A Breakthrough!

Haile is supposedly having second thoughts - not surprising for one of the greatest in the world, and arguably one of the most competitive. Simon Bairu had a ROUGH NYC ending - I mean this is almost comedic how much went wrong at the end for him. Usain is AWESOME, and a chat with the NYC and U.S. Champions, and with all thoe hoopla about marathon training here is a guide to training for...spectating! lol

Ran on Tuesday with Crystal after work. We have experienced some pretty nice weather as of late (60-70's), so the evenings are about perfect. Ran to the track and back and did drills. Felt like poop going up, but settled in when we got a couple extra on the track. Drills felt like my legs were on fire, but it is a necessity at this point since I can't do any running strength training. Felt decent running back, and our efforts to slow it down were thwarted because apparently it is impossible to slow it down when Crystal and I both feel good. Total mileage: 7 miles - ran low 8's on average.

Wednesday after work, FINALLY went to go see a doctor. Got checked in, explained to Dr. Hong about my symptoms (shortness of breath when running in general, complete lung shutdown/massive wheezing when pushing any pace whatsoever, complete sinus cloggage), and he listened to me breathe through a stethoscope and pretty much immediately diagnosed me with exercise induced bronchospasm which is basically exercise induced asthma because of severe allergies. Prescribed me a ton of meds for the allergies, gave me an inhaler to use before running which should neutralize the side effects of my bronchi tubes flaring up, and sent me on my way. Went to my pharmacy to pick up the meds, and got home to change and get in my mileage for the night.

Pretty much couldn't wait to try the inhaler (doc said I should be able to feel the benefits from the inhaler (about a week till the allergy meds kick in)), so took a couple puffs and strapped on my shoes on a pretty nice evening outside. Ran towards the trail, and jumped on even though it was pitch black but could see ok on the trail. Legs were pretty tore up from the mileage/drills this week, but got moving ok and didn't suffer through the first mile which was sub 8. Got on the trail which was flatter, and picked it up to see how I felt. Wasn't wheezing and could breathe somewhat ok, and picked it up even more. Was amazing to be restricted from leg soreness/fatigue versus not being able to breathe, and continued to pick it up and flew through a couple miles before shutting it down the last mile and jogging in. Had a fat grin on my face and was tired, but it felt absolutely AMAZING to be able to step on the peddle a bit and take off again. Total mileage: 5 miles - splits were: 7:42, 7:21, 6:32, 6:28, 7:43.

Despite all that, my breathing passages are still massively swollen and breathing is still a bit restricted. The plan is to slowly work back to 100% and regain some strength again. Heading to Philly next week and will not be running a kamikaze race, and I will be in Dallas the week after to cheer on Ken on his marathon efforts, and Pat and Crystal for their half marathon. I saw there was a 5K the day before those races with some pretty slow times from the year before - might be a good opportunity to throw in a race for fun and maybe win a prize??