Relapse

Unfortunately, this week didn't go nearly as planned. I should have known something was up when it took me a long time to recover from that 800. Looking back, I wasn't quite over being sick, and pushing two workouts and three races last week was a little much. I relapsed on Tuesday, then decided I could train through a fever, a hacking, wheezing cough, and a sore throat. The end result was a DNF on the anchor leg of our DMR- after one lap I was gasping for air, after two I was rigging, and after three I just collapsed. This makes twice in my life I have tried to run while considerably ill and paid the price for it- the first being when I passed out running an XC race my senior year with pneumonia. The fall proved to be the two-by-four that got this jackass's attention, so I'm taking a few days off and seeing a doctor on Monday. I can usually go years without seeing a doctor except for checkups, so this is needles to say, very disappointing. I also got to watch everybody and their mom run ridiculous times at the Valentine's Meet, since Peter somehow got permission from our A.D. to have our fastest guys skip our Conference meet and go to BU. Unfortunately for me, my being sick wasted that opportunity.

Here's the log-

Monday-3 easy
PM- 7 easy, bagged scheduled workout.

Tuesday- AM- 3 easy
PM- 10 easy, hilly course. Noticed in the shower I was coughing a lot, cough got progressively worse til bed, then couldn't sleep- fever, coughing.

Wednesday- 3pm- 2 miles up, Baker St- 2x440- 58, (28/30) 58 (30/28) 440 jog. 3x330 (43, 43, 42) 330 jog, 4x220 (28, 28, 28, 26) 220 jog. 2 miles down. Felt awful- I was supposed to really rip this workout and just couldn't go.

8pm- 3 mile shakeout to test lungs, still can't breathe very well.

Thursday- PM- 7 miles easy, can't breathe but fever seemed to be gone.

Friday- AM- 3 miles easy, bad news. I was running about 10 minute pace and gasping for air.
PM- 3 miles up, anchor leg of the DMR, collapsed three laps. Totally screwed us over for qualifying for nationals- now we have to hope we make the fast heat at D1 New Englands or wait until ECACs, the week before nationals.

Saturday- off, went to BU and watched.

Sunday- off, still sick. Doctor's tomorrow.

Total 47

All in all a pretty useless week. A word of a advice: never run when you're sick. It's just not worth it. If I had been a little more conservative last week, I would have been able to put together a 4:07 anchor this week and Keene would have a nationals ticket booked. I owe my teammates and coach and apology for not being more cautious last week and trying to downplay how sick I was this week. I figured I could just tough it out and run well, but I was wrong. I am, however, proud of myself in a twisted sort of way that rather than give up and jog the race, I ran no different than how I would have run if I was sick. I put myself in a position to do really well and I literally ran until my legs came out from under me. I'd have much rather run so hard I went down than jogged a 4:30 and gave us no chance at all of going.

Thumbs up of the Week: Sean Gavs, a 4:23 mile PR at our conference meet to take third. Also, Jared Samuel, in the 5k at BU. He fell at 400 meters and got trampled really badly, then got up, sprinted back to where he was before he fell, and made it to 3k in about 8:50 before the spike wounds were bleeding too much. Jared was aiming for 14:40 and I have every faith that he would have made it there had he not fallen. A double thumbs up for running tough, Jared.