I took yesterday off since all I could stomach on Tuesday was saltines, I knew I needed another day to rest up so I took it without hesitation.  I felt better into the evening and this morning I checked my resting HR to see if I was back to normal and surprise of surprises, it landed on a new low…45!  How fun is that?  I should get sick more often.

I’ll be venturing out for an easy something today, somewhere between 7 and 9, I’ll see once I’m out there.

I got my box of goodies from Runningwarehouse, which I can afford because I no longer buy civilian clothing or shoes.  I got my new model Inspires which are lighter than last year’s model and Elixir 4s, which are lighter by a smidge, but cute with a new mesh upper.  I’ll be taking the Inspires out today for a test run.  I’m thoroughly relieved that they and the Elixirs feel the same as the previous models, standing anyway, so hopefully running in them will be the same, too.

I also got my new small water bottle, which is perfect, about the size of my hand, so that’ll go out with me on the weekend.  Lastly, I got a new pair of light gloves because my Nike’s are fine but they’re basically thick polyester and I wanted some that feel less plasticy (my eyes always tear in the cold and wiping at them with Leisure Suit fabric sucks).   Test run on those today.

So yay, huge relief that this was a short bout (I’ll never forget last year’s chest crap that put me out for a few weeks) and normalcy is returned.   Have a great day, my friends!

“Hopefully” because I woke up with diarrhea.  Very annoying, especially when I’ve only missed one day of running this month, a rest day taken before I uttered the word “streak”.    I’m on Jim’s page now though, and no longer see it as a streak, but my new 7 day/week schedule.  Still, it’d be nice to keep going since everything else feels fine.

Potential Double Pooh, too, because we’re expecting some major weather to begin this afternoon through tomorrow and I’m on track for a mileage record this month.  That’ll come through even if I miss a day though, so no big worry there.

What cheap entertainment, creating records just because I feel like it.  Running is so useful that way.

12pm edit:  Now my tummy feels like crap.   Looks like a rest day today. Why couldn’t this happen tomorrow when ice pellets are in the forecast? Sigh.

Then today, it was warm out again (how I love thee, oh shorts and tanktop) so in my mind, 6 easy should have been, well…easy. But again, I’m still spitting up little yellow chunks and my head is so infested with negative self-talk, like bon mots such as, “I need to rethink all my running goals, the downswing has stopped and now I’m fucked” kind of stuff.

Guess I’m not 100% yet; sleeping 10 hours a night and Nick made a fine point to say that if I’m still spitting up crap, my lungs are spending at least a little energy on things besides my fine aerobic system. I want to agree, but that doesn’t stop the endless hateful chatter in my brain.

I’ll be attempting intervals this Thursday, so that should give me a better idea of what my status actually is. I’m so hoping for a strongish session because I have a 5K on the 15th that I really want to do well at. It’ll be so disconcerting if, after a winter of great mileage, I can’t come up with any quantifiable improvement. That said, the 5K I most care about is in April, so I gotta give myself a break if this first one doesn’t kick it for me.

On to other, less whiny subjects: tonight, my dear friends Yvonne and Craig and Nick and I are going to Yvonne’s parent’s house in New Jersey, so that Nick and I can spy on their living situation while the parental units are away at their timeshare. Apparently, Vonny’s mom is a certified obsessive packrat and their stuffed-to-the-gills house and non-working van in the driveway (also filled with masses of stuff) must be seen in person to be believed. I consider it a museum trip.

Afterwards, it’s Sagami for the best Japanese food in the area. I stick with Tempura, sushi scaredy-cat that I am, but everyone insists it’s the best sushi around, so I have to believe ‘em.

Tomorrow, it’s a day off and then crossing fingers, Thursday shows me that I’m not all washed up. Yet.

You should know, friends, that yesterday I was faking a bit of joviality – I was actually pretty depressed after the run because throughout the whole thing, I had a little sidestitch and my legs were hurting. For someone who was averaging weekly miles in the mid-50s prior to getting sick, this was disheartening. Luckily, today was better.

I took it one more mile to 7, no sidestich and an improvement at 8:58/mile (yesterday I could only manage 9:23), but ouch…my legs. I actually woke up last night because I couldn’t get comfortable, my quads were letting me know they’d been on vacation and were objecting to having been put on the job again. But they’ll start behaving, I’ve threatened them with buckets of ice if they don’t shape up soon.

Meanwhile, in happy body news, my weight, which has been steady at 124 ever since starting to run, is now at 118. I figure 4 more pounds and I’ll be content and hopefully, will still have a bit of boob left. My bonus is that the 3 permanent lumps of cellulite that compose my right ass cheek are diminishing to near nothing. TMI? No way, you know you love the dirty details!

And just in case Nick thinks I might get carried away by the weight loss (because he’s afraid of that), I passed that scary skinny chick today. She’s one of those hardcore running freaks I see occasionally. I figure she’s older than me, but she could be younger because that’s what scary skinny does to you, makes you look hard & brittle. Ain’t no PRs worth that body type to me, so never fear, my love…I will keep some meat on the bone for you. I promise.

Speaking of, I’m off to the kitchen now to munch on my latest recovery food; salami. I overbought for that party of ours, and since we’re supposed to eat protein after a run, it’s my Official Recovery Food of Champions for the next few weeks. Of course, the sports nutritionists don’t mention anything about nitrates and fat globules, but that’s why salami is so damn satisfying. Bon appetite, folks.

I might even run a 10K next weekend with Matt and Joye, which I’d not even considered because I wanted to start my racing season with a bang and thought it too soon, but now that I’ve already fizzled by default, I figure I have nothing to lose, except a good time if I don’t do it. Besides, it’s smack dab in my neck of the woods, so what the hell?

Funny how getting sick takes the pressure off. I can legally suck now without too much embarrassment – cough cough.

Thank you, my sweet friends who posted and kept my spirits up this last week and a half, it cheered me up considerably. I finally decided tonight to stop dwelling on the training I’ve missed and just be happy that I’m able to run at all, or even want to run, that in itself is enough of a profound life-change for this ex-couch potato, so I’ll be glass half-full from here on in.

Additionally, I will not freak out about the 5K in three weeks. Lara emailed me something very wise, she reminded me that not every race has to be a huge PR, some of them can be run for fun (a new concept for me, lol). And while I suspect it’s infinitely more fun to have a huge PR, I could handle a little one, too . Hopefully, I’ll have something new to show for my winter miles.

Lastly, I just posted on my Miles Team thread on the RW forum that in a way, this long break makes me feel like more of a runner, as I now know what it’s like to miss it and hunger for it. Here’s hoping this is the last break for a very long time and in the meantime, happy runs to all of you and here’s hoping you’re battling through this chilly month with some great miles and fun workouts. Love you guys!!

Meanwhile, I’m feeling sorry for myself and at odds with everything around me.  I don’t feel like doing anything, yet I’m bored senseless.  This would be the perfect time to design some new shirts (it’s been months and months!), but I don’t feel creative in the least.

Nick is in Las Vegas on a business trip, so I’m up to my own devices, which means watching reality show crap like back-to-back episodes of “Girls Next Door”, the show about Hugh Hefner and his three blonde girlfriends.  My favorite part is when he gives them something (he’s always giving them something) and he goes in for a kiss, you’ve never seen three girls try to avoid touching a pair of liver lips like his.  Can’t say I blame them.

Next on the schedule is Millionaire Matchmaker, where the star of the show, a “third-generation matchmaker” tries to hook up socially inept millionaires with gold-digging balloon-titted actresses.  It’s one of those feel-good shows because as poor as you are, you could never be as big a dick as anyone on it.

Beyond the garbage I’m visually ingesting, I had a freakout last night when I realized my first 5K of the season is in 3 weeks!  It’s going to take me a few runs just to get back where I was, not to mention the lost training time, so I’m pretty unhappy about the thought, because I had 4 sessions of speedwork planned and now I’ll be lucky to get in two.  Oh well, shit happens and this is mine.  At least it isn’t an injury, per se, so when this sick stuff finally goes, it’s gone.

And with that, it’s back to my place on the couch.  I just looked at the TV schedule and see my choices are rapidly dwindling.  Let’s see, what’s on at 10am?  Tyra, Maury, Rachel Ray…oh god, someone come shoot me, please.