A Dark Run After A Ridiculous Exam

Well, today has been an interesting day. I had my first exam of the semester at 5:30pm today. The form of the test was open note, book, internet, etc. There is no such thing as preparing for an exam like this. It's more of a thinking on the fly kind of test. This is my second class with this particular professor, and his teaching style is the exact same, so I know that I tend to perform well on these exams.

I got up today and went to Starbucks to grab some coffee and look over the notes and homework for another class. I've come a long way in regards to coffee. My first cup of coffee was at the lodge where we stay when we go to Kentucky Lake. I cannot recall the year, as my family goes there annually, but it was early 2000s for sure. That first cup, and a few more after, were more sugar and cream than coffee.

As I've gotten older, my coffee tastes have matured. I eventually grew to be able to drink it like my parents do: light cream and moderate amounts of Splenda. In the past couple of years, I've ventured out to drink bolder, more adventurous blends. Starbucks has been fundamental in my coffee maturation. I've made several barista "friends" at various locations. They have been more than helpful in teaching me various things about coffee.

Most recently, Starbucks re-released their Anniversary blend, which is very bold and spicy. Before I tried it, I could not place the spicy adjective in my mind as a taste for coffee. It was very evident once I drank it the first time. I liked it. I've ordered it, instead of their mild Pike Place, since. Today, they had replaced the Anniversary blend with the Italian Roast. Again, I ventured out and tried it. I really liked it as well. A great pre-test drink.

I headed to campus and met up with some friends/classmates. They too felt under-prepared, but also apathetic. There was no way to tell what would appear on that PDF in mere minutes, but regardless, we would give it our best. We made it to the classroom and sat down. The test appeared on Blackboard and we all began.

Fast forward 90 minutes. We met in the hall outside the classroom, post-test, and stared at each other with quizzical looks. None of us could regurgitate our answers precisely, but we had a feeling we performed well enough. I cleared my mind of the subject and headed home for a run.

Because winter is approaching, and I stayed on campus a little later than normal for a Monday, it was already dark by the time I got home. It was also kind of cold outside, so I wore one of my new running shirts, which is almost neon yellow. Great for a night run, eh? I thought so.

I huffed on my inhaler, did some stretches, and headed out.

I made it to Central Park and things were different. There was a Budweiser trailer with a folding chair next to it. I passed it and kept running. Next, I saw two funnel cake trailers and a corn dog trailer. There were also many canopies and various types of chairs. I'm guessing there is some kind of Fall Festival coming soon. As I wrote the previous sentence, I recalled the St. James Art Fair; it's the biggest, best, and worst art fair ever.

I looked it up, and sure enough, it begins this weekend. I could use up an entire blog post to rant about it. It's a truly awesome art fair, but living within two blocks of it makes for super annoying travel - similar to the 35 marathons/triathlons per year that require me to take a 20 minute detour to get anywhere I want to go in Louisville.

That might make for an interesting run on Friday.

I passed all the trailers and kept running. The park was dimly lit and the heavy amounts of rain we took last night made for several muddy places that I had to try to avoid in the dark. UofL actually delayed classes this morning, due to flooding. It's become a rather common occurrence. I passed the busy tennis courts and ran through the police station (there's a little archway to go through in the middle of it).

My speed slowed on the way back to my apartment due to the condition of the sidewalks. They were poorly planned and many of them have trees growing up through them. The tree roots have caused much rigid undulation in the concrete, which is rather easy to avoid in daylight. When I approached a tree tonight, I had to slow down a little bit to ensure that I didn't trip and faceplant.

Overall, the run went rather well. I had a little difficulty breathing towards the end of the last run, but not too bad. My run pace average was better than any week 5 day 2 pace yet, so I'm making progress. My walking pace was the fastest of any run yet. Improvement feels good.

Now, onto some homework. This week is the busiest of the semester yet and a research paper due next week is providing a lot of that busyness. I'll knock it out in the coming days, like I always do.

The song of the run is one of my favorites to listen to, quite loudly, while driving. It's Phoenix - Love Like a Sunset. There are too many good things about this song for me to describe, so just listen to it for yourself.

Just One of Those Days

This is going to be super short. I'm already missing out on birthday festivities for a friend.

I ran again today. I still want to get comfortable running the two 8 min runs before I move onto the 20 min run. It will probably be another week at least. I'm still pushing myself with what I'm doing.

I wasn't really excited about running, which is funny because yesterday, I really wanted to run. Taking a day off, at this stage in my fitness level, I feel is imperative. I took my drugs and my inhaler and headed out.

It wasn't a very good run. I felt tired and lacking energy. I wasn't breathing as well as I had last time. Regardless, I pushed on. It was not a bad run though, just not as good as I would have liked.

I hope the next run is better. Now off to a birthday party!

The song of the run was quite surprising. I put this song on my playlist about 3 weeks ago and it hadn't played yet. It's from a German band formed in the late 80's. The particular song is off their album Neon Golden (2002). It's The Notwist - Off the Rails. It's quite different from anything else I've ever listened to, but I really like it.

Bugs and My Cousin Rob

It feels like it's been forever since I've run. My last run was on Friday and a lot has happened since then. I had a full day Saturday, with friends. Sunday, I met an awesome new friend for lunch, who happened to be in Louisville. After that I drove home, to Owensboro, for a family gathering/remembrance. Monday, I attended a funeral, for my cousin Rob, ate dinner with family, completed my homework, and prepared to return to Louisville on Tuesday morning.

Rob had battled some vicious cancer for the past three years. It invaded nearly his entire body, and he had a leg amputated a few months ago. He fought, and fought hard, for a long time. He ended up in the hospital, again, and the doctors gave him 2-3 days to live. He fought for another two weeks.

I, sadly, was not as close to Rob as I would have like to have been. Each of my parents are the youngest of their siblings, and I am their youngest. Naturally, this led me to being the youngest of all the cousins in my generation. Rob was 17 years old when I was born. I was never really given the chance to be around him. My family lived all over the eastern US for the first 7 years of my life. By the time we had moved to Owensboro, my generation had all gotten married and started their own families.

I truly wish I had gotten to know him better. I can only remember being with him five times; only two of those in the past seven years. The one thing I vividly remember about those five times is smiling, a lot. He's definitely one of the greatest people I've ever met and he could make anyone smile.

It seemed like everyone knew him. As I grew up, I would learn about my own teachers, who played baseball or football with him. Others I met had dated him or just generally adored him. He was just that kind of guy. I've never heard a bad word spoken about him. Monday, at the visitation and funeral, I saw several people I never would have guessed I would see there. They too were surprised that he was my cousin.

I have never laughed more at a funeral than at Rob's and I'm sure he would have it no other way. Rather than a sorrowful sadfest, it truly was a celebration of his life. Many stories were told and many laughs were had. We're all sad to see him gone, but happy that he's no longer suffering.

On Tuesday, I drove back to Louisville and went to my two classes. I hung out with friends afterward and just tried to relax. Today, I went to class at 5:30, for no apparent reason. We have a test in that class on Monday, so the professor didn't want to introduce any new material. That, I thank him for. Instead, he walked around to the various students in the class to see if we had any questions about any of the material or our projects. Neither my team nor I did, but we were unsure if he would review for the test afterward. He didn't. I sat in the classroom for 90 minutes to say, "No, no questions right now."

I left and decided to go for a run when I got home. I have some simple homework due tomorrow at 4pm and some stuff to do around my apartment, but it was a good time for a run. I decided to do week 5 day 2 again - the two 8 minute runs. It was't so bad last Friday, but having not run since, I was semi-worried. I puffed (?) my inhaler before getting ready, to allow it time to work.

I got ready and headed out.

By this time, it was nearing 7:30pm. With the days getting shorter, the sun had nearly set. Another night run, eh? Luckily, the weather was nice. Since I'm not an idiot, and I don't run on the roads, I wasn't worried about car visibility in the least. If there's one thing I am, it's observant. Some people say, "It's not you I'm worried about, it's all the others." I get that, but if I know where all the others are and where they're going, I'm safe.

The first run wasn't too bad. I had some slight issues where people walking on the sidewalks, with or without dogs, would be unaware of my existence - even if they were walking towards me. Common courtesy would be to make room for oncoming people. People walking 4-wide down a sidewalk should collapse to allow others to pass. Sadly, most people today are not courteous.

As I passed the tennis courts, several games were going on. No offense to the people playing, but I can see now why the pros are good. I haven't played more than maybe an hour, but I know - tennis is hard.

The walk came at just about the right time and I used it to breathe. I could breathe easier during the first run than normal, but walking breaths are always superior. As the last run approached, I tried to get one last good breath. The run came and I ran. With these longer runs, I'm covering more distance now than before. I have to take longer routes back to my apartment so I don't get there too early. It's new scenery, and I like it.

I run with my mouth open, which I feel is normal, but I just wanted to clarify. More than once tonight, I would be running along then suddenly feel something weird in my mouth. I've gotten into the habit of chewing gum as I run to promote keeping my mouth wet. This was not gum I was feeling. I spat it out. It happened again, but this time I felt it hit initially. I could tell it was a bug. Eww. Now, I'm not scared of bugs or anything, but I'd really prefer that they stay out of my body.

The last run was going well. Towards the end, though, I was getting tired. Getting so used to running then not being able to for a few days makes coming back rough. I did it though. I pushed myself until the end.

I got back to the apartment, showered and stepped on the scale. I hadn't weighed in a few days and I was eager to see the results. 278.8lbs. That makes for 36.8lbs lost since the end of June, while basically taking August off. There's a lot more to go, but I'll take it.

When I got home from class today, I stepped on the scale, fully dressed and carrying my backpack containing textbooks and my laptop. I wanted to see that weight. As it ends up, I weigh less now, with all that in my backpack and on my back, than I did when I started this journey. I took the backpack off and just held it in one hand. Knowing that I've lost more weight than it weighs is astonishing to me.

I'm unsure of when I'll run again. I plan on it being sooner than later, but with school getting busier with homeworks, tests, projects, and a research paper, it's hard. I'm hoping it's Friday. We'll see.

The song of the run is City and Colour - What Makes a Man. I'm continually amazed by Dallas Green's voice and musical talent in general. He could sing literally anything and it would sound so good. I hope you enjoy it!

All Drugged Up

I intend for this to be a short post. I have things to do!

I called Dr. K yesterday, upon taking my last dose of Singulair, to discuss a refill and the other drugs we talked about. She had left the office already. I left a message and was to expect her call sometime today. I missed her call, due to not being in the room with my phone (that rarely ever happens) and she left me a 1 min 47 sec long voicemail.

She was basically making assumptions based off what the receptionist had taken down as my message, and, while I'm glad she was thorough, her concerns were void. The receptionist must have forgotten to add the part where I said the Singulair was helping. Dr. K was worried about cramming all of these drugs into me just to see if it works. She considered that my problems are cardiac related.

I called her back upon listening to her voicemail. I had to wait on hold for about 12 mins, but I was glad to actually be able to speak to her personally. I informed her that the Singulair was working, and I could hear her feint sigh of relief over the phone. She was glad to hear that and glad that her cardiac concerns were no longer in the forefront.

She told me she would call in prescriptions for Singulair, Flonase, and Ventolin HFA (Albuterol). After hanging up with her, I heavily debated going back to sleep. I feel like I'm on a 3rd shift sleeping schedule. It's the worst. I got in bed, under the covers, then talked myself out of it. I had to get my drugs, run, and prepare for the night.

I went to Walgreens and dropped $76 in approximately 3 minutes.

I returned to my apartment, drugged up and prepared for today's run. The two 8 minute runs had me worried, but I was determined to give it a shot.

I headed out and it was pretty windy. Running into the wind isn't as easy as you would think, especially with as much surface area as I currently have.

I just kept running and running. The first run wasn't all that bad. I walked for 5 minutes then started the second. I was on my way back towards my apartment, but I knew with the longer run, I could easily get there before the run was over. The light being red on Hill St. helped to detour me eastward. I meandered around Old Louisville for a couple of minutes, then made my way back towards my apartment.

I was breathing a lot better today. The last run was rough on my legs, but I wasn't having too much trouble breathing. This run certainly pushed me though, and I'll probably do it again before going to that 20 minute run.

The song of the run was Death Cab for Cute - Marching Band of Manhattan. Again, my favorite band. A great song to cooldown to.

Getting Busy and Running at Night

I had planned to run week 5 day 1 yesterday. Instead, I wrote a seven page paper discussing search and seizure laws as they relate to computer evidence and some simple computer design homework. That consumed my day and night.

I received my first grade of the semester today. The semester has been going on for 3 weeks. This is very abnormal for Speed School. I'm fine with it though, especially since it was a 100% (very easy homework).

Today, I had class at 4pm and 5:30pm. These classes turned out to be pretty interesting. My 4pm class (computer design) is likely going to be my second favorite class, behind forensics. The professor is fantastic and very knowledgeable.

I returned from class, ate a banana and some yogurt, and headed out for a run. Speaking of food, I cancelled my Nutrisystem shipments. Nutrisystem was a great way to teach me how to eat healthily, and would still be ideal for me were I not in college. I've found that when I'm working full-time, it's easy to follow. When taking classes, I don't have the same schedule every day. I don't wake at the same time, etc. It's much harder to follow in this situation. I spent some money on healthy groceries and made my first home-cooked meal in a long time, last night.

Onto the run. Week 5 is scaring me. I'll explain why.

Here is the program for week 4:

Days 1, 2 and 3

• 5 minute warmup walk
• 3 minute run
• 90 second walk
• 5 minute run
• 2.5 minute walk
• 3 minute run
• 90 second walk
• 5 minute run
• 5 minute cooldown walk

Here is the program for week 5:

Day 1

• 5 minute warmup walk
• 5 minute run
• 3 minute walk
• 5 minute run
• 3 minute walk
• 5 minute run
• 5 minute cooldown walk

Day 2

• 5 minute warmup walk
• 8 minute run
• 5 minute walk
• 8 minute run
• 5 minute cooldown walk

Day 3

• 5 minute warmup walk
• 20 minute run
• 5 minute cooldown walk

20 minute run?!?!? What?!? Is it just me or does that seem like a huge jump? I have concerns about completing Day 2, even more so a 20 minute run.

My plan is to try Day 2 next. If I can do that and live through it, I'll give Day 3 a go. If I have trouble making it through Day 2, I'm going to stay there until I feel comfortable. I can certainly tell that running is becoming easier for me. I'm getting better, but I'm still overweight. I plan on doing my best.

Regardless of how I felt about Days 2 and 3, I felt like Day 1 wouldn't be too bad. Compared to week 4, I was going to run for one minute less total. There only being 5 minute runs was my only worry. I knew I could do it.

I arrived home from class around 7pm. I ate some suggested pre-run, fat burning foods, and got ready for a run. I made it out the door a few minutes before 8pm. It was already getting dark. The only thing I like about summer is the long days. I hate when it gets dark at 6pm. I wasn't expecting to run in the dark tonight, but that's what happened.

The route I take is all on sidewalk, so I wasn't really worried about drivers' visibility. I'm conscious enough to ensure I'm not going to get run over when crossing a street. Though it was almost dark, the humidity was still around.

The first run lasted forever, but wasn't too bad. The tennis courts in the park were about where the walk started and surprisingly, several people were playing. I got to watch some tennis as I walked.

The 3 minute walk afterwards didn't feel as long as the 3 minute walks from last week, but I began the second run. I was breathing harder, but I found it easier to breathe. Yay, Singulair! It's good to feel a semi-significant difference.

The last run arrived and I was going slower, and feeling tired. I still pushed myself to keep going. Breathing is awesome. I finished up and began the cooldown walk. By this time, it was completely dark. I finished up the cooldown walk and showered upon arrival to my apartment.

I'm not sure when I'll attempt Day 2. It's recommended to take a day off, at least, between runs. My legs need it, too. It will likely be Thursday. I'll have to see how my homework goes. I have an assignment due that day, so my progress on that will be a major factor.

The song of the run is Frightened Rabbit - My Backwards Walk. This band opened for Death Cab for Cutie when I saw them just over a month ago in Nashville and they blew me away. So much so that I've had their three albums on a playlist in my car ever since. That concert was very emotion-ridden for me and this song only provides more of that. Great, Scottish band.

The above song is not wanting to play correctly. If it won't play for you, try the version below.

Pushing Myself and Good Timing

I woke today feeling very tired and sluggish. The absence of business is wearing on me. I have some homework due next week, so hopefully that will give me something to do in the coming days. My Monday class is already cancelled. Yet another three day week faces me.

I wasn't feeling like running today. I knew I had to finish up week 4, so I suited up for a run after stepping out on the balcony to check the weather. It felt great outside.

I headed out around 7:30pm or so. The sun was already setting with much cloud cover. Away I went.

I saw an abnormally high number of people out and about, walking with their friends, kids, or dogs. I attributed it to my first Saturday run (I think). It was nice seeing so many people out, but having to dodge them while running on the sidewalk with them taking up its entire width was not so pleasurable. People don't understand common courtesy.

My legs started to feel sluggish about halfway through, but I felt like I was running a little faster than Wednesday. I felt like I could breathe better, but just how much I can't exactly quantify. I'm hoping to feel a little more benefit from this Singulair before I call Dr. K back on Wed./Thur. this week.

I made it through three of the four runs and realized I had experienced no side stitch pain yet. This was a relief. I focused on taking longer, deeper breaths to ensure it didn't happen on the last run.

A couple minutes into the last run I was feeling whooped. I was breathing alright, but my legs were very tired. I could tell I had slowed pretty significantly since the first run. I decided to push myself a little harder, especially in that last minute. The one minute warning tuned and I ran harder. I wanted to give it my all for that last bit. I wanted to use all the energy I had. I pushed myself until the run-end tone and promptly took in the largest breath of the night.

The minute or so after the last run is definitely the slowest walking portion for me. I try to pace myself throughout, but I liked giving it my all at the end.

The result of pushing myself led to my fastest running and walking times on week 4, the most calories burned and distance traveled since starting C25k.

Success, however small, feels good. Sometimes I have trouble with these runs and forgot my goals and why I began all of this in the first place. My goal is not to run a 5k in 9 weeks. I started all of this because I was overweight and unhappy. To correct those issues, I decided to lose weight and exercise by eating healthier and running three times a week.

I am doing those things. I am out running, giving it my all. My weight is coming off rather quickly. I'm happier with my life. If I'm not ready to go on to week 5 on Monday, it doesn't matter, as long as I run three times next week. The immediate goal is to run. I continually have to tell myself this.

I got back to my apartment, sat down, and heard a hard, steady rain outside my window. I got back just in time.

The song of the run is another by Phoenix. This time it's Armistice. Enjoy!

Week 4 Day 3 Update

Due to time constraints, I will be completing week 4 day 3 on Saturday. The post for that run will be up sometime tomorrow.

Labor Day and My First Cold Runs

Firstly, I apologize for not posting for Monday's run. I played in a golf tournament with my dad in the morning, went for a run, rested while doing homework, then ate dinner and went to bed so I could come back to Louisville on Tuesday morning.

I decided to run around the neighborhood in Owensboro on Monday. Prior to the run, I felt some shin pain. I really wanted to advance to week 4 in the C25k program, but I was worried. After some deliberation, I decided to go ahead and advance.

With it being cold in this part of the country this week, I wore an extra undershirt. I stretched for a bit and headed out. There's not a whole lot to say about the run. I pushed through the shin pain and had forgotten it halfway through. The latter parts of the five minute runs slowed me down a little bit, but I didn't have to push myself as hard to finish as I did the first time around on week 4.

I remember the consideration of collapsing after the first time I tried week 4. This time around, it isn't nearly as hard. I'm not sure which of the following three things are the root cause of that: being better conditioned now, the weather being significantly cooler, or Singulair. I'm sure it's some combination of all three, but which one takes up more of the pie chart, I have no clue. Regardless, I'm happy about it.

Today was basically more of the same, but in Louisville. I've felt tired most of the day, but I knew I had to run. I could easily see the May 2011 version of myself talking me out of it and just laying around, but not the new me. Some days I feel like running and others I don't, but I run anyways. Although I've come a long way, I've only breached the surface of my goals and capabilities. It takes dedication to get where I want to be, and slacking off now would only be catastrophic. No can do.

I returned home from class and promptly prepared for another cold run. This time I didn't have an undershirt, but I didn't feel that it was necessary. I will have to go shopping for some cold weather running gear soon though. With Kentucky weather being the most erratic I know of, I'm sure we'll have some wintry feeling days in the coming weeks.

I began the warmup walk and felt a cool mist coming down. It was chilly at first, but I knew it would be refreshing in mere minutes. The runs came and went and I had no major trouble with any of them. My legs were feeling a little sore and weak, so I didn't push myself very hard, but I took a comfortable pace.

I got to the last walk before the final run and I could tell that I was about a block ahead of that checkpoint the first time on week 4. I normally turn down my street when I get to it, but I decided, to time the ending compared to my residence correctly, I would need to pass my street and come back around. This slight detour added some distance to my overall run, making it my longest run in Louisville yet.

I'm feeling pretty good. My legs are still a little sore, but I expect them to recover before Friday's run. I've seen some people in the past couple of weeks that I hadn't seen in months or years and they have noticed my weight loss. That's always a confidence booster. I can't see my weight loss. The only evidence I have is the scale and the way my clothes fit. The idea of a before and after picture has been a great motivator for me to work towards my goal.

I had a song picked out for Monday's run, but I've since forgotten it. I feel that today's song makes up for Monday's absence. I discovered Mumford and Sons via Pandora in mid-2010 and have been in love with them since. They are easily my second favorite band and I've heard their album, Sigh No More, a countless number of times. The song of today's run happens to be the title track, Sigh No More. It's hard to rank the songs of the album because there is not a bad song on it. Enjoy!

A Doctor Visit and Friday Run

Friday was a good day.

I met a great friend for lunch that I hadn't seen in nearly two years. We had some good eats and caught each other up on our lives.

I left Panera around 1:20 and headed to Campus Health Services for my 1:45 appointment. I normally wouldn't imagine that a university doctors office would provide service comparable to private practices, but UofL's Campus Health Services has been great as long as I've lived here.

There is one specific doctor, who I'll refer to as Dr. K from here out, that I particularly like. She is super friendly and has shown herself to be very knowledgeable about everything. She often refers to research when explaining things and she is very personable. I feel comfortable placing my health in her hands, and I prefer her over any doctor I've seen yet.

She first mentioned that my blood pressure looked great, as it had not about six months ago when she first expressed her concern. She had urged me to exercise and I obliged her in the moment, but of course continued living my life as normal. Since that night in June that my self-motivation switch turned on, I've hoped that this running thing would be beneficial to my blood pressure. Learning of evidence proving that to be the case was fantastic.

I've been conscious of the fact that my health was certainly not optimal, in the back of my mind, and it semi-scared me when I thought about it. I feel good knowing that I'm on track to a healthy body and lifestyle.

From there, Dr. K began asking me about my breathing problems. I explained to her the details and she was curious about my allergies. After some Q&A, she stated that my issue may be Exercise Induced Asthma. She informed me that she would order a Spirometry test and discuss the results with me.

A nurse came in and administered the Spirometry test. She handed me a small electronic device that had a plastic tube extending from it, about 3/4" in diameter. I was to get into my "ballerina pose" and take the largest breath in that I could possibly take. Upon reaching full capacity, I was to put my mouth around the tube and exhale all the air as fast as possible, continuing to exhale until I had no air left. This was to be done three times, to acquire more accurate results.

I completed the test and felt like I had failed. All my air was gone so fast and I didn't have much to exhale after the first second or so. I waited for Dr. K to return to discuss my results. I heard that familiar pre-enter knock when she had arrived. I've always wondered what a person could possibly be doing in such a small, barren room to require a pre-enter knock. I guess I don't want to know, but I'm sure it's just a courtesy thing.

Upon entering the room, Dr. K said, "This looks great!"

"Really?" I asked.

She went on to explain that I was able to exhale nearly all of my air within the first second, which exemplifies normal lung function. She explained that asthma is usually an inability to get all of your air out. This reaffirmed her initial thought that I was a victim of Exercise Induced Asthma. She told me there were two main treatment options. Option one was Singulair - a once a day pill that would hopefully kill two birds in one stone by treating both the asthma and allergies. Option two was an inhaler and a nasal spray. I asked of her opinion and she said as long as I wasn't depressed or had anxiety, she would prefer to try Singulair first.

I informed her that I have no problems related to depression or anxiety and that option one sounded great. She said that I could do both options at the same time, but we both agreed that we then wouldn't know which of the three medications was actually working.

She gave me a two week sample of Singulair and instructed me to take it once daily. She said it has been known to cause/worsen depression or anxiety and to tell a few of my friends that I was taking it and to say something if they noticed a change in my behavior. My life is awesome, so I'm honestly not worried about that part. I just want to breathe!

She said to give her a call, to prevent me from paying another copay, after the two weeks had ended and she could either call in a prescription of Singulair or we could begin option two. I agreed and went on my way. I took my first dose as soon as I got in my car. I read some of the instructions and it said to treat Exercise Induced Asthma, take two hours before exercising.

I got home, took care of some school related things, and got ready for a run. It was 102 degrees, but I haven't really been hot since getting back from Oklahoma, so anything below 110 feels fine.

I took my normal route and again noticed that I was surpassing previous checkpoints. About two hours had passed since I had taken the first dose, so I was curious if I would notice a difference. I was still having trouble breathing while I was running, but I did feel that I could get that deep breath more easily when I was walking. I'm not sure if that was the Singulair or the placebo effect, but I liked it. I'm hoping that this medicine really helps. I'm sure I'll know more next week.

The run ended, and while the last run was tough towards the end, I was able to regain my breath upon walking. I felt pretty good. My legs were a little sore, but nothing to really complain about. I took the cooldown walk to get back to my apartment.

I ran through the shower and immediately left to meet some friends for dinner.

In all, it was a great day. Living a proactive lifestyle is honestly fantastic. Getting things done is the best!

I'm heading to Owensboro Sunday night to be there for a golf scramble I'm playing in, with my father, on Labor Day. Scrambles are my favorite format and it's at my home course, so I'm pretty pumped. My dad is playing golf about eight days a week now, so I'm sure he'll make it easy to score low. ;)

I won't be coming back to Louisville until Tuesday morning, since I don't have class until 4pm. My Monday run will thusly take place in Owensboro. I'll do my best to get the blog post up that same day.

The song of the run was Phoenix - 1901. After being introduced to Phoenix, by what I believe was a Pandora station of mine, they quickly made it into my top five artists. Their album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, contains some fantastic songs, all of which I've heard hundreds of times.