Happy End to 2008!

Well, I am winding down 2008 with a slight cold but otherwise in fabulous condition :)

I have set a goal to complete a mini-triathlon by the end of 2009. That's a 750 (or sometimes 500)-meter swim, a 20 K (12.4 mile) bike ride, and a 5K (3.1 mile) run. Can I do that now? No. But I can do some of it, and I'm sure that in time, I will be able to do all of it. Honestly, I just want to be able to finish it. I can do that.

I swam 75 meters without stopping today, for the first time :) Baby steps...

I will be able to train with a trainer for a short while longer. In my ideal world, I'd train once a week with a trainer, year round. It's expensive, though :(

Here's to good health and toning up the body!

the itch...

...is definitely pool-related, and putting lotion on right after a shower right after swimming helped a lot.

small panic over :)

we now return to our regularly scheduled program...



(And if you're in AZ, you have 13 days left to make a tax credit donation. I'm accepting. Send me a message for more info.)

I didn't call...

By this point, a day after my massage, most of my soreness is gone :)

I was going to call the doc today — that was the plan over the weekend. I always plan out what I'm going to say. Since I'm going to be leaving a message, I want it to be as clear as possible. Well, while I was rehearsing said message, I realized how ridiculous and paranoid it sounded, so I didn't call. I haven't been itchy since Thursday night, which is the last night I went in the pool. My back is mostly better today, after a massage yesterday. It was just coincidence.

Thanks for putting up with my little freak-out session [sheepish grin]

I had a pool session with my trainer tonight, and it kicked my sorry butt. It was really good :) Just what I needed to ramp up my swimming.

Off to shower and put on some lotion and see if that helps the itch.

soreness and knots and stress

I went to the gym last night and did a good long stretch and foam rolling when I was done. Typically, when I roll out my legs, there might be a knot here or there, but those muscles by this point are pretty smooth.

Legs last night were knot city.

Last night, TJ rubbed my shoulders and it felt like he was rubbing bricks.

This morning I was kinda stiff through my back, neck, and shoulders.

So currently, I am attributing back stiffness to general stress, to which I am also attributing the knots in my legs and soreness in my neck, shoulders, and back. There has been no shortage of stress 'round here.

Working on this assumption, I went to get a massage this morning. Neck, back, shoulders: knot city. The soreness I had this morning is gone. The soreness I had before is still there. A couple of friends who do massages more often said that it would take a couple of days for that soreness to go away, if the massage will do it, and that I might feel worse before I feel better (and not to panic if that happened). So we'll see how it feels in a day or two or three...

In the mean time, I am less freaked than I was yesterday. It sure would be nice for that trigger not to be so sensitive...

hoping hoping hoping it's nothing

For the last month or so maybe, since I started swimming on a more regular basis, my skin has been super-itchy. I have been sometimes putting lotion on it, which sometimes helps. I've been making sure to wash more thoroughly after being in the pool, taking showers that aren't quite as hot, etc., trying to reduce drying agents. I assumed that the itchiness was either a reaction to chemicals in the pool or dry skin as a result of the season and the pool.

For the last week-ish, my back has been sore, just right up the spine. If I'm sitting or standing normally, I don't notice it. When I twist, it's a "I worked out too hard" kind of sore ... but I hadn't worked out those muscles when this started. Also, I can do general back exercises and they don't bother the soreness at all.

For reasons unknown, I went just now and looked up the vague symptoms that help lead to Hodgkins diagnoses. Itchy skin and vague back soreness are both on the list.

I'm a bit freaked. OK, I'm a lot freaked.

Everything else is fine. I have no other potential symptoms, my breathing is fine. I think that maybe my inability to explain why my back is sore is ramping up my current anxiety. Itchy skin I can explain away.

Lymph nodes in my neck are not noticeable. I don't know how to check any of the other ones. Though I am guessing if this actually *is* a recurrence, it would be in the same place as the old one, and I can't check there.

I'm going to call the oncologist's office on Monday and see if he thinks I should be concerned. I'd like to be able to talk to someone sooner, but it's not something to bother the doctor on call about, I don't think.

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck.