Goodbye November

I never thought I would be wishing my birthday month away, but this year I am glad to see it go. After being sick for past 2 weeks and the birthday debacle that was, I am relieved for December to be here (but will be even happier when the holidays are over).


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To wrap up training for month of November, I have to fess up that it wasn't the month it was suppose to be. Sad to say that the Berbee Derby did not happen on Thanksgiving. I woke up at about 4am that morning with such a sore throat I could barely swallow, not to mention the congestion that made it hard to breath. I sent a very early morning and teary eyed text msg to my running buddy to say I didn't think I had it in me. I got a message back at 6:45am, a slightly more acceptable hour of day to be communicating withothers, asking me if I was going to be able to muster through it. Again, in my sick delirium, this started the waterworks and I texted back my sad no, I don't think I am capable of even getting out of bed. Sad. (My running buddy did win some points back by delivering juice and movies to help my my miserable sick time more bearable.)

But after almost 4 full days in bed (from when I got home from work Wednesday night until Sunday afternoon) I was itching to get out and blow the stink off me Sunday. I decided why not sweat the cold out with a run?

Keep in mind I hadn't run in over 2wks now and there hadn't been any physical activity for almost a week, but who's counting? I geared up in my best taking on the cold and snow gear and headed out. I had fully resigned myself to a short slow run, and I thought that it was going to be awful. But in fact it was quite the opposite.

Sure it was slow, and only a handful of miles long, but it was wonderful. As I started to run I noticed the size of the snowflakes and how pretty the new light layer of snow was. It was gorgeous out! The snowflakes were some of the biggest I had ever seen and everything was so pretty.

Knowing that I wasn't feeling nearly 100% this run was to take in the snowfall and remember that I do in fact really like running. I think that sometimes you need runs like that to clear your mind and regroup. I thought about how I'm looking forward to winter cross training, skiing and snowshoeing, my goals for the upcoming year and my motivations. But mainly I just thought about how I felt lucky to be able to get out a run on beautiful day like it was.

Birthday Week BLEW a big one.

Thanks to a little help from varying sources this was one of the ickiest birthday weeks, and especially birthday's, I can imagine. We're talking right up there with my 9th birthday when I had my tonsils out.

So as mentioned in a previous blog, I was rockin' a pretty heinous kidney infection and feeling pretty blech all week. Everything hurt, I had no energy, the antibiotics made me bloat like I was hatching sea monkey's in my stomach, I had to pee every 3 1/2 mins (but didn't want to!), and I was cranky. To add insult to injury, in this pleasant state, I was nominated to come in and work, and by work I mean ride a bike like a madman, for 4hrs on that Saturday aka my birthday. I was pissed.

Turns out riding the crap out of my bike on a trainer is enough to make you want to die while recovering from a kidney infection. I felt awful. I managed to muscle through my 4hr stint and promptly went home to pass out for the next 4 1/2hrs.

So the evening was to begin around 6:30ish when my date was suppose to pick me up. Considering I crawled out of bed at 5:30 I didn't have a lot of time to spare or make miracles happen. So when the phone rings at 6 and I see it's my date (and I'm still in my towel) I was a little nervous about the state of my readiness. But don't worry, it gets better. Well my date, and former running buddy, decided to wait until 6pm (30mins before the scheduled pick up time for those of you doing th math) to BAIL ON ME. That's right, turns out there's another party that he wanted to go to (which is a whole other story not going to make it onto my blog so I don't seem overly pissed off or bitter). 30 friggin minutes before he was suppose to pick me up. Insert tears here.

Awesome.

We'll fast forward and omit my nasty thoughts and comments. At that point I thought he'd still make a cameo as it was my birthday (and he knew how important my birthday was to me). Nope, sure didn't. Jackass.

Dinner was good. All the usual suspects (less my jackass of a date) were there, Bryn, Ryan, Jon and Joan. I had some friends stop out I don't get to see very often, Kristen and Jenn (sorry Geoff, I see you every day at work). One of my most favorite guys in the whole world, Max drove up to see me for the weekend and brought he equally entertaining friend Ross. We played some pool, drank some beers, ate some food. The basics. But after that I was ready to throw in the towel. I was tired, not feeling good and still reeling from being stood up.

We'll end the birthday debacle there.

There's oh so much more to the story, but what's the use. I was sure to thank my lame ass undependable (former running buddy) date for helping me get over my ridiculous obsession with birthdays. Oh, and I gave the gift back. That's just me.


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Maybe it's what I get but I have now seemingly come down with the bird flu. That's right people, I feel nasty.

Monday I came into work and had the pleasure of not 4 hrs of ass busting trainer riding, but close to 7. What a work out. It was like the never ending interval training from hell.

No real surprise, what with an immune system run down from the k-infection of last week and the stress and drama of the weekend, I am sick. My glands are much more like growths and my nose is running like a busted faucet. I. AM. HOT.

In light of week 2 of feeling shit-tay I am opting out of the Berbee Derby tomorrow. Maybe. I may still run it because, well these are the poor decisions I tend to make. I haven't run in oh, say, almost 2wks, but no big deal. There's a 10k and a lil 5k. At the very least I can bust out a 5k. We'll see.

This gal has got to get back on the training wagon.....and soon.....

This just about sums it up......

A man was out jogging in the forest one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will tell everyone how smart and brave you are and how you are my hero." The man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I'll stay with you for a year and do ANYTHING you want." Again the man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and put it back into his pocket. Finally the frog asked, "What's the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess that I'll stay with you for a year and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?" The man replied, "Look, I'm a Triathlete. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog is cool."

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What can I say, turn princess into prince and girlfriend into boyfriend, and that's kind of me in a nutshell these days. Which is why I prefer my potential suitors not around all the time, waaaay easier to manage from a distance. And I'm ok with that. I mean some day my prince/biker and/or triathlete will come....

Birthday Week Training....Maybe Not

So I haven't been feeling so hot the past few days, but was in complete Birthday Week denial of any potential ailments. It was just not part of the plans.

Until this morning, and my trip to the local Urgent Care.

So I didn't sleep at all last night, again. The night before I chalked it up to too much caffeine and excitement, and yes, I glossed right over the not feeling quite right. Well as I got up to pee last night for the ump-teenth time and was not enjoying any part of it, I realized it might be time to face reality.

That nagging back and stomach pain, the do I don't debate over whether or not I really have to go to the bathroom (again), peeing every 7-9 mins, and most enjoyably, thinking I might die every time I do. That's right kids, I was pretty sure the joys of an UTI had set in. WOO WOO!

Now I do not enjoy the doctor. The only person I fear more than the doctor is the dentist. Either way, doctor or dentist, I avoid them like the plague. I realized that not only was I going to have to go to the doctor, but as my oh so understanding boss is not keen on allowing unscheduled appointments to pop up, I was going to have to venture to my local ER or Urgent Care, and as it was clearly not an emergency, I chose the later.

Sign in. Sit. Wait. You know the routine. Nurse calls my name, hands me the much coveted plastic cup, explains to me how to properly urinate in it, and lets me know I can resume my sit and wait routine after. Yes ma'am.

A while later I have the joy of seeing, admittedly a quite nice one, the doctor. I'll raise you one UTI and give you a Kidney infection she says. What a gal! This is of course after after some poking and prodding, and beating me repeatedly in the kidney region. So she probably wasn't beating me, but it sure felt like it.

Oh no, this is not the end of this story.

After giving me her perfectly feasible and acceptable diagnosis, she provides to ask me thoughts on chlamydia, and by this I mean she's asking whether or not I should be concerned over it. When I was able to start forming actual words with my mouth again I asked her if there was some reason I should be. I was told no, but since many of the symptoms, apparently, are quite similar she thought she should ask. Now let me take a moment to tell you that I am no connoisseur of chlamydia, or any sexually transmitted party favor for that matter, so how the hell would I know. You're the doctor lady. I can quite confidently say that there would be no reason for this to have crossed mind, but of course just he mention of it was enough to send me down a hypochondriac's dream road. So after a few minutes of terrified paranoid conversation the doctor reassured me, as she initial had diagnosed, that it was nothing more than a kidney infection.

And this is why I do not like, I repeat DO NOT, like doctors.

Needless to say training, among many other things, is off the schedule for the next handful of days. I refuse to let this destroy my Birthday Week, but things are looking bleak and feeling even worse.