Thursday: 8.2m Tempo 8:03/pace, 15 min abs

Friday: 4.75m Easy 11:06/pace

I’m not gonna lie to you. These last 2 weeks of running have been awfully hard. And it’s not really about my legs dying out on me. It’s allergies. During my Thursday tempo run I went out ready to run sub-8 miles. My legs were ready and fresh from all the ice & compression, but 2 miles in I was debating on calling it a day. I ended up adjusting my workout to 1/2 mile repeats instead.

Even after cutting my work in half AND taking 1-2 minute rest periods between each 1/2 mile I was still having trouble catching my breath from the humidity and allergies. When things don’t go right during a run my mind becomes a real jerk. “Why are you running? You know you suck. You’re never gonna make it over those hills next week. Your outfit is stupid. You sound like an 80 year old who needs an oxygen tank.”

It’s terrible sometimes, the things my inner self will say when i’m having an off day. I’ve learned it’s best for me to try finishing the workout as best I can because when it’s over I’ll be proud to have muscled through and hush up those mean thoughts. I don’t want you guys to think I hate running.  It’s just when I do tempo runs or track work, it is work for me. It’s hard and uncomfortable, but I do it because it makes me a faster and more efficient runner  <— and this makes me happy.

Other things that make me happy? Puppies, Lindt sea salt dark chocolate, movie nights, and running with people. I got to run with Laura this morning for an easy 4.75 miles. I use ‘easy’ loosely because we both weren’t feeling the run almost immediately after we started. But it definitely made it easier having someone there to suffer talk with. And we’re both getting excited for next Saturday’s race!

Are any of you experiencing allergies like me?

What do you use/take/do to alleviate them?