Week 1, Day 1 (revisited)

I’m back with a vengeance. Weatherbug told me it was supposed to rain all week, but this morning it was nothing but big fluffy white clouds and blue skies, so I decided it was time to get back down to the track.

I’m not saying it didn’t take a lot of convincing. I had a head full of negative self talk and a billion excuses not to get in my car and drive into town, but somehow I pushed them all aside and did it.

I started the Self Challenge yesterday. Better late than never, am I right? I’m not following the diet or exercise plan exactly, but I have made vast changes in my eating habits, and that is going to make a huge difference. This morning the scale told me I was down half a pound from yesterday, but I know that tomorrow it will more than likely tell me I’ve gained two pounds. I can’t find my cloth tape measure, so I won’t be able to track my numbers. Guess I’ll have to buy a new one. Dammit.

Anyway. I had to run some errands this morning, and though it was incredibly windy, the weather was gorgeous and when I got home I did a quick ten minute warm up and then spent 18 minutes doing my ab workout. I stretched a bit, let Tank out, put on my running gear and went to the track.

It was 52° and overcast. Wouldn’t you know? As soon as I got to the track, the rain clouds blew in. The drizzle didn’t start until the fifth run, but the wind blew the cold right into my bones and made my eyes water. It got a lot better once I started moving, but damn. Florida spoiled me. I have to say, though, it really is something to be running along a track, sweating your ass off and looking at the snow covered mountains off in the distance.

I was pretty annoyed the entire run. It just took so long. I’m used to six runs, not eight, and I was impatient to get to the end. I have a lot to do today, so maybe that was a big part of it. All I know is, I’m only doing Week 1 for one week and then it’s right back into Week 2. My sister plans on signing us up for the gym today, so if it rains, I’ll no longer have an excuse to blow off running.

I didn’t have any pain, either. My calves burned a little bit, but I never felt like I wanted to die. I guess I’m not as out of shape as I thought I was. It felt really good to be out there, though. I haven’t had any trouble sleeping since I got home, but I know that now that I’m working out regularly (and getting that half hour in the sun and fresh air), I’ll be the “good” kind of tired at night, not just mentally exhausted.

Thursday calls for more rain, but Friday looks to be clear (as well as the weekend). If that’s the case, I’ll just run again on Friday and Sunday.

And then there were two.

My dog Bernie died yesterday. I took him to the vet for blood work on Wednesday; his pancreatic values came back normal, though his WBC count was a little elevated. Friday night, he wasn't looking too good so yesterday, my brother in law took him in to the vet. My sister called about 20 minutes later asking me to pick her up, saying the doctor wanted to talk to us.

I've had animals my whole life, and I worked at an animal hospital long enough to know the reality of that statement. I left Tank at my sister's and we clipped fur off of him and Meathead and went to the vet. Bernie was lying on a blanket looking up at us and there was no question at all what we had to do. You could see it in his eyes. He was there, but he was ready to go. And so we let him. Afterwards, we took him to Dignified Pets and said goodbye. He was 17 years old.

Bernie
April 1992 - March 2008

Am I ever going to have good news?

I'm back in Oregon, safe and sound. Since before I left, I've been having the most horrendous back/hip pains. I've tried stretching, taking ibuprofen three times a day, using a hot water bottle, etc. Nothing really helps. It gets worse at night, and I sometimes have to use my mom's cane to get around the house.

I worked out Monday and Tuesday; had been planning on running on Tuesday as well, but I figured I probably shouldn't put any more stress on my spine and hip. I'm not sure what this pain is from; I figured it was due to my spending several weeks sleeping on a pull-out couch, but now I'm not so sure.

I don't have health insurance, so I can't go to a doctor. There is a free clinic on Thursdays but the last two times I went (both times because I was in so much pain I could barely walk), they said they had to put emergency cases as their top priority. They did send me home with a bunch of ibuprofen and a thermometer, though. I felt better almost immediately! /sarcasm

Needless to say, not being able to run or work out has left me feeling very depressed and frustrated. I don't feel good about myself at all. And tomorrow is my birthday. Hurray! I'm older and fatter than ever!

This is it.

I'm leaving for the airport in a couple of hours. Hopefully my good friend Ativan will keep my arch nemesis, Panic Attack, at bay.

This'll be me soon!

My last few days here were quite eventful and included a trip to the ER as well as the Hillsborough County sheriff's office and the EOC. Now it's back to boring old Oregon. (Said with 50% sarcasm.)