Saturday 31 March 2012

Spring isn’t my thing

Actually, that is a complete and utter, barefaced lie. I love spring, the birdsong, the trees and flowers bursting into life, the weather, the chocolate, it’s really that spring doesn’t really like me.

The last week has been increasingly more uncomfortable. I have managed to walk five days a week for four weeks in a row, broke the 100 mile mark for the month (not enough, but 50% better than the previous two!) and nearly doubled my total ascent to reach 4378 feet. (So much for going metric!) I found last year that walking daily made as much of a difference as the distance and ascent, so I just try to vary the length and height as the mood takes and get my legs used to the idea of plodding day after day.

My goal this week was to walk six days in a row, but it was not to be. All that wonderful warm spring weather after a fairly mild and frost free winter means that the pollen count has risen with a vengeance and the breeze is just blowing it around and aggravating the issue. My eyes are swollen, itchy and full of gunk. I can’t wear my preferred wrap around sunglasses because I can’t get my lenses in to facilitate their use. Tablets might help, except they are tricky. Loratadine knocks me out within half an hour of half a tablet and when I wake up I’m grumpy and grotty. No change there, some might say. I occasionally resort to Cetirizine. It takes a little longer before the half a tablet knocks me out, I probably won’t be unconscious for so long, but I will be tired and grotty for much longer. And I seem to be wheezing, which is unusual. Yuk, really, so I’ll stay indoors until the rain damps it all down for a while. We want rain for the heath fires (been some more, including locally, Dumfries and Galloway and Banchory, amongst other places) and to calm my hayfever before I get unfit!

Spring is beautiful though, I love it.

9 comments:

Laura said...

That's no fun - I can sympathise with the swollen eyes (though mine won't start till the grass is cut....) - have you tried anti-histamine eye drops? I find them better than the tablets which make me VERY grumpy.............

Louise said...

I do occasionally use eye drops, but then I'm not supposed to wear contacts, which means I can't wear my wrap around sunglasses which are good with hayfever :-( I also have a feeling I'm not supposed to use drops with the medication I'm on, but I can take anti-histamine tablets. Weird?!! Mind you, that could have been something else... I've got some herbal drops to try, there don't seem to be any Don'ts with them, fingers crossed :-)

Take it you're home then?

Mike Knipe said...

I get the same - itchy eyes - but a bit later in the year. I tend to put up with it. I shouldn't, really.
Five walks a week? 'appen tha'll be catching up with the Pieman. (New kecks from simplyrun by the way - only twenty quid...)

Alan Sloman said...

Larch pollen used to completely disable me. The only remedy was watching the telly with two cold beers.
Now that I don't have to mow the bl**dy lawn beneath that bl**dy tree anymore, I'm praying that this will be the first allergy free year for me in twelve years!
I shall miss those cold beers and telly though...

Louise said...

Mike, I think t' Pieman'll still be a glen ahead o' me!

Alan, my hayfever is a bit variable, I haven't had much bother for a couple of years but the year before that it started early March and in May I had urticaria for three weeks, which was put down to 'some sort of pollen allergy'. That was fun!

Anonymous said...

Walking daily is a great target - I need to take a leaf out of your book. Sorry to hear about the hayfever / pollen thing. I count myself lucky not to suffer with it but it sounds really disabling. Hopefully you'll be able to get out soon!

Louise said...

Hi Helen, nice to hear from you! I think the daily walks help, I just need to make them a bit longer. The hayfever is a pain, I wish I could find an effective way to deal with it. Luckily we have rain now and snow on the way, that should dampen things down nicely!

Andrew W said...

Nothing worse in the World than WORKING 5 days a week. Don't know how you manage Louise.

Hang On ........

WALKING!

That's different, I would love to do that.
I need to pack up this working habit first though. But then I would not be able to afford to do the walking bit.

Catch 22 again Bugger!


I'll get my coat :)

Louise said...

You need to get yourself an accomodating hubby, like what I've got;-)