Oh hello, it’s me.
If you’re wondering why I haven’t written about running in a while…it’s because I haven’t done much of it.
Back in July, I was “diagnosed” with strep. (The urgent care doctor did a strep culture but said my throat looked like it was definitely strep but the culture ultimately came back negative.) Round 1 of antibiotics.
A few weeks later, I have such terrible sinus pressure that leaning over to get something out of my bag hurts, and I spend the good portion of a week in my apartment and miss a long-planned trip to Vancouver. Round 2 of antibiotics.
After that round, I call BS. I am a relatively healthy person, so why the eff do I keep getting sick, specifically in one area of my body? I asked my doctor, she says “bad luck,” and I refuse to take that for an answer and find myself an ENT. He prescribes two nose sprays and an antacid because he says he sees chronic inflammation in my throat sinuses via a CT scan.
I feel better with this for…about a week, and that dull sinus pressure returns. Round 3 of antibiotics. It alleviates the pressure/pain enough, but now, two weeks later, I’m left with a weakened sense of smell, an awful metallic taste in my mouth, slightly short of breath/tight chest and mildly nauseous basically at all times (related to the metallic taste, I think.)
Just a gratuitous llama…
I am annoyed by this through my daily life, but I can cope. Running? It’s been nearly impossible, and many other activities have been difficult, too. (Weird, when breathing sucks and you’re low-level nauseous a lot.)
So I didn’t want to blog about how my workouts have been completely inconsistent. I’m trying to work out…as much as I can, but it’s pretty miserable. The last long run I did was 8 miles a few weeks ago and it was so awful. I’m probably not going to run Richmond.
But a buddy reminded me that healthy living isn’t all about running and eating healthy. (Which is great, because I’m doing neither right now. Half kidding.) It’s about trying to find a balance. And right now, I’m trusting my gut and trying to get to the bottom of why my sinuses are miserable jerks. Tomorrow: second ENT. First one wanted to put me on round 4 of antibiotics and I called uncle.
My mom had cancer this year. Two of my close friends have had three types of cancer between the two of them. I have perspective, and this isn’t that bad, or bad at all. But it’s annoying and keeping me from doing what I enjoy (eating and running), so I will get to the bottom of it.
Will I run my marathon and other races I’d hope to run this fall? Maybe not. But I’ll figure this annoying crap out and the rest of my health is a-ok. (Any sinus tips welcome.)
I also need to make a super random product rec: this acne stuff is magic. Because I’m also breaking out like I’m 12.
So now you know what’s up, and I can move on/back to some happier/more fun content.
