Don't Panic

I woke up this morning with a terrible headache. It started around 2:00 am and then I'd wake up every hour until 5:30 am.  I was supposed to run this morning, and it was extremely important because I didn't run yesterday due to being just plain exhausted.  Beyond caffeine exhausted. Like new baby exhausted. 

There was no way I was going to be able to get out there this morning. My head hurt so much I felt like I was going to throw up.  A few ibuprofen (the duct tape of medicine!) and my head was bearably numb, but I was still nauseous. I'm either getting sick or there's some big storm coming (yep my head can predict storms, what of it?). 

Now I'm panicked. I can't miss two days of running in a row. I'll fall behind. I'll get fat. I'll lose my motivation! 

The rule of thumb is to make your long runs no longer than half of the mileage for the week. So I just need to figure out how to fit in 8 miles this week so I can feel comfortable running 8 miles on Saturday. But if I don't, then I don't.  It's important to stay healthy when you are training. When you train for a race there's always a risk of pushing yourself too hard and then your immune system can be compromised.  I always get a sinus infection a few weeks before the half marathon I'm training for.  So I'm really wigged out that I'll get sick in the middle of my training. It doesn't help I have people coughing germs all over me lately.  And little petri dishes running around my house spreading the germs incubating in their little bodies. 

The lesson I've learned in training is that you need to be flexible. There will be weeks where you can't train, either because you are sick or because of vacation or something else that gets in the way. The best you can do is pick up where you left off and keep going. 

Don't panic. If you get back on track you'll be fine. 

I hope. Right now I feel like a zombie that ate some bad brains. Ugh. Blech. Where's the Advil?