Smoke gets in my eyes: 6/5 – 11 WRD

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

It was all about the air quality this week. I’ll share a photo towards the end showing you how bad it got at its height. A good reminder to never take anything for granted!

bwrd

I’m joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner and trying to enjoy outdoor running, but a little foiled by the outdoor air quality this week.

Workouts update

  • Monday: Yoga (30 min), Dogwalk, Pilates (30 min)
  • Tuesday: Yoga (30 min), 3 miles easy, Dogwalk, Pilates (15 min)
  • Wednesday: Yoga (30 min)Had to give meds to Bandit, SB (20 min), Pilates (10 intense min)
  • Thursday: Yoga (30 min), 3ish TM, Pilates (15 min)
  • Friday: Yoga (30 min), 1 Mile Recovery Run, Dogwalk, Pilates (12 min)
  • Saturday: Yoga (30 min), Dogwalk <== rest day (sort of)
  • Sunday: Yoga (20 min), on the schedule: Pilates with weights (30 min) & SB cycling

Running Mileage: 7 (+1) 


PB = Killer B
TM = Treadmill
WU = warmup
CD = cooldown
SB = Stationary Bike

Running Update

Second wave of blooming things

Tuesday intention: go long-er
Finally back to 3 miles. With lots of smoke in the sky from the Canadian wildfires and an actual air quality warning (plus lack of sleep last week), this was not the run to push it so I didn’t. It was slow (what else is new), mostly due to my almost usual slow down on mile 2, but my HR was fine so it’s all good. I’d had one day last week with a higher than normal HR average. It happens once in a while.

Thursday intention: slow & steady
Out of an abundance of caution (smoke from wildfires, see photo lower down!), I ran on the mill. I probably should’ve Tuesday, although it wasn’t as bad yet then. Damn, this definitely felt hard. I’m sure it fell just a bit short of 3 miles but it was close enough. Chose an endurance run so I wouldn’t push too hard.

Can you spit the bunny? They don’t usually let me get this close.

Friday intention: recover
One recovery mile. So grateful for a cool day and good air quality.

I’ve shared numerous photos from Thacher State Park over the years. On top is what it looked like when the air quality was really bad. Below is what it normally looks like. So grateful we normally have pretty good air quality! These photos were taken by a park employee.

Favorites of the week
The only thing good about this week was that Bandit isn’t getting worse, is happy to walk (when the air is okay), and the help from Mr. Judy. Although I’ve done most of the supplementing, he has helped with feeding Bandit so I could run, cooking the hamburger we used to entice Bandit to eat his supplements (he’s in hog heaven with all the hamburger!), and cooking for us a few times, too.

In case you’ve been wondering, Albie, “our” Albino squirrel, is doing well. There have been many sightings (but no photos) over the last couple of months.

Info about Bandit you can feel free to skip (it’s long): Bandit’s cough is still there. We haven’t gone back to the vet . . . yet. He only got a few days with the codeine we chased down last week because it only seemed to make his cough worse. Or maybe it was the smoke in the air! Who knows. We’re about halfway through the antibiotics but I think they’re really to help prevent a secondary infection, so not really sure they’re doing anything either. He can go hours completely quiet, and then suddenly there’s a lot of coughing.

We have gotten it to the point, with a variety of supplements, that we can all pretty much sleep through the night. He almost always coughs when he gets up, which unfortunately wakes up Mr. Judy (I’m usually already awake, but my Yoga practice has been interrupted multiple times).

Here’s the weird thing: this started last Tuesday and Tuesday was horrible. Wednesday I started to give him the homeopathic cough medicine and he barely coughed. We got the meds on Wednesday night and things seemed worse. It’s been back and forth and taken up a lot of time and effort.

He’s still pretty normal when he’s not coughing. We have had something similar happen with both our previous dogs, and it did eventually resolve — but we were using both Western and alternative vets then. I think that by the time Bandit came along, I didn’t take him to the Holistic vet because a) I was so tired of vets, plus all the stuff going on with my parents, and b) that was the vet he bit when we first got him (without her ever laying a finger on him).

I used to bring him into her office occasionally, and once she commented she couldn’t believe it was the same dog. But he was healthy, Lola was our focus back then, and of course, my parents. Now it’s so damn hard to get appointments anywhere.

After I wrote all of the above yesterday, I remembered the Wednesday we took him to the vet I’d also been using some essential oils on him (I have a book written by a vet), and I stopped using them after we get his “meds”.

I put them on him before I left to go grocery shopping and was shocked at how quiet he was when I got home. Did he still cough yesterday? Yes. But it was much better. So is the air quality . . . but then there was a lot of coughing last night and this morning. He did so good during the day yesterday! It’s driving us all nuts.

ICYMI: Yes, not my most flattering photo but — this is a great practice to strengthen the connective tissues around your hips and knees, as well as boost your confidence. Practice with me here (live at 8 am). If you’ve got just a little more time, try this Yin Yoga Hips at the Wall practice here.

Coming up next Week: Although I am at work on a product review, most likely it will just be a wrap up next week. Another visit to my mom, with an overnight stay, plus playing lots of catchup.

28 thoughts on “Smoke gets in my eyes: 6/5 – 11 WRD”

  1. I almost used that title but it didn’t get in my eyes.

    Thankfully I have no health concerns so I was fine running outside.

    By Thursday Thacher was blue skies and yesterday was delightful.

    Hope you see some improvement for Bandit.

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  2. DC had the smoke bad too. It was freaky.

    Glad Bandit seems to be improving. Could it be allergies?

    Tell me about how hard it is to get non-emergency vet appointments. I need to schedule Scooby’s and first available is months out. 😦

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    1. It didn’t actually look so bad in our neighborhood, but then there’s really no horizon to see from here. Today wasn’t a good day. I don’t think it’s allergies. My husband thinks it could be collapsing trachea, but there’s nothing to do for that anyway. One vet thought Lola had it, but she didn’t.

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  3. Ugh, I think I may have said this already, but having a sick dog sounds kind of like having an infant! It’s really hard when you can’t sleep through the night.
    It’s crazy how many people the smoke affected. I know they got a lot of rain up in Canada, so hopefully the fires are out? I hope you (and Bandit) get some clear air this week.

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  4. We had pretty bad air quality as well in DC so my walks were moved inside. It is scary to see how smoke can spread so wide. Glad Bandit is doing a little better and hope he continues too. Have a good week

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  5. Oh, poor Bandit! Sounds like he’s on the upswing, but I know how tough it is caring for a dog when they’re sick or in recovery. They can’t tell us what they’re needing, nor will they listen to reason from their caregivers, LOL. We’ve been lucky with the air quality in central Iowa, though we’ve had some pretty “enhanced” sunrises and sunsets.

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  6. I haven’t yet rejoined the gym, but if the air quality returns, I might. I didn’t like not running, even though it was the right choice.
    Hope you find some sold Bandit answers soon

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  7. Glad to hear that Bandit seems to be getting better! Same with the air quality. We are going to be in big trouble if we don’t reverse this course we are on with climate change.

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  8. Oh poor Bandit. I hope he starts to get some relief, poor little guy. It’s been a little easier getting into a vet here so far, though we haven’t had anything too serious/emergency yet. And they seem more willing to just offer advice without the office visit, which can be helpful. Good luck!

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  9. Ugh, I am so sorry you were impacted by the smoke. We had a lot of smoke last summer (and I fear we’ll get more fires here in California again, although it’s been a mild spring/early summer and we had lots of rain)… anyway, I am sorry you had bad air and I am glad it dissipated!

    I am also sorry Bandit is still having trouble. It must be so hard to watch, but you’re doing everything to ease his struggles! Hope he’ll be better soon!

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  10. Very true to never take anything for granted. I for sure took having clean air to breathe for granted – never again!

    So sorry to hear about Bandit 😦 Fingers crossed that he feels better soon.

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  11. I am so sad about all the smoke. We have fires down here, but it isn’t usually as bad as what I am seeing.

    I’m sorry Bandit is taking longer to recuperate. It can be so hard to help our sweet babies. Lots of love to him (and you).

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    1. We definitely have fires up here, too, but it’s rare for us to really have bad air. I know it’s more common in some parts of the country.

      We do have another vet appointment. But not til Thursday. 😦 Well, the good news is it’s really just mostly annoying to all.

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  12. poor Bandit. and you and hubs too. what oil did you use on him? i hope this is over soon, he must be sick of it as well.

    awful about the air quality. you tried and you did and that’s what matters right?

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    1. Seriously, what didn’t we try? It all seems to work for a little while. He has a couple more days on the antibiotics (which he probably didn’t need) and then we have a follow up vet visit finally.

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  13. I’m so sorry to hear that Bandit is still not feeling well and his coughing is keeping you and Mr. Judy up at night. I hope you can resolve whatever is wrong with him soon and get him on the road to recovery.

    Thankfully by Saturday our air quality was so much better. Sounds like yours is clearer, too.

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