Pretty much nothing positive is happening in the realm of exercise, fitness, and weight control this week. Well, almost nothing. We've equipped our office with exercise balls so we can switch out our chairs for a few hours at a time to get some mostly passive core work in during the day. I tried it for an hour two different times today. I found that it was easy to slouch and defeat the purpose, so I had to consciously straighten my back and roll back my shoulders to keep good posture while sitting on the ball and typing away on my keyboard. I'll keep trying it off and on to see if I notice a difference. I'm still very wimpy in the core and upper body compared to what I was prior to the surgeries.
On Sept 29, we start a Hit the Road with the Buckeyes event for which I have to track each step I take and log my miles weekly. I'm on a team with four other colleagues and we are competing against hundreds of other teams at OSU. I always get a head-start on this event because I spend the first few days at a conference in Chicago and walk everywhere.
I haven't exercised much this week, unfortunately. Things have been incredibly busy at work, but I'm not complaining because they have been good-busy. We had a breakthrough on a reorganization project my boss, a colleague, and I have been working on for many months. We finally figured out funding for a new position in my area which will allow us to hire some knowledge and skill for which we have been deficient for years. We also realigned some staff to make better use of peoples' skills across the organization. Today we unveiled our plan to some of the staff who are affected and they shared our enthusiasm about the opportunities this new structure will allow. We still have some specifics to work out and have LOTS of work in training and work distribution after the changes are made, but it's all worth it. I really feel like I made a positive impact on OSU today. What a great day.
And to top it all off, Valerie sent me a text today in which she sent a picture of hearts and a recording of herself singing the prose from the card she gave me on my birthday. It was very touching. What a great kid.
We just got back from pizza and beer (the kids had soda pop, of course) at Kingy's. Jason has a friend spending the night - Kemper is a great kid and fun to have around. On the way home from the pizza joint, we turned up the radio to an insane volume and everyone rocked out.
Days like this . . . priceless.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Morning run
I did the walk/run/walk thing this morning before work. With the 3 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio, I did a 5K in 32:35. My miles were 10:41, 10:48, and 10:14. I followed with at 10 minute walk to cool down. My allergies were really acting up this morning. Drainage mostly, but was somewhat annoying during the run.
On Monday, the PT agreed to send back the custom glove and ordered one with a REALLY loose wrist band. I hope this idea works. The wrist part will be a full inch larger than before. Since I didn't have the glove this morning, I ran with the full manual wrap on this morning. It's a two layer process that involves wrapping my hand and each finger separately with a thin cloth strip and then wrapping an ace-type bandage over my hand and up my arm to my elbow. It worked well. My swelling today is between a 2 and 3 out of 10, even right after the run. I didn't wear a glove all day after that. The back of my hand is a little swollen. My fingers are actually very good today.
We've been busy with the kids' volleyball games, homework, and our school year flex work schedules these days. One of us is home when Jason gets off the bus at 3:45. To accomplish that, our work schedules have been adjusted from the summer schedule to the school year schedule. I really value that flexibility!
On Monday, the PT agreed to send back the custom glove and ordered one with a REALLY loose wrist band. I hope this idea works. The wrist part will be a full inch larger than before. Since I didn't have the glove this morning, I ran with the full manual wrap on this morning. It's a two layer process that involves wrapping my hand and each finger separately with a thin cloth strip and then wrapping an ace-type bandage over my hand and up my arm to my elbow. It worked well. My swelling today is between a 2 and 3 out of 10, even right after the run. I didn't wear a glove all day after that. The back of my hand is a little swollen. My fingers are actually very good today.
We've been busy with the kids' volleyball games, homework, and our school year flex work schedules these days. One of us is home when Jason gets off the bus at 3:45. To accomplish that, our work schedules have been adjusted from the summer schedule to the school year schedule. I really value that flexibility!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Swell weekend (pun intended)
After doing two 5 milers this week, I thought I'd better take it a little light this weekend. I don't want to get injured. And my hand is swelling more now. Saturday, I did a quick run before Jason's volleyball game. I put in 2 miles, 10:13 and 10:03. Because I knew I was short on time, and because I planned to run a short distance, I decided to run the whole time. I didn't take the 1 minute walk break after every 3 minutes as I've been doing on longer runs. Interestingly, my miles weren't any faster without the walk breaks. After running the two miles, I walked another .33 home to cool down.
Jason's volleyball game was fun. He is playing with the 5th and 6th graders (he's a young 4th grader). Ken is coaching the team with a friend of ours, Jeff, who has a 5th grade daughter. We decided to have Jason play up so Jeff and Ken could coach together and Jason wouldn't have to play on teams with his 4th grade girl classmates. Besides, he filled in for Val's 5th and 6th grade team last year when we had two injured players. We knew he could hang with the group. And he did.
He had a great first game. His serve is wicked when it is in bounds. He has a bit of trouble with control, but it's a strong overhand serve that kids at that level can rarely handle. At one time up, he served 5 times over in a row and then they make them rotate so the games don't get stalled with just one kid serving the whole game. Another girl on our time had the same success.
Jason's team won all three sets and then he and Ken went to the OSU game while I took Val and a friend to a movie at Easton. Actually, I dropped them off at the front door and they bought their own tickets, refreshments, and went to the movie (Flipped).
While they were at the movie, I went to Starbucks and had iced black tea and read my book. I also went to Victoria Secret to look at bras. I finally had enough courage to let someone measure me and she pegged me for a solid 36B. That's what I was before the cancer and surgeries, so that's good. The 36B bras at Kohls didn't really work. However, the wireless ones at Victoria Secret were fine. I bought two. They aren't the fancy ones you think of when you hear "Victoria Secret," though. These are the bras at the back of the store by the dressing rooms. The ones in drawers and without much marketing or style fanfare. No wires or push-up padding. I can't use those things anymore. I don't squish that way. Although 90% of the bras in the store were off-limits to me, I left feeling much more positive about my plight than I have in a long time. I'm a 36B and I have two bras that pretty much fit.
I'm not feeling great about my hand, though. It is swelling this weekend. After my run on Saturday, I wore the cotton glove with the bean bag on the back to press down my swelling. It kind of works. The swelling overall goes down, but some places stay puffy so it looks strange when the glove comes off. Tonight I'm trying my compression glove again - with the folded up pieces of cardboard that serve to loosen the wrist band. We'll see if that helps or not. I've got another PT appointment at 9am tomorrow morning. I hope they will listen to me this time and request the wrist band be made significantly looser, like maybe a 1/2 inch or more. Last time they disagreed with my assessment and were reluctant to change it. They only requested it to be 1/8 larger and ordered a wider wrist band thinking that might make it more comfortable. Nope. Didn't work. Let's try it again. I hope the third time is a charm and not a strike.
Jason's volleyball game was fun. He is playing with the 5th and 6th graders (he's a young 4th grader). Ken is coaching the team with a friend of ours, Jeff, who has a 5th grade daughter. We decided to have Jason play up so Jeff and Ken could coach together and Jason wouldn't have to play on teams with his 4th grade girl classmates. Besides, he filled in for Val's 5th and 6th grade team last year when we had two injured players. We knew he could hang with the group. And he did.
He had a great first game. His serve is wicked when it is in bounds. He has a bit of trouble with control, but it's a strong overhand serve that kids at that level can rarely handle. At one time up, he served 5 times over in a row and then they make them rotate so the games don't get stalled with just one kid serving the whole game. Another girl on our time had the same success.
Jason's team won all three sets and then he and Ken went to the OSU game while I took Val and a friend to a movie at Easton. Actually, I dropped them off at the front door and they bought their own tickets, refreshments, and went to the movie (Flipped).
While they were at the movie, I went to Starbucks and had iced black tea and read my book. I also went to Victoria Secret to look at bras. I finally had enough courage to let someone measure me and she pegged me for a solid 36B. That's what I was before the cancer and surgeries, so that's good. The 36B bras at Kohls didn't really work. However, the wireless ones at Victoria Secret were fine. I bought two. They aren't the fancy ones you think of when you hear "Victoria Secret," though. These are the bras at the back of the store by the dressing rooms. The ones in drawers and without much marketing or style fanfare. No wires or push-up padding. I can't use those things anymore. I don't squish that way. Although 90% of the bras in the store were off-limits to me, I left feeling much more positive about my plight than I have in a long time. I'm a 36B and I have two bras that pretty much fit.
I'm not feeling great about my hand, though. It is swelling this weekend. After my run on Saturday, I wore the cotton glove with the bean bag on the back to press down my swelling. It kind of works. The swelling overall goes down, but some places stay puffy so it looks strange when the glove comes off. Tonight I'm trying my compression glove again - with the folded up pieces of cardboard that serve to loosen the wrist band. We'll see if that helps or not. I've got another PT appointment at 9am tomorrow morning. I hope they will listen to me this time and request the wrist band be made significantly looser, like maybe a 1/2 inch or more. Last time they disagreed with my assessment and were reluctant to change it. They only requested it to be 1/8 larger and ordered a wider wrist band thinking that might make it more comfortable. Nope. Didn't work. Let's try it again. I hope the third time is a charm and not a strike.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Work stress, but great run
It's been a tough few weeks at work. We are behind on planning for the fiscal and performance year which began July 1 and my group has some pretty serious staffing issues. We just hired some student employees, which will help, but we still have technical and managerial roles that need both funded and filled. I rarely lose sleep over anything, but I've been tossing and turning over these issues. Once we get the funding figured out (not my decision), I'll make decisions on the reorganization of the group, write position descriptions, and figure out when and how to fill open positions. My team is really counting on a plan to move us out of this time of uncertainty and to focus their efforts. I hope we can get some answers from leadership so we can move on this soon. It's affecting everyone's morale and productivity, including mine.
To try to help manage stress and deal with my sleeping issues, I got out to walk last night (2 miles in 31 minutes) and I ran 5 miles today in 53:28. My 5K was 32:20. My miles were 10:42, 10:45, 10:05, 10:35, and 11:21. Check out all those 10's! And I got those times while using the run-walk-run method. I alternated running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute through most of the run. The last mile, I walked more often. Afterward, I walked another 7 minutes or so to log a full hour on the pavement and to cool down a bit. It really was a great run.
For the run, I wore my custom lymphedema glove with my MacGyver customization (I cuff the too-tight wrist band and put two pieces of rolled up paper/cardboard in the cuff). It worked pretty well today because my hand didn't swell much. My index and middle fingers and the back of my hand were a little swollen when I took off the glove, but not bad for being out for an hour. After the run, I'd rate my swelling at 3 out of 10. About 10 hours later, my rating is 2 out of 10.
I'm pretty tired tonight, so I'll head to bed as soon as the kids do - maybe 9:30 or so. For a short week, this certainly has been a long one.
To try to help manage stress and deal with my sleeping issues, I got out to walk last night (2 miles in 31 minutes) and I ran 5 miles today in 53:28. My 5K was 32:20. My miles were 10:42, 10:45, 10:05, 10:35, and 11:21. Check out all those 10's! And I got those times while using the run-walk-run method. I alternated running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute through most of the run. The last mile, I walked more often. Afterward, I walked another 7 minutes or so to log a full hour on the pavement and to cool down a bit. It really was a great run.
For the run, I wore my custom lymphedema glove with my MacGyver customization (I cuff the too-tight wrist band and put two pieces of rolled up paper/cardboard in the cuff). It worked pretty well today because my hand didn't swell much. My index and middle fingers and the back of my hand were a little swollen when I took off the glove, but not bad for being out for an hour. After the run, I'd rate my swelling at 3 out of 10. About 10 hours later, my rating is 2 out of 10.
I'm pretty tired tonight, so I'll head to bed as soon as the kids do - maybe 9:30 or so. For a short week, this certainly has been a long one.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Happy Labor Day
What an incredibly beautiful day. It is sunny with temperatures in the 70s.
I went out for a run at 10am and got in 5 miles in 54:45. My miles were 11:15, 10:45, 10:24, 11:04, and 11:19. My 5K was 33:20. My max speed each mile ranged from 6.9 to 8.7 miles per hour but my average speed each mile ranged from 5.3 to 5.8 mph.
Lately, I've been training with the run/walk/run method published by Jeff Galloway. Today my run/walk ratio was 3:1, but did a 4:1 ratio once or twice. That means I ran 3 or 4 minutes and then walked 1 minute and repeated the pattern throughout the 5 miles. I could have skipped a walk break and kicked up my speed to get a faster 5K time, but at about 2.5 miles I decided to push myself to 5 miles and I didn't want to expel my energy too early.
Today, I ran donning my custom lymphedema glove, but I made an additional customization. I cuffed the too-tight wrist band and then put two pieces of rolled up paper/card board in the cuff. Thus, I made a less-tight section at the top of my wrist. The result was fabulous. After the run, I had only a little swelling in the top part of my index finger. My hand was smaller than it has been in days. I'd rate my swelling as a 1 out of 10 right now, about 2 hours after my run. I took off the glove after about 10 minutes of slow walking and stretching as cool down. The glove will probably stay off all day unless we decide to spend extended time outside riding bikes or cleaning out the garage.
If I hadn't loosened the wrist band, I know my hand would have been very swollen after the run. Although the temperature was nice outside, I got pretty warm running in the sun. We live in a suburb that's fairly new and has only immature trees, so most of my running is in full sun. For about 2 miles, I did laps in an older subdivision with little more shade relief.
When I was training for the half marathon, I drove 20-30 minutes to Bexley for my long runs on Sundays. They have great shade there, wonderful houses to dream about, a park with nice bathrooms and a water fountain, and some of the official half marathon route is on my favorite Bexley street, Parkview Avenue. I also have friends who live in Bexley who would replenish my water and let me park in front of their house. I highly recommend having a long run location that feels like an oasis or treat, even if you have to drive some distance to get there.
Speaking of treats, Valerie made brunch for the family after I returned from my run. And it was her own idea, too! We had scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. I also put together a bowl of steamed spinach and black beans which Ken and I added to our scrambled eggs along with salsa.
Val has homework to do today, but she's decided to sit outside and do it. I think that's a great idea. Part of her assignment is writing and reflecting on her first day of Jr. High, and I can't think of a better way to do that than to sit outside on a beautiful, almost autumn day. Jason rode his bike over to his buddy's house and they are playing outside in the court area, I'm sure. We'll see they boys later when they decide to have some inside time.
Update: After dinner, we took a family bike ride following the same route I ran this morning. It was much easier and quicker to ride the 5 miles than run it. My hand swelled after this activity despite my altered glove. Perhaps the rolled paper was too smooshed to do it's job this time.
I went out for a run at 10am and got in 5 miles in 54:45. My miles were 11:15, 10:45, 10:24, 11:04, and 11:19. My 5K was 33:20. My max speed each mile ranged from 6.9 to 8.7 miles per hour but my average speed each mile ranged from 5.3 to 5.8 mph.
Lately, I've been training with the run/walk/run method published by Jeff Galloway. Today my run/walk ratio was 3:1, but did a 4:1 ratio once or twice. That means I ran 3 or 4 minutes and then walked 1 minute and repeated the pattern throughout the 5 miles. I could have skipped a walk break and kicked up my speed to get a faster 5K time, but at about 2.5 miles I decided to push myself to 5 miles and I didn't want to expel my energy too early.
Today, I ran donning my custom lymphedema glove, but I made an additional customization. I cuffed the too-tight wrist band and then put two pieces of rolled up paper/card board in the cuff. Thus, I made a less-tight section at the top of my wrist. The result was fabulous. After the run, I had only a little swelling in the top part of my index finger. My hand was smaller than it has been in days. I'd rate my swelling as a 1 out of 10 right now, about 2 hours after my run. I took off the glove after about 10 minutes of slow walking and stretching as cool down. The glove will probably stay off all day unless we decide to spend extended time outside riding bikes or cleaning out the garage.
If I hadn't loosened the wrist band, I know my hand would have been very swollen after the run. Although the temperature was nice outside, I got pretty warm running in the sun. We live in a suburb that's fairly new and has only immature trees, so most of my running is in full sun. For about 2 miles, I did laps in an older subdivision with little more shade relief.
When I was training for the half marathon, I drove 20-30 minutes to Bexley for my long runs on Sundays. They have great shade there, wonderful houses to dream about, a park with nice bathrooms and a water fountain, and some of the official half marathon route is on my favorite Bexley street, Parkview Avenue. I also have friends who live in Bexley who would replenish my water and let me park in front of their house. I highly recommend having a long run location that feels like an oasis or treat, even if you have to drive some distance to get there.
Speaking of treats, Valerie made brunch for the family after I returned from my run. And it was her own idea, too! We had scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. I also put together a bowl of steamed spinach and black beans which Ken and I added to our scrambled eggs along with salsa.
Val has homework to do today, but she's decided to sit outside and do it. I think that's a great idea. Part of her assignment is writing and reflecting on her first day of Jr. High, and I can't think of a better way to do that than to sit outside on a beautiful, almost autumn day. Jason rode his bike over to his buddy's house and they are playing outside in the court area, I'm sure. We'll see they boys later when they decide to have some inside time.
Update: After dinner, we took a family bike ride following the same route I ran this morning. It was much easier and quicker to ride the 5 miles than run it. My hand swelled after this activity despite my altered glove. Perhaps the rolled paper was too smooshed to do it's job this time.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Beautiful weekend
Last evening, I must have done something to my back and ended up having spasms. The troubled places were higher than I've ever experienced, just under the shoulder blades. Anyway, I had planned to run this morning before heading over to Dayton to visit Michelle and her family. When I woke up, I knew the plan was tenuous at best, but I decided a walk on a beautiful 60 degree, sunny day was worth the attempt.
I suprised myself though, I started with a 1 minute walk and then ran 3 minutes. I continued walking 1 minute and running 3 or 4 minutes for the duration of a 5K, which I finished in 33:30. My miles were 11:05, 10:40, and 10:18. I walked the cool down for a total of 3.46 miles.
I wore my new lymphedema glove, which I was amazed to find in the mail yesterday. It's okay. Still too tight around the wrist, but the wrist part is longer this time, so I am folding it up to a cuff and that makes it a little better. I suppose I should go in and show it to the PT folks again.
My index finger swelled a little when I ran, but not bad. I'd give it a 3 out of 10 today. My hand is pretty good, but my index finger is swollen above and below the middle knuckle. I'm going to wear the glove off and on today to see how it goes.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Renaissance Festival with Michelle's crew. I'll probably have to wear the glove the whole time we're there because of the sun and heat. Although, it's not too hot and humid now, so it might not be as Lymphedema-unfriendly as I expect.
I hope you're having a wonderful labor day weekend.
I suprised myself though, I started with a 1 minute walk and then ran 3 minutes. I continued walking 1 minute and running 3 or 4 minutes for the duration of a 5K, which I finished in 33:30. My miles were 11:05, 10:40, and 10:18. I walked the cool down for a total of 3.46 miles.
I wore my new lymphedema glove, which I was amazed to find in the mail yesterday. It's okay. Still too tight around the wrist, but the wrist part is longer this time, so I am folding it up to a cuff and that makes it a little better. I suppose I should go in and show it to the PT folks again.
My index finger swelled a little when I ran, but not bad. I'd give it a 3 out of 10 today. My hand is pretty good, but my index finger is swollen above and below the middle knuckle. I'm going to wear the glove off and on today to see how it goes.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Renaissance Festival with Michelle's crew. I'll probably have to wear the glove the whole time we're there because of the sun and heat. Although, it's not too hot and humid now, so it might not be as Lymphedema-unfriendly as I expect.
I hope you're having a wonderful labor day weekend.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Fast 5K
As usual, things have been very busy. Monday, Val had her first volleyball game (she won in 2). Tuesday, Jason had a parent/teacher meeting. Tonight Val had another volleyball game (again, won in 2).
Tonight, I didn't stay for the 8th grade game, so I got home in time to run. I ran a 5K and then walked another .3 miles or so. My miles were 11:05, 10:40, and 10:18. The 5K was 32:55. I'm amazed at my pace because I did a run-walk-run ratio of 3 minutes running to one minute walking throughout until I got to the last walk break. I skipped the last walk break since it was scheduled to begin at 30 minutes and I was already so close to the 5K mark. I don't know when the last time I ran a sub 33:00 5K was. I would guess it's been a long time. Maybe pre-surgery? I'll have to check back through my postings to see if that's true. My fastest 5K was under 30:00, but I trained really hard to meet that goal. I think that was in May 2008, the same year as my one and only half marathon.
Despite it being over 90 degrees this evening, my run was great. The humidity is low and the sun was behind the trees and houses often enough to keep me out of direct sunlight. I was in such a hurry to get changed and out the door before everyone got home that I forgot to wrap my hand. I realized it about half-way, but didn't turn back. I'm surprised my hand didn't swell much and actually it is pretty much the same as it was all day. That's really amazing. I think it really made a difference that I didn't get overheated.
I'd rate the lymphedema at 3 out of 10 all day today, including before and after the run.
Tuesday morning I worked out with a yoga CD and did some weights to strengthen my arms and chest. The only weights I have here are 8 lbs each, but they are better than nothing. It's amazing to think of what I used to work out with and now to realize that 8 lbs is plenty to start building my muscle back. I've lost a lot of ground with my arms, core, back, and neck.
Tonight, I didn't stay for the 8th grade game, so I got home in time to run. I ran a 5K and then walked another .3 miles or so. My miles were 11:05, 10:40, and 10:18. The 5K was 32:55. I'm amazed at my pace because I did a run-walk-run ratio of 3 minutes running to one minute walking throughout until I got to the last walk break. I skipped the last walk break since it was scheduled to begin at 30 minutes and I was already so close to the 5K mark. I don't know when the last time I ran a sub 33:00 5K was. I would guess it's been a long time. Maybe pre-surgery? I'll have to check back through my postings to see if that's true. My fastest 5K was under 30:00, but I trained really hard to meet that goal. I think that was in May 2008, the same year as my one and only half marathon.
Despite it being over 90 degrees this evening, my run was great. The humidity is low and the sun was behind the trees and houses often enough to keep me out of direct sunlight. I was in such a hurry to get changed and out the door before everyone got home that I forgot to wrap my hand. I realized it about half-way, but didn't turn back. I'm surprised my hand didn't swell much and actually it is pretty much the same as it was all day. That's really amazing. I think it really made a difference that I didn't get overheated.
I'd rate the lymphedema at 3 out of 10 all day today, including before and after the run.
Tuesday morning I worked out with a yoga CD and did some weights to strengthen my arms and chest. The only weights I have here are 8 lbs each, but they are better than nothing. It's amazing to think of what I used to work out with and now to realize that 8 lbs is plenty to start building my muscle back. I've lost a lot of ground with my arms, core, back, and neck.
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