Running.....

Are any of you bloggers out there runners? Well I used to be, and I am trying to get back into it. I have been slowly building my endurance up over the past few weeks, and I can now run a 11 minute mile for 17 minutes straight. I know, I know...I'm not the fastest girl on the block, but now that I am older, I am just happy that I can still run at all (you know, because of things like bad hips, or bad knees, or bad ankles, or bad...you get the idea!). Back in "the day," I used to be able to run six minute miles, but I have to remind myself that I was 50 pounds lighter and 16 years younger...lol!!! Maybe I will get there again-and maybe I won't!-but I do hope to increase my speed as my endurance goes up.

The strange thing about me and running, or me and exercise period, is that I have faithfully done it for the past two years, with only a 10 pound weight loss, and absolutely no cardio improvement. I have been checked for every kind of metabolic, hormonal, and adrenal disorder, and I did learn that some minor things were out of whack, but nothing that should contribute solely to my inability to lose weight. And as far as my cardio not improving, I was beginning to think that maybe I had something wrong with my heart, although I have no other symptoms whatsoever. The naturopathic doctor that I see every now and then, suggested that my allergies could be contributing to my weight problem, and to my lack of cardio, and as you can imagine, I totally pooh-poohed that whole notion. I have always had allergies-just the seasonal kind-but they had gotten so bad, that I had been taking Zyrtec, every single day of the year, for three years.This summer, I finally decided that I should have them checked out, because when I would try to stop taking the Zyrtec, I would break out in hives-scary! So, I went to the naturopath, she tested me, told me what I was allergic to, and then began to treat me for them, using some weird kind of naturopathic voodoo...not really!! Several times during my treatment, she would have me stop the Zyrtec, and then continue it if my hives came back. Well, I am amazed to say that I have been Zyrtec-and hive!-free for one month now, and all of the sudden, my cardio is improving, and I am losing weight. Talk about strange!!!! I have no idea how her treatments work , but I can definitely vouch for them, because I feel like a whole new person now. She told me that she thought that the reason that my cardio never improved was because of the fact that my allergies were so bad. The Zyrtec was able to keep the hives (your bodies reaction to allergens leaving your skin) under control, but it was unable to keep my airways from becoming inflamed, causing a similar reaction to that of a person with allergy induced asthma...scary!!! Of course none of this was tested by science, or an "MD," but she was obviously right with her assumptions, and I am so happy that I did this! :)