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Posts tagged ‘cold’

Dec 10

Frustrated and fortunate

I woke up this morning annoyed for many reasons.

After CIM, I decided to take a week off of running. I need a reprieve. I needed some “me” time. I was then reminded why I run a marathon at the beginning of December: So that I feel as if I can eat, drink and be merry the rest of the month.

The problem is that in the past four days I’ve developed the cold from hell. I have a serious case of post-nasal drip that’s making it hard to talk, let alone do anything else.

So I kind of can’t run. I tried. I started and suddenly felt like my head was being held underwater.

I’ll admit, I’m the type who, when my husband is sick, tells him to “Suck it up, Buttercup” and get moving.’ Then I realize how close to death I feel when I’m sick. I need a nap, right now.

So I’m frustrated and more than just a little annoyed.

As I was throwing myself together this morning, staring wantonly at my running shoes, I realized what an idiot I was for being frustrated by something as simple as a cold. Really now. Nice realization braniac. And it took me awhile, really.

But more than that, I have a lot of reasons to “get over” a lot of what’s happening in my life right now. (Some will call this progress.)

Because I am also very fortunate.

Fortunate, for starters, that the nice folks in Clarksburg sent me my medal from the November run. Fortunate that they included a $5 coupon off the race next year. Fortunate because I ran 20 miles that day and, unlike today, didn’t feel like my head was underwater.

I’m also fortunate that, despite feeling like death, I haven’t gained all that much weight lately.

Thanks for that pathetic Weight Watchers meal. I appreciate you keeping my butt flat.

But my biggest realization came when I walked out into my garage and realized that I had a pretty ridiculous decision to make today. I had to decide which car I was going to drive.

In October, my husband and I bought a new car.

We didn’t know what would happen the following week, a la Tara freak out, but we signed the papers and got the keys to put ourselves $22,000 in the hole.

My first thought as I tried to figure out how much sick time I had from work was that we’d have to return the car. Except you can’t really take a car back. My husband, though, has assured me that we can afford it. (Go us for being fiscally responsible!)

The deal was, however, that if we bought a new car, especially a Jeep, I wouldn’t have to get rid of my 10-year old Camaro, which was giving us lots of money worth of trouble. This year alone it cost me $3,000 in fixes. Plus, I need a new set of $800 tires. And new breaks. And the windows don’t roll down. And it needs a tune up.

There’s also some weird electrical thing wrong with it that means the stereo regularly turns itself off. Let’s be real, it might be haunted. A poltergeist, perhaps.

But it still runs. It just requires a little babying. And an AAA membership.

So every couple weeks I pull it out of the garage and take it out.

Why did I keep it, you’re wondering, if it has so many problems. The answer is complicated. But it’s also simple: She’s my baby.

My Camaro was the first car that was actually “mine.” I can account for every mile and milestone. My car went with me on internships to Colorado and Texas. It braved the Oakland streets, with a Club, the two years I was there. It’s very much part of who I am.  Even at 10 years old, it’s still a beauty. The only damage to it, outside of knicks where the rocks hit me on the freeway, is a slightly bent side panel from when I sideswiped a pole at five miles per hour. (Yes. That happened. Shows me for not letting the valet park my car at University of California, Berkeley. And yes, UC Berkeley has valets, it’s still weird to me too.)

Who lets an 18-year-old buy a Camaro? My parents. Because they rock. And I was spending through my part-time job money faster than I could make it. The car meant responsibility.

My mom and I looked at Pontiac Grand-Ams. We checked out Dodge Neons. We also went and looked at Chevrolet Cavaliers in the beginning. Then they decided I could have my “dream car.”

My friends are all buying their dream cars now. I driven mine for 10 years.

So when we needed a new car, I realized I didn’t want a new Camaro as much as I thought. I wanted MY Camaro. Because it has history. Because my parents trusted me with a V6 sports car as a teenager. Because I’ve taken good care of it. I cried when my husband mentioned selling it. I know that sounds horribly cheesy, but I did.

Then we bought a Jeep. It’s definitely not a Camaro, but it’s something my husband and I both agreed on. (Once, when I was in high school, I drove this red 1988 Jeep Cherokee to school. It smelled like gas all the time and shook violently when we tried to take it over 60-miles-per hour on the freeway.)

I’m actually learning to enjoy it.

So fine, I have a cold. I’m frustrated that I can’t run. I’m frustrated by a lot of things right now.

But I’m damn fortunate too.

Jan 21

Staying warm and being cautious

It’s been a little crazy here with the weather in the past couple days.

I’ve been relegated to the treadmill as of last night and this morning. I don’t mind running in the rain, usually. However, the wind is a little annoying and I woke up this morning with a killer headache.

I went out for a five-mile run around Mountain House on Wednesday with Jennie. And I was cold. Really cold. I’m used to running at night. I tend to warm up a little later than I want, usually at about the end of my shorter runs. But on Wednesday, my body didn’t seem to want to warm up. I got to mile four of the run and was still a little cold.

I was wearing a pair of long Nike tech running tights and my newish Lululemon Run: Your Heart Out long sleeve pullover. I had a short-sleeve Nike Dri-Fit shirt on underneath the long sleeve.

None of the gear had a thermal layer.

I thought a lot about this, especially since I knew there would be bad weather this weekend.

On Wednesday, I also noticed that, despite the headlamp I wear, sometimes people driving ridiculously fast through Mountain House don’t see us. I saw lights before I saw the car on one intersection, but I knew to slow down. We had the right of way in the cross walk, but that never means I should trust that a car will stop.

In many cases they don’t.

So I ventured to my local Fleet Feet store in Stockton with some goals in mind: I needed better layering for the cold and I needed to find something to make me more visible to cars, other people, etc.

The worker at the store directed me to some standard Nike pants, but the first thing he grabbed was a pair of Mizuno Breath Thermo tights. I was looking around a little more. The store had all jackets on sale for the rain, but I have a couple nice running jackets for rainy conditions.

I came across a beautiful purple Nike pullover with a weave design on it. The worker came over and told me that was an excellent choice, especially considering the Nike pullover was made of wool. Wool is a natural insulator. It’s incredibly thin, but really warm. I’m wearing it right now as I type this, if only because it is really, really comfortable.

I bought a size medium, which will be great for runs because I like my clothes skin tight as to not get in my way.

Plus, did I mention it’s gorgeous? The purple is beautiful.

Here are product screen shots from online retailers. I wore the pants on my treadmill run this morning because my legs were feeling a little fatigued. The Mizuno Breath Thermo material responds to sweat (does that sound gross? Maybe a little?) and warm in return. By the end of my five-mile run my legs were feeling rather toasty.

I think these will be a nice combination when I run a trail 10K next week in Fremont. I’m hoping, though, that I get an outdoor run or two next week in Mountain House as well.

So warmth was taken care of. I nearly forgot about the safety aspect of my visit until I saw a gift basket behind the worker who was cashing me out. In it was a pair of Brooks Nightlife Arm and Leg Bands.

I hate that when people take pictures of florescent items, they always seem to leave a little something to be desired. These bands are bright. The reflective tape is awesome. I’m really looking forward to trying them out.

As I was trying to finish the one purchase, the worker asked me if I’d seen the flashing strobe lights they had for runners to. I hadn’t. He brought one over. For $7 it was a steal, so I picked one of those up too.

The regular lighted mode is really bright. But the strobes will make people notice us more as we run. I shot a quick video of the strobe types, which didn’t exactly show up very well, but you get the idea. (And I apologize for the background sound, I was watching an episode of Cheers on Netflix. Don’t ask me why, I just decided to turn it on.)

So now I’m cold weather and safety ready. I’m excited for more bad weather runs, just not the wind-prone type.