Gotta train for everything – and that includes rain! On Monday, it rained all day. It was a light drizzle at the start of my run. About halfway through, it turned into a steadier rain. Even with a light rain jacket, I was drenched. Sam had to meet me at the door with a towel when I got home! But, I steered clear of most of the puddles and got my 6 miles in.
Unfortunately, Friday was much of the same. I had 9.5 miles on the schedule, and it was a slog in the rain. My Garmin had GPS issues, and it said I had run about a half mile more than I knew I had. I didn’t care. I stopped my watch at the driveway at 9.49 miles. That’s so unlike me. I always run the watch until I get to at least my goal, but I was so over everything. Exhausted, cold, wet. And I knew I had another, “longest run ever” on Saturday.
Saturday’s group run was 18.5 miles at the Chattahoochee River and Columns Drive. Columns Drive is pedestrian friendly and relatively flat. But it’s only about 2.5 miles long one way; 5 miles round trip. So we had a few long loops. I held steady for about the first 7 miles, and then the wheels fell off. I hadn’t stopped coughing, really since my Covid at the end of September, and it increased in severity on Friday. I was struggling big time. Leg cramps, lung capacity issues, mentally exhausted. If I was by myself, I would have quit at 14 or so miles. I even said to Coach Ed, “You have no idea how much I want to skip the last lap.” “Nah, you got this. You're doing great.” Lies, I told him!! But I told myself, “You can do hard things,” and kept trudging. Slowly trudging. When I finished, my teammates were asking me what I needed. Water? Chocolate milk? Gatorade? “I need a hug!” I'm in the middle of that huddle and needed every ounce of energy it gave me!
On Sunday, I learned why I struggled so much the two days before. I took myself to urgent care and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. When I told the doctor what I was trying to do, he said, “Well, I’d tell you stop running for a week, but runners never listen to me. Just try to take it easy.” I was prescribed antibiotics, steroids, and strong cough medicine. That said – I ran 9 and 18.5 miles with a sinus infection and got through it! Miserably - but I got through it!
Week 20: Run 40.54 miles + Walk .85 miles = 41.39 total miles
Cumulative: Run 385.89 miles + Walk 22.6 miles = 408.49 cumulative miles
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