I Can’t Run

I tried to go for a run two days ago.   I got started running, ran for a bit with my friend and then couldn't breathe.   Not like a bad, health thing.   I was just out of breath.   I've run a lot and this was a different kind of out of breath.   There is the, "I'm not warmed up yet and I'm breathing harder while my heart and lungs get up to speed," but it wasn't that.

It wasn't the, "I'm pushing the edge of my pace running and I'm at the edge of my cardio level" kind of thing.   And it wasn't the, "I've run past the edge of training for too many miles, I'm overly tired and/or dehydrated and/or need electrolytes kind of thing either.

It was a, "I can't get enough oxygen no matter how hard I breathe."   It started right as we began running, only a few minutes in.   I would have been alarmed if it didn't immediately subside as soon as we stopped running.   We tried running several times, making sure I was well-hydrated, but the out of breath symptom didn't go away.

If I hadn't seen this exact behavior one time before—and diagnosed it at the time—I would have been a little concerned.   I felt fairly certain though that I was hypotensive.  I'm not typically hypotensive.   I get my blood pressure checked at least once a month and I almost always come in right in the middle of the normal range.

The one time before when this happened we were running eighteen miles and it took us a long time to diagnose it.   I remembered I was taking an antibiotic prophylactically for some dental work I'd had.  When we looked up side-effects of the medication, hypotension was one of them.   I stopped the antibiotics and I was fine.

The hypotension doesn't appear in normal activity, but it shows up during times of high activity, like running.   I did some reading and found out the medication we'd switched me to some time back had hypotension as a side effect.   I've been on the medication for a good while, but not as long as it's been since I've run.

And this presents a problem because I just signed up for a half marathon.   It's hard to train for a half marathon when you can't run.  There is a solution I think though.   I will change the time I take the medication each day and offset the following dose by three additional hours.   If I time it right, I'll have a three-hour window in which I won't be affected by the hypotension.

I've talked to my PA about offsetting the medication and a doctor about the hypotension and there is no negative impact by changing the medication in that way.   So I have a plan.   I need to see if it works though.   Hopefully, I can run.   I don't want to miss the half marathon.

The Big Boy Update:  My son made a homemade candle at school today.   Apparently, he went back in time in order to make it.   He told Margaret and me about the time travel and candle making process while we drove home from school this afternoon.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter got her latest book home today.   I said I was going to read it with her.  I told her braillist I was going to.   Now that the book is home I'm scared.   This is a lot of braille!   My daughter is looking forward to it.



There are eight volumes of 11.5"x12" paper.   This is significantly larger than it would be if she were fully up to speed on braille.   First, she doesn't know all the contractions, meaning some words are completely spelled out, taking up more space.   But more impactful is that she reads braille double spaced on only the front side of the paper.   Eventually, she'll read single-spaced, double-sided paper.