I’ve been trying to be patient with my chest cold, waiting for it to break up enough that I felt safe to run. After four days of no exercise and diligently taking Mucinex, I headed out with a friend this morning. It was glorious! The day was glorious, not me. It was sunny and crisp. The path had been nicely plowed so that I had actual pavement under my feet sporadically. Even the snow and icy parts were crunchy enough that I didn’t have to worry about slipping without my shoe grips.

Even missing a couple days of running erodes my confidence. Can I still make it? Did I lose all my fitness? I ran 7.5 miles today and instantly my confidence and enthusiasm are back. It’s amazing what a little sunshine, a friend to be with, and a nice run can do for a mood. I was happy, happy, happy the rest of the day.

All of this enthusiasm made me think that I needed to find a new race to do in April. I did the Ron Daws 25K in April last year. It was a great race but very hilly and tough for me. I was marathon training then and needed the miles. I don’t want to ramp up to 15+ miles quite yet. I have The Minneapolis Half Marathon in June and nothing longer than that until The NYC Marathon in the fall. I found a 10 mile race that sounds like fun. It’s the Fred Kurz Memorial 10-Mile. It is interesting because you give your estimated finish time, then the slower runners start first. The idea is that everyone finishes at the same time. The race fee is only $8, so it’s also a bargain!

So now I have something on my schedule as motivation for my training. If you live here in MN, check this race out and think about joining me. It may be the only time that I get to line up at the start in front of all of my friends. I’ll get to see what it’s like at the front of the pack, for a few minutes anyway!

Thanks for all of the great advice and encouragement everyone shared on my last post. I’m glad to know that this leg fatigue is normal and that others have gone through the same thing. The comments regarding the bike are very much appreciated because I was conflicted about whether I should cut down on my bike time or stick with it. It makes me feel so much better, except…

I feel awful. When I ran on Friday, I could tell I was getting a cold. I’ve run with colds before with no problem. Normally, I feel better while I’m running than not when I have a cold. I posted to my blog and didn’t give it any more thought. As the day wore on though, I felt worse and worse. Terrible sore throat, chills, headache, no energy… this is more than a cold.

Yesterday, I was in bed all day with a fever. Today I’m up a little more because the body can only take so much laying down. I’ve felt better after childbirth than this. Blah.

Nature has imposed a work out hiatus on me. In the long run, it’s probably a good thing. My biggest disappointment is that I didn’t get to volunteer at the finish line today. My husband, Mike and our 14 year old son went. They directed half-marathon finishers into the finisher’s area. Mike said he saw lots of local runners that we know and that everyone looked great. I wish I could have been there.

Hopefully I’ll be feeling like myself again in a day or two so I can get a few more workouts in before my tri next weekend. I pick up my rental wetsuit on Wednesday and I’d really like to get in the water with it at least once before the race. Right now I don’t think I have the strength to pull it on and off.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful, healthy weekend. I can’t wait to read all the race reports and hear about every one’s day.