Turned the Corner

It seems I have turned the corner with what has now been diagnosed as mono. I am so glad to finally be feeling a little bit better. I stayed awake all day yesterday AND rode the trainer for 30 minutes! This was a huge accomplishment at this point.

I went back to the doctor today to discuss test results and without going into ridiculously boring and unnecessary detail, I am finishing up the acute phase of Infectious mononucleosis. I was seriously bummed when the doctor told me it was definitely mono. I have heard so many horror stories about how it is the worst thing ever and that I should just go ahead and not even plan on Collegiate Nationals this year. There is no way I would be ready. So naturally, I burst into tears as soon as the doctor left the room...

When he came back, we discussed what mono would mean for my training (and going back to school, I guess that is pretty important, too). My doctor explained to me what mono exactly entailed. Mono does have the reputation of hanging around for what seems to be forever, however, it depends on the person. The fever usually goes away after about 10 days, though the swollen glands and lymphnodes may take up to 4 weeks to heal (ugh).

Mono is also thought to bring along fatigue that can last up to a few months. This is the part that concerned me the most, Courtney's irrational thought process: I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE TIRED. I am a collegiate triathlete with a job and sorority. I don't have time during the day without taking naps, now that I have mono I will HAVE to take naps. The doctor put me at ease when he told me that this "fatigue" is often attributed to a depression that occurs with mono and this "fatigue" is mental! He explained that people are very exhausted with mono during the acute phase (generally first 2 weeks) but then it will go away as you heal.

The other part that had me worried about mono is the enlarged spleen/liver issue. I have been told that contact sports are pretty much out of the question when it comes to mono. My doctor initially cleared me to run and swim as my body let me and that I could pretty much return to normal training. However, they cautioned me about riding outside with the risk of damaging my spleen or liver in the event of a bike crash. Initially I was okay with this because most of my interval/strength training this winter is done on the trainer, but then I got to thinking, 3 days of riding the trainer for 60-90 minutes at a time just seems dreadful. It is especially dreadful since I live in an area where the weather is fairly mild in the winter. Of course there are a few days when riding outside is out of the question, but when its beautiful and sunny and like 55 degrees, being on the trainer is sad. All that being said, it looks like I am in good shape! There was no swelling that he could palpate. Also good news, my liver and spleen are apparently in an awesome position that if they were to swell, it wouldn't cause too much of a problem because I have extra room in my rib cage? So even if they did swell, they would still be protected.  You know, I was cursing my huge rib cage the other day because I couldn't fit into a dress I really wanted (don't even want to go there right now) but now I guess it isn't so bad! The doctor cleared me to ride outside, but just be careful. The only way I would really be in trouble is if I ended up jabbing the handle bars exactly up into my rib cage and spleen, but if the crash were that bad, it would be the least of my concerns.

So, as I sit here concluding this post and getting ready to watch Greys (yay). I just have to remember to be so thankful and gracious for everyday. Mono is such a benign issue when it comes to health. Rarely do people die from mono and I know I will be perfectly back to normal in, at the most, 6 months. I really can't complain. There are so many people who have it so much worse than me. I am lucky I am in good physical condition that my body can fight off infections like this. The worst case scenario from this, I just take extra good care of myself for the next few months: getting enough sleep, drinking water, eating right, and studying. I know that once I get it in my head that I will make it through this, I will! Don't worry, I will be at the start for Collegiate Nationals in a few months in the best shape of my life.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."
Ecclesiastes 9:10


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001617/

Triathlete Turned Couch Potato

We're on Day 9-10ish of the sickness from hell. No I did not go on the bike ride Wednesday morning like I had hoped. I ended up going to Minute Clinic at CVS because no one was home to drive me 20 minutes to the doctor. I felt that bad. I was diagnosed with an ear infection and put on antibiotics. I was in bed all day on Thanksgiving aside from a few bites of turkey and potatoes. 

Unfortunately, the antibiotics didn't do much and my throat (and now face) were still extremely swollen on Friday. My doctor prescribed me some steroids for the swelling which really seemed to help. Regardless, I am still really tired and have almost no appetite and have a pounding headache all the time.

 

I have never ever been one to sit around ALL DAY. Occasionally, I take a real recovery day after a hard, hard effort or race. However, I don't remember the last time I sat or laid down for 9 days straight! I am so miserable and SO bored. I try to do school work so I don't fall too far behind, but every time I try to do something productive, I fall asleep or can't seem to formulate any ideas that sound relatively educated much like this post. 

For now, it is just resting at home and taking my medicine. I got some bloodwork done today, so hopefully we will have an answer soon! None of the doctor's I have seen are jumping to the mono conclusion. Anyway, I'm hoping for the best and trying to remain positive. I am just starting to get really bummed :(

So much for break

So, you know how  I said I was really excited to be home for break? Well, I lied. This week has so far been just shy of miserable. I guess I am glad I'm not at school because I am not sick enough to skip class, but I am totally miserable and just want to get better! My mom thinks I am just totally exhausted and my body is shutting down since I don't actually have to do anything RIGHT NOW, like I am at school.

There have been a few family issues things that I would prefer not to share with the world.

However, I will say that I am feeling pretty crappy. First of all, I feel so sick. I have been on the couch since Sunday morning. Coffee does not sound delicious at all, the thought of eating vegetables makes me cringe, and my bike or going for a run does not appeal to me at all. What's wrong with me? The aches have started to subside luckily. I had grand plans to do my simulated hill climbs on the trainer today, but as of now, there's no way thats going to happen. Hopefully tomorrow will be different, I plan on riding with my neighbor in the morning.

And about that hip, it definitely isn't a bone issue! Such a relief. I got my saline shot to hopefully begin my hip's healing. My hip was really bad yesterday after the shot, I couldn't move my leg. I actually had to pick up my leg to move it. It is really bad when I stand up after sitting for awhile, so we think this is just some sort of tendinitis/muscle strain. It is actually feeling better today, there may even be a chance for me to run on Thursday. I was really looking forward to running a 5k with a bunch of my teammates from high school tomorrow, but I think I will just be spectating. I really don't want to tweak my hip anymore. Somehow, I've actually begun to realize that I would rather take a week or two off from running than not be able to run at all for 6 weeks.

But the good news is... I HAVE A NEW BABY COUSIN! Ahh I am so excited to meet Audrey Marie. The pictures are beautiful.

"He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."- Psalm 107:20

Thanksgiving Break

Oh my gosh, it is so nice to be home for a week. I am beyond exhausted from this semester. As I have mentioned before, it has been nothing but busy, busy, busy. Thanksgiving Break is always a great time because at JMU, we receive a FULL week off from classes... not like most other schools where they only get Wednesday-Friday off. In addition, after I come back to school, I only have 2 weeks of classes + finals until the end of the semester! Praise the Lord!

I am also very excited because my best friend comes home from study abroad the first weekend of December! AHHH!!!  I have missed her SO much this semester. We met our freshman year and have been best friends ever since. We have never been in a fight even though we lived together last year!  She also is such a positive influence on me in developing my relationship with Christ. She has been there for me through everything. I will never forget how supportive she was when I had my stress fracture! And listening to me complain and be sad during that time.

Matching on accident! 

Lauren tags me in picture on Facebook when she sees "Trek" signs
while in Europe. I think she misses Tyrone more than me! 

I am also very excited to ride my bike while home this weekend. I actually just got my road bike all fixed up and fit so it will definitely be interesting to ride Jamie as opposed to Tyrone this winter. As far as winter training is going, I am having a good time but am very sore. I actually have a little niggle in my hip for lack of a better term. I am not too concerned yet, but I am being very cautious. I am actually icing the heck out of it right now. I am going to go to the doctor tomorrow to make sure it is nothing serious. I'd rather take time off right now than be taking time off in March! Advil (Aleve) + Ice= Triathlete's best friend! I did tell Connie that it was bothering me to which she replied, "If you don't have some occasional aches and pains I'd be worried!" Oh Connie, how I love being your athlete but hate it at the same time!

So far in this training block, I have seriously enjoyed running at night, just don't tell my dad please! I think he would have a heart attack if he knew I have been running in the dark! So far this semester, my choice for running is either at 5:30 am or 5:30 pm and its dark at both of those times. I used to really enjoy running in the morning, however, I have recently turned myself into an evening runner. I have coffee in my body and the blood has been flowing. I am so much more energized at night than in the morning now. Weird huh?

And on that note, I am going to go take a quick nap and get out for a bike ride and buy new shoes! Hopefully the shoes will help with the "niggle"!

Ephesians 4:2 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

Missing you!

Well, it has been a hot second since I last posted. I have been incredibly busy with school work,  catching up on sleep, and watching an embarrassingly ridiculous amount of Gossip Girl (Sorry I am SO not sorry). Confession: I like to pretend I am Serena and am living it up on the Upper East Side. I took about 4 weeks off from full on training after Half Full, it was so awesome and so necessary.

I fully enjoyed my few weekends as a "college" kid. I will always remember Hallohomecoming weekend of my junior year. A few pictures:

Meghan decided to be Courtney for Halloween and I was a
traffic cone! I am wearing a black skirt which makes it even
better! I am famous for my "duckface" and peace sign pictures
so I am trying to teach Meghan how to duckface... its a work in progress.

Just us being best friends! I <3 her! 

Oh! I forgot to add, we had a snow/hurricane day last Monday! We were right on the edge of a blizzard and a little bit of Hurricane Sandy. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as bad as they thought it would be. And we got a day off! I slept for twelve hours that Sunday night! And my teachers didn't make the following Saturday a makeup day! Thank goodness!

Post-snow day mountain picture. I went on a ride specifically to
look at the mountains in West Virginia. I am so lucky to go to
school in an area that is so beautiful.

Needless to say, it was an incredible weekend and had an amazing time with my friends, but I am so ready to start training again! How I have missed working my butt off.

However, I am now back on that training grind. The focus of this winter is on strength. I actually typed up my goals and sent them to Connie. I have always been big into having goals, in case you couldn't tell, but I had never really taken the time to create SMART goals. It is SUPER cheesy, but I learned about SMART goals in my health and wellness class freshman year. SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound. The reason you use this method is to make sure you aren't setting yourself up for failure by either setting goals that are unattainable or setting goals that aren't challenging enough. In addition to sharing with my coach, I would like to post my goals on the blog. I will follow up at least once a week! I think sharing the goals will hold me accountable to post and actually doing what I need to do to get faster!

1. Get my running back to where I was freshman year. Confession: I was absolutely obsessed and in love with running my freshman year of college. I would just go out on these runs and be totally in love with the new terrain. Also, I had no idea how fast I was running or how far. I did a half marathon in March and ran 6:40 splits. I can do that again. I know I can. So, my goal for the upcoming season is to run low 43 off the bike.

2. The bike, now this is where its easy. My leg strength is what holds me back on the bike. My legs tire out way before my heart does. In regard to time goals, I don't have any. Time and paces are too hard to gauge with wind and terrain variances. So, its going to be allot of hill repeats and time spent on the bike... and trainer.... 

3. Swimming wise, my goal is to just be fast! I dropped a lot of time this summer in the pool. I would like to be able to really drop those times even more! I am also working on keeping a high elbow throughout the whole stroke. 

4. Nutrition and core are also going to be a huge focus this winter. I'm really going to try and go to yoga at least once a week. And if yoga isn't a possibility, being diligent about my functional strength training and stretching! 

I cannot wait to see where next season goes! I have a really good feeling about it, as long as I don't get myself injured! 

As always, thanks for reading and thank you so much for your support!!