What a difference a breath makes ...

Does anybody mind if I start off with a rant?

Well, it's my blog and you can't really stop me ... but you don't have to read the next paragraph if you don't want to.

When did everything become an illness needing a diagnosis, a syndrome or other catastrophic condition?  And when did every condition have, or even need a support group?  Why do people need to be told they can still live their lives if they suffer from ... ??? ... whatever?  Recently Pam and I both had sleep studies to check for sleep apnea (no problem with that diagnosis) ... the video they have you watch prior to the study is HORRIBLE and included the typical statements of "I thought I was the only one" and "I learned I could still live a productive life..."  Oh brother.  So now we are going to the "class" to learn how to use our CPAP machine and it was HORRIBLER!!  And of course there is the sleep apnea support groups.

So why am I ranting now??  Yesterday I go to the doctor to get my DMV physical and to discuss a couple concerns, including the fact that I often wheeze (not gasp for air, not cough out a lung) when I am exercising.  No biggie, he doesn't seemed concerned and prescribes me an inhaler (which is what I was hoping for).  Because I didn't recognize the brand name I looked it up online.  I could not believe it ... "Over 30,000,000,000,000 people have learned to live productive lives with EIB..."  EIB??  Do I really need to be diagnosed with something to understand I wheeze a bit when I exercise?  Do people really need to know it's called Exercise Induced Bronchospasms before they decide to tell the doctor?  I've wheezed during exercise my entire life, some days worse than others.  I figured if I want to get the most out of my training I should ask the doctor for help ... I don't care if I'm the only one in the world ... I don't need a support group ... just give me my medicine and leave me alone!!

OK - rant over.  And I lied ... it was 2 paragraphs.

Training Stats:

I believe I said in an earlier post that I wasn't going to mention the little things I do virtually daily, but things do add up.  Virtually every day I do some core work (of course I'm feeling a bit guilty saying that today because I haven't done any for the last 3 days), virtually every day I do several minutes of stretching, pretty much every work day I do at least a 30 minute "sanity walk" and a pretty good pace - sometimes an hour or more depending on what my schedule is.  The miles add up and I just wanted to give myself a little credit for it.

Today:  12k - 1.5:1 for the first 5k - 1:1 for the second 5k and walk the last 2k.  Total distance covered 13.1k including warm up and cool down.  The inhaler made the running so much easier.  Andrea and I kept a pretty consistent 11 min / mile pace during the run sessions ,,, our fastest was 10:15 / mile pace for 2 early sessions.  Our walk sessions were pretty consistently 3.3 mph.  Of course all this changed on "The Hill"

"The Hill" is the enemy.  Someday I will defeat my nemesis ... until then we will do battle at least once per week - maybe more often if I am feeling like a glutton for punishment.  With my EIB under control I can wage productive battles against my steadfast foe ... I hope you noticed my tongue firmly implanted in my cheek and my rolling eyes as I was typing that last line ;-)


Non training:

My doctor is really happy with my blood pressure.  He is very happy about my training.  He is a little disturbed by my diet - but I was honest and told him I was pounding the empty calories lately.  He told me I wasn't alone, that many people suffer from Empty Calorie Syndrome and that they can lead productive lives after changing to a nutritious diet.  Then he suggested a support group ... Just kidding - I was chuckling out loud when I typed that, now Pam and the cats are staring at me like I'm nuts.  My doc does want me to eat better, but other than that has no complaints about how I'm doing.

And of course I'm still enjoying the new camera :-)  Today's pictures: A hawk in flight, our cat Smokey, our cute Little One, and out little Yetti kitty ... in reverse order because I'm too lazy to delete and re-upload the pics and I don't want to take the time to retype the sentence, although I just did more typing explaining that I didn't want to retype it than I would have if I had just typed it over again.