I arrived in Canada Tuesday and had a fartlek 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 with equal rest scheduled. I usually feel a little tired after an early flight, but I was excited to do this workout. Unfortunately, my lungs did not feel the same way. I went from 70-80 degrees in Alabama to 40-50 degrees in Canada, and I'm pretty sure my body just shut down. Physically, the fartlek was great and I rocked it....minus the coughing up blood part. Yep. I pinpoint Tuesday, March 27 as the day that I acquired this wonderful virus.
I did take medicine after consulting a pharmacist at WalMart and I honestly think it helped my fever and whatever stomach bug I had. However, it did nothing for my runny nose and wheezing cough. I kept telling myself it'd get better; viruses stick in your system for 7-10days. Coach Cari said I could run still, but Ryan (who had just finished being sick) thought taking time off would be better. Ryan won as I literally had no energy the entire week.
I didn't want to skip the Race That's Good For Life as I calculated that if I ran an 18minute 5k and mom ran her usual 24minute 5k, we could win the Mother-Daughter competition. Well, the warmup on race morning was awful. I only ran a mile and decided that I'd just try to break 19 at this point. I did just that...I ran a 19minute 5k. I knew this meant that mom and I wouldn't win, which was the only reason I had even decided to run the race. I collapsed at the finish line, not able to breathe and realized that I was an idiot for even thinking of running.
Lesson learned.
If you have a respiratory infection, or even just a hacking cough, DON'T RUN! It will just make things worse! Honestly, I know as runners we are stubborn people, but it is not worth it. Be smart, take a few days to get healthy, and you'll come back stronger. I promise.
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