6 mos. running update: 1 month to go April 23, 2012
Posted by mareserinitatis in personal.Tags: asthma, health, running
trackback
I’m in horrid pain today. My quads are protesting at the slightest movement. On the other hand, I’m damn proud of myself.
When I moved back from Minneapolis two years ago, I learned that my exercise-induced asthma was now full-blown asthma, likely from living in a city with smog again. When I was at UMN, walking across campus was causing me to have difficulty breathing, and I was regularly getting bronchial infections. (Last time this happened, I was living in Los Angeles…not a surprise.) I found out that I was unable to talk more than 2 mph without setting things off. However, I kept working at it. When I walked the 10k last year, I was walking 3 mph. I was still having problems with asthma, though, until last fall when my new doc said we had to do something about it.
Yesterday has me in a bit of a head rush. The older boy is now ‘training’ with me: my jogging pace is a healthy walking pace for him. (The fact that he’s about 8 inches taller than me helps.) We went for our jog/walk yesterday and I managed to keep 16 minute miles for 1 hr. 25 min. in addition to 15 min. of walking. By the time we were done, we’d gone 5.9 mi. And no asthma problems, either, despite the trees and flowers blooming.
We still have a month until the 10k!
Now, I’ll admit that I’m really achy today. I’m used to running on a treadmill for two of my three weekly runs (last week was all three because of uncomfortably cool weather), and I can tell a difference when I run outside (especially when I have some ‘hills’, or at least a dike or two). It was definitely worth it. I’m fairly certain I’ll be able to run the whole 10k, and I’ll probably be able to cut my time from 2 hours to 1 hr. 40 min. I know that’s still horribly long for most people, but it’s a sizable improvement from last year.
If I get any faster, the older boy may have to start running, too.
I also blog at Engineer Blogs, home away from home to some of the best engineering blogs.
Wow, great job!!! I almost wish I hadn’t registered. I didn’t do so until the end of March so it was $30/ person for me and the kid. I was being optimistic, I guess. At my appt last week to have my hemoglobin checked I was told not to start running again yet. I know I can walk it… Well, actually I don’t know if I’ll be able to but I’ll try!
Aw, bummer. :-( Well, if you can walk it, that’s still something. At least you get a tshirt, right? I hope things look up soon.
My aunt is training for the full marathon, and she said if you put 2 cups of epsom salts in a hot bath & soak in it after running, you will not be sore. She learned that trick from her running group and said it’s a miracle cure.
Oooh. Thanks. I’ll definitely have to try that. I try to most run on the treadmill because I’ve had knee issues in the past, but I’ve got to do SOME running outside or I’ll be hosed when the race comes. My poor quads never know what hit them. :-)
Keep up the good work, Cherish!
I actually find that running on the treadmill really hurts my knees, actually one of them, whereas running outside does not. Maybe my technique is off or I need different shoes to run on the treadmill…
Rooting for you in the 10k race!
Thanks!
I’ve had knee problems, and I finally had a doc look at my feet and tell me I’m horribly flat footed. I have to wear stability shoes with additional orthotic support (superfeet seem to work the best). It really makes a huge difference. However, even with that, I have to be very cognizant of how I land. There’s a sweet spot between extending my leg fully and landing completely flat footed that I have to work for or I really feel it, no matter where I’m running.