December 30, 2012

Frustrating evening

Last night turned out to be majorly disappointing. I didn't end up going to my wine club meeting after all. I got completely ready to go, hair and make-up and all that, and then when I was putting my coat on, I felt a really sharp pain shoot through my back. It was so sharp and so sudden, that I actually fell to my knees, gasping.

After that, twisting my upper body or lifting my arms caused a really sharp pain on the left side of my back, just under my left shoulder blade. I was determined to go to Winers anyway, so I grabbed my gift and went out to the car. It was snowing pretty hard, and the roads still weren't clear from the snow we got a few days ago.

I'm a pretty nervous driver, especially in the dark and/or bad road conditions, so the snow made me nervous. I went slow, which caused people to tailgate me, just adding to my anxiety. Because of the roads, I changed my route to get to Elaine's house (my friend who was hosting Winers); and I couldn't find it. I was getting really frustrated looking for it, and every time I turned my steering wheel, I would feel that pain shoot through my back.

By the time I found her house, I was in tears of frustration. Then I noticed that there wasn't anywhere to park. The whole street was covered in snow, and the street was narrow, so I couldn't park on the street itself. My Jeep doesn't have four-wheel drive, so I was afraid to get stuck in the snow (never mind the fact that I wasn't wearing boots, as I should have).

I tried squeezing into a couple of spots that I though may have room, but they didn't work out, and every move of the steering wheel was making me cringe from the back pain. I was so frustrated, that I just thought "Screw it, I'm leaving". And I went home.

I really should have just stopped and calmed down for a few minutes, and then try again. I was REALLY looking forward to wine club, and I know I would have had fun the second I walked in the door. But I just felt so frustrated in the moment that I made the impulsive decision to leave. It was a 35 minute drive home (normally would have been 20 minutes, in good road conditions).

When I got home, I took a muscle relaxer and Jerry gave me a back massage. The muscle relaxer helped quite a bit, and I was able to fall asleep (really early, too). When I woke up, my back only hurt when I twisted or raised my arms above my head. I'm being careful with it, because I can't let this screw up my Ragnar!

This morning, I woke up feeling fine. Then when I raised my arms to put my sports bra on, I felt the pain again. I only feel it when I twist or raise my arms. I ran four miles on the treadmill this morning without so much as a twinge, but when peeling my clothes off afterward, I felt it again. Ugh--awesome timing for a back spasm.

The treadmill was super boring today, as usual, but I kept thinking of all the comments that people leave me saying things like, "It's so inspiring that you run even when you don't feel like it!" I figured if I ran 14 miles on Friday, running just 4 today should be a cakewalk. I was super tempted to quit at three miles, but kept going to finish it out.

Tonight, we're going out to dinner with Sarah and Ne--to La Pita!! My favorite restaurant. I always order the same thing there:
That's the lunch portion of the chicken kabob, with rice pilaf, hummus, salad, and garlic sauce (served with pita bread). I've already calculated out the PointsPlus for what I'm going to eat. I'll skip the garlic sauce altogether (it's my favorite part, but it's 2 PP per tablespoon--so that little cup is 8 PP!). I'll eat the whole kabob, the salad (I actually like it--the dressing is lemon juice, olive oil, and dill), 1/4 cup of the hummus (I like to dip the chicken in the hummus), 1 pita bread, and 1/2 cup of the rice pilaf. That totals 16 PP for the meal--not too bad!

I cannot believe tomorrow is the last day of 2012 already! I feel like I have a million things to get done before I leave Thursday morning, so I'm sure I will keep busy. But I can't seem to think about anything else--I'm so excited!

12 comments:

  1. You did it again! I'm back on my running program starting tomorrow morning. No way am I going to put it off anymore. I'll just think of you and get dressed and go! : )

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  2. That sounds like a very frustrating night. Hopefully the back pain doesn't interfere with ragner!

    That pita dish always looks amazing :)

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  3. Sounds like a frustrating night :( I hope your trip and race go well!

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  4. nothing like a little pain to throw things off course. but you know it will pass and you'll be back to your regularly scheduled life soon :)

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  5. I hope your pain goes away fast! I'm sure your trip and race will go great!

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  6. Oh my gosh, I have had that exact back pain a few times before and I have always wondered what it was. Hope yours goes away fast, I'm sure it will, mine has never lasted too long. Sorry you missed your Winers meeting. :(

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  7. I've been having excruciating back pain, too! But I'm pretty sure mine is from jerking a 50-lb back of salt that got wedged between my back seats. Back does not feel good! =(

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  8. so frustrating!!! please rest before ragnar!

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  9. I am no expert.. but the pain you're describing sounds like the pain i had which was misdiagnosed for over two years.. original pain happened as I twisted.. mid back.. electricity shot around my rib cage and brought me to my knees.. muscle spasms out the waahoo... ended up being Facet Syndrome.. took antiinflammatories (like ibuprofen).. muscle relaxers.. and did PT.. haven't had a flare up in years (knock on wood).. Take care of you!

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  10. I have been having lower back pain for the past few weeks - nothing sharp or shooting. I don't feel it when I'm running, only when I sit or stand or shift a certain way. I think I need to add more strength training to my routine to be able to support all of the running I'm doing! Do you have a strength training routine you follow? Good luck getting better!

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  11. I'm not comfortable driving in the snow, either. Hopefully we don't get that much of it this year!

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  12. Oh man, what a crappy night! I hope you're feeling better today! I would have done the same as you, said "screw it" and go home, especially in the snow!

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