When to Say, "When?"

Over the past couple days I haven’t been feeling so great. However, I know that in less than four weeks I will be pushing myself for a new PR at the half marathon distance - therefore, I cannot miss any of my scheduled runs. So I run.

Yesterday I was feeling more than a little sluggish. Had trouble breathing, legs felt like a ton of bricks (or anything else for that matter), and I had intermittent low-grade fevers; not exactly the ideal body conditions for running. I set out anyway. It was not a pretty sight as I barely managed to keep the 4.4 mile run at a 10:00/mile pace. But I finished.

Today was slightly better, but not by much. The schedule called for 6 miles. After I dropped 2 & 3 at school I headed to the walking path, a nice mile and a third loop. Checked the clock before exiting the truck, hit start on the RunKeeper, and started the trek. My breathing wasn’t much better than yesterday, but my legs felt pretty good. I just wanted to keep it around a 9:30 pace - nothing to strenuous. As I hit the part of the path where I knew I should be at about mile 1 I heard nothing from the RunKeeper wench - a quick check and the time was spinning, but the mileage never started. 30 second walk break, reset the GPS, and off I went. After about a quarter mile my phone (which also has the RunKeeper app) rang. So, no GPS again. I talked to my wonderful wife for a few minutes as I ran and kept plodding along. As I rounded the path the again I could tell I was starting to fall back on the pace. I neared the 3 mile mark and knew I would not be able to go all 6. I finished my 6 mile run without the last 2 miles. 4.01 miles in 37:30.

A check of the clock once back in the truck and I knew I would not have been able to keep it up another mile or two.

As I took my epsom salt bath I wondered, “Is it crazy that I run even when I’m sick? Is it really good for me to do that?” I don’t have answers, but I do know that I cannot afford to miss any runs over the next three weeks. Tomorrow I rest for the day after I run 12 miles. I am hopeful that whatever this crud is will be gone by Thursday, but even if it isn’t I will be out there, churning out the mileage and increasing my endurance factor. Stubborn? Yes. And I’m not sure when to say, “when?”