Blogging Sam

Back At It

By Sam
on Jun 09, 2017
in Food, New Jersey, Photos, Running/Fitness

Look at the size of that fly on my head! It would have sucked my brains out if I hadn't been wearing a hat! — Look at the size of that fly on my head! It would have sucked my brains out if I hadn’t been wearing a hat!

I got out for a 6-mile run at Mahlon Dickerson Reservation this afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day. The temperature was 73°. The humidity was low.

I was still mildly fatigued from Wednesday’s migraine (See yesterday’s post: “Voided.”) A migraine is guaranteed to affect me for at least two days and sometimes three. The first day, at least the first 18 hours are the worst. The second day is when I have what I refer to as “migraine hangover.” I’ll have a dull headache, feel fatigued and generally worn out. That’s how I felt yesterday. Today I was feeling almost back to normal (whatever that is). But the fatigue got to me by the halfway point of my run.

As you can see in the photo, I layered up again for this run. (See my recent post: “Such a Hottie.”) There are 8 days until the Running with the Devil race and weather reports are estimating the temperatures to be close to 90° by then. That is exactly how I thought June was going to play out and exactly what I’ve been preparing for. Today I wore a long-sleeved cotton shirt with a heavy cotton sweatshirt. I didn’t wear sweatpants because there’s too much foliage on which to get snagged. Because the temperature wasn’t too high, the humidity was low, and I was running in the shade of the woods, the layers were not overbearing.

It’s always good to be in the woods, except maybe when you roll your ankle and have to hobble a long distance to get out of the woods. Today was a thoroughly enjoyable day. There is always something different to see each time I’m in the woods. Here are a few photos.

There are at least 13 turtles sunning themselves in this photo. I wish I could have gotten a closer shot.

A water lily about to bloom. Soon this pond will look like a Monet painting.

Here is a photo of something which every time I come around a certain bend in the trail I see in my peripheral vision and think it is a bear sitting there. EVERY TIME! I’ve seen bears numerous times in the woods, but I don’t want to suddenly run up on one when he’s sitting there minding his own business!

One other thing after the past few lost days: I didn’t gain any weight since last week. For three days this week my eating was out of control. I wrote about all the pizza I consumed, but I didn’t tell you about the apple crumb cake (which I ate while driving and got it all over), the Dunkin Donuts followed by McDonald’s an hour later, the entire box of Devil Dogs, and more. I did better today. I ate much less. I did eat more Ruffles potato chips than I needed. But I’m back on the wagon and back at it. That feels good.

Voided

By Sam
on Jun 08, 2017
in Food, Migraines, Running/Fitness

Sometimes my best laid plans are made void by the arrival of a migraine. When one comes, I always have high intentions of continuing with my day, fulfilling all the to-dos on my to-do list. But over the course of several hours, my motivation and strength to keep going begin to wane.

My migraines always begin with a visual aura. It starts small, a bright tiny speck in my vision. I always doubt its existence when I first notice it. Maybe it’s just a floater or an afterimage from a bright reflection I saw. But once the tiny speck takes the shape of a few jagged lines and begins to shimmer and vibrate, I know my day has been interrupted in truth.

At that point I take my pills. The aura grows, spreading over 75% or more of my vision. My brain starts to get a little fuzzy. Sometimes my words get mixed up. The bright lights in my eyes are a sign of the circuits in my head shorting out.

The pain starts. I feel like puking. The energy of my body begins to fade as if it’s being drained through the soles of my feet into the hard lifeless earth.

By then I begin to give up on my plans for the day. Running and exercise feel like way too much of an effort. At that point I start to think, Maybe I can go for a walk to at least get a little exercise. But before long I usually forego that idea too. Going places, running errands, meeting up with friends, all become too much to undertake. I give up.

Along the way I usually become ravenously hungry, but not for anything healthy! No! I crave PIZZA! Almost always. Sometimes sweet things too. Then all my striving to lose weight by eating right gets completely derailed. I’ve consumed an entire pizza under such conditions. I’ve eaten numerous cakes and cookies. Is it a need for massive amounts of carbohydrates for which my body must have? Or am I eating for the emotional comfort of junk food? When I am in that condition, the answer to that question never matters.

This was my day yesterday. Plans were cancelled. My day went down the tubes. My vitality was sucked out of me. And I filled the void with:

For more thoughts on migraines and to see some of my migraine art check out “Sleep with Migraine, A Still Life” and other posts on my art website, Doodlesam.com.