High Five!

I'm experiencing something new that hasn't happened on IVs before. My mouth and lips are incredibly sensitive. They feel chapped or injured. My lips feel like they're cracking though they're not. Edges of spoons feel like razors and hot liquids are intolerable. I don't know if this is a component of the Vancomycin reaction or an effect of the Benadryl used to counter the Vanco.
As for that particular reaction, I am desensitzing to the Vanco, I think. This morning I took only one Benadryl and though I slept through administering the dose, I don't recall getting the level of itchiness I would have expected. I'll do the same tonight, and then try going without Bendadryl completely tomorrow.

I've got class to teach this upcoming week and am trying to nudge my IV schedule to match up with that. I've also got all kinds of rehearsals to attend, too. Dance concert coming up shortly. Oh, well. We don't get to pick and choose when we get sick or when we need treatment.

So my run today was my first in a week. I can't believe how fast a week can go by when you don't feel good. Or even if you do! This run was brutal. Honestly, I only have runs this hard, this bad, a few times a year. The high winds didn't help, but more than that - I'm just out of shape. I am getting to be what they call "skinny fat". I can't go lift when there's a PICC in my arm, so that's out. I've got to get more exercise in and stop being so lazy about it.

I couldn't quite make it to my intended turnaround point today (though it was in sight about a half mile further along) and I didn't make it to my intended ending point, calling it quits a few blocks short. Still, the iPhone says I went more than two miles. I can certainly believe the slow pace it tells me! I walked large parts of this one. And the cooldown walk home didn't slow my breathing or heart rate any. It took about twenty minutes at home to get my heart rate under 90. I was also dealing with dry heaves. :( But it was bright and sunny and, in the wind-shadow of buildings, warm. And after the cold, grey days of late, that was awesome.

And I had a moment with a fellow runner. Now, I'd chosen a route that most runners simply don't follow - out along 2nd ave in the warehouse district between me and Lutheran hospital. I've written of this route before, with its run-down warehouses, broken sidewalks, even worse streets lined with old railroad tracks, and trash everywhere. But its about the only flat route I've got and I needed that change of pace. Seeing another runner out there is very rare - people usually stick to 5th ave, Greenwood Cemetery loop, or Prospect Park. So I'd already stopped my run and was walking home and just passing Costco when another runner came toward me wearing a very recognizable t-shirt - one from the Healthy Kidney 10K, which I've run many times. This guy looked comfortable and trotted along at about a 9:30 pace I guess.

We passed before I crossed the street, as he was crossing in between cars. On impulse, I threw up my right hand in the universal gesture for "hi five!" It took him a moment to recognize it, but then managed to get his own arm up in time for a messy hi-five. I heard him laugh as he continued on. And I walked home smiling, despite how bad my run went.

There's been so many times I've wanted to hi-five other runners. It's OK if you're cheering along a race route, but out on the road it may be weird. On the other hand - maybe we really do need to encourage each other during these unexpected encounters. It's a little recognition that someone else knows what you're going through, and thinks you're brilliant just for getting out there. It's a sign that we are not alone in a sport that is essentially the antithesis of team sports. That little bit of recognition and camaraderie goes a long way with me; I'm sure it resonates with others, too.

So if you're reading this, and you're a runner, and you got in your weekend workout on this blustery day, consider yourself hi-fived!