Monday, May 10, 2010

All Clear

So the mole thing on Friday.... I get there to have this giant hole cut in my back. The dermatologist comes out and tells me now that she doesn't have to cut me! There were some non-problematic abnormal marginal cells in the biopsy so the conservative approach was to take out the rest of the mole. But when I told her my insurance from work didn't kick in until June 1st, she agreed that it was fine to put off cutting me for a while. When the nurse originally called to schedule the surgery there was no way to opt out of it. So this was quite a relief.

So I'm feeling good about that. Kelley will have to watch my back and if the mole starts to come back before the next annual check then it will have to be removed completely. Now I just had to muscle through a mother's day weekend in Greenville.

We had so much fun hanging with my family. The kids didn't want to leave. There were lots of pictures taken, but I don't have any of them yet. Saturday we got to hang out with Morgan some. He's handling his 30th birthday really well. Then that night we had dinner with my grandmothers. It was wonderful to see everyone. I know it's only been a couple of months since I have been to greenville, but it feels like a year. Getting to spend time with my whole family like that was wonderful.

Sunday I made it back to my father-in-laws house with a car full of moving stuff. Only two more weeks until we move into the new place! The smoking cravings really peaked on the drive. Charlotte will do that to you though. Side note: Did you know that the NASCAR hall of fame is opening tomorrow? It's in downtown Charlotte. I am decidedly not a nascar fan, so this is one more reason to avoid Charlotte.

So traffic got really bad in places, and I was almost resigned to just pick up a pack of Camels. I think I would have done it if you could buy just one. I stayed strong, which is tougher than you might think, and went back to my normal nicotine deferment methods today.

Today I hit the triple. Tri Power workout before work was tough, it's been a while since I've been through the circuit. My abs were feeling the effects throughout the day.

Over lunch I put a mile in the pool. I have recently been watching through the Outside The Box - total immersion swimming for open water dvd. Specifically I've been working on the slow skating stroke, making wide tracks, and using the mail slot entry method in the pool. It's made me swim faster for longer with less effort and today was the proof. I can only count to five. So normally every time I touch 'that other wall' five times I call it a set. 10 laps, 250 yds per set, and I'll do normally 4 or 5 sets on mondays. 76 laps is a mile. I always have to stop between sets. Today I just jumped in and knocked out 80 laps without stopping, slowing down, taking a rest break, anything. Just knocked down those laps. It was amazing.

Then after work I went back for a 5 mile tempo run. I was trying to hold steady around 9 minute miles. I finished the 5 in 45:03 and felt fantastic. So tonight, for the first time in 10 days, the nicotine cravings have gone away. I'm so glad I didn't stop yesterday. And I couldn't have made it two more weeks if that doc had cut me. Running always gets the job done. Always.

I am now registered for those two open water swims. Both in Jordan Lake, the one mile is June 13th and the Big Deuce two mile swim is 7/24. After nailing the swim today, I feel certain I can train up for the two miler. I'm actually getting really excited about it.

It's going to be a fun week!

20 comments:

Unknown said...

open water swimming still freaks me out. and you are going to do 2 miles in open water? eeee gads

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Holy moley - that is a lot of laps! Good for you, dude!

And way to stay strong. i can not imagine what those cravings are like. So proud of you for not giving in!!

Georgia Snail said...

It always starts with just one; good job staying away from the cigarettes...

Big ups on the tempo run, I like those numbers!

Carly said...

Ugh...I still get that feeling for a cig every once in awhile. Great job staying strong. I know how hard it can be.

Good news about the mole.

Al's CL Reviews said...

Great job on the swim, and avoiding the craving.

Good luck on the swims.

Sun Runner said...

NASCAR HALL OF FAME? No way. Hey, you know what, I have some friends who live in Charlotte...I could come down, visit them, and go to the HOF.

I bet there's even a road race I could squeeze in while I'm there...

Amanda said...

running to the rescue! love it!

Wes said...

Just keep reminding yourself that smoking is DISGUSTING! You are destined for Ironman, not lung cancer. Way to stay healthy AND kick a 5 mile tempo run in the ass!!

C said...

Good news about the mole. And way to go on some great workouts. I envy you your tempo run.

Unknown said...

Good for you for avoiding the craving... crazy what running will do! :)

I think you are going to do awesome with the OWS! :)

teacherwoman said...

Way to go on avoiding the nicotine cravings. I can't even imagine how difficult that is. I used to work in a bar for a few months and I sometimes wonder if I gained an addition for second hand smoke - there's some brand of cigarettes that when I smell them, I enjoy it. weird, I know.

You are rocking those 3-a-days. Nice work!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad things look good on the mole front! Also, super proud of you for fighting your smoke cravings. I've been to a NASCAR race in TX and all I can say is, what a waste of my life I'll never get back!

Ryan said...

It's crazy to think that your body is turning into a fitness machine but your brain still craves nicotine.

Next time pull the car over and whip out 100 pushups and 100 squats. That should at least make you out of breath enough to not be able to light up.

Good luck on your move...we'll be doing the dances with boxes on the same weekend.

The Enthusiast said...

Envious of your swimming ability - you sir are doing awesome! Way not to light up, smoking is just icky.

C said...

Hey--any chance of me being able to hear this gay jiggly story of yours? I'm intrigued seeing as I'm jiggly myself.

Missy said...

So, the Big Deuce doesn't mean the same thing to you that it does to me? Swimming the Big Deuce sounds a little scary.

Hell, I smoked in hs and college and still get the twinge, feels like forever but once in a while...

Anonymous said...

OK I know I already commented on this post but I just wanted to say even when I'm having not the best day & my post was a drag, your comments always make me laugh! Thanks, J!

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

I quit smoking in February of 1989. I still have dreams in which I smoke a cigarette and when I wake up I 'm all like, "Whew! It was only a dream!"

No real cravings when I'm awake but I have those dreams I'd say every 3-4 months. 21 years after quitting.

Kids, stay away from tobacco! Stick with crack! Also, stay in school, especially High School because unless things have changed since my day, a lot of those HS girls are whoo-wers and you might just get lucky. With the kinky f*cking, I mean.

And afterwards? Just light up a nice cig- ....er, I mean crack pipe.

My word verification word: "melights".

Yes. Me do's.

Georgia Snail said...

I'm trying to figure out if that was an insult or a challenge over at JoyRun....I have been dipping my toe into the tri waters...but I am still using my swimmies....

Sara Cox Landolt said...

Excellent news with the mole. I also had a mole with abnormal cells and had to have it cut out. Fortunately bad nothing grew back in its place.

Well done with your choices!!!!