One thing after another.

I've had a bit of a cough for the last week or two that would bother me when I went to bed at night and when I woke up in the morning. I figured it was dry air or my allergies kicking in a little earlier in the year than usual and I ignored it until yesterday morning when I couldn't quit coughing all day. I went to the doctor and was given a prescription for Advair, Benzonatate, Z-Pak and was instructed to pick up some Claritin. I'm not exactly sure what the nurse practitioner diagnosed me with, either a sinus infection or bronchitis, but it is kicking my ass.

I medicated myself quite heavily last night with all the above mentioned meds, excluding the Claritin, and some NyQuil for good measure. I went to bed at 1930 and woke up coughing my head off around 0147. I got a drink of water and checked my temp and saw that it was 100.3. My alarm went off at 0600 and when I checked my temp upon rising it was 101.7.

My place of employment has an attendance policy that states a full time employee may not miss more than 3% of their scheduled work days (7.8 days) in a ROLLING calendar year. Thanks to a three day bout of bronchitis this time last year and Nathan's multiple ear infections I have missed more than my allotted days in my calendar year and have had my first warning. Three strikes and I'm out.

Needless to say, I wasn't going to let a 101.7 degree fever earn me a corrective action so I took my meds, ate breakfast, showered, dressed and drove to work. I've done smarter things in my days. I actually started feeling better about 1000 and was able to put in a whole day of work. I'm looking forward to going to bed in an hour or so though and seeing if another 11 hours of sleep can make me feel better.

I haven't been getting much sleep lately and put in close to 20 hours of overtime in the last two pay periods. It isn't a lot of overtime but with the lack of sleep, thanks to my wife keeping me up because she can't sleep, I think it has all caught up to me. I'm hoping to be healthy by the time the LMHM rolls around in 11 days.

Keep your fingers crossed. I am.

'Bye, 'bye Duke!

I just finished watching #7 West Virginia send #2 Duke home and I think my bracket is looking a lot better now because I picked the Mountaineers for the upset!

I always enjoy seeing Duke lose.

Final Long Run

I ran my last long run for the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon today. I just ran ten miles in pancake flat Chatham and took it easy. The left knee got a bit stiff the last two miles but it has always done that so I'm not alarmed.

The weather wasn't as nice as it has been at 36 with 13 mph winds gusting to 18 out of the NNW, 74% humidity and a wind chill of 26. I've been fighting a bit of a cough the last week or so and I can't figure out if it is allergies or a cold. I'm not really congested at all and my cough is slightly productive but nothing alarming. My cough will go long periods without bothering me until the minute I lay down to go to bed and the minute I get up in the morning. It will also bother me after I work out. My albuterol inhaler helps out, cold and sinus medication with a cough suppresant also helps a little but generic benadryl doesn't seem to help. This is worrisome because I got a terrible case of bronchitis the day after the LMHM last year and I would like to avoid that again. Bronchitis, and the 103 degree fever that came with it, really sucks. The worst part was coughing and coughing but not getting up and giving myself a headache from the constant heaving.

I started my run a bit fast with my first two miles each covered in 8:02. I was planning on starting off at about 8:10 pace and going from there and I managed an 8:09 for mile three. Miles four and five went by in 16:02, I have no idea where the four mile mark is. At mile five I turned around and ran the same course backward. Miles six and seven went by in 15:51 and I finished up in 8:00, 7:49, and 7:25 for a total time of 1:19:20.

I felt pretty okay. I'm wondering how much sharpness I lost due to just running base miles the last few weeks. I still think I'm capable of a 1:35 if I get a good day as I feel that I am much more aerobically fit than I was last year. However, hill running isn't my strong suit and this course kicked my ass last year.

In a positive light, Abe's Amble killed me the first time I ran it but I ran two minutes faster the second time I ran it. I also ran a fairly strong 15K in the hills of Decatur a week after running a 19:02 5K in Havana. What helped me there was going out slow the first third of the race and running strong the last two thirds.

My plan for the half is to run the first five very easy, which is hopefully right about 7:30 pace. After that I would be very happy to run about 58:00 flat for the last 8.1, which is right about 7:10 pace. That would put me finishing in the neighborhood of 1:35:30. Truth be told, I would be happy with a time two minutes slower. Long races intimidate me. I have a hard time being patient.

Another easy day

I ran an easy six tonight in 48:19. It was pretty with temps in the mid 50s and a brisk wind out of the SE at 13 mph. I ran relaxed and ran all my mile splits between 8:10 and 7:51.

I just finished watching Puke pull off a last second, one point win over a highly ranked powerhouse, Belmont. I was hoping to see a 15 seed upset a 2. Oh well.

Seven and a Brief Shoe Evaluation.

Thanks to temps in the upper forties I had a pretty pleasant seven mile run tonight in 55:19. I started off a little faster than I needed and wasn 't able to slow down too much. I think my legs are rested and ready to run some fast stuff, maybe I'll do a short tempo run next week to knock the rust off before my half marathon. I ran my mile splits today in: 7:53, 7:52, 8:04, 8:09, 8:00, 7:52, and 7:29. I felt pretty good. The knee got a little stiff the last mile or two but didn't hurt.

The final verdict on the Adidas Supernova Cushion 7s is that I like them. They are light and feel more like a beefier racing flat than a cushioned shoe. They feel fast. I liked the Supernova Cushion 6s but they felt less responsive than the 7s. I also think that the 7s are slightly more firm and the upper is more airy. I think they would be a good, light shoe to run a marathon in.

Less than three weeks

My half marathon is in about 19 days. My left knee/IT band feels pretty good but is a little sore after my 8 miles yesterday. It doesn't seem to be anything to worry about but I am going to monitor the situation and keep working the rehab.

I ran my 8 in a pretty relaxed 1:04:37 with splits of: 8:03, 8:03, 8:15, 8:15, 8:14, 8:12, 7:47 and 7:46. I felt pretty good the whole time but wasn't able to stretch out afterwards because I had to get ready to go into work.

This weekend is the week where the running club runs the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon course as a practice run and I am debating whether or not to partake. A link to the course is here. I think I am going to stay at home and test my knee on a ten miler instead of running 13.1 on the hills two weeks before the race.

Any advice leading into the homestretch? I'm open to it.

It was never snowing....

We were in Peoria yesterday to get a four generation picture of all the men in the family and since we spent Friday night at my in-laws' house I ran 5 miles on the Detweiller cross country course. When I was in high school we always ran at Detweiller at least three times a season, and more if we made State. Unfortunately for me, I never made State CC and never ran the course when it was snowing, until yesterday.

We have had a few nice days in the upper 50s and low 60s until yesterday when we only had a high of 45. I started my run at Detweiller about 0730 and by the time I finished my run 41 minutes later, the ground had a thin powdering of snow. It was a bit surreal at times as I kept reliving high school races during my run. I had a few good races on the course and more than a few bad ones but in retrospect, I always had a good time.

My knee was great the whole time and I am starting to worry less about the half marathon coming up in less than three weeks.