Coughing and spluttering

I've been in Cape Town for a few days to coach an orienteering camp (more on this in my next post).

While in the Cape I've had the most wonderful runs. The Lower Tokai Park was just a treat on Thursday and Friday; and on Saturday evening, after a day spent with our young orienteers in the forests near Grabouw, I took on the six kilometre 'yellow mtb route' from Oak Lane Cottages, which is where we were staying.

All around Oak Lane are apple orchards, farm dams and forests - just my kind of area.

Here are some photos from my run.

 I felt great on the run but only a few hours later my throat felt a little scratchy and my chest  a little tight. By morning I was definitely down with a bug - coughing, congestion, runny nose, blocked ears, elevated heart rate... 

I'd been aiming to hit the yellow route again before leaving but it was no longer an option. After 21 consecutive days of wonderful running, I'm barely up to walking.

I haven't been ill for at least a year or three so this is disappointing. And I've been running like a champ too! Fast, hard and free.

Nonetheless, it is the cold-and-flu season and after a couple of non-stop months I'm clearly susceptible. I hope to kick this in a few days to be back in action.