Sunday, January 17, 2010

Tired, So Tired

I am a little slow in more ways than one. It took me all week to figure out that the H1N1 shot I got on Monday was the probable cause of my extreme exhaustion. My cardiologist recommended I get both the seasonal and the H1N1 vaccines. He said a flu virus won't damage a heart valve like a strep virus will, but it will put added stress on the heart and can lead to congestive heart failure. That did it for me - I overrode my normal tendency to avoid shots and got both. I got the seasonal shot back in November and didn't feel any effects. I was told to wait for the dead virus H1N1 shot rather than the live virus mist, so I just got around to that this week. Riley got both the seasonal shot and the live virus mist back in November and was pretty much exhausted and generally feeling "off" for about a week after. I did not feel sick or achy this week, but I could hardly keep my eyes open. The drive back and forth to work all week was causing narcolepsy, and I pulled over twice to nap on the way home - and it's only a 30 minute drive! I sure hope I'm past it now.

I compounded the exhaustion by logging 45.5 miles this week. I thought it was kind of strange that the high miles were making me tired because I am always floating between 30 and 50 miles in a week. I put it down to the start of the new quarter and kept going. Like I said, I finally connected the exhaustion to the vaccine on Friday. Anyway, I'm happy with my training for this week. Next week is Pigtails 50K - hilly 10-ish mile loops, mostly on trail. Repeat three times and add a little out and back. Jenny and Jessica will be running with me - a fun day for sure!

I also tried yoga for the first time ever this week. Eric got me a new DVD for my birthday from my favorite Pilates source: Pilates Infused Yoga - I loved it! He also got me this one, but I haven't tried it yet because we seem to have misplaced our ball. We deflated it and put it away but neither of us can remember where. If I don't find it soon I'll have to get a new one. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to working on my yoga skills.

That's it for this week - thanks for checking in!

5 comments:

Joe said...

Fascinating the impact of a small vaccination. Be thankful you didn't get the Real Deal... have known some folks with it and it is one tough hombre.

Enjoy the prep for the 50K next week!!

Sarah said...

Hope you're feeling back to your old self now. 45.5 miles is pretty awesome under those conditions!

I love yoga...have a ton of dvds and usually take a weekly class. I have some pilates dvds but have never quite "gotten it". I think I need a class or maybe should try that pilates/yoga combo dvd.

Thomas said...

Crikey! If the shot made you so tired that you almost fell asleep at the wheel then it almost certainly increased your risk of sudden death rather than prevent it, statistically speaking. I'm glad you made it through the journey, but it doesn't sound like much of an advertisement for the flu shot.

Enjoy the dvds, though.

Wes said...

hope you are starting to feel better now...

Anne said...

Stott is my favorite Pilates DVD series too! I hadn't seen these two but since you endorse them, I may just pluck down my pennies and purchase them. My DVD library could use an update.