Tuesday's Training Tip: Find the Joy

Why do you exercise? Is it for the joy, the pure pleasure of the experience? I am a runner. I am not certain I have ever felt the Runners’ High. It eludes me. It might be a myth. I have, however, felt good after a workout. I have felt fantastic while doing other activities because running helps make me strong enough to enjoy them. Hence the phrase, “I don’t love running. Running loves me.” I run to make my life better.

I often find myself dreading the daily run. (Perhaps I should dub it the Sporadic Run because that is often more descriptive.) Recently I flopped down on the living room floor and had a pep talk with myself regarding the reasons I needed to go for a run on that very day. I had to employ my most coercive techniques before I reluctantly agreed that I would feel better after the run than if I lazed away on the sofa for the afternoon. I got off the floor and went for my run and I felt better the rest of the day.

I had a conversation with a couple the other day. I guessed they were in their mid-sixties. Both were in very good physical condition. They mentioned that they go to the gym several days a week. “It’s the best feeling you’ll ever have! And it’s the best $20 you’ll spend all month!” Really?

First - I would like to know the name of that gym that only costs $20 per month! It would be a lot more expensive for me because there is travel involved.

Second – The best feeling in the world is doing something I love with my grandchildren, or maybe eating chocolate! Both of these things are better if I run. I have greater endurance to spend time with my grandchildren, and … well, chocolate consumption has less guilt attached if I run.

For me, the joy usually comes after the run. Sometimes it is immediate as in, “Yay! We’re done!” Often the joy comes when I am doing something different like waterskiing or eating chocolate.

Not all satisfaction or reward in life is immediate. We usually have to wait a time for the payoffs. Exercise is no different. Be patient. Wait for the joy!

Tune in every Tuesday for more training tips and visit my Training Tips page to find all the tips you may have missed.

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Happy Running!

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Guest Blogger: Carol writes about Exertion Asthma

Meet Carol Green Kjar. (We call her "The Other Carol Green") She writes: "I have a long-time husband and an empty nest. I worked as a natural resources technical writer/editor for a government agency while my already retired husband traveled the U.S. without me. I got tired of that pretty quick so I took early retirement and joined him. We travel a lot so he can go bicycling and hiking.  I like to stay in camp to read, write, and cook. When I'm home, I love to sew and quilt."
Carol blogs as C.S. Kjar and writes clean fiction.  Find her book, The Treasure of Adonis, HERE.

 

 

Exertion Asthma

I admire people who can run and feel the air rush by their faces as they move along so smoothly and fast.  I admire people who are in great shape and can do anything they want.  I envy them all.  Why?  Because I can’t.

I have a condition called exertion asthma.  It’s a lot like chronic asthma except it only comes on during physical exertion or strenuous activities.  The airways in the lungs narrow from inflammation and don’t hold as much air as exercise demands.  Breathing is wheezy and hard, the chest is tight which prevents breathing deeply, and fatigue comes fast because the muscles aren’t getting the oxygen they need.  I’ve learned to live with my exertion asthma and life is good.

 

As I got older, more symptoms set in.  Along with tightness in my chest, my arms feel funny, tingly, or numb.  I got scared it was my heart so I insisted my doctor order a stress test for me.  My test lasted for about 5 minutes because by then I could hardly breathe at all.  The doctor pulled me off the treadmill and said my heart was fine.  It was my lungs that were bad.  I was so relieved that my heart was good that I didn’t care about the asthma.

 

For me, the asthma symptoms start a few minutes after strenuous effort.   Even fast walking can trigger it.  When I stop, my breathing returns to normal in a few minutes so the symptoms disappear quickly.  I had an inhaler for a while and it helped a little, but not enough to keep using it.  I decided the warnings about the side effects outweighed the benefits of using it so I stopped.

 

When I do something strenuous like going up stairs, up a hill, or walking at a fast pace, I have to stop to catch my breath fairly often.  I don’t mind it.  I have time to enjoy the scenery which is really what I’m outside to see.  If I go too fast for too long, I suck air like a jet engine.   I’ve sucked in my share of bugs.  They’re nasty tasting without being dipped in chocolate.  I’ve choked on them quite often so it’s a good idea to take water along.

 

My asthma was a handicap only once that I remember.  I was doing field work with the Forest Service and we were two ridges away from our truck when a thunderstorm blew in.  We got a radio call that there was a tornado warning and to get out there as fast as we could.  Everyone set off for the truck at a fast jog.  We went down one ridge up another, down and up again.  I was lagging behind, but could hardly breathe by the time I got to the truck.  Everyone kept asking me if I was okay.  No, I wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to be left behind to be struck by lightning or swept up in a tornado.

 

So someday, if you go running past a heavy breathing walker, please don’t laugh.  Don’t taunt.  Don’t pity.  It may be the best he or she can do.  Be thankful for your good lungs and take care of them so you have a life of easy breathing.

 

Get to know Carol Kjar better by visiting her blog or pick up a copy of The Treasure of Adonis on Amazon and Kindle.

 

Learn more about Asthma.

 

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