Running away from a cold doesn't always work...

What's the old adage? Feed a fever, starve a cold? I can never remember.

I woke up the other morning and my head felt like an explosion of sinus pressure and snot. Pretty picture, I know. My running has been super consistent since the Ghost Town race, and I was annoyed at the thought of having that disrupted by something as minor as a cold. I responded to this looming threat by making a large batch of my usual cold-killing Tonic (recipe to follow), beefed up the liquid intake, and abandoned any thought of adding serious speedwork to this weeks running schedule.
So, here I am, a week into it, and the cold is hanging on...and it's even threatened me with a fever a few times, so if this post seems a little whack-a-do, I'll blame it on increased cranial temperatures frying my brain cells. I woke up yesterday morning feeling moderate-to-mediocre, had planned a 24 mile run, and decided to head out to the trail. By the time I reached the trail head I was feeling more than sluggish, but the snot was clearing, so I pressed on. Slogging would be an accurate description of what I was doing. I was moving forward, but not very quickly, and my head was feeling foggier by the minute. It was a beautiful day out, and I wanted to be outside, but my body and those heated up brain cells were begging to be back home in bed. I threw in the towel around mile 7.5, turned around, and came home.
Some pictures from the run:

Approaching the Stone House on the return

Rosy cheeks from a fever...not from running.

Pieces of the cholla forest

Old school Yetman trail sign

Purple cholla!

I hung up my new shower curtain, installed my new water-saving shower head (it's awesome!) and took a shower, hoping it would help me snap out of the fog and miraculously feel better. I was certainly cleaner, but had gained no clarity. My head was still in a fog, but I decided to head into town to run a few errands. What probably should have been about 15 minutes in a grocery store turned into 30-35minutes of wandering around like a bit of a zombie, slowly putting things into my basket.

Okay Scout, you're sick. You have a fever. You need to go home and rest.

(this, would be the logical approach)

I headed home, heated up the last of my tonic, ate it, watched a movie and fell asleep. I woke up this morning with the intention of running into work, as usual, but the fever still lingers, and the sinus pressure was unreal, so I actually listened to my body for once and drove into town.

So, I write this, feverish and annoyed. I had plans. This week was going to be the start of my super hardcore training that would lead to faster finishes... Before the cold hit and the fever set in I had an epiphany: I have to GO faster to GET faster. I can put in all the miles in the world, but if I don't ever push it while I'm consistently running those miles, I can never hope to improve.
For now, consistent mileage will be my goal. Avoiding getting sick, and balancing life's responsibilities amidst distance running. I'll work on speed come summertime, and by this time next year, I won't be so much of a Tortuga.

In spite of my fever and this cold hanging on, I can honestly say I feel better every time I eat this:
Shiitake Barley Tonic Soup
~12 cups water
6-8 Shiitake mushrooms
1 head garlic (less if you prefer), diced
1 cup whole barley
2 carrots, diced
~2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled & diced
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 serrano pepper, diced (optional)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cayenne
2 Tbsp. dried astragalus root OR 2 tsp astragalus powder
1 bunch kale OR chard OR spinach OR dandelion green, cut into strips (optional)
1 cup dried wakame (optional)
2 Tbsp. tamari, braggs or soy sauce

Thinly slice the shiitakes and place in bowl, cover with water and set aside

In a crock pot or soup pot, place garlic, carrots, ginger, sea salt, barley, serrano (if using) turmeric and cayenne. Cover with ~6 cups of water. Cook covered in crock pot on high for ~1 hour, or in soup pot on medium heat. After 1 hour, add shiitakes, including soaking water and wakame (if using). Cook for another 30minutes. If using greens, add greens, tamari and astragalus after the 30min has passed. Cook on low for another 15 or so minutes.

The soup will continue to thicken as it sits around, so you can always add more water to get the consistency you'd prefer.

Hope you enjoy this.