Cough, cough, splutter, splutter

A week of illness doesn't help inspire, but some other runners were doing some pretty amazing things

Zach Miller winning the Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand

It’s all gone a bit Pete Tong*, as we used to say. There I was, just last week, pile-driving my way through a 27-mile coastal trail race, finishing top 10, and feeling fine afterwards. I played football on Monday afternoon with my son and I was buzzing around the pitch. Another dad who runs, and who knew I’d done the race, said, “your legs are OK then”.

Yep, I was OK. Ready to crack on with Level 2: 60-plus miles per week. Bring it on.

Then I spent most of Monday night lying awake coughing. I got up the next morning feeling groggy and sore throaty. I’d better skip the run today, I thought. An extra day’s rest is probably what I need.

But the cough and the grogginess didn’t go away. Cough, cough, splutter, splutter. That’s been my week.

Sorry, that’s not very inspiring, I realise. I guess, looking at the bright side, it’s still a long way until race day. If it was going to happen, now is a good moment for a spot of illness.

Also it’s a test, an obstacle, thrown in my path. Issues are going to come up, both in the race and in the build up. Can I navigate them, not panicking, but calmly moving through them? That’s part of the challenge of getting through something like this.