Run Every Day: Hardest Day #3. The COVID Runs

I didn’t want COVID. No one does. And I definitely didn’t want it a second time. But despite my best efforts, it got me twice.

Like a lot of people, COVID hit me hard. Not the sniffles kind of sick. The just standing up is a win kind of sick. But the streak doesn’t care about your lungs, your fever, or your oxygen saturation. It just stares back at you, quiet and waiting.

I’ve got a treadmill in the garage and it was my way forward. Dragging myself out there was all I could manage. I’d stand in front of that machine like it was a mountain. Just pressing the start button felt like defiance.

And then I’d run.

1.1 miles.

Not a step more.

That 0.1 is just Strava insurance, call it the GPS or treadmill tax. A tiny cushion in case the satellites or sensors decide to short me. But every one of those miles felt like a full marathon. I was drenched in sweat and gasping by the halfway point. Everything burned. Everything ached. And every instinct screamed to stop.

Was it smart? No, it was real dumb.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely not.

Was it that kind of stubborn that only makes things worse? Yep.

Running through COVID was reckless. My health was already compromised, and continuing the streak didn’t make any sense. But somewhere in the haze of fever and coughing fits, my lizard brain kept moving my feet. Press start. Run. Finish.

I think part of me wanted to fight back. I couldn’t control the virus. But I could take that sliver of power, the one that says you don’t get to take this from me.

It didn’t fix anything. Honestly, it could’ve made things worse and probably prolonged my recovery.

But I made it through. One run at a time.

If you’ve ever stared at the treadmill with dread in your chest and no gas in the tank, just know: you’re not alone. The streak doesn’t demand speed or strength. Just stubbornness. If that’s you, Class 5 Performance is here for it.