Day +110 Starting Slow

I haven't updated in a while since not much new has happened to me. I was starting to lift weights, but I've found that holding weights in my hands is a new experience in discomfort. why you ask? Well, it seems that Graft vs Host loves to go after the palms of the hands. So I've got a rash on my palms right now, and the sensation alternates between itchy and sore. The steroid cream seems to help a bit, but I'm going to stick to the elliptical machine for a while to build up my stamina, rather than leaving little bits of hand all over my weights downstairs. Oh, did I forget to mention that the little bumps on my hand tear off easily? It's probably much worse than it sounds, but it's still a bit annoying.

I think another reason I'm going to lay off the weights is that I'm not ready to lift the way I want to yet. I don't have the energy most days to complete a workout. Caity tells me that I should start slow and build up to my former self, but it's really frustrating when you can't get through a set without feeling like you're going to faint. So here's the new plan. I'm going to build up my body on the elliptical, while lightly training all my weak points that I found during powerlifting training with Bruce. I found that my shoulders, lower back, triceps, and grip were all weak points when I was powerlifting. Weak points cause injury, which I found out several times, so I've decided to take this recovery time and make strong points out of my weak points. That way, when I come back to training to become best in Canada, I will have a solid foundation in which to really build a powerful body.

Now, I was blessed with a body that responds (or used to respond) well to weightlifting. I think I've been able to retain that ability since I'm up to level 10 on the elliptical after only a couple of weeks using it. I remember a time when I could go for an hour at level 20 with the calories burned per hour display flashing "999". I'm not trying to brag, I just want people to realize just how much cancer takes away from the average individual. I also want to make it very clear how difficult it is to adjust to the "new you". A 45 pound weight plate used to feel as light as a cloud (my biggest squat used 12 of them). Now, the effort in loading one plate on each side of a bar to bench press 135 is a lot of work. I keep having dreams about going back to the gym and re-joining the gang, but I'm not even in their league right now. I would do nothing but slow down the process, so I've got to build myself back up a bit. Oh, and I want to say Good Luck to those of you competing in Okotoks on March 26-27th. If anyone in the Southern Alberta area wants to check out my passion, give me an email, and we'll go down to Okotoks together to watch the lifting.

That's about it for today. Sorry about the lack of gory medical details. I get another dose of immuno-globulin next week, and they've got to pre-medicate me beforehand so I'm pretty stoned during the process. I'll bring the laptop then and write an entry while I'm high, that should make for an interesting read.