Boy, am I stupid!

Tomorrow I visit my surgeon for my six week checkup, and my plan of running on Thursday morning (or any time in the near future) has been blown to bits. However, in hindsight, the events of the past few days was a thankful sign that I'm nowhere near ready to start running again.

Let me explain.

On Sunday, our delightful little town hosted the "Kraft Celebration Tour" on TSN, complete with celebrity hosts, free Oreos, and an Edmonton Eskimo thrown in for good measure. It was a hot day, with no parking in the river valley, so we walked down the steep hill to get to Voyageur Park. I felt good, a little slow, but then I was overtaken by the madness of the live TV show, knowing that my mom and dad were watching for the kids on TV. Scott had Matthew on his shoulders, so Elizabeth went on my shoulders - that was mistake #1.

At the end of it all, we headed towards the busses, but so did everyone else, and I decided that we should walk up the hill. After all, I had run up that hill a zillion times, it wasn't that big of a hill (?!?!?), and I didn't want to wait for the bus in 30 degree heat. I was proud when we beat the busses up the hill.

That was mistake #2.

I woke up on Monday morning and felt absolutely AWFUL! I was nauseous, was trying to force myself to eat bits of fruit, and felt like I was going to throw up any moment. I tried to do a bit of work but instead decided to spend the day in bed. I felt like I did when I came home from the hospital, and was kicking myself. I had a fever, my incision was hot, and I was worried that I had blown some stiches and had an internal infection. I envisioned returning to the hospital, going back into surgery, my doctor cursing me the whole way. It was a very depressing day.

Thankfully, I woke up this morning and felt 100% better. I was able to eat, I drank lots of water, and my fever was gone. Scott wisely "suggested" that I skip The Mustard Seed tonight, and I agreed - my body needs sleep, not a late, busy night and a midnight (or later) bedtime. Time to go to bed and continue to rest.

So 5 Peaks is out, but I'm going to cheer on my friends at the start and the finish. As my sister said, I have a lifetime to enjoy exercise, but if I screw up this recovery, it could be a long time before I do anything again, including returning to The Mustard Seed, and I want to get back there as soon as I can.

So for now, there is only rest in my future.

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

This healing process is so FRUSTRATING!! I was feeling great, tempted to run (but I still won't until August 25...if I get the doc's okay) and then we went on a little holiday around Alberta. Throw in three days of driving, walking around, and me deciding to walk up hills in the mountains, and I felt awful last night - sore, swollen, and depressed. Before we left last week I had my sights set on 5 Peaks on September 24, but now I wonder if I'll be running by Christmas. I slept almost 11 hours last night (another sign that my body was hurting), but felt better this morning.

Part of me wishes I would have listened to the doctors when they told me this was major surgery and that I'd be out for six weeks, but I know that once I'm healed it will all be worth it. I have to stop letting my ego get the best of me and realize I'm not going to be in the best shape of my life right now - I just need to rest and heal. But as I rest and heal, I also feel so lazy - but that's life - it doesn't always roll the way that you want.

25 Minutes

Boy oh boy how we take our good health for granted! After thinking that I would be out walking only two weeks post-op, I came down to earth with a crash when I realized last Friday that it wasn't going to happen. My energy was still low, my insides sore, and so I delayed my walking program for a week.

Fast forward to yesterday, three weeks post-op, and so much has changed! On Thursday I started to feel better, and thought I'd just try to walk for ten minutes on Friday. I did a mile loop around our house and was happy to have finished in 24 minutes. I felt great all day, drank lots of water and ate good food, and woke up this morning feeling like I could do it again. I walked a full 2 km in 25 minutes, meaning I'm speeding up already! I now have my sites set on a trail run in September and maybe a 5 km run in October....but only if my doctor gives me the okay.

Who ever thought I'd be happy completing a 25 minute walk?!?!?!

After three weeks of less than optimal health, I'm definitely appreciating my body a lot more as it continues to heal, and I'm realizing how important good nutrition and hydration is to the healing process. We're only given one body, and at some point we need to realize that we need to treat it properly or it begins to fail us. I don't want to be living a life of regret 20 years from now thinking, "I wish I had taken better care of myself." I think there are too many people living that regret right now.