Gee whiz, I’m tired.

I’ve been keeping up with my training plan, of which I’m very proud, and today my plan called for 6 miles. The weather happened to be GORGEOUS today- 54 degrees Fahrenheit, with a light breeze- perfect running weather! I’d plotted a new route, and it was really a fantastic run. I pushed myself, I saw a great new part of town, and I felt strong.

But somehow, six miles seems like a magic number. In the past I have run five miles semi-frequently, with no trouble. Six miles is a whole new ball game. Six miles was the max I could do without bringing extra water or fuel with me. At the end of six miles, I felt especially grimy- not just sweat, but also just general road dust. Six miles left me just worn out. Six miles presents a whole new set of challenges that I didn’t encounter at five miles.

(It probably didn’t help that, after finishing my six mile run, I walked Sadie for another one mile, nice and easy. Her entire family is very ill with the flu, so I volunteered to dogsit for awhile until they are feeling better.)

Right now, I can hardly keep my eyes open. I am just EXHAUSTED, and totally ready for bed! I’m excited that I’ve discovered I can run to this particular part of town- it’s pretty cool to imagine the potential that comes with that. Tomorrow, a light run, and then Sunday will be a rest day. Yay!

It snowed overnight (two or three inches), and as a result my mother (a teacher) was home for a snow day. The temperature is warm enough for a run (around 31-32 degrees), but at the same time, it’s warm enough to turn the snow into slush and make the roads slippery. That makes my mother nervous, so out of respect for her, there was no running today.

Tomorrow morning I will make up today’s miles on the treadmill at the gym, but I am seriously bummed that it couldn’t happen today.

I ran 5 miles in 1:09, a 13:48 pace- pretty good considering how cold and windy it was. Between the cold (weather) and the cold (rhinovirus), I found myself very “sniffly”. Normally I don’t have much trouble with needing to blow my nose frequently, and before today, I’d never found myself on a run and needing to blow my nose.

So, I was on a quiet road running alongside a horse pasture, and I figured, why not. There were no people or cars around, and it really is not comfortable to run when you have a nose full of mucous. This was as good a time as any to practice the farmer’s blow.

From RunnersWorld.com:
Mastering the farmer’s blow (or snot rocket) is a must for any runner. Here’s how to do it right: Breathe in through your mouth, like you’re gasping. Lay a forefinger against one nostril and compress firmly. Purse your lips. Cock your head slightly in the direction of the open nostril and exhale forcefully through your nose. Repeat with opposite nostril, if needed.

I was (pleasantly) surprised by how easy and effective this was. In the course of my run, I executed four farmer’s blows (two for each nostril). I’m feeling very awesome today.

This is my training plan. And, I’m proud to say I have been largely following it. The only exception was last week, when I was sick, and I cut back on my running. I felt terribly guilty about it, but I think it was a good thing- though that’s a post for another day.

This has been a bit trickier that it looks. I took another plan and tweaked it to create this. I’ve discovered that most runners like to do their weekly long run on Sunday, and while I understand their reasoning, personally I do not like to run on Sunday. I go to church on Sunday, and that’s just a very important part of my life, so I purposefully make Sunday a “rest” or “easy run” day. I also do not like to do my long runs on Saturday, as the weekends are my only chance during the week to spend time with my parents. I still run on Saturday, but usually nothing more than an hour. So I had to adjust this plan to put my long runs on Friday, because that’s what works for me.

I also made Tuesday primarily a rest/CT day, because the yoga class I really enjoy is on Tuesdays. It’s not a problem for me to run a little bit after the yoga class (like this week, I ran 2.66 miles on a treadmill), but I really don’t want to do an extremely challenging workout after yoga.

So, I educated myself, read several half-marathon training plans, and created this plan. Just to be sure, I showed it to a friend who is a personal trainer, and she said it is just right. And the best part is that I’ve been following this plan. It hasn’t been easy- and I haven’t even gotten to the hard part yet!- but it’s been good.

I wish I had something more insightful to say, but I don’t. I just want to get back to training. It’s been a long time since I’ve been sick at all, which is a blessing, and to get this cold is just a reminder of how blessed I am- a cold goes away, and otherwise I’m incredibly healthy. (Of course, it’s easier to feel that way now that I’m feeling better!!)

I’m daring to hope that I’m getting better, but this isn’t the first time I’ve felt that way. My nose is running and blowing, and I’m still coughing, but my most irritating symptom is just a lack of stamina. This morning I was barely able to get through church without falling asleep. I slept all day, and tonight I’m at a superbowl party. But I’ll be leaving soon.

Most of all I’m irritated that I haven’t been able to run much this week. I mean, I think I’ve managed, like, 8 miles, which is not terrible (it’s better than 0!), but I wanted to do twice as many miles.

Ah well. I will get through this, and I will be strong again. It could always be worse.

I’m not sure if my cold is worse today, or if the symptoms have just changed. I still have a cough, but my nose is more congested today. I’m still sneezing, too.

It doesn’t help that my parents are also sick. Same cold. Our home is just one big ball of germs this weekend.

I didn’t get to workout today. I just did not feel up to it.

I don’t mean to complain. It’s frustrating to be without a computer. I ordered the new cord, and it should be here by midweek. I have worked on my cross stitch, but it’s hard to concentrate with my head so congested. Surfing the net with my phone is ok, but it drains the battery awfully quickly.

But I have a warm house, plenty of chicken soup, and plenty of blankets. In another week or two, I will be healthy again. I am okay. I am blessed.

I still don’t feel terribly bad. I woke up this morning with a cough- not too bad, but annoying. At some point during the day, the cough improved and was replaced with frequent sneezing and a mildly runny nose. Even now as I type this, my nose feels like there’s a sneeze trapped in there.

I made it to the gym, though!! Had to push myself a bit, but I really wanted to work out today. It’s been raining all day, and if I weren’t sick it would actually be great weather for running outside. But, since I’m getting over a cold, I decided to play it safe and stay indoors. The gym was busy today- I guess I’m not the only one who didn’t want to run outside- and the only available treadmill was one that would not slow down. I could speed up- just couldn’t slow down. Annoying. I took it as a divine hint and pushed myself to run a relatively speedy (for me) 2.66 miles in 35 minutes.

My training plan (and my ego) called for 4 miles today, but my body just wasn’t in it. I’m happy though- I still pushed myself and, besides, since when have I wanted to work out while I am sick? As far as I’m concerned, it’s a win.

In other news, this is day #2 without my computer. I discovered today with reasonable certainty that the problem is isolated in the power cable. This is great news, as it is probably the cheapest and easiest part to replace.

But, oddly, I’ve actually enjoyed not having a computer. How weird is that? Without having distraction of a computer, I’ve focused on other things that needed done around the house. I cleaned and did laundry, without feeling rushed. I did a whole bunch of end-of-year filing of my financial papers, which will be very helpful when I file my taxes. I planned the time I would spend on borrowed computers, so that I could do what I needed to maintain my websites in the shortest time possible. So ironically, even though I’ve been away from the computer, I feel like the past couple of days have been extremely productive! I may have to make this a regular thing- stepping away from the computer for a day or two every month!

Honestly this is not a bad cold. I feel kinda bad for letting this hold me back. I have vivid memories of much more severe colds. When I was in college, I had one cold that was so severe I got bronchitis. And wow, that was miserable. This- I still have an annoying cough, but it’s not that bad. I think I’m over the worst of it, and even that wasn’t so bad. Yet I also don’t feel 100%, and that annoys me. I have an irritating cough, a mild case of laryngitis, and plenty of general aches. I wanna run- and I wanna feel good.

Anyway. The past couple of days have been fairly crazy. My computer started acting up, and today it became clear that it needs repairs. I think I just need to replace the power port, which is not too terrible- thankfully that would only be around $100 to repair. But either way this is unpredicted, unscheduled, and making a noticeable dent in my pocketbook.

I wanna run!!!

But I’m resting. Forcing myself to rest, really. I’ve been nursing this back injury for a couple of weeks, and I just want it to go away. It’s not a *bad* injury, and I’m really convinced that it’s gotta be in the muscles. Basically my lower back is sore when I bend over, sit down, or if I’m laying down and lift up my hips. It’s not extremely sore- I don’t even need an ibuprofen or tylenol. It’s just noticeable, and I don’t want it.

Here’s the other thing I’ve noticed. When I run, it gets worse. Or more specifically, AFTER I run, it is worse. After I run it feels bad- but then after a couple of hours, the pain eases up, and it gets better and better until I run again. I’m virtually certain that it’s got to be a muscle injury- like a strained muscle, except of course it’s in my core.

Of course, one big problem with any core injury is that there are virtually no exercises that DON’T use the core, so it’s almost impossible to even cross train, much less to run.

I don’t like resting, though. I’m now officially into training for RTP, and I just do not want to miss training. That’s really why I didn’t properly rest last week- I felt like I had to be doing something, and I wound up running or cross training. But last night I realized that if I don’t let this heal, it could turn into a chronic injury, and I don’t want that.

*sigh* I’m just terribly afraid I will lose training. Even though I know rest days are good for me, I just want to run.