Reynauds, Alcohol, Peri-Menopause, Seltzer, and Prescription Medication

So, it is Monday again. And we've got a lot to cover today, as the title of this post reveals. Again, the week is starting off cold as hell. (Why do we say "cold as hell" when typically hell isn't cold?)

Anyway, I walked on the treadmill all weekend. My walks are pretty speedy though, as I try to get in 6 miles in 90 minutes. I like to keep my heart rate up at least to 140 bpm. Then at least I feel like I burn some calories of some kind.

This Raynaud's syndrome is starting to really bother me. I can't wait for some warmer weather. It is just the craziest thing that it developed this season and is just sticking with me. I swear, Spring can't come soon enough.

Raynaud's, anyone?

This has been an interesting week for me to say the least. The previous post tells my adventure on the Amoxicillin. I'm so grateful to be done with that. I think the sinuses are better but I'll know for sure within a few days. It never made it to my chest, thank goodness.

I am dying to run outdoors. Seriously...dying. There are mentions of 30° this week, both tomorrow and Thursday...both run days. My fingers are crossed. As are my toes.

I am on day 15 of refraining from alcohol. Don't get me wrong...I'm far from being an alcoholic. But my metabolism seems to be changing. With the peri-menopause and the night sweats...it is all worse on a few drinks. Recently, my husband and I reinstated "date night" and he is pretty insistent I have a few martinis to unwind. But, seriously...it does me no good. I don't sleep well, I feel like shit the following day, and it is added calories I'd rather eat, quite honestly. So, my abstinence experiment started last weekend.

What I've learned thus far? Well, it is tough not to drink when everyone else is. I have been consuming exorbitant amounts of seltzer water to make up for the lack of alcohol. I just ask the bartender to put a swizzle stick in it, and everyone assumes I'm drinking Vodka. I've learned that I get cranky when everyone else is imbibing and I am not. I don't like that too much. I have to force myself to have a good time. Because, quite honestly, since I'm not drinking, I'd rather be home doing something productive. At home, too...Friday nights is usually TV and cocktail night, and instead I made some Seltzer on the Soda Stream and squeezed some fresh citrus in it (Super Bowl Sunday, too). And I drink A LOT of it. Enough to make me get up in the middle of the night and pee...so I'm not so sure about the better sleep thing.

Another liter bites the dust.

I've also learned quite a bit about my husband, since he is now free to go all out when we are out...I'm driving, after all, since I'm not drinking. He is a character. But he is having fun. This is important.

This week I plan to add a stretching routine to my regular workout. I seem to be going backwards with my limberness. (Is that a word?) That needs to change. I've also ordered some interesting vitamins and minerals I plan to add to my diet. When they arrive, I'll explain everything I ordered and why I'm taking it. And since the prescription medicine is done, perhaps I'll weigh in this week...well, maybe.

Do you take any vitamins or supplements on a regular basis? If so, what do you take and why?

A pox upon the Amoxicillin

OMG, some days I'm so thankful for the internet and it's vast amount of incorrect and not so incorrect information. I mean, thanks to all the crap out there, you can diagnose yourself with brain cancer and write out your final will and testament within a matter of minutes. How fantastic is that?

I've been on amoxicillin for 8 days, and quite frankly, I feel like crap. Not so much because of the sinus infection it is supposed to be fighting, but because I'm bloated beyond belief. I feel like I was just starting to get somewhere with my weight, keeping it where I wanted it to be to begin marathon training, and now it has gotten out of hand. I haven't even gotten on the scale because I'm scared shitless. For me, it is better not to look and to just KNOW that after tomorrow, I'll be off the meds and I can get back on track.

I was able to find some Q and A's on the ol' world wild web that were able to back me up enough to know that I'm not completely crazy and I haven't eaten myself into oblivion this past week. But in the meantime, I have to deal with it.

It's funny, because my inner calves hurt again, like they did when I put on a few pounds over the summer. It's almost like my body knows which weight I run best at. Gawd, I love learning about myself. This entire journey has been so eye-opening.

The only trouble is, the next time Dr. Redford (I call him that because he is the Robert Redford of general practitioners) asks me if I have any problems with amoxicillin, I wonder if I can tell him..."It makes me feel like a beached whale." Maybe...maybe not.

Have you ever had any reactions like that to a prescription drug? If so, how did you regroup?

Yeah, I ran...

I ran today. I usually don't run on Friday's, but I ran anyway. I'm not even quite sure why I did.

It was P90X Legs and Back day today, too. This means the weekend will be a sore one, depending on how hard I brought it.

Here was the treadmill workout du jour:
Warm Up
5 minutes at 6.0 mph
5 minutes at 6.5 mph
5 minutes at 7.0 mph
5 minutes at 7.5 mph
5 minutes at 7.0 mph
5 minutes at 6.5 mph
5 minutes at 7.0 mph
5 minutes at 7.5 mph
5 minutes at 7.0 mph
5 minutes at 6.5 mph
5 minutes at 7.0 mph
5 minutes at 7.5 mph
Cool Down

Total 60 minutes and 7 miles. Ended fast. It was a good run, but pretty tiring.

I've been on an antibiotic for a sinus infection for a week now. I swear I feel it in my chest tonight. I'm hoping this isn't the case. It may be time for a forced rest before I start Hal Higdon's marathon training program.

Minnesota winters are way too long. ((((((sigh))))))