A 'Routine' Check Up

Hi there!  So fair warning, this post is probably going to be a bit lengthy.  I've contemplated wether or not I should share this at all this point, but I'm one of those people who sort through things by talking about them and I always appreciate support systems.

For my new job, I had to have a physical.  I went in on Monday and my doctor was concerned about my abdominal area.  I had some issues back in March when I pulled some muscles.  I thought it was related to the fact that my abdominal area was sort of firm to the touch.  The docotor thought I was knocked up (and I so was not!) and the ultrasound came back clear, but he only did the upper abdomen.  My regular doctor, however, was rather concerned.  I wasn't because it's been that way for so long that I'm just used to that.  That and I thought it was related to being a bit overweight.

She sent me for another ultrasound and felt that it had nothing to do with me being a bit overweight.  Again, she was practically convinced that I was pregnant because of the shape of my stomach.  Well, yet again, no baby (thank goodness - we want kids eventually, but not right now).  Unfortunatly, I have a sizable cyst in my abdomen that needs to be drained and removed via surgery.

This is the bummer part of the post.  At first, they thought that could do it with a few small incisions and I would only miss about a week of teaching.  However, it's so large that it's going to be a bit more invasive and I'm most likely going to be out for two weeks.  After a minor panic attack due to the thought of leaving my kids with someone else for two weeks, I'm just glad to know what the issue is and that it's going to be taken care of.

It sounds like the surgery will be in October sometime.  In the meantime, I've been cleared to continue to exercise.  It's making me nervous though.  One of my collegues told me she had a small cyst once that burst that was very painful.  Now I'm scared of it bursting.  At the same time, I've been living with it and exercising with it without a problem for awhile now.  Currently it doesn't cause me any pain or any real discomfort.

The upside to this is that I should drop a fair number pounds that week.  And to think I was struggling to take weight off!  I guess it's sort of hard to lose weight when you're competing with a growing cyst.  So, I suppose I should say thanks for reading, if you made it to this point.  I'll be sure to keep you posted.  :-)

Down For the Count

So Jillian kicked my butt, or should I say my abs, quite literally last Friday.  My mom and I did her No More Trouble Zones DVD, which I have done plenty of times.  Except that about 3 hours later I was incredibly uncomfortable.  At first I thought I was having gas pains or something, but I soon realized that I pulled some muscles.  Big time.  I hardly went anywhere on Saturday.  I had slept terribly because I was so uncomfortable.  Advil and heat did nothing to help.  So I've been keeping a low profile while my upper ab muscles heal.  I'm feeling a ton better today, but I did see the doctor to make sure it wasn't anything more serious (pretty sure it's not, but I'm still waiting for results from my tests). 

I'm thinking this whole situation as an indicator that I'm out of shape.  I have work to do!  This has also shown me how important it is for me to get the weight off and get back to being fit.  I think I've ignored my midsection and lower back for long enough.  I need to figure out some good exercises for those area.  Any suggestions?

What bummed me out most is that it was 50* here in NH this weekend.  I was totally pumped to go running.  That did not happen.  I feel like I missed out on the nice weather.  There's more coming, right?  I've also been nervous because I have a really hard time losing weight without exercising, but luckily this situation left me feel icky and I didn't want to eat.  I may have peaked at the scale this morning and I liked what I saw.

What's everyone else been up to?  Is it warming up where you are?

Ouch!

Oh, where to begin?  Well, by midday I was out of work early because the fire alarm get going off endlessly.  It was hard to focus and get work done with that going on in the background, even while wearing earplugs.  So my boss told me to go home.  Sweet!  I needed to return my grandfather's car to him because I borrowed it over the weekend so I could stay with my grandmother while he was in the hospital  (he's home and doing fine, nothing too major).  I got the idea that I would drive the car to his house and then run home to get my exercise in.  I was really excited to go running because the sun is out today and it's not horribly cold and I was out of work early.

So I went home and bundled up for my run.  I put on my winter running socks (ominous sign number one) and headed back downstairs (ominous sign number two).  And just near the bottom, as I was bouncing down the stairs in excitement (ominous sign number three), my feet went out from under me and I landed hard on the stairs.  Ouch!  I bruised my hand and my hip for sure.  I'm doing okay, but dang that hurt!  I took some ibuprofen and iced it for a bit.  Long story short, no run for me today.  Hopefully I can get out tomorrow.  Fingers crossed!

Sniffles & Improvements

So after my last post (sorry for such a downer of a post), I got out and had a great run.  I got 3 miles done and I was able to do sub-12 minute miles.  Considering I've been a huge running slump, this is a small victory for me.  The cooler weather, which is perfect for running, has hit here in Maine.  I plan on taking full advantage of the cooler weather and the views of the beautiful foliage.

However, I think I'm fighting a bit of a cold now.  Sore throat and sniffles.  I had planned on another run today, but I opted to sleep in and try to get better quick!  I'm thinking the large amount of stress I've been under combined with my lack of exercise and healthy eating has suppressed my immune system.  Patrick has been really trying to help me feel better (and that's saying something because I am a miserable person when I'm sick).  This morning, he made me an english muffin and presented it to this way:

Hehe.  Too cute.  The flowers we bought for the apartment warming party are still kicking around, so that's helping to cheer me up too.

That and the sun finally came back out after several gloomy days.  And we even had a rainbow appear last week:

 So in the end, I suppose things are looking up.  How's everyone's week going?

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  I celebrated this morning by getting a 3.78 mile run in.  It's quite warm in this area, so I took it easy and just got it done.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to exercise since Thursday.  On Thursday I was having horrible muscle spasms in my neck.  Every time I tried to turn my head to the left, the muscle would seize.  It sort of felt like a charlie-horse in my neck.  And let me tell you, it was really painful.  So much so that I had to go to the doctor.  This, unfortunately, is not the first time this has happened.  I had to get a prescription for stronger muscle relaxants, use moist heat, take ibuprofen, and stretch a lot.  Taking muscle relaxants is a little scary because they make me a little drowsy and I need to do things a bit slower.  I decided that exercising while on muscle relaxants would not be a good choice.  I'm feeling much better, however, and I'm off the meds.  Can I just say I really hate having to take a pill to fix things?

While I was laid up, I did get the chance to purchase a foam roller.  I got the smaller one.  Like this:

Previously, I was just using the one at the gym at school.  The gym here at home doesn't them.  I was definitely noticing an increase in knee pain from my ITB band since I've stopped rolling.  Foam rolling is painful, but it works.

Well, we're hitting up a cookout later with Patrick's family to celebrate the 4th properly.  What's everyone else up to?  Hopefully you're out enjoying the gorgeous weather instead of reading this crap!

Ups and Downs

So I managed to get my butt out there last week and I ran almost the entire 6 miles. It took my 1:06. Considering I walked about 6 minutes of the run, I felt that I didn't do too bad at all. My knee, however, felt otherwise. I may or may not have done bad things to my knee on this run. I've run since then and it seems to be alright, but I think I need to be careful. Tonight was supposed to be another 6 miler, but I'm postponing that one and did a yoga class instead. It really helps stretch everything out!

Now that we've finished the first two weeks of classes, we're starting to settle into our routine. It's been hard to keep up the healthy eating because I spend so much time just hanging around the apartment. It makes it so tempting to eat all the time! My first weekend up here I went to Weight Watchers and had gained 4.5 pounds! Yikes! I'm back on track and thankfully heading back the other way. Since this is really the first time where I've lived on my own and had to do all the grocery shopping and all the cooking, it's been a real learning experience. I think I'm getting the hang of it though. I'll put up some pictures of the apartment in the next post!

Wedding Bells

I feel like I've been a little MIA lately. Well, that would be becuase wedding planning has taken over my life. That's right, Patrick and I have decided to throw all caution to the wind and get hitched next summer! Woohoo! While I'm very, very excited about this, I only have 3 1/2 weeks until I go back to school and we have a couple major things (uh, like a venue) that we need to get figured out before we go back. So needless to say, I have been absent in the blogging world as we venture to find a venue.

In exercise news, I feel like I'm failing miserably. My triathalon is this Sunday! I'm so excited. However, Tuesday was my day off, which I enjoyed. Yesterday I was supposed to run and swim. But my car decided not to start (also great while trying to plan a wedding). That meant I couldn't get to the pool. And I would've gone running except that it looked like a thunderstorm was coming and I have been having some knee pain and didn't think it was the best idea. Which was why I wanted to swim. Today I'm supposed to ride my bike. Since my car started this morning, I have to bring it to the shop this afternoon and I have dinner plans with a friend. Yeah, not seeing the bike ride in that schedule! I'm sure it will all work out just fine. Maybe the rest will do my body some good.

My Voo-Doo Doctor

I was having some back trouble lately in my mid-back. It was especially aggravated by all the working out I do, but if I just completely "rested" it as the first doctor said, I would've gained, like, ten pounds by now. So, I've been taking it easy and I took the first doctor's referral to see a DO (doctor of osteopathics). I was a little confused about what a DO was and what exactly he did, but I had my first appointment the other. He is basically an M.D. that also does chiropractor-y things as well. I have been feeling better these past couple days since he cracked my back. It's kind of nice not to have to dope up on ibuprofen to make it through a work out. I call him my voo-doo doctor though because he also does this stuff where he holds my ankles and "listens to what my body is saying". I'm not sure how much I buy into that part of it, but hey, if it works, it works. At this point I'm willing to give it a try as no other doctor has offered a better solution than to take Advil and not work out. Although, apparently this guy is pretty popular and I can't get another appointment with him for over a month. Let's hope this first adjustment lasts that long.