Hot Toddy!!

No, I'm not suddenly gay. I found a home remedy online today that I'm going to give a shot. A hot toddy is comprised of 1/4 cup of honey and two squeezed lemons boiled slowly. Toss in a double shot of Captain Morgan's or some of your other favorite rum or whiskey and supposedly the relief is to be amazing.

So I hit the liquor store today, then the grocery store and came home with a new plan. The over the counter experiments are over and this is my final ditch effort before bringing in the big guns (my doctor).

Armed with this new remedy in mind and a somewhat improved sense of well being, I hit the treadmill after work for a quick 4-miler. Finally, back to running. I almost waited until Sunday and hope that I don't regret this run tomorrow morning. Then again, if I do regret it how will I know it will be from the run? It could also be the rum. Guess I'll have to wait and see. Now I can say, as the commercial claims, "got a little Captain in me".

Havin' Some Fun With the Numbers

I get caught up in the numbers. For someone who doesn't like, nor has ever liked math it is amazing how often I track things numerically. Sometimes to a fault. For instance; having not run a mile since a week ago today it bothers me that my yearly mileage is down and that I've not been able to log a mile for that length of time. Obviously it is the wise thing to do as I seem to be feeling just a bit better today and I probably need a few more days to fully recover. There have been times I've come back from an injury or an illness too quickly just to "get the number up" or "log" the miles. Wrong thing to do.

But after going through the previous week with what I'm calling a case of bronchitis (there I go self-diagnosing again) I walked off the ice last night and felt a sense of relief at what I had just accomplished. When my illness began and I looked at my calendar I knew I would be entering a tough stretch of hockey season. Just getting through it felt like an accomplishment. But in the condition I was in and fighting and battling to get over it while maintaining myself at work and on the ice was very tough. Looking back, here are some numbers I walked away with that make it all the more amazing:

• 6 - days of officiating in a row (last time I did this was in January, 2006 and only did 8 games during that stretch. I did a 9-out-of-10-day stretch back in December, 2002)
• 13 - games (most in that short a span ever)
• 6 - rinks (Kirk Nevin Arena, War Memorial Arena, North Central Recreation Center, Center Ice Arena, Valley Sports Complex, Harmarville Bladerunners)
• 10 - different officiating partners
• 567 - miles put on my car going to all of these games
• 100 - did my hundredth game of the season on Monday night, which is the seventh consecutive season with 100+ games worked in a season.
• 3 - different types of cold and sinus medication in an attempt to get myself through it all.

Much like last year's AA Penguin Cup Championship day when I ran 18 miles and then worked a double overtime game, this late February stretch of 2008 will be a week to remember to say the least.

I Must Be Stupid

How else to explain what I just did over the past five days. Ironically enough, I did not run. Not even a half mile. Last Wednesday I ran a 4 miler despite the feeling that my "cold" had moved into my chest. Following the rule of thumb that I've read over and over again that if your illness is from the neck up - run. Below the neck? Don't run. Well, a sore throat would not keep me from running.

I had planned another 4-miler on the morning of Feb. 14 but woke up to a hoarse voice and chest congestion. Follow the simple rule. I would not run until the chest thing had passed. Unfortunately for me I had to referee two games Thursday night and then agreed to work two games in a U18 Tier I tournament on Friday night. With an afternoon Bantam game scheduled for Saturday afternoon and an evening high school game for Saturday night, my weekend would not provide me with the proper rest I felt I was going to need. Despite this fact, I agreed to go back for three Tier I games on Sunday morning in New Kensington (little over an hour away) knowing I had to work a charity game back home Sunday night.

With my "chest cold" looking like it was heading in the right direction on Saturday night, despite my stupidity, I had a re-occurence on Sunday. Even though my better judgment cried out to not take a game on Monday I agreed to go to Harmarville Monday morning for a 7:00 a.m. Tier I game (1 hour, 15 minute drive). That meant getting up at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning. Getting through it I came home, changed clothes and took the wife to Altoona for some shopping and a "make up" lunch for basically missing Valentine's Day and not being at home all weekend.

Arriving back home yesterday afternoon, I snuck in an hour nap and then headed back down to the War Memorial for a varsity game. My six-day episode ends with a late game tonight and hopefully some needed rest. Although I am not hacking that badly, I still have chest congestion. My patience is thin, but I can't help but think that I've done this to myself and I simply must wait until I am feeling well enough to run again.

I take solace in the fact that I had an 11-day break during training for Philadelphia with plantar fasciitis. In a weird way I think that helped me. And with all of the skating I'm doing, I'm not losing much in terms of my anaerobic level.

Although this stupid idiot needs some rest and recovery. Big time!

My Once A Week

I don't plan on making it a habit to post only once a week. Too many other circumstances (hockey, illness, work) have gotten in the way of late. I have been battling illness for the better part of two weeks and yesterday it kind of got the best of me. I didn't do my morning run, although I lifted weights, but had to leave work early and today am on a very rare sick day.

With 5 nights of refereeing in the next 6 nights, I plan on taking it easy today, maybe have some soup and try to get beyond this as quickly as possible. I suppose so goes winter. With over 11 weeks to go until Frederick, I'm not what I would consider "on schedule", but I'm not far off despite my low mileage. I'm not panicking. At least it's not injury. (I hope I don't eat those words).

Slackin' But Still Here

I think I might have gone the longest stretch ever without a post. Guess I haven't had much to say. Things are kind of muddling along. This is always a very tough time of year. Overcoming the cold is even tougher when the hockey games mean more and tensions run high. Toss in the fact that work has been really busy and very difficult and I suppose I can begin to understand why I feel as if I'm in a funk.

Without running the risk of jinxing myself, I can say that at least my running has been consistent with very few hitches (I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me). My mileage has been low, but consistent. I haven't had many difficulties in terms of injuries. Minor aches and pains associated with refereeing and the normal wear and tear that running does. Otherwise, I've been lucky.

Things are about to change. They will be intensifying. Yes, I've done some speedwork the past couple of weeks. And my Sunday long runs will increase over the next few weeks (did 9 this past Sunday). With just over 12 1/2 weeks until the big day, I will also be refereeing consistently over the next 4-5 of those weeks, with the season potentially going on over the next 7 weeks (depending on playoff assignments). I normally live for this time of year. I guess I just need to get to the end of this month. That is what I'm waiting for.