Taking a Hvilepause
Hvilepause: a Danish word meaning "interval for rest".
I've been struggling with how to approach this post so I'm just going to say it. I have pneumonia in both lungs and haven't run in over three weeks. I lost my voice and can't breathe to full capacity. In the beginning I lost my appetite along with 9% of my body weight which still hasn't come back (my muscles seem to be disappearing, which is probably part of it). Running club cross in San Francisco this weekend is out of the picture and the LA Marathon on February 14th, which I had been so eager to redeem myself in after Berlin, is definitely not happening.This is the first time anything like this has happened to me. At first, all I cared about was resting and getting better because I felt like I was on the verge of death. Now I'm pretty much back to normal, except my breathing capacity still isn't 100%, my chest hurts, and I still can't run. On the upside, I've found all kinds of things to do with my free time now that I'm not running 50+ miles per week.
- I'm making an awesome cookbook with clippings of my favorite Bon Appetit recipes (which also means I can get rid of my surplus of old magazines).
- I'm learning Danish because I'd like to visit Copenhagen (thanks, Duolingo).
- My cats Bo & Juno are getting a ridiculous amount of attention.
- I'm writing in my blog!
All of those things are well and good, but this past weekend I saw all kinds of wonderful updates from many of my friends and teammates achieving their lifelong goals and dreams at CIM & Rehoboth Marathon, and just like that the fire is back. I am restless. I am ready to be myself again. I am ready to run.