Chest congestion or a convenient excuse?

I am still hacking up a lung and it's been over a month now. It's not continual like it was and overall I'm feeling better but when I exert myself I start coughing. Now I can't decide if I am using this as an excuse to quit and not keep pushing. Let's face it...I've lost my oomph to run. Even before I was sick I wasn't improving as quickly as I would have liked and I was told that I'm not cut out to be a runner. Rather than letting these things motivate me I've been letting them hold me back...and I still am. Natural athletes miss when they don't work out. They notice it in their body and they crave to be able to do it again. Not me. I didn't mind it one bit. It was great being lazy and not having to fit in my run and get sweaty. I loved not running. Now I have to figure out if I want to continue doing something I don't love and have been told (probably truthfully) that I'm not cut out for or if I want to be a quitter. See now why I have kept this a secret from people in my life? I've been running for 6-7 months. Didn't I start this in January? You'd think I'd be better by now. Sigh.
Today I ran 1 mile in 14.5 minutes (slooooow) and then gave up and walked the remainder of the time to get to 30 minutes. Maybe I just am a penguin. http://www.waddle-on.com/

Not completely 'healed'

I found out today that my lungs are not completely cough free. I tried running and I couldn't even do 2 minutes without hacking up a lung which in turn makes me dizzy and lightheaded. I ended up walking which I'm actually proud of. I wanted to quit but I didn't. I walked 1.63 miles in 30 minutes. It's better than nothing.

Good run/bad run

The run was great except I only went for 20 minutes. I was able to run 1 mile in 13 1/4 minutes which I think is the best I've done yet. But at about 18 minutes I started to get a bad cramp and at 20 minutes I had to stop b/c of the cramp and my chest congestion. I still have a bit of a cough and I didn't want to push things. I ran 1.5 miles total. Not bad for not having run in several weeks.
To be honest I was afraid I was going to 'lose the ability' to run in that time off. I'm glad it wasn't as bad as I expected. It was WAY too easy to not run though. That's a little scary for me. I had to remind myself that I have a goal so I have to keep working toward it!

Goal Number 16

Since it's been so long I want to do the best I can. I would like to run 3 times for 30 minutes and go as far as I can. If I can't do it, I'm not going to push. I'm going to ease myself back into things.

If you run...you are a runner

This was said to me yesterday by a friend of mine after I had commented that I was frustrated for not getting any better. It's the second time I have heard this. I think what I need to wrap my head around is that I don't need to be fast. I don't need to be able to go far. If I run, whether it be 1 mile or 10 miles, I am a runner. I have a lot counting against me, asthma, out of shape, bad knees, overweight. But you know what? I'm running. And I keep doing it. I think it's been almost 6 months now. That's pretty good and I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm going to keep doing it and keep pushing. If I can't ever do better than a 14 minute mile...so what? Maybe my body isn't meant to go faster than that. I'm going to try to stop worrying about it and just do the best I can and let my body adjust naturally.
That said...I'm still really sick from the cold my kids gave me (thanks guys). There is no way I can run today with the coughing and chest congestion. In fact, I started out trying to walk and I can't even do that. I get too dizzy when I start coughing and it's just not safe. So although this may sound like yet another excuse, it's not, and I'll be back as soon as I can!

Chest Congestion

Have a congested chest makes running difficult. I started out today to try to run and I just could not breathe. I ended up walking, better than nothing right?, and I walked 1.33 miles in 30 minutes. I'm really starting to feel like I'm going to lose my ability to run or something taking all this time off for being sick. I'm not improving as fast as I'd like which is also making me lose my motivation. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a runner?

It's been a month

I'm not counting last week's pathetic workout so it's basically been a month since I have run...and I could tell. I was able to run 2.16 miles in 30 minutes but it was tough!

This week's goals are the same as last week's since I never used the goals last week!