Getting sick is never fun, but getting sick during summer is at an entirely different level of 'un-fun.' I've spent the last week and a half fighting a bad head & chest cold, which has transmografied (a medical term) into a bit of bronchitis. Ugh. Last week, I ran through it. This week, I ran Monday, then skipped two days; partially due to the cold, partially due to spending two very long days remodeling my office. I'm running a 5k race this weekend. Due the fact that I can't breathe well, I won't be up for killing myself during the race.
Regarding heart rate training...it's going well. I've been running all of my training runs at whatever pace is required to keep me at or under my zone 2 heart rate (roughly 115-125 bpm). Six weeks ago, I had to run at about 10:30/mile pace to accomplish that. Today, I ran 4 miles in the sun and heat...still with this cold...at an average of 119 bpm at a 10:00/mile pace. I've also started allowing myself one fast mile per week (unless I'm running a race). That mile comes sandwiched within a longer run, and can be run as four fast quarters, two fast half miles, or one continuous fast mile. But other than that, it's slow and steady. My hope is to work back up to 20-25 miles per week before I consider doing any other fast running.
Oh, and since I've ditched my orthotics (during my runs, anyway), my heel and achilles haven't been nearly as angry. I'll stick with that plan for the time being.
Glad to hear things are going well!
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