Un-freakin-believable

I have ANOTHER cold. This #4 for the year, #5 since October.

At first I thought it was a bad allergy attack, but yesterday morning I knew it was a cold. And guess what I decided to do...run 15 miles! Brilliant. I wanted to take advantage of the weather - no sun, a decent breeze, a nice flat route through lovely Bay Ridge all the way to the boardwalk in Coney Island. All was well for about 10 miles, then my head clogged up, my throat started to feel like sandpaper, and sinuses started throbbing. Needless to say, it wasn't my best run. Luckily, Christina G. was there to keep me company, and best of all, she was feeling equally crappy. Yes, misery truly does love company. We bitched and complained the miles away....so inspiring, I know.

Anyway, I know I have lots of catching up to do on this blog, but I can't really concentrate when I feel crappy. So, I'm going to get a good night's sleep tonight and hopefully feel much better this week. And EMVORB will resume...

Allergy Puzzle: Solved

And...

Grass, trees, dust mites, and ... cats :-(

Don't worry, she's not going anywhere. Drugs, drugs, and more drugs (the allergy medicine type) is how we are dealing with this.

Allergies are no joke

I don't know what these people are laughing at:



I feel bad for the big guy.

Allergies have had me in funk for weeks. A good article on the Jack Rabbit website lays out the basic facts and dispels some misconceptions about allergies, rhinitis, and exercise.

What can ya do?

Luis is sick. Fever, achy, slept for 2 days straight sick. Don't worry, I made him soup. Twice. My other job has been to NOT GET SICK! With just 5 days until the big race, I'm doing everything I can to boost my immune system. Here's what I'm on (Luis, too):

Zicam

Yin Chiao - Recommended by my acupuncturist
Emergen-C

Source Naturals Wellness Formula

Plus the usual multi-vitamin, omega-3, and calcium.

Who knows if any of this shit really works. I still have this slight irritation in the back of my throat and vague feeling of malaise.

Still Sick!!! WTF!!!

Meet my new best friend:

The neti pot. It's for pouring salt water up your nose. Gross, but I do actually own and use one. The NY Times, along with Dr. Oz, recommend it for sinus problems, and mine are killin' me. I tried running across the street to make a light, and the whole left side of my face felt like it was going to explode. My total milage for the week: 5.1 miles. Pretty pathetic. I am hoping that my upcoming week off will finally cure me of whatever bugs have been running rampant in my nose and throat region for the past freaking month. And maybe, just maybe I'll have actually some running news to post.

Sick Days

My last run was Saturday, and it was 3.5 miles of misery. I was completely out of breath, my iPod ear buds wouldn't stay in my ears, and I didn't put my hair up right so my bangs were slapping me in the face the whole time. The hair and earbuds were so silly - I've been running for 4 years now - those were rookie mistakes! But it was being out of breath that really made it a tough run. I knew there must be something wrong, and sure enough that night I came down with a nasty cold. And it's not just "neck up" (criteria for continuing to work out with a cold). No, my throat is soar, my chest is tight, and my nose is running. So I've traded in the running shoes for tissues and chicken soup.


Yesterday, I made huge pot of homemade chicken and rice soup with oven baked parmesan fries on the side. So delicious. I used one of Mark Bittman's recipes from "How to Cook Everything" but here's something similar: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/103109
As for the parmesan potatoes: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31995,00.html