After a tough, but not out of the ordinary, bike training on Sunday morning, I put on my running sneakers and went out on a run with some of my TNT teammates. I take that last statement back. I put my sneakers on and intended to go out on a run. About .25 miles in to the run I stopped running and started to jog and, soon enough, I was wogging. I struggled tremendously to complete a 2.5 mile run (considering that I ran 5 miles on Friday, I was very disappointed) and when I got back to my car I felt as tired and as beat up as I have felt in a long time. During my last mile I was really upset, feeling like my training had hit a wall and, worse, I had taken a major step backwards. A few of us were talking after running, and I said, offhand, to a teammate, “I guess I should have taken my Xopenex this morning.” Xopenex is a fast acting inhaler that I use in more extreme circumstances, but I try to use it sparingly. It was at that moment, with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath that I realized that not only did I fail to take my Xopenex, I hadn’t taken my Advair, which is a medication delivered by an inhaler, which I must take twice a day, without fail.
My mind was flooded with a plethora of realizations, among them: (i) I am an idiot for forgetting to take my medication; (ii) apparently, Advair really does work, and it is not just a placebo; (iii) I had just done bike training and ran 2.5 miles without taking a key asthma medication – that is pretty awesome, all things considered; (iv) I had just done bike training and ran 2.5 miles without taking a key asthma medication – and I could have ended up in the hospital, brilliant!So, please, if you happen to see me out running/biking/swimming, and especially on race day, please ask me if I have taken ALL of my medication that I am supposed to take. If you can help it, ask me before I start exercising…
