Pancakes and Pedals

I am sick.  I admit it.  Usually when I don't feel well, I just plow right through.  (If I don't acknowledge it, it will just go away, right?)  It's actually pretty rare that something knocks me down.  I can thank my youngest for passing this one along.

I had already signed up for Saturday's Pancake 5k, one of my favorites.  It's in a beautiful neighborhood and they serve pancakes afterward {Hello}.  My symptoms had started Wednesday night with sore throat and fever, followed later by congestion.  Since the sore throat was gone, I thought I'd just go ahead and run.  That probably wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had.

Jennifer, Valerie, Jenny and Me

It was HOT.  I started out fairly well, but by mile 2 it was evident a good race was not happening.  It was all I could do to average a 9:20 pace, a result of a lot of walking. On top of not feeling well, I was also aware of my achy hips and the remnants of my foot blister.  They weren't bad -- happily they are both much better -- but still made their presence known.

It was great to see some running buddies.  However, many of the usual crowd were missing. Valerie won her age group and I somehow placed third in mine (out of only 12).  One advantage as you get older is there are fewer people in your age group, at least around here.

Our oldest son and his family came over and hung out in the back yard for a while.  Later, PoPo and I watched the movie The Gambler with Mark Wahlberg (yeah - don't even bother).  I then spent Saturday night coughing...all night long.  I'm pretty sure this was a direct result of my less-than-stellar decision to run the 5k.  Sunday morning, realizing my symptoms were now below the neck, I chose to ditch my beloved Sunday run. {Heavy Sigh}

Meet Bertha

 
After my cold medication kicked in, I took my 15 year old mountain bike - which is school bus yellow I might add - for a 12 mile spin.  I call her Bertha.  She is old, heavy, creaky, slow and doesn't like to change gears (she prefers #7).  I can't even pick Bertha up!

I had forgotten how much I enjoy bike riding.  I usually save it for when I'm injured, but I think I've selected the cross training activity for my summer marathon training.  I pedaled about as fast as Bertha would allow and had my heart rate up very nicely.   Wow - it feels so much cooler when you ride than when you run!  I also saw the cutest baby donkey on my ride.  I'll get to watch it grow.  It needs a name...
 

The rest of the day was spent doing as little as possible.  I napped floated in the pool for a while and then stayed in my back porch swing the rest of the afternoon.  I simply loathe being indoors on a beautiful day, sick or not.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day weekend.  I was thrilled to receive a Fitbit, beautiful basket of flowers and much needed car wash and vacuum.  My Mother has been gone about 7 years now and I still miss her, especially at this time.

 HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?  

DO YOU RUN WHILE SICK?

Please visit Tara the gracious host of the Weekend Update as well as all participating bloggers.