Virus, Be Gone!

I'm finally getting over this damn cold I've had for a week. I had just gotten over a mini-cold the other week, then last Tuesday, I got hit with a doozy of a cold virus. A super-sized one.

I was too tired to go to my track workout that night. I thought I'd just worked too hard. But, no. The coughing, sneezing, headaches and muscles followed. From Wednesday through Friday, I dragged myself to the office and worked 12-hour days to finish up my consulting work.

I did log 4 measly miles on Wednesday night, shuffling along like a character out of "Shaun of the Dead." Slept well on Friday night, and felt good enough to ride 16.5 miles in 45 minutes on a stationary bike and do weights on Saturday morning. Then watched a couple of qualifying matches at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic that afternoon. It made me want to start playing tennis again!

Happy Birthday to Me: Then that evening, me, E., P., and Jeanne celebrated my birthday (my 29th, wink-wink) here and ate our weight in Korean food. Much fun was had by all. Maybe too much fun, b/c by the end, my cold meds had worn off, my sinuses were all blocked up, and I was exhausted.

I spent half the night coughing, and my throat and chest felt too congested to run my alloted 16 miles the following morning at 7 am. So I felt sorry for myself, took more over-the-counter meds, which did not work, stared at the rain, and sulked.

I will go on!: This morning I still had a cough. And a runny nose. But I felt .... not bad. And I felt better and better as the day progressed. I did go to the doctor, who said that a particularly nasty cold virus is going around, and a lot of people are getting the flu (knock on wood), so I feel lucky.

Running again: I did go for an experimental run tonight. But I still feel a bit fragile, so I ran on a treadmill, and only for 30 minutes. I was just going to take it nice and easy, and see how I felt. Well, the first mile was at an easy 9:30/mile pace.

Then I got bored. So I turned it into a tempo run:

Mile 2: 7:53
Mile 3: 7:53
.75: 5:56

The 2nd mile felt suspiciously easy. So I just kept going. I felt great at the end, although I could hear the last remnants of phlegm rattling around in my throat/chest. Then I lifted weights and did 100 sit-ups.

Now I'm eating a piece of seared salmon the size of my computer keyboard and a mountain of couscous.

It feels good to be (almost) well again.