Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Scorching Summer (Heatstroke & Heat Exhaustion Stories - Embarrassing)

I don’t know about you guys, but this heat is unbearable to me.  We’ve been finding any and every reason to get out of the house for a bit.  This has ranged from anything, such as staying at work longer, restaurants, coffee shops (as I sit in Starbucks currently sipping on a Tazo iced passion tea- - yum!) and the gym.  I never thought that I would be so excited to go to the gym just to escape our A/C free, sweatbox of a house.
I’m definitely one of these people that don’t fair well when it comes to heat.  I don’t think that I could ever handle living in a southern area where high temperatures and intense humidity are the norm.  I guess I am a Northern girl at heart.  I’ve already experienced my fair share of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.



Experience #1:

After a grueling, steamy day outside at the local fair and parade, my mom, aunt and I decided to hit up the local, large flea market.  At this events we had a tendency to meander our way around separately, checking out the stands we were interested in and meeting up an hour or so later. The last thing I remember is standing there and having the world close in on me and blacking out completely.  I woke up surrounded by tons of foreigners (this market had many Asian merchants/shoppers) speaking to me in their native tongue.  As if it wasn’t confusing enough passing out in a unfamiliar area, waking up to a bunch of strangers just brought it to a whole new level. I swear that I was there for half an hour or more completely out of sorts and no idea what really was going on. Finally, my family found me passed out on the floor with all these people surrounding spraying me with water.  It’s a funny sight to imagine now, but at the moment I was miserable.  It’s definitely something I would never want anyone else to experience.  The shivers, nausea, puking, dizziness and overall fatigue was terrible.    Needless to say, days later and lots of fluids and rest and I was back to normal.

heatstroke

Experience #2:

Every time I think about this story it makes me feel bad for Ryan (husband). We were on our first vacation that we had taken together as a couple and had only been dating several months.  We had spent the past day driving down to Florida (20+ hours), with not nearly enough sleep (certainly didn’t help)and had finally arrived at the hotel.  It was a super hot day and we hadn’t had much time to acclimate to the weather and I decided to take a hot shower.  I was in there several moments and BOOM! I was down and out.  Ryan rushed in to see what happened and I’m passed in the shower with my eyes rolled back in my head and a big cut on my knee from the fall down.  Poor boy didn’t know what was going on and thought he had a dead girlfriend (what a great way to start our first ever vacation together).  I finally came too and this time had a bit more of an idea what had happened. 

The Moral of The Story:

Pay attention to the warning signs.  Stay hydrated and rested when temperatures skyrocket.  I had many of the signs of heat exhaustion, but dismissed them.  After dealing with this several times now, I’ve certainly become accustomed to learning what to expect and look for and most importantly LISTEN to what my body is telling me.  As much as I’d like to be out there and running and training for the upcoming Warrior Dash, I know that it’s not feasible in this weather. Instead I’ve improvised with gym sessions until the weather changes.

heat stroke jjg

Signs & symptoms of heat exhaustion and stroke can be found at the CDC website. If you’re active in the summer it’s worth a look and can save your life or another’s. 

Have you or someone you know ever had heat exhaustion or stroke? Do you like/dislike the heat?

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Post-Holiday & Detox

What an insane Fourth of July weekend! This past weekend two of our closest friends got married! It was such a great time and my husband and I were both honored to be part of such a special day.  We’re so happy that these two have finally tied the knot and can’t wait for all the amazing times that we will share in the future (the groom is one of Ryan’s best college buddies and I’ve known the bride through high school and college).

The wedding was great (aside from the heat and humidity that had us dripping sweat during the ceremony and pictures –haha) . It was one of the first time in years (since our wedding in 2009) that we finally had most of our college friends together again.  It’s times like these that I cherish, especially now that it doesn’t seem to happen often enough.  I can’t wait for the day that we are all living closer together again.  I’m even more excited when we all have families that we can watch grow together. 

blog5
5 of the bridesmaids and the beautiful bride (there were 2 more girls).
270596_1425487455210_1773500685_675286_7936096_n
The whole CMU gang!

blog6
The hubby & I, sweaty after busting a move or two on the dance floor

blog4
Loved the cupcakes at the rehearsal dinner.
blog1
Wedding wine basket we made for special occasions. I'm
pretty proud of how this turned out with handmade tags
and poems for each occasion (1st fight, anniversary, baby & Christmas).

The rest of our weekend was spent watching fireworks at Soaring Eagle Casino, which were amazing, like always and tubing down the Chippewa and getting entirely too much sun (ouch!).
88d77ce2b3b74e4587e911a06daeb060_7
Stunning Michigan sunset as we waited for fireworks.
blog3
Waiting on the hill for fireworks to start
250503_10100201199536528_21703321_49188997_7806203_n
253678_10100201201163268_21703321_49189035_662850_n
The gorgeous Chippewa River. So great for a relaxing float.

Anyways…

The excess of pretty much everything (wine, sweets, fast foods, sun, etc.) this past weekend has me feeling a bit less that stellar.  I’m feeling just blah – no energy, dull, pants tighter syndrome, and just all over icky.  I’m planning on taking the next two weeks to hit it hard and really stick to eating well and treating my body right.

This includes:
  • Getting back into my running routine (especially important with Warrior Dash at the end of the month) – Ideally 3 times a week/3 miles each time. 
  • No fast food/eating out
  • Lots more veggies/fruit – I think my body forgot what those are.
  • No wine/beer/alcohol – My stomach has been so jacked up since I’ve had alcohol…it’s terrible.
  • Lots and lots and lots of water & very little caffeine – Definitely feel the need to flush my body of all the crap from the last week. 
  • Reduce sweets and salty foods
Do you have any tips to add? How do you get back to normal after an over-indulgent holiday? How are you feeling after the past weekend?