Backed Out

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had signed up for the Seek the Peak race which happened this morning! To recap, the Seek the Peak is a 16km, 4100 ft elevation run that goes from Ambleside Beach to the Peak of Vancouver (top of Grouse Mountain).  This would have been my first year running it!  Friday I was super pysched to head down to Grouse Mountain and pick up my race package including a shirt I purchased.

Love the pink and I really liked my race number. Too bad I didn't get to wear it... 

Lately, I've been having mild lower back discomfort while running, but I just assumed it was related to my ovary thing so I just ignored it. Anyway, Friday night, I was going for a quick walk and all of a sudden I felt something literally slide and "crunch" along the bottom of my spine. Then my leg went weak and collapsed beneath me. The pain that followed was inexplicable. I headed home (barely, ugh. That's a story in itself) and took some Advil, layed down and didn't move for a while. When I finally dragged myself to bed, I couldn't sleep. It was horrendous. Finally, when I did get a few hours of shut eye, I woke up and the pain seemed to have subsided. Unfortunately, later that afternoon it came on full-oh-my-God-is-this-what-Hell-feels-like pain. Sadly, I was still considering doing the race if I felt better in the morning. My boyfriend went on to ask me if I was on crack. I suppose that moment of insanity crept back up on me. So needless to say, I didn't get to do the race. *sniff* *sniff*

On a positive note, my boyfriend saw what I've been enduring for the last few days and surprised me with a spa gift card for a massage. 

Ooo La La!

Nice to get presents on Father's Day. ;-) lol

The funny thing is when I got up this morning, the cat, I guess, didn't like the idea of me doing the race, either...

I walked in on her violently attacking something...

Was it a bird...

Was it a plane...

Nope. It was my race bib.... Thanks, cat. 

Today I spent most of the day lying flat on my back. As I sit here writing this post, I'm propped up with 34573453894 pillows behind me. Earlier, I attempted a swim in the pool. Even with something so low impact I had to keep resting after just a few lengths. My girl would ask me every few minutes, "Mom are you ok? Do you need me to carry you? I can in here, y'know." lol.

...and yes, I'm purposely lifting one eyebrow much higher than the other. ;-)

In reality, I think I ended up swimming for 5 minutes, sitting in the hot tub for 10 (x3). lol. Regardless, it did help a little. So I'm going to have to take a little break from running for a bit until my back heals. If not, then off to physio I go. In the meantime, this will give me an opportunity to explore some lesser impact sports. I believe I may see yoga in my near future. Have a mentioned how much I hate yoga? I'm about as flexible as a crowbar. lol. 

Thanks for reading and Happy Father's Day to all the great Dad's out there!

                                                ....keep on shufflin'. 

Passion, Purpose ...with Crazy on the Side

Apparently, I'm so hysterically happy that I don't need surgery (yet), that I had a temporary lapse in judgement. You see, as I mentioned in my last post, I had an appointment with the gynecologist. This weird "thing" (called a dermoid/teratoma) has taken up residency in my ovary. This bizarre freak of science can contain teeth, hair and sweat glands and may or may not need to see a dentist for it's annual tooth cleaning and a visit to the salon (I'm kidding - so gross. lol) While the thought of it sitting there totally weirds me out, the idea of having another surgery makes me even more uncomfortable. So after I was questioned by the resident doctor, she left to consult with the specialist. Then, I sat for like 15 minutes in the room staring at this: 

...and all was going through my mind was, "I had to run from the skytrain to make my appointment in time and it's really friggin hot out today."... 

Anyway...

The doctor came in and asked me a few more questions and I ended up just blurting out, "Do I really have to have surgery? Is it necessary?" No, it's not - yet. She then asked for me to hop up on the table for a pelvic exam. Again, I said, "Is that necessary?" She said, "Uhh. I guess not." 

Hooray.

The sucky thing is that this toothy hairy beast will probably have to come out eventually. Which, in turn, will keep me from doing anything physically active for at least a month. A MONTH. Ughh. At the moment, it causes me minimal discomfort (at rest). Running the long distances is where it starts to hurt. It also presses against the bladder - but some days are worse than others. So, I just time my bathroom breaks accordingly. Normally, I would say, "Let's get rid of this thing." However, there is over a 10% recurrence rate... and knowing my luck... it's going to come back  ...with a teeny, tiny torch and pitchfork. So, for now, it's going to be monitored with regular ultrasounds. The chance it contains cancer cells is like one tenth of 1%. If it doesn't get any bigger and doesn't cause any more issues, then I'm just going to leave it in there. Maybe it will have a party and invite me. We can drink margaritas on the veranda and talk about the neighbours...

Anyway, it's not like I'm trying to train/qualify for Boston or win any races. I'm just trying to keep sane and being active has LOTS to do with that.

I've started getting back into my normal running routine, again. It's weird not to be training for anything, though. I felt no "push" to get out there. So I decided to do what any normal person would do and go sign up for a race that has a 4100ft climb and a distance of 16km's ...in like, 10 days. Sorry - did I say normal? I mean completely insane. Who does that?! Oh wait... that would be me...

Here enters "total lapse in judgement".

That's right boys and girls, I've signed up for Seek the Peak on the 15th! Of THIS month! I have no idea how I'm going to finish this thing but hey - life is all about getting out of your comfort zone and doing sh*t you normally wouldn't do... right? RIGHT?!

I've been actually thinking a lot about my "comfort zone", lately and how much I tend to get stuck in it. Even down to my regular running routes. I've been running the same ones for years - maybe it's time to find another one. ...or at least add to the one I already do. (Granted, the one I already have is pretty nice.)

Comfort zones are a tricky thing. It's nice to have a routine. To know exactly what you're doing each day. To not have that stress of added change. On the other hand... there's no real passion, either. For me, living a life without passion is also like living a life without purpose... and "magic". Dull. Dull. Yawn. Dull. 

So I'll be focusing on getting out of my comfort zone a little more, living life more "passionately" and doing hill repeats until the cows come home... mooooo... (or is that booooo!? lol.)

Thanks for reading!

                                                   ........and keep on shufflin'!