Meaning of “SARAH”

“Lady” or “princess” in Hebrew. This was the name of the wife of Abraham in the Old Testament. She became the mother of Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally Sarai but God changed it (see Genesis 17:15). In England, Sarah came into use after the Protestant Reformation.

From www.behindthename.com

pea –noun.

1.	the round, edible seed of a widely cultivated plant, Pisum sativum, of the legume family.

2.	the plant itself.

3.	the green, somewhat inflated pod of this plant.

4.	any of various related or similar plants or their seed, as the chickpea.

5.	something resembling a pea, esp. in being small and round.

From www.dictionary.com

Definition number 5, above, is the one that applies here.

This princess has a pea.

It’s a play on words: I have a tumor.

I found out Friday, February 12, 2010 that I have breast cancer.  It is small, pea-sized, and although it’s considered “invasive”, it most likely HAS NOT spread to any other areas.  I am having an MRI tomorrow to confirm that. I do know that the cancer is the type that is slow growing and also very responsive to drug therapy.  There is much good news within this story!

The reality is that for certain I will have to have surgery.  The extent of it will be dependent on the MRI results as well as some other testing, and my preference.  Less involved surgery would also require radiation.  Chemotherapy is a maybe no matter which surgery I decide upon, and the chemo decision will have to be made after the lymph nodes are studied (after surgery).

This stinks, no doubt.  I’ve worked hard to get in the shape I am in.  (I’d call it near-readiness for RKC, using the 12kg bell for snatches.) I will be out of the kettlebell game for a little bit.  But I am ready for this fight and I will be a cancer survivor! God did not bring me through this craziness, allow me to find my passion and build a business around it and begin to make a difference in others’ lives, for me to then prepare to die.  This cancer is just another chapter in my far-from-over story.  Watch and see.

Training will continue until surgery (which is at least a month away) and then will resume as soon as possible afterwards.  (You KNOW that’s true!)  So www.strongsarah.com will still continue to be updated with training news.  However, for updates on my health, tests, decisions, thoughts and probably WAY more than you ever wanted to know, I’m starting another blog: www.strongersarah.com. You’ll be able to get as little or as much detailed information as you want.  I chose the name because that’s what I’m going to be:  STRONGER, for having overcome another physical trial.  Please join me at www.strongersarah.com when you can.  And don’t worry about me!  I am STRONGSARAH!  

I decided to repeat week 10 of  Enter the Kettlebell this week, since I couldn’t  complete it last week.  Heavy day never happened last week, due to a bout with a stomach virus.  Rather than just pick up where I left off, repeating the entire week will give me an opportunity to ease back into working out, and rebuild some lost stamina. 

This morning I wasn’t even sure I could make it through today’s light workout.  My son came down with the same virus yesterday, and although he was over the “worst” of it, he was awake much of the night with body aches.  Of course this means I didn’t get much sleep either, so the thought of exercise wasn’t all that enticing this morning.

However, propelled by the desire to reestablish my normal routine, I made the workout happen.  Today consisted of clean and press ladders:  five ladders of three rungs each.  As usual, I added in chinups/rows as prescribed in the workbook.  Together that portion of the workout was difficult but doable.

The second half of my kettlebell practice consisted of 9 minutes of snatches performed at a comfortable pace.  I got through this, but not without experiencing more fatigue than usual, and probably less-than-stellar form for some of the reps.  Afterward I felt exhausted rather than energized.  I guess that’s to be expected, so I’m not too concerned.  And I am continuing with medium day of week 10 on Wednesday.  Tomorrow’s variety day may end up as a rest day, though.  I’m still not feeling 100%. 

My second, and somewhat unplanned workout of the day consisted of moving a large desk and heavy park bench into my future studio space.  The landlord had agreed to let me  have these pieces of furniture, which had been left by prior tenants in other units.  So my husband and I used our “functional” strength combined with some hand trucks to get the job done.  Look for pictures of the space and the two “new” pieces of furniture to be posted here later today. 

Today’s kettlebell practice did more than make me stronger.  I have had a headache for almost two days, and nothing has helped.  Sleeping made it better, but after being awake for a few hours, the headache was back in full force. 

I took yesterday off from exercise, and wasn’t sure if I would work out today or not.  In the past, the endorphin rush from the workout has helped with headaches,  so I tried it.

A few minutes into it, I could tell I had made the right decision.  Everything felt good.  I felt strong.  The headache was gone.   All in all I did about 25 minutes of swings and TGUs then followed up with 10 minutes of snatch practice. 

 ACSM has a program called Exercise is Medicine.   They are on to something.   Today’s dose was wonderful.

My training plan got slightly derailed this week.  I woke up with a scratchy throat on Thursday, but still felt well enough to work out and continued with my program.  However, things got worse over night, and Friday I knew that putting any extra stress on myself would be a bad idea. 

I consider it a blessing when I know for sure NOT to do something (or TO do something.)  Too many times, when I’m slightly sick I stew over whether or not to do my usual work out.  To be honest, though, consideration for my health often takes a back seat to my desire to exercise.  Good judgment doesn’t always reign supreme.

While recuperating, I decided to research this issue a bit to see if there were any clear cut guidelines beyond the obvious.  I did find some fairly helpful information.   First the absolutes. 

Don’t exercise if:

• You are running a fever
• You have congestion in your chest and lungs
• You feel achy
• You have gastrointestinal symptoms along with cold symptoms

If none of those apply, you MAY be ok to exercise.  Experts use what they call the  “above the neck” rule to help determine whether or not it would be prudent to work out. This is the rule:  if all of your symptoms are located above the neck (runny nose, congestion, scratchy throat) AND you feel up to working out, then it is probably alright to do so.  The caveat is this:   if your above-neck  symptoms are severe, it would be wise to rest instead of working out.

Note, if you perform your exercise in a gym or other public place, please refrain from going until you are no longer contagious.  Even then, wipe off any equipment you use when you are done.  It’s your responsibility.

If you’ve determined that you are not too sick to work out, the experts say that you should still scale back from your normal routine.  They suggest starting out at about 50% of your normal level of  intensity.  If you still feel ok after about 10 minutes, it’s probably acceptable to increase to about 80% of your usual intensity for a few moments.  In general, your workout should be shorter and less intense than usual.  This would not be the time to attempt personal records. 

The value of exercise when mildly ill is in getting your blood flowing, at least briefly clearing your congestion, and improving your general overall feeling.  If at any time you don’t feel up to continuing, it is a sign that you need to rest rather than exercise.

It is always key to remember to stay hydrated when exercising.  This becomes even more important if you’re working out with a mild cold.  Dehydration can worsen your symptoms or set the stage for complications, like sinus infections.  Over-the-counter cold medications can also make dehydration a more likely outcome.  You owe it to yourself to drink extra water if you have chosen to do your workout.

Some good news: studies have shown that those who engage in regular moderate exercise get fewer colds than those who do not.  And we tend to get over the colds in about half the time as those who don’t exercise.   That means fewer days that the question, “Am I too sick?” will even have to be considered.