Waylaid Again!

Poison Oak is a pesky enemy. I was initially exposed to the nasty thing sometime between August 25 and August 28th, I believe. I only had a few minor bumps for the first week but I now have huge welts of bumps ( there are individual bumps that are part of huge welt like bumps) down my neck, the back of both legs, my shoulder, behind my ear, and under my arm. This morning I noticed more individual bumps popping up down my leg, arm, and torso. I decided that going to the doctor would be my best course of action and every Facebook authority was telling me I needed steroids. So, I went. And I walked out with a new cream, an order to avoid heat, take cool baths, use oatmeal soap, take benedryl twice a day, and to not ingest cashews, walnuts, mangoes, or gingko biloba for four weeks. What I didn't walk out with were steroids. Evidently, if I get it on my face, especially near the eyes, THEN I'm in business. However, although I think steroids would be beneficial, the thought of having this on my face is not a welcome idea. I'd really like to avoid that. The problem that is now in front of me is that when all of this blew up all over my body I had just completed the long run for the week in my continued marathon training. The bumps/welts/rash are stimulated by heat. Well, if you're at all familiar with running, you realize that your body temp rises quite considerably while participating in the sport. However, if I want to get rid of this mess fast, I need to avoid it. The marathon is in three weeks. THREE WEEKS!!!!!  And I've decided that I need to not train for a week and see if I can get rid of this stuff. I may end up walking the whole cotton pickin' marathon if I don't get this stuff under control. But, God willing, I will be at the starting line of that marathon on October 7th.

It's Been Awhile

I apologize for the my absence!  It's been a whirlwind around here and I'm just trying to keep up with everything!
The  in-laws are in. They came last Thursday and were going to leave on Tuesday. However, on Friday, we shared with them some of the home improvement projects that we were facing and they insisted that they were happy to help/stay/etc. These things need to be done as it does affect our insurance rates, so we took them up on the offer. They said "a couple extra days" but, I knew that with house projects it always turns out to be a bigger job than you anticipate. I don't watch Love It or List It for nothing, you know! We are grateful for all that they are willing to do and all the skills they bring to the table, but lengthy stays can be hard on everyone. So, they've been here a week thus far and I do believe they'll be here through the weekend at least.

One of the jobs was fixing the broken sidewalk. That was done easy-shpeasy with Nate and his stepdad working on it together.

 The next job was to put a railing/fence along the rooftop patio. It was expected to be a one day job and turned out to be a three day job. But, it does look great and we are looking to start a neighborhood watch business for hire as we can see into people's yards, over privacy fences, etc.

The next job is the garage. Oh boy... This is the doozy. Evidently, there is a sink hole in our garage. The driveway sloped into the garage so all the rainwater would rush into the garage, into the low spot, and started washing away the dirt under the garage floor, which at some point in the past whether with the previous owner or the family before her, the garage floor collapsed. Instead of fixing the garage floor, they put rock down to make the collapsed part level with the rest of the garage floor and then poured asphalt over the garage floor. However, they didn't fix the sloping driveway at all, so rainwater continued to rush in.... made a new hole in the floor and here we are. So, Nate's step-dad has cut out the asphalt, removed the rock, cut out the collapsed concrete and some concrete surrounding the area, and is now in the process of digging four feet deep to attach some sort of rod to the foundation and then attach that to some pieces of wood. Then we're going to use dirt, the rock the people so generously donated to our project with their "patch job", and broken up pieces of concrete (from the sidewalk and the collapsed part) to build up the ground again and then pour concrete again..... I think. Nate's step-dad explains it to me and my mouth drops open and my mind stops working at "digging down four feet deep." It sounds to me like they'll still be here at Christmas at the description he gives. This is a picture of the work thus far.

I've also been struggling with Poison Oak. I was weeding the flower gardens a week and a half ago and saw what appeared to me as small saplings growing in our flower bed. They have a pretty strong root system so it took some sweat and strength to pull them out. A few days later I developed a few itchy blistery spots. They didn't itch too bad, but when I looked at it, I assumed I'd gotten poison something!  So, when I looked poison oak up to see what it looked like, it was exactly those small saplings that I had pulled out of the flower bed. It wasn't too major, so I just put Benadryl cream on it and it seemed fine. But then, a patch broke out on my leg, and then on my neck, and there's a small bit along my hairline. Yesterday, my right arm from the elbow down to the wrist (Thank You, God that I was wearing garden gloves when I was pulling those weeds!!!!) is a whole mess o' bumps. My mom had suggested a medicine to get, so now I'm desperately trying to find it. I called the doctor and the triage nurse said they recommend calamine lotion and Aveeno Oatmeal Bath. Really?  I want drugs lady.... NOW!

Redecorating Pics

The guest room is finished, the bathroom has some hardware changes that still need to be completed, but the painting and the new rugs and towels are there. So, here are the widely anticipated pics!

This is taken from the hallway looking into the bathroom

As you can see, one wall is red and the others are white. That gaping hole?  The new mirror and vanity lights will cover that up!

The 16 mile Nightmare

Friday I was to run 16 miles as part of my Chicago Marathon training. I had nightmares leading up to Friday. I was truly dreading this run. One of the main reasons I was dreading it is that I also went caffeine free last week. For those of you who know my normal coffee intake, you will know this is no small feat. Getting through the first day was horribly difficult. I was to run 8 miles that day. I made it 4. My legs felt like lead, my head was pounding fiercely with a withdrawal headache; to put it mildly, I was a mess. I declared myself "sick" and went to bed. The only thing I emerged for was to pick Nate up from work, declare he was in charge of dinner, and after dinner, I literally went straight to bed. No lie, I was in bed at 6:30 pm and I slept the whole night. The next day was much better. The headache was gone but I still felt the "lead" feeling in my legs. Nate wondered if I had mono. So, you can see why I was dreading the 16 mile run. In fact, Friday I ended up cheating. I wanted to reach the 16 mile marker, but I knew I wouldn't make it. Maybe that's part of my problem. I talk myself out of things so easily. I ran 5.5 miles in an hour, which is my standard 11 mph pace. It was tough, but I could've gone longer. However, I decided that I'd bike the rest. And I did. In 40 minutes, I biked over 11 miles. Although I did go a total of 17 miles, I felt like I had gone two steps backward in my training. I'm honestly beginning to freak a bit about the race. I'm a month and two weeks out from it and I feel like I've got such a long way to go. I haven't met my weight loss goals for this training journey. I'm not running like the wind (the fantasy in my head is that I run long graceful strides with my hair flowing long behind me. As you know, I don't even have long hair, so I'm not sure how in the world this fantasy would even remotely become true). But what I need to remember is what I have accomplished. I'm now able to run 5 miles and even 10 miles without breaking into hives. I am stronger now than I ever have been. And, for the marathon, the whole purpose is raising money to take clean water to Africa - not Jenna running long graceful strides with long flowing hair. If I walk some...even a lot....of the race, I'm still there. I'm still participating. I'm still fulfilling my commitment. THAT is what I need to focus on from this point forward. And focusing on that, will help me run that much further and finish the race.

Training/Diet Update

Today I will attempt to run again after resting my shin splint over the weekend. It doesn't hurt anymore, so that's good. However, I've developed some pain in the arches of my feet. Not quite sure what that's about, but as I prepped the guest bedroom for painting yesterday, I crouched down to tape a section of border and when I stood back up horrific pain hit in the arch of my foot. It happened to the other one a bit later and I decided to stretch my legs for awhile.

I'm going to look for a good yoga or stretching dvd to do as I don't think I stretch enough and I really am not well educated in the best stretches to do and the correct technique.

Last night I watched Forks Over Knives and am truly astonished and amazed at it all. It promotes, as does the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead video, a vegan or "plant-based" diet. Nate and I attempted a vegan diet before. For all of one week. That time, he requested that we give it a try and I put forth my best effort for that week and then found out that he had been eating other food on the side and I quit. This time, (yes, I believe we're going to go for it again) it's for me and I'm bringing him along. He says he'll be happy to eat whatever I cook and he's all for eating right. So, there you have it. Operation Vegan 2 begins next week. I had already gone grocery shopping for this week and feel pretty guilty over wasting the steaks I bought, so that's why we're going to eat one more week of a meat based diet and then switch. It'll also give me a week to do some brushing up on the area of veganland. In last night's video they interviewed several athletes and competitive triathloners that are on and maintain a vegan diet, so I feel comfortable about switching it up before the marathon. In keeping track of the food I eat on myfitnesspal.com, I have noticed that I always am over in the area of daily protein. So, I know that I will be able to get the right kind of protein I need from the plant based diet.

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

Nate and I celebrated our 5th anniversary yesterday. I can't believe it's been 5 years. I guess it's true when they say that "time flies when you're having fun!" We were both reflecting over the growth of our relationship and I am so pleased to be able to say that we really have grown closer as the years have passed. I purposely weighed in yesterday morning because I didn't want to  have to worry about what I was eating/the calories I was taking in/etc....which is very good after we ate fried seafood at a New England seafood shack for lunch, had a Bruegger's Bagel sandwich for breakfast, and gelato for dinner. Our initial goal was to go to Mystic, CT and explore the area. When we got there, Mystic was having it's annual art fair. I'm really not sure why this happens, but it seems like no matter where we decide to visit, we end up in the middle of the town art fair. Don't get me wrong, I love art and I find some of the work absolutely exquisite. However, after living in Ann Arbor for 4.5 years and dealing with it having 4 art fairs over a two week span of time, I've learned a few things. #1. I cannot afford anything that is for sale. #2. It isn't nearly as fun to look at art at an art fair when you know there's no way any of it is going home with you. #3. Art fairs normally occur on the hottest, most humid, most chance of precipitation days of the year, so if you are looking for good weather you need to leave the location immediately. We decided to go to the Connecticut Aquarium, which is located in Mystic, and we were surrounded by screaming 3 year olds for the majority of our time. We also learned that the CT aquarium basically has three exhibits that you will pay 5 arms and 6 legs to see: the Beluga Whales (I must say, watching them almost made it worth it), the sea lions, and penguins. That's it. The only one of those three that actually looked like the aquarium put time and effort into creating a nice environment for were the whales. The sea lions and the penguins were in two big swimming pools. It was somewhat disappointing. They did have a traveling exhibit on the Titanic and there were parts that were quite interesting, but I believe I may have mentioned the screaming 3 year olds?? Yeah, their presence was a tad on the distracting side. I can say that being around these children did not cause me to have any motherly pangs at all. I was just thankful to get out of there!  We then went to the Sea Swirl for lunch, which used to be an ice cream stand that they added a sea food shack to as well. Nate got the full belly clams (yeah, I know...it grosses me out too) and I got the shrimp. We are loving the sea food in the Northeast. And we are finding that these road side stands are some of the best places to get it. We decided to drive around some more, since we didn't stay too long in Mystic and we drove to Stonington, which I've decided is my new favorite place in CT. I want to go back there and just walk around. They had cute shops and gorgeous ocean views. They also have a lighthouse museum there. As we continued to drive through, we found out we were only 3 miles away from Rhode Island, so we decided to keep going and drove to  Newport to see The Breakers and the other mansions there. Never again. Well, I say that, but we actually have come up with a plan for when we visit there again. We are going to go early in the morning. We are going to park the car and walk everywhere. We will only drive again once we are ready to leave Newport. The traffic was horrendous! But it was neat how we worked as a team to find a route out of there that helped us avoid as much traffic as possible.

You may be wondering what in the world the title of this post has to do with what I have so far written. If you deduced it has nothing to do with it, you would be right!  However, last night, as we were relaxing, I watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was amazing. Joe Cross went on a juice fast for 60 days. He was 309 pounds when he started (I believe that's right) and he lost gobs and gobs of weight. He drove around the US and inspired others to join him. This one man started at 429 pounds and in 10 months he had lost 202 pounds. The documentary basically showed the bodily changes that took place, but you could see the difference in attitude and energy level. The basic philosophy of the juice fast was that your body needs dense nutrition to function properly and we keep filling our bodies with crap. It talked about the difference between micro-nutrition and macro-nutrition. Basically, he ate a raw diet, but in juice form to help his body absorb the nutrients quicker. It helped him detoxify and "reboot" his body. Nate came out at one point to see what I was watching and he say a familiar glint in my eye that should make anyone wary. I told him it was an excellent reminder of what we should be doing and how we should be eating. He patted me on the arm and went back to his computer. I love this man. He encourages me in whatever I want to do. When I said I wanted to run a marathon, he's supported me every step of the way. He's agreed with me that I can spend all this money to sign up for the marathon, he bought plane tickets, bought my Camelbak marathoner vest, etc. and here I am telling him I seriously am considering throwing out all our food, buying a juicer, and giving him only green juice for 10 days. He doesn't say no. He doesn't scoff and say, um, do you recall that you just finished eating gelato? He pats me on the arm and goes back to his happy place (probably internally hoping that the extremity of this plan will deter me). We will see!  I know that with the training I am doing, it is not wise to go on a juice fast at this time. However, this may be something to consider after the marathon... Stay tuned!

Injury

Just yesterday, as I drove Nate to work, I mentioned how so many of the runners that are part of the World Vision marathon team have been injured. Just yesterday I told Nate how important it was for me to make sure I stretch properly to avoid injury. And, just yesterday, while running, I developed (I'm not sure if this "develops" or not, but it's the only word I could think of to describe what happened) a shin splint in my left leg. It's painful, it's achy, it's swollen, and according to the experts what I need to do is "rest" to avoid further compounded injury.  My question is, how in the world do I "rest" when I'm supposed to run 15 miles tomorrow for my long run?  How long do I rest; until there's no pain at all?  If that's so, I won't be getting out of bed each morning! I honesty think I need to start taking yoga or something in addition to my workouts. My muscles tighten up so badly after a run that I literally shuffle around like I'm elderly. Stretching afterward helps some, but not completely. I think I'm going to look into a yoga dvd or something that will help me stretch fully and correctly that I can do each morning and after a run.

Today I begin the redecorating of the bathroom and guest room. Nate's parents are coming to visit over Labor Day, so there's no time like the present to do some painting and redecorating!  I'm pretty excited about it - and will post pictures of the final results!