Angel vs. Devil

Last week I tried to fight through a cold by..... running, not getting enough sleep, and racing a 5K on Sunday.  What?  As you can guess, this strategy did not work out very well.  On Monday my body basically put me in my place and said "no more".   Everything that I had been warding off by sheer luck and will came to fruition including the added bonus of a double ear infection.  When I went to the doctor on Monday afternoon she said, and I have to quote this one, "if you were able to race a 5K in your physical condition with a solid effort on top of that, I see no reason why you can't fight this one out without antibiotics.  You're tough.  You run marathons.  I think we should stick this one out."  Huh?  I love how she said "we" as if she and I were in this together.  I could barely hear and anything I did hear had an echo and sounded really far away, I had zero energy, and the miracle drugs that I thought were going to cure me within minutes were according to the doctor, "probably not the best option."  This is not what I expected.  In the end, in fairness to the doctor, she did give me the medicine, but she "strongly discouraged" me from taking it as she really felt like I could beat it on my own.  I tried to fight it out.  I really did.  But the ears won the battle in the end and I finally broke down and took the meds.  I'm not proud, but it is what it is.  What I realized, though, is that when I get myself in this physical state, I need to knock the "Devil" runner off my shoulder and listen to the "Angel" runner who was gently reminding me that pushing through it was not going to cut it (he's also much more attractive).  Well, I didn't listen to the Angel, ok?  And as a result of this poor decision, I am a week off of my marathon training plan, I am two weeks from feeling like a normal human being, and I missed some really fun events because I was too tired to deal.  Not awesome.  I thought you might be curious to hear how my conversations with the Angel and Devils runners played out in my head last week:

Angel Runner: 

"Hey, Rebecca, you really need to just rest over the next few days.  You should drink more fluids and eat some soup.  And go to bed a little earlier than usual for a few days.  What's that?  Oh, I know your running partner is out there but she can breathe through her nose and you can't.  Just sit tight.  It will all be over soon."

Devil Runner:

"Come, on...let's just head out there and see how we feel.  We'll just do 6 hill repeats instead of 8 if we have to.  Just take a few Sudafed and that will clear you right up.  What?  You're not sure whether you should race.  Just do it for "fun" instead of time and see how it goes.  Ha ha ha.  And just ignore that weird buzzing in your right ear, we all hear that.  No need to just sit back and wait, fight it head on, baby!"

Well, we all know who I should have listened to.  And don't pretend you don't listen to the Devil runner most of the time, either! Next week I will gradually ease back into the running as well as the holiday festivities.  Moving forward, I will do my best to listen to the guy with wings.  After all, he does fly.  I'm guessing he's got it all figured out.

Listen to this:

Cayucos - Cayucas