crazy week - bad times, good times, and a year older

last week, my 18 miler went down the toilet! wowza, what a bad run. i've been hurting pretty badly in my IT band and periformis, and i have been taking it pretty easy now for weeks. saturday woke up to rain and just wasn't feeling a run for 18 miles in that mess. i slept in, hit the treadmill for a few boring, slow miles, and then finished up with stretching and core work. all part of fulfilling my goals for 2010. then watched the saints...who dat!

decided that i would go for the 18 on sunday. the leg was feeling pretty good, and i would rather get it done on the weekend it was scheduled instead of putting it off. i had a team, vicki and terri. vicki for the first 8 and terri for the last 10. it was cloudy, cool, and a bit too windy on sunday afternoon, but all in all, not bad weather for a long run. felt good in the first 8, and felt good in the next 4-6. the rest, DOWNHILL quickly. and it wasn't the IT band or periformis that canned me. it was some odd sensation of not being able to breathe! i would start feeling shortness of breath, try to deep breathe, feel my chest and back get super tight, then i would get lightheaded, and then nauseated. that cycled repeated consistently, beginning as soon as it ended. the only way to end it was to walk. poor terri, she had to endure my complaints, my apologies, and all the walking. i would have been ok with her leaving me, but i think she was worried i'd pass out! i was a little worried about that too.

finally, we made it back. terri left, and i headed home, feeling 'ok'. once at home, whoa. nausea, lightheadedness, and just plain old feeling bad. i got in the bed and called it a night! this weakness lingered for a day or two, and i have been taking it majorly easy. my good buddy terri ended up with a stomach virus the night of our run! she was way more ill than i was! i don't know what happened that day, but it was something weird!

tuesday was my birthday - 37. i got to have lunch with mom, have cake with work friends, and run with running friends. not a bad day. wednesday, i was courtside at the new orleans hornets game, at least during the 4th quarter. i am lucky to work for an organization that allows me to do really cool stuff more often than not. the hornets game, thanks to our association president, was one of them. we were treated to seats in a suite complete with a spread, and 4 courtside seats that we took turns using. i must say, the view was awesome from the floor. we had a great time, and it was a good addition to my birthday week. my birthday week will end with a long run tomorrow with vicki and ginny, and then i'm headed to jackson to do some shopping and have dinner.

i am continuing my 2010 goals of eating good, except for the birthday cake and basketball game food, but thanksfully, the cake is gone so i can get back on track. my running, however, is suffering. i don't know if i'm a little burned out post vegas marathon, or i'm legitmately having some issues. either way, i'm not quitting, but i'm not able to do anything more than just run. i don't feel physically able to do a lot. i'm still going to new orleans, and it will be a 'fun run', but i will regroup after i've recovered and get a new plan.

i'm excited to report that i'm fulfilling another goal today by going to yoga. classes at the payne center resumed this week with the start of school. i'm excited about this aspect of my goals and adding this back into my training and recovery. especially with the leg ailments that have hindered me lately.

i might be weak, but i will continue to Run For My Life!