been so bad as I could have run after work. Except my damn stomach chose that day to be an absolute asshat. Gee thanks.

Then Sunday, well, I was easily distracted.

So yeah, that was my week.

How was yours?

Rambling On 43

Happy Friday!

Can I still be excited for the weekend if I am working Sunday too?

Remember a few months back when I was kind of freaking out about a really long solo drive? Well, I am about to take a longer one. Like today. Wish me luck, I’m kind of freaking out again. I have plenty of podcasts ready to go and lots of water.

In the same vein, I haven’t packed for such a long trip since I was a kid. I outgrew my one bag and I still can’t help but feel like I am forgetting something very important. What is it???

I am so not a fan of the darker evenings. I’ve already had to bust out the Knuckle Lights on a few runs and they haven’t even been that long. The time change isn’t even here yet. I am fighting flagging motivation already and it is not a good thing.

I may use this travel week as a way to try and kick soda. We’ll see. If a McDonald’s is between my hotel and work, all bets are off.😛

Share something random!

So Now What

Yeah, test results.

Left Kidney- normal. Small cyst on right kidney but let’s not worry about that (his words).

Lungs- yeah, inflamed but more than likely all due to asthma.

So- in other words- no kidney infection and no valley fever.

Yay?

Except it still hurts (not all the time) and the doctor has no answers. Other than to ask if I was sure the pain was internal and not muscular in nature. Grrr. I think I would know the difference! I realize I tend to ignore pain a lot and have a pretty good pain tolerance but this is not muscular.

Besides running doesn’t make it worse, running is actually one of the few things that doesn’t hurt. However the pain usually comes after eating or drinking or sitting. Sitting in my comfy chair? Not so comfy. Go figure.

So, instead I get to go back to my gastroenterologist because my primary doc thinks it might be time for another colonoscopy. Oh yay. Ok, the first one wasn’t that bad but still. Grrr.

And until then, I’ll keep running because it doesn’t hurt (and I have the all clear). But on the off chance my doc had a good idea and I have no idea what pain is, I ordered a couple new packs to test for my longish runs. My current one hasn’t really been working for me and I contort myself into weird stretches to get to my water. New running gear is always fun, right? I would like to buy a new chair but that’s not really in the finances at the moment. 😛 No, that’s going to be a washing machine.

Who else misses being a kid sometimes?

Any tips for side pain that may or may not be a thing? Haha. 🤣