You train hard and wait months in anticipation to accomplish a goal you’ve been aiming for, and then BAM! ….in a matter of hours, a severe asthma flare erases it all.
Sadly, it looks like I’m not going to be able to do next weekend’s “Urban Cow Half Marathon”.
To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. Had I been able to do this race as planned, it would have been my 13th- 13.1 miler (half marathon), in just 5 years. That would have been very cool.
I was hoping that I might be able to pull off a last minute save and squeak through this race like Ive done in others in the past, but this last exacerbation did a bigger number on me than I thought and recovery has been excruciatingly slow. I’m just too short of breath and out of shape right now to walk 13 miles. Doing so would be reckless and stupid. I’d end up back in the slammer again for sure.
It’s not so much the missing out on the event itself that bothers me, as it is the wasted time and effort that went into the preparation of it. Many of the races I do are planned 4-6 months in advance. Time and physical well being are precious commodities to me and I hate wasting them. A crystal ball would sure be nice, wouldn’t it?
My next scheduled race, if I decide to do it, isn’t for another 6 months ( Boston Marathon). But who knows, maybe another race will pop-up before then in which everything clicks for a change. I think that would more than make up for this weeks disappointment.
On a brighter note, Ms Kerri finished her very first 10K race. I’m very proud of her for tackling her fears and going for it. You go girl!
Related Posts:
Aw, thanks Mr. Lovely! <3
I dislike the rest of this post though, boooo. I hope the Urban Cow goes back on the list for next year though, because I've gotta hear about these shenanigans I've got fingers crossed for another race to pop up between now and Boston! (Come up here and do one! ;-).)
You know me, I get a little grumpy when I have to cancel something because of my f'd up lungs.
Steve, gutted fro you but you are doing the right thing. you dont want anjother trip to you know where. i am sure there will be other races but it must be devasting not being able to do it. chin up love and hugs x
Thanks Olive ! Btw, what city to you live in? I might be heading your way next year.
Live in Edinburgh..give me an email or facebook message. you going for a holiday? x
I might to go to the UK and Italy next March. I\’m just trying to get an idea of where some of my international friends live. I saw Edinburgh on TV last night on a show called \” House Hunters International\” .. It\’s a show about people shopping for a home in a foreign country. The Realtor usually shows them 3 homes and then they have to decide which one they want to buy.
Oooooo I am excited!!!! Edinburgh is awesome. Although I would say that having grown up here and lived here most of my life!!!! Did they show nice houses from Edinburgh in the show. am going to see if I can find the show online. We had one show and it showed our front door. I think we have it recorded somewhere. We all got so excited!!!
Hope the recovery is going ok. I been following you side bar. Although it seems low and you must be getting p***ed off with it I sometimes think a slow recovery is better thana quick one for long term health because you have built back slowly allowing your body to heal and the fitness has be gradually increased. I found this because because when i got better quickly after being in hospital i did too much too quick because i thought I could and because I felt well i didnt only to suffer later. where with a slow recovery you cant do as much as soon and dont push it too much. thats jsut my thinking on it. But take it easy!!!!
Now I gotta get myself to Edinburgh! My parents meant to be there for a weekend at the end of our UK trip in April and ended up staying a whole week due to the ashcloud. I had to get back to work and got out of the UK on one of the last flights out before the airports closed. They had a blast there tho.
Steve, ever thought of competing in Jerusalem?
Hi Steve, I have been following you for a while but first time commenting. It is good to see you doing better! Darn, that seemed like a great race, lots of fun. It is disappointment, but on the bright side, there is plenty of racing out there. I have my first marathon coming up on Sunday and I will be thinking of you as I get it done. You have been a motivator for a person that was diagnosed with asthma in June, smack dab in the middle of marathon training. Yeah, I did not see it coming.
Anyway, take care and I think you made the right choice.
Hi James, Thanks for stopping by. What race are you doing next week?
Hi Stephen:
Glad you are slowly improving, but sorry you won't make the race. I had to cancel out on an audition for a senior talent show recently because I was too short of breath to sing. The last few weeks I've been on lots of prednisone and now antibiotics and over the weekend finally started to slowly improve. Yay! Anyhow, keep on keeping on!
GayleMyrna
Ouch, sorry about your flare. Steroids AND antibiotics together are not fun.
I\’ll get over the race thing. Actually in 5 years, I ve only missed 4 races out of 20, so I guess I shouldn\’t complain.
I know it seems like wasted effort as far as the race goes. That part does suck. However, I do have to wonder if all the good shape you keep yourself in, prevented this latest flare from being worse than it could have been. Imagine if you were out of shape like me and got hit by this yucky and difficult to recuperate from flare, you very well could be in worse shape than you are now.
Thank you Melissa, I didn't think of it that way, but you're probably right. I don't think most people could have survived as many severe exacerbation and intubations as I have. Thanks, I need to hear that!