Monday, April 22, 2013

Cheating on Mornings, with Lunch.

It has been a rough couple of days.  First, two weeks ago Brian came down with this flu/cold that has been going around work.  Symptoms are a fever and cough with a runny nose.  Sounds awful and it was - it knocked out Brian for a good four days.

Just as I thought the sickness had left our house, I got a sore throat and chest congestion.  It was the worst thing ever and there were times I thought I would never breath normally again.  I suffered for over 5 days and finally was able to breath normally again a few days ago.  I wasn't totally knocked out like Brian was (thank goodness) but with the chest congestion, there was no way I could run and so I resigned myself to my longest streak of off days in over a year.

It was what my body needed.  Plus the weather was horrible.  A cold front blew in last week and we had snow. Not a lot of snow but there were flurries falling from the sky and it put me in no mood to be outside.

It feels like the last two weeks have just been a dream.  Before Brian got sick, we were planning to go to Boston.  Unintentionally I had scheduled a trip to visit my college roommate on the weekend of the Boston marathon.  We hadn't planned to be at the race on Monday, but I had really wanted to spectate.

The closest I have been to the Boston finish line
 When the bombs went off on Monday, I got a stream of texts. Many friends thought I might have been in Boston.  Thankfully we weren't.  It was horrifying to see the devastation and every time I re-watch the videos of the bombs going off (From the perspective of the runners) I get chills and have to look away. I can't even begin to think about what it was like to be there, to be a runner on the course, to be spectating.

So that has been the last two weeks for me. Nursing my husband back to health and then just trying to keep myself alive last week.  All in the midst of  watching the sport I love attacked.  It felt like I was in a fog for most of the week. Partially unbelieveing that something like that happened and then feeling so helpless because I couldn't even run when I most wanted to. 

But it feels like I am back now and feeling pretty good except for this lingering cough.  Hopefully in another few days that will be gone too.

This morning I had plans to get back into the groove of morning running.  It had been 3 weeks since I had run at 5am and even though the forecasted temperature was 30F, I thought I would definitely get out for a run before work.  30F in spring is wayyy different than 30F in winter, right?  Well seems I can't force myself to run in cold weather anymore.  I just have no desire to bundle up and I am so ready for warm weather. I am so ready to wear shorts all the time.


So the lunch run has returned this year and although it is tough to slip out in the middle of the day, it feels so good to run in the sunshine instead of the dark.  It is a great way to break up the day and get some fresh air and exercise. 

I am only running once during the week at Lunch and it usually happens to be Mondays but its a nice change from the dark mornings.  I am hoping to get back to morning runs this week - lets hope I can pull myself out of bed at 5am.

9 comments:

Jen Feeny said...

I think that is what I miss most about running right now, the lunch run where I get to escape for a few minutes and clear my head.

I hope things continue to settle down in your world and that it warms up for us all, soon!

Kim said...

Ugh! I hope you feel better soon! To feel that way and deal with the devastation of last week... I would be in a fog too :(

Jford said...

I battled a chest/cough thing for almost two weeks and it has been very hard to kick, set me back a lot! So you are smart to take it easy and recover before going back out!

Christine said...

I had the chest cough thing too for nearly 2 weeks ( I have asthma so it's double the fun!) I think I would love lunch runs, but as a teacher it's hard for me to leave the building for a run. I've never been able to do the morning running. someday!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

I hope you are back to full health soon!! I had bronchitis last fall and it took so long to get back to having a normal lung capacity. I hope you feel 100% soon!! I am glad you are able to get out during lunch and can wear shorts! It has been really nice here in Charlotte so it kills me to not be out there running. :(

Unknown said...

Boo to you and hubby being sick, I am glad you are both starting to feel better. I am also glad you are safe, and were not in Boston...it's insane just thinking about it.

I give you so much credit doing the morning runs that you do, hopefully the weather gets consistently warmer for you soon so no bundling up! In the mean time enjoy the lunch runs, a break from work during the day can be much appreciated I am sure!

Sunny said...

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only person who thinks that the temperature is "different" by season. Getting dressed for our 12K race last weekend I actually said "but 40 degrees is April is different than 40 degrees in November" to my husband... He of course, didn't agree.
I don't even mind the temperature so much -- but I do really miss having daylight before work in the mornings!

A running chick said...

Oh, I feel your winter pain. It has been hell in Minnesota. Spring can't come soon enough!

Robin said...

Hope everyone feeling better soon!