Reminds me of a friend that went in to the hospital with what he thought was the flu and came out a year later after multiple major organ failures.
Needless to say, this bout took me DOWN. Seriously down in the bed.... for days. SO not my cup of tea. I was angry about it. I cried about it. I was extremely unhappy about feeling the way I did.
As I sip on my coffee slowly this morning I am reminded it's not totally gone. My lungs still remain heavy even after strong antibiotics. My ribs ache from the hours of hard coughing. And yet, I'm thankful.
Yesterday was the annual Brew to Brew run, a 44 mile relay from Kansas City, Missouri to Lawrence, Kansas. Although I had registered a team of 10 runners a few months ago, as I awoke yesterday my team was whittled to a mere 5. The 6th runner would have been Hubs, but thanks to me the contagion had spread to his lungs and he was ensconced safely in our bed for the weekend.
Luckily, the run commissioner sees this happen A LOT. People are so freaking RUDE and back out of their commitments all the time. To help us out, he moved us to a 6 leg special team, in essence cutting our run in about half. Thank God! I met my friends early and we head off for the Brewery. Nothing like some cold unfiltered wheat to wake up the senses.
We dropped our first buddy off at the start and took out for the next stop. She was such a trooper - it had been awhile since she had run and she was visible concerned about it. No troubles though... she totally rocked it as I knew she would. Woo hoo!
The weather could not have been more perfect for a run. I ran in the middle of the day, hoping that my medicine could keep my lungs in check long enough for me to get through it. As I took out, I was immediately humbled. It felt so good to stretch, to blow out the cobwebs in my head from days of medication. As I came to the steps of mile 2, my lungs reminded me that things weren't exactly as they should be inside my body. They were tight, working hard to push out the air I was rapidly pulling in.
As I called to check in with my friends, I was happily greeted by them at a pull off just ahead. I welcomed the early pick up. Although I would have pushed, I'm pretty sure my lungs were singing with happiness in seeing those 4 smiling faces.
I jumped in the van happily and we sped off to the next step. Almost made it to 4 miles. I'm satisfied with the effort and in knowing that although I felt my body had betrayed me for days, it really was working hard to kill whatever tried to take me down as fast as it could.
We finished the run in a small town in Kansas, best knows for Flo's Hideout. Yep, really. Biker bar in the middle of a small town. With a brass pole in the establishment.
Things are always a bit shady in those small towns.... gotta watch out.
Big shout out to Carmie, Jay, Mel and Mimi for reminding me that even when life throws curves at us, we can always, ALWAYS find fun!!
Have a great Monday, friends!
Jen
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