Friday, March 27, 2009

Rest for the Weary

6:00am: When I woke up this morning and put my feet on the ground, I felt the sore sting that is normal after a long day of walking. I figured it was because I wore my new shoes with the ortho inserts last night and my feet are just getting used to them. I knew however that I needed to scale back my walk this morning and not do any running for the next couple of days. I even thought about just going to the gym to do cardio, but I know that my little baby girl Jezzabel needs her walk in the morning. I set out to do a shorter loop, but I was playing it by ear as to how short it would be.

After I got my shoes on and started walking, both of me feet felt really good. I was coughing a lot on the beginning of the walk cause I think I'm battling some allergies or a head cold. Last night my head and sinuses were pretty stuffy and I was sneezing a lot. Right before I went to bed I made a little Immunity Defense drink and threw it down the hatch. I woke up a couple of time in the night to blow my nose and adjust my nasal cannulas.I slept well for the most part, as you could tell if you could have seen the big line across my cheek bone from the o2 line. It kind of looked like I got in some crazy knife fight while I was sleeping and that I had obviously lost due to the cut across my face. I woke up feeling better than when I had gone to bed, but I was still a little stuffy. I was coughing up some thicker darker stuff right away, so hopefully it keeps moving up and out.

Back to my walk. I hacked a good portion of the walk and continued to spit a truckload of mucus onto the path behind me so I could find my way home. It cleared up by the end of the walk, but I was coughing so much that I was very close to losing last night's pizza. It was about 1 inch from the back of my throat before I was able to swallow it back down and get rid of the "I'm about to throw up" sensation. My chest was a little tighter than normal, but felt pretty dry by the time I got back home. Hopefully what I'm feeling is just allergies and it goes away once this wind dies down. As for my feet, my left started to hurt a little bit, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. I slowed down the pace and shortened the walk and I think it worked out well. I hope to be back to a normal routine soon.

Total Distance: 1.1 miles Time: 21'28"

2:30pm: Before going to the gym today I swung by the local CFF to catch up with the ladies and see if I could be of any help. Lucky for me, they were waiting for a U-Haul to take stuff to the Great Strides event site. They told me (jokingly, I think), that I showed just in time. I helped them load Gatorade and water for the walk tomorrow. I was more than happy to do so. Not only was I helping out, but I was also getting a great workout in return. I love helping the CFF when I can because they are all so committed to making my life better as well as the life of my CF friends. In my humble opinion, they are overworked and underpaid. The great part is, you would never know that from being around them. They are always working away with a smile on their faces.

I was also able to talk to the father of a young CFer about some of my struggles, but mostly about how much I love living my life. I just stressed to him that you can't consider CF a lung disease or he'll sell his son short. It's a cell disease. The faulty cells allow thick mucus to build up mostly in our lungs. As I've said before, the key is the mucus. I told him that if playing video games made his son cough and spit up the junk, then let him play video games all day long (wouldn't that be nice if that's all it took?). The point is cough, spit, cough, spit, and then cough some more. Do whatever you can to get the infection causing crap out of your lungs!

I had a normal day at the gym today. It was chest and back day. I love working out my chest, but my back, not so much. I think I need to figure out some lifts that are more entertaining or something. I'm so bored when I lift on my back. Other than that, it was a great day! I'm feeling stronger everyday and improving on the weight or reps daily. My body is starting to take a different shape which is very encouraging. Of course Mandi telling me how hot I look is very encouraging to, but doesn't she have to say that? In April, I'm going to be changing my workout routine a bit to just keep my body guessing. I'm thinking about adding two more lifts to each muscle group, but I haven't decided yet. All I know is I am really motivated at the gym right now and I just hope it keeps up! Current Weight: 190 lbs.

Side Note: I don't believe that I'll be getting a walk in tonight because Mandi and I offered to babysit my Cousin Jason's kids so he can wine and dine his wifey. We're going to have our hands full and I have a feeling that they will be my second cardio for the day. The clan consists of Ella, Levi, Noah and Luke. They are all under the age of 6 and Levi and Noah are twins. If you'd like to read their entertaining blog, it can be found at azaddinks.blogspot.com. When you read their blog you will constantly be saying "Kid's say the darnedest things!".Total Distance Walk for Day: 1.1 miles

2 people had something to say...:

Graciy said...

I really like how you told the father that it’s a cell disease because CF effect everyone different. Josh rarely has lung problems it’s his digestive system that gives him heck. I can always tell when he really did his vest though because his mucus smells different. Is that the same for you?

Unknown said...

My mucus starts to taste and smell different when I have an infection and am getting ready to go into the hospital...I've been told before that it kind of smells like milk. Does this ring a bell?