Day 127: Grounded

I'm back in NYC now but I'm still fighting this nasty Swedish stomach virus. It isn't pretty. The flight attendant on my journey from Stockholm to Newark today commented immediately on how sick I looked when I sat down, brought me extra blankets, and kindly didn't wake me for the meals. Of course, then when I did wake up, she basically force fed me the Swedish cure-all, whitefish roe, creme fraiche, grainy bread, and Champagne, followed by a hot Cinnamon bun and port!

I was supposed to run 13 miles today. In denial about my situation, I was hoping that when I got home a hot shower and change of clothes, just changing running shoes even - 'cause I've been wearing the same ones every day for 2 weeks and I want to burn them, would make it possible for me to go out and hit the road. Unfortunately though, I'm still pretty sick so, I am grounded again.

Assuming I do get better soon, I'm not really sure how to proceed. Basically, I've lost a whole week of training. This must happen to other runners and I wonder what they do. Should I repeat the week I missed? That would screw things up though as I approach the Half Marathon. Or should I just carry on with next week's mileage? That would mean running 14 miles next Sunday! Oh boy!

Then there's the whole issue of overall set-back. Have I had one? I'm stiff and dehydrated from having been sick and on the plane. I haven't been eating well. I'm jet lagged. Maybe I've lost some strength and stamina for not having exercised more than once in 7 days, even after having run 12 miles last weekend. Well, I guess I will just have to see how it is. It might be awfully hard and uncomfortable; but it won't kill me. I need to remember that and just power through.

I think I will carry on with this week's schedule, effectively skipping over last week's mileage entirely. I'll be pushing myself harder than I'm ready for, but I simply can't stand the thought of not following the training schedule as it was laid out... I'm depending on this formula to work!