Just a Bend, Not the End

The last few weeks have been tough. Last week I found out that I have Mono (which I've had before). If you've never had Mono, thank your lucky stars and pray that you never get it. The symptoms vary for everyone - basically I've felt sick and worn down for the past few weeks. The spleen enlarges when you have mono (it's on the left side of the body underneath the breast) and you're told not to play contact sports or do strenuous exercise in fear of the spleen bursting. I consider running or Bikram strenuous exercise hence I haven't done either since before Christmas. As a very active person, this has been hard for me.

The stomach issues I mentioned last week are not related to the Mono. It was only when I went to the doctor for the stomach issues when I found out about the Mono. Next week I am scheduled for an Upper GI Endoscopy
to see if we can find some answers. It won't be the most pleasant event of my life, but I'm anxious to see what the results are.

A few days ago I made an executive decision NOT to run the marathon this year. I am supposed to be training right now, and ideally I would be in my 2nd or 3rd week of it. By the time I can get back into running fully, I'll have lost about a month of training. If I want to run 26.2 miles, a month of training is something I cannot afford to do without. However, I do believe I can get back into training in the next week to 10 days and do the half marathon instead. When compared to a marathon, running 13.1 miles seems like a piece of cake. Besides, I have the Triple Crown of Running (5k, 10k, and 10 miler) and the Bridge Run in Charleston (10k). All of those races take place in March and April.

I'll leave on a happy note. Things will get better - this is just a bend, not the end!
Watch this video of the Happiest Penguin Ever.