Saturday, October 31, 2009

Wicked 10K Ramblings

Whoof, I'm tahred, as they sometimes say down here...

I just got done running a 10K (that's 6.2 miles for you civilians) and learned two important lessons in the process:

1) I cannot hang out with people who smoke. I know this is incredibly hypocritical since I smoked for nearly 20 years, but since I've quit and developed exercise-induced asthma, running after being around smokers is absolute torture. I use an inhaler before races when I think I'll need it and sometimes carry it around during the race (mostly in the humid summer) but didn't think I'd need one today. Whoops.

Thanks to our crazy weather down here, it was actually pushing 80 degrees earlier today. Great weather, not great for my lungs. I struggled through much of the race, but was doing ok until I decided to sprint at the finish. I crossed the finish and nearly collapsed. I could not breathe. I was sucking wind but it wasn't really going past my throat. I saw a friend who was working the beer tent and managed to choke out, "INHALER?!" but no one had one. So I covered up my face to breathe in some carbon dioxide and just walked it off. But I'm not willing to go through that again. So if my friends can't quit smoking, I'm just going to have to quit them while they do....

2) My recent weight loss has led to a lowering of my alcohol tolerance. I could not figure out how I had gotten drunk Thursday night when I really only had a handful of beers and then this afternoon I was pretty well gone after 4 beers following the race. And then I remembered -- I've dropped some weight and I'm guessing that is the reason. So I guess I'll have to start sucking down waters with my beer. Which will require me to socialize a little less and pay attention a little more. I think I can do it. :)

Hope you're all having a great Saturday. I'm off to another ODU football game which unfortunately have been somewhat dramatic in the past (off the field among me and my friends) but at the very least maybe I'll get some material out of the evening... :)

Oh! Someone remind me to write about families and drama and how life's too short. It came up today and I'd really like to talk about it. OK, as you were. :)

1 comment:

Bert said...

I had fun running today. Seeing the NY Marathon inspired me a bit (it was a little tough going this morning...I have it on good authority that during our excellent neighborhood Halloween party, Alexa next door, 7, who has been taking dance for 3 years, was teaching me her routine to Miley Cyrus’Party In The U.S.A....all I know is that I had a swell night!)

Could there be a longer, more disjointed parenthetical?
; ^ )