I never get sick. My immune system is like a brick wall that can handle any hard objects tossed its way. My daughter gets sick, my husband gets sick, my best friend gets sick . . . and I get, well, nothing.
Until I began training for this marathon.
I read in my training book that those training for a marathon will generally end up with at least one cold during training period.
I scoffed in the face of the sick chapter.
i don’t get sick, I told my husband, rolling my eyes and shutting the book.
The next week I sneezed and knew that my lucky no-sickness streak was a thing of the past.
So far, while training for this marathon, I have been sick twice. Not once, but twice. Not just sniffles, either, but not able to breathe, tired to the core sick. You know, thick green snot sick. Don’t feel like running sick. That kind of sick.
The first time around I ran through it. I forget the exact mileage I did that day, but I ran right through it. pushed through the pain.
Last Saturday, well, I just couldn’t keep up. I should have done about 13 miles; I did 11. Okay, sounds like no problem, but I have about 8 weeks to go to the big race and I can’t afford to shave off any miles from my long runs.
This week, I’ve taken it easy. I did continue my workout schedule, but I didn’t do much else each day. luckily by owning my own business I can create my own schedule and take the jobs that I need to take, and decline the ones that I don’t have time for, and so I went with that this week.
I realized that I have to make some things a priority and some things, well, not.
For the next two months, I’m going to have to make my running a top priority. I have to sleep more, and so I have been going to bed each night at 8;30, reading for a bit and then falling asleep within an hour. I have started taking vitamins again. eating well. Drinking OJ. And taking less work.
The cold has seemed to left our home now. The girls are better, my husband is better and I only am stuck with a lingering cough. This week I’ll do 17 miles. Last week I didn’t think I’d be able to complete this training session. Now i realized I was just sick, because I am actually looking forward to Saturday’s long run. in fact, I’m thinking that all along I should have done a few lower mileage runs as my training book suggested; perhaps that is why he had runners dropping back every week or two during long runs, so that they would not grow tired of the monotony.
Or sick with a cold.