The Activity Hangover

As I've increased my mileage and upped my weights, I've noticed an increase in my RA disease activity. Physical activity, including running and strength training, can cause inflammation. In a person without an autoimmune disease, the inflammation brought on by vigorous exercise can lead to DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). In those of us afflicted with RA and the like, not only do we get DOMS, but we can get an activity hangover.

Just like a hangover from being overserved at the bar, an RA activity hangover can cause some pretty unpleasant symptoms like nausea, fatigue, stiffness, and joint pain. The activity hangover is due to excess products of inflammation in the body. For the past couple of weeks, on and off, I've had these symptoms. I guess you could say I've been overserved at the bar--the lifting bar, lol. Yet, I keep going back for more. Deadlifts? Make that a double, coach...

I'm pretty sure that having an activity hangover is the reason I struggled at last Sunday's Auto Show Race. That 10 miler I ran the day before apparently was equivalent to too many glasses of wine. Was it worth it? 

Of course it was. After all, no good story starts with "I went for a walk"...

On Monday, I debated going to CrossFit because I still felt yucky. I woke up feeling stiff, achy, sore, tired, and a little bit queasy. But like I always do when I don't feel well is I decided to TRY. I was able to finish that workout strong! No regrets. Sure beats laying around on the couch. What's an RA warrior to do?

Avoid foods that cause inflammation. Eat more foods that reduce inflammation. Drink lots of water. Most important of all: take and respect total rest days.

The best remedy? A little hair of the dog: gentle movement. Gentle stretching and yoga. Hangover be dammed. Contrary to what you might think, laying around only increases the joint stiffness. I've found that once I get moving, I do feel better. 

Weekly Rundown

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Trail Run 5.25 miles, Yoga with Adriene

Thursday: Strength training, Bootcamp

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Run 3.25 miles

Sunday: Run 12 miles

Running:

Wednesday morning was sunny but it was cold! Excited to run on the trails, I layered up and drove to a different trail in the forest preserve. I was familiar with this trail, having skiied it many times before. I hoped that it wouldn't be too icy, but that hope was dashed as soon as I started running. Fortunately, there was enough crunchy snow on the trail that I was able to run most of the time. I stayed upright the whole time with only one close call. It was a gorgeous morning and I can't wait for the snow to melt so I can relax and enjoy this trail. 

I had to work Saturday morning, but wanted to get a quick 3 miles in. I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise run and a speedy one at that! Running on pavement never felt so good and my legs wanted to fly. On Sunday, I was determined to get 12 miles in. With only 2 weeks until my 25k trail run in Florida, that is as long as my long run is going to get. Never mind training for the heat and humidity. The sun was shining and it was relatively warm, in the 40s. But the winds were blowing, so as usual, I started out running into the wind and it almost broke me. I pushed on and started to find a rhythm. There was a lot of ice still and at times, I had to walk to get around it. One of those walks ended up with me catching my toe on a root and I fell into the mud. I had to laugh because after all those icy trail runs I've been doing, this is the first time I've fallen--on the bike path. Anyway, I finished upright and got my 12 done! I'd like to do this again next weekend, so fingers crossed that can happen.

Have no fear, that is a dog walker behind me.
Don't you hate getting busted taking a selfie?

CrossFit

As I stated earlier in the post, on Monday I was on the fence about going to CrossFit. When I saw rope climbs in the WOD, I knew I had to go. The WOD was 10 rounds of 1 rope climb, 3 hang cleans, 6 jerks, and 9 GHD sit ups. The rope climbs weren't what got me, it was the jerks. My heart just pounded with each round. Maybe I was too ambitious with the weight I put on the bar. But I did the whole workout. I was so happy I went!

Thursday's bootcamp workout was a chipper of 50 each: 10m shuttle runs, renegade rows, DB power cleans, DB thrusters, 50 calorie row, DB front lunges, box oovers, abmat situps, and a 50 cal ride on the assault bike. You could not break up the reps. The workout had to be done straight through. It was as hard as it sounds. After we recovered from the workout, Steph and I played with ring swings and toes to bar. 

Strength Training

One of my goals for the spring is to increase my endurance. Sammy Jo came up with a plan for me to do high weights, high reps. This week she had me do 10 reps of deadlifts at 140# x 3 sets. I alternated those with shoulder presses at 25# using a dumbbell. After that, I worked on box step ups as a pistol prep workout. 6 months ago, I couldn't do these. Now I can! Hips don't lie, right? I alternated this with wall ball shots from a lunge. I swear, these coaches always find a way to make an activity more difficult!

How was your week? Do you schedule true rest days into your workout schedule? What's your favorite hangover cure? Is spring starting to tease you like it is here by me? They're calling for snow again this week--that's life in the Midwest! Have a great week. 

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.