Feeling Better

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you'll know that July was a struggle for me. It was on of the warmest Julys in NYC Tri-State history. My asthma has been out of control making any type of run difficult and deflating. Thanks to Amy, I saw an asthma specialist who is also a runner and triathlete. My primary care doc is specialized in pulmonary medicine. While he is a very good doctor, he's not athlete and I found it difficult to talk to him about my running. Anyway....I had a great visit with this new doc. He understood my struggles and which types of workouts trigger my asthma more than others. After 2 breathing tests and talking about my current medications, The doc decided that my current daily maintenance medications (Advair HFA and Singulair) did not need adjusting. He put me on a prednisone blast to reduce the inflammation and prescribed a new rescue inhaler (Xopenex instead of Ventolin) that I should also use before a run. He also suggested that I take my harder workouts, i.e., inside to the treadmill until cooler weather arrives.

Then something funny happened. For at least this past week, the mornings have been much cooler. This past week (the one ending this past Sunday) was the best week of running I've had in a while. I nailed last Tuesday's track workout (2 x 3200), my recovery runs were at a comfortable 8:35 pace and my 5 mile tempo run (which I did on the TM) was at 7:45 pace. The icing on the cake came this past Sunday when I joined up with the NYRR Long Training Run for 11 miles at 8:30 pace. Everything about the run felt good. I fueled and hydrated well, I didn't struggle on the hills, and I had some kick left at the end for a faster finish.

It's good to be feeling better and to be running in some cooler weather. I'm noticing it's still slightly dark when I leave at 5:30 a.m. I hope that means that cooler weather is right around the corner.

Is It Winter Yet?

I know I'm not the only one Tweeting, blogging, and Facebooking about how the summer heat is affecting our running and overall state of mind. I, for one, had enough. I haven't had a quality week of running in about 3 weeks. Every run, including those indoors on the treadmill, has been a struggle.

Last Wednesday, I went up to the company gym for some mile repeats. Even with the AC on at full blast, it was still incredibly stuffy in there. I set the treadmill to a 6:53 pace, which is about 5 - 10 seconds slower than usual. I thought I was going die. I started wheezing and couldn't get enough air into my lungs. After I recovered, I decided to slow the treadmill down to a 7:08 pace for the next one. A little better but it felt harder than it should have. I got through 3 intervals and called it quits.

Yesterday's long run was another disaster. I left the house at 6:15 a.m. and wanted to run for 2 hours. At first, I felt pretty good and I thought I was in store for a solid long run. Wishful thinking. Once the sun came up over the horizon, the wheels came off. The last 3 miles of my run were 9:19, 8:59, and 8:59. I drained 40 ounces of fluid on what ended being as 12.56 mile run. Usually 40oz. lasts me 15 - 18 miles.

After the Van Cortland 2 x 2 mile relay last Thursday, I was chatting with Amy about running with asthma. She mentioned that her asthma is worse in the winter months when the air is drier. I am the exact opposite. My asthma is much worse during the summer when it's hotter and more humid. Even with 2 puffs of Albuterol, speed and tempo workouts are tough. I simply cannot get enough air into my lungs. In the cooler weather, the inhaler gets put away (I still take my daily maintenance medicine).

The other thing we both mentioned is that, during the winter, if you are dressed properly, you should not feel cold. If you get warm, you can always take off a layer. When it's 90 and 90% humidity, you can be running naked and there's very little you can do to feel cooler. I know plenty of you that, despite the complaints about the heat, prefer it to the cold. For me, winter cannot come soon enough.