Tag: heat

It’s Africa Hot outside…And I’m not Kenyan.

When I got off work last night t 10:30 it was 90 degrees with a heat index of 103 degrees. I kid you not! Today, when I went running around 8am it was already 80 degrees outside, but the humidity wasn’t as bad, so I set out on my run.

It took all I had inside of me to do it, but I pounded out 5 miles on the pavement. I’m not too please with the pace time, because I had to walk so much due to the heat and sun, my pace went from 9:30 minute miles to an overall ending pace of 11:58 per mile. Grrr. Oh well. I’m just working on getting faster and stronger, right?

And there is just something about running outside in the summer. Maybe its that I know that the cold weather and snow will come eventually and I will be stuck inside on the treadmill wishing for the warmth of the summer sun on my face, and a cool breeze blowing through my hair. So, even though I struggle during the heat and humidity, I’m going to enjoy it and savor every moment!

I’m about to hit the pool for a little R&R before I have to get ready for the day.

Have a good one friends!

Monday, Monday

I’m working the evening shift a few days this week, so my run didn’t have to be at the crack of dawn this morning.

It should have been.

I went out around 8am, planning on 5 miles and only made it 2. I’m pretty sure that I sweated enough to make up the difference.

It was already 80 degrees at 8am! The sun and humidity nearly did me in. I normally don’t mind when I’m not in the shade, but today I thought I was going to pass out.

My time went from a 9:45 pace to a 11:54 pace because I had to walk so much.

On the plus side, I didn’t pass out and I made it home!

I am going to get in the pool here in a bit. Even 9:30am is a little too early for me to get in the pool! 🙂

I leave on vacation on Friday at 5:30pm! I’m getting away for an entire week, plus the weekends! I am super excited! I’m going camping with my family, but my parents have a super huge 5th wheel camper with 2 Air conditioners and a fridge and fire place inside the camper! I even get my own queen size bed!

Anywho, have a great day friends!

The heat is on!

We’re in an excessive heat warning from Friday at noon until Tuesday night…and it could be extended for even longer! The high temperatures alone, without heat index, will be 100 degrees for much of the next week! It’s crazy! And the Ben Does Life tour is coming to Omaha on Saturday morning and I really really really want to go and do the 5k but its going to be so hot that I don’t think I will make it.

So I’m sad. Sigh.

On another note, I managed to get a run in last night. It was only a 1.13 miles, instead of the 5 I wanted to do! But it was something and I feel better about myself and life.

Tomorrow is Friday and I’m sooo ready!

Humid Running & My heart

So I told you earlier that I have a heart issue that causes problems when I run sometimes. Here’s the deal: I have Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease. Basically, instead of 3 leaflets on my aortic valve, I was born with only 2. What this means is that someday I will have to have my heart valve replaced. Hopefully in 30 years or so. But my cardiologist says I may have to have it done when I’m 45-50 years old.

That sucks.

The funny this is, is that it was found because I was hospitalized back in November with this weird stomach issue. I was so sick. I spent 8 days in the hospital. 2 in a smaller hospital, where I was diagnosed with C Diff Colitis. They began treating me for that, but I wasn’t getting better. I even told my parents I felt like I was “circling the drain.” It was that bad.

So after 2 days I was transferred to a bigger hospital in a bigger town and stayed there for 6 days. They did chest x-rays, stomach x-rays, a colonoscopy, and I had a heart echo.  That’s because I have a murmur, so they were just trying to figure out what was wrong. That’s when they discovered the BAVD.

I wasn’t getting any better, so they don’t think I had the C Diff Colitis, but they still had no idea what I had. After about 7 days in the hospital I finally started getting better, in spite, the doctors said, of what they did.

I have no clue what happened to me. While I was still sick they were talking about taking out part of my colon. That’s how sick I was. I had 2 hospitalists, 1 Hematologist/Oncologist, 1-Nephrologist (Kidney Doc), and 1-Gastroenterologist taking care of me.

The Hematologist was because there were issues with my blood and levels there. The Kidney doc was because I have a kidney disease that was found about a year before I got sick, so he was there because in the early stages of my illness I was in acute renal failure! I couldn’t eat…lost 6lbs in 2 days, had stomach issues (I’m sure you can figure out what I mean by that!) and was severely dehydrated! It was terrible!

I didn’t even want to eat in the hospital. The thought of food made me ill.  However, my main Doc was a marathon runner and understood how I felt when I told him that I wanted to run a half-marathon on May 1st. He told me he would see me there! That I would get better and be able to run!

And I did. But now I have a Kidney doc and a cardiologist, like I’m some 80 year old woman!

I gained 35lbs of water weight…I was freaking out about that. I felt sooo uncomfortable, the pain of the water hurt. They gave me Lasix (water pills) and I was able to get rid of it.

About a week after I got out of the hospital I started running again, and I haven’t looked back since.  3 weeks after my hospital stay you would never have even known that I was sick! It was the strangest thing. Makes you very grateful for good health.

Also, the guy I was dating at the time came to see me once while I was in the hospital, and then he was MIA. He visited Sunday, I texted him Wednesday and never heard from him, and then when I went home Friday I texted him again and he finally got back to me. Said he’d been busy! We had been dating for 2 months at this point.

The week I went back to work was Thanksgiving week and I texted him again and asked if he wanted to get together. He said he was crazy busy (he was a teacher) and that was the last time we talked.

I’ve learned a valuable lesson: the right guy for me will not run when the chips are down and I am lying in a hospital bed. The right guy will have to be forced to leave my side when I’m sick. I deserve at least that much!

So, in summation…this BAVD makes it hard for my heart to get oxygen sometimes, in humidity, when running up hills, etc. So this morning, I had a sucky run because of the humidity. My heart rate monitor said my heart rate was at 89 sometimes when I was running…and at 120. Usually its at 164ish when I’m running. That’s my MHR and its fine, but I don’t want to hurt myself so I think I need to be careful when the humidity is high!

Anywho, sorry for the long post! It’s going to be a hot one here…triple digits expected tomorrow! Upper 90’s today and the rest of the week! Have a great day!