Well, as I’m sure you read in Matt’s post, I’ve been on the struggle bus the past two weeks of training. I threw out my back, got a respiratory illness of doom, and had various other issues personally. Needless to say, my running has definitely suffered, but I’m determined to get back on the horse and tough it out.
Week 9 started for me on a Wednesday instead of Tuesday because I decided it was smart to cut back on my miles while sick. I managed a 3 miler on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday, and 8 with Matt on Friday. I definitely wouldn’t have made it all 8 without Matt, and am glad to have him with me on weekends. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL and I was determined to get on the trails despite the fact I literally didn’t have a voice. We went to the Fells and while I wanted to get all 18 in, I decided to go by time instead of miles, since trails are always slower and I couldn’t go more than 15 steps without coughing. I got about 13 and a half miles in, which took me just under 3 hours. I took Sunday off and literally laid on the couch all day under a blanket sipping tea. I was drained from Saturday, but it was 100% worth it.
Week 10 started out with me skipping my Tuesday run because I was coughing up a lung, and only making it a mile on Wednesday because of that same cough. I was very upset and frustrated, but I’m glad my body was smart enough to keep me from running and making my cold worse. I ran 5 on Thursday, despite the fact I was supposed to do much more. In my head I kept thinking I had to make up my miles from being sick, but I knew I would regret it and end up either sick longer or injured from putting too many miles into a short amount of time.
Friday I did 5.5 with Matt and have never been so happy to have him home. He ran with me for all of my weekend miles, and I’m certain I wouldn’t have made it through them all without him. He was my rock, keeping me steady and motivated despite feeling awful and coughing more. Saturday I finally got a longer run in and did 16 (miserable) miles on the river. Matt kept me steady and just made sure I kept putting one foot in front of the other even when I didn’t want to.
Sunday was a much less painful run, and we did 9 miles together along the river again. I planned on 8, and Matt planned on 10, but we compromised and did 9 together! It was windy and chilly, but it was nice to have the company and enjoy our Sunday together before he leaves for California again tomorrow. I’m glad to be back into the rhythm of running and excited to try and get all my runs in this upcoming week, assuming I don’t have some other injury or illness take over my life!
One and a Half Runners 
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