asthma – Slacker Runner

Detour

October 29, 2019October 28, 2019 Fallon @ Slacker Runner

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?

Run!, Slacker, Training

Week 42- Whiplash

October 22, 2019October 21, 2019 Fallon @ Slacker Runner

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?

Hiking-Trails, Race Day, Recap, Run!

Space Rock Trail Race Recap

October 17, 2019October 16, 2019 Fallon @ Slacker Runner

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?

Race Day, Recap, Run!

Surf City 10-Recap

September 26, 2019September 25, 2019 Fallon @ Slacker Runner

What’s a runner to do when she needs motivation to actually run her long runs? She signs up for a race! I saw that Surf City 10 fit in my schedule and there was a 10 miler. Even better was when I looked online and found a sweet hotel for cheap. Yes! So I registered. Then last week happened and I was doubting my ability for a 10 mile race in the dark. Could I finish it even after being sick all week? Yes but that didn’t mean it was the right choice. So I dropped to the 10K.

Oh 10K’s. We have a love/ hate relationship. Well, mostly hate.

My 10K times are either great (for me) or a total crap show. Good- 55 to 58 minutes. The rest all range around 1:10-1:15 because I blow up. There has never been an in between. I rarely run 10K’s for this reason.

I headed down to Huntington Beach on Saturday. Checked into the hotel and then headed back to find race parking. Yes, I used the distance from my car to the start judicisouly – warm up and cooldown and added 2+ miles to my total for the day.

The race was a lot bigger than I thought it would be but I did my best to line up in the proper pace area but it was damn crowded. The race started on time but it took me a few minutes to hit the starting line.

Who wants to take bets?

Mile 1 was decent- 10:22. Not too bad, not too bad.

Mile 2– Well, crap, I know what I forgot. My inhaler. Mother ….. 11:16 Know what Huntington Beach has? High humidity. What triggers my asthma? High humidity.

Mile 3- 4 Yeah no, straight running wasn’t gonna work. How about 2 run, 1 walk? Could my asthmatic lungs handle that?? 11:20, 11:49

Mile 5-6 Ok, can’t breathe, how about 1 run, 1 walk. Oh and I had decided to wear a new skirt, nope. I was less running and more waddling due the chafe I could feel, how I crossed the finish line not bleeding, I have no idea. It still hurts 4 days later.

Finish- 1:11:44

So maybe we should place bets on how long it takes me to run another 10K? Haha.

I did enjoy the race though. Running at night is kind of fun when you’re surrounded by people. A little more light might have been nice but guess who left her Knuckle Lights in the car?? Yep. Winner over here.

What race distance is your nemesis?

Run!, Training

Week 26- So Many Miles…

July 3, 2018July 2, 2018 Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Just not on my feet.

Last week was the first of the big work trips and I was super nervous about it. I was driving down to San Diego on Friday and back on Saturday. I’d never driven that far by myself before. I was only freaking out a little. Ok, a fair amount.

I prepared plenty of podcasts to keep me alert- thanks Bibrave and This American Life- for some reason I can only seem to listen to podcast on long drives. But the drives went well if not tiring. As well as possible poor food choices. 😛

Monday- Yoga I wasn’t feeling too great so I passed on running after work and just headed home. I did complete a yoga video later in the evening though.

Tuesday- 4.47 miles/ yoga Haha, should have paid more attention to the GPS before I stopped my watch. I set out for a few miles and just tried to focus on how I was landing my left leg so my foot wouldn’t hurt. I ended up re-lacing my shoe twice but overall it was a pretty decent run.

Wednesday- Yoga I meant to run, it fit my schedule better but for some reason I can’t remember I didn’t.😛

Thursday- 2.25 miles I had a few things I needed to get done before the next day’s trip but I wanted to get a few miles on my legs. However my feet were so not on board. Now, both feet were hurting?! What? Even yoga sounded like a bad idea-just painful.

Friday- Drive/work I left my house around 5:45 in the morning and drove. Unlike the race trip to San Diego, I made good time and arrived around 12ish. Then we worked until after 6 and it was off to the hotel. Originally I had considered running in the hotel fitness center but I was so tired that I crashed pretty hard once I found the hotel and then ate dinner.

Saturday- Drive home This time I wasn’t so lucky and this drive took longer. I hit so much more traffic through the Burbank- Ventura area.

Sunday- 5 miles I was hoping that my feet would allow me to get a good 6-8 mile run but my lungs had other ideas. I had a freakin’ asthma attack in mile 3. I was in denial at first but soon had to admit that it was real and that I really did need my inhaler. And then again. I was toast. I tried to run again but it was just a farce. I slogged my way home and called it at 5.

11.7 miles for the week. Boo. I am so behind where I need to be for the year and I need to figure out what is going on with my feet.

How was your week?