To Streak or Not to Streak?

Ok. So I had a major dilemma today. I stayed home from work today with a cold and sore throat. Since I am a teacher and nothing can make the day more miserable than feeling like crap and then have some smart mouth eighth grader ask you a dumb question to get you off task as you are floating around the class intoxicated on cold medicine (the old saying that there are no stupid questions, well, it was lie to make you not feel stupid for asking a stupid question) and not be able to say something sarcastic as you blow four gallons of green and yellow phlegm into a thin tissue in front of him and drop out his desk, it was a wise choice to stay home. Disclaimer: I really do like students and enjoy my job, I am just saying on a bad day...

Now, the dilemma. As many of you know, I have not missed a day of running over the past 56 days. I have ran in the dark of early morning and the dark of late night. I have ran in the rain, on holidays, including Christmas morning, and everything in between. However, there are two areas of life that one must take seriously before running. Your spouse and your health. Fortunately, my anniversary is not until August, so I think my 100 days straight is safe in that regards. However, sickness and injuries do happen and should never be taken lightly. I typically back off the distance and intensity when I feel a cold coming on and can usually run through a minor cold. But, today, I woke up with a sore throat, blowing green and yellow out of my nose and generally felt like I had been trampled by a herd of wildebeests. So, I called a sub, took my drug of choice, NyQuil, and went back to bed.

Later, when I awakened from my intoxicated state I felt much better. Earlier, I had written my streak off. Now I was wrestling with my running demons; to run or not to run? Was I actually feeling better or was the NyQuil dulling my senses? Was it just my foolish pride that begged me to pull on my Nikes and head out the door? For the next four hours I went back and forth, wondering what would be the right thing to do? Do I risk getting even more sick than I already am? What is a runner to do?

Well, this is the running life, so I pulled on my Nikes, dressed a little warmer than usual, and headed out the door. For five glorious miles I blew green and yellow snot rockets, spit nasal juices and loved every minute of it. I more than likely grossed out every person I passed along the way, but the streak lives. Day 57 in a row is now in the books forevermore.

Until the next time, keep running and watch out for old runners shooting liquid from their nasal cavities.
SP