Thursday, December 04, 2008

Leave of absence

I found a picture of myself from Saturday's race. Well, sort of.

Mike keeps berating me for my lack of common sense. Honestly, mate, I would have thought that when dealing with someone who runs marathons and ultras for fun, the complete absence of common sense should be a given!

But, believe it or not, I have actually stopped running for now. I felt bad enough on Monday to leave work early. A colleague gave me a lift home so that I did not have to cycle, and I went straight to bed. My temperature went up over 39C/102F, confirming that I was indeed sick. I staid home Tuesday and Wednesday, but today I’m back in the office – after all, I don’t get that much of a rest at home with four hyperactive children around. Still, after sleeping for 10 hours straight on Tuesday and enjoying an additional 2 hours nap before lunchtime, I felt almost human again. I was much better on Wednesday, and today I would feel recovered if that chesty cough was not lingering deep inside me. It is definitely the same bug that had bothered Maia last week; my symptoms are exactly the same as hers and arrived in the same order. Since she seems to be fully recovered by now, I expect the same for me within a day or two.

Because of said cough I’m still off running, and as long as it does not clear up it will remain that way. While it is almost painful for me to see all those blank entries in the log, I really really really don’t want to get as sick as last year again. A few missed days now are much preferable to a few missed weeks in January, and remembering how painful pneumonia can be is a potent reminder to be cautious.

At least the weather made it easy to stay at home. I was warm and secure snuggled up in bed while the gale force wind threw the rain against our bedroom windows, making me almost grateful for the fact that I wasn’t well and had a very good excuse to stay home. Niamh seems to be worried about me getting as sick as last year again, she mentioned that she would buy me a treadmill for Christmas if only she could afford it (which makes me almost grateful that she can’t – I hate those things).

The weather is supposed to improve over the weekend, which might coincide with my return to running form. Of course I’m looking forward to it. This was supposed to be my last week of the mileage build-up before the proper training starts, and instead it became more or less a wash-out. Better now than in April, I suppose.
2 Dec
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9 comments:

  1. I hope you get better soon, and I'm glad to seeing your giving the running a rest (if only for a few days).

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  2. Mere speedbump. Get better soon.

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  3. Hang in there and get healthy. Sometimes less is more.

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  4. Hope you are feeling better soon. Nothing worse than not being able to run but as you said better get it sorted now before the real build up starts.

    BTW my head is fine. Thanks for your concern!

    John

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  5. I fell ill the last time I had a planned week off - it's amazing how much faster a cold disappears once you're not training. From now on, sick = time off running. Easy to say when healthy I know. When sick I think differently!

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  6. A short enforced leave of absence might be the best possible training you can do right now. Good luck getting better soon!

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  7. Glad to hear you are taking it easy. Get well soon!

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  8. A few days taken off earlier is better than a few weeks later.

    That's why we have sick days so we can call in sick and rest.

    I am with you on the lack of common sense..i once took a sick day from work and ended up riding my bike outside...nuts huh? :P

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  9. Three zeros Thomas! You must be sick. I hope you're feeling better for the weekend.

    By the way, absence of common sense is only a given for ultra runners. Marathoners are completely sane.

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