Community Corner
Roadblocks
Jennifer finally realized that her seasonal allergies have a lot to do with why her runs have been suffering.
I’ve mentioned before that I got very upset with myself over the fact that I had a few bad runs in a row due to unexpected heat, dehydration, and my allergies and asthma. I have come to realize that this isn’t because I was getting worse at running, but because Spring is just a terrible season for me, respiratory-wise.
When I was in middle school, I once got a doctor’s note to miss over a month of PE because my allergies and asthma made it so I wasn’t getting enough oxygen to support physical activities. On occasion, I even had to get nebulizer treatments at my doctor’s office to get my asthma symptoms to subside. At least once a year, my seasonal allergies have been so bad that I feel like I have the flu. I usually am stuck in bed for a several days before I think to try taking a Claritin.
Luckily, we had some rain yesterday, which washed away a lot of the pollen that was making it so hard for me to run. On top of that, I remembered to take my allergy pill in the morning, and stayed pretty hydrated all day at work. I finally had a successful run, and it felt amazing. I ran 3.12 miles in 28 minutes and 59 seconds, which averaged out to being 9:17 minutes per mile. This is my best “long-distance” mile time to date, and I am getting closer and closer to being able to match my best shorter-distance mile time (8:37/mile). What a relief to know that I have not backslid! I still feel like I am very close to being able to run my first 5K.
