Apparently the allergies I thought I was battling was actually a cold. I’m guessing. I know it wasn’t COVID because I took many rapid tests and a regular PCR test just to be sure. I hate that we lives our lives wondering now, ”Is it a allergies, a cold, the flu, or COVID?” They all have the same dang symptoms so it’s a little like playing roulette.
Haha. ”Explain your sneeze”
All I know is that I had both a drippy and stuffed up nose, a slight sore throat (most likely just from drainage) and a major headache for like a week and a half. I was terrified it would go down into my chest because I swear every time I get sick, it turns into bronchitis. I know they say if it’s above the neck, it’s okay to run, but my head was pounding so bad for most of that week I decided not to chance it. So before school, after school and on the weekend, I stayed inside and watched old Castle reruns on Hulu Nathan Fillion really does it for me. He’s got that boyish charm. I forgot how good that show was!
I don’t know if it’s because we’ve had to wear masks for so long, but this is the first time I’ve had a cold/allergies/whatever in 2 years. Maybe the pollen is just that bad this year because of the spastic weather we’ve been having here in AZ. Who knows? What I do know, is that I didn’t get to run for a whole week and it sucked majorly. I missed my me time. I missed being out in the sun and pushing my body.
I finally ran for the first time in over a week on Wednesday after school. It wasn’t my “best” run, no records were set, but to me any run is a good run. The important thing was that I was outside moving my body and satisfying my soul. I know that sounds incredibly trite, but that’s how I feel. I just feel renewed when I run, even if I come back completely exhausted.
Our weather truly has been spastic. It was almost 90 degrees on Wednesday when I ran. It was so warm I actually took my water bottle with me. I hate running with water. I know they make running water bottles specifically to fit on our hands when we run, but I just always feel sloshy and lopsided. I always end up switching back and forth between hands too so I can be comfortable. Because it was so hot, I acquiesced and decided to take my water bottle filled with ice water when I set out. I squeezed water into my mouth a few times because it was so dang hot, but it just ended up tasking like plastic from the water bottle. I didn’t love it and ended up just dumping out it when I got home.
The sun was beating down on me, but it still felt so great to get out there after not being able to run for a week. I didn’t happen upon any sprinklers during this run, but I did find a canopy of trees that provided a brief respite from the glare of the sun for like a full minute as I ran under them.
You can see where the shade ends and the sun begins again
When I got home I was more tired than usual, sweaty and completely out of breath, but happy. Running after school is not my favorite since we get out so late in junior high. I don’t really like running in the evening at all anyway. I’m more of a morning runner. I think it’s one of those ”run before your body knows what’s actually happening” things. Not really. I’m just usually exhausted by the end of the day and running when I’m that tired is just harder.
I’m looking forward to more runs this week as I’m on spring break! Yay!
I know it was two weeks ago, but did anyone see the Super Bowl? Me either. But I DID watch the halftime show and it was epic! I am of course speaking as someone who spent my formative years listening to Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50cent (still don’t know what the whole hanging upside down thing was about). The other two were okay too, but I’ve never been a huge fan. My cousins, their spouses, their kids and I were all at my aunt’s house for the game. As soon as halftime started, all the guys got up and went outside and all we womenfolk stayed inside to watch. My cousins and I got up and were dancing, even my grandma was grooving along to Snoop! I forgot how good that music was. I decided I needed more Snoop, Dre and Eminem in my life so I went through and added a bunch of songs from Apple Music.
Hahahahahah
Running would be so much easier for me if breathing weren’t a requirement. I’ve actually been thinking about this on my runs lately. No matter what I do, I always end up huffing and puffing. It sucks because it’s not like I’m a smoker or severely overweight, I just lost the gene lottery and ended up with crappy lungs. I don’t even think my lungs are that bad compared to some people. There are teachers at my school that have signs up in their classrooms prohibiting students from spraying perfume or cologne because it will trigger a reaction, or they can feel a bad pollution day coming based on their lungs.
I get bronchitis-a lot. Although (knock on wood) I haven’t had it since before ’Rona hit us (maybe because I had to wear a mask so much??? I still haven’t quite figured that one out). I have to use a rescue inhaler on occasion. It’s not like I have to use it because I’m having an asthma attack. My chest will occasionally get tight and I get wheezy. Generally it’s because I’m getting sick, sick, or my body is just really tired. One to two puffs off of that red rocket and I can breathe again. I have seasonal allergies that give me maybe 2 good months out of the year without a stuffy nose. So really there is no reason other than I just can’t seem to make my lungs work good enough to be a runner that doesn’t have to stop to catch her breath once in a while.
Pretty sure this is why my allergies are going crazy now-spring has sprung in AZ!
I know they say, ”You control your breathing, don’t let it control you”. But I have tried believe me! I’ve tried the whole ”in for four out for four”, ”in through the nose, out with the mouth”, as well as other methods. Generally trying those just makes me dizzy or makes me feel like I’m hyperventilating and I have to stop and walk until I can get my lungs to calm down again.
It’s Arizona Wildflower time!
I am getting really bored of my usual route. Granted right now my milage for each run hasn’t increased a whole lot, but I feel like I’m losing interest in the scenery around me since I’ve seen it so often. I’m trying to find beauty or interesting things where I can, just to keep myself entertained. I snapped a picture of this cactus because it looked like someone made a happy face for it. If someone didn’t make it, then Mother Nature sure has a sense of humor.
It’s a happy little cactus
I am trying to not to be frustrated as my milage hasn’t been increasing as fast as I’d like. With me being so accident/injury prone it’s probably a good thing. I’m not really planning on running a real race until probably Turkey Trot time in November, but for sure December when the Hot Chocolate Race kicks in again. So I’m taking it slow. My Garmin has told me after my last 3 runs that I’ve set a new record. It’s like I have a personal cheering squad sitting on my wrist. My last run actually wasn’t that bad. I probably should start paying attention to the actual data that it gives me. After all, that’s why I opted to get the Garmin right??? My splits are all negative which is a good thing. I was worried on Saturday because I felt a little sluggish and I was worried it would be a crappy run, but my splits were great! I’m still slow. I probably always will be and I’m okay with that. I just want to be able to keep up the distance!
Yay for negative splits!
I was very sad for about an hour after my run. I have recently discovered leggings with pockets in them. That’s not what made me sad. (more to come) I know pockets are not a new thing, but I’ve never used leggings that had them before. I must have been living under a rock because honestly I don’t know how I ever lived without them! I usually use a magnetic pouch in my pants to hold my phone and any other necessities I may need. Saturday I decided to experiment and see if my phone really would fit in the pocket of the leggings I had on while I ran. I brought my Roo Sport pouch with me just in case so I had it tucked like normal into my leggings.
I’m going to go on a duck walk for a moment. Speaking of leggings, I was wearing my Lululemon leggings that I had to go down a size in. Apparently I should have gone down TWO sizes because they fall down when I run. Not like down around my ankles, but enough that I have to keep pulling them up when I run. I took a few tentative steps when I began running and the phone was not budging so I was really excited!
I didn’t give my phone another thought as I continued on my run. During every walk break I would have to stop and pull the waist of my leggings back up where they belong. I didn’t think anything of it, until I was almost all the way done with my run and I realized my Roo Sport pouch was gone! This is where the sadness comes in. That pouch had seen me through a few races, several rounds of lawn mowing (to hold my phone so can listen to music when I mow), and some hikes. I immediately had it in my head that I was going to have to order a new one when I got home. Not all of my leggings have pockets and I have never attempted to go on a run without my phone. I feel like I need it for safety.
I was super sad when I got home because I had no idea where I had dropped it. I figured as I was pulling up my pants while I ran, I probably pulled it out without realizing it. It was so light without my phone in it, that it probably just flew out as I adjusted my waistband. At that point I was tired, thirsty, hot and a little irritated about losing my pouch and was SO not in the mood to have to go back over my route. I was resigned to having lost it.
When I got home I did some stretches. I’m trying to make a conscious effort to stretch more after I run because I’m determined not to wreck my body again. After I was done stretching I realized I was hungry in addition to being thirsty. I had already slammed two bottles of water. I did the dance where I open the refrigerator door and stand staring at the food in the fridge for about 10 minutes before deciding there was nothing in there I wanted to eat. I decided to head to The Habit to get a grilled cheese sandwich (with bacon AND avocado!) and some fries. I know that’s not the healthiest thing to eat after I run, but that is was I was suddenly craving.
I jumped into my little CR-V and headed to go pick up my food. On the way there I cruised down one of the main roads that was part of my route. I looked in vain for my little black pouch hoping I’d see it just laying on the sidewalk, to no avail. I was still really sad as I waited for my food and resigned myself to looking at the RooSport website when I got home. I decided not to go back the way I came and took the longer way home just to see one more time if I could spy my pouch.
I was just about to give up when I saw something black laying on the sidewalk in front of this small church that I don’t even know if it’s still an actual church or not. I never see cars in the parking lot, but occasionally someone is out there taking care of the grounds. There was a groundskeeper type person there who looked up as I quickly took the corner, tires squealing and pulled into the church parking lot. I parked and hopped out quickly, leaving my door wide open and the engine running. (Luckily I put it in park-haha). I was just so excited about the possibility of finding my pouch! I discovered there was a weird almost small canal surrounding the parking lot, keeping it separated from the sidewalk in front of it. I thought that was odd and contemplated getting a running start and trying to jump over it. I looked to the left as I was backing up to start running and saw a little bridge someone had thoughtfully built over the mini-canal. I quickly scrambled across it, almost falling on my face as I hit some gravel on the sidewalk, and quickly retrieved what did turn out to be my pouch!
Oh I was so excited! I couldn’t believe I had actually found it. It looked a little worse for the wear and I wondered if maybe it hadn’t gotten tossed around in the wind from passing cars a little, but I didn’t care! I found it! I fully intended on buying a new one if it had been lost, but I really didn’t want to spend the money so I was relieved! This was seriously one of the best purchases I had ever made of running gear!
The magnet is below that fold and it just tucks into my leggings it also has 2 zipper areas
After my run and adventure afterward it was time to get ready to hand out with some friends. A bunch of teachers/gym friends (from back in my Orange Theory days) get together once a month to catch up. I was fortunate enough to get together with them last month at Postino and this month we had planned an outing to the Queen Creek Olive Mill. It’s a cute little ”farm” that has a restaurant and retail space. I was happy that I had gotten the day off as an approved request so I could join them.
I still felt great and had that post-run euphoria as I showered and got ready. I was excited to be able to spend even more time outside. I had never actually been to the Mill before, but several of my family members and friends had gone previously and loved it. We had made arrangements to carpool since it’s pretty far out from the areas in which we all live.
I ended up stopping at Quick Trip (gas station) to grab a bottle of water on my way. Sometimes my stomach acts up on long car rides (because apparently I’m 5) so I wanted the water with me just in case. I had actually made an effort with my appearance and had on makeup and did my hair. The girl that rang me out for the water at QT said as I was checking out, ”Wow, you’re like really pretty”. It made my day! It was such an out of the blue complement that I looked behind me to see if someone was standing behind me. It turns out she was talking to me! I told her she made my day and then set off to meet my friends.
I clean up nice sometimes! haha
The Olive Mill was super far out east and it took us probably about 45 minutes to an hour to get there, but it was so cute! It was Canada week. wW get an influx of ”snowbirds” from Canada, so they must’ve been celebrating them. (A snowbird is what we Arizonans affectionately refer to the old people who can’t drive and don’t pay taxes here retired folks who come from Canada and parts of the US that get pretty cold and snowy. They have ”winter homes” here and hang out until about April or so when it starts to get too hot and then they fly back east for the summer).
It was so crowded! We stood in line for probably about a half an hour to order our food and get drinks. The time passed quickly though because the six of us kept chatting and playing catch up as we waited. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a salad or a sandwich, but when I saw the desert case, I went for the salad in hopes of mitigating calories (especially after my grilled cheese and fries in the morning).
All the seating was outside and it was such a beautiful day for it! It was nice and cool but the sun shining didn’t make it feel chilly at all. There was plenty of seating too. We were able to find a long picnic table that accommodated the six of us. We didn’t have to wait very long for our food-which was delicious! I ordered the house salad with chicken. It has stuff in it that I normally don’t eat. I’m super picky about salads, but it was really good! All the veggies were fresh and the chicken in it wasn’t bad. The dressing was some kind of lemon vinaigrette and it was very refreshing!
Plenty of seating and shade!
It seemed like time flew as we chatted and laughed and caught up! We ventured back inside to get dessert and do a little shopping. I bought my aunt a large bottle of the lemon olive oil (I heard it was really good) and I bought myself a State Forty Eight shirt. I love the State Forty Eight shirts and was excited to see they sold them there, and that they had the women’s cut in the v-neck! I also ordered some chocolate chip cannoli and it was the absolute bomb!
I love this group of women!
All in all it was a fabulous day! I started with a great run, and ended it in the company of amazing friends! I can’t wait until our next adventure!
Runs Through Sprinklers 