Last Day of April, Maine Marathon 13 Days Away

The last day of April and I’m sad to see it go; really I am.

April was a relatively good month despite the cold weather and Winnie getting sick with some sort of cough and the medicine that made her pee so much but ultimately made her better. It’s just hard seeing the drinking and peeing after Daisy being sick with the same effects.

April was good, calm, normal. I love my job and I love where I live. Everything is status quo. Training and writing. Working and hiking. The snow has melted, and while it is not quite warm, it is finally starting to feel like spring.

Winnie Dog

Yesterday, Sunday my training plan called for a three hour run. I was hoping for as-close-to 18 miles as possible. The route was to run to Penacook, turn onto Washington St. then turn onto River Rd. then up Carter Hill and home. I forgot what a huge hill Carter Hill is [gasp!]. Final mileage: 16. I’ll take it!

The forecast was rain all day so I didn’t wear headphones. So no music the entire time. It was fine. New running routes help take the pain away. It’s amazing the sense of wonder you can get running in new places.

The sun came out for about five minutes during the entire three hours; it was mostly grey with a bit of green. 

River Road Rain Penacook NH

The two best things about the run: running next to the The Contoocook River and completing the 16 miles under 3 hours, which was about the same time I did the 16 mile Boston Prep Race in January. [proud moment]

Now I have one more high volume week, taper and race.

Maine Marathon

Should you run when you are sick? Long run canceled, I’m sick

I started feeling a cold come on yesterday. I still ran my short run knowing that I couldn’t push it too much because I had a 13 miler on Saturday. I continued not feeling well at work Friday, drank tea and had a delicious smoothie from Live Juice (Wake Me Up with Green Tea, Hemp and Bananas) in the afternoon. Not feeling much better at 7 p.m.,  I went to bed early and woke up with a sore throat and phlegm.

No long run this morning.

I think it’s best to look at the long game when it comes to running when sick.

While I’m not running for the podium, I’m running for health, fitness and longevity. It doesn’t behoove me to run when I’m sick. However, I do have several upcoming races and need to be running long; I can make up for it this coming week.

I will run tomorrow’s Dirty 5K in Hanover knowing I’m taking care of myself today. It’s a three-mile trail run so even if I must walk it – I’m okay with it.

This morning I will eat blueberry pancakes, read the paper and sleep. Sometimes that is all one can do.

Here is a good article by Mindy Solkin : “To Run or Not to Run… What to Do When You’re Sick“.