A Runner at Heart.....Riding a Bike

So I have had this persistent cough for over 2 months now.  I thought it was just a cold that wouldn't go away but now it has gotten worse.  I have breathing problems about 30 minutes after I wake up and sometimes I have to stop within a few blocks after starting a run to cough and almost throw-up, but not every day.  I finally went in to the doctor to see what was up.  I described my symptoms and as it turns out.....I have asthma.  OK....I can deal with that.  I know there are many runners on this blog who have dealt with that for a long time.  

I did some research when I got home and realized I have been modifying my breathing for at least 2-3 years to accommodate my issues.  I purposely do not breathe deeply because it causes me to cough.  I also realized that I suffer from a bad, raspy cough for several days after a race.  I always thought it was just from breathing harder during the race.  The doctor wants me to take Zyrtec daily and use an Albuterol inhaler before I go for a run.  She also recommended that I keep it with me at all times.  I haven't had a full-blown asthma attack yet, so I guess I have that to look forward to.  She said that due to the mild winter we had there have been a lot more cases of asthma due to the extra "junk" in the air.

As one does, I started asking a lot of questions and found out some interesting things.  First of all, why does it bother me some days when I run and not others.  Specifically, why did I do just fine running 21 on Saturday but hacked my guts out on the start of a 10-miler last week.  I did find one answer.  As I discussed with Kory on our run Saturday, I completely cut-out drinking soft drinks 1 week ago.  As it turns out, caffeine actually helps open the airways so you breathe easier.  I was using a power-gel on Saturday that had caffeine in it so that may be why I had less troubles.  No, I am not going to go back to drinking soda again......it is just good to know.

Obviously, I am going to have to figure out what works best for me and modify my approach to running, if necessary.  It also helps to explain why I have been getting tired late in a run and lose my pace.  If you don't breathe correctly, you lose energy.

Sorry for the rambling, but I wanted to log this as I try to keep tabs on what works for me and what doesn't.

It was 60 degrees this morning.  I took my dose of Albuterol about 5 minutes before my run.  I noticed that my throat and mouth felt really dry the whole time.  I am going to have to remember to drink some water after I use my inhaler to combat this.  The Zyrtec is going to take several weeks before I start to feel the full effects from what I have read.  I ran 8.51 miles easy.

I explained all the asthma issues on my Sunday blog entry so you wouldn't have to be bored by it on a regular run day.  If you are curious....look at Sunday.

It was 47 degrees this morning.  I ran a little over a mile before I met with the group.  We were planning on doing a short trail run with them, but there was a brush fire in the area last night that pretty much toasted my favorite trail.  Sounds like it may have been started by some kids and the strong winds last night took over.  We decided to run down to the golf course instead.  We ran for 25 minutes around the course before heading back up Satterfield.  Barry and I ran another mile or so before running in to Lowell and Terry so we ran a couple more with them.  I dropped Barry at his house and ran home.  Total 7.56 miles.

On a side note, I drank some water after the inhaler this morning and felt much better.  Barry and I even did a couple block pick-up coming up to his house and my breathing felt much better and my Garmin showed a 4:35 pace for that pick-up.

It was 36 degrees this morning with a wind chill at 28.....yes, it was 95 degrees 2 days ago.  I ran 6.72 easy miles.  Taper week for Saturday.  

It was 34 degrees and calm this morning.  I ran a mile up to the group run, then ran a few with them before running back home with Barry and Erin.  Total 6.05 miles.

Not too sure what to say about this...

I originally planned to do this as a training run again for my ultra in 2 weeks.  I didn't sleep well at all in the hotel.  I kept waking up.  I have a lot on my mind with work-related items.  I woke up to a warm (66 degrees) in Provo and thought the heat would cause me problems.  There was a big problem looming....but it wasn't the heat.

I got to the start area with about an hour to kill.  I used the time to take care of nature issues and just relaxed in a grassy area.  I decided that I wanted to try to see if a 3:25 was possible without too hard of an effort so I could get my Boston shirt like in years past.  I set a goal to have a 7:20 average by the turn at Deer Creek before the rolling hills started.  It seemed like a good idea.

At the start I felt good and we had a good tail-wind for several of the miles heading out of Wallsburg.  The wind shifted at the 5 mile mark and then shifted back behind us for a while at 6.  This was just a sign of things to come.

I had a 7:18 average at the turn which is around the 7.5 mile mark.  When I turned for the first uphill and the 30+ mph headwind slammed in to me....I hit the wall.  I couldn't seem to catch a decent breath and it felt like I was carrying someone on my back on the uphills.  When I would hit a downhill stretch it felt like I was still working too hard and my heart rate was too high.  I took a bathroom stop at the aid station at mile 9 hoping I could catch my breath and do better.  It didn't work. 

I threw all goals out the window and decided it just wasn't my day and I would just take it easy and run/walk to the finish.  I ran in to Bret around 16.5 after walking a good portion of the uphill.  She was having a bad day as well so we ran most of the rest together.  I would run ahead for a mile and then walk until she caught me.  I thought I might be feeling better on mile 19 so I tried to focus and see what kind of pace I could muster.  I fought the wind and pushed that mile.  It felt like a 7:10-7:20 effort.  When the split popped up on my Garmin...it said 8:15.  Are you kidding me?  I knew I was toast.

I stopped at 20.5 to talk to Smooth who was cheering us on in her walking boot.  She said a lot of people were having bad days.  Bret and I played leapfrog the rest of the way in and she came in just behind me.  I was very glad to be finished with this long day.  Hopefully the walking will speed my recovery so I am ready for my ultra.

Marathon number 88 is in the books.  Ugly!