This was both a weekend of frustration and also of success in my running world.
I went for a jog on Saturday afternoon with a friend of mine- should have been a pretty easy 3-ish + miles and flat/fast. We're both really new to this- so we run well together and push each other to go faster/farther. We started with a brisk walk to warm up before we started jogging. About 2 minutes into my jog, this elephant appeared out of NO WHERE and sat on my chest....can you believe? the nerve.
Asthma. I haz it. 2 years in a row I have gotten really bad bronchitis in March and it seems to leave me with a lingering asthma issue (which I made an appointment for this morning). So if allergies are bad, or humidity is really high- or if I'm running- I can't breathe. Since my fitness has improved with running, it has gotten marginally better- I can fight through some of it- but not all.
Back to the run, as the asthma hit- I realized that 1) I had not taken my allergy meds that morning and 2) I did not have my inhaler with me. Egads! Seriously, what was I thinking? Clearly- I wasn't. So that run turned into a dreadful WALK with small bursts of run. It wasn't a total loss- but I was so disappointed to have gone 3.25 miles at a 14:15 pace. I should remind myself that when I first started back to my running intervals in January that 14:15 was FAST for me....but as progress happens, I don't want to go backwards!
So I kept apologizing profusely for my poor performance to my partner- who also has asthma and can relate. She was supportive and said she didn't know how I did as much as I did do- so she was fine with it. We agreed to meet the next day as well for what I called a "Redemption Run".
I got up early with my kids and took my allergy meds right then so I wouldn't forget. Put my inhaler by my keys, again- so I wouldn't forget. When I got there - I got prepped- stretched, used my inhaler and got ready to go. We did a slower warm up walk this time (that I didn't include in our tracking) and then jogged 3.26 miles at a 12:17 pace!! One of my fastest yet! I felt SO much better than the day before and I was so glad we had decided to run again.
Not only that but I got in 6.5 miles this weekend. yay! :)
Awesome!! It sounds like it turned into a really great weekend of exercise. I like "Redemption Run" a lot. :) I'm sorry the first run was so tough, but you rocked it on the 2nd!
ReplyDeleteI have made an appt with my doctor- my fitness is improving so much that I really don't want to have the asthma hinder it anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!