Saturday, July 15, 2017

Mid 2017 Update

An  update is long over due on this here blog of mine. It's the middle of July for goodness sake and I have just noticed that I have only managed one post so far this year. Sorry about that.

It's not surprising really, but here's a quick update on the last few months. I very quickly realised, around February-ish, that interfering in CC's GCSE revisions plans was a huge mistake. Any attempts resulted in stand offish behaviour and tears, and that was just from me! CC seemed to have it all planned out and, although at times I didn't think she was quite working hard enough, I have confidence in her, and let's face it, the results in August will speak for themselves...

Not having to focus on CC's revision was good news for two reasons. Firstly, it meant that I could rest more and with the overwhelming fatigue that occurred for the first half of the year, it meant that I spend most of the first half of the year with my eyes shut on the sofa, without the guilt of worrying that I was not adequately supporting my daughter. There was a build up of pressure behind my eyes, caused by the pituitary tumour and at times there was nothing more that I could do, other than sleep.

I've never been one for napping. Those people that nod off on the bus, I always questioned how they could do that. Now I understand. Not that I took to falling asleep on public transport, but I was as tired during the day as I would usually be at night.. Actually, as an occasional insomniac, the fatigue that engulfed me during the day was worse than fatigue after a normal working day. I had no choice in this sleeping, I literally had to sleep. And then I would sleep at night too.

Anyway, I digress. Secondly, not worrying about CC meant that, when I did have the energy, I could train and enter and the London League triathlon group of events. At the time of writing, I'm in first position in the 40-44 age group. I still have one race to complete before the end of the season to have completed the required number of races.

So, why on earth wouldn't I complete all of the races? Well, just over a week ago now, on July 6, I had my pituitary tumour surgery, where the little blighter was removed via my nostrils. Yes, that's correct, the ENT surgeon goes in first and removes bone and tissue (eugh) from inside the nose to 'make space'  for the neurosurgeon to remove the tumour.

The surgery was a success, and I'm now in recovery. The post-op fatigue at this point feels every bit as bad as the pre-op fatigue, but I'm hopeful that it will fade in time.

So, that's an update on me. What about you? What's floating your boat, or sinking your swim at the moment. Leave me a comment, you know you want to.

PS> How much cooking have I done lately? Absolutely none. The closest I've got to cooking is watching Great British Menu What a great show. Ok, so I've 'made' a few smoothies and juices, which have been lovely, but I don't really count those as cooking. I'm hoping to get back to that again soon. However, I'm trying to pace myself. And. Not. Rush. Myself. TTFN.

Monday, January 2, 2017

New Year Goals 2017

Well, here we are. It's 2017. We're two days in. Did you make any New Year's resolutions? I'm always setting new goals, looking to learn new things and setting myself new challenges.  I thought I would share these with you, and maybe you will either be inspired (hopefully!), or just find it interesting. Here goes:

- I plan to deal with my acromegaly diagnosis as well as I possibly can. It's not every day you are diagnosed with a serious health condition, but it's not like I can do anything to change it, so I'm going to try and not let it define the whole of my future. It's early days in my diagnosis, so more on that in a future post.

- Blog more. I've neglected this blog so much recently. When I get so much from it, it's a crazy idea to not pursue it and develop it further. So, watch this space for new developments.

- Continue to use and evolve my BUJO. What? I hear you say? BUllet JOurnal. I started to use a Bullet Journal (http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/)  in late summer of 2016 when I was looking for a new way to manage a heavy workload. Guess what? It's a paper-based system, but it really works. I use it to manage my daily work activities and it forces you to prioritise. Why not give it a go?

- Maintain my exercise regime.  I was third in my age group in the UK London Triathlon league 2016 which I was really pleased about. Full results are here: London League Age group results 2016 I was also the winner of the ladies duathlon award for my tri club - South London Harriers triathlon club.
A super-proud moment was to receive the Coach's Award for 2016. I was awarded it for coming back from my hideous crash in 2014 and managing to compete again. It was a great moment.  I plan to maintain and maybe even improve on this (health permitting!) in 2017. If you are interested in London League  find out about the 2017 race schedule here: https://www.britishtriathlon.org/london/london-leagues/senior-series

- Eat less sugar. I think I eat too much sugar. I plan to look at my diet and see if I can make some sensible changes.

- Maintain a sense of perspective. There's a lot going on this year. I have my exercise  and race goals, health issues that cannot be ignored, CC's exams and a full-time job. In all of this, I need to maintain a sense of perspective and not try and do everything. I might have metal in my bones, but I'm not quite a robot yet!

So, where are you with your 2017 goals? It's not too late to set some. Leave me a comment. :)