It’s been a crap ten or so days on the running front, and topped off by my decision today to give the Glasgow University Hares and Hounds 5 mile race a miss, despite it being my first opportunity to run in my new club colours. I’m figuring it’s in my better interests that I just rest up a bit longer, particularly as I’ve a cross-country race next Saturday that I’m very keen to get along to.
It’s nothing particularly serious, “just” a cold, but it seems to have affected me a bit more than colds normally do, for longer than they normally do, and I’ve got a frustrating cough involved that seems to be coming and going to cause me maximum frustration.
I have a vague recollection that when I was a child I was never allowed to take the day off school because of a cold. “Just wipe your nose” or words to that affect, and bundled out the door to school. In doing so, I probably distributed the cold to much of the rest of the school, who all (to really make me feel bad) got a day or two off. To be fair, it’s probably a vague childhood grievance that I’m mis-remembering rather than a determined pattern on the parts of my parents…
I’d been feeling below par over the weekend, but with family up visiting hadn’t had a chance to really rest as much as I perhaps should of. Didn’t get any running done, and felt crap on Monday. Last Tuesday though I woke up feeling absolutely awful, so took the day off work - my first ’sick day’ for a couple of years I think. But it went ‘well’ (in so far as such can), and actually felt I was well over it on Wednesday, so much so that I went along to the running club on Wednesday evening having sensibly missed Monday’s session.
The long run we went on was great and shaping up well, but almost precisely at the halfway mark I really started to have difficulty keeping with the pace of the group I was with, and started to drop back. The ’surprise’ hill (on Millbrae road, just behind Glasgow’s Queens Park) that was startlingly steep didn’t help matters, but it was more than that. My heart rate was much higher than I normally expect for the pace, although I felt I really had plenty of speed in my legs. I suspect my body was just making it clear it was a bad idea to be pushing hard, so I dropped back and took it a bit easier.
Fast-forward to this morning, and I’m feeling generally fine, but my heart rate is still a little elevated from what I’d expect, and I’ve still got a small remnant of a cough. It all rather points to a body that’s still not really in the best form. There’s a “neck rule” which runners use, which is broadly that if the symptoms are above the neck, it’s ok to run if you want to, but if it’s below the neck it’s best not to. So despite having got all my gear together, printed out the directions, and braced myself for the drizzle we’re forecast, with a couple of hours to go I figured I should stop deceiving myself that it was a good idea.
Disappointing stuff certainly, as I’d been looking forward to getting my club colours out and seeing how I faired at the 5m distance. But as it is, I’m here at home. Plenty to get on with of course, piano practice, a proposal to finish. I gather there’s a bit of a sporting event happening a mile or two down the road, but can’t say I’m too bothered by it all… Probably a good time to head out and get the shopping done…
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