Month: January 2015
Out of breath – #3 Oslo Diary
Since 10 years I have a nice case of asthma. No, it’s not life threatening. And no, it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything physical. Au contraire, there are a lot of good athletes who suffer from asthma, like the awesome marathon elite runner Paula Radcliffe. She did overcome asthma..
Although I use two kinds of asthma meds it still holds me back in my sports. Not that I will ever be an elite athlete ( running or CrossFit), but I know I could do much better without asthma. With my running ( with interval and tempo runs) my lungs are burning and I can’t get enough air, but my legs still have so much strength. And I just want to use that strength so bad!
I’m a slow runner, like really slow. My speed is about 11 tot 12 minutes a mile. To be honest, I really hate being slow. I really don’t like it, but I still haven’t found a way to get faster. Sometimes on an interval training I really dig deep. Afterwards I have a taste of blood in my mouth and my lungs will hurt the rest of the day. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but it’s a asthma thing. Other asthma runners can relate. Right?
But besides all the limitations that asthma can cause, it helped me also with a couple of things. I tought me to never give up. To not compare myself with others, only myself. I tought me I still could do what I want to do even with asthma.
In 2013 and 2014 I ran the 13.1 miles! Not fast, but I did it! It was really hard and I doubted myself a lot, but I did it. Even twice! A lot of people with healthy lungs just don’t do that. And this year I will run the magic 26.2 miles in Oslo! Not sure if I make it, but I will give it a 200% to make it happen. Even if I have to crawl over the finish line.
January 2014 I started doing CrossFit. My lungs don’t like CrossFit. The mix of sprints with explosive weight exercises kill my lungs every single time. But since I started I have become so much stronger! I didn’t get really faster, but that will happen some day. I like to keep challenging myself and get better bit by bit.
So what I’m trying to say, you can do a lot with asthma. You just have to do it an keep doing it. You might not be the best or the fastes, but you will be at your best and your fastest. Yes, you will be out of breath and it will hurt sometimes, but it won’t kill you.
I was wondering if other runners or CrossFitters or workout enthusiasts can help me. Do you have tips or exercises to make you less out of breath? I would love to read your comments. If you know someone who has asthma, who works out a lot, please ask them. I’m just curious how you all deal with asthma. Did you reach goals, you didn’t think you could ever reach?
XO Natalia
A choice I can’t make – #2 Oslo Diary
Sometimes I hate a week has only 7 days and that a body can only take a certain amount of physical activity per day. There is a constant battle between my lovely running and my powerful Crossfit. And I don’t like it. To keep it fun I can only do about 4 or 5 workouts a week in total for both running and Crossfit. The problem is that I really get so sore from Crossfit that I can’t do a decent run the day after. If it’s an easy run, not that bad, but for a tempo run or a really long run… Oh boy, pain and agony. You should’ve seen my face during those runs.
Of course I could run less or do less CrossFit, but for me that’s not an option. 2015 is a very important year for my running ( yes, my first marathon!) and I noticed last year that CrossFit actually benefits my running. Besides the fact I really want to be a badass athlete in CrossFit. Wich is a really really really long way to go, but that’s okay.
And actually I want to do both 3 times a week. That means a total of 6 times a week. 3 times CrossFit means 3 hours per week. But for running it’s not that easy. The more I progress in my marathon training schedule the more time it will take. Especially with the long runs. I’m not a fast runner, I mean really not fast! An 18 mile run can take a lot of my time!
What I’m trying to say, that it’s definitely difficult to fit your goals in your daily life. I mean I do have a full time job, still studying for a degree, want to have a nice social life, also have other hobbies and sometimes I just want to do nothing. I really need nothing time! It’s hard, but possible.
I found a way to make it a little bit easier. Doing the technical lifting work and the easy runs in one day! I tried it this Sunday; an early Sunday run and a technical lifting training in the evening. I do have to take good care about food intake, but other than that it actually felt great! Yay!
I don’t know if I can keep this up all the way to the final day, but it’s worth to give this a go. I don’t know if you can relate to this kind of ‘problems’. If you do, please share and also if you found a way make it work for you.
Keep on running, or just whatever you like to do!
Ps: Don’t you just like my new shoes? I’m in love. They even have my name on it.
New Year’s Eve – #1 Oslo Diary
New Year’s Eve? Well, that is when I did something really crazy. No, there was no drinking involved!
Around 11 pm at New Year’s Eve I signed up for my very very first marathon! And the second after I hit the enter-button it scared the shit out of me. What did I do? I signed up voluntarely to run 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometres. After my two half marathons I always said, that I never ever would run a marathon. That is what I said after my first half and my second half marathon.
Why the hell did I sign up? That’s a very good question. I’m not sure if I know the answer myself, besides the fact if I’m physically capable of running 26 miles. During both of my half marathons everything started to hurt after 12 kilometers, luckily there were only 9 kilometres left. But with a marathon that would be 30 (!!!!!!) kilometres. Do you see the difference? That worries me most. 30 kilometres of pain and hurt. I just don’t know if I can do that. And if my body can handle a marathon training schedule. I don’t know either.
Besides that, I have asthma and even with two kinds of medicines it still holds me back. My lungs are dying when I push myself real hard with running or CrossFit. Judged on the facts it is almost doomed to fail.
But that day before New Year’s Eve it came up a couple of times with several people. It kept lingering around in my head the entire day, the entire evening. I started thinking; what if…? I checked on Google what would be a nice marathon to run. Before I knew it, I was browsing on the Nordic site of Oslo marathon ( I’ve never been to Norway, so this seemed a good reason to go there). I consulted my best friend on the phone, What should I do?. He said; Just do it! If you set your mind to something, it will be done! No matter how you get it done, but you do it. So just do it!
But I still doubted myself so much. Pain & asthma, my two enemies. I’m afraid of them, all the time.
Then it hit me. The only way to know if I can run 42 kilometres, is to train for it and to run it. And the need to know, was suddenly growing bigger and bigger. So at 11 pm I signed up for my first marathon! Save the date: 19th September 2015. 248 days and 15 hours to go.
It won’t be easy, it will be hard and painful, there will be times I wish I never signed up, but I just need to know if I can do it! Hope you bear with me and support me. Help me push through and cheer for me if I cross that finish line. I will keep you posted on my marathon journey.
Oslo here I come!
