Is it from years of smoking or Murphy's law?

Or both? I went out to do a run yesterday. I did my 5 minute power walk to warm up and started the run. During the walk I noticed that the muscle to the outside of my left shin bone was tight and it kept tightening the entire time I was walking. Once I started running, my right achilles started hurting. In no time I was limping. I won't limp and run. so I stopped and walked home. I kept the walk as brisk as possible, but it was uphill most of the way and still painful.

I hadn't been inside anytime and began sneezing my head off. My nose dripped. This went on for 30 minutes or longer when I noticed that my chest was rattling with fluid. Damn! I had just mentioned that this was the first time I haven't had bronchitis in years. We watched the SuperBowl and my chest just kept getting worse. I found some OTC medicine for allergies at half time. I fell asleep not long after the game was over. Made my upstairs and slept until 4 at which time my brain turned on. I then tossed and turned off and on for hours. Slept til after 10 and my chest is still raspy. So, did I pick up a bug this past week meeting and socializing with so many people? Or is this due to the years of smoking and my ride on hills that caused it? Or is it just 'cause Murphy heard me say the bronchitis thing?

I've missed a day's worth of work. It was beautiful today and I would've loved to ride again or at least run, but you can't do that and miss work. Damn! Maybe i'll put some time on the trainer. :-(

I finished week #1 of coolrunning.com's Couch to 5K in 9 weeks!

Today has been a good day for me and fitness! As I stated in my earlier post, I got in a good 60 minute workout on the trainer this morning. I felt very good following that.

I've had some issues with getting this first week behind me for the 5K program though. The weather has been either cold or rainy or both. I have no problems with running in the rain if the temps are in the higher 60s.

I have major asthma issues with any type of physical exertion in cooler temps, starts bothering me once we drop into the low 40s. I've been reading quite a lot about both cold air and exercise induced asthma recently. It seems that swimming is one of the best exercises to do if you have asthma due to the high humidity and wamer air temps. One exception is if you are sensitive to chlorine, which can trigger an attack. The drier the air is, the more likely it will irritate your bronchial tubes and cause an increase of mucus and restrict the airways which translates to wheezing.

The temps were right at 39F when I went out for my workout today. Hubby gave me a couple of his dust masks he uses when he's running his woodworking tools. They are made of paper with a metal strip over the bridge of the nose that is bendable and soft rubberband that goes around you head/neck. This worked very well for me today. I wore it during the first 2/3s of the workout. Then removed it for the walking part and put it back on for the running part for the remainder of the workout. It's not the most attractive thing to wear. It gets a little on the icky side too. Moisture builds and builds inside, but it keeps the air that you breathe nice and warm and moist. I also take 2 puffs on my fast-acting inhaler about 15 minutes before a run. This helps open those airways up nicely.

One of the girls at work is starting a once a month Yoga class for beginners in the next week or so. I'm excited about this. I'll get some stretching, which should help with the riding/running I'm doing. But what I'm most excited about is the breathing you learn with Yoga. I need better breathing techniques and learn to relax my breaths while exercising. This should also help alleviate some of the ashtma/wheezing stuff, too. At least I hope it does!

I haven't taken any Chantix since Wednesday

I was taking half a pill Sunday thru Wednesday and missed Tuesday completely. Maggie mentions that you can buy a pill cutter, I didn't and probably should've. But I got frustrated and very tired of taking the Chantix anyway.

So Thursday was the best day I had experienced to date. Met with my boss over lunch and discussed mid-year (I know we're way past mid-year). All in all it was a good conversation. I had located a client facing opportunity in Europe and he agreed! Several people providing feedback on my strengths and opportunities stated I needed exposure to clients outside of the US. I was on cloud nine! (Prior to lunch I had convinced myself that there would be one reason or another why there was somthing else that would be more appopriate.)

I had dinner with my boss and a former boss Thursday evening. She is my favorite person I have ever reported to. She's a wonderful mentor. We chatted, told stories, ate sushi. It was a great time!

I got home and had a blast online with a few friends. My quit buddy tells a terribly funny story on herself about falling during her run/walk. (Sometimes I have a hard time believing her stories). She wound up peeing her pants after her dog trips her and she takes a hard fall on hands and knees.

Two other friends are in Dallas for a client meeting. I get this email with a picture attached. K took a pic of J following a dinner theatre. An actress is hugging and kissing all over J. What a hoot!

Then, outta the blue I hear about mid-year promotions that came out. I reacted badly, very badly. Didn't sleep all night and dwelled on it way too long on Friday. I puton my workout clothes, packed my work clothes and left for the office at 5:20 am. I plugged in and took off about 6 am for a run/walk to the riverfront. Wish I had run longer and walked less, but I didn't stop even at stop signals. Plan on doing this at least twice this week coming up.

I wanted a cigarette more on Friday than I had for the last 2 weeks. My quit buddy was in meetings most of the day. I walked the block around our building 3 times, by myself. It worked. I didn't want that cigarette because of the physical addiction. I wanted it, because that what I've always done in stressful situations; I've smoked like a freight train.

I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I hadn't found out about the promos. But you know, could shoulda woulda is always the easy rationalisation.

I was wrong, very wrong. I am a hard worker, and I know I have areas for improvement. We all do. I want to be promoted, but wierding out and getting pissed doesn't do anything but make it worse. I hate it when I act like a child. ARGHHHHH!

Stressful times are unpredictable and come in varying degrees of stress. I can get through them without a cigarette. I can, I have, I will not smoke tobacco again. This is my promise to myself. Hell, if I'm lucky, no matter if I ever get another promotion, I live longer. I'll be able to breath, walk, run, ride my bike and enjoy myself.

I got out on my real bike today. I am so freakin' outta shape! I need to learn patience. I went around the neighborhood circle including 2 cul de sacs. I made it with no stops, but my heart was pounding and I was breathing so hard! The front tire is low and I couldn't get the seat adjusted to the right height. Gonna get out on it again tomorrow and try again. About an hour later, I rode my stationary for 15 minutes. I made a conscious effort to work harder than ever.

5 Weeks + and a wedding in 3 days!

It's amazing that I haven't had a bad urge to smoke for a few days. Especially since it's my monthly on top of all of this!

I've ridden my bike for 25 minutes every day getting close to 7 miles each time. I've added crunches and a few other stretching and toning routines at the end of my ride. It's still been terribly hot, so haven't tried running again Yet. Think I'll see what it's like Sunday and Monday. Hope I'm not too hung-over!

The house is almost in order. I'm wondering what we've forgotten in all of this. I've been out twice shopping with the bride to be. She's doing very well. We both had a very blonde day on Monday. Took a break from each other on Tuesday, but went back out today. She needed gifts for the bridal party and I needed shoes!

I've missed my walks with my quit buddy. She's been very busy and in meetings this week, so we haven't done much communication.

We all hope Saturday goes well. I know something will go awry, just hope it's fairly insignificant. Or at least funny and memorable.