It Was the Shot
Happy Wednesday! Things are going swimmingly here… ha ha… that’s a pun! Not funny though. After a day off Monday, I went for a run yesterday morning… … and it didn’t go well. My foot is really sore- it seems like it regressed by five months overnight. Ironically, I just wrote an ENTIRE POST on how great my foot was doing… obviously, that was a mistake. But you know when this happened? THE DAY AFTER MY MODERNA SHOT. Yep- I now think it was the shot. I looked it up, and it can cause inflammation. According to this article, “The cells that cause inflammation in your arm after the vaccine also send signals to your body to create antibodies against the spike protein. This process can cause inflammation in other parts of the body, leading to headache, fatigue, and fever after the first vaccine shot for some people.” (emphasis mine.) Here’s my Covid arm: And a possible answer to the question of why some people have a reaction and others don’t: “Research also suggests reactions are more intense in people who previously had Covid-19 since they likely have some level of preexisting immunity.” (from this article.) I didn’t have Covid, that I know of, but it’s entirely possible that I was exposed and had an asymptomatic case. I live in Florida, and most things here have been open since last May. I work as a massage therapist, and we were closed for eight weeks at the beginning of the pandemic, but once we opened again I had no choice but to go back to work- I couldn’t continue to collect unemployment. Obviously we wear masks, but I’ve been out and about in the world pretty much normally for almost a year now. Anyway! Time for more pool running. I’ve just discovered a blog called “Well, I’m TRYING to run…” which is the “one and only pool-running blog.” First of all, hilarious name- I wish I had thought of it first! This woman apparently complements her regular running with pool running, and has a list of big PRs- a 2:57:42 marathon, and perhaps almost as impressive, a 3:15 pool run, which I assume means she ran in the pool for three hours and fifteen minutes- oof. She’s tough. Inspired by her website, I got in the pool for a 30 minute “run” in the afternoon. Pool running is… boring. Sorry to say it. But I tried a couple thing Ms. Pool Runner mentioned in her blog, like doing intervals with my hands tucked into the flotation belt- yep, that was hard! It helps a lot to mix things up, and music is essential. Podcasts don’t cut it (for me) in this situation. So…I’m pretty bummed about the whole thing, but grateful that I have a pool to run in. My intention isn’t to scare anyone away from the vaccine- I’m glad I’m getting it. But I’ll be extra glad when it’s all over- my second shot is scheduled for April 27th. What do you guys think? Anyone else have any weird reactions to the shot? How about pool running- have you tried it?