A Week of Setbacks

 

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, and there's a good reason for that:  bronchitis! A few days after I finished my last 20-miler (Friday, July 8), I started to feel some congestion in my chest.  "Allergies," I thought, and I was able to maintain that illusion for the next several days.  I conned myself so well that I was able to run 13.1 miles in 2:27:00 the following Saturday (July 16th) -- a major PR!

The post-PR letdown hit quickly, however.  By Monday, it was clear that the congestion was NOT due to allergies, because my usual miracle medication, Benadryl, wasn't doing anything.  On Tuesday, I had no choice but to scrap my plans to fly to Seattle for our annual gathering with Mike Malloy and the west-coast "crew" of the show.  I was so disappointed to miss spending a long weekend with two of my best girlfriends and to raise some hell with my like-minded "Truthseeker" friends.  This has always been a highlight of the summer for me.  And this year, because of the house/moving thing, it was going to be my only getaway.  Sigh...

By Saturday I was feeling better, so I slogged through the ten-miler on the training plan.  I took it VERY easy, and tried to relax knowing that the marathon was still over a week away.  I'd have to be better by then, right?  Right?

It is now the Tuesday before the big race, and while I am much better, I am still coughing and feeling very tired.  Good thing that this week is the ultimate cutback week.  There are just a couple of short runs on the schedule, along with several days marked "rest."  The timing couldn't be more perfect.

Despite dealing with this damned virus, I am getting excited for the marathon.  I'm already starting to lay out my gear and supplies.  Since the expo is open on Friday, I'm going to pick up my bib number and goodie bag then.  That way, all I have to do the day before the race is relax (yeah, right!) and eat plenty of pasta!

I'm a little disappointed that I'm running this race alone, but then again, I ran my first Nike Half Marathon in 2008 solo.  After hearing me gush about how wonderful the experience was, several friends said they wanted to participate the following year, and we ended up with a group of about eight.  In 2010, we had about twelve people, and for this year's race, we are at about sixteen!

Maybe that will be the case with the San Francisco Marathon, too!