Week Seven, Monday - Headaches

I never ran when I was little. Even in games of tag, I would blast forward in short spurts and find any excuse to be wily instead of fast. I hated somersaults and cartwheels. My worst nightmare was tripod headstands in gym class. Every tiny bit of pressure on my head, every pounding step felt like it was jostling my brain. I was plagued with headaches brought on by any number of things, but always by running, for as long as I can remember.

It didn't matter though, since I got my exercise by swimming. For 16 years, I swam twice a day, for two to three hours, resting on Sundays. With the exception of an occasional head cold, swimming never caused a headache or made one worse - no impact meant my brain couldn't rattle around in my skull. Through and after college, I stuck exclusively to the pool and the elliptical machines, eyeing the treadmills with something akin to fear and hatred, envying the slim bodies of the runners but never once wanting to be on that machine, banging down, head aching with every step. I had friends that played soccer and eventually, they coerced me in to trying it. And, I loved it, running and all. But I soon found I was resorting to my childhood ways, being more clever than fast, intercepting other players rather than chasing them down. I just wasn't a runner.

But, for six weeks, I've been okay. All those fears of pounding, jostling, aching headaches (and I admit, they might have been based more on one or two incidents than full blown consistency) proved unfounded. I chalk some of it up to brain surgery two years ago. But most of it I attribute to incorrect form, my heavy body and dehydration. That doesn't mean I don't still fear a headache, somewhere deep inside, every time I step on the treadmill.

Today, I was already coping with a slight ache in my sinuses and my temples that was threatening to become a full blown migraine. I couldn't afford a migraine today since I had to work at midnight. I debated about the wisdom of running (jostling, banging, thumping) and whether or not it would make the ache worse. I debated what would happen if I took something for it before running, how that would effect my energy and my body. In the end, I decided to run drug free and hope for the best.

At the beginning it ached a bit more but I still didn't feel like the pounding of each foot was making it worse. I drank as much water as I could without weighing down my stomach (or my bladder) to help it along. I think the running helped a bit, if only to distract me from the horrible potential of what the headache could be. In the end, it was a short run, but quicker than I have been going and on a 1% incline, in order to prepare for future outside runs. I easily had another half hour in me, but had to stop short due to unforeseen circumstances.

I doubt I'll ever be able to shake the nagging (and unfounded) fear that running will give me a headache, and I'm fairly certain I'll never be able to make myself run with a migraine, but it's nice to know, with certainty, that the headaches aren't linked to running. Now, all I have to do is contend with getting a workout in tomorrow, after working from midnight until 8 in the morning.

W5 - 3.5, R20 - 4.7, W5 - 3.5=30min/1%inc.