Tuesday, January 13, 2009

half marathon + surgery?

I'm not sure what's happening... but I got a doozy of a migraine on Sunday and it hasn't left, missed yet another day of work on Monday. Today I spent the day wearing earplugs which resulted in mildly offended middle schoolers. (Not fun. Not fun).

My jaw is also intensely tired... but I haven't been working it out, I swear! I have stuck to my rigid chew-as-little-as-possible regimen, eating oatmeal and soup and smoothies instead of "real" food. It is spasming left and right, and I can not find a comfortable resting position to save my life.

On another note, I've been considering running a half marathon for a while now and my friend wants to do the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon with me... however, it's June 27th. School is already going to be delayed getting out by at least two days (we've had a bit of snow this December in Western WA) which places us out of school on the 19th. If I had my perfect date, I would choose June 29th for a surgery date.... but I'm wondering about putting my body through the stress of a half marathon only to have major surgery two days later. What do you guys think?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I say go for it! You sound like you really want to do this marathon. And I know once you do the marathon you will feel so good about yourself. I say go for it! I know you might be hurting after the marathon and even a day after....but it will be a good pain :) I work at a dental office and I worked on Friday, was out all day on Saturday and Sunday and I had my baby Monday morning. It was not too bad. So if I can do it (I cry when i get a paper cut) then you can do it girl!

Rainne said...

I think it would be good for you. You'll be in good shape because of training for the marathon, which is always a plus when undergoing surgery. But if you're not sure, ask your surgeon...

Katherine (Kate) said...

Ah man, why won't it just leave you alone already! Poop.

I don't see why you couldn't, that way you get all the pain done and over with at the same time, haha!

Ditto Rainne's comments concerning being in great shape being a huge plus for surgery...and double checking with your surgeon. Even if it's just for him to say "way to go!" Half marathon: and here I'm all proud of myself for having gotten back up to 6 km~ you put me to shame ;)

laura said...

That would be brave! I agree about it helping your recovery to be in shape. Not sure if I'd do the half-marathon that soon before the surgery though - your body will be healing your muscles and your jaw at the same time, and your calorie intake will be way lower than normal.

That was my initial reaction anyway. But perhaps you'll feel so good about completing the half-marathon that it'll help your recovery. Better to ask the doc, I guess.

stephanie said...

See... Laura's point was exactly what I'm a bit worried about. I mean, I'll have trained well enough and have long runs equal to the half marathon prior to running it... but it will still be taxing on my body.

I'll ask the doc. I know I'd like to be healthy... and I could always put off my surgery a few days into the first few days of July.. I don't know.

Anonymous said...

Having already done my jaw surgery in the summer, I could have definately used something like that to keep my mind off things right before my surgery. Although it could possibly make your first couple days of recovery a bit more difficult because of the stress the half-marathon would put on your body, I'm sure that the good would outway the bad. I think getting into that good of shape would make your long term recovery a lot easier and shorter and you would be able to bounce back a lot sooner.(The way I see it is that the first couple days are going to be hard anyways, but you'll make it through, and in the grand scheme of things, I'd rather have those first few day be a little bit worse if in return I could take a couple weeks off my more longterm recovery.) But, like others said, definately check with your doctor to get it ok'd. And, if you have ANY questions about wind instrument playing after surgery just email me at: feel_alive911@hotmail.com and I will do my best to answer any questions you have!
~Danielle

nabukay said...

Hi Steph, I don't much about jaw surgery. I think running a marathon sounds fantastic but I'm worried about the strain it could have on your body because of preparation and then recovering after that. When we have big ops like the one you are about to have our immune systems need to be really strong and I guess I'm worried your immune system could be too tired after that run? But I guess other people that have had surgery know best because they always say you need to be fit. Good luck and keep us posted.
huggy hug.

funkyrhodes said...

Hi Steph...I was trying to add you to my 'follow' list, but I don't see the link? I'm still a blogspot n00b!

chris k said...

Having only done a half marathon on inline skates, I'd try to keep at least a week in between the two. Being in shape will be great, but only two days? Sounds tight to me.

my .02

Sharon said...

I'm a bicyclist and ride several thousand miles a year. I had my surgery in January 09 and stopped riding my bike in September after riding Cycle Oregon because my doc wanted me to gain weight leading up to the surgery due to weight loss post-surgery. Even after taking 5 months off from riding I only gained a couple of pounds and was still in pretty good shape leading into surgery. I've lost about 8 pounds and I'm 7 weeks post-op. I would hate to think what I would weigh now if I had been riding right up to two days before surgery -- especially participating in a huge . Post-surgery nutrition is a huge issue. Being in shape definitely was a benefit but training for and participating in such a huge event just two days prior to surgery is a whole different thing.