I have had the flu! It's a vicious thing and of course illness is the dread of the small business self-employed, like me. I firmly believe that to be seriously self-employed, as in...it's how you support yourself, not just as a hobby in addition to the day job, one has to be in good health. There is no sick pay and if you can't work, the bills do not get paid. The strain of flu which seems to have been doing the rounds of the UK at the moment is a nasty piece of work. The cough and the cold are the least of the problems....the worst thing is that it seems to deplete all your energy and enthusiasm! Anyway, I've had it, it's gone and I've survived it.......apart from a little residual vertigo....which seems to be an annoying side-symptom. I've managed to keep going at a reduced pace, work-wise and yarn-dyeing has been happening over the weekend.
I like to run. I don't run vast distances as my knees are slightly rickety but a 5k run , out on my own , is great. Of course this all stopped with the flu. Just walking up the stairs became a major ordeal and I wondered if I would ever run again! After saying for the last few days..."I really need to get back running", today was the day I forced myself out of the door to actually give it a go. First, I went through all the usual reasons not to do it...the internal dialogue... "You are 61 years old, why do you want to run anyway?" Of course this is poppycock! "You are not really completely over the flu." ,"You don't have time, too much work to do", "Maybe you should have breakfast and another cup of tea first", "Your phone needs charging", ! In the end you just have to put the trainers on and go!
It was hard. Three weeks off takes it's toll. However , the sun was briefly shining on a chilly winter day and there are little signs of Spring. Through the woods and across the field I went. I had to walk on the uphill sections and my 5.4km took ages but, spurred on by the thought of caramel and ginger granola with a banana and a coffee, on my return, I did it and I'm glad.
Why do I do it? Many reasons but the main one is because it makes me feel stronger. It also "gets me out". Now I'm ready for a productive day of work.
