Relief from the Common Cold: Go for a Run

Friday I woke up with a sore throat, yuck – the onset of a cold. Saturday, same thing, and while I planned on running farther than I did on Saturday, I turned Joe around and called it quits after three miles. Last night was about as miserable of a night as I can recall with only a cold. The kind of night where I went to bed exhausted, got all nice and comfortable in bed, only to realize that I couldn’t breathe in that position. So I rolled around a bit, propped my head up on an extra pillow, but then discovered that I would be too cold if I remained fixed in that position for very long…..and that type of restlessness remained until about 3:00 when I finally had enough and just got up. After eating some leftover soup and reading a little bit, I headed back to bed, where the madness continued. Anyway, I was not expecting much out of running today, except for my four-legged running partner can be quite annoying if he doesn’t get a regular dose of exercise (this, and I know Joe won’t be running tomorrow due to my work schedule). I had to force myself to get dressed to run and I kept telling myself to just take Joe for a two or three mile run/walk and be done with it. But by the time we got to the end of our street, a quarter mile or so away, I could tell today’s run was going to be just fine. No, it wouldn’t be fast, but I was already feeling relaxed, and I could breathe more freely than I had all day (or night). So, as two miles ran into three and we were both doing well I figured we might as well keep on going. We ran down on the soggy ground by the river, and scared a flock of geese. We ran through the woods, we ran through the town, we ran all around. And if it weren’t for lack of water and maybe a couple of dog treats, we might still be running. And I do feel better too. Now I hope I will still feel better once my head hits the pillow. Good night.