Life updates from a non running week!

....And thus concludes the first "zero" week of 2017......

Knowing me, it will not be the last!

Recovery from Providence went smoothly, and by Wednesday I was tempted to begin a little slow running, but I kicked that idea to the curb. I just completed a big training block with TWO marathons, thus earning a break from the road. 

I have mentioned in the past, and notice again, that recovering from a marathon is faster and easier when I keep the time slower than a 3:3x:00 pace. 

Duh? No kidding Captain Obvious?

Anyway. I took the recovery week rather seriously and ran not one step. As a rule, this is my go to plan after a big race. After Hartford I basically took a couple months off because I was toast, but I don't plan to do that this time. 

Also, I cooked a lot last week which was excellent. So many good things. Profiteroles. Chocolate chip cookie bars. Shrimp Scampi. Muesli. LORD!! So much deliciousness. When I run zero miles I certainly have more time for things like baking. 

These profiteroles were amazing. Ugly, but amazing!

I also drank some excellent beer. Since the weather has continued to act like March, I have been enjoying dark, thick brews. MMMMMM. 

An excellent beer for a cold day

OH! The most exciting event from last week is that the snowbank almost vanished! (it is gone now!)

5/4, the final day of the snowbank

In other news.....

In between Boston and Providence I found out that I have a uterine fibroid. 

This was surprising to me, because up until April 20th I had no idea that such a thing existed. 

I had a bit of testing done to make sure that the diagnosis was correct, and that we were not dealing with something sinister. Thankfully, fibroid seems to be the final answer. 

As weird as it is to have something unexpected growing inside me, this is not a medical crisis. I was actually hesitant to mention it, but my blog is an honest reflection of my life, and this is something that I am dealing with at the moment. 

If you want to have a gross out moment, google Pedunculated Fibroid. 

They are yucky and creepy and, as it turns out, mine is large. The size of a big navel orange to be specific. (9 cm) I am a small person, so this sucker is pretty significant. 

Now. Lest we think that I am literally the most oblivious person out there, walking around not knowing I have an extra friend inside of me, let me clarify. 

I did not think there was anything wrong with my female parts. And I certainly had no idea that I had grown a Big Friendly Tumor. I DID think that I was having GI issues, and that the pelvic pressure and feeling of bloating were related to stomach stuff. I planned to see my PCP in May, but my GYN appointment happened to come along first. And boom, diagnosis. (slightly thankful to have avoided a trendy food sensitivity ;-)) (more glad that it's a big friendly tumor, not a small malicious one.) 

So. The plan is to wait and see what it does in the next few months. I'll get a follow up ultrasound in August and go from there. 

(FYI, I don't plan to give weekly fibroid updates but I would be happy to share more if anyone is having a similar experience and is curious about what the process has been like for me.)

So that's about it for the time being. Today I am going to head out for a short run, and then maybe hit some roads I haven't seen in a while later in the week. And, summer is coming with temps looking to hit 80 on Thursday! (we are going to get heat stroke!)