Sick, injured and grumpy

My advice to everyone is stay the hell away from the doctors office.  I went there in the beginning of May and I haven't been the same since.  Here's a brief timeline of events:

• May 1: Doctor appointment, tetanus shot updated.  I am advised that 'fever and chills may be a side effect.  Awesome.
• May 2-3: Is that the fever they were talking about?
• May 3-4: I don't think they mentioned a cough.
• May 5-9: This is a really bad cough.  And now I'm sneezing.
• May 11-17: I'm coughing less but sneezing more.  Wait. No.  The coughing is back.
• May 18: Today I learned it's possible to strain rib cage muscles from coughing too hard.  Excellent.
• May 18-25: I'm actually taking allergy medication.  It seems to be working.  My ribs still hurt.

And that is why I haven't written anything in forever.  Because I almost broke my ribs coughing too hard.  I can barely run without pain and I'm grumpy as shit.  The ribs are feeling better today, and only having shooting pain when I do stupid things.  And I'm sure it's a strain.  I think there's not nearly enough pain for them to actually be broken.

Instead of me telling you about all the days I ran a mile this week, have some pictures instead:

Linkfest - sort of

Instead of a true linkfest, here's two:
First, besides English and Spanish, the most commonly spoken language in each state.  Go Minnesota for being original.

Second, and most importantly, is these questions.
1. You must know one insanely cool time-saving or life-enhancing trick that would make all our lives easier or better (or in the case of the "unroll the rim to increase ketchup capacity" trick, both). Go on and enlighten us already! I'm going with the glass top stove polish of baking soda and dish soap. 1:1 ratio. Apply in a 'wax on, wax off' method. Rinse. Enjoy.

2. Think back to everything you've ever witnessed. We'll wait. Now think of the kinds of videos that go crazy viral. What's something you saw live that, had you had a camera rolling, every website in the world would have shared the clip? Mom's beer getting knocked over by a home run off Tony Gwyn. Even if it was in batting practice.  

3. You often hear people say the book was better than the movie version. Can you think of cases where you loved both the book and the movie? The Deathly Hallows. I loved what finally happened to Professor Snape, and his story. And it was the only plot line I thought the movies did a better job than the books.  

4. Your turn! If you've got a question for the group, ask it here. Have a great weekend! Favorite weekend activity in the summer? Mine is Saturday morning Zumba and then Farmer's Market breakfast.

Turkey Lurkey

Q: Why did the turkey cross the road?
A: I have no idea.  What happened to the chicken?

I went out for a run this morning.  I ran almost the whole way, which is really good.  My heart rate was also really good which I find encouraging because last week I couldn't run a mile and keep it under 160 bpm.  I guess I'm feeling better.  I warmed up the first half-mile, then ran except walking up the hills.  I did a cool down at the end with some dynamic stretching. 

Today's was "the wildlife run".  I love nature.  I saw Egrets, Blue Herons, a suspected Muskrat, a Turkey and some other stuff.  Blue Herons are my favorite bird.  I love summer because there are so many around.  The two egrets together made me think of Mom and Dad because of something Mom said before she left.  And the Turkey was funny.  And the easiest to photograph. 

Fun with the Parents

It's been four years since Mom and Dad came up for a visit, so I was really excited when Mom said she'd come this year for Mother's Day.  Even more excited because I knew I'd miss being in town for Flying Pig weekend.  My goal for their trip was to help them have so much fun they'd want to come back.

Thursday night: We had a monsoon in Minnesota.  And Wisconsin.  My parents were driving and they were really happy to get here.

Friday: We hit up the Como Conservatory perhaps the only thing we do every time they come to town, and The Raptor Center.  Qat Lady made a special appearance.  It wound up being a super cold and windy day so we opted for an indoor shopping trip at Ikea in the afternoon and then dinner at Marla's with a guest appearance by Nathan.

Saturday: Mom and I did Zumba while Nathan took Dad on a walk on the Greenway.  Then we all enjoyed the Farmer's Market as well.  We hit up Cedar Lake and the Kenilworth Trail for a walk.  Mom made an early Mother's Day request to see the Matisse Special Exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Nathan joined us for that as well.  Then we all went to dinner.

Sunday I was finally feeling slightly better from my cough, so when I woke up early I decided to go for a 4 mile run instead of the 1-mile runs I'd been doing the previous week.  After the run we made Mother's Day Crepes. Mom got her present, a sample pack from Jamazing who Mom met at the Farmer's Market.  The bulk of the day was antiquing in Stillwater, with a brief walk on the Minnehaha Creek. We closed the day with Lucinda at the Chatterbox, which is always one of my favorites.  Apparently I wore Mom out too, because she had to take a nap before dinner.

Monday was planned as a slightly shorter day, though we tried to cram in as much as possible.  I offered my dad about fifteen things he could do to avoid shopping with Mom and I.   I have no idea why he decided to tag along, but he did and was fairly patient with us.  We headed to Mall of America where Mom hit pay dirt as far as clothing goes.  I was successful at Eddie Bauer and Marshall's.  After shopping, they hit the road and will drive until they get to Chicago, and then make the rest of the trip tomorrow.

Weekend Workouts: Sick

I was sick most of the week.  I did keep the streak alive but most days I really only ran a mile.   I had an ishy sick feeling from the tetanus shot that turned into a soar throat that turned into a wicked cough and crap in my lungs.  I really was only running 1 to 2 miles per day.  It felt good to get up and go a bit.  But then I ran out of breath and it felt good to stop too, so the distance was perfect.  I finished up the week with a year long low of 13.84 miles, including a 3 mile walk on Saturday.

I am feeling much better. The crazy cough that plagued me is almost gone (fingers crossed) and I'm getting back some energy.  I still feel this crap in my lungs, so I will re-introduce running distances more than a mile slowly.  In the mean time, enjoy pictures from some special guests.

Fun at May Day

The May Day Parade is a super big deal in South Minneapolis.  Most years I miss it because I'm home running the Flying Pig events, but not this year.  (PS - congratulations to Ryan Hall, Flying Pig 10K winner and Sergio Reyes with a Flying Pig Marathon three-peat)  This year I was not watching Ryan Hall but instead hanging out in the Twin Cities.  Even more spectacular was the lack of snow.

The theme this year was "Wonder".  While I often miss out on the more artistic aspects of the parade, I enjoyed the various dancers.  And the drums.  I always love the drums.  There was one set of costumes that I thought looked eeriliy like something the KKK would wear, and I believe it was unintentional given the placement in the parade.  I told a friend, "being in The North, you don't have to think about this, but in Cincinnati, everyone would get the reference, intended or not."  Luckily, no one on the route appeared to be offended.  Enjoy some pictures from the day.

Weekend Workouts: See if I ever get a tetanus shot again

This week involved two separate days of people poking me and shit.  The first one was some thing for work that everyone told me I should do becuase it gives me a discount on my health insurance.  Whatever.  Let the vampires take my blood.  The second was my doctor visit where I agreed they could give me a tetanus shot since my last one was ten years ago.  Yeah.  I feel like garbage.  I knew I was in bad shape when I went for a run Saturday morning and at a 12:50 mile, my heart rate was around 160bpm.  What the hell?  I guess that thing about "your heart rate can tell you when your sick" is kind of true.

Here's a breakdown of how the whole week went.  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were recovering from the super fun half-marathon I ran on the previous Saturday.  And I have no idea why the tetanus shot voodoo waited until Friday afternoon to strike, I got shot Thursday morning.

On the other hand, Friday morning was an excellent run.  And I'm happy to welcome Farmer's Market Saturdays back into my life was well.