To Run or Not to Run

I was running along Island Cove’s perimeter and I could see the dark and heavy rainclouds above the Manila skyline. I could tell it was already raining in MOA and the clouds were moving fast towards the south. I was just 3 kilometers well into my run so I quickened my pace.  There was a gentle breeze and I felt small raindrops on my face.  Then the raindrops became bigger. After a few more minutes the clouds finally opened and it started pouring heavy, torrential rain. No longer did I avoid the puddles, it made no difference. I was supposed to run for 13 kilometers that Sunday but I had to stop at five. Every single part of my body and clothes was soaking wet…and my shoes! My new shoes! 😦

Almost all of the cars on the island started to form a beeline towards the exit. As for me, I sat under a tree and debated with myself if I should continue or not. It was dark and cold. Sigh. I headed home.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel 100% ok the next day.  My head hurt and my nose was stuffy.  Ok then, should I run or not?

David Nieman, Ph.D., who heads the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University, and has run 58 marathons and ultras, uses the “neck rule.” Symptoms below the neck (chest cold, bronchial infection, body ache) require time off, while symptoms above the neck (runny nose, stuffiness, sneezing) don’t pose a risk to runners continuing workouts. – Runner’s World

So it’s a rule and I should follow it, right? Haha. No excuses! Good thing Jehan ran with me and we finished 6.46 kilometers together.

Sadly, I felt worse on Tuesday morning. I had a fever and my head hurt as if it was going to burst. Ouch. I started hydrating well and drank salabat. Hmmm, it was soothing to my throat. I decided to skip workout for that day, put my feet up and watched a Korean DVD I bought from Ruins.

I feel much better today and I hope to run again tonight. I texted Jehan this morning and she said she’ll run with me. Great! She’s so motivated these days and I can feed off energy from her.

In the meantime, I made some apple-cucumber-basil-calamansi juice and forced myself to drink it. It looked awful because the apple juice turned brown.  But oh, don’t get me wrong, the recipe is yummy but because my appetite hasn’t returned,  I had to force it in. It was especially refreshing when I mixed in some ice cubes.

 

Ok, I’m off. Tonight we are to run 9.65km (6 miles).

See ya!