Ending 2023

 Well it has been a good fall.  I can say that.  I love my new job.  Youth group is going great.  Our family is all thriving in their various educational opportunities and actiivites.  Exercise wise I never got a good routine down.  The first week of October I felt settled in my job which was only about two miles from my house.  I even bought a montly bus pass and really enjoyed taking the city bus to work saving money on gas.  That same week, my supervisor pulled me aside and asked me to relocate to our other job site...now 19 miles away.  My commute time quadrupled.  Settling into my classroom, office, and figuring things out took a long time. With not having a regular IA and so many subs--we're not there yet.  But it's a lot better than it was.

I was sick with a very nasty cold the first two weeks of work.  I had a two week break.  Then I caught some kind of throat thing which was a sore throat that never turned into anything else.  On Veteran's Day I got a stomach bug that started with Derek two weeks prior (thought I was off the hook but it has been two weeks...not the case) and circulated through the rest of the family.  I was sick mostly Friday and part of Saturday.  Rob and Kara had it Sunday and Monday.  While in Michigan Kara caught what she thought was a mild cold and turned into one of the worst coughs she's had since she was a baby.  The timing was awful as it was tech week for her play.  Antibiotics and a cough supressant helped.  It lasted over two weeks.  I spent a few nights on the couch because her coughing was keeping me up.

Then I caught a mild version of her cough a little over a week ago.  Spent a night on the couch but I was coughing and waking myself up.  I am still not fully over it.  I am coughing at night when laying down.  I think we have gone through at least two bottles of cough medicine.

Sickness is the one thing that throws off my routine big time.  I get over stuff very quickly.  Surprisingly I did not miss any work due to sickness.  But getting back into exercise is very very hard.  I am slowly trying to get back there.  Before my stomach bug in November I was up to 7 miles and running so comfortably.  I don't feel that right now.  Even when I did the Turkey Trot 5k with my family, I really enjoyed it.  But I felt weak and sick.  I have felt that way every single time I have run since because I am out of shape and not consistent.

So I am hoping Christmas Break will help get me moving and I can get more consistent in the new year and figure out a routine that works best for me.  Because early mornings are still really hard.  Here's my workouts this week.

Monday = Ran 2.4 miles doing intervals at the SS track and Hailey came along.  Again felt really weak and sick and not strong at all.

Tuesday - Stationary bike for 40 minutes.  I woke up in a cough medicine fog.  It was pretty bad.  I could not wake up.  I sat at the kitchen table for an hour with my coffee and had to go lie down again.  I felt so much fatigue.  It did not really go away until the afternoon.  I was able to go the gym and get a good workout out on the bike.  Afterwards when I got home, I felt fatigue again and had to lie down again for twenty minutes before Kara's program.  I think I am done with this cough though.

And I did sign up for the 2024 kilometers in 2024 so I am comitted!

Wednesday = Swam about 1,000 yards.  Really good swim.  Nice to be in the pool.

Thursday = Christmas lights run with Emily. We ran 4 miles at the Keizer lights

Friday = Hiked 14 miles!  Rob and I did a long hike at Silver Falls in the backcountry.  So fun.

Saturday = Rest. Lots of cleaning and catching up on stuff around the house.

Sunday = Rest.  Was going to run but my glands are swollen and throat hurts again.  It is the either the tail end of the cold or a new cold.  So frustrating.  I laid on the couch a good part of the afternoon.