It's been 11 days since I have been home and 13 days since I tested negative for Covid.
I feel great. No headache, stuffy anything, or congestion. I have a sporadic dry cough and bouts of exhaustion. I am not consistently tired just every 2 days, I get sleepy so I have to lie down for some mid-day rest. In talking with other people in my Christmas Covid Pledge Class, it's been interesting to hear how this has or has not hit different people. Some people have no symptoms, some are light, some are lasting. To be sure I don't have any lasting impressions, I've been taking my Covid recovery pretty seriously.
Below has been the plan since I returned from Ohio:
8 - 10 hours of sleep a day
hydrate with as much water as possible
eat as clean as possible (low dairy, lots of veggies no red meat)
no drinking
don't overdo it and jump back into the frenzy of life
take breaks when tired
Gradually return to workouts: Walks only til 1/12, Pilates/Yoga only 1/12 to 1/20, 1/20 return to boxing and spin class.
How does this translate for me in my real life?
My big outing over the last 12 days was the mall. The highlight was a lady band playing Stevie Wonder at Tommy Bahamas. She smartly had her Venmo QR code displayed for tips. Her voice and entrepreneurship inspired me.
I've been walking everywhere and trying to get 4 miles in each walk. It's not a lot but I want to stay active while being gentle to my body at the same time. I've walked the beach, the lake, the harbor, the hood. Basically, if there is a body of water, I've walked it over the last 12 days. I haven't been winded. Today I walked a bunch of hills without issue. I see this as progress.
I drank wine out of a coffee mug-TWICE.
Each time I was a lightweight, only 2 glasses, and was drunk. It was fun and it didn't reverse the plan, but it didn't move me forward either. It was in honor of my husband's bday so that's how I justified the Covid recovery plan blip.
Oh, and one Funday Sunday after a triumphant return to pickleball, we went to lunch and I had 2 vodka drinks and a plate of gorgonzola fries. Although it was a delicious pile of happiness, the gut rot I got, as a result, was not worth it. I had been eating so clean leading up to this and, food can be fuel or fire you up to where you can't sleep. Since the goal is to sleep and hydrate, this was not a good choice toward my goal. Live and learn and to be honest, I still daydream about that plate of gooey, cheezy, bacon-y fried goodness.
Lots of hunkering down and at home time.
I've read the latest issues of Entrepreneur, Inc, San Diego Magazine, every meetings magazine my industry puts out and we've been coloring.
My friend bought us a swear words coloring book which we've both enjoyed quite a bit. I'm caught up on anything that has come out on TV in the last 2 years and have made every version of chicken noodle soup that is on the entire internet. Paleo to Paula Dean, I've got it covered.
Digital PCMA.
I held firm on canceling my in-person registration for the PCMA conference in Vegas this week. Every day I tune into Digital PCMA on that Juno platform I get angry. It's not the same. Those live drummers, the Paula Abdul hologram, Ronan Farrow and in-person breakout rooms via my computer screen just aren't cutting it. I know the bigger picture here--short-term pain-long term gain, but it still crushes me to not be in Vegas LIVE with all my colleagues, clients, and partners. It will make my next live conference back even more special.
Lots of Virtual Speaking
I've been booked for 6 virtual speaking engagements for January and February. These, have been fun. We've been talking about hustle, business bedside manner, return to work, growing your business, starting a business, time management, and all sorts of other topics that make my heart swoon. One group even ordered my book before the speech and held the book up while I spoke for a picture. That was a big honor and I look forward to the rest of the talks over the upcoming weeks. Virtual speaking from the comfort of my home office is a low-impact activity good for the soul AND Covid recovery.
Here's a link to all the virtual speaking I've been doing over the last year just in case you get Covid and run out of things to watch on the internet.
What's Next?
Tomorrow I am going back to pilates and this weekend I will try to bike a flat 10 miles. If all goes well I will escalate the pilates/yoga until the 20th and then we're off to the cardio races with spin and boxing. Stay tuned as I report back what returning to these activities looks and feels like for me.
Side Note:
I miss being cared for at mom and dad's where my only responsibility was to nap, eat and blog. I have to find a way to get back to this way of living sooner than later. The Kathy K Covid Wellness Retreat was the second best thing that happened in 2021.
If you or someone you know have Covid, share this with them and encourage them to thoughtfully recover. If you are recovering from Covid, please share your tips with me. I am all ears and love hearing tips and tricks to get me back to 100% warrior womaning.
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