Lingering Cold

:(

This cold just doesn't want to let go. But the blogging must go on.

So, I finished out my first 9 months of running ending the year with 614 total miles logged. My DailyMile friends list has grown to over 100 and the people are so motivating.

My goals for 2011 were 1000 miles, and some benchmark times in each race distance and to run my first 1/2 marathon. I chose the Shamrock 1/2 because that was where I caught the bug when my kids were running the Operation Final Mile and hopefully it will be cooler (as opposed to the Rock & Roll Half in July).

I am training weekly getting in some base building runs, tempo, progressive, some core work, very little strength work (but I want to find a good local gym for that). But it has been C O L D. I know I will be complaining about to H O T in a few months but cold air and chest colds do not go together.

I am currently participating in the Tidewater Strider Distance series training program where you run either a 20k/25k/30k for the Shamrock Full or a 10k/15k/20k for the Half. On January 8th I ran the first leg of this, the 10k, in 53:09.
I felt pretty good with this time as it was about 45 seconds off my PR and was done on the trails of First Landing State Park with muddy conditions. One week later I went back to the park and logged my first 10 mile run and a distance PR for me. I did this in 1:43 or about a 10:14/min mile pace. That is about 1/min mile slower than I want to run the Shamrock 1/2 but I felt pretty good and probably could have done 3 more miles had it been race day.

I developed a serious chest cold that evening, so along with being pretty sore from the 10 miler, I woke up pretty sick. I was out of work last Monday and didn't run again until last Thursday.
I met my Hampton Roads Running Group down at the oceanfront at Watermans and the plan was to do 7 but I bailed at 5 because the frigid air killed my lungs.

I rested up another 4 days without running (which really tends to depress me) and ran for the first time again last night putting in 3.86 miles in 42 minutes which was a slow 10:40/mile pace but I wanted to keep the chest cold at bay. Unfortunately, I woke up with a horribly sore throat so my thought is "I have still not kicked this cold!!!"

I have 3 days to get over it as the second leg of the Striders Distance series is this coming weekend, the 15k. Now at 9.5 miles that is going to be pushing my longest run ever and with a chest cold/sore throat I am really worried I won't be able to do it. The Half Marathon in just 7 weeks away. Wish me luck.