Respiratory Illness..and Ultrarunning

A couple weeks ago I ran when it was zero degrees and blogged about it here.  I've previously run in crappy, cold weather without ill effects, but this time was different.

Whether it was cause-and-effect or not, or I just was due to get sick, I came down with a bad case of bronchitis that soon morphed into an induced asthma.  I needed antibiotics, breathing treatments, inhaler, and Prednisone to help fix my airways.

Now it's some 2+ weeks later and I'm still feeling poorly.  And since bitter cold weather continues to grip the northeast, I am in no hurry to venture back out there.  Formerly bulletproof (at least in my mind), I now am feeling insecure and vulnerable.  The last thing I want to do is to experience a setback triggered by running in extreme conditions.

So, with the warmest temperature forecast for the next 7 days only expected to reach the freezing point on Saturday, that day may be my window of opportunity to try an easy, short run to see how it goes.

My impatience at losing significant training time is partially triggered by my commitment to running The Sole Challenge, a 24-hour event locally at the end of May.  In lieu of running, I have been putting in some quality time on my Bowflex machine in the basement.  It'll have to do for now.