Fall Race Calendar Conflict

 

There are four fall half marathons in October that have been on my maybe I will run list for quite some time.

I have been waiting until August 1st to make my decision as to which race(s) I will run but I am suddenly seeing a major conflict between my race calendar options and my menstrual cycle.

I cannot plan too far ahead as you may already know from reading for a while because I cannot run a race during my period.

I have a terrific chance of fainting during my time of the month which has happened to me on more than one occasion in my lifetime.

I have fainted sitting down, standing up and from exertion, be it on day one of my period or even a few times, on day four or five! This means that no day during my period is that safe or smart for me to run a race, especially a half marathon.

My body operates like clockwork, every 28 days, almost always without fail. However, I am not a machine so some months I am off by a day or two which isn’t a big deal unless you are trying to register for your next half marathon.

Based upon my current cycle patterns, running a fall half marathon is now in jeopardy. I even plugged my cycle into one of those handy online calculators hoping I was wrong.

As of this moment, my period is set to arrive the first and last weekend of October which means I am left with only Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn as an option which is my least favorite option, one that shouldn’t even be considered an option and is only listed because I really did always want to run an Rock ‘n” Roll half marathon.

It’s a schlep and a half to get to this part of Brooklyn for race day plus I would need to get there the day before to pick up my number. It’s also the weekend before my son’s Bar Mitzvah AND Bridal Fashion Week (October 8 – 10) so I am sort of really busy at that time to say the least.

I wanted to run the Great South Bay Half Marathon again after enjoying the race last year. I also really considered the Diva Half Marathon because it’s a similar race course to the Long Island Half Marathon which would be super cool to run in the fall to see how I handled it in comparison to the spring!

In a perfect world, I would run the Suffolk County Half Marathon at the end of October as well as one of the races from the start of the month too.

There’s still some time for my cycle to change a bit.

A day early here, a day late there and I may find myself able to register for a half of my choice.

I’m planning to start training as of August 1st anyway, and then just see what happens.

If at the last-minute I see I can run a half, I will sign up.

Will I be disappointed if I don’t run a half marathon this fall?

I am fine with training even if it ends up I won’t be running a half this fall season. I just see it as putting myself in even better half marathon shape, you know?

The truth is, if I had my choice of when I wanted to get my period, this is working out for the best. My son’s Bar Mitzvah is October 15th. Having my period on the day of his Bar Mitzvah is almost the same as having to deal with my period on my wedding day in terms of enjoying the evening in my pretty dress – no girl wants to deal with cramps and tampons on such a special day!

This is just part of being a female.

I am grateful that I can run as much as I do and get my period every 28 days. I would rather NOT run a half marathon because I have my period than run 20 races a year living a life with amenorrhea, risking my health and my bones.

The funniest part of this? I checked ahead to November to see if my cycle would have interfered with the New York City Marathon — nope, I would have been in the clear! Go figure. I was so worried about that when I had entered the lottery back in January (and didn’t get in).

[bctt tweet=”fall race calendar conflict! #running #halfmarathon #period #barmitzvah #fallraces #divahalf #rnrbrooklyn #fitfluential ” username=”cookiechrunicle”]

Which race (or races) are you currently training for?

Are you eyeing any half marathons for this fall that you haven’t signed up for yet?

 

I Was Sick & Other Random Stuff

 

Tuesday evening, out of nowhere, I came down with a quick moving virus that kept me up most of the night with the whole body aching, upset stomach, low fever thing which every time triggers my dizzy, fainting self. While I am rarely dramatic, in those moments of dizziness that send me crawling to the bathroom and laying on the floor to prevent fainting/hurting myself makes me think I am about to die.

Seriously.

The feeling right before you faint, becoming completely incoherent, fuzzy and in a deep sweat especially while being sick is a near death experience which I am happy to have survived.

I felt better yesterday morning but better is a relative term here. It takes time to recover from these things which meant even though I was hungry, I couldn’t eat normal and even if I wanted to run (I didn’t want to but go with it) I wasn’t about to do so. I know my limits.

I feel myself this morning and I may attempt a light workout knowing very well that even with all of the Gatorade and water I was drinking yesterday, it’s not enough to hydrate me to run very much and my muscles will probably feel like jelly anyway.

In other random news…

I have yet to have a properly ripe, sweet and juicy peach this summer and that’s just not acceptable. I bought a few and they weren’t good so now I am afraid of buying more in fear of biting into a bland bleh peach again.

While on the topic of fruit, last week I admitted to you that I go to The Fresh Market for free fresh fruit samples. This week there were chocolate samples too.

So I have clothes in my closet that used to be my favorite pieces, like the kind you look forward to wearing when you feel like getting dolled up yet without warning, those same outfits have become my lounge around, who cares clothes. From one summer season to the next, how does that happen?

My bestest friend Heather is coming up from Florida next week and I am more than a little excited. We met at day camp when we were 9. I liked her outfit and told her so. The rest is history.

I still haven’t bought a spiralizer but I think about buying it every day. Why haven’t I bought it yet? I think because it means then I will have to get a zucchini and I want an organic zucchini which I can’t get at just any grocery store and I really don’t need to add another thing to the grocery list I leave at home.

I finally bought a pair of lululemon underwear. I am not sure why they gave them such an interesting name (Mula Bandhawear) nor do I know what took me so long to realize I needed sweat-wicking undergarments.  I mean, everything else on me is sweat-wicking so shouldn’t the material closest to my body be sweat-wicking too?

There’s lots of new stuff at lululemon, in case you were wondering. I haven’t bought anything because I really don’t need anything right now. Of course I want it all but I am smarter than that – I only wear my running clothes for running which happens at the crack of dawn and then comes right off as soon as I get in the house. I don’t really care if I match or repeat the same clothing often because the only people who see me are the dog walkers and I don’t say hello to them anyway.

And with that attitude, I am off to the city this morning for a meeting. I fit in perfectly.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is thinking about today 🙂

[bctt tweet=”Thinking out loud! #virus #fainting #thinkingoutloud #lululemon #fruit #thefreshmarket @runwithspoons”]

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When was the last time you had a virus?

Do you wear sweat-wicking underwear when you run? Which brand?

Are you prone to fainting?