Thursday, September 16, 2010

Recovery and running out of time

I caught a nasty bug a couple of weeks ago and I'm still dealing with the aftermath. It started on the Monday after that last trail race, with a wicked scratchy throat that soon turned into a bout of bronchitis. I took a whole week off from running, then got back into it a little last week and figured I would be back to normal this week. Enough time off combined with the dearth of long runs to derail any chance of running a decent marathon in New Hampshire, but not a showstopper.

But then over the weekend at the dog show I started coughing more, and I guess I coughed so much on Saturday that by Sunday I felt like I had cracked a rib. Pain got worse as the day went on, and I almost went to the emergency room Sunday night. So Monday morning I called the doc and got in to see him that afternoon.

He said no cracked rib but I had irritated the cartilage that connects my ribs to my chest wall or something like that. And maybe a touch of something bacterial now too. So he gave me scrips for a Z-pak and some codeine-laced cough syrup and sent me on my way. Wasn't until today that I felt ready to try running again.

Did three miles on the treadmill. Not too much pain, and actually felt better after the run. So I guess I'm on the mend for real now. The marathon plans are in shambles though. I am going to have to do a lot of walking.

Next up, the nighttime trail race this Saturday, and then the half-marathon next weekend.

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Reflections of a slow, fat marathoner