Testing a grape theory

Treating the symptoms

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I'm sure people are as tired of reading about my cough as I am of of having one. My cough was as bad as ever this morning. My daughter had her annual checkup today and my wife mentioned her lengthy cough to the doctor. The pediatrician said it's likely to be allergy related, that the pollen is really high this year. She suggested taking Claritin. The only version we had was children's grape chewables, but I went for it. I'm not sure whether it's helping, but I'm a bit better than yesterday (and earlier today).

The weather was highly cooperative this morning and I took full advantage by running around the neighborhood. It actually felt cold when I first stepped outside. It was a combination of shade and breeze that masked the heat from the sun and humidity. The run went well, and with middle and high school finished, there was less car and bus traffic to contend with. I was surprised to see that my pace was faster than I expected.

These weekday runs are all pretty much the same. I can vary my route a little, but by now, every road looks as familiar as my back yard. I literally have hundreds of identical route maps on Garmin Connect. There's only so many combinations of streets that take me around for at least three miles and then back home again. The great thing about these runs is that they give me thirty or so minutes of relief from coughing. Tomorrow I'll start on adult doses of Claritin. Perhaps that will give me something to write about besides coughing.

Under the weather, due to the weather

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

This has been a strange week for me. Lots of business frenzy and an underlying feeling that I'm about to be hit with a cold. I've been getting migraine-like headaches about once a month, that seem to correlate to changes in the weather. They could also be triggered by pollen, although I've never suffered allergies in the past. Over the last few days I haven't felt 100% and I ended up skipping my run on Wednesday.

This morning I had a return of that headache and I treated it with pseudoephedrine that usually does the trick. It helped greatly, but residual tiredness and a full morning schedule delayed my workout. I had a window of opportunity at noon so I jumped on the treadmill for a leisurely run at an easy pace. I knew I'd get the most benefit out of a workout that taxed me, but didn't push me to the point of feeling run down.

I could have run outdoors but I decided to use the treadmill because I could set the speed and just zone out. It was a decent workout and helped clear my head. I'm still feeling tired, but at least I got a few miles in. The weather is supposed to get cooler from now, through the weekend. That will make for better running conditions outside. I hope that by Saturday, my health will be as good as the predicted weather.