Attacking my asthma

Sunday I ran 5K on the treadmill with nary a cough.

Monday I ran four miles without any trouble.

Tuesday, well, the workout was on my car, not at the gym... It had needed an oil change for awhile and my boyfriend was available, so that's all she wrote.

Tonight I plan to run again. Hopefully five miles. I have one hour to workout and I'm hoping to pop out the five miles I know I can run in an hour.

A month ago, I couldn't do any of this. My outdoor running was a struggle and my races weren't really going that well (my really difficult first group run--complete with asthma attack!, October 20th trail race, October 27th 10k nightmare) So what gives? I mentioned in an earlier post this week that I'm taking a different approach with my asthma medications. I think that's making the difference. Here's what has changed:

• My allergist switched me from Pulmicort to Symbicort (2 puffs 2x/day).
• I gave up on one of the inhalers I was supposed to use prior to exercise (Xopenex) because I didn't really feel it doing anything.
• I started using a spacing chamber with my rescue inhaler prior to exercise.

What's a spacing chamber? It's commonly known as a spacer. It's a weird little tube with a valve. You plug your aerosol inhaled medication (inhaler) on one end, and there's a mouthpiece on the other end. You squirt the medication into the tube and it's just waiting there for you to breathe it in. No breathing coordination required.

My allergist explained that it's a 20/80 split. When you don't use a spacer, 20% of the medicine gets to your lungs and 80% of it is in your mouth. (!!!) But when you use a spacer, 80% of the medicine get into your lungs and 20% of it gets stuck in your mouth.

I may give the Xopenex another try... with the spacer. But I'm skeptical. I've been told it's the same medication as Ventolin (just formulated differently; it doesn't give me the shakes like Ventolin does). Right now, though, I'm thrilled to be able to be running like I was this summer!

Sunday I have a trail race--an 8K... roughly five miles. The autumn leaves are still wreaking havoc on my lungs, but I'm doing my best to endure and to use the tools I have to make sure I can still do the things I want to do!

I workout while I...

A few weeks ago, my schedule was crazy (and it had been for a few months!). I hadn't been working out like I like to, so I was beginning to devise ways to workout while doing other things. I felt like a genius. Here's what I came up with. Feel free to chime in with your own!

I workout while I...

• blow dry my hair. I flip my head upside down and use a round brush to get the underside of my hair dried, so when I'm bent over, I do a few wall squats. Feel the burn! (But don't burn your hair!)

I workout while I...

• brush my teeth. I usually just stand in front of the mirror looking at myself make goofy expressions as I move the brush around to attack any plaque. I decided that was a great time to do some ab and glute squeezes. 

I workout while I...

• wait between puffs of my inhaler. I do two puffs twice a day of my Symbicort and I have to wait at least a minute between puffs. So for that minute, I do wall pushups in my bathroom. 

I workout while I...

• wait in traffic. If I'm at a red light, I'll do some ab squeezes till the light turns green and I'm on my way.

I workout while I...

• work. Because if I sit all day, I'll go crazy. I have a cube-like office (I have a door, but it stays open most of the time), so I usually just do a few wall pushups when I get up to fill my water glass, stretch my arms and legs really well, and challenge myself to maintain good posture when I'm sitting.I also try to get out to go for walks when I can.

How about you? When do you workout outside of your regular workouts?

Building blocks, goals, and recipe templates

This weekend I went shopping with a friend of mine. She's a list girl, like me, but she's very utilitarian with her purchases (not really like me; I like accessories and pretty colors... and lots of them). So the experience of us shopping together was a fun one. We run together, so we had a lot to talk about.

We initially talked about nutrition, then when we were in a clothing store we discussed winter running clothing and layering. Eventually we transitioned back to discussing food. I told her I was trying out eMeals. She liked the sounds of it, but mentioned that a friend of hers was making recipe "templates" that you just plug in ingredients and they should work. I admit that I'm skeptical, but I am willing to try it! I'll give one a shot and let you all know how it turns out!

My goals with the GroupOn-purchased membership are 1) get better at planning meals, 2) get better at planning shopping trips, and 3) get better at keeping staples in the kitchen (and learn what those ought to be--not Velveeta shells and cheese, as I used to think).

So far so good. I sat down with a few weeks worth of eMeals recipes this weekend and highlighted the ones I'd like to try. It's just lil' ol' me, so I don't need to cook every day (leftovers will sustain me just fine, thank you!). I decided on three recipes that are unlike anything I usually make for myself. I made a grocery list, put it in my purse, and went to the gym.

I worked my arms really hard (I can feel it today!) and then ran a good 3.1. I tried a different routine with my asthma medication and it seemed to work much better. (I used the stronger "rescue" inhaler before running instead of waiting until I felt out of breath and needed it.) I was able to keep running for the 30 minutes it took me to get through the 3.1 miles, and that hasn't happened in quite a while, what with the fall air. I was really excited about that. It's a small victory, but I'll take it!

At the grocery store, I stuck to my list. The only extra thing I grabbed was a bottle of Naked juice because it was on sale. I mentally checked it off as a "treat" to myself. The Blue Machine stuff is delicious. It's my breakfast drink for the week. The store was a little crazy (I forgot to check when the Steelers were playing--I unfortunately was in the store right before the game... ugh), but I made it through cheerfully.

First up this week is Sweedish meatballs. I may make those tonight or tomorrow. I'm not sure yet. But I'm excited to try something new!

All is not lost

I finally got my race stats from Saturday's less-than-spectacular run to sync with Nike+. (I had been experiencing technical difficulties.) I am pleasantly surprised to learn that Saturday's race DID set a few personal records for me. They weren't the ones I was expecting, but they are PRs nonetheless.

Get VIOLET

You might have noticed that my blog is now PURPLE. Yes, I shed the green skin this month because November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. The official color is purple, so my blog and Twitter feeds will don the shades of lavender for all 30 days.

Can I have your attention? Please read these few short paragraphs and you will make me so happy...

Here's the deal: you have a brain. Forget the funny little things you might say about people being brainless or peabrained or whatever. If you're a human being living on this planet, you have a brain. And if you have a brain, you can have a seizure.Seems scary, doesn't it? It doesn't have to be. Learning more about epilepsy and educating others is the way to get rid of the terror and mystique surrounding this disease.

People have been afraid of epilepsy and seizures in general for what seems like as long as humanity has existed. In the middle ages, people conducted exorcisms on epileptics because they thought they were possessed by the devil. In World War II, Hitler's corralling of the "unfit" to sterilize or execute included epileptics. In the 21st century, there are many treatment options for epileptics including medication and surgery.

This is personal to me because my older sister has had epilepsy since I was an infant. She had her first seizure when she was two years old and since then she has had good periods and bad periods, but ultimately it's the epilepsy that runs her life... Right now she's exploring surgical options and, while that's scary in itself, it's scary that any seizure in the wrong place at the wrong time could seriously injure her or worse.

In October, everyone is talking about breast cancer. People have become pretty comfortable talking about breasts, and in "Movember" men have taken to discussing prostate cancer. These are both wonderful things. I'm glad that people are taking action to discuss, educate, and promote prevention, detection, and awareness of these diseases. HOWEVER, November is also Epilepsy Awareness Month and, quite honestly, it ought to be a bigger deal than it has been because while only men have prostates and women are most commonly affected by breast cancer (at least people are more likely to picture a woman when they think of it), EVERYONE HAS A BRAIN. Holy cow, can we please talk about epilepsy some more?

I have a few simple requests. I would love it so much if you could do any or all of them:

1. Get purple - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, your blog... Get some purple out there and tell everyone why you're getting violet.
2. Talk about it - You probably either know someone with epilepsy or know someone who has had a seizure. (Think about the six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon type of thing--you're never that far from someone...) Open the discussion and talk.
3. Get informed - Read a little bit about epilepsy, how it affects people's lives, how people cope with it, and what to do if someone has a seizure. 
4. Visit my sister's new blog - she just started it, but she will be sharing her stories and I know she would love readers to cheer her on. 
5. At the very least... have a look at this brief list of facts.