9 Days ago...

That's how long it's been since my last run...and boy do I hate being forced to take time off. I woke up last week with a brutal headache that came with neck, upper and lower back pain that ran all the way down my spine. Each step that I took I could feel it radiating down through my spine...so forget about running if I can feel it walking! That was the start of a week of migraines that hasn't really stopped yet. Originally I was getting them every 4 hours...then I graduated to 8...and now finally i'm around 10 hours in between. How bizarre.

I don't know where the back and neck issues came from but eventually decided I needed a massage to see if that would help. I received a pretty awesome massage in that area from this woman that specializes in cranial massage and sees a lot of people that have headache/migraine issues. Apparently the whole right side - neck, back, shoulders - is extremely tight and she did loosen it up a great deal. Maybe it's part of the reason why i'm now down to 10 hours in between headaches. To anyone who has had a migraine before you know nausea often comes with it from the pain which i've been experiencing a lot of. Ugh.

My most recent migraine was at 3:30 this morning and after managing to get rid of it and going back to sleep, I came to work feeling pretty good. I decided i've had enough and today I would try running again! I was a little worried about the back stuff I had going on recently even though it's been feeling better. However, the run turned out to be pretty great...did I ever miss running the last week and a half! It was a beautiful 14 degree day and I love every opportunity I get this time of year to wear shorts! Felt great. I figured it would be a pretty slow and easy run...yet my easy pace was still pretty quick according to my garmin so that was good!! I'm happy to report that it's been 10.5 hours since my last headache and it's not back yet. I've been doing a lot of stretching of my neck and back so hopefully it's working!

Anyhow, aside from those issues that I have, I had a fun weekend...a great meal on friday night with some girlfriends at this awesome vegetarian restaurant the coup....Andrew and I went out to a bbq on saturday night with a bunch of my Newfie friends that I grew up with and then off to the yardhouse for drinks later (non alcoholic for me as it often sets off a migraine) to celebrate Andrew's friend's birthday...as well as some dog park visits this weekend.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day for Andrew and I which I definitely love now and then. We ended the night with one of our favorite things to make....home made pizzas :) Here's a picture of Andrew's on the top rack and mine on the bottom. Yum!

Hopefully i'll have everything straighted out soon and back to a regular running routine again. I don't want to push it too soon so tomorrow i'll probably do some other type of cardio at the gym and run again on wednesday.