Summer Colds and Running Do Not Mix

My sore throat became a full blown head cold.  Summer colds are absolutely no fun.  I wish I had an audio clip so you could all hear how funny my voice sounds right now.  Since I can't breath very well or stop coughing up a lung without the assistance of multiple over the counter meds running is not a smart option.  I did go for an easy 5 on Friday when I only had sinus pressure and everything went fine during the run.  However, after showering I had a worsening of all these fun symptoms including the worst ear pressure/pain I have ever experienced.  There could be no relation between the run and worsening but I don't want to make this any worse than it is, especially since I am traveling on Monday.

Now my question for you guys.  I am 16 weeks out and I haven't really had a chance to get on schedule yet thanks to life happening.  Should I scratch this weeks long run and start fresh and clean on Monday?  Or if I am feeling better Monday just move the run to then and re-arrange the rest of the week around?  If I improve over the day today I may try to head out this evening and see how I feel.

Jinx

Last week I was talking to my sister who was complaining about being sick after spending the weekend around her friends little nephews and nieces.  I was saying how I must have built up some serious immunity because I hadn't been sick in over a year.  Way to jinx yourself silly!  This morning I woke up with a little tickle on the right side of my throat.  Now it's a full blown painful annoyance.  I am crossing my fingers this doesn't lead to anything much worse.

I was able to find some time to go for a run finally this week.  Yay!!!  I decided to do the run I missed yesterday; 10 miles.  Although very humid this 10 miler went much better than my attempt on Saturday morning. Go figure it helps to go later in the day when still warm but the sun is not intensely beating down on you ;).  My legs were well rested and I stopped at nearly every water fountain to stay well hydrated.  It all came together today for a toasty run but one that passed quickly and felt almost relaxing now that I was able to run out some stress.  My run took me past North Beach briefly.  This is where every volleyball player, family, and hot person under the age of 25 hang out during the summer.  To steal a term from this lovely lady there was a whole lot of douchebaggery happening.  The weather and North Beach lend itself to make the perfect storm of DB's.  It is entertaining to watch on the run as long as I don't have any contact with them. 

Day trip to Madison, WI on Thursday.  I'm not one for sitting in traffic or driving more than the actual time I work on site so instead of 3 hours there and more than 3 back (thanks Chicago traffic) I am taking the 27 minute flight up there.  Plus I get the airline segments :)  Although I probably spend as much time at the airport as I would in the car.  Oh well.  At least the plane gives me the option of brief sleep and possibility of arriving home sooner than planned.

Is it Friday yet?

What day is it?  I've been told it is only late Tuesday night but I feel like my weekend should be starting already!  4 a.m. came extremely early Monday and the day did not end until nearly 9:30 pm when I finally arrived to the hotel after a full day.  Woo...  I think I ended up with 3 1/2 hours of sleep and nearly 17 hours of working and traveling.  There were grand plans of waking up early Tuesday morning to get a cross-training session done.  In the end the extra 45 minutes of sleep won.  I feel a little guilty but the sleep was needed to get through my day in New Jersey at least semi-functional.  All this travel was cool when I was 23-24.  I've enjoyed the points and other perks but 7 1/2 years later I feel like a little old lady.  A day of travel wipes me out.  If I only knew what to do instead...

I'm now home for a day with a lot to do including going for a run, a lot of work reports/miscellaneous in-house work, and catching up with all of you.  I miss 2 days and there are nearly 300 posts in my google reader! 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!  I hope everyone had a great day!

 

Dad, thank you for making up the reason why your ears ring and telling your most gullible daughter who then proceeded to tell everyone on the playground.  Because you were the smartest guy in the world and wouldn't ever lie to me ;)  Thank you for explaining the difference between trekkers and trekkies and then taking me to every Star Trek and Sci Fi movie that came out while I live at home.  Thank you for taking me prom dress shopping (and every other kind of shopping), seeing a new movie (usually opening night), going to the bookstore, helping me move countless times all over Chicago, and providing support (financially and emotionally).  Thank you dad for everything over the last 30 years which is just too much to list here!  I can't wait for the day I can convince you to run a race with me ;) It's going to happen

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Today would have been the better day to run 10 miles.  Although the humidity remained high it was overcast with a nice breeze.  I had to take advantage the cooler temps once my hubbie decided to do his weekly 3 miles.  I wasn't feeling the motivation but I like to have someone to run with so I changed quickly to go with him.  Once I got moving the easy 3 felt great.  Nice to have a minor redemption after yesterday.   Other than the run and watching the US Open we also spent some time together at the driving range.  I shanked and biffed practically all but 5 balls.  Golf is seriously the most frustrating sport.  Frustrating but still a fun way to spend an hour or two.  

Holy Humidity Batman!

ummm... yeah... it's hot.  It happened practically overnight and I was sooooo not ready.  2 days ago was cool, in the 60's.  Today 80 moving on up to the 90's with nearly 40% humidity.  The 10 miles may have gone better had I had more time to acclimate.  But thanks to the drastic change I crumbled mid-run.  My legs were great, the rest of me not so much.  Initially I wanted to run 12.  Nearly 2 miles into the run I decided to cut it down to 10 but I did not run the whole 10 miles.  I was disappointed when I realized just before 5 miles I wouldn't be able to continue unless I started to incorporate walking breaks.  Flashbacks of my experience at Chicago 07 started happening. And although today was not a marathon,  I didn't want to push when I wasn't ready and could potentially end up hurt.  So I swallowed my pride and for the second 5 I moved to a 5:1 run/walk.  I know if it hadn't gotten so hot and humid as quickly as it did I would have had little to no problem completing the run and possibly even going further.  It will take a little time to get used to the weather and in the meantime I will push myself but need to remember to be smart.  The heat changes everything when it comes to training.

Also, thanks to everyone who commented letting me know I wasn't the only one with sleep issues ;)  It feels a better to knowing I'm not alone!  I'm hoping today's run sends me to bed early!

Who Needs Sleep?!?

The only thing running through my head right now is this:

I have always had this cyclical problem with sleep/insomnia.  I blamed it on being a night owl when I was younger and even took ambien when it got really bad.  Not anymore though.  I may work in clinical research but I'm not a huge fan of taking meds or even going to the doctor.An Anyways, lately no matter how tired I am bedtime doesn't even happen before 1:00 a.m.  I could be exhausted all day then 10 p.m. hits and I "wake" up.  Plus I'm a very light sleeper.  Last night for whatever reason (weird dreams, the crazy storms, insomnia) I was up every 45 minutes after not being able to fall asleep until nearly 3 a.m.  I am exhausted and sporting some awesome lack of sleep black eyes.  I hope I get over this soon.  Soon as in before Monday, since I have a 6 a.m flight to Laguardia.  Wishful thinking? 

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Cross-training on the bike and weights yesterday.  Today there are intense thunderstorms in the area.  Perfect to take a rest day!  I'm hoping for a long run of 12-13 this weekend. 

Not Much to Say

Right now I wish I was more like DMB and have "so much to say".  Unfortunately for you it's been a boring week so far.  Hubbie has been traveling this week and won't be back until late Friday. It's just me and my cat Maggie and although a super cutie who follows me around the house she's not a big talker...  I did realize today that marathon training for Chicago needs be kicking in high gear here soon.  So 1 month post Cleveland I need to start getting serious again! The hunt for mini races in July and August begins as well.  I have a couple that don't quite "fit" the schedule but I think I could make them work.

Monday I went for a "recover from the weekend" run.   I may have still been hungover or just really tired from my hangover.  It took a mile to get everything in working order but I managed 5 miles at a 9:27 min/mile average.  Each mile was consistent/within 5-10 seconds so I managed to pace myself without really knowing what I did.  After feeling how I was feeling I'll take it! Tuesday was a cross-training/weights.  I got bored and skipped on some of the arm weights since the machines were taken.  I'll make it up Thursday (maybe).  Today (Weds) after all day of playing on the computer and general procrastination I went for a nice 7 miles with 6 x 100 pickups at the end.  Not sure if I did it right but it felt good to get the legs turning over faster than they have in awhile!  

No longer...

This weekend proved that I am no longer the champ I once was;  I can not drink and rebound as I did in my 20's...  I thought I knew this but I guess I needed another reminder.

Friday night my friend BK and I drove to Michigan for a girls night at a lovely lake house with our old roomie and some of her friends.  It was a fabulous night with a lot of laughs, food, drinks, and games.  We ended up staying late talking (as girls tend to do) and although I tried to sleep in the next morning I didn't really.  Saturday was rainy and cool but after some breakfast, more games, and getting 9 people ready we headed out to taste the offerings of a couple local wineries.  BK and I had to get back to our respective homes so we left while most of the other girls stayed another night.

It took longer to get back to the city thanks to some crazy Kenny Chesney pirate tour traffic as well as other festivals/general weekend traffic.  The plan for the rest of the night was for  hubs and I was to go get some dinner in little Italy and call it an early night.  That was the plan that we did not follow.  BK's little sister happened to be turning 21 at midnight and was having a "little" house party before heading out to the bars for the first time legally.  Earlier in the week we had planned on going to celebrate but then decided not to.  At dinner we decided we couldn't miss her bash because we love the girl so much and a lot of my friends were going so we would go say hi, have a drink, then leave since we would be the old peeps of the group.  That was the 2nd plan we did not follow.

All I can say is I walked stumbled in the door around 4 a.m.  The only thing I've proved to myself that just because I can stay up until 4/4:30 drinking beer doesn't mean I should.  

Happy Birthday Cait!  I had fun pretending to be 21 again :)

got to have you

I just got back from a run and started flipping through a Road Runner sports catalogue that was sitting on the counter.  (Who knows how long it has been sitting there because mail just sits on the island and rarely gets opened or trashed in our house, yeah, we are those people).  What did I happen to come across that I now have to have. My beloved Asic Gel Kayano 15's... in PINK!

Hello beautiful!  :)  My husband will kill me if I buy another pair of running shoes though. Especially since I have a perfectly good pair of Brooks on my feet right now and the red pair of kayano's sitting by the door.  I may have to buy them under the radar.  Good thing I'm home all next week and happens to be traveling ;)  

Today's run went exceptionally well.  I wasn't feeling good all day and really lacking any sort of motivation.  Went for an easy 4 since I haven't run since Sunday  (only was able to do cross-training while in Texas).  My easy 4 happened to be at a 8:50 average!!! Haven't seen  an 8 on the screen  in awhile and I have to say it feels good. 

This and That Weekend Wrap

Another weekend that flew by again. Saturday night we saw The Hangover with friends.  Do yourself a favor and see this freaking hilarious movie!  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. But this movie is for adults only - lots of butts, boobies, and dirty humor :) There are so many good one liners I need to go back to see it again!  Sunday was another lazy day as Sunday's tend to be.   After watching Tiger win (I love Tiger!) I decided I needed to run. 8 miles at a 9:16 min/mile. Not too bad.  The weather was cool all weekend and by the time I went out the path wasn't packed like it is most weekend mornings/early afternoon. After the dinner I totally cancelled out any calorie burn by going out to our favorite Mexican restaurant in the city.  

This week I am off to Austin and San Antonio, Texas for a day each.  Not sure how much running I'll get done but I will be sure to focus on the cross-training.  I'll need some sort of exercise as the San Antonio site is a big stressor in my work life.  The people there like to be as difficult as possible fight you and have an excuse in which they aren't possibly accountable on everything.  

Went for a Beer but a Crazy Bowling Game Broke Out Instead

Friday night we met some friends of ours for dinner at a fabulous Cuban restaurant on the northside of the city.  After dinner we were walking to the bar for some after dinner beverages and happened to pass a bowling alley we've passed a million times in the car but never gone into. Our friend being the crazy, random guy he is convinced us to "just go see".  Mind you I was in a dress and heels.  We walk inside and found ourselves transported in time!  The places is over 40 years old.  Shoes - $3, (socks free!) and $20 for the lane for the hour.  Cash only, no credit accepted here!  Luckily hubs had the greenbacks as the the rest of us had exactly $23 between us 3.  

My friend Lav had to take a picture of me with my hot bowling shoes.  Don't you think the shoes and white socks totally complete the outfit?

We had to keep score.... without a computer... gasp!  Luckily Chuck knew how.  Then he proceeded to make up names for all of us.  I have no idea why my name is Tahisha.  

Beers were cheap by Chicago standards too.  And how thoughtful they had wooden drink holders all around :)  So we had a few (too many).  Needless to say my run I had planned for Saturday is being pushed to Sunday.

It was a fantastic, albeit very random, night!

Fun Flight

I feel like I have blogged a lot about my travels in and out of Birmingham. Maybe it's because I am always stuck there (or trying to get there) due to a thunderstorm or other random delays with time to kill. Anyways I have another exciting story that involves the "fun" trip down. Maybe I'll have another one later tonight when I try to return to Chicago.

This was my text to my husband yesterday: Stuck on the plane where the air conditioning isn't working until we actually take off. Delayed for over an hour on the tarmac. Surrounded by stinky people who don't wear deodorant. My job sucks.

Flights get delayed, it stinks but it happens. Unfortunately this is a weekly occurrence in my work life. Normally I can occupy myself with little discomfort and complaint. Monday night that was not the case. The plane's above head fans were not working so upon immediately stepping onto the plane that had been sitting on the toasty tarmac for awhile I was greeted with a blast of hot, sticky air. I figured I could deal since take-off would happen in the next 20 minutes or so. Not so much. We sat there waiting for the pilot to get alternative airport landing approval since there were storms in Birmingham. Then we waited some more to get extra fuel because the aforementioned storms would slow us down. Then we finally backed up to drive around the airport and... park... behind 8 other planes as ORD had closed the runway we needed. All the while I proceeded to sweat through my t-shirt and jeans and try not to inhale too deeply thanks to the funk happening. I still will never understand why people do not wear deodorant. Really!?! Thankfully the flight attendant was nice (as she was in the same predicament as us) and did her best to provide coolish water and the promise of relief once we took off. After 1 1/2 hours we were on our way. It never really cooled off but at least became bearable (and breathable) once again. It was gross... plus I can sweat with the best of the them which made it more uncomfortable. Oh and I failed to mention a couple who spoke little English kicked me out of my seat (the husband just sat in my spot with all my stuff there and wouldn't move and pointing to where I should sit. Luckily I ended up next to a very nice lady.

Since I was already gross I decided to get some cross-training done as soon as I got to the hotel. It all worked out I guess. Hopefully the way back is sweat and stink free!