Monday 13 miles Gaston MS Loops
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday 13.1 miles Gaston MS Loops
Thursday Rest
Friday 16 miles Gaston MS Loops
Saturday 20.1 miles WRL & Santa Fe
Sunday 17.9 miles Gaston MS Loops and Forest Hills
Total Weekly Miles 80.2
So this week has been a roller coaster to be honest. The week started off well, I usually take Monday's off but this week I felt good so decided to go for it. The next day ended up with right hip pain. When I touched my hip it hurt, the soreness was significant. I used the percussion massage machine but the soreness continued. On Weds. I could still feel the soreness even through the run was good, this freaked me out as I certainly didn't want it to get worse. So rested Thursday, which caused my next mileage to have to increase in order to get to the weekly mileage. The good news on Friday was that the hip on the pain had diminished. Not sure what caused the pain to begin with but sure glad it was getting better.
Then the weekend came, I'm not sure if it was the Sahara sand, the changing weather, or the pollen count; but the body was not taking it well. On Saturday the run felt good except the last few miles. Today it was tough, I was at mile 6 when I was having thoughts of cutting the run short. I kept telling myself just get to the next mile. At mile 12, I was just concerned at getting to the water fountain at Casa Linda Park, once there I had plenty of water and took in salt pills. Then I decided okay now that I have the electrolytes I can at least make it 3 more miles. So I headed to Forest Hills Neighborhood slowly, around 10 min. per mile. Once I made it to the end of the street I decided to go down a street to see if I could get close to 18 miles in order to get to the weekly mileage. I continued slowing down and just concentrated on my breathing. I decided that I was going to get to the weekly mileage as that was my original goal, and I wasn't hurt other than fatigue and some severe allergies. After doing another short loop around the neighborhood I looked at my watch and it looked like I was going to make it which I just stayed focused.
Even through my struggle in breathing and fatigue my mentality was just to keep moving forward. Running is not easy and it is a skill in which many times I need to have super focused in order to complete. Now that I'm writing about it I'm super excited that even though things did not go ideally, I was still able to stay with the weekly mileage.
Conditions
As many of you know Dallas summer is no joke. The conditions can be very difficult and as a person that struggle with allergies, the heat and the pollen count can compound to create a nasty concoction for anyone.
One thing I have changed is to do 100% of my breathing through my nose. I started this about 4 weeks ago due to the allergies and I think things have been positive. Nose breathing limits your oxygen, but I have found that it has made me more in tact with my body. I now slow down due to the nose breathing and like today slow down some more as fatigue sets in. I've also found that nose breathing improves my sleep, I am starting to feel more rested and can tell that my sleep patterns are improving, which is critical to recovery. Also from what I've read nose breathing provides a sort of filter effect which for someone with allergies decreases the symptoms. I will continue to run with nose breathing as it has been a positive change so far, will try and report any changes I notice in the future as well.
I also want to mention that with the conditions it's super important to take electrolytes. I take salt pills, in addition to sports drink. Many salt pills exist, I'll link the ones I use below if interested.
Finally, I have upped my medication of one a day allergy pill to every 12 hours. I'm not big on taking medications, but also don't see the need to needlessly suffer when I'm in a privileged position of having access to medication. The allergy medication seems to help a bit. I bought some HEPA filters for the house HVAC unit, so I hope that makes a difference as well.
Final Thoughts
Running is tough! It's not all going to be positive and sometimes you are going to hate it; I know I did today. But apart from that running is great and even the toughest moments I enjoy! It has helped me realize that even with the obstacles I can still be able to succeed, and it has provided much needed grit, especially with challenges going on in the world today. Thank you for reading and I hope that this information has been helpful.
Products (Don't benefit in any way from putting this on the blog, just want to share the information)
Medilyte Salt Tablets-Small easy to chew. On a warm day I like to take a packet at least every 45 minutes in order to help with body electrolytes.
https://www.amazon.com/Medique-03013-electrolyte-replacement-500-Tablets/dp/B0006GBED0
Massage Gun-Sometimes they go on sale so you can check with camelcamelcamel for price drop. The massage gun has been great, use it while sitting on the couch!
https://www.amazon.com/TOLOCO-Massage-Gun-Upgraded-Brushless/dp/B083LKVPJV/ref=sr_1_8?crid=8C0XLZJCNSBF&dchild=1&keywords=massage+gun+deep+tissue&qid=1593397878&sprefix=massage%2Caps%2C197&sr=8-8
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