Running and coughing and slipping and freezing

On January 7, 2017 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Oh yes, it’s January again

Today’s run (street & treadmill): 3 miles total

Whatever cold or virus that hit me on December 29 is still with me. The only remaining symptom is a dry cough that just won’t abate. I took a rare sick day on Tuesday, worked from home on Wednesday and returned to the office on Thursday. My coughing was so relentless that my boss, whose office is adjacent to mine, told me to work from home on Friday. She couldn’t stand the thought of another day listening to my hacking.

The good news is that I feel almost back to full strength. I considered going for a run on Friday morning, but ended up doing a brisk (4 MPH) treadmill walk instead. This morning’s weather was a lot colder, but I was determined to get out and run. 23° with winds dropping the real feel temperature into the teens meant a lot of layers head to foot. I did my best to prepare, but I ultimately found conditions too harsh.

I was fairly comfortable while I waited for the Garmin to acquire its signal. I started off optimistically, planning to only run fast enough to stay warm. When I took my first left off my street, I felt the wind on my face and it hurt. I decided to give it a few minutes, hoping that warming up would help minimize my discomfort. I thought I could tough it out for three miles and probably could have managed that. After completing a loop through the middle school, I saw that the lightly falling snow was becoming heavier and the ground was getting slippery.

That was enough for me. I made tracks (literally) back to my house and headed upstairs where my wife was just finishing up her treadmill workout. I quickly shed my heavy layers and hopped on the treadmill. I completed the balance of my run indoors and ended up getting in trouble for tracking dirt in the house because I’d forgotten to take off my running shoes.

I usually try to cover closer to five miles on weekend days, but the combination of not running for two weeks and feeling less than 100% made three miles seem like a good distance. Besides that, we’re in the middle of our first snowstorm of the season. I knew I’d be going out at least four times to shovel as we’re looking at 9″- 12″ at this point. Between the running and shoveling, I’ve already covered more than 10K steps today. That number will go up further when we go back out again at 7:00.

I was glad to get back on the road this morning for the first time since Boxing Day. Unfortunately , it was for barely more than half a mile. Looks like another fun session on the treadmill tomorrow.

Caping but not running

On January 2, 2017 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Home away from home

I rarely get sick. As a matter of fact, I cannot remember the last time I had so much as a cold. When I do get sick, it’s usually during the last week of the year. I always take the time between Christmas and New Year’s day as vacation time. It may be due to transitioning from weeks of intense business to being free of work, but I’ve suffered my worst colds, flu and even a bout with pneumonia during that time.

My favorite view

My vacation had been going along nicely. I was running every day and looking forward to spending a few days on Cape Cod. My last run before our trip was at the local high school track and I ran well. That usually happens when I run more frequently, in this case five times in a row. We’d rented a house in Barnstable, MA, and my running plans included a visit to the Shining Sea trail in Falmouth. I was also hoping to run on the local roads near our rental house.

Wild turkeys in Falmouth

Our house was located on the north edge of town and overlooked the water. Growing up, I spent almost every summer at the Cape and was excited to duplicate the experience with my family. I naively assumed that driving from Barnstable to Falmouth would take 15 or 20 minutes, but when we headed over there, I realized it closer to an hour’s drive. We had a great time in Falmouth, but I conceded to not running the rail to trail path the next day.

Nobska lighthouse, Falmouth

We covered the Cape out to Chatham and enjoyed the clear off season roads. The wind and cold on Wednesday pushed us to the edge of our comfort zone but we spent a lot of time outside. My son started feeling rundown by midday, but he was a trooper and stayed with us into the evening. By Thursday morning, my daughter and I started experiencing the same symptoms. I’d hoped to do an early morning run by our house before we hit the road, but I was in no shape to do that when I woke up.

Barnstable at dawn

Jiffy Pop. Too bad I burned it.

Chilly air and hot coffee

We left for home before 7:00 AM on Thursday. Fortunately, my wife has an amazing immune system and was able to pilot us back to LI without a problem. I spent the next couple of days feeling increasingly worse. My son started recovering by Saturday and that alleviated some of my concern that I was dealing with the flu or pneumonia. My daughter and I have been recovering on parallel tracks but progress has been slow. By Saturday morning, it was clear that I would not be in shape to do the January 1st Hangover Run with my Runsketeer buddies.

That was a good call because on top of my coughing and congestion, I was also experiencing significant lower back pain. I avoided taking any OTC remedies and rested as much as I could. This morning was a different story. My coughing has lessened and my strength has improved, but not enough to run. My daughter’s progress has mirrored mine and hopefully we’ll both be feeling much better tomorrow. I probably won’t get out for a run again until next Friday, but if that’s what it takes to beat this thing, I’m okay with that.

I’m vertigo-ing to take Sudefed next time

On March 13, 2016 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Once again, pseudoephedrine saves the day

Today’s run (street): 3.75 miles

I had a very nice Saturday until about 8:00 PM last night when I started feeling dizzy. I have very sensitive sinuses and big changes in temperature tend to affect me. It’s usually in the form of a pounding headache. Occasionally, the only effect will be a feeling of light-headedness, which is far more tolerable. Unfortunately, the dizziness sometimes provokes it’s evil twin, nausea, and then it’s no fun at all.

By 8:30 I could tell that this would be more than a passing thing. I considered using nasal spray or taking a decongestant, but I was also starting to feel sick. Instead, I headed upstairs to go to bed in hopes that I could sleep it off.

Today is the start of daylight savings time, and when I woke up, I thought I’d slept until 7:00 AM. Actually I did, but my internal clock thought it was 6:00 AM. Still, I managed to get more than eight hours sleep and all signs of last night’s vertigo were gone. I was concerned about overdoing it today, and decided to keep my run short.

The weather was pleasant and I dressed correctly for a change. I’d taken Sudefed when I got up in hopes of warding off a recurrence of sinus trouble. I expected to feel tired on the road. Instead, the decongestant had the opposite effect. My stride felt loose and my energy level was higher than it’s been in weeks. I felt so good I wondered if pseudoephedrine is a banned substance.

I stayed in my neighborhood, but mixed up my route to keep things somewhat interesting. Unlike many runs, I wasn’t thinking about how much more time or distance I had to cover. I was really enjoying being outside on a beautiful (if humid) pseudo-spring day. I never looked at my watch during the run, and was surprised to see that I’d exceeded my three mile target by 20%.

I didn’t get in all the workouts I’d hoped for over the week, but I had some challenging days in the office that kept me late a couple of days. This week should be better and if I’m able to stay on schedule I’ll aim to add a Wednesday and/or Thursday workout.

Warmer and slower one year later

On December 13, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 3.8 miles

I’m not sure what it was, but I wasn’t feeling too great this morning. I had a brief moment when I considered a lesser workout or even skipping it altogether. Then I remembered that I felt a little off before my run with KWL yesterday, yet I still ran okay. Encouraged by that, I dressed for my run (short sleeves and running shorts today) and headed out with no route in mind.

I took it very easy and thought about the fact that the last race I ran was exactly a year ago: the 2014 Jingle All the Way 5K. I had recently developed a disc injury, although I didn’t know it at the time, and ran a decent race. As I recall, SIOR and TPP both won their respective age divisions. They tend to do that. In fact, SIOR just became a certified trainer. Contact her through her site if you want to learn how to dominate your age group.

I also thought about the early fall-like weather today and compared that to a year ago when we had 9 MPH winds making it feel like 31°. We’d spent most of our pre-race time huddling near the large fire pits that were placed around the registration area. My objective was to cover a little more distance today than yesterday, but not at the cost of making myself feel worse than when I started.

I did not come close to the pace I ran a year ago this morning, but I wasn’t going for performance. I’m hoping that I can fit in a couple of extra runs this week. It’s almost Christmas week and, if things start winding down at work, I may be able to get them done.

Pumpkin bread day run

On November 21, 2015 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Aromatherapy

Today’s run (street): 3.5 miles
Yesterday’s run (street): 2.25 miles

Once again the Emerging Runner household is enveloped with the aroma of baking pumpkin bread. Every year, since our kids were in kindergarten, my wife has set up a bakery to produce dozens of her (now) famous breads that she gives to family, teachers and friends. It’s a sure sign that Thanksgiving is near when I see her and my daughter in the kitchen organizing the mixing bowls and ingredients.

I’m looking forward to having some later, even though I’ve felt ill since yesterday morning, I had a tough work week that continued through Friday. I worked from home yesterday and had an early meeting via Google Hangout. I was feeling pretty low and considered skipping my workout. My wife said the weather was perfect and that I should go out for a short run. So that’s what I did.

It was warm enough to run in short sleeves and shorts and I did a couple of loops that totaled 2 1/4 miles. My minimum run distance is three miles, but I made an exception yesterday to accommodate my schedule and condition. Even though I only covered 70% of my typical Friday distance, it felt like a full workout.

This morning I still felt sick, but ignored that and prepared to run. It was more than a head cold and I considered the “neck up run, neck down rest” rule, This was not going to be a long run either, so I figured I was safe. A quick check of the weather prompted me to go with long sleeves and shorts. That was a good idea, as the 9 MPH winds made the temperature feel like high 30’s.

I felt good throughout most of my run, but near the end I felt tired. I took a recovery nap after showering and that helped me rebound well enough to socialize with some visitors in the afternoon. I’m still feeling fatigued and wondering whether I’ll be up for my Sunday long run. I’ll play it by ear and see how I feel in the morning. I’m sure a little pumpkin bread will help.

Back to the run, six days later

On March 2, 2014 By Emerging Runner12 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

I had high hopes for my 2014 running the morning of January 1st. I’d finished out 2013’s racing season with a credible performance in the Hot Chocolate 5K and (unlike recent years) I’d come through the holidays with neither a cold nor the flu. Me and my running buddies met at Eisenhower Park on New Year’s morning to do our first running event of the year, The LIRR Hangover Run. We had fun that day and I felt great afterward. I looked forward to winter running and a return to my old form.

Although my running year got off to a great start, it quickly stalled. The snow rarely stopped and the temperatures rarely rose high enough to melt it off. My choices were to compromise safety and run on narrow icy roads, or stay indoors and use the treadmill. Safety prevailed and, as of today, I’ve only run outdoors four times in the past two months.

This morning I did my first run in a week. It was a treadmill workout done at a very moderate pace. I believe that this was the first full week (since recovering from pneumonia in early 2010) where I didn’t record a single mile of running. What I had wasn’t the flu, but it sapped my strength and I knew that pushing myself would not be healthy.

I made the mistake of chipping down the icebergs at the end of my driveway on Saturday so I’d have some room to put the new snow we’re supposed to get this week. That 40 minute exercise would have normally counted as a bonus cross training session, but yesterday it felt like I’d logged a long hard run.

I had a great night’s sleep and this morning I felt closer to full strength. I exercised caution on the treadmill and dismissed any thoughts about performance. Today’s goal was to start the process of recovering any fitness that I may have lost during my downtime. Even at my easy pace, I felt a burn in my throat that I used to get in my early days of running.

I further reduced my speed after each mile. It seemed like the right move since my goal was simply to get through a moderate aerobic workout, not to maintain a challenging heart rate. I’m clearly still recovering, so I’m not sure of my true level of fitness. What I do know is that I’m nowhere near the level of race readiness that I’d expected on New Year’s morning. I’ll forgo my Monday rest day and, perhaps, take another step forward tomorrow.

Listening to my body, finally

On February 27, 2014 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

My cold started on Saturday morning, leading to a terrible treadmill run later in the day. In the past, my position was to always run through a cold, but rest with a fever. This was clearly a cold, so I was surprised to have such a difficult time getting through my workout. I felt okay on Sunday morning when I joined the Runsketeers at Eisenhower Park, but the fatigue soon returned and I had trouble maintaining our very easy pace.

In retrospect, I’m happy to know that it was just a cold that was affecting my stamina and not something more serious. I took my usual rest day on Monday and, by Tuesday, it was clear that a run would do me more harm than good. However, I did cover five miles walking in the city that day. By Tuesday night I was officially exhausted. I spent much of Wednesday trying to rest and recover.

I’m still dealing with a full blown head and chest cold, so running is out of the question for now. I’m feeling a slight improvement today and I’m hoping that continues. I doubt I’ll run tomorrow, so this may turn out to be my lowest mileage week in over a year. That’s fine, since I run 5-6 days a week, it’s probably good to take a long rest every once in a while. It took a bad cold to make me stop, but maybe all this rest will do me some good.

Zapped and tired

On February 22, 2014 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Zapped again

Today’s run (treadmill): 45 minutes

I woke up feeling tired with a scratchy throat this morning. Morning is when my energy level peaks, but even with two cups of coffee, I felt fatigued. It was “near-end-of-vacation-pancake-day” so I had to participate. I added a cup of decaf to my coffee intake and figured the extra carbs from the pancakes would help fuel my run. If that was the case, it was a short term benefit.

My treadmill workout did not go very well. I knew I’d have trouble maintaining Friday’s pace, so I started at a speed that I thought I could sustain for 40 minutes. Although the temperature has risen throughout the week, the humidity has remained low. About three minutes into the run, my hand brushed the treadmill’s HRM grip. This caused a spark that wiped out the display but I didn’t notice it for another minute. I reset the treadmill without knowing how far I’d actually gone.

The next ten minutes went okay, but I soon felt tired. I usually wouldn’t stop a run due to fatigue, but today I made an exception. I gave myself a minute to recover before restarting the machine and dialed down the speed a half a MPH. I was able to manage through for another 30 minutes, though I don’t know if it was wise to continue.

I’m hoping my strength will return so I’ll be on my game tomorrow. I keep expecting a cold to come, but so far it’s mostly just fatigue and an irritated throat.

Not all traditions are good

On December 20, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Wednesday and Friday’s runs (treadmill): 3.2 miles

Vitamins no, flu shot yes

I’ve been busy this week, with a few days where I worked straight through from 5:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Due to that, I didn’t run on Thursday. Worse, I barely moved at all yesterday. I did get in some treadmill runs on Tuesday and Wednesday and again this morning. The icy roads and a lack of time has kept me indoors. We have weekend guests staying with us, so I’m not sure how much mileage I’ll get over the next two days.

We’re coming up on the end of year holidays and that makes me happy because my kids get a long break from school. I’ve always taken the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. That’s because my company would fundamentally shut down during that time. It was nice to be away knowing I was missing nothing at the office. Ironically, I’ll be working on some project items next week that I need to complete before the year closes.

A less positive tradition that I seem to follow is getting a year end cold or flu (and four years ago, pneumonia). That’s always undercut my ability to enjoy my time off. I’ve managed to dodge that bullet the last couple of years and, interestingly, that coincides with when I started taking flu shots. I haven’t taken a vitamin since I read about their lack of effectiveness on Tuesday, so I’m probably playing with fire. I want to stay healthy for the LIRCC Hangover Run on January 1st morning. I’ll be running it for the third year in a row. That’s the kind of tradition I want to follow, especially now that my buddies will be joining me.

A good run today, but what have I done?

On October 2, 2013 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Maybe I should have thought this out

Today’s run (street): 3.3 miles

Despite having my Garmin GPS, heart rate monitor and foot pod on my run today, I felt like a purist. That’s because I chose not to use the metronome app. Instead, I tried to meet my targeted cadence only by feel. Like the old joke about hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop, today’s run felt extra peaceful without all that beeping.

This change seemed to pay off, as I hit 87 SPM just by focusing on a brisk cadence. I felt some awkwardness in my gait for the first 20 minutes of the run, but still achieved a mid-9:00 pace in the process. I’ll take that for now. I think I understand how much harder I’ll need to push to get more improvement.

Things have gotten busier in terms of work and I spent much of the day on my laptop. I did take a break before lunch and got a flu shot a the local pharmacy. Although the CDC claims that flu shots don’t make you ill, last year I felt very run down a couple of days after getting mine. I really hope that was just a coincidence. But if I have any bad workouts later in the week, I’ll know what to blame.