Blood Donation

I began giving blood in high school, and though I don't give every time I'm eligible, I've already hit the 58 pint mark (that's over 7 gallons!) with today's donation. Before you can give, you have to qualify. There are a million medical questions you must pass, you have to weigh more than 110 pounds and your vitals have to be within a certain range, such as your blood pressure, temperature, and hemoglobin. My blood pressure was 90/50, which caused a stir and some debate over whether it was too low or not to give. It wasn't, and I gave. I have O+, which is always in demand. Joe and I used to give together in a Saturday morning ritual every few months, but he had to stop donating after his colitis diagnosis. We're the same blood type, so it makes me happy to know I could easily give him my blood if need be.

Since Joe can't give, I'm fortunate enough to be paid to donate. My work has a blood drive three times per year, and you are allowed to donate on work time. I haven't donated since last July, as the most recent donation dates were too close to major races. Why does that matter? Well, lemme tell you. When you give up a pint, it reduces the amount of red blood cells in your system (takes 6-8 weeks to fully replenish them). Red blood cells transport oxygen through your body. Fewer red blood cells mean you have a little less oxygen to rely on during hard aerobic activity, which can detract from your performance, and/or cause more fatigue than usual. With my first half marathon of the year 8 weeks out, today's drive was perfect timing.

I need to give a shout out to all of the physical and mental health benefits of running. Besides keeping weight off, the body toned, the heart & lungs strengthened, running can do great things for your vitals. I've never had blood pressure issues, but my BP has never been as consistently low as 90/50 either. My resting heart rate, usually in the 60's, is now in the 50's. On the mental side comes the satisfaction of sticking with a running plan (to steal a quote from Jodie's FB post: "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment" - that is so right on!) until you see results. Today I ran 4 miles in just under 38 minutes, which is running at the speed of light for me. This produced a mental high, as I remembered 4 miles taking me at least 44 minutes a year or so ago. There is also the true chemical change that occurs from running (not necessarily the "runners high") that lessens fatigue, depression or anxiety. And if you approach it in the right way running is like meditation. It's down time. Me time.

41

Happy Birthday Joe!!!
You Rooster/Aquarius You!

I’ll have to give you material gifts because I’m not sure how to deliver the best gifts: a healed colon, metatarsals that don’t fracture and the ease of sleep.

I look forward to sharing your 42nd year with you – running through Peninsula State Park, celebrating an 18th anniversary, hiking the High Sierra’s from West to East, watching the Amazing Race on Sunday nights and Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights, baking cookies and bread, making pizza and ice-cream, laughing at the boys and each other, and all the other day-to-day stuff that fills our lives and makes it meaningful because it's done together.

Training

Ahhhhhh. I've come to the end of my 3-week training block. I look forward to a recovery week where everything gets dialed back as my body is given time to absorb the lessons of the past few weeks. Since I threw routine aside yesterday, I had to do my 7 mile long run today. It was a run of solitude through the 10° anemic sun of a mid-winter morning. I kept a good strong pace, finishing my overall distance with an average 10:27 pace. Progress! Tallying up the numbers for the week, as I do every Sunday, I found that I exercised about 11.5 hours, ran 22.1 miles and burned over 3200 calories. Thirty-five hundred calories equals a pound, so you tell me, why am I up 3 frickin' pounds this week??? It better be due to my pending period!

These weekly numbers reflect an average work-out week for me as I begin increasing the mileage for half marathon season. Training blocks mean you work progressively harder each week during a three week period to help your body adapt to and tolerate more physical stress - testing the limits of strength and endurance, both mentally and physically. There is a lag time of about two weeks for training efforts to manifest, which is why it sometimes feels like it's outta the clear blue that you're suddenly losing weight, or moving faster, or lifting weights with more ease. This is also why it's important to take a week to recover by cutting mileage, intensity and frequency of activities. When I enter the next 3-week training zone, I'm typically well rested and stronger, able to give more than I did in the previous block.

My next block, beginning 1/31/11, will signal the official start of my Trailbreakers (4/2) training program. I've decided to go with Hal Higdon's Intermediate program, jumping in at week 5 of 12. But enough about me - I'm not the only one in training. Joe is aiming to do the Door County Half (5/7) with me and easing into running again He dipped his face into the cold air this morning too for a two mile run - his longest outdoor run since May!

Change of Pace

I thought a nice follow up to my OCD Confessions post would be to demonstrate that I do have the capacity to be flexible with my schedule (if it's planned for!). Rather than hitting the frigid snowy streets for my Saturday long run, I hit the freeway with Joe in tow for an early birthday gift - tickets to the Mummies of the World Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum. I recommend checking this out - the exhibit runs through May. It's well done with examples of different types of mummies (animal & human), mummified in different ways (bogs, desserts, cold cellars, by other humans, etc.), from different parts of the world (Egypt, South America, Europe). Did you know that as recently as the 1920's, mummies were ground up to be sold as as an all-purpose medicine - "Mummy Powder" - for whatever ailed you?

After the museum we met Laura & Josie (unfortunately, Kris couldn't make it) for lunch at Alem Ethiopian Village on the Corner of Wisconsin Ave. & Broadway St. Despite the restaurant's chill (some people stayed in their coats), the atmosphere and food were just right. Your meal is served on a large crepe-like spongy flatbread called "Injera", with smaller rolls of injera to use for picking up the food with your fingers. Joe and I had "Fasolia" - string beans, potatoes and carrots warmly seasoned - and a zestfully satisfying dollop of spiced lentils. It was hearty, warming food, perfect for a frozen January day. At the end of the meal you receive moist towelettes for washing your hands, but if you're 22 month old Josie, you use the towelette to wash your tongue!

The best part of the day, however, is returning to the sunny relaxing warmth of the house :)

New Year, New Look

Time for a rejuvenated blog page - whaddaya think? The blog picture is taken from our 2010 North Cascades Backpacking Adventure - I am ascending a snowfield to a false summit, with 360°views of layer upon layer of snow-covered mountains.

OCD Confessions

I'm TIRED (that's my disclaimer if this blog post starts to ramble). The past work week was so busy I often felt my head and stomach spinning, as I tried to get as much done as possible, while still keeping the rest of my life afloat. That can be a crazy making for someone who's a bit obsessive compulsive like me, as I am not able to let one thing go to accommodate another. I can't work consecutive long days (i.e. 9 hours or more) cause that would take away from house cleaning time. Most of you would let the house stuff go, but I can't function or feel mentally clear if all my ducks aren't in a row in my environment. No matter how swamped I am at work, I always have a clean, uncluttered desk at the end of the day. I need all environments to be simple and ordered for optimal functioning - my car, my home, my email (I like an empty Inbox, so everything gets deleted or filed to a folder), my running binder....

My running binder is manna. I have sections for neighborhood routes ranging from 2 miles to 12 miles (and yes, they're in chronological order, in plastic file pockets and numbered so I can easily refer to which route I did in my running journal), a section for race results, race registrations, training plans, running specific diet and exercise plans and more. As I was zooming around work trying to put out one client crisis after another, I kept thinking about how I wanted to square away the registrations and hotel bookings for my half marathons this year. Some of the races fill up months in advance, as do the hotels. Once I'm registered, I print a color copy of the course map, as well as all race information to have on hand in the running binder. As I registered Joe & I for the third half marathon of the year (Trailbreakers and Door County were done last week), the Haunted Hustle in Middleton on 10/29, I began thinking about work and how I need to change my W4 withholdings. As I calculated my new withholdings, I began to think about making some meals for the week to save on time during my busiest days, such as Tuesdays when I need to be to yoga by 5:15p.m. So you can see how my mind is always plotting, scheming, organizing, looking ahead. It's a blessing and a curse. I get more done than the average human, but it makes for a grueling pace at times.

Speaking of pace,I am pleased to report I shaved 90 seconds off of a difficult neighborhood run. I call it "Ye Olde 12 Hill Route" - a 6 mile loop over hilly terrain. It was a notable run because I faced the added challenge of running in a 5° windchill over 2-3 inches of snow, which was equivalent to running up a sand dune on some of the hills - felt like I was hardly moving at times. So, to best my previous pace from a 50° day with no obstacles in my path, was affirming of my continued progress.

Another cause for my fatigue comes from Chaco & Denali. They are like rambunctious toddlers in the middle of the night. They wake us up around 2:00a.m., purring, wrestling over our legs, or fetching toys for us to throw to them (which we do not, cause we're not reinforcing that behavior). This continues intermittently for the next 2-3 hours. If we shut them out of the room,they lie on the floor outside the door, stick their paws under the door, and shake it. Placing a towel under the door doesn't work either,they just scratch away, a sound that goes straight to the core of your being. No wonder we all look like this at the end of the day...

Good News!

Joe met with Dr. Naik, has been given the green light to resume normal activity and to taper off prednisone. Joe can ease his way out of the low-residue diet, get back to his core work and running, and will say good riddance to prednisone by February 18th. Prednisone can weaken bones after prolonged use. “Prolonged” or chronic use is defined as three months or longer, so once Joe’s course of prednisone is over, he’ll have eaten it for four months. Therefore, a bone density test has been ordered, and will serve as Joe’s baseline for bone health. Prednisone caused GERD, which affected Joe’s voice, necessitating the addition of Prilosec to his med regime. When the prednisone stops, Joe can discontinue Prilosec. He also needs to get the Hepatitis A and B multi-dose vaccines for added health protection due to the immune-suppressing action of the Remicade. Joe’s follow-up colonoscopy will be in June (6 months after starting Remicade) at which time we’ll have a clearer picture (literally)of how his colon is healing and how much damage occurred during his flare. Joe will now contact his PT to finish his gait analysis, with the intention of starting half marathon training by February.

Speaking of half marathons, I am thrilled to announce that several of the gals I “tread” (remember hearing about our informal treading class where we do 30 minute speed work-outs) with at the gym, have decided to give the Trailbreakers Half Marathon a go. As of now it’ll be me, Katelyn, Jaime & Denise, with Kat and Deb as maybes. Three of them are new to running and have never run 13.1 miles, so to train together will be a lot of fun. One other cool tidbit in the running realm is that I’ve been asked to help a co-worker, who is on the fundraising board of The United Way, to establish a 5k/2 Mile Fun Run, for this summer to help raise money.

Additional good news:

· Aunt Shirley will be discharged from the rehab facility 1/14, and return to her apartment with a wheel chair and walker.

· Mom remains way ahead of the knee replacement recovery curve and has registered for the Blarney 5k run/2-mile walk In March. She will do the walk.

· Chaco & Denali are healthy and continue to grow. Chaco is over 9.5 pounds, and Denali is approaching 9 pounds.

Books

My first week of the new year held awesome work-outs, including a 5 mile run at a 9:45 pace! I'm fired up with my 2011 running goals, and am eager for training season to begin. I've registered for the following races so far:

• Steve Cullen 8k in Wauwatosa on 2/12/11
• Trailbreakers Half Marathon in Waukesha on 4/2/11
• Door County Half Marathon at Peninsula State Park on 5/7/11

My official training regimen will begin January 29th. I run on the treadmill during the week due to the dark & lonely early hour of day, and do all long runs outside on the weekends so my body can get used to the pounding of the pavement. I was ready to hit the roads today, but with a -12° windchill, I wimped out and went to the gym instead. But I assure you, if I did not have a gym membership, I would have braved the piercing winds to get that run in! But, I gotta tell you, running on the treadmill holds one, and only one, alluring feature. I can read. I am a huge reader, but find life is stripping away more and more of my time, leaving me a few dessicated moments at night before I fall asleep to push through a novel. I suffer from motion sickness, but have taught myself how to run and read without getting sick. Knowing I could get another 20 pages into Anna Quindlen's "Every Last One" this morning, provided the motivation I needed to stay indoors, the most prudent choice on a day like this.

I aim to read a book per week, but life seems to interfere with that. I keep a book log of every book I've read, and rate each book with a 5-Star system, five being the highest rating. I've decided to start a new tradition of sharing my 5-Star reads from the previous year with you at the start of the next year. In paging through my book journal, I find I peaked in 2007, reading 62 books. It's steadily declined since that time (not by choice!), with 2010 registering a mere 35 books, 10 of which received 5 stars:

1. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (interesting & dark)
2. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (an oldie but goodie)
3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (super well-written)
4. The Kindness of Strangers by Katina Kittle (fiction about child abuse and recovery)
5. Amen, Amen, Amen by Abby Sher (great non-fiction account of OCD)
6. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (800 page tome dealing with trauma)
7. Lowboy by John Wray (a different kind of novel about schizophrenia)
8. Land of Lost Souls by Cadillac Man (awesome memoir written by a homeless man)
9. The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordino (loneliness and relationships)
10. Room by Emma Donoghue (I ain't saying anything. Just read it!)

Welcome 2011!

We made it past the trying last 4 months of 2010, and greet 2011 with renewed vigor. Twenty-Ten was not a bad year, just one of walking up more mountains than down :)

And speaking of mountains, we have sat down, as we do every January 1st, to plan our 2011 backpacking trip. We intend to hike an amazingly scenic and iconic trail through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The High Sierra Trail is a 72 mile point to point route that starts on the Western side of the mountains in Sequoia Kings National Park, crosses the mountains, and ends at the summit of Mt. Whitney -the highest peak in the lower 48 states. We summitted Mt. Whitney in 2002, and have always wanted to do it again. Now we will, but from a different trail, and with much heavier packs. A backcountry wilderness permit is needed to do this trip, but requests cannot be submitted until March 1st, so we will anxiously wait, crossing our fingers that our application is accepted, as permits may be in high demand and hard to come by due to a quota system meant to protect the backcountry from getting too crowded.

Besides our awesome vacation, this year holds the promise of a great 40th birthday for me, possible changes for the better with both of our careers (I'll leave it mysteriously at that for now), the healing of Joe's colon, the joy and antics of Chaco & Denali pushing beyond kittenhood, and of course, new running feats (or should I say "feets"?).

This month Joe intends to reconnect with the physical therapist who started his in-depth gait analysis last fall (before colitis took him outta running) to complete the study, so he can begin training for the Door County Half Marathon in May. We're thinking that with the positive results he's experiencing from Remicade, that his risk of perforating the colon may be decreasing,and that running may once again be okay. He'll "run" this past Dr. Naik in his appointment next week first. And me? Well, scroll down another line ...

2011 Running Goals
 Run at least 22 miles/wk, with at least one minimum 5-6mile run
 Do 3 Half Marathons
 Get Half Marathon pace to 10:00 or better
 Run a sub-29:00 5k
 Run 15 miles, as a race or in training, at least once
 Get easy treadmill pace to 9:30-9:20
 Get serious about hill repeats! At least 2/month
 Run at least 150 miles in my VFF’s
 PREVENT INJURY! Be disciplined by taking a recovery week every 4th week.