Finally

I finally, finally went running today.

It was not wonderful.

Buy at least it was.

As of this morning I hadn't run for over a week. I was planning on going for a run last Sunday when this cold started to take a grip and so I didn't head out. I haven't run since.

I have trained a bit over the last few days obviously, but running hasn't been part of that program. The order is which I am happy to do the sports of triathlon when I am not feeling great are, cycling, swimming and running.

I don't mind riding when you are sick because you can keep it quite low intensity and the oxygen demand isn't too bad. Plus you can easily sniff, cough and splutter with ease. All those things become a bit harder when you are swimming simply because coughing and spluttering can then lead to drowning, and that is never desired. Plus oxygen is that little bit harder to come by when you are under water. At least with swimming you often have rests and if you slow down then it doesn't tend to be that demanding.

Running is my least favourite thing to do unwell. I am not a particularly efficient runner and so when I am sick, even easy running takes a lot out of me. Add in some breathing difficulty and running becomes a lot of unfun. Given all that I really wanted to wait until this cold had cleared a bit before I went for a run.

That day was today. Well it was close enough anyway.

The run today was a bit of volume, I just wanted to keep the session simple and really, really easy. As it was I still needed to stop a bit to cough etc. In fact I am sure I was quite a sight running along coughing and snotting with a total pain face. I got through the run okay, and even started to feel a bit clearer in the final 8km, but the combination of this residual cold and the fact that I haven't run for a week meant it was not exactly a pleasant experience.

Still it got done and that is important.

After the run this morning I was quite chuffed and so gave myself a leave pass for the rest of the day. Our family unit headed up to a town called Guilderton an hour north of Perth for a day in the Sun. Guilderton is our usual summer day retreat and as always it was a ball of fun. I often swim in the river up there and I did today, but for something a little different I didn't bother recording it. I just swam with the kids and my wife and my sister etc, the way you swim with people when you are out enjoying yourself rather than training. I know the saying goes that if you didn't record it with a Garmin then it didn't happen and I often feel the same way, but today was more about relaxing than records. I know I swam today and that is all that really matters.

Now as you can imagine, after a long run this morning and a day in the sun I am just a tiny bit shattered. Time for sleeping.