The Dreaded Cold Invaded My Life

I’m sick. I hate being sick. It’s really gross and annoying. And I think I can say with good certainty that Woody would agree with that statement. A bug has been going around my office since the New Year and I felt this coming on when we were in Charleston but it hit hard Saturday morning. I had to finish a project for work on Saturday and it took me for-ev-ah cause it was so hard to concentrate. You know that feeling, right?

A lot of people get sick with colds and such during the winter, but I think it might be worse this year because the temperatures have been all over the place (this could just be an old wives tale that the weather has anything to do with colds, but I’m going to go with it). Unlike the flu, it can be tricky to know whether it’s okay to workout or not when you have a cold. Woody swears by sweating out a cold. He’ll wear long pants, a sweatshirt, and knit cap then doing a long cardio session on the treadmill or elliptical before hitting the sauna. Here are the guidelines Woody and I have come to follow, and which seem to go along with ‘expert’ advice I’ve read over the years.

Workout if….

1. You can breath without much trouble.
2. It’s all in your head, not in your lungs.
3. You got a good nights sleep.

Stay home if….

1. You can hardly get out of bed.
2. Every muscle in your body aches (or even half of them).
3. You’re coughing and/or sneezing frequently.
4. You have a fever.
5. You have a throbbing headache.
6. You simply feel like rest is more important.

I did go to the gym Saturday and actually had a pretty good workout. Sunday was a different story though. I just didn’t have much energy but I’m glad I got my heart rate up for a bit. Today I slept in, skipped the gym, and because I’m still feeling pretty nasty and don’t want to give this to my co-workers, I’m staying home from work.

Two things I did all weekend, and plan to do today, was load up on citrus fruits (thanks to my mother in law who sent us another shipment of grapefruits and oranges straight from Florida) and drank tea. Lots of tea….

• When you have a cold, how do you decide whether or not to workout?
• What’s your go to remedy for colds?

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Saturday’s workout -

• 2 circuits:
  • 15 cable side twists (ea. side)
  • 15 cable push-down
  • 15 weighted side bends
  • 25 kickbacks
  • 15 squatting rows
• 2x15 lateral arm raise
• 30min elliptical
• 30min stationary bike
• 2x40sec plank
• 100 ab exercises
• stretching

Sunday’s workout -

• 20min stationary bike
• 30min elliptical
• 2x15 upright row
• 2x15 lat pull down
• stretching

Today’s workout -

None.

A Minor Setback

First, let me take a moment to apologize. I started this blog with the intention to talk about a wide range of topics – fitness, nutrition, environmental issues, tips for living a ‘green’ life, and running – but lately I find that I’m really just writing about running. That is probably due to the fact that running is on the top of my mind these days. When I’m not running or working, I’m probably thinking about running. With only 34 days left until the Marathon, it pretty much consumes my thoughts, my dreams, my conversations… there is still so much I need to do and accomplish before November 1st. So, I will try my best to add a few pointers or bits of information along the way, but please excuse me while I have a one track mind for the next month.

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As you all know, I was supposed to run the Marathon Tune-Up today. Unfortunately, I have to admit it didn't happen for me. After taking a sick day to rest on Friday, I got a good night's sleep Friday night and felt better Saturday morning. I didn't want to go back on my commitment to Step Up so I made my way to the W Hotel on Lex to volunteer at the annual fundraiser Step Up & Step Out. I have to say, I had one of the easiest jobs possible - sitting at the membership table to answer questions and sign up to members! I met some great women yesterday and the event was a success, but I was exhausted by the time I got home a little after 5pm. An hour later I had passed out watching Lethal Weapon 4 and my husband woke me up just before 7. I never take naps, so it was obvious that I still wasn't back to normal. The weather forecast on all the local news channels and the Weather Channel were saying rain was coming into the area and wouldn't be out until Sunday afternoon. Not good. I decided to set my alarm for 5:15 take a look outside and check the weather before making my decision. If it was cold and raining I would have to skip the race. I need to get better, not worse. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to finish the first lap of the park, let alone three of them!

I didn’t sleep well last night. Maybe because I had taken the nap or maybe because I was worried I wouldn’t get my run in today. Either way, it was pouring when I woke up and there was a huge green glob covering the tri-state area on the radar. It was cold too. I made the tough decision to get back into bed and add two hours to my alarm. It continued to rain until about 4:30 this afternoon, so I’m glad I went to the gym and got in a workout on the elliptical and the stationary bike. I also did a bit of stretching and used the foam roller to work out a few kinks in my legs.

Kim, a Step Up friend, who is also co-owner of In Shape, LLC, was kind enough to offer support and advice today. I’m so nervous that I’m really setting myself back by skipping the long run today. She assured me that being healthy is most important and it’s okay that I missed the long run today. She also suggested that I do two runs on one day to bump up my mileage and as long as my second run is a couple miles longer than my first and I push through the last few miles, it’ll be similar to one long run. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get in two runs that equal 20 miles, but I am going to make this happen. Thanks for the advice and support Kim!!

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This week I am going to change up my diet a bit. Monday thru Friday I basically eat the same breakfast each day. It’s easy, it’s healthy, and I know it will keep me full and satisfied until I can eat lunch. I ran out of yogurt on Friday and I didn’t get any this weekend so I wouldn’t be tempted to fall back into my regular routine. Instead, I’m going to have either oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, or Kashi cereal and skim milk. I’ll continue to have fruit and toast with peanut butter since I know that helps satisfy my protein needs, but the yogurt and granola is out! It’s so easy to fall into a pattern and not get out of it. For months I ate a veggie patty with avocado (or a laughing cow cheese wedge) and lettuce, carrots, humus and an apple, every day at work. My breakfast wouldn’t change either and dinner was pretty much the same from day to day. No alterations no compromises. Our bodies get into a rut when we do this and we need to mix it up every once in a while. I’ve been better about my lunches this year, but not my breakfast. This week, I’m going to change that and next weekend I’ll let you all know how I did. Hopefully I’ll be much healthier and have more energy.

I boiled the eggs today so I don’t have to worry about finding time during the week. Lucky husband, I boiled a few for him too!

Under The Weather

Today is my mother’s Birthday. She is one of the most amazing people I know. She has always done everything she could for me and I know she always will. Not only is she my mom, but she is my friend and an inspiration. I probably don’t say it often enough, but I love her and appreciate everything she does for me, her family and friends. I hope she has a wonderful Birthday and a great time up north this weekend!

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I stayed home sick today. I have a pretty nasty head cold that started with a sore throat on Wednesday. After feeling pretty lousy at work yesterday, I decided the best thing for me (and my colleagues) would be to stay home today, sleep in and rest so I could kick this thing quickly and get back out on the road and to work. I was supposed to run 5 miles today, but that didn’t happen. Yesterday I only got in 4 miles before I had to quit. It was, and is, disappointing. Sunday is supposed to be my second 20 miler, although I’ve signed up for the NYRR 18 Miler Tune-Up. I HOPE that I can get through volunteering for Step Up’s fundraiser tomorrow and feel well enough to run Sunday. I am SO nervous that I won’t be able to run. It’ll be a huge setback for me and I don’t want to face it. Trying to come up with a solution, if I have to miss the run I think I’ll do it on Monday morning before work. Yeah, that means I’ll get in a little late to work, but I think it will be okay if I start at 5:30am. Oh, I hope it doesn’t come to that.

My diet today hasn’t consisted of much. For the most part, when I’m sick, I lose my appetite. Fruit is the best thing to eat when you’re sick. It’s clean, fresh, healthy, and doesn’t weigh you down. I’ve had an apple, tangelo, a Cold Buster Jamba Juice smoothie and half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a little protein. Have you ever noticed how many people drink the HUGE Jamba Juice smoothies? It’s pretty incredible how many calories they’re consuming. Yeah, there’s fruit in there, but so many of their smoothies have juices, dairy, sorbet, frozen yogurt…. Someone can consume enough calories for two meals with one smoothie! And then, some people even eat them WITH a meal. Wow. But, if you check out the nutritional facts, what is really going into the smoothie, and keep to the 12 oz version, you’ll probably do pretty well there. I think today was the 2nd time I’ve ever had a smoothie from Jamba Juice. I hope it helps bust my cold!! I still plan to have an apple, tangelo, and pomegranate seeds today. Yum. I really hope I can get rid of this cold quickly. It's such a beautiful fall day today, so it's especially hard to be sick when the sun is shining so bright!

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If you haven’t seen this yet, I encourage you to check out the current issue of Newsweek or Newsweek.com. They spent quite a long time ranking the biggest 500 companies according to how ‘Green’ they are. The ability for a company to be Green definitely depends on the industry they are in – some inherently have an easier time turning Green than others – so they’ve taken many factors into account. I definitely think it’s a good idea to pay attention to how environmentally conscious a company is when you are purchasing their product, so this is another good resource. A few of their rankings and/or reasoning seem a bit off to me, but it still provides some interesting information and insight. I definitely recommend that you check this out when you have time.

Do something fun and healthy with your friends and family! Have a great weekend!