Tag: asthma

Wheezy

Last week, I learned that I could laugh myself into an asthma attack. That was new.

Friday rolled around and we were all little stressed, tired and slaphappy at work. I had been going back and forth with someone at another office, trying to get a document right and each version came back worse. I finally lost it laughing hysterically. Then the wheezing; followed by the struggle. My boss actually figured it out first and went for my purse. Which, surprisingly had my inhaler in it. I admit I rarely carry it in my purse. I have one in every running pack but I rarely need it at work. Oops. But like I said, I luckily had it that day.

Last week wasn’t horrible in the training department. Well, not sure if I can call it training yet.

I rode the spin bike one day and decide to keep my Peleton membership now that the 2 month trial has ended. I don’t have a Peleton bike nor does my bike even have an onboard computer but I do like not thinking. The instructor on the app tells me what to do and I do it. Not thinking is great.

I also made it out for a run after work! Which is kind of shocking as it is only the second time I have run after work since transferring to this office. 9 Months ago. Ouch. But I did it! I made it out for 3 miles on Wednesday. I also said goodbye to a favorite pair of crops that night as the mirror in the work bathroom let me know they no longer pass the see through test. Oops. I ran with a quarter zip tied around my waist. Ha!

On Saturday I was going to head to the high school to help my mother swap out a tennis net or 2 as they are finally starting high school sports. Then I was going to run my Napa Valley virtual mile on the track. Except the track was full of people. So I headed out for a short run from the school. Except I got trapped in the school and ended up having to jump a fence to get out. Didn’t break my face but my mile turned into a 15 minute joke. Whatever, I’m going with it. 🙂

Sunday was another adventure at the state park. We didn’t get lost but my new shoes failed the test. After getting lost a few weeks ago, I knew the Topo’s weren’t for me so I did some research and ordered a pair of Altra Timps. They were fine going uphill. Once we turned around, I damn near took them off and ran barefoot. It likely would have hurt less. Between the surprising February heat and the dumb shoes, we didn’t meet our original goal. The plan was to do Oats Peak which is 10.8 miles round trip trail. We turned at the last trail break at 3 and headed back. I changed my shoes in the lot and we did another mile-ish on the Bluff Trail. Also found a cool little hidden cove I had never seen before. It ended up being just under 8 miles for the day.

So not a complete waste of the week.

35-Countdown

I ran!! Kind of.

Anyways, lets back up. Most of the week was spent low key wheezing, trying to catch up on work. The winds had shifted again which brought back some back but I was focused on keeping my head down and checking things off my list.

My first PTO in over 9 months was coming up and I was focused. I have been so tired and while I love my job, I knew I needed a break. Granted my plans have changed drastically due to COVID- bye marathon- but I was looking forward to a break.

So Monday through Friday was just work and hoping I didn’t forget anything. I feel like I did but I set my out of office on Friday and I won’t be back until after Labor Day. Now if I could just tell myself to not check my work cell for email.

Not gonna lie, I slept in on Saturday and it was awesome. Then I just kind of felt lazy all day. I was going to run and then I wasn’t. But then I jumped up from a nap and changed in like 2 minutes and was out the door. It was a hard, hot slog but really what did I expect after 20 days off? It actually wasn’t as horrible as it could have been and I managed 3 miles.

Sunday, I headed for somewhere different. My mother had never been to the Bob Jones trail, so we headed that way and just it a brisk walk. The ‘trail’ is a paved path of sorts that runs from one city to another south of it. Well, mostly. There were moments where there was no one on the trail and moments that there were too many people. And no one seemed to understand any form of trail ettiquette. Granted these bikers were more of the beach cruiser type but still. We also got a little sidetracked going off the trail but we made it back to where I had parked. 5ish miles for the day.

Then we went for a truly decadent slice of cake at the Madonna Inn. We also witnessed what could have been a horrible pileup on the freeway yet turned into a miraculous recovery. For reference, we can’t eat in restaurants in CA but dining is allowed in parking lots or street side. The Inn has a great lot but if you’ve been there, the 101 is right next to it. Which I used to my advantage that time I jumped out of the car on the freeway and hopped the fence to get to the race start years ago. But this also gave diners a front seat to a car spinning out into a 360, fishtailing into the center divider but somehow pulling out before wrecking and getting back in a lane. How they saved it, I have no idea. How no other driver hit them, I have no idea. Scary.

How was your week?

Detour

Sometimes you get lost on the trail.
Actually that’s kind of fun, and something I’ve done more than once.

But sometimes, you’re paying attention to the trail markers and you head back the way you came before too much harm or drama.

Disclaimer: I received Gatorade Endurance products to use as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

In this case, I pause.

I had big plans for October. 1 road half and 2 hard trail half’s. The last one was supposed to be my victory dance for the year. Ok, maybe less victory and more proof of will power but still.

Then October knocked me back a few pegs. I feel like I lost 5 years of fitness in the last 4 weeks. Is that possible? I feel like it is now. This bout with asthma is kicking me hard. It’s been years since it’s been this rough and I still can’t figure out what triggered it. I ran 5 miles last week- 5. (Also consider this Week 43) How is that going to get me to a 50K? It won’t.

And for once I’ve been smart about things. I dropped to the 10K for both the road race and Space Rock. And that last trail half that was supposed to be a party? That was supposed to happen a few days ago- Sunday. I didn’t even try. I knew I wasn’t in the head space or shape for 13ish miles of hard effort climbing. And they had no shorter distances. Attempting it likly would have set me back months in the long run.

I’ve run numerous races sick, some feverish and possibly out of it. Why? Because Goonies never say die? That’s stupid. I may be getting to an age I don’t want to admit anymore but maybe I am finally learning a few things. Maybe.

So when the road hits a fork, you have choices. I could bury my head in the sand and just be a lazy bum until next year. I mean, cold weather is coming right?

Nope. I am still aiming for a 50K in the early months of 2020. So in keeping with that theme, I have a new plan for the next 7 weeks culminating with a local-ish 25k in December. This should give me time to make up some of the ground I lost in the last few weeks. Also this race is a known entity– I know where the killer climb is and where the other mountain is. And the cruel turn-around. And I will be training on these trails. If I say it decisively, it will happen, right?

I may have finally figured out how to fuel my body, now I just need it to breather properly.

Join me while I fight my way back?

Week 42- Whiplash

This weather is giving me whiplash. One day it’s 90 something then it’s 60ish with 20+mph winds. I actually like the lower temps but the fire winds could leave anytime. Soon would be better.

I had the beginning of the week off of work. I was so looking forward to a few days of rest and getting all those backed up errands done. Somehow, I never napped and the errands still need to be done. Like cleaning my car and an oil change. Oops. The time just seemed to fly by and then I was back to work on Wednesday.

Monday- 36ish minutes on the bike
I was going to run in the early afternoon since I had the day off. However I ended up taking my dad back to the doctor. By the time I got home, I was feeling super lazy but I made myself ride the bike while watching Ridiculousness. That was what my brain could handle.

Tuesday- 3 mile struggle bus run
I don’t know if it was because it was over 90 again, or if it was lingering asthma issues but this run was rough. I had originally planned on running more but just couldn’t.

Wednesday- 30 minutes on the bike
Wasn’t feeling a run but didn’t want to be lazy.

Thursday- 3.1 miles
Dude. This run was so easy, breezy. The temp had dropped, my heart rate stayed low and it wasn’t a struggle to legit run easy. It was such a chill run I was kind of in shock. Even the crazy wind wasn’t a downside. Why can’t all runs be like this?

Friday- Nope
Open to close is going to be the name of the game for a while at work. I don’t see much in the running front on any Friday in the future.

Saturday- Nap
I worked in the morning but I really did intend to run in the afternoon. I did but instead I napped for 2 hours. Oops.

Sunday- 6.3 miles
Miserable miles. I had plans of running 7-8 miles but hopped on the struggle bus from the get go. It was warmer than I thought it would be, my asthma was flaring, I was crawling. It was all I could do to finish the 6.3. I even parked it on a bunch 5ish miles in because I was so done. Grrrrrr.

12ish miles for the week. And Sunday’s miserable run was followed up by a massive asthma flare on Sunday night so that was fun. But hey 5/7 days isn’t bad! At least for me.

How was your week?

Space Rock Trail Race Recap

I am not exaggerating when I say if I hadn’t dropped to the 10K, I would have DNF’ed the half and likely have needed help off the course.

I first heard of Space Rock last year and thought it looked awesome but likely too far away. A little Googling and I learned it was only 3 hours south! But I had an insane October already last year with 2 halves at opposite ends of the state and a 2+ week work trip. So I passed. Instagram adds got me this year and I signed up.

Then the last 3-4 weeks went to hell in a hand basket and I wasn’t sure I was going to even start the race. However I knew that if I did, I was not in the mental shape for a tough trail half nor was I feeling physically up to it so I messaged the race and dropped to the 10K.

If you watch anything sci-fi- you’ve seen this rock

I headed down towards Santa Clarita on Friday wondering if the race was even going to happen due to large fire about 20ish miles away. Somehow the air over Vasquez Rocks seemed clear. I picked up my race stuff and checked into a hotel.

The race swag was awesome- the coolest tye dyed shirt and cutest canvas bag.

Race morning dawned clear and early. Parking was fairly convenient in a dirt lot. Then I walked the mile in to the start. The race started about 30 minutes late due to one of the bus shuttles breaking down. Just gave me time to use the port a potty.

Did I mention I was running this race in new trail shoes and a new watch?? 😂
We lined up and we were off.

Mile 1- 11:58
I was wheezing 1/4 mile in. Wait, what? It wasn’t cold and it wasn’t humid. The only thing I can figure was that I breathed in a bunch of dirt. I’ve run numerous trail races but I’ve never seen as much dirt in the air as I did here. I now understood the people I saw with Buffs over their face at the start- they knew. Other than that, we had a decent downhill and then we on to the single track. And the first person to fall in front of me hit the dirt. He rolled well and was up and running before I could finish my question if he was ok.

Mile 2-15:17
There was some climb here and I still couldn’t breathe properly but the main slow down was the out and back. We were running super narrow single track and it was and out and up then down and back. Those going up slammed to a stop numerous times to let the runners coming down through. We were doing the best we could but we kept bottle necking. And the second person took a tumble.

Mile 3-4- 14:58, 15:12
I still couldn’t breathe. I loved the downhill and I loved the scenery of the canyons as we were running. We came out of the canyon and started the climb that would break me. Oh, did I mention we ran through the darkest tunnel ever??

Mile 5- 18:06
I have never stopped during a race before, and I have run some doozy trail races. I stopped a few times going up this climb because I could not breathe and I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest. My only consolation was that I was not the only one struggling. Everyone around me was hiking and I wasn’t the only one coughing.

Mile 6- 17:20
Are we ever going to stop climbing?!! The woman next to let a few f-bombs fly when we reached a false summit. I agree. I ran all the downhills and struggle bus’ed the climbs and stopped a few more times. Passed an adorable orange haired boy doing the 5K and he cheered me on. So cute! Then we were down near the rocks again and I was walking to the finish. I maybe jogged 20 yards at the end?

Finish- 1:33:57

Slowest 10k ever! I crossed the line wheezing and tired.

But the medal made me smile and the hot coffee being served made me want to jump for joy.

I would do this race again for sure, just maybe a little healthier and with my face covered in the beginning. Plus for all the roadblocks this race organization hit, they did a remarkable job adapting on the fly. Like water- their original water provider couldn’t get to the race due to the fire but they had plenty of bottles on hand at the finish and the 2 aid stations on the course seemed well stocked. Also, other my lungs, my body handled all the ups and downs well, I was only a little sore in my calves the next day. Oh and somehow in my struggle up the hill in mile 4, I landed in the top 10 in Strava segments. Yeah right!

What was the last race you underestimated?