I never really got too many colds or had allergies until two things happened. The first was when I bought my first house in Delaware in 2002. As any first-time home owner I was very diligent about cutting the grass, trimming the edges, planting the flowers and trees and making sure to maintain all of the little maintenance issues to keep them from turning into something bigger. After selling that house and buying another, I don’t go as crazy with all of the yard work and everything. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m tired of it and simply choose to, as they say, pick my spots.
It’s similar to my approach during college when I studied like crazy during my first two semesters before coming to a realization that it wasn't so hard after all. From there, I coasted, which isn’t what I’d recommend, but what are you going to do now?
Anyway, from the time I started cutting the grass regularly the allergies and head stuffiness came along, too. Sometimes it knocks me right on my ass for a couple of days, other times it’s just uncomfortable. Always, it alters my workouts.
The second element is my three-year-old boy. The kid is a veritable frappe of bacteria and germs, which is especially fun when he decides he wants to pretend to be a dog and lick me or give me the raspberries an inch-and-a-half away from my face. I guess I can’t be too upset about it since I do it to him, too… except for the dog part. My biggest worry with him is how he mimics my voice. That’s just not fair and I don’t recall reading about how to handle that in any of those parenting guides. Worse, the kid has the nuances of me down cold which will only improve and get sharper when he gets older.
Yeah, I’m in trouble here.
So a combination of mowing the lawn and hanging out with my boy could have led to the late week cold that had me fighting to get out and coughing up some fascinating fluids to hack out during my runs. It’s a veritable science experiment, in fact.
Anyway, here’s the week of April 30 to May 6 where I continue to train for something:
Monday: 15 miles in 1:40:29
This was a weird one. Before I started my stomach was a little upset from eating a bunch of sweets the day before -- normally moderation is my tact when it comes to junky food, but for some reason I went a little crazy. Either way, I started out running pretty well at 6:20ish pace. In fact, I had to slow myself down because the sun was out and it was a little warm. Thankfully, there was a stiff breeze going which kept the temperatures from making me wilt.
Anyway, I tore through the run at a fair clip and my legs felt great, but my stomach bothered me the entire time. I thought I was going to have to veer off into the woods or something, but luckily I finished without incident...
Until I got home. For about three hours I was in agony with nasty stomach cramps. I assume some of it was from dehydration and the heat and the rest from my crappy diet. Nonetheless, I guess it's time to make sure I'm loaded with electrolytes before I run.
Tuesday: 13 miles in 1:26:51
It felt like I was going to continue to have trouble with my stomach when I started out. But once I got going and settled in I felt great. I definitely could have cranked out the miles and even the 6:20s I was running for the first 5 or 6 miles felt very easy. Better yet, the weather was as perfect as it could be -- the temps were around 60-65 with a nice breeze. Perfect.
Wednesday: 1st run: 13 miles in 1:25:17
2nd run: 4 miles in 28:05
Doubled for the first time in a long time. I guess I feel the need to work on my base. Plus, with the weather as perfect as it's been for the past two days how could I not do two runs?
Thursday: 10 miles in 68:19
Got a late start because I had the boy all day. That wasn't the bad part... what was bad was that I stayed up until 3 a.m. writing, watching baseball and old Sopranos episodes. I was cranky and tired all day. But once I settled into the run I felt really good.
Friday: 15 miles in 1:40:57
I'm very strong. In fact, it's safe to say that my strength is my strength. Now if only I had some speed to go with it, then, perhaps, I'd be an ass kicker. Instead I'm just a strong dude who can hold a steady pace for a long time.
Saturday: 7 miles in 49:17
Ran OK considering I got up after five hours of sleep, drove for three hours (to Jennerstown, Pa. for a wedding) and ate lunch. I never do any of those things -- mix that with being at 2,000-feet of altitude and a throat/head cold and I think I did OK. I could have gone longer, but whatever...
Sunday: goose egg
Just beat. I felt like crap because of my cold and then I drove three hours to get home from Jennerstown, Pa. After some Mexican food, The Sopranos and Entourage, I went to bed.
That’s 77 miles for the week. Not bad, but I was on to something better.