Saturday, July 24, 2010

What's Goin Onnnn + Bee sting #4

So Ron made a good point in his last comment that my blog is more educational than personal lately. I've kind of been doing that on purpose because my personal life is pretty mellow right now--no epic training, racing or trips to talk about; work is work; nothing new at school. It's nice having a break from my usual 24/7-busy lifestyle. I can enjoy summer and a true offseason. Go surfing on a whim. Noon masters instead of 6 a.m. (although I love getting a 6am'er done). Catch up with random friends I never see. Make my own hours. Have a glass of wine. Never miss the Tour. Get creative in the kitchen. Oh, and I can put more thought into educational-ish blogs :) Plus, given my injured state, I've also dubbed this my "summer of savings" i.e. saving money now to play later -- got kona in october and more big plans for 2011.

The biggest gossip in my life? My last two test runs ended very badly, for a couple reasons. The first, a 25-min treadmill run about a week or so ago, ended abruptly at the onset of pain, and the pain just got worse the rest of the day. But it was 100% gone by the next morning. Go figure. Still demoralizing.

The second "run" was Friday; it was really more of a walk/jog with an unplanned sprint home. We (doc & I) decided to give it more time until I really run again, so I was just out enjoying exercise (if you can call it that) after doing a morning lake swim. The knee was fine every time I jogged, so I was happy.

But then shit hit the fan.

A damn bee landed on my face, so I swatted it away but it somehow landed on my back and stung me near the shoulder blade area. I couldn't see it so couldn't get the stinger out. I sprinted home hoping I'd see someone along the way for help, but no one! About five minutes later, my mom flicked out the stinger, but the damage was done--I took on a lot of venom I think.

I got really hot, itchy and swollen almost immediately. I took a cold shower. No relief (except when scratching my head while washing my hair--fingernails on the scalp never felt so good). Next I tried laying on the floor with ice packs covering my body. Some relief. But redness everywhere. I wasn't sure if I really had a rash/hives or if it was an illusion. Oh, it was a rash (pic doesn't even do it justice), ewwww...

I know I wasn't in anaphylactic shock and didn't feel too terrible so no way was I going to the ER. Toughed it out, and sure enough the rash subsided within a couple hours and I continued on with life as usual.

Now it just feels like I got stabbed in my shoulder blade. Hurts like a mother! Thankfully I've gotten in 10k worth of swimming and rowing this week, so can give the upper body some rest.

And, oh yea, that unplanned 5-min sprint home was no bueno for the knee. For the rest of the day, I couldn't walk without pain. But woke up the next day with no pain at all. Ugh! This injury is tricky and frustrating as hell. It seems like I'm doing everything right for recovery except completely giving up all forms of exercise. Ugh, that would be the worst... I barely do anything as it it these days. I just want this to end!!!

PS - Bee stings sustained while exercising = 4...since 2008. Anyone have me beat?

8 comments:

  1. EEEEOUCH!
    dang that looks painful.
    Glad to hear it's getting better.
    I have 3 stings while training the past few years.
    1. on chest while biking.
    2. on ankle while running.
    3. up my shorts and on my...yes, that thing.

    Nothing to see here, move along.

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  2. Wow..that looks like it hurts! I'm glad it's feeling better! Luckily, I have never been stung (knock on wood), but I am terrified of being stung one day. I know it's bound to happen sooner or later with the amount of biking/running/hiking I do outdoors. I just hope it's not bad when it does happen!

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  3. Bummer about the bee sting. I'm allergic and the reaction gets worse every time. I did an unplanned 1/2 mile sprint to my car and back to get closed toe shoes for lab. Was not a good idea.

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  4. How come nobody has mentioned that the bee sting gave you lats like Arnold Schwarzenneger (not the current one but the the Arnold from the Conan days). Dang, you look huge, have they always been like that?

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  5. Any chance you had a Chiropractor check your pelvis to make sure it is functioning well. It seems to help a lot of my patient/runners.

    Next time your stung...put some Era laundry detergent on it. Takes the proteins out which reduces the activity of the venom. Not that you should go out and get stung again just to try it...but for future reference.

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  6. This post really has me thinking.

    When do you know when you can run through the pain and when you should stop? I was kicking butt (for me) at the SFM yesterday through mile 17 when my left knee & ankle started killing me. I finished and ended up icing all afternoon (convinced I had screwed up both the knee & ankle).

    This morning, I feel fine. What gives?

    I can't wait to hear about your plans for 2011 and I hope you start getting in some good running soon.

    All the best,

    Ron

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  7. There are some of us out here who prefer technical entries so keep them up. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. Nice article in Tri by the way. I think it is funny how pure endurance folks that article sounds foreign, to the team sports types thats life as usual. Sorry about the bee.

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  8. Just saw your comment on my post, so this is related to ACE vs. NASM, etc...;-)

    I was just thinking that I should explain why ACE vs. NASM or NSCA. Frankly, I did ACE bc to me it was the 'easiest' of the more credible assoc's to get certified. They test also on the behavioral/social emotional stuff (I know that stuff from my Master's in counseling), and the others are WAY more anatomy...something I'm not too good at;-0

    and now...sorry about the bee sting. It seems like a lot of peeps out there are gettin' em

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