Do you run when you’re sick?

Just in time for the long weekend, I came down with a cold on Saturday evening’not a terrible one, and definitely not the flu, but enough that it’s kept me close to home for a few days, and enough that I cancelled my long run for this evening.

We had done 13 km on Thursday, and were going to aim for 15 tonight. But even though I know that experts say you can exercise when you’ve got a cold, so long as you aren’t having problems in the lungs, I couldn’t even face a half-hour run tonight. My energy levels just aren’t up to it.

In fact, I’m a strong believer that getting a cold is your body’s way of telling you that you need to take a break: sleep more, eat better, get some rest and relax. So all I’ve done since I got sick is go for a few short walks’although I did go for a run Saturday morning and go climbing Saturday evening, so it’s not like I’m taking a whole week off or anything. But I hate that the cold is getting in the way of my training schedule. I have the Weekend to End Breast Cancer this weekend, which means I won’t be able to get out for a long run for another week. And the half-marathon is less than six weeks away!

Tell me: How much do you exercise when you’re sick? Do you take a break or just keep pushing?

View all of Kat’s running posts on the Half-marathon diaries home page.

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