I was going to wear shorts today, but there was a chilly breeze swinging 'round my hips that made me dash upstairs to change. Plus.....running leggings / tights are so damned comfortable for us chaps and I'm sort of addicted to "the look". Today was yet another run in my MyAsics Plan - run three I think it was? Anyway, a 7K jog was the order of the day. The sun was being a bit boisterous, popping behind the clouds every so often thereby lowering the temperature in a rather selfish manner, but I still decided to wear shades today - to stop the breeze making my eyes water if nothing else.
I slept fine. I rose carefully, checking my wheezing chest for signs of coughing. All was good until I reached the bathroom and with my toothbrush stuck inside my gob I started coughing violently. I felt sorry for the mirror, but I cleaned it up good and proper before setting off downstairs to make my juice. Mrs Dan had recently put the plastic plunger thing that pushes the vegetables through the juicer into the oven to "dry off" - not thinking that it might melt!!! The plunger now looks like some sort of bizarre adult toy and is completely useless. Therefore I had to use a carrot to push my carrots, ginger and lemon through the damned machine!! Anyway, juice drunk.....I was off.
More coughing on my warm up walk. Damn and blast! It's soooo annoying, especially as this is the end of Week 6 of this infection. Anyway, before long I'd pressed START on Gertie Garmin and I was off. I knew that I would have a few "episodes" during this run and I was fully prepared to stop and walk if necessary until I recovered. Episode 1 came at 1.5K and it brought me to a halt. Once recovered, my watery eyes blinking uncontrollably, I set off again. Gertie Garmin was bleeping constantly at me to tell me to speed up - "Ohhhh f*** off!" I told her sternly. "I'm doing the best I can!"
Everything below the waist was feeling fine (that reads decidedly dodgy doesn't it?) - legs, hips and ankles. I didn't start to feel tired until about 6K in fact, so at least my fitness levels aren't that too far askew. Stopped a couple more times to relieve my chest as it heaved and spluttered through manic coughing fits, but I was carrying water with me and I took a restorative slug from my bottle. I've been carrying water with me since getting back to running because I get so damned dry in my throat. It is annoying to have water sloshing about in my plastic bottle as well as it being a certain "weight" which I could do without carrying, but I really wouldn't want to be gasping out on the Thames Path without some water to sort me out!
I think I had three walk breaks / cough breaks and my finish time this time round was 44'52. Not too bad considering I walked three times, but I was glad to have completed this run. I felt mentally better having achieved the distance because I still don't feel much like a runner yet. I will eventually, but for now I'm plodding and making the best of it. As I said to Mrs Dan when I got back home - my running is like physiotherapy for my lungs!
Hope you all had a spiffing Bank Holiday. I'm listening to the cricket - or at least, it's on in the background. I don't really listen too closely, as frankly, the old geezers (Tuffers, Blowers, Aggers and Boykers) tend do confuse the hell out of me talking about things like "that was a good length", "he caught that one, right in the unmentionables". But you know it's summer'ish when Henry Blofeld says "My dear old thing!"
Thanks for reading.
Yer pal
Dan.
