That’s the third time I’ve been sick in the last 4 weeks, and I very much hope I’m done with all the retched sickness stuff by now. I’m definitely improving, I’ve still got a cough, but my nose isn’t as blocked as it was yesterday, and the headache is much improved as well. The weather has improved as well today, which is nice as we will be sitting in the car for several hours on our way to Dublin. It’s the first time we’ll take the seven-seater for such a long drive, and it should be much more comfortable than the old hatchback where the five of us were very much cramped together like sardines and the kids got worse and worse by each mile.
The family is finding more and new ways to keep me from running. My mother-in-law just doesn’t get running. She constantly worries about me running too far (“7 miles? You can’t possibly run 7 miles in one go!”) and once told Niamh that she had to insist that I take frequent breaks while out running (“No, mum, I don’t think he will”). Cian, on the other hand just causes chaos wherever he goes. He left a trail of cereal all over the house while I was out, and just managed to get his hands on half a dozen eggs, which he one by one smashed against his tricycle. Oh the mess!
On the plus side, I played reasonably well in yesterday’s match (though we still lost 2:1) and while everyone around me was panting and coughing, I was hardly sweating at the end, and it wasn’t for lack of effort. I wish I had got more than 25 minutes though. Today’s run was fine, except for the masses of gnats that seem to have appeared all of a sudden. Horrible creatures. It’s bad enough when you can feel them bumping against your skin, but on two occasions one flew right into my mouth. Disgusting! The run was fine, it was the first time since the marathon that I tried to speed up a little; it went quite well, though I couldn’t have pushed much harder. It’s amazing how quickly your peak form disappears into thin air.
14 Apr: 7 miles: 57:41, 8:14 pace
I love your optimistic title: because gnats, eggs, cereal, coughing, stuffy nose, headache...man, I hope things are improving!
ReplyDeleteOh. You reminded me of summer - bugs flying into my face or my mouth, spiderwebs across the trails. I'm sure they'll both start up soon.
ReplyDeleteMy 80-something aunt told me I shouldn't run because "it will jiggle up your insides and you won't be able to have babies". I told her I would have saved a lot of money on birth control if I'd known that!
It's funny - my parents, Eric's Dad, most of the older generation in our families all think terrible things will happen to us because we run. Oh, here's one from my Mom - "you only have so many heartbeats and you are using them up too fast when you run".
It's telling that all your google ads are for sinus and cold remedies! Where does a two-year-old get 6 eggs anyway?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mike. Where did your son get those eggs? Ours are on the top shelf in the refrigerator. But hey, can you blame the little guy? He is a boy after all and we are reckless aren't we?
ReplyDeleteI *hate* gnats!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are feeling better!
Glad to hear you're improving. I remember long drives as a kid - 5 kids, 2 adults in a station wagon but we did once go camping in a vw wagon...lol.
ReplyDeleteI find gnats to be a quite satisying. Not much of a main course, but a decent starting dish.
ReplyDeleteAt on e point last summer, I ran through a cloud of gnats, and several went into my throat. It triggered my gag reflex, and suddenly I was standing hands on knees, retching by the side of the road. Great image for running, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAren't two-year-olds fun?
oh, i can't stand small, flying insects in my face. in the mountains around here, we get what i call, "5mph bugs" since, if you're moving faster than 5mph, they don't bother you. but try going up a steep hill and they swarm your face, getting in your nose, eyes, ears and mouth. ugh! it makes me want to scream!
ReplyDeleteglad you're kicking the other bug, thomas. keep up the great running, i'm sure it's keeping you sane against all the chaos factors you live amongst!