Struggling? Maybe it's Not Just the Heat or Humidity

Struggling? Maybe it’s Not Just the Heat or Humidity.

This summer has been a pretty warm one down in Southwest Missouri. Most mornings only get down into the mid-70s, low-80s, and the humidity has been crazy. In short, it’s really been hard to increase mileage for me this year. But recently I had a bit of an enlightenment.

This past week I decided to visit my doctor. Truth be known, I had to have my ears flushed (they get impacted if I don’t – yeah, yuck). ANYWAY, to my knowledge, I’ve never had allergies and I didn’t feel like I was struggling with anything . . . EXCEPT recently, instead of getting closer to increasing my mileage, I’ve been struggling with the miles I’ve been doing. Yeah, frustrating.

Well, the doc was taking my vitals and all and they came out super, 43 heart rate, 100/60 bp. Cool. But THEN she asked me about allergies and I was like, “Yeah, no, I don’t have any . . .” (and pretty proud of it : ) Well, the doc goes, “Well, let’s just see.” Takes a look up my nose, and makes one of those “Hmmmm” sounds and then asks me to open my mouth and say “Ahhhhh.”

Okay, I don’t know about you, but should docs recoil and say, “Euuuu”? Then it’s like, “Oh, you’ve got all kinds of drainage down the back of your throat – you’re definitely allergic to something!”

Well, as I just learned this, I tried to do just the generic Claritin (instead of the Claritin D … the decongestant one the doc recommended). Quick story – the regular one hasn’t worked, so now going with what my doc recommended in the first place, the one with D. See how that works. : )

Okay, so what am I saying here? I have a breathing/potential lung issue due to all the drainage that I really wasn’t even aware of, but wow, has it been impacting my running! So, I’ve always said, “Listen to your body” when you’re training, and in this case, since what was happening to me wasn’t making running sense, I decided to stop by the clinic and have it checked out.

As a runner, I think we have a bit of an advantage over others who don’t run because if there’s a problem with your body, it’s going to show up pretty quickly in your running performance. Sure, you’ll have periods of plateauing and bad days, but if you start to regress and it’s not because you’re not getting enough sleep or stressed, then it’s time to start thinking about stopping by a clinic for a general check-up. If you have a company doctor, start with him/her first.

So, if you’re struggling and it just doesn’t seem to make sense (you feel like you’re doing everything right), maybe it’s time to have a check-up? I know that runners (myself included) can start feeling like we’re bullet-proof, but living in denial, that somehow we’re not susceptible to illness or disease (or allergies : ), is an unwise mindset. I’ve known of too many people, runners included, who have ignored signs or have avoided/put off doc appointments and ended up paying a stiff penalty. Don’t be one of those people, okay? : )

Well, I’m praying that some of that northern weather (70s, low 80s for highs) makes it down my way soon. Until then, enjoy your beautiful weather and have an awesome run today!

Dan