It's Almost Team Time, Vote for Me at the Runner's Lounge, and My Disappointing Runs

Oh, boy. Not too much to tell you today, but much in the works.

First off, next week I am going to officially register with Fred's Team, and then LET THE FUNDRAISING BEGIN!!

This year I am going to try to raise $6,000. Are you with me??
I hope so, because I can't do it without you!!

Keep an eye on this space here for more info!!

So....."Tuesdays With Morrie" is going really well, we just finished our tech and had our first two previews. Houses are small, but really enthusiastic. Yes, it's the play based on the movie based on the TV show based on the book. It's not as sappy and sentimental as you might think, but it's really full of emotion. Very nice indeed. We officially open on Friday, then we run through May 11. If you're in the Boca/Delray Beach area and want to come see it, it's playing at the Caldwell Theater Company!

Runners (and the people who love them,) I found and joined a running website community called "The Runners Lounge." Founded by a couple of enthusiastic runners from Des Moines, it's a pretty fun site. You can share stories, advice and inspiration. I shared my Fred's Team story and am now up for an "Extraordinary Runner" award. Please vote for me by clicking here (if you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably already know the story!) I don't know what I win, but it's always fun to win something!

As far as MY running goes, I have to say I'm kind of disappointed. Something happened between me getting ill last month and now, and my endurance is totally shot. I can't go for more than 15 minutes without stopping. Here's what it is: it's not that my legs are tiring, even though they are, and it's not like I'm not breathing, because I am -- I think. It's like all of a sudden I just have to stop, and when I do, I realize I'm gasping for breath, my heart is pounding and I'm dripping sweat. I don't think I'm going as fast as my times would indicate -- I'm not sure I calibrated the Nike+ correctly. I am taking my AirAides, and have lots of water and energy drink on me. Even so, I have to keep stopping to catch my breath. It's really disconcerting. Today I tried to slow down, I really did, but it didn't help; I both didn't slow down enough, and I also had to stop literally less than a tenth of a mile from my goal. I just didn't have it in me to run that extra minute.

This has happened to me before, about this same time two years ago. I was also here in Florida, and I couldn't go more than 20 minutes without having to stop and catch my breath. I wondered if it might be allergies, and when I returned to NYC I found AirAides, which did help a lot, and was very helpful here a few months ago. But not now. I wonder if it might be something in the Florida air that does this to me. It's extremely muggy here now, much more so than in January, and more than NYC can ever get (usually!) As regular readers know, I do not do well in muggy weather. And the weather has changed dramatically in the last couple of weeks, which is when this started happening.

Anyone have any good ideas as to what it might be, and ways to overcome it?

But I will keep fighting through, I will even try to get a couple of speed workouts in (hills here are non-existent, and therefore out of the question.) Hopefully I will adapt to the humidity here a little better -- good practice for the summer -- and the runs will get better. There's a 10K at the end of the month that I'm thinking of signing up for, but if I can't break through this wall I may not do it.

More anon,
MG