I finally tested negative for COVID this morning, almost two weeks after the first positive test for Kin. Funnily enough, I tested negative all the way through the plague, up until what was supposed to be the last day of our quarantine — Day 10 — then I tested positive. Well, it's not funny at all, to be honest. It's been pretty hellish, and I wouldn't say either of us are 100% back-to-normal.

The positive tests meant I skipped my group runs this past week — both the Friday donut run and the Saturday long run with LMJS. I did manage to do a long run on my own. I must say, having really enjoyed the solitude that running provides, I now very much miss the group runs and the camaraderie that comes from running with others.

In an attempt to slow down — you gotta run slow to run fast — I've started listening to audiobooks rather than music on my runs. There's something about music that makes me mimic the beat and so I'll often speed up or slow down to match. I started listening to Tricia Hersey's Rest is Resistance — ironically — during Saturday's six-mile run. I put music on for Sunday's shorter recovery run. That and a new pair of shoes — Adidas Boston 11's — meant I went way too fast. But it felt good to go fast, knowing that it meant that my body was almost done with this damn plague.

I've now missed twoa weeks at Bay Strength, and as we're heading out of town on Wednesday (and as the gym is closed for two weeks at the end of the year) I'll miss lifting throughout all of December. I sort of dread going back in January as everything will seem incredibly heavy, I'm sure — and right when I officially start the half marathon training. It's going to be a lot on my body. I was going into the training feeling quite confident — I'd just PR'd in a 5K — but now I'm feeling much more nervous about how I'm going to handle the next four months of training. My first half is in thirteen weeks; my second just six after that!

I just have to remember to prioritize rest and recovery. And food. (I finally made a decent dal for the first time ever. Dal is one of my favorite comfort foods, but I never can make it quite as comforting as my stomach and soul yearn for. But this recipe, I have to say, was really damn good.)