4.45 miles~~Morning Run

Since I am off work for a few weeks, I decided to try my hand at a morning run.  There are actually fewer cars than when I run in the evening.  I think because when I run after work, everyone else is coming home from work, so there is a lot of traffic.  I waited a couple of days to run again, partly because I am very busy with a class, but also to give my lungs a little more time to recuperate. 

I enjoyed running in the morning, and even passed another runner while I was out.  That hardly ever happens where I live.  It was funny, while I try to stay on the very edge of the road, she was just trucking on down in the very center of the road.  Maybe she was new or just visiting...or maybe she knew there was not much traffic out and about.  I would never run in the middle of the road!  

I got 4.45 miles in, which was good.  More would have been nice, but I needed to just get in enough to prove that my lungs were ok.  At least it didn't rain on me!  It seems like it has been a very wet summer so far!

3.4 miles~~asthma recovery

Well, I didn't run for five days.  I don't like doing that for a few reasons.  First of all, it makes me feel lazy. Second, I'm afraid that I'll lose the ground that I have gained in my fitness.  Third, I feel lazy.  So it makes it extra hard when I am forced to not run.  
I have been working at weeding books and doing inventory at work.  Our school for some reason is VERY dusty, so I've inhaled tons of dust.  I spent one day coughing like crazy. On top of that, we hosted several young people for a BBQ from Sarah's fellowship group.  Of course, that meant we had to madly clean, and vacuuming and dusting were part of it.  I think dust must be a trigger for me.  I spent two days taking my nebulizer and trying to literally catch my breath.  I am getting better at taking my meds right when I see it happen, but I had to wait to get home from work before I could take my nebulizer.
That said, I got out there a little bit nervously today.  I ran about 2 miles before I had difficulty, then had to walk since my lungs were hurting and gasping.  Of course, I haven't gotten smart yet and didn't bring my inhaler again.  I just had to walk slowly and catch my breath.  Surprisingly my pace was better than the last couple of days that I ran.  I must have really pushed myself on the first two miles!
Here's to a healthy life!

3.32 miles~~going slow today

Today was another long day, 10+ hours.  But I sure am getting a lot done!  Running tonight was pretty hard.  Not only am I working long days, but I've started a graduate class, so I'm not sleeping like I should.  I don't do well with less than 8 hours of sleep, and lately it has been closer to 6 hours a night.  After several days of that, my body gets exhausted.  
So, when I went to run, I actually walked quite a bit.  My husband and I walked together and talked, so that was nice.  At least we were moving and we were out in fresh air.  
Today to date, since I began this running program, I have logged over 596 miles.  Wow!  I know in a year many people run over a 1000 miles and more, but I am very proud of myself.  One foot in front of the other.

3.06 miles--tired

Well, another 10 hour day at work.  These summer hours make it tougher to run, but I plan on continuing to get out there and run as much as I can.  I ran a pace of 11:58 per mile.  It felt so good to run.  Sometimes just getting out in the fresh air after hours inside is just what I need.  It helps to clear my mind and gets my blood flowing.  Some days it is harder to get out there, but I need to keep myself motivated to continue running.
My toe is still bothering me.  But at least I can still run with it.  I don't break big bones, but just my digits!  ha ha.  But I'm glad I don't break big bones, that would be awful, especially if it was my leg.   

Baltimore 10 Miler!

My husband and I drove to Baltimore the night before...and hit TONS of traffic.  Ugh.  We thought we were leaving ahead of rush hour, but everyone else did the same thing.  At least we finally made it.  
I had hurt my toe on Wednesday taking the dog out before bedtime.  We had a storm predicted so we had flipped the patio chairs and I ran into one.  I usually wear shoes outside, but this time I didn't.  Soooo, for days I took Motrin and iced my foot.  I wasn't even sure I would be able to run today.  I probably broke one of the toes, but I don't want to go to the doctor since he may say I can't run.  Wearing Vibrams makes it really hard since they have to go over each toe. Isn't that the sign of a true runner....not wanting to see the Dr. because you may have to stop running?  Luckily, I was able to run.
It was absolutely beautiful weather, 68-70 degrees and low humidity.   We stayed at the "host hotel" but there were no shuttles to take us to the race start line which was 2 miles away.  So we caught a taxi with two ladies that were also going there.  We started at the Baltimore zoo and ran around a lake and then back to the zoo.  My toe did fine until about 5.5 miles, then it ached the rest of the way.  But I finished and did well.  It was a really nice race with a few hills, but mostly flat.  
If we do this race again, we'll make sure that we can get to AND from the race easily.  It took us over 30 minutes to find a taxi to take us back to the hotel.  Luckily we got back there in enough time to shower before checkout time.  
Another great race!

3.18 miles on a nice day

I am behind in posting, so I'm going to try to catch up.  I ran 3.18 miles today after working 10+ hours.  It was a beautiful day and my daughter and I wanted to get out and move in the nice weather.  It is really hard to do after working so many hours, but I am trying to stay committed to this program.  I am still taking my meds daily and puffing my inhaler before I run, and things seem to be working.  Yea!  

5.46 miles~~No AC!

Well, we have been without an AC unit since Friday.  Our company that we have used for years came for our checkup.  Our outside unit had been making a weird noise for a little while--turns out that the motor had burned out.  And he found mildew in the inside unit along with rusting and leaks.  So it was bad.  We won't have a new one until Monday.  He did install a new UV purifying unit that will keep a light lit to reduce the mildew and will purify the air before it goes through the ducts.  That will hopefully cut down on the amount of allergens that go through our system. We will also have the ducts cleaned and sealed the next day.  So by Wednesday, we should be cool and breathing easy!  A huge cost, but hopefully it will help my health.

We were supposed to go to a local run this morning, but with no AC and my husband dealing with a minor injury, we felt it was best not to go.  Instead, I got up and had a protein bar, sipped some coffee, and suited up.  It was cloudy but humid.  I did remember to put sunscreen on!  My arms are once again showing the sun spots that I get when I have too much sun. My dermatologist warned me about this and fussed at me.  I am bad about remembering the sunscreen before I head out.  I remembered today!  We are using Elta sunscreen that has physical sun blockers instead of chemical.  This means that it has zinc oxide or titanium oxide that physically blocks the sun from reaching the skin.  I also ordered some Coolibar sun sleeves since that will also help. I'm looking at various hats that would protect the back of my neck and ears a little better.  Chris needs to work on protecting his neck, a typical problem with men and short hair.

Well, like I said, I headed out and had to watch the time. We had planned on going to the movies for a double feature to keep out of the house in the hottest part of the day.  I didn't get to go as far as I would have liked, but I turned around at about 2.8 miles and headed home.  I felt great running, no aches, and no breathing issues.  Yea!

3 miles~~National Running Day!

Today is National Running Day!  I hope you got out there and ran!  I did.  It was hard today.   We work summer hours at work, which means in 4 days I have to work my usual weekly hours in order to be off on Fridays. So today was a 10.5 hour day.  Yesterday was an 11 hour day.  It will be worth it on Friday when I can sleep late!

By the time I got home, my husband and daughter had already run so I headed out alone.  But that is ok.  It was a beautiful evening, about 70 degrees and breezy.  I once again forgot to charge my watch, so it shut down after about 2.4 miles.  I really need to get better at those types of things!  I also forget to turn it off, so that would probably help conserve battery life if I did that.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.  But I realized that by not having a watch that I glanced at every few minutes, I was able to just run.   It was so beautiful.  Except for the road kill every so often.  Here's to another day of running.  Now to make sure I stretch. 

6.48 miles~~cloudy and drizzly

After days of hot 85-90 degree days, today was cool in comparison.  The sun was hidden behind the clouds and for most of my run it was drizzly.  Since I had eaten breakfast several hours earlier, I ate some energy chews before suiting up.  Eating and nutrition has been one of the hardest parts to figure out for me.  Not in what I need to eat, but more in the timing of eating and running.  If I wait too long between eating and running, then I just become weak and hungry on the run.  If I run to early after eating, then I just feel bloated and full and running isn't fun.  I was hoping the eating the chews would help keep me from being hungry.

I took my inhaler and debated on wearing or not wearing sunglasses.  Luckily I decided to wear them--the sun came out in patches over the hour+ I was gone.  I ran down Slate Mills and almost to route 231 and turned around.  I was really enjoying running and was trying to just run and enjoy the day.  When I reached the 4 mile point--which of course is at the valley of the two big hills on my route--I began to have difficulty.  As I continued running, I had my first asthma attack while running in months...maybe even a year.  I was so startled, that I almost didn't know what to do.  When I finally realized why my chest was hurting and struggling, I stopped running and walked as slowly as I could.  I raised my hands above my head, and sipped water.  I was smart and had brought my hand held water bottle.  I didn't have an inhaler.  Running in the heat leaves fewer places to carry additional items, and I haven't needed one in months.  Usually, taking my inhaler before running keeps me from having an attack.  Why not today?  I really am not sure.  I didn't think I was pushing myself, but maybe in just running and enjoying, I didn't realize how hard I was running.  I did what I normally do when I need to overcome something tough--talk myself through it.  Today I quietly murmured, "Come on Barb, breathe, breathe.  Calm down."

Hopefully this incident was just that, and incident, and won't happen more often. I had forgotten how scary it can be when you can't catch your breath.  When each breath is ragged and hurts.  When just walking slowly makes your breathing more labored.  But, I kept my cool and handled it and made it home.