Last week was trudging along nicely (well, with the exception of hubby being gone and having to travel to Michigan during a blizzard warning) when Thursday night I started to get that achy, fever coming-on sensation. Sure enough Friday morning my alarm goes off at 5:00 am (had planned to do 2 levels of Jillian's 30 Day Shred before work) and I'm weak, shivering and hurt....everywhere. The worst pain was in my head/neck area. I had slept horribly the night before and could barely keep my eyes open. I decided working out wasn't going to happen, so I pushed snooze for another hour. This is major for me....I haven't skipped a workout in over a year. I knew I was really sick when I didn't even have guilt over it! So the alarm goes off again at 6:00 am and I decide to get up and shower. Usually getting going helps me to feel better. I felt like a zombie stumbling around my room, bathroom and shower, but I get dressed for work, took some medicine and debated on whether or not I should go in to work. The babysitter (my MIL) was already on her way to our house and it was my day at work to get the workload planned for all the dietitians. I figured I might as well go in and put in an hour at work and see how I felt. I couldn't take my temperature at home (all the thermometers were in the kids' rooms, who were still sleeping when I left) so I walked on to one of the nursing units and had a nurse take my temperature. 100.4 degrees. Not too high, but high enough to be sent home. So home I went....with dread. You see, once you become a mother....it doesn't matter if you're sick. The show must go on!! My MIL was just leaving to take Braden to preschool when I got home. She was nice enough to also agree to pick him up and bring him home. It was bitterly cold that day and she didn't want Caroline out in the weather (she's been sick for 2 weeks now). And this is where I become a heartless daughter in law. I should have just been happy to not have to drag 2 kids to/from preschool but instead...I found myself angry at my MIL. Couldn't she just take both of them to her house for the day? Let me rest and get better? I'm NEVER sick. The fact that I actually told her I was sick and not feeling well is pretty significant. I don't complain. I didn't want to be waited on hand and foot, I just wanted a reprieve from my job as "Mommy". If only for 2 hours! Luckily taking care of one child is much easier than two, so Caroline let me catch a few minutes of sleep here and there as I went from couch, to chair, to couch, etc! I couldn't keep my eyes open. 2 hours later MIL and Braden come home. She fixes lunch and does a little craft project with them and then she leaves. This is the part that really gets me....As she's leaving, she laughs and says "hopefully you can make it 2 more hours until nap time!" Yeah, thanks. What's worse, is that she knew hubby wasn't home and wouldn't be home until later that night. When you feel like death warmed over and you have 9+ hours to spend with your children....alone.....that seems like an eternity. Note to self: when my daughter or daughter in law is sick with no husband in town and 2 young children to care for, make every possible effort to help her out!
So I did indeed make it to nap time, where both kids took a gloriously long 3 hour nap. THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS! Now, I had registered to do the Jingle Bell Run 5K for the local Arthritis foundation on Saturday. I could pick up my packet that night or do it the day of the race. Being new to running, I wasn't quite sure what would happen if I never showed up to pick up my packet or the race, but I had spent $30 to register and I was surely going to at least get my t-shirt! I still wasn't feeling great, but with medicine and ibuprofen every 4 hours, it was manageable! I had about 4 hours at this point until hubby was going to be home. I couldn't entertain them at home any longer, so out we went to pick up my packet/t-shirt. Well, I felt like a jackass telling them I just wanted my t-shirt, so I picked up the timing chip/bib number as well. I earned major Mom points by taking them to McDonalds on the way home. Next thing I knew, hubby was walking in the door and my role as family CEO was officially over (for a few hours, at least).
Saturday morning comes around, it's 18 degrees outside and I'm still running a low-grade fever (99.6 degrees) and can barely swallow, my throat hurts so bad. I take 600 mg of ibuprofen, more cold medicine and lay in bed debating on what to do. About 30 minutes later, I'm feeling marginally better and decide I might as well go run the darn 5K. I had friends expecting me there, and I didn't want to disappoint them! Afterall, I knew I would feel
real guilty about skipping another workout AND wasting $30. So we ran the 5K. I don't even know my official finishing time. I didn't even care. I just downloaded my Garmin and it said 30:something. Not a PR by any stretch, but at least I wasn't lying in bed. We just ran at an easy, conversational pace and enjoyed the festive holiday run. I felt great afterwards and had no regrets. I met up with my kids and hubby at a local donut shop, and called it a day.
My run this morning wasn't quite as good. The cold has now descended into my lungs, making breathing (especially while running) that much harder. I got in 4 miles (usually do 5-6) at a snail's pace and called it good! I'm hoping to be back on track by Thursday, as my mileage last week was pretty pathetic. This Saturday is my 32nd birthday and while I have to work this weekend, I'm hoping to get in a nice longish run before work. Who would have thought a year ago, that I'd actually
prefer to get up and go running on my birthday? Oh yeah and guess what..... I officially have another race on my calendar. My friends and I are going to run the Indianapolis 500 Festival mini-marathon on May 8th. My bib number is something like 34446....I just saw on the webpage that it SOLD OUT yesterday at 35,000 registrants. Talk about cutting it close! Apparently it's the largest half marathon in the nation and has sold out for 9 years in a row now. I love big races and am very excited about this. The funny thing is that during registration if you selected an estimated finishing time before 2:30, you could provide documentation to get a seeded/ preferred start. Now my best time is 2:18, but I could care less where I start! My friends and I just want to start/run together, so we'll risk our luck and just start with the masses. Could be chaos....but then it seems like every race I run is!
Still to be decided is the April 24th half marathon at the Kentucky Derby Festival. These would be 2 weeks apart, but completely doable and maybe a bit challenging. Training will likely start the first week of January and I'm ready for it! It just feels so good to have something on the training horizon. What has my life become?
