"Adversity is a stimulus."
James Broughton
James Broughton
Ready to go...feeling hopeful!
The weather was absolutely perfect for running. Sunny, with a nice breeze and not too hot. The course was also in a beautiful setting. The race was extremely well organized and everything went smoothly, from registration to the shuttle to the start line.
I love the tech shirt. Very simple and fits super comfortably.
The story: Yesterday, I was at a get-together at a friend's home and someone there happened to be a runner. She had heard about this race and mentioned that it was extremely hilly (I think she assumed that I knew this). This worried me a lot a bit because my lungs are not doing so well these days after their bout with allergies. However, I figured it wasn't worth getting too worked up over. If it takes longer and I don't get a PR, so be it. This is actually part of my training program, so the point is just to get it done. Right...?
How did it go you ask? My legs felt great, no pain and they were feeling strong. My lungs...not so much. Yes, it was a very hilly course.
This is an example of the course (in reverse). Constant up and down like that...
But every uphill had its downhill and allowed us to recuperate quite well. Although there was this one hill at the 5K mark which was probably half a mile long. I actually had to walk for a small part of it because my lungs were screaming at me, "What do you think you're doing crazy lady"! Still, even that hill had a nice long downhill after. The problem is that no matter how much I got to recuperate, I had to beg my lungs to help me get up each of the many hills. So, no PR for me. Actually, I ended up with a time of 1h:04m:07s after which I promptly had a minor asthma attack (coughed pretty much non-stop for 5-10 minutes). That is a FIRST! I'd never had a coughing fit after one of my races...may it be the last! Tomorrow, there is a huge chance that I will be on prednisone again for at least 10 days*.
That's actually what I'm most frustrated about. I have a tendency to keep pushing off starting the prednisone and hoping I'll improve without it. However, if I had started last Monday, like I knew I should, I would have rocked that 10K (especially since I would have been on a prednisone high ;))...yeah, that's probably considered cheating, but it's not like I'd be stealing anyone's medal :)
Speaking of which...interestingly, there was no medal at this race, but the snack was duck sausage, which was delicious. There was also beer, but I didn't taste it (in my defence, I was still coughing sporadically and it didn't seem like a good idea at the time).
It was much better than it looks :)
One very cool thing is that I met up with a bunch of Daily Mile friends after the race...people who live in my area and that I met through DM. Loved that! :)
Am I disappointed? Yes. Will I get over it? Of course. I have absolutely no pain following this intense hill workout and I feel ready to increase my mileage! Three more weeks of training and if all continues to go well, I will be registering for the Montreal Marathon...I'm feeling optimistic (hope I didn't just jinx it :).
So the stats for my race...if you're interested:
Time: 1h04m07s
Pace: 6:24m/K
Category: 24/48 (right in the middle - not so bad really)
Gender: 396/599
Overall: 781/1035
Cheers!
*I also will probably have to start getting my Xolair injections again. We had tried to stop and see how I would do, but my lungs haven't been going so great over the last few months.
29 comments:
Anne...so sorry about les petits poumons qui ne sont pas 100%
tu sais le fait que tu cours et que tu participes a des courses meme en ayant des problemes respiratoire, et que tu aies un temps tres respectable malgre que tu ne sois pas 100% top shape avec la sante, juste ca c une victoire...je comprends que tu peux etre un peu decue...c ok
mais le big picture...ca c pas decevant...right? Montreal!!!! chanceuse!!!
Sorry to hear Anne. I too had to start all my meds again. Prednisone three times this year alone. Glad you are still running!
Oh man, that just sucks. No other word for it! I totally understand your frustrations with this and hope they are able to get it under control so you can get training and doing some hill work :). You have such a wonderful spirit and of course you will rebound...but you stuck with that race and didn't give in and that says a lot about your awesome character!! Congrats to you, girl!!
Well, the good news is that your legs did great even on that challenging course. I don't really like hills, but if I have to run them I'm sure happier when they're rolling hills. Sorry it looks like you're going to need to use the Prednisone again, but maybe it's time to go back to looking at it more as a tool than as something you HAVE To fall back on.
So sorry to hear you're having lung problems while racing - although I have to agree with Caroline above - you did get a very respectable time! Your well trained legs obviously carried you through. I know what you mean about wanting to put off taking the drugs, though, hope you can find a happy medium with all of this.
Sorry that your lungs didn't want to run those hills but I think you can still feel very good about your running after this race. 1:04 is good at this stage in your training. Well done!
I'm going to tell you what I tell my son - just get that asthma under control! All that coughing is no fun at all and it'll probably only take a couple of days. Good job on finishing the race. I would have hated it - not a big fan of hills!
So annoying! Bummer about your lungs, can't you switch them out for a new pair? All kidding aside, excellent job with the race and sticking with it, you have a great way of looking at the bigger picture and not getting all done up about it. Have a good recovery week!
Amazing job considering both the course and stupid asthma. I am in awe of what you can do with your lungs! :)
Sorry to hear that your asthma has been acting up so much. :(
Congratulations on a great race nonetheless and for conquering those hills. That looks like a great post-race spread (I love those Taste of Nature bars) & I like the shirt too.
Le fait que tu as dû ''dealer'' avec les caprices de tes poumons est tellement dommage, je suis vraiment désolée pour toi. Je trouve ça très injuste car tu t'entraînes, tu es prête pour la course, pas de blessures, tout devrait donc aller pour le mieux... Mais voilà, tes poumons t'en font voir!!!
Par contre, même dans ces conditions, tu réussis à faire 1:04!!! Avec des côtes en plus!!!! Imagine le temps que tu aurais pu faire, une p'tite fusée!!!!
Prends soin de toi et bonne récup de course. Tu vas voir, y'a quelquechose qui me dit que nous serons côte-à-côte sur le pont, le 25 septembre prochain!!! :o)
Saw the time result on DM but couldn't read your post, I thought you did great. Reading about your race here though, sorry about the asthma. You did great though, especially in view of the course and the asthma. The food looks great!
Not a bad time considering the hills, never mind the asthma!
Ugh, I'm totally feeling for you... I'm sorry that your lungs had other plans for the day - keeping my fingers crossed for no prednisone!
Sounds like ingesting all that pollen at the race and during the earlier hike was a bit more than the lungs were willing to bear, at least without some assistance. Hope the drug therapy works wonders.
Sorry to hear that your asthma was acting up. We have been having really humid weather and you aren't that far away - so I am guessing that humidity really affects your lungs - heck it drives me crazy and I don't have asthma - I can only imagine how it must feel with asthma. Get better -
Glad that your legs felt great and no pain - that is huge step in the right direction.
Obviously you don't want to be on the drugs for asthma - but think of it as a booster shot - do it and move on.
Ugh so sorry about the lung issues and the hills and the disappointment. Hills are tough under the best of conditions. Hope things settle for you and you're feeling better soon!
That SUCKS! You should have totally taken the prednisone on Monday and you would have been as fast as the wind girl... why do we always push our bodies so far before we give in to the need for medical intervention.
So happy that you stuck with it and did a great job despite the asthma.
Make it a great day!
Ugh! It sucks that the hills did that to you! But you still did very well! :)
Your stats look good but so sorry to hear of the breathing problems. This is a back and forth thing isn't it. And you take such good care of yourself. But you're running! I love the tech shirt too. Good luck with the rest of it, Anne. Take care.
Looks like a good finishing time, especially for a race with hills. Sausage as a post-race food - that's the first I've seen that. Nice shirt!
So sorry your lungs let you down but great that your legs didn't. We all have races like that but it wasn't all that bad :)
So sorry your lungs are not cooperating, that has to get frustrating. So glad that your legs felt great though!
I'm sorry that your lungs are giving you a hard time, that hill is nuts. Great attitude thought, and I'd be all over that duck sausage!!!
What a beautiful tech shirt, I love that colour!
Great time taken Anne, although you're having lung problems while racing. I'm sorry to hear that! I've understood that your lungs are not doing so well during the spring because of allergies.
keep on running Anne :)
Blasted hills! I'm sorry that the lungs were not cooperating but, I guess the good news is that your legs felt good which is exciting. I hope that your lungs start behaving and that the race registration is in your future! I'm excited for you!
Hill and allergy are a couple of problems but you did a great time.
Sorry for the medal but you got a nice t-shirt.
Hi Anne, Chris will be sending the flag to Alanna at http://running42km.blogspot.com/
She is in Canada as well. I think you must contact her to get it next. While it is in Canada I think Andrew, our running man wannabe should get it too.
Happy running!
HI Anne -
Thank you so much for the comment yesterday. Still mending my broken heart, which will heal faster than that dang calf muscle. Grrrr. I know you've had your fair share of set-backs and know it's not fun. I'm just not sure I need to do a marathon if it's going to keep getting me injured...a half is pretty darn good too! Anyway, hope you had a great weekend & thanks again for the encouragement. Alma
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