the one below might have been at the finish, or about mile 8. We looped through this area twice.
This next one is definitely at the finish. If the clock doesn't give it away, look how bad I look. I was really struggling there.
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Yeah, so yay me. And now I've lost all that fitness! I went for a short jog yesterday and thought I was going to die. It was more coughing and walking than it was running. Went about a mile and a half. I remember distinctly reaching a spot 2/3 of the way up the 2nd hill and deciding that would be it for the day; just try to make the run home a little better quality than the run to this point. The weather was nice, though, and the sidewalks around the cemetary are clear or just have salt. But what a rough bit of exercise. If I have time tomorrow, I'll try again. If nothing else, I intend to take all the time in the world Saturday and go out on my 6.7 mile loop. If I can get up to the top of the Slope and then down to the bottom of the park, near the lake, I'll be OK to finish the distance.
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pH Probe:
Yeah, so... if the doctors say just one little wire and if the doctors say the nurse will numb your throat first before putting it in; then the doctors LIE. The FIRST probe was about as thick as a pencil and it had to do with some complicated extended measurements that had to be taken before the 24-hour probe was put in. I was like, WHAT?? You want me to do this TWICE? I mean, despite an empty stomach, I threw up all over the place while the nurse inserted the first probe. Okay, the second one wasn't as bad, but it wasn't exactly pleasant, either. Oh, and they did all this to me on no breakfast and NO COFFEE. Torture, I tells ya!
It kind of pulls at the throat and the recorder device has to remain attached all night and eating is positively a chore. I'm miserable right now. *sigh* What I do in the name of science. This is all part of a study of acid reflux in people w/ CF and how it affects the progress of their lung disease. First they have to determine if I HAVE acid reflux, hence this 24-hour test. Then, I'll be put on either Prevacid or a placebo for a year (neither the doctor nor I will know which one I'm on - this is called double-blind testing. Only the paperwork knows, as I'll be just another patient number X in the system.) Pros: helping the CF community in the constant drive for better understanding of this disease and better treatments; free acid reflux test. Cons: I think I'd rather have a colonoscopy.
P.S. Picture taken by Photo Booth in the glow of my awesome new monitor by the camera IN my awesome new monitor. Can't you just see the awesome?
