To run or not to run?

13 days.

13 days is how long sickness has been lingering in our home.

Days 1-5 Hank had RSV. He had a fever, a runny nose that didn't quit, bad cough that led to cough induced vomiting and was essentially couch bound to binge watch Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse through his half-open eyes for 5 days.

Days 5-10, Duke had RSV. He had a fever, runny nose that didn't quit, bad cough that led to minutes-long coughing fits and was essentially Momma bound to binge eat and sleep upright for 5 days (and nights).

I think we all know what's coming next...

Day 10 I had RSV (or something similar). I had a fever, runny nose that (still) hasn't quit and developed a bad cough that led to late night coughing bouts. Day 11-12 I had no symptoms beside a sore throat. Day 13, I woke up with the chills, a fever, a runny nose and an even worse cough. I have been battling this virus (and my thoughts of "I will never again know what it is to sleep with my mouth closed") ever since.

Day 10 should've told me something. I should've known. The first 0.5 miles when the air was burning my lungs all the way down my sternum should have made red flags go up. When I couldn't breathe too deep or else that searing pain would cause me to start coughing, I should have stopped and turned back toward home. But this was my first 5 mile run in my training and after one mile, I had gotten used to the pain in my lungs and in fact, the blood flow and that good ol' sunshine was causing me to actually feel a bit better (at this point I had only left the house 3 times in the past 10 days).

Don't worry, I took my pace slow. A good 45-60 seconds slower per mile than I usually run my short runs. This would ensure that I was running my long run for endurance, not time. And yes, at this pace I would finish well over 2 hours (remember, one of my goals is to finish under 2 hours), but that's okay. I wanted to take it easy.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how fast (figuratively) my run went by that day. I was also surprised that when I got back to the house, no one was allowed to make me laugh or else I would end up coughing- and resorted to resting one hand my knees, one on my chest as my lungs were burning some kind of awful in my chest.

Turns out, you shouldn't run if you have a fever. Although I didn't have a fever the day I ran, I did two days prior and clearly my body didn't approve of my run as I woke up early the next morning with another fever.

Needless to say, I used my cross training day as a rest day, and today as a rest day and will probably take a few more days off before getting back into the swing of things. I am officially on week 4 of 12 of my training program. I definitely feel as if I can run the full 13.1 miles, and I am definitely learning some quality life lessons.

Once I start running again, I want to implement some speed drills and tempo training, so long as I can breathe.