Marathon Aftermath

The sinus trouble and beginnings of a dry cough that I had in the last days leading up to the marathon blossomed this week into a full-fledged respiratory infection. My head has been so stuffy that I’ve had pressure and ringing in my ears all week. My coughing brings up lots of nasty phlegm.

But I’m not complaining. Not too much, at least. It was the deal I made with the marathon gods—get me to the start line, and do your worst afterwards. Besides, so far I’ve been able to at least cough up the nastiness in my lungs. The bronchitis I had in ’05 and ‘06 was the kind where nothing comes up and you just go around for weeks, unable to breathe and unable to get any relief, short of going on steroids. At least with my current condition, I can open up my lungs for brief periods with my asthma meds, supplemented with guaifenesin and herbal tea.

The problem, though, is that I’m itching to run, and have been since Wednesday. I had two days of pretty bad pain and stiffness in my legs, but by mid-week I was no longer going down the stairs sideways, and by Thursday I could get in and out of chairs without holding onto anything. I’ve been on the mend from this cold since mid-week, too. I could feel when my immune system started getting the best of this thing, because my mood started improving, my personality started coming back, and I was feeling better almost by the hour. The only thing that’s holding me back now is my lungs. The rest of me is ready to go!

My plan for Saturday morning is to do some long, slow elliptical and treadmill walking. I’ll almost certainly be tempted to run. Maybe slow running is okay? Like really slow?

Patience may be a virtue, but it’s not one of mine.

Recent Workouts
Monday: 15 minute elliptical, 15 minute walk
Tuesday: 15 minute elliptical, 15 minute walk
Wednesday: rest (and try to get well)
Thursday: 30 minute slow spin