It has been a long time since I posted on my blog. I didn’t really tell most people but I took a break from running during the summer. I didn’t stop running completely but my miles totaled nine or less per week.
I had full intentions of starting back up in mid-September. In fact, I did slowly get back into it again for a few weeks until…
THE RESPIRATORY ILLNESS FROM HELL
I got a cold in the first week of October and honestly, I think it was bronchitis, I couldn’t shake it so I went to the doctor and he felt it was allergies. Now, I do suffer from springtime allergies but I’ve never had fall allergies. I even told my doctor that but it seems it didn’t change his diagnosis.
A week goes by and things are still not any better so I go back again. This time he puts me on a Z-Pac. After a week of meds I was actually starting to feel better. I even went out on a couple of short, slow runs.
Within days, I had a head cold like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I was really aggravated and frustrated now. On top of that, I had one week to get better before I had to board a plane to Japan. Mucinex DM, hot steamy showers, and I even agreed to use essential oils to help get over this cold. Things were no better a week later and I really wanted to reschedule my trip to Japan but it just wasn’t possible. Too many other events along the way. It was either now or never.
I didn’t do much on the plane other than sleep, sit there motionless, take my cold remedies and tried not to cough and hack all over everyone else. It was a fifteen-hour flight from Atlanta to Seoul, Korea for the first leg and the first ten hours were OK anyway. After that, it was all shit. I had sinus pressure and a headache that felt like it was killing me. I’ve never had a migraine but I’ve had a few hangovers in my life. This was worse! It hurt to move.
With almost a 24 hour layover in Korea, I was hoping some rest would help but it didn’t. Very little sleep, still a very painful headache. Nothing seemed to work. Thankfully, the flight to Naha, Okinawa Japan was only about two and a half hours. Once there I was hopeful a good nights sleep would help me recover. I did sleep better but I didn’t feel any better. So off to the emergency room!
After a chest x-ray to see if I had pneumonia (negative), I was given a new set of medications and off I went to try to enjoy my two weeks in Japan the best I could. I had a great time and even got a short and slow two-mile run in on my last day there.
Ok, I see this story is getting WAY TOO LONG. Let’s just say I survived the trip home but the coughing and hacking still hung around. I ran a couple of times hoping it would knock the crud out of me but finally had to give in. No more running until things cleared up.
So we are fourteen weeks into this mess now. I probably could have started running a week ago–maybe two but after taking this much time off it has been hard to get back into it. Then on top of that–, I’m about 20 pounds heavier than I was this time last year! Let’s just say I’ve got my work cut out for me.
So today is my first official day back to running. It’s cold out and I think for now I need a pretty controlled environment so I went to the treadmill. Only 20 minutes. I really don’t have a game plan yet so I’m just going to take it slow and give myself a few weeks to figure out where I want to go from here.
I’m back but its a struggle right now. I know it’s not, but it sure feels like starting over. Stay tuned, I’ll probably post an update in a couple of weeks because honestly, there isn’t much going on in my running life right now. Wish me luck.
oldmanrunningsite 