I may have hit the wall. It’s mile 20, and my pace isn’t getting better.
I have not come back from a procedure I had in early March. At first, I didn’t want to push my recovery. Now, 6 months removed, I’m not trying to hold back and I’m not back to where I was. I’m having issues when I run more than 40 seconds. I’m probably short of breath. I’m not wheezing or sucking air. My legs feel tired. I recover after a short walk, so they can’t be that tired.
Last week, I had my annual pulmonary function test. It showed a slightly reduced capacity compared with 2025. It’s not enough to cause my running issues. The doctor had a choice of calling what I have asthma or COPD. Since I never smoked, he picked asthma.
I’m taking two conflicting drugs. The cardiologist prescribed a beta-blocker that reduces heart rate and blood pressure. These affect beta-1 receptors. The pulmonologist prescribed a beta-agonist to open airways. These impact beta-2 receptors. They are supposed to be different, but they may overlap. My maintenance inhaler prescription has been changed from Symbicort to Breztri. The latter has one additional drug to open airways in my lungs.
I have been taking my beta blockers before exercising, which will impact my running. That could be part of the issue. Later this year, I may switch to taking them after running. However, I was taking the beta blockers before exercising in the months leading up to my procedure.
That leaves conditioning as the issue. Did the reduction in stressful effort cause my current issues? Maybe.
What would I miss if I can’t get over this wall?
I’m a creature of habit. My running routes are the same from day to day, week to week, and year to year. I run from my house. I run the same loops daily, never past Sunken Road, and my long runs either went through Pratt Park to the Heritage Trail or across the Chatham Bridge to access Lee Drive. When I drove to the mountains to run trails, I usually parked in Weverton, Maryland.
You can tell how important this is to me, as it is the first thing I do six days a week.
I enjoy getting up at O dark hundred on Saturday morning, when I was timing races that would have been Monday morning. Long runs started a few minutes before civil daylight.
I enjoy running early mornings, in the rain and snow, knowing I’m doing something others can’t understand.
Heading through Pratt Park, I see the beauty of early light hitting the colors of the changing leaves and the glow to the east before dawn. Then there are days with fog over the fields and evaporating dew on the grass.
On the return trip, the sun is above the horizon and some days beating down.
There were days when I passed Falmouth Waterfront Park at 6:15, where cars were lined up waiting for access at 8 am. Eventually, a deputy would come by and run them off, and he was still there when I returned at 7 am. When Stafford Parks began charging a parking fee, the guy across the street let people park for $20 until his yard filled up.
Running upriver, the low sun gave the still water a reflective sheen, which was eventually replaced by a vibrating trickle.
Only a few other people were on the trails then, and most acknowledged my “Good Morning.”
When I headed toward Lee Drive, I knew the light sequence to cross Blue Gray Parkway at Lafayette Blvd, until the city changed the pattern. Oops. Fortunately, traffic was light early in the morning.
On Lee Drive, the sun cast nice beams of light through the trees. I had consistent timing points. Wildlife was abundant, more than expected, with my headlamp lighting up their glowing eyes when running in the dark. Howison Hill on the return was a sign of my condition.
Coming back down Lafayette, I knew when I had to run hard to hit the Blue Gray Parkway crossing so I didn’t have to wait for the light. Adding the traffic circle made the crossing over Lafayette a new adventure.
Did I mention, I ran on Lafayette facing traffic? I used to stay to that side, going around Dead Man’s Curve. In recent years, I cross near the VRE Trail underpass and cross back after going around the curve.
In the early 2000s, I lived in North Stafford and parked at Lee Drive and Lansdowne Road for my long runs. When I was young, a post-run stop at Paul’s Bakery for a chocolate-covered doughnut and soda didn’t affect my conditioning. I knew them. They knew me as I brought exact change, $2.28.
I’d like to relive the bounce of young legs on rocky trail. Those years are well in the past. My favorite running section of the AT is north out of Weverton. It’s a combination of climbing and loose rocks. It’s an easy drive through Loudoun County and sometimes included a stop at the casino in Charlestown.
With familiar routes, I always knew what I was getting into, and with common checkpoints, I would know how I was running. I usually worried more when I was going too fast, with a Scooby Doo, “Ruh-Roh.” Sticking to the Heritage Trail Loop and my daily run courses, my escape routes keep me close to home.
When you hit the wall in a marathon, the only thing to do is keep moving forward as best you can. The best may be walking and running when you can.
As with a race, if you start running, you need to cross the finish line running, no matter how fast or far you resume running from the line. Well, at least 50 meters; suck it up; it can only hurt for 15 seconds.
Days after the wall in a marathon, it’s time to ponder what to do next; what can you change to break it down? I may need to accept that walking more to keep the same feeling is the change. Also, I know that Paul’s is only an option a couple of times a year, and no soda, $2.50. I’m still bringing exact change.