Running with Bob

 I'm posting late, but this was a Sunday evening run, after my third 12 hour shift. I ventured out with Spot and we took a slow jog around our neighborhood; I think we were both tired and it was still pretty humid out. Nonetheless we had fun and it was another mile down.  Monday (yesterday) I walked Spot but we skipped the run and I spent over an hour in and out of the gym sauna which was an excellent break. I enjoyed relaxing and stretching in the heat and hopped into the steam room a few times in between sauna breaks. I will make up this day as well, now my running challenge will be three days longer, but it is necessary to rest when needed. This morning my knee feels better as it was getting sore again.

 This post is going to be short and to the point because, well 12 hour work shift life! Today is my second consecutive twelve hour shift for the week and I have another tomorrow before my three day "weekend," and I don't have much time between getting off work and getting to bed before waking super early again. With that said, and that it's now after nine and I still need an epsom salt bath, let me just put a quick rundown of my last two runs: Despite the cooler weather, 79°F, I worked up a nice sweat with the humidity. Spot and I walked for 50 minutes after our one mile jog Last night I went on another solo run outside my neighborhood, which is a lot of uneven terrain as there are no sidewalks and I had to go off road while cars passed....being that it was a busy time, I spent the majority of my run off-road. Therefore, this time is really not bad and probably comparable to my Thursday run which was on sidewalks downtown.  This was my jog with Spot this evening in ou

I was too tired last night so I'm catching up yesterday's post by combining it with today. My usual work week is 42 hours but I worked an extra six hour day this week, and I feel like I'm still getting tired more quickly; it actually took me about a year to feel fully energized after my prior abdominal surgeries, so I probably have another five months before getting all my endurance and strength back.  I went out for solo runs the past two days, and I definitely increased my speed since I began two weeks ago. Yesterday I didn't really feel good until after the mile was complete. However, I feel like I had a breakthrough today; I felt great about halfway through the mile and even increased my speed a bit more...I feel like I'm ready to start increasing my mileage a bit and foresee the runner's high coming back. I finally don't feel like I'm dying mid run! I do have to invest in a good pair of running shoes very soon, as my "best" pair (meaning n

 It rained on and off all day, but tonight the weather was great as it stopped raining and was only 73°F. We went for a late run and the it was lovely with a full moon and pinkish sky. Spot and I ran a mile but we stopped to take pictures and also because my son called. I decided to do another mile because I was feeling pretty good and Spot was also doing well; I thought we would be faster, but ended up with just about the same time as the first. Even though we jogged a slow pace, we had fun.

 Another day, another mile! Today was a hot one and after six this evening it was still 92°F, so I went slow with many shaded stops for Spot. As this challenge goes on I'm planning to set aside more time to run solo and check my actual time. But I will still run with Spot in the evenings too, of course, as he absolutely seems to enjoy the mile jog incorporated into our regular walks. And his joy makes me so happy 😍 I felt great during this jog, though. I made sure not to eat right before, made that mistake a few times lol and I also spent most of my afternoon lounging and napping. And hydrating. I don't feel so heavy as I did in the beginning and the knee brace helps a lot.  

 Fun run with Spot today, but I somehow turned my distance to kilometers on the Nike app without realizing it. So when the app announced 1 kilometer I went ahead and ended the workout so I could figure out how to change it back. I managed to switch back to miles then started over with a new run, so we went about a mile and a half. About halfway through the mile I got a side cramp and a bit of heartburn, then towards the end I started feeling a little nauseated. Needless to say, this wasn't one of my best runs but Spot sure enjoyed himself, as always. I feel like I may still be dehydrated despite trying to catch up; I think I'll get some blood work down this week. Also, I made a mistake in eating a bunch of sweet peppers and sugar snap peas with Sriracha sauce about an hour before running. It was after a big rain but was humid too, not a great combo but I worked up a sweat. Then we got rained on 🤪 These runs make Spot so happy, look at his big grin! Would be nice to get this pa

 I am slacking, this should be day twelve! Thursday was such a busy day and I didn't plan for my run accordingly. I skipped yesterday as a snowball effect from the previous day; I really wasn't motivated to run after working twelve hours. I almost decided against running today too but I'm glad I decided to just get out there and jog a mile with Spot. It's a breezy evening and the jog felt good...Spot enjoys it so much also! I now remember how easy it is to skip running before it becomes a habit, therefore I will finish this challenge [and will be tacking on the two missed days], as thirty days is just long enough to make a habit stick long-term. I'm not there yet but I will not give up.

 Let's talk about activity in the summer with an ileostomy, because the humidity and daily sweating do compromise the appliance. I wanna keep things real here, not always glorify having an ostomy as it's not perfect. I know I have been sweating under the flange because I had white specs on the barrier extenders showing where they absorbed moisture, and the ring that molds around Bob to create a seal was expanding. I just changed my appliance yesterday morning and right after my run this evening while writing that blog post, I felt pressure behind my stoma...ostomates know this feeling as the start of a leak behind the barrier. It seems the running stimulated Bob to excrete my dinner very quickly when I stopped running, so fast that output built up around the stoma and pushed around it behind the barrier. Both days I got super sweaty. I also need to figure out better timing with my meals and running. Even without the leak I would probably have had to change my appliance soon bec

 I have decided to use a 30 day Running Challenge to motivate myself enough to start running consistently again. I will run one mile every day for thirty days! I realized that I have not been on a run in over a month and it's really been getting to me. I have always had a passion for running, but I had to take off so much time due to intestinal issues, surgery and recovery; I lack the motivation I used to have getting myself out there. Starting is difficult, but staying consistent is even more so. I feel like I've been too hard on myself in trying to get back into running with time and distance, pushing myself too quickly with high expectations, but I am basically starting from zero including in my workouts. I have been lifting consistently and went from lifting only five pounds to up to 60 now, and swimming only 50 yards at a time to now being able to swim 300-500 yards with flip turns! So I know I can do this with my running also, I only need to get myself out there. This tim