My allergy issues really started after the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. I was having brunch with my friends Ron and Kirk, when my eyes just started watering and I couldn't stop sneezing. It came on so suddenly that I thought it had to be a reaction to something in the restaurant. But then the sneezing didn't stop even after I left the restaurant. It was annoying, but I could bear it.
Then, when I got back to Nashville the next day, everything was fine. Clear head, clear eyes, no sneezing - it was great...until last Saturday morning when I got up for the Pedal for Paws Metric Century. I just didn't feel right. I didn't have a fever or sore throat, but I was really tired, my eyes burned and my voice was really raspy. To quote my husband, "You sound terrible." I blamed it on allergies, even though I've never been tested, because I really didn't want to be sick.
So, I headed up to the ride, which was about 45 minutes North of my house and in an area I'd never ridden in previously. I was wondering if it was really the best thing for me to be doing. I wanted to ride, but 62 miles is a long way when you don't feel well AND you don't know where you're going. Had I been on the Trace where I could turn-around at any point, I would have felt more confident about the ride, but riding out in the middle hilly Gallatin? Not so much. By the time I got to the start, I had pretty much convinced myself to drop down to the 33 mile route, which was shorter than what I wanted to do, but at least I knew I could make it. But then, right before we started, I compared the 33 and the 62 mile routes, and was able to figure out a 40 mile route, where I never left the supported course. Perfect!
The ride was great. Really hilly, so it was perfect training for Chattanooga, and the weather was amazing. My only issue was that I was having a hard time breathing when riding hard, which actually is a pretty big issue. I was glad I had made the decision to only ride 40 miles.
The next day, Sunday, I was supposed to run eight miles. I still had the raspy voice and my legs were a little tired from the day before, but no big deal. I actually thought I felt a little better from Saturday...until I started to run. Again, it was a struggle to breathe whenever I tried to up my pace. At one point, I heard these crazy croaking sounds and thought they were frogs. Nope - it was ME! That's how raspy my breathing was. I realize now that this was some sort of allergy-induced asthma, but at the time I didn't know what the heck was going on. After struggling four miles, I called it a day and went home.
Monday, I went to work and realized that about 50% of the people where were either sick, or suffering from allergies, so at least I wasn't alone. My workouts continued to suffer though. Swimming was awful - every time I finished an interval I would cough for a minute or two. And running and biking were just brutal, and not in that "I'm getting stronger for this workout" kind of brutal. It just sucked.
I kind of started to panic. Not because I felt so bad, but because I'm within my 6-month Ironman window and I don't have time for crappy workouts! So I broke down and went to the doctor, where it was confirmed that I was suffering from allergies. I was given an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory to help my sinuses. While I'm not 100%, they have helped A LOT. I was also desperate enough to go out and buy a neti pot, which was something that every voice teacher since high school has been trying to get me to use. Trust me - if you don't know what this is, you don't want me to describe it. You'll have to look it up yourself. But it has done wonders for my sinuses.
And that's where I am right now. I have a big training weekend coming up with time-specific intervals to hit. I'm still a little raspy, but I was able to run last night without too much issue. The croaking has gone away, which is nice. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.
If anyone has any magic allergy remedies, please let me know!
This was me this week. (courtesy of http://karma-deathbycollege.blogspot.com)
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