This was a tough call

When I woke up this morning I still had my cough but I can feel myself getting stronger. Then I looked out my window and saw the snowfall, checked the temperature (minus 16) and prepared for my run. I sat and thought about what would be accomplished if I decided to run today and what I setbacks could occur as well. The last thing I need right now is to make myself worse. Yesterdays' trail run made me realize that my breathing is nowhere close to where it should be and that made for a very tough run. I then thought about the conversation I had with a good friend at the Running Room yesterday. She confirmed for me what I already knew and that was that my main focus between now and the race, is to stay healthy. That means not taking unnecessary risks.

Deciding against running is something that eats me up inside as I somehow feel like I've cheated myself by not running. I must fight that urge, though, and keep my mind focused on the bigger picture. I know that a few missed runs, this late into my training, will not result in having a bad race in April. However, if I let this illness linger longer than it needs to, then it will impact the race.

I'm someone who has a very hard time sitting still and the thought of doing nothing, when my mind tells me I should be running, is very hard to take. At this point, though, there really is no point in running outside when the roads/sidewalks will be barely ploughed, if at all. Add to that the trouble I'm having breathing and that doesn't add up to a good combination.

I decided to do the smart thing and rest for one more day and then begin my running program again on Monday or Tuesday. By this time my body should be healed and hopefully the conditions outside will be more conducive to running. I thought about going to the gym to run on the treadmill, and I may still do that later in the afternoon, but right now I think it's better that I just rest.