March 28, 2008

Last year I had some serious neck and shoulder pain that caused me to miss a bunch of work and see a ton of medical professionals trying to figure out the cause of the problem. After two months of intense pain, things got better enough to function as a normal person, but even since then I have still been in some level of pain. The cause I determined is sitting in a chair all day at a desk. My pain would subside over the weekend, then gradually increase until Friday evening. It became a predictable cycle.

Being in graduate school for four years was probably the instigator of every health problem I've had since starting school. If I had known that stress would cause so many health issues I would have never pursued another degree. But once I was in the middle of it and having had suffered a lot already, I decided quitting would just add to the pain of knowing that I suffered for nothing.

My mother had systemic lupus after a period of intense stress in her life, and such autoimmune diseases have proven to be inheritable. By testing my limits in grad school, I have discovered that I may be carrying some link between stress and autoimmune symptoms. I definitely toed the line a few times. One of my roommates from college put herself through a period of intense stress in her career, and she developed alopecia. They determined it was a symptom of autoimmune illness (runs in her family also), but could not figure out how to cure it. My OB/GYN said something that I'll always remember (She's my favorite doctor): Once you reach the point of no return, you can't go back to where you were before. My mother had a severe case of lupus and I admire her for the strength she put forth in putting it into remission. She figured out that prescription drugs weren't going to help her, so she started taking a regimen of expensive supplements and changing her diet. But she still lives with the threat of symptoms returning if she puts herself under too much stress.

After being ramped up with stress for four years, I don't know how to think/feel/behave any other way. I am having to slowly retrain myself to react differently. The physical therapist who is helping me currently noticed that my adrenal cortex is in a state of exhaustion. It will take some time to reverse the damage, but I am working on this through a daily habit of taking some time out before bed to relax and meditate.

As I've mentioned many times, I have greatly reduced my intake of sugar in my diet. (Last year I eliminated caffeine.) This has helped to stabilize my moods - I used to have periods of irratibility which are now mostly gone - and reduced the level of pain I feel in my neck and shoulders. I feel really good now and it is showing when I ride strong on my bike.

It seems like everything I'm doing to improve my overall well-being is falling into place.

Posted by megabeth at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)

 
January 29, 2008

I haven't posted any photos of my trip to NYC last October. Here are the photos of Coney Island. It was a bit dead in October as the rides close down at the end of the summer. I felt a bit weird being at the beach on a trip to NYC. It isn't what one thinks of when imagining a trip to the 'big city'. The weather was very nice and the breach breezes felt good.

I didn't get a photo of the following venture to Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano, just a few blocks from the amusement area. It was a brief but unsettling walk because it wasn't the most lovely area and being from Alabama, we did not look like we belonged there.

It was the best pizza I have ever eaten. The menu is sparse. We ordered the standard pepperoni pie. Months later, I rue the fact that there is no brick oven pizza like that in Alabama, or anywhere else outside of the NYC boroughs. I've had Chicago-style pizza in Chicago. It was not nearly as memorable as this one.

Posted by megabeth at 10:56 AM | Comments (3)

 
December 03, 2007

I'm selling some darkroom equipment on craigslist. It's probably not cost-effective to ship it anywhere. Drop me a line if you're interested in taking this stuff out of my living room. My house is too small to keep extraneous things.

Posted by megabeth at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)

 
March 02, 2007

At work we now have this big coffee machine with around 20 different flavors of coffee and tea to choose from in individual sized packets. The packet goes into the machine and in a minute or two, out comes a cup of coffee or tea. Everything I've tried so far is good. Before this perk came around, I brought my own coffee to work and used a french press, since the gratis coffee (some schwag brand) smelled like burnt dirt.

I should not be drinking caffeine due to my stress level. Thus, I've been using the Flavia machine to make green tea instead. I get a big ol' fat F in stress management. Somehow I missed the life lesson that teaches us about the importance of recharging and having downtime. Optimistically I thought that perhaps I could wait until May when school is out to take a breather from a hectic schedule. My body told me otherwise. I've had some muscular soreness and spasms in my neck and shoulder the past couple of weeks because I don't know how to relax, and there were a lot of stressful things happening at work, so the stress manifested itself in my neck muscles. And this is where you might assume that I slowed down and took some much needed rest time. Ha HAAA!! No, Megabeth doesn't stop until she is dead! So I continued on about my busy ways until the pain became intense enough to bring me to a dead halt. People at work started mentioning to me that I look like crap. That is what chronic pain will do to you; make you look exhausted and darken the circles under the eyes. I stayed home from work for a week and caught up on a billion hours of sleep, and let the stress diminish until I could feel somewhat relaxed. Well, I don't know what relaxed really feels like, but I hope to achieve that feeling sometime soon.

This also meant taking some time off the bike. I was sad and wanted to cuddle with my bike since I wasn't riding it. I took five days off. On the sixth day I did a light workout in zones 2 and 3. The following day I did tempo intervals in zone 4. Being well-rested, my heart rate shot up to 170 without much effort. At 180 I still wasn't breathing too hard. The prior few weeks I was laboring to get up past 170 because I was so exhausted. My neck and shoulder are still tweaked, so I'm staying away from bike races until they get better.

I now have a "You have permission to yell at/slap/tie up Megabeth if she is pushing things too hard" support group. Workaholism is an addiction, and I think it's harder for others to detect because there isn't physical evidence (like with alcoholism, empty bottles), and because work is considered a good thing in American society, so much good that we should work our butts off all the time and only take one week of vacation per year.

If you're read this far, if you have any stress management tactics that you practice, post them in the comments section. I am to start doing some relaxing yoga poses and stretches before bedtime every night.

Posted by megabeth at 12:51 PM | Comments (4)

 
June 27, 2006

Currently I have the remnants of three cookies sitting atop my desk. One is a chocolate chip caramel Pepperidge Farm soft-baked cookie. The other is a sugar Pepperidge Farm soft-baked cookie. And the other is a cinnamon Metamucil fiber wafer. Which one tastes best? The Metamucil wafer. The PF cookies taste like they have been soaked in a chemical preservative bath.

Fiber is good for you. It makes you feel full so you don't snack on junk food.

Secondhand smoke, on the other hand, is very bad for you. This article justifies my openly negative response to smokers (I treat them as if they have a communicable disease that is transmitted by mere proximity).

Posted by megabeth at 02:01 PM | Comments (3)

 
April 19, 2006

While heading home from class, I gave the homeless man under the I-65 overpass my Powerbar stash. He expressed his gratitude, and I kept thinking about how, to me, Powerbars taste sort of like poop. I wonder what it would taste like to him? This makes me realize how silly it is to eat an expensive candy bar that doesn't even taste good.

Posted by megabeth at 08:15 PM | Comments (3)

 
April 17, 2006

I didn't have much time to stop and smell the roses this weekend even though I spent my Easter Sunday afternoon planting flowers. On Saturday, I rode briefly (25 miles) and tried to keep it an easy ride. Afterwards I ran three miles. It's getting hot outside, and I will probably need to start running early a.m. to avoid symptoms of heat exhaustion. Runners World says you lose 7% of your speed when the temperature is above 85 degrees. If above 93, the magazine suggests trying a different activity. Unfortunately for Alabamians, there's no way to avoid 90 degree temps unless you actually like holing yourself up in the gym.

My IT bands are screaming sore. J dug his fists into my legs last night and I screamed in agony (though the pleasureful type — the kind that you know ends in healing). I did a number on my leg muscles this past week and need to recover if I'm going to run up and down hills for 15K this Saturday.

J and I spent the afternoon Saturday at the zoo for his nephew's birthday party, and we were a little surprised by the rate of morbid obesity we observed, particularly in children. The scope of my world skews my viewpoint (the majority of people I see outside of work are insane endurance athletes). Then again, I wouldn't call the increasing rate of morbid obesity in children an acceptable event. "Just because everyone else is doing it" doesn't make it ok.

Growing up, I remember there being one significantly overweight child in my class, and she had some sort of genetic/hormonal problem (thyroid?) causing the obesity instead of excess eating and sedentary habits. When I was a kid, I would whine for a snack, and my mother would give me a box of raisins. Miffed, I'd put the box back in the pantry and run off to play outside some more. When she packed my school lunches, I'd find the cursed box of raisins inside. I always threw them away, and I still don't like raisins.

But I thank her, anyway, for not allowing me to engorge myself with junk food. Young people don't have a chance if they aren't given a good start.

Posted by megabeth at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)

 
January 29, 2006

I'm still on antibiotics, still swollen but not in pain. So I decided to run 12 miles yesterday to see if I could do it and to resolve the voice in my head that suggests I can't run a half marathon after having oral surgery. I ran ten miles then walked the last two because my legs started hurting.

Tomorrow at 8 am I go under anasthesia at the oral surgeon's office to have the infection cleared in my tooth. Optimistically I hope to be up and at 'em on Tuesday, but who knows? I haven't been put to sleep since my appendectomy in 1987.

Posted by megabeth at 12:19 PM | Comments (1)

 
January 23, 2006

Apparently, I am a huge klutz. I can ride a bike for thousands of miles and not have an accident that causes serious damage. But then I'll be walking out to my car in a parking lot, then trip on a rock and hurt myself. I'll cut up wood in my backyard with a chainsaw, then later stab myself with a pencil.

I don't know why it has to be like that. It's better than the alternative.

So... here's the story on my latest accident. Went to a party. Stayed a few hours, but didn't drink any alcohol at all. Left the party and started to walk down the stairs. I knew they were slippery and wet, so I grabbed onto the railing. I slipped anyway. Took a beautiful tumble down the rest of the stairs, rolling and rolling, until my head arrested the fall against a concrete railing. The people who saw my fall said they were surprised I was still alive. After I fell, I brushed myself off, got up, walked to my car, and drove home.

Diagnosis? Bruise on left knee, bruise on back of left thigh, and bump on back right side of head. They'll go away in a few days.

I was lucky. However, there are some things you can do when falling that will decrease your chances of serious injury. I credit playing ultimate frisbee (and falling down hundreds of times) with teaching me how to fall correctly. Most importantly, go with the flow. Don't fight it by putting your arms out to stop the fall. That's the quickest way to break a wrist. If you can, protect your head with your arms. Try to land on larger parts of your body, such as your hips, buttocks, and shoulders. And last, try to even out the force hitting the ground by lying prostrate. You stand less chance of injury if your body weight is spread out among your legs and torso as opposed to bringing it all down at one point, such as your wrist or knee.

Next training for me: How to Use Stairs 101.

Posted by megabeth at 09:04 AM | Comments (2)

 
January 20, 2006

A reader sent me some questions, which was nice since I have about ten readers! Haha.

1. What's a good amount of water intake? I've cut out soda from my diet.

   I don't believe in the eight cups of water per day theory. Everyone has a different weight, activity level, medication regimen, etc. I keep a cup of water at my desk and drink it when I feel thirsty. Listen to your body tell you when it's thirsty. You shouldn't feel the need to urinate every ten minutes. When you urinate, take a look at your urine. Is it dark yellow? Then you need to increase fluid intake. Is it light yellow or almost clear? Then you are sufficiently hydrated.

2. Do you know of any equipment suitable for sit-ups? I've already got a decent pair of push-ups bars.

   Again, I'm a minimalist. I don't think you need equipment for ab work other than a mat to lay on. If you do want to purchase something else, get a medicine ball to hold onto while you are doing crunches. The one machine I like is at the gym is the one with armrests where you prop yourself up and lower your legs up and back down again. This works the lower abs. You can simulate this motion while laying down, but the lower ab machine is easier on the lower back.

   An ab workout DVD can show you some good exercises. A good ab workout will get you to work hard on the way up and on the way down (resistance muscles). You can build up good core strength on ten minutes a day.

   I should practice what I preach.

3. Any thoughts about stationary bikes (that's probably blasphemy in your book) or treadmills?

   Yep, I don't like stationery bikes because I like the fit of my own bicycle. But you can get a good workout on one. I don't think the recumbent bikes make people work hard enough. If your back is strong enough, avoid the recumbent bike. The best type of stationery bike to me is a spin bike. You have a lot of control over resistance on a spin bike. Some gyms keep these separate from the cardio equipment, but I have seen some spin bikes mixed in with other stationery bikes. You can also purchase one at a local bike shop. When adjusting the seat, make sure that your knee is very slightly bent when the crank is at its bottommost point.

   The gym where I work out has nice Precor treadmills. I don't know a lot about them. Some of the nicer ones adjust your workout according to your heart rate. The muscles you use to propel yourself forward while running get a better workout off the treadmill. So I usually adjust the incline slightly when using a treadmill. It's great for shock absorption if you have problems running on pavement.

Posted by megabeth at 10:32 AM | Comments (1)

 
December 29, 2005

While on vacation from my desk job this week, I undertook several home improvement tasks. Channeling Tim the Tool Man, I put on my tool belt with needle nose pliers, hammer, screwdrivers and drill bits, and replaced the fluorescent lamp over my kitchen sink. Channeling the Karate Kid, I painted the living room. And channeling, uh, the guy who murders everyone in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I took shears and chainsaw to the brush in my forested backyard and chopped down a bunch of invasive plants such as wisteria and mimosa.

Excellent upper body workout. However, I admire anyone who does manual labor for a job and THEN goes out to train for endurance sports. I am exhausted by the end of the day. I ran five miles yesterday, but otherwise my plans for a vacation week chock full of exercise have not panned out. I am running ten miles on Saturday at the track club's End of Year Run. Looking forward to it!

Posted by megabeth at 05:26 PM | Comments (0)

 
December 27, 2005

Hope you're having a nice holiday season. I'm off work this week so I prefer not to sit by my computer. I have been eating a lot of cookies, but I have maintained my exercise schedule.

I went with a friend to volunteer to feed the homeless on Christmas morning, and it put things in perspective for me. Triathletes are often debating which gel is better, should we buy the carbon fiber frame, etcetera. But what if your main problem was "Will I get to eat today?" Helping those less fortunate is a heartwarming experience and reminds me of the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I sometimes worry about being caught up in the obsession of training and winning. Volunteering reminds me to take a break from helping myself so that I can help others.

Posted by megabeth at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)

 
December 06, 2005

A lot of athletes will not give blood because they fear it will affect their performance. I found a good article in Triathlete Magazine about blood donations. The doctor notes that it can take anywhere from two days to a month to get back to optimal performance after a blood donation. The first time that I gave blood (in July), I did experience some sluggishness on long bike rides (over three hours) in the intense Alabama heat. However, while I suspect that the blood donation may have been the cause, it could have been a number of other factors such as diet, stress or being at a certain point in my menstrual cycle.

Since I haven't planned to race in the next month or so, I gave blood again today. I didn't eat much for breakfast this morning and that didn't cross my mind as I sat down in the chair. After they finished sealing up the baggie, I started feeling dizzy. Next thing I know, they have me reclined in the chair, placed ice packs on my stomach, chest, neck and head, and they are trying to force feed me grape juice. My blood sugar had tanked. I couldn't breathe deeply and I was burning up. After a few minutes, I started to feel better again. I drank juice, ate cookies, and then went back to work.

If that is what 'bonking' at a race feels like, count me out. It is very unpleasant.

Posted by megabeth at 11:46 AM | Comments (2)

 
November 27, 2005

I decided to subscribe to a running magazine for tips since I know little about how to train correctly in the sport of running.

Couldn't decide if Runners World or Running Times would be better.

I checked on eBay for subscription prices. eBay rocks. I just purchased a 2-year sub to Runners World for six bucks. One year subs to Running Times are going for six bucks.

Now, if only I could find the time to read them.

Posted by megabeth at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)

 

We in Birmingham have something in common with Greene County, Indiana. We share nearly the same longitude (86.75 versus 86.56) that they do, so I bookmarked their schedule of sunrises and sunsets for the year 2006.

From probably December until March, I will exercise more in the gym as opposed to outdoors. This is depressing.

Starting next spring, I plan to start squeezing in my run training before work instead of after, since the heat in the summer is killing me when I run. Early mornings are tolerable.

And I already can't wait for April 2, 2006, when we spring ahead again!

Posted by megabeth at 03:08 PM | Comments (0)

 
November 25, 2005

I don't consider myself a real triathlete. I'm more of a weekday/weekend warrior with the desire to set athletic goals and have fun while achieving them. I work as an IT professional in Birmingham, Alabama and attend graduate school part-time, so my free time is somewhat limited. I plan to use this blog as a way to keep track of my training activities and race results, and hopefully along the way I'll inspire people to become more active and improve as athletes.

Posted by megabeth at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)