Cloudy weather is the best running weather!

Well, I've been a little absent in my blogging about my running adventures.  I've continued to run, but not as often.  And I hate it.  Running is my stress relief, my exercise, and my prescription for my asthmatic lungs.  When I don't run as often, my triggers set me off more.  I feel worse.  I'm more stressed.  I need to run to keep myself healthy, alert, and sane.

Why have I drifted away?  Well, I could say lots of things.  Taking classes two nights a week and driving 1+ hours each way to get there.  Working 40 hours a week at my job.  Spending time with my husband.  Enjoying my daughter, son-in-law and grandson that now live with us.  Picking up sewing again for fun.  Visiting my other two daughters who live away from us.  I could go on and on and on. But in reality, I am the reason I slacked off.  I can't blame anyone or anything else for it.  It is so easy to say, "I'm too busy."  Or "I'm too tired."  

So I have to resort to the things that help me overcome these thoughts.  Here are some of those strategies: I plan a run ahead of time.  I put the clothes out and have them ready if I plan on running after work.  I schedule it in our calendar (my daughter, husband, and I now share calendars so we know who is taking care of my grandson and who is going where when).  I remind myself over and over that I'm going to run at such and such time.  I go no matter what the weather is.  Even if I go for only 2 miles, it is better than not going at all.  

Today, I got up after having a wonderful 9 hour sleep and ran.  I am a person who needs at least 8 hours sleep, but often keep myself awake with work and other stresses.  And if I run, I sleep better.  So  another reason to head out and run.  I ran 3.3 miles, and the weather was perfect for running.  Cloudy, and a slight breeze.  A little humidity also helps my lungs, so that was present too.  Plus, I even passed 3 bike riders who actually answered my greeting!  Some bikers are so intent on their ride that they either don't hear me or just don't want to respond.  I shouted out, "Good morning!" to which one of them responded, "Great morning!"  

One thing that I hate about taking a break from running every other day is how it affects my lungs.  They seem to lose their strength very quickly.  I could have run for longer stretches than I did today, but my lungs just couldn't keep going.  I stopped several times and walked because I was so winded that I just couldn't breath.  But I didn't stop.  I kept it up.  I used my inhaler before heading out luckily, but I do need to remember to bring it with me until my lungs are back in shape.  My legs and the rest of my body were willing and able to run more, but my lungs get to veto everyone else.  

But I will be back out there tomorrow to strengthen them up again.  

5.04 miles~~HOT, HOT, HOT

We are in Mississippi visiting family.  I grew up in Picayune, MS (a long time ago) and somehow managed to survive the heat and humidity.  Now that I live in VA, I don't think I am used to the heat and high humidity.  

Chris and I decided we needed to run and get out and move, so we headed out around 9:00 am.  It was unbelievably hot and humid.  I wanted to run to the gate entrance of Chris' Mom's neighborhood which was 5 miles.  I made it there ok, but as I was running back, the heat really got to me.  My lungs were aching and I struggled to walk at times in addition to struggling to run.  I didn't bring my inhaler (I usually don't, but I probably should start carrying it) and basically had to just walk the last mile back to the house.  Chris was worried about me and met me about 0.5 miles away.  

Running in the humidity is really hard.  I am so thankful that I don't have to deal with it daily.  Once I got inside and took my inhaler, drank water, and relaxed, I felt better.  
Just a subtle reminder that I have a disease that I need to monitor.   

4 miles~~35 degrees!

Well, we got about 8" of snow on top of ice on Monday.  That gave us three snow days from school.  The first day was snowy, wet, and cold.  Chris and I got out and shoveled and made a car path so we could get out if needed.  We stayed in all day Monday and most of Tuesday.  I drove to class on Tuesday night and most of the roads were clear and safe.  A couple of spots on Slate Mills road were still icy and slushy driving too and back from class.  Today the sun was out and the wind wasn't really blowing much.  I still bundled up and wore my gloves with my mittens on top--which I removed before I got too far.  I wore my fleece skirt to keep my bum warm, and a hat.  The only thing that really got cold were my toes!  It doesn't help that there was a lot of wet and slushy parts that I had to run through.  I wear SmartWool toe socks under my Vibrams, but every toe was soaked when I got home.   I knew they were wet, but I didn't realize how wet until I took off the shoes and socks!  I was able to get 4 miles in, and kept a decent pace of 12 minute miles.  I walked a bit, and kept my nose and mouth covered for a while to warm the air that I was breathing in.  It felt so good to move!

I went to the Dr. on Thursday since my throat was hurting and the two doses of medicine I had taken in the last month and a half wasn't working.  I got another prescription and directions to take Benadryl and Mucinex to help.  Luckily it worked!  I am finally getting over the drippy nose, scratchy throat and feeling better.  I do wonder if the trouble with my work heater is making my immune system more worn down and making it harder for me to stay well.  Some days when I get to work it is 53, 59, or 60 degrees.  I brought in two smaller heaters that we run while we are there, but being cold all day is just miserable.  Hopefully it will be fixed soon, or better yet, maybe spring will get here soon!

3.46 miles~~It is Monday!

I spent all weekend working on homework.  The amount of reading I do for one class is tremendous.  The amount of figuring and computing for the other class is equally so.  So I can typically spend about 8+ hours each weekend day in the study--working almost nonstop.  It definitely pays off since I get the work done and am learning a lot.  
But, I got out today and put in a small run.  It wasn't fast, but it wasn't slow, but it WAS a run.  I'll just keep plodding along and adding to my miles.  Each day I go out, I love the feeling.  I love how my muscles are tired, but happy.  I love the fresh air and how my nose and passages clear.  Getting out there sometimes is a challenge.  I have to talk to myself and convince myself that this is the best use of that 1/2 hour-45 minutes.  
And I am always glad I did.  

4.3 miles~~after a long hiatus~~brrr

I finally got out to run today.  It was hovering near 50 degrees (which a colleague recently said "50 is the new 80")!  I have not run in many days because the temperatures were below freezing (sometimes around 7 degrees) and the roads were wet with snow, ice, or run-off.  We had so much snow/frigid cold days that we ended up with four days off in a row.  That would have been the perfect time to run, but it was too cold.  The cold air is the hardest thing for me to deal with while running.  I use my Buff to cover my nose and mouth and it helps.  A lot.  But, the Buff can get wet with my breath and if it is really cold, then it freezes!  Or, when I breathe (if I don't put it on a certain way) it will fog up my sunglasses.  Besides that, the air just plain hurts my lungs as I take it in.  Not to mention how hard it is to use that air to fuel my running.

But, today I got out there for a not-so-pretty run.  But I got out there.  I ran 4.38 miles (and had to walk a bit) and finished in 55 minutes.  Not horrible, but not great.  It is amazing in how just 13 days not running affected me.  I actually think that when I run I help "flush out" some of the allergens that affect my sinuses and lungs.  The other factor could be that when it is freezing cold, I tend to stay inside more where it is warm and dry.  So either running outside or just being outside helps keep me healthier.

So here is to running in the glorious outdoors! :-)

4.44 miles~~that's a nice number!

   I wanted to make sure I got a run in before flying out to California for Christmas with my daughter Laura.  I hope to run while I am there, but we will see how that goes.  At least today it wasn't such a slow run.  I didn't go as fast as the race, but definitely was a little faster than my last practice runs.  My lungs are doing well (although I have to chuckle, when I say "my lungs" I really mean my bronchial tubes.  My pulmonologist always reminds me that my lungs are not the issue with asthma!)  I was off work today, so I was able to run in the middle of the day instead of having to wait for work to be over and worrying about the little daylight left.  
I do like the number of today's run...4.44!