After getting my second booster shot for Covid later that day, I felt a little raw around the edges. But, I thought it no different than the first Pfizer booster I received back on July 29. In fact, since the first booster I received was a full dose and this one a genuine booster dose, I wondered if there would be any reaction at all. Sure, this one was Moderna but I really hadn't shown any monumental reaction to any of the vaccinations give so far.
..."Oh mother of God" screamed the voice early the next morning. "This sucker kicked me in my metaphorical...well you know what I mean.
Not only did I feel it, the reaction to this booster went straight for my achilles heel.
My joints.
I had one bout of streptococcus pneumonia many years ago that evolved into a bout of rheumatic fever. It not only inflamed every single joint in my body, it did some damage to the tissue in my right hip joint.
I was starting to get flashbacks!
I was sick twice in one month when I came back from the Galapagos and I felt worse symptoms from this booster than the cold and the subsequent virus I contracted afterward (not COVID)!
However, I confess - something stubborn stirred in me and I felt determined not to let a "man made" illness spoil my new years.
My mantra for 2022 (which coincides with my shift in fitness goals) is
"If you want to manifest the infinite, learn to pace.your.self"
So, that is exactly what I told this brain when I rolled over and winced at the pain throbbing around my rib cage.
"Get up, do your morning routine, and pace yourself...one little step at a time."
Something inside me knew if I took in some ibu-profin, the pain and fever would start to relent. So, I went out to the yoga mat, did my morning meditation and breathing exercises, made the bed, fed little Billy Flynn, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and put on some athleisure clothes with the hopes of being well enough to get in a bike ride later.
I grabbed my pre workout snacks and headed upstairs. My mother took one look at me and knew the chickens had come home to roost with this last shot. My luck had ran out.
Halfway through my snacks, Mama said "you want one of my homemade blueberry muffins and some warm almond milk to take with your motrin?"
I was supposed to wait until the evening to have our planned New Year's Eve dessert tray platter, but my reserve fell and in my fragile state I readily agreed.
Fully carbed up and full of warm almond milk and 200 mgs of motrin, a wave of fatigue came over me and I said "I need to go back to bed and rest a little longer." Mom agreed and at this point I thought all was lost for a mid morning workout and a decent NYE.
I had already made the bed, but asked little Billy Flynn if it would be okay if I used the throw he always sleeps on to crawl under and the quilt my mother made for me many years ago. It's safe to say for the next hour and a half I was completely gone to the world and when I awoke, the fever broke and it was everything I could do to get the covers off of me!
But, even then sleep prevailed and another half hour passed before I opened my eyes and realized the pain in my joints had finally subsided. Except for my left arm of course, where the shot was administered was swollen and hot. I didn't care, at least the fire in my joints was gone and I could move my shoulder blades freely.
I didn't know how long the ibu profin would last, but I knew it was important to move quickly if I wanted to get some things done.
So, ya know I wandered upstairs, gulped down that first cup of coffee, changed into my workout clothes, and did a nice 15 miles on the bike for 45 minutes and sweat so much I actually left wet spots on my yoga mat during my cool down routine!
I gave thanks to the makers of Ibu-profin and whispered to my immune system "you gotta do what you gotta do, but now you have a crap load of endorphins like serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline to compete with so go ahead, have a ball!"
The ibuprofin did inevitably wear off and the fever began to surface again so I took another one, but the joint pain was gone and the ice cold shower I took later pretty much obliterated the last of the effects of the booster.
My resting heart rate was definitely high as it usually is when I'm sick, but what amazed me is it still managed to stay in and around the aerobic range I've been setting for my rides in order to increase my endurance and stamina. My RHR was still high this morning since last night was a surplus meal and I took allergy meds, but yet again when I went for my 45 minute bike ride on a completely different program and adhered to the rpm range I set to hit my aerobic range, it came up a stellar 130 bpm!
The heart, I am learning is one of the most phenomenally adaptable muscles in the human body and the maffetone method I'm using in order to increase endurance is by far starting to become the most fascinating approach to training I've ever used.
The irony is that even when I was compromised and my resting heart rate was high, my heart had already adapted to beat more efficiently to rpms I had increased just a little over a week ago. I increased the rpm range because my heart had already adapted to that range as well so the gist of this approach is that my heart continues to learn how to function more efficiently within a target zone, thus slowly allowing me to incrementally increase speed and time on the bike.
But, knowing one's aerobic range is key in this approach. Mine is 122-132 bpm. And, for those of you following Nick Bare's training for his next ultra marathon - you know he's using this approach as well for running. But, it can be used as well for any type of endurance training.
And, it works! It's awesome and it's definitely taking my cardio to levels I never dreamed of and it's also the reason I'm shifting my fitness goals. It used to be more of a 50/50 or even 60/40 of weights vs. cardio for me. But, I'm at that point where I've decided to shift it the other direction and make it more 65/35 cardio vs. weights.
There are a lot of reasons I can set forth and all of them very good ones. But, at the end of the day it feeds my bliss. It's what I feel drawn and compelled to do. It's also ironically the one thing I've always known I'm good at but never really pushed just to see how far I could go. And, at 48 I want to know and my heart is very obviously ready to show me.
It's funny how the last few years I've paid attention to all the other muscles in my body, except my heart.
And yet without it, where would I be on so many levels. Yes indeed, it's time to connect with the heart.
This by know means is declaration that I'm throwing weights to the corner. They're actually more essential than people think when training endurance. Did you know incorporating weights, strength, and resistance actually increases the lactic threshold for folks who do endurance activities like cycling, swimming, and running?
And, lemme tell ya folks when one is cycling for 50 minutes on an interval program and the level is set to 18, increasing the lactic threshold is key.
So, the weights and resistance are still a part of my training. It will be a priority, but not the majority. And, yes my "gains" will likely be sacrificed but let's get real - at 48 years of age I'm not going to be doing push ups with a 20 lb weighted vest forever and I stand to progress further training the heart muscle and focusing on muscle maintenance.
The challenging part about all of this will be dialing in the nutrition. I'm already burning A LOT of calories. I topped out at over 17,000 cals burned in one week. That is a record high for my fitbit. Protein still remains VERY important to me, but easy carb sources are just as important especially since I'm already lean.
So, there's likely going to be some experimenting in the year to come when it comes to understanding how to fuel all this especially when swim season starts - some further research will be necessary.
Anyhow I hope everyone had an AMAZING joyful and loving holiday season. Remember, when it feels especially cold outside pull from that light within and know you ARE the warmth of summer in your coldest winter :-)
