Week 23- Eight Miles

Yesterday's run was the last of our group training runs before the marathon.  In less than one week, I'll be running 26.2 miles.  So, let me tell you how this run went.

To start off, I actually have to go back to last week.  As I mentioned, last week I ended up not feeling so great during the run.  After the run, instead of going back home to shower and rest for an hour or so, I ended up having to go straight to the kennel to take a dog to the vet.  She was fine, but by the time I returned to the kennel my shift had started, so there was no time to go home.  This meant that I had to stay in my sweaty, nasty running clothes for the rest of the day.  Since I'd planned on going straight home, I didn't even have a sweatshirt to help keep me warm.  Needless to say, by the end of the day I felt like crud.

I hoped that a little rest would make things better, so I skipped church last Sunday and slept an additional 3 hours.  I felt a little better the rest of the day, but I still wasn't great.  By Monday morning, I was officially sick.  If I had a fever, it was low grade, but I definitely had a bad chest cold.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night all had me up most of the night coughing.

Now, I'm not really the type of person to take meds.  I prefer to let my body heal itself and support it with lots of sleep and hot tea and soup.  However, I also knew I had to get better fast, so Mom and Hans were able to easily convince me to go to Patient's First (like Urgent Care).  I was given antibiotics and Codeine for the cough.

Admittedly, my cough started to improve almost immediately.  In addition to the improvement, though, the meds also have given me chapped lips and an upset tummy.  It's not exactly the way I'd like to go into a run, and I seriously thought about skipping this week.  Since it's the last week, however, I just couldn't do it.  I was still battling the cold and cough, and I was still tired, but I had to finish this last run.  I promised myself and Hans that I would take it easy, and if I felt I needed to turn back I would.

Well, this run definitely wasn't my fastest.  I could easily tell that I was a little under the weather and breathing was much harder.  Luckily, my running buddies took it easy with me.  It was a beautiful day for a run, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I ended the run feeling good and happy that I had done it.  When I got home, I immediately hopped in the shower to warm up and enjoy the steam, and I relaxed even farther with a cup of hot tea.

I'm quite proud of myself with how far I've come.  Five months ago, eight miles seemed like such a far distance.  Today I ran it while recovering from a cold.  Now, the only thing I can hope is that I get 100% better before next Saturday.  If I can get through all this, I can do anything!