Sunday, February 22, 2009

Winter Hits Me with a Sucker Punch


I've been sick. This is my excuse for why I did not write a blog entry last week. Sicker than a dog; too sick to blog. I'll cover the last two weeks here.
The week of the 9th through the 15th was a great week, with my total at 84 miles. We got a break in the weather for a few days, and Tuesday was so nice I ran in just shorts and a t-shirt. Even though the weather reverted to winter mode for the rest of the week, the little break helped lift my spirits. It didn't last. On Saturday, I felt the cold that I had been fighting off begin to take hold. By the time I finished 22 miler on Sunday, at a very good pace thanks to Paul R., E-speed, and Dave P., I felt like crap.
By Sunday evening, the fight was lost and I was in the full throws of a raging upper respiratory infection.
I did not run at all on Monday, and went to sleep as soon as I finished dinner. On Tuesday, I didn't feel any better, but I wanted to try to run. I blame the illness for my bad judgment. I did six miles in the morning and another four in the evening. For the last three of those miles, I mostly just looked for a place to lie down and die. My schedule for the week was:
  • Get to work between 5:30 and 6:00 AM
  • Come home around 6:00 PM
  • Eat dinner
  • Go directly to bed (usually by 7:00 PM or earlier)
I thought I would never feel good again, but then, at precisely 3:20 PM on Thursday (I noticed the time on my taskbar clock), I began to feel better. Only very slightly better, but there it was. I tried to run a little on Friday, grinding-out 6 slow, uncomfortable, head-throbbing miles on the treadmill. On Saturday morning, I felt better than I had in a week, and so I went to Lock 29 to run the trails with the group. The trails were snow-covered and the footing was dicey, but that didn't matter much since we bush-whacked most of the morning. For the first time in my experience running with this group, we actually briefly lost our bearings. It turned out to be a little mini-adventure involving a stealthy passage through a Boy Scout camping area, crossing a snow and ice covered dam that was only 18 inches wide, and of course, lots of bush-whacking. Two and a half hours trudging through the snow in the woods wasn't what I had in mind to help my recovery, but I think it actually helped. I came through it feeling better than when I started.

Sunday morning, I felt even better than Saturday, and I put in an early 3.5 miles before joining the SERC group in Solon, I ran the 15 mile route, running much of it was E-speed, including the last six or seven. I got my 20 plus for the day, and managed to average a 7:53 pace. Given the circumstances, I was satisfied.
After I got home, Sue made pancakes with fresh blueberries. I ate my pancakes and watched Liverpool - Man City play one of the most exciting 1 - 1 draws I have ever seen. If any of you were lucky enough to have seen the last 25 minutes, you know what I mean.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that you are feeling better! Missed your blog last week.
LilSis

Elizabeth said...

Glad you are feeling better.

Wyatt Hornsby said...

Frank: I feel your pain. When you said you thought you'd never feel good again, I almost kind of laughed because that's EXACTLY how I felt when I was down and out from the bazillion viruses I've had over the past few weeks. Anyway, I hope you're feeling good and ready to take on the world. The time off may have helped you as far as the aches and pains. Look at it as a time of recovery. - Wyatt

Anonymous said...

Glad you're feeling better! And I know what you mean about the break in the weather. We had one shorts and T short day a few weeks back, and even that one day was enough to change my mood!

E-Speed said...

Let me tell you Frank the way to hit the hills you would never know you are feeling bad! (Actually makes me pretty angry watching you float over them like they aren't there!) Thanks for helping me push this morning, hope I didn't hold you back too much!