My foot is completely better. My nose, however, is snot. OK. Bad pun. If it's not one thing...

Just when I get over the stress fracture that was apparently just a figment of my imagination, I get a nasty cold, which is unfortunately, completely real. I've got the yellow and green mucous, the cough, the minor aches. I am SO upset!!! I've spent five months training for this darn marathon. It's five days away and now I get a COLD that could potentially jeopardize the whole thing. ARGGGG.

I'm trying to think positive. Maybe I can get better before Sunday. Don't think I'm trying to come up with an excuse for backing out of this thing. I'm going to run even if I have to crawl the entire way, but I'd like to feel halfway decent while doing it, and I don't want to give up my hopes for qualifying for Boston over a stupid cold.

They say you should stay away from sick people during your taper. That's a little hard when they're your kids. Both Mac and Rush were sick while we were in Aspen. Mac was up two nights coughing, while Rush was up two nights with a high fever and coughing. Rob and I were up because of all of the coughing. And now I'm up again because of all of my coughing. This is the week I'm supposed to be getting the most rest I possibly can, but I can't sleep.

On Sunday I stopped in at GNC. I was totally desperate. I'm very skeptical and I don't usually believe in "alternative" medicine, but I was desperate. The guy sold me this stuff called "Cold MD" that is supposed to shorten the duration of a cold by 94 percent. I've been taking it for three days and I'm still no better. Yesterday I went on an antibiotic to combat the yellow and green muck in my nose, and hopefully that will do me some good in a few days.

My excitement for the race is dwindling. Last week I couldn't wait until marathon day. This week, I wish it was another two or three weeks away so I'd have more time to recover from my cold. I've skipped a few runs, and shortened some others, hoping this will give my body a chance to do it's thing and fight this bug. Hopefully this won't hurt me. They say that the only error you can make in your taper is to do too much, not too little, so if that's true I'll probably be OK.

I don't know if I'll have time for another post before the marathon. I'm going to try to rest as much as possible. This may be it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Please send some positive vibes my way!