Hello everybody! 
I like running, and I'm proud of myself for having stuck to my routine pretty consistently throughout this plan. I did suffer one blip where I had to postpone a run in week 2 or 3 - I have mentioned it before, but I get really intense uterine pains, particularly when I am feeling stressed, and when they get bad, they get really bad. I can barely walk when they're that bad, let alone run - I have to waddle down to my classroom, which is at the end of the hall from the office, which feels like a million miles when I'm in pain. So anyway, I did the sensible thing and postponed that run. I am again postponing my run today, which I'm gutted about.
So I woke up this morning and couldn't seem to drift off back to sleep. Then when I sat up, resigning myself to not getting anymore sleep, I realised that my chest felt very raw. I coughed a little bit, and instantly realised I wasn't going to be able to run today. It's one of those strange, chesty painful coughs. I'm really surprised as I felt nothing yesterday, although I did go into town for the first time in months. Although I expose myself to all sorts of grotty germs every day - yet another delightful perk of being in the education business - it's all I can really think of in terms of what has brought this on.
However, I then had a brilliant idea. 'Why not just go for a walk?', I thought to myself, 'I'll take a different route and see if it's suitable for me to run next time.'
Please note that my use of the word 'brilliant' in the aforementioned paragraph is written with such scathing sarcasm it would make Satan blush.
I wrapped myself up warm and set off for my walk. Although it was quite chilly outside, the sky was a clear blue and I set up Runkeeper to track me as I walked.
My chosen path began very much like my usual one. Halfway up the long, west-facing road I start my runs with, I turned off. This road basically leads me back to a road I'd run anyway, but takes me on a little meandering detour. There was a gentle downhill slope to begin with, and a gentle incline as I rejoined my main route further on. Of course, as runners we all recognise that even the gentle-ist of inclines might as well be a mountain when we're running for long periods of time, but I thought that maybe it would add a bit of an extra challenge to a future run. The street lamps were a bit sparse in places, so I think this one may only really be an option when it's light outside.
'This is good', I thought to myself, 'Maybe I can run today after all'. Then I realised that my chest was still feeling raw and tight. I let out a little cough to remind myself that no, running today is not a good idea.
I looped back and went back home. I felt good as I went indoors and collected some mail which had been sat there since yesterday. Along with a bank statement was my British Heart Foundation pack for the Regent's Park 5k on 26th March. I was delighted and busied myself with reading through the materials and ignoring my bank statement.
Then it hit me. I actually felt really grotty. I felt a bit nauseous, my chest was tight and I was incredibly thirsty. I'd had a drink and some breakfast before leaving the house, but even thinking about food and drink was making me feel even worse. I groaned pathetically and cursed my decision to go outside - I definitely didn't feel this grotty when I woke up!
So, I'm not going to go out for a run until this blasted 'whatever this is' goes away for good. I thought I was doing well by still going out for a gentle walk and burning a few calories rather than just staying inside all day, but I should have stayed inside in my jammies. I'm disappointed because I'm so close to graduation, but I only have 2 more runs to go, and the likelihood of me feeling terrible all week is slim. I feel like I've learned my lesson now.
Apologies if you were expecting a lovely post about a lovely run. Please send hugs and jammies and blankets and fuss and get well soon wishes! 
Week 9: Run 2
Run 2 ~ Week 9 
Week 9 run 2. 
Week 9 Run 2 Nailed!
Week 2 Run 3
