Update

Well, a whole day has passed, and I'm sure you guys must be DYING for an update regarding my ill-timed bug (ha). Well, the update at this point is that I am cautiously optimistic about running on Saturday (notice I used the word "running" instead of "racing"). My cold/flu* illness thingy has moved mostly to my chest . . . and I swear it's because the yuckiness is finally on its way out of my body. Right? Right?! I sure hope so anyway.

The good news is that the only other half-marathon I've ever run was completed after very little training and while suffering from a bad sinus infection. I walked a lot of it and finished in 2:19:xx. Thus, even if I take it ridiculously easy on Saturday, I should be able to come up with a PR. And hey, it'll just leave me some room for improvement (and thus, another PR) when I run the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 30. So, you see . . . everything is working itself out (assuming this crap does, in fact, get out of my chest by Saturday--fingers crossed!).

In other news, I am an idiot and gave myself a bit of a concussion yesterday. I'm sure you all must be shocked to hear that (or not). Here's the story: In one of my most graceful moments yet, I flung myself onto the bed yesterday . . . only I misjudged where I would land (I blame my brain-crushing sinus congestion). I ended up smashing the back of my head into the window sill, which is situated just behind the bed (yay, tiny NYC bedrooms that you can barely fit a full bed into!). I blacked out for a split second, and then came to in LOTS of pain. I was convinced I had to be gushing blood from the back of my head. But in some sort of Tuesday miracle, I touched the spot of impact and there was no blood (See, Mom! I told you being hard-headed has its advantages!). I immediately ran to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack to put on my head (depending on who you ask, I may or may not have failed to get the freezer door shut all the way, leading to the spoiling of large amounts of food--but whatever, I'm sticking to my story that the cat is responsible!).

So yeah. I was kind of woozy all day yesterday with a crazy ass headache and was all kinds of nauseous. I know you're supposed to go to the doctor at times like those, but I really did keep a close watch on myself to make sure I didn't fall over dead or anything. Today, I still have a headache, but the rest of my symptoms have faded . . . so I'm officially convinced I'm okay.

In fact, I'm so okay, I even made it to the gym at lunch to get a little bit of cycling in. I didn't really push it at all (my pissy lungs wouldn't allow it), but it felt great just to move a little bit. I followed 25 minutes of cycling up with 15 minutes of core work. I finally feel almost kinda-sorta like an athlete again.

The plan for the rest of the week is to rest, rest, rest . . . and hopefully I'll magically feel 100% better by Saturday and the two week taper will allow my rested legs to fly through the course, earning me a 1st place finish! Whoa, that's not what I meant. Perhaps I hit my head harder than I thought! What I meant to say is that I will take it NICE and EASY in the race on Saturday, and enjoy every moment of it :)

Happy running!


*If I hear another joke about how "uh oh! Maybe you have swine flu," I swear, someone will lose his/her head!