To be sick, or not to be sick

So, one of the things to file under “You might be a runner if”: would be the classic debate:

You might be a runner if you’re feeling a tickle at the back of your throat and think “Hey, I bet if I go for a quick three miles in 20 degree weather, I’ll feel better”

Which is exactly what I did at lunch today. THe run itself was great – a quick 3 out and back onto Naval Station, taking the gentle hilly route past the Exchange instead of staying along the bay. Crushed gravel either way, but it felt good to have the resistance and the cruise instead of the steady flatness (Shouldn’t that be a TMBG song?)

I finished at 8:25/mile for 3.25 miles (always gotta add on a little bit extra to what’s on the schedule).

Dunno if I’m sick, which is one of the eternal annoyances. I went to bed early last night, and slept like a rock until the alarm went off this morning. Didn’t feel great, even though I got plenty of sleep. But, didn’t feel sick enough to stay home.

I think running was the right decision. I’d made it through a couple of meetings this morning without strangling anyone, and had a presentation to work on in the afternoon. So, sneaking out into the cold was critical for the soul, and let me miss a couple of phone calls which quickly could have sunk my afternoon.

Scaling back to the half marathon schedule, and approaching it as a beginner again seems to be a smart call. I finished the prescribed runs for last week, and haven’t felt the “bad” sore, just a good, steady dose of well-used muscles. And the joints have been feeling good in the cold, cold mornings, which wasn’t the case when I was pushing hard.

So, I think that I’ve honed in on where my fitness is at present. Which is a change – usually, I’m trying to push too hard, and it sneaks up on me and bites me in the butt.

The tale of the scale? That’s another discussion to have, hopefully once I’ve turned the tide on the tummy. (I’ve been failing at WWME)