The past several months have been difficult for me, to say the least--and training and staying in shape has suffered because of it.
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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| Eiffel Tower Run |
More concerning, though, is what it has done to my overall well-being. Since August, I have traveled to the east coast 3 times, the Philippines, France, and Sweden. The reactions that I get from people that I tell this to range from severe jealousy to statements like "Just think of all those frequent flyer miles you're getting." I'm just going to dispel those things right now. I traveled to the Philippines in the middle of the rainy season--it poured rain for the first 3 days I was there, and then for the remaining time, it rained most of every day except for a few hours here and there. The times when it wasn't raining became a steam bath, with temps in the 90s and humidity hovering around 100%. Mosquitoes came out in droves when it was not pouring rain. My trips to DC weren't nearly as severe as far as the weather goes, but precious little time was available, since every day I was there was a work day. Paris was nice--I flew in one day, had a day's worth of meetings and then flew out the next day. In the midst of trying to deal with a 9 hour time change, I got a couple of runs in around the city, under the Eiffel tower and down the Seine. It was picturesque and scenic--I didn't mind the misery of jet lag for those few days. Sweden, on the other hand, was a trip north of the arctic circle at a time of year when the sun is technically above the horizon for 2-3 hours per day. It was cold, and I worked an insane number of hours. I had committed to this trip long before any of the other trips on my schedule, so I have to say that I don't place any blame on this singularity--I knew it was coming, it was the stuff that filtered in around the trip that really did me in.
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| Guard at Stockholm Palace |
Between Sweden and my last trip to DC, I got sick, and it turned out I got really sick--the likes of which I haven't seen for years. I hacked up and blew out greyish-green chunky crap from my lungs and sinuses, and began having difficulty breathing, at which point I finally called in sick to work and went to an urgent care to get it taken care of. I was very conscious of the doctor in the room backing away from me after examining me, presumably to minimize his exposure to whatever it was I had. He prescribed a z-pack, and it was highly effective at curing me. My sinus infection was much improved after a day, and by the two day mark seemed to be completely gone. My chest took a few days longer to clear.
The net sum of what I have been through resulted in something else that was unintended--I missed a large number of my regular trips to my chiropractor and massage therapist. I had scheduled one of those trips for after my trip to Sweden and canceled and rescheduled it when I initially got sick, for a week later--which turned out to be the peak of my illness, and I had to cancel it again.
I intended to get into the chiropractor and massage therapist at some point in the next week or so, and it so happens that my back spasmed yesterday morning--I managed to make it through a meeting at work, and my chiropractor fit me in at the end of the day. A massage is out of the question in this state--I've got one scheduled for Tuesday next week which should be after the inflammation dies down.
I did a lot of things in the past several months that fly in the face of what I know I need to do to keep my body healthy. Sitting on planes for long periods of time exacerbates my issues with my back. Being away from what I've got set up as a healthy working configuration (standing desk in my cube) makes it harder for me to avoid the things that perturb my back issues. Working long hours takes away from the work/life balance I have tried so hard to achieve, and bites into the precious little time I have to do the extra things to keep my aging body from revolting on me due to the exercise I need to do.
I'm sitting in the middle of what appears to be the new normal at work--and I have to prioritize my life to make the new normal not kill me in the process. Getting enough rest and taking care of my body shoot to the top of the list. Figuring out how to do all of that while maintaining progress toward my goals in triathlon is going to be a challenge, but I think I can figure it out.
I am sure there is more to come on this.
