Every time a new race comes to town there are going to be some really awesome things about it and some things that could really use improvement for next year. The Nike Women's Half was no different.

While I had a pretty great day (snagging that PR and all), my mom had the complete opposite experience so I thought I'd share some of the pros and cons of this race.

Pros:

Expo running for multiple days
This is great for locals who can miss the crowds on Saturday. I heard lines were insanely long on Saturday and people waited upwards of 50 minutes to go their packets. On Friday, my mom and I zipped through in about five minutes.



Tons and tons of porta-potties
This is something Nike nailed. Putting on a race for 15,000 women they knew they needed to have many bathrooms and they did! I didn't wait in line once and I used the porta-pottie four times (I pee a lot when I'm nervous) including once 20 minute before the start.



Start line accessible from multiple Metro lines.
So much win here! You could get to the start line from just about every color line on the Metro, which means you don't have to transfer lines and deal with extra Metro headaches on race morning.

Bag check was a breeze
I've never used bag check before in a race, but I wanted to check a sweatshirt for after the race so I didn't get chilly while waiting for my mom to finish. There was no line when I dropped the bag off or when I picked it up. Plus the volunteers were super friendly!

The course
Flat, fast and through some really pretty parts of town, the course itself was awesome.



Finishers shirts and necklaces
I loved the cute finisher's shirt that you got at the end of the race and well the Tiffany necklace, of course I loved that too.

Cons:

Expo locations
Not exactly the easiest location to get to since Georgetown isn't easily Metro accessible. Luckily it was a beautiful day so my mom and I didn't mind the walk, but if it had been raining that would have been a miserable experience.

The expo itself
I'm used to big expos with lots of different vendors selling all sorts of gear for all your racing needs. Nike's wasn't like that. I get they probably didn't want the competition, but the expo seemed really meh. I wasn't looking to get my hair or make-up done at the expo, and that's about all they offered.

The website
Nike ran almost everything through Facebook, and I had a really hard time finding the information that I needed. A lot of times links were broken or didn't go to where they said they would. My mom doesn't have Facebook, so she really struggled to get the information about the expo, the start locations and all that stuff. Websites are easy to put together. There's really no excuse for not having a good one for a race this big.

Hard to get into corrals
There were a lot of people in this race and as the start of the race got closer, it was almost impossible to get into the corrals. People were waiting on the sidewalk, pushing and shoving their way to get in. It was kind of a madhouse. I wish there had been more entrances into the corrals so there wouldn't have been so much backlog.



No wave start/major course overcrowding.
Nike made a huge deal about starting in your own corral. In fact, you were given a wristband so you could only get into the corral you were assigned to. But then they didn't do a wave start. So everyone started at exactly the same time and the course was majorly crowded. I saw several people trip and fall because they got bumped the wrong way.

The course was crowded when I went through and I definitely had to watch my footing and where I was going more than I wanted to. No chance to really enjoy the scenery, and it stayed crowded the whole time I was running.

My mom said by the time she started, the course was so crowded that she came to a complete stop twice because the road narrowed so much that people couldn't get through. She lost at least five minutes in the back ups and was understandably upset. Stopping less than a mile into a half marathon is more than a little frustrating. She also said she spent the whole time watching the ground and the people around here so she wouldn't fall and never really got to enjoy the sites on the course.

Overall, I had a pretty great experience at the Nike Women's Half this weekend, but it sounds like the further back you were in the corrals, the less awesome the experience was, and I think that stinks. The experience at a race shouldn't be determined by how fast or slow you run. I was really disheartened to hear that my mom and several other runners around her thought the $160 entrance fee ended up being a giant waste of money.

Did you run Nike over the weekend? What did you think?

Inspired.



There's no other way to describe how I ran this weekend at the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC.



I set a monster PR -- crushing my old record by 2:21 -- and I ran the entire race -- for the first time in my half marathon racing history.

I always employ the "walk through water stops" race plan, so I can actually drink the water and give my legs a short break. But not yesterday. Somehow yesterday I found the strength and endurance to run the entire time.

I wasn't trained well for this race, and on race morning my only plan was to go out and have fun. It was an absolutely beautiful day for a race. Temperatures in the mid-50's with sunlight bouncing off the monuments. No better weather for a run around DC with 15,000 other women.


Mom and me pre-race

The morning kicked off with a very nice tribute to Boston. The race director introduce Shalane Flanagan and Joan Benoit Samuelson who were going to be "jogging" the race in shirts for Boston. There was a moment of silence and then a gorgeous singing of the National Anthem.



It was hard not to get a bit emotional seeing all the runners in the corral wearing various shirts and signs in memory of Boston. Minutes after the race started, Sweet Caroline started playing on my iPod and I almost lost it.

I went out way too fast. I was riding the adrenaline and soaking in the atmosphere of all these women out running together. My first several miles clicked off way faster than normal. Every time I looked down I saw my pace hovering between 8:30 and 8:45 and I knew I was going to be in trouble later on the course, but I just tried to enjoy it while it lasted.

The course was pretty flat, and I was feeling so good. As we looped across Memorial Bridge and out past the Kennedy Center, I couldn't believe the times I was seeing on my Garmin.



I figured I'd probably crash and burn on Hains Point -- the bane of my existence in every DC race -- three miles of nothing to look at with no race spectators. But though Hains Point felt long, it didn't feel as torturous as normal. Maybe it's because Nike had set up signs on the course so there was stuff to read. I kept telling myself that once I got off Hains Point, I'd only have about three miles of running left.

Mile 10 was the first real hill on the course, running up an on ramp and getting ready to head back to the Mall. That hill almost broke my running streak. Lots of other people stopped to walk, but I just kept telling myself one step at a time, and next thing I knew I was over the hill.

I cruised past a friend from high school who was out on the course cheering (thanks Marisa!) and mentally locked myself in to finish off the last 2.5 miles.

Mile 11 clicked by and I was starting to hurt. There was a bit of back up at the water stop and I almost started walking again, but I kept pushing on.

By this point I knew I had sub-2 in the bag. I couldn't believe it, but I was slowly starting to realize that a PR was still a definite possibility.



But then my legs started to hurt, my mental strength was fading and I wanted to be done. The loop we ran around the Capitol never felt so long. I kept waiting to make that final turn and head back to the finish line.

Then we were finally on the straightaway. You could see the finish line in the distance, but I knew I still had almost a mile to go. I couldn't focus on much at this point so I just picked a spot on the ground a few feet in front of me and tried not to worry about how far out the finish line was.



I was looking at my Garmin, trying to do the math in my head based on how far I still had to go. Trying to calculate how much of a PR I'd be able to grab. But at this point in the race my brain wasn't functioning well and I gave up on trying to do runner math.

I could hear the crowd screaming and then a volunteer directing us toward the finisher shoots.

And then I was done. I looked down at my watch and couldn't believe it.



My official time was 1:56:37.

I went to find Emily after the race, who also set an awesome PR (1:40 and change...she's so fast!)


Emily and me, our little blue boxes and brand-spankin' new PRs

Big thanks to Emily's boyfriend Mike who came out to watch the race and take some really nice pictures!

After finishing, I went to watch for my mom, who finished in 2:40, a decent time for her. She was disappointed though because she knew she could have gone much faster if it weren't for some major, major snafus on the course.

Since this post is already way, way too long, I'll save the pros and cons of this race for a separate post tomorrow. Spoiler alert: While the race was an amazing experience for me and my friends, it kind of sucked for the people in the later corrals.

For now, I'm off to bask in my post-race, PR soreness.

Summer isn't normally a time I'm looking to pack my calendar with races. It's hot and humid, and most days I'd rather be relaxing at my friend's pool sipping a margarita than out running any sort of race.


This is where I prefer to spend my summer days. With Tracy...on a raft

But lately, I've been getting tons and tons of emails about all these really fun-sounding 5Ks in and around DC this summer, and I'm finding myself wanting to sign up for all of them. (Email marketing at its finest I suppose.)

It doesn't help that a lot of my friends and coworkers have been encouraging me by telling me which races they are signing up for. If a friend's doing a race, there's a good chance I will want to do it too because then it's not just racing for the sake of racing. It's racing to hang out with friends, and social running is obviously the best kind!

Plus, after a brutal semester of struggling to find time to train for a long-distance race, mixing things up with short stuff might be just the mental break I need before I dive into training for my fall half marathon. (My coworker Emily and I signed up for this totally fun-sounding women's half just outside DC in September.)

Here's a quick look at some of the 5Ks I'm considering this summer: (Note I haven't actually registered for any of these yet, waiting until after this weekend's Nike half to pull the trigger.)

• DC Pride Run - June 7th - A Friday evening race through a cemetery sounds fun


• Lawyers Have Heart 5K - June 8th - The 5K is new this year. I did the 10K last year.


• Women's Distance Festival - June 30th - This was my cousin's first race two years ago and I told her I'd do it with her again. Note: in Columbia, MD, not DC


• Biggest Loser Run/Walk DC - July 14 - Might actually do the 10K here depending on the course


• Run for the Ribbon 5K - July 20 - Rehoboth Beach, DE - Racing on vacation FTW


• YMCA 5 Mile Run - July 21 - Rehoboth Beach, DE - Did this race last year while on vacation and really liked it. Plus the tech tee was awesome and you got a medal.


• 9/11 Memorial 5K - Sept. 7 - An evening race that's become a bit of a tradition with friends.

Clearly I've got a gap in my schedule for August races, so I might be looking to pick something up there.

DC friends, if you're running these or any others let me know! I'm apparently all about the 5Ks this summer.

I swear my new Saucony Kinvara 4's make me run faster.

Maybe it's because they are highlighter yellow, and a shoe that color just isn't meant to go slow.



Or maybe it's because they are so lightweight, I feel like there's nothing on my foot, and my feet just fly over the pavement.



Or maybe it's just all in my head, and I don't really go faster in them at all.

But I sure feel like I do.



Saucony sent me these shoes to review several weeks ago as part of a FitFluential partnership. You may have remembered I also reviewed the super minimal Saucony Virratas a few weeks back, and completely loved them as well.


How awesome is the packaging the Kinvaras came in?

The Kinvaras won't be available in stores until May 1. But here's a sneak peek of what you can expect:

The Kinvaras are a little different than the Virratas. They are definitely a more minimal shoe than my Mizuno Wave Inspires, but unlike the Virratas, which have a 0mm heel-to-toe drop, the Kinvaras have a 4mm drop.

I found the 4mm heel-to-toe drop to feel much more comfortable than the 0mm drop, and I think that's because I'm used to running in a stability shoe that offers much more cushioning and protection. (Something I've found very, very necessary on my longer runs.)



Similar to the Virratas, the Kinvaras have some extra cushioning in the shoe to protect feet from the pavement. The Saucony website sums it up well: The shoe offers protection, not correction.

I was surprised to find that's exactly what I wanted in a shoe for speed and shorter distance workouts.

For all of my running career (7+ years at this point), I have run in Mizuno Wave Inspires. They are the perfect shoes for my foot and are exactly what I need for long training runs.

But for shorter runs and speed work, I'm finding that I like having a lighter weight shoe. Something that makes me feel like I'm flying across the pavement, and that's what the Kinvara 4 does.

I don't plan to transition full-time to minimal shoes. They just don't work for me over long distances, my feet feel too beat up. But I think I've found a place for minimal shoes in my rotation. They are perfect for short stuff when I want my feet to feel light as air.

You can find more specs and a closer look at the Kinvara 4 from the design team's perspective over on Saucony's blog.

This weekend I did lots of Boston-themed things.

It started with a group run Saturday morning in DuPont Circle. The DC Capital Striders, one of the local running groups here, had organized several memorial runs through out the city.



Baylee, the DuPont runs' organizer, printed off Boston bibs for everyone to wear and mapped out two different loops for people to run.



We started off in a massive swarm down Connecticut Avenue, but people eventually fell into pace groups as we approached the National Mall and headed out toward the Capitol.

I was glad Megan had decided to join me on the run. I didn't know anyone else in the group and as the miles wore on the pace groups became smaller and smaller. For plenty of the run it was just me and Megan.



With about a mile and half left to go, we were rounding the Tidal Basin, passing the FDR Memorial, when we picked up two other girls who stuck with us the rest of the way back.

In total we did about 8.25 miles, right around what I needed for my last long run before the Nike Women's Half this week.

It was truly a beautiful morning for a run and I was glad I had taken the time to meet up with the group to do it. Megan and I celebrated by demolishing some bagel sandwiches from Bethesda Bagel before we both headed home.

The Boston-themed activities continued Saturday night when I met up with a group of friends downtown for a fundraiser for the One Fund. A friend's former roommate had gone to school in Boston and organized the event.



The fundraiser was fairly small and low-key, but we managed to raise more than $1,400 for the bombing victims and their families. Plus it ended up being a good night spent with friends, and a good attempt to get back to some of the normalcy of life that I feel has been missing since last Monday.

And now, here we are at the start of a new week, which can pretty much only be better than last week. Here's to making it a great one.

I always knew the running community was made up of some pretty amazing people, but never has that been more evident than this week in the outpouring of love and support after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Every time I've opened Twitter since Monday afternoon, I've been overwhelmed by the way the running community has banded together to show its support for Boston.

We wore race shirts to work on Tuesday to show support.



We've set out on countless runs to #runforBoston.



Community runs are being organized in almost every major city in the country. I've seen several events happening in DC over the next several days. DC friends, which events are you planning to attend?

(If you're not in DC, Pavement Runner has a great list of BostonStrong runs happening on Monday across the country. I recommend checking out his site if you want to see what's going on in your city.)

On yesterday's run, I passed several other people out for runs of their own. Some wore race shirts, some didn't, but every single one of them nodded and smiled at me as we passed each other. It was as if there was some unspoken bond of solidarity.

It's like we were in it together, healing in the only way we knew how - by lacing up our shoes and pounding the pavement. Running for those who never got to cross the finish line in Boston and those who may never get to take another step again.



I'm still deeply sadden by the bombings in Boston, but I have been amazed at the way our community has pulled together. It makes me so, so proud to be part of this group.

I think it was the contrasting scenes on Boylston Street that got me the most.

Early yesterday afternoon, I was watching the live stream of the race, cheering for Shalane Flanagan to drop the hammer and somehow pull herself into third place. I watched as Flanagan crossed the finish line in 4th place, fist pumping to the crowd of spectators.

I watched Kara Goucher finish minutes later. The first words out of her mouth after crossing the line, "How did Shalane do?"

I watched hordes of regular runners celebrate in Hopkinton as they crossed the start line, ready to run their own 26.2 miles to Boylston Street.

And then a few hours later, I saw Boylston Street in shambles. Blood everywhere, medics trying to help wounded people. No more smiles and cheers and fist pumps from happy finishers.

My heart dropped. I was shocked and sad.

In a daze, I reached for my phone to text Susan to make sure she was OK. I felt a bit of relief when she said she was, but I still couldn't really process what happened.

Boston is the holy grail of marathons. Runners put in hours of blood, sweat and tears, training their hearts out to qualify for the privilege to run Boston. Running Boston is the celebration of months and sometimes years of hard work. Making that final turn on Boylston Street and running toward the finish line should be nothing less than a moment of extreme pride and euphoria.

And yesterday, that was shattered.

My heart aches for what happened in Boston, for the families and friends of those who lost loved ones and for those who were injured in the evil and senseless bombing. My heart aches for what should be a happy day of celebration being shattered by some cruel person.

As a runner, I may never get the privilege to run Boston -- I'm nowhere near fast enough to qualify. But I watch every year without fail. Every year I have tons of friends running the race.

And I think that's why out of all the horrible tragedies that have rocked our country in the last year or so this one hits so close to home. It feels like a personal attack on my friends and my family.

I realize I am writing and publishing this post on the anniversary of the horrible shootings at Virginia Tech, and I think that makes the whole thing hurt even more.

I can't process all the senseless killings, all the bombings and the shootings.

I've been trying to focus on the tiny bit of silver lining in this whole thing. That because it was a race, medical personnel were already on the scene. First responders could act almost immediately. Who knows how many lives that could saved.

But despite that bit of good, my heart still aches.

[caption id="attachment_2742" align="alignnone" width="500"] Saw this on Twitter and thought it summed things up well[/caption]

Last weekend was my friend Sarah's bridal shower and bachelorette party. We had an awesome time and both events were so perfectly "Sarah" (to be read: low key, classy and fun). Sarah and Jon (who I have known since our first week of freshmen year at UMD) get married in June, and I'm in the wedding -- my first time being a bridesmaid ever.

I figured I'd share a few of the photos on this dreary Friday morning.


Tailgate girls at the shower. L to R: Emily, Linh, Sarah, me, Meghan


All the Maryland girls


Opening presents


Doesn't every bride-to-be need a massive chalice for wine?


L to R: Sam, Sarah, Emily, me. We all lived on the same floor our sophomore year (Sarah's freshmen year.)

In typical DC fashion, we've skipped right over spring and jumped straight summer. With the temperatures forecasted to set record highs yesterday and possibly again today, I figured it was time to get back in the habit of morning runs.

Luckily when I set out for my three miler yesterday, the sun was still sleeping. It was warm out, but it wasn't horribly uncomfortable. (Mainly because the DC humidity hadn't set in yet.)

I was still glad I had opted for shorts and a tank top though. My first time not in capris and a running jacket in a long time.



There was nothing super special about the run. It felt really hard for a three-miler. I blame that less on the heat and more on all the time I took off because I was sick.

Still my pace was definitely slower than I would have liked it to be.



Oh well, once my classes end and I have more free time to dedicate to running later this spring and through the summer, I'm sure my speed will eventually come back to me.

Speaking of summer running, my coworker Emily and I are eyeing a half marathon in mid-September. It's the first time the race will be coming to the DC-area, and we both think it will be fun.


Emily and I at the LivingSocial Glow in the Dark 5K

However, neither of us think training through the summer heat and humidity will be fun. Jury's still out on what we'll decide. Prices go up in a few days, so we'll see what happens.

I've said it time and again on this blog. When it comes to smart training, I'm not always the brightest crayon in the box.

I get impatient with setbacks. I sometimes push too hard too fast. And I really don't like skipping or cutting back long runs even if I probably should.

Saturday's run is the most perfect example of this. I had eight miles on the schedule and I was pig-headedly determined to run all of them.



Now you may remember, last week I had a wicked sinus infection. I was down and out, not able to do much more other than struggle through work and then curl up in bed when I got home. It was miserable, and as a result, I hadn't run in at least 10 days.


I'm still taking these massive horse pills to knock it out

So it might not have been the smartest move to make an eight-mile run my first run back.

But I did it anyway.

With the Nike Women's Half only a few weeks away, I was getting nervous the skipping another long run would set me back even farther. I'm worried enough as it is that I'm going to struggle to finish the race because I'm horribly under trained.

So I wanted Saturday's run to prove that I could manage.



So yes, I did all eight miles -- even though my chest burned from the effort and my nose ran like a faucet the entire time. Even though my legs were so tired that I could have stopped after four miles.

And what was the result of my running idiocy?

Such bad shin splints that walking was painful for the rest of the day Saturday, and I had to slather Icy Hot all over them before bed.

I actually think the shin splints may have been a result of doing the run in a pair of shoes that needs to be retired, but either way they were extremely painful.

The sad part is I was still really glad I did the run and got the mileage in. It might not have been pleasant, but it was a reminder that I still have a good base of fitness and I should be able to finish the Nike race.

I love spectating races in DC because it means I have an excuse to bust out everyone's favorite race sign:



It's such a crowd pleaser and Sunday morning was no different. I had a few tourists stop to ask me if they could take a picture with the sign, and even one of the SWAT guys doing security for the race asked me about it.

I showed up to the race plenty early so I could stake out a spot at near the finish line.

I've run Cherry Blossom a few times so I know how crowded it can get toward the end with spectators and I wanted to be make sure I had front row seat. I had several friends running the race and I was hoping to spot them all.


My friend Emily was standing across the street and took this picture of me spectating. She added the nice red arrow so you know which person was me.

I got comfortable in my spot and a few minutes later the elite men and women were flying by.



They make running look so effortless.

Then came the hordes of regular runners, and I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me looking for my friends. I spotted a few people, like my friend Sam's husband and a guy who used to work at the paper with me back in college.

Sarah spotted me and yelled my name. I'm glad she did, otherwise I would have totally missed her.

My main goal was to spot my friend Ryan. It was his first Cherry Blossom and his longest race to date, and I was pretty excited to cheer for him as he finished.

I was looking everywhere, trying to scan all the faces of the runners, especially as his estimated finish time crept closer. I wasn't seeing him anywhere though, and then a few minutes later my phone beeped with a text that he was waiting for me near the Washington Monument.

I had totally missed him. Spectating fail.

Ryan kicked butt in the race, averaging something close to 9:30 per mile. Pretty awesome for his first long distance race!


Don't mind my horribly wind blown hair.

We hung out for a bit and waited for his mom to finish. She also did awesome!


Shamelessly stole this picture from Ryan.

All around it was a really great day of spectating and it made me pretty excited to be running the Nike Women's Half in a few weeks.

Antibiotics work wonders. When I felt this crap I've got going on moving into my ears on Wednesday, I made an appointment to see the doctor. Turns out I had a full blown sinus infection. Luckily for me, after just two doses of antibiotics, I'm starting to feel like myself again.

I hoped to workout this morning, but I'm still not 100 percent and the doctor warned me not to wear myself out. So yet another rest day. This is getting old.

Since I've been majorly lacking workout news to share, I figured I'd do my round up of books I read in March since I'm a few days late on that.



Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I was on the waitlist for this forever at the library, and I finally got my hands on the Kindle copy sometime last month. This book was insane. Twists and turns everywhere with some seriously psychologically messed up characters. I get why it's been on the best seller list for so long because even thought parts of the book infuriated me, I couldn't stop reading. It was just that good. And the ending, well it just made me mad. It wasn't one of those books you put down where everything is tied up in a happy little bow, that's for sure.

The Forgotten by David Baldacci
This is another waitlisted book. I waited a few months to get my hands on this one, but it was worth the wait. This was one of Baldacci's better books in a while. His earliest books were by the far best, and I feel like in the last few years he'd hit a little bit of a slump. The books were good, but had started to get predictable. I didn't feel like that with the Forgotten. I a lot of the plot changes caught me by surprise. It was a great and suspenseful read that I couldn't put down. It definitely reminded me of classic Baldacci.

A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman
One of my free Kindle downloads. I'm usually not a fan of historical fiction at all, but this book, set in the late 1920s, really drew me in. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline of a young girl wanting to make it as a lawyer and fight for women's rights and the issues she runs into a long the way. I'd definitely call this a bit of chick lit. There was a lot of love story stuff running through the background, but it was smarter than most other chick lit. This is the first in a series of books by the same author, and I'm thinking about maybe reading the others. I thought the author told a really, really good story.

Have you read any good books this month? And did you read Gone Girl? I'm dying to hear what other people thought!

When I went to bed last night, I had high hopes that I would be feeling better by this morning.

I was still congested as heck, but the burning in my throat had started to subside. So in my very optimistic way, I set my alarm for 4:30 planning to get up and get a run in before work.

Unfortunately, when I woke up, I wasn't feeling much better.

I'm not one of those people who will workout through a sickness, even if it is all above the chest and you're technically able to. Pushing it in a workout when my immune system is depleted just seems dumb and like a very good way it to take even longer until I feel better again.

I'm just starting to get frustrated. It's been almost a week since my last workout. Friday was a rest day, then I got sick on Saturday and I've been a bum trying to heal ever since.

I'm starting to feel like a lazy blob, but between my throat hurting and my sinuses being all backed up and my ears starting to hurt, I suppose rest is just what I need.

Baseball season is back!! Waahooo!!!



Yes, yes the Phillies may have lost last night, but I'm still so excited my favorite guys are back in my life!

If you've been wondering where I've been, I promise I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I just took a much needed long weekend at home at my parents' house...and then got sick.

If you've been reading for more than today, you know I've been a little bit overwhelmed this semester with everything I have on my plate. I love being busy, but that sometimes leads to my downfall.



I say yes to too many projects and don't leave any time for myself.

As a result, I end up turning into a stressed out crazy person who never sees her friends (sorry friends) and neglects her health. Working out and healthy eating have definitely taken a back seat as I try to manage everything I've got going on.

So the weekend at home, away from DC, away from all my responsibilities, couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I did nothing more taxing this weekend than going shopping with my mom. I read a lot, watched a bunch of basketball, spent time with my family. It was good.



Except for the getting sick part.

As for that, I'm fairly certain it's one of those "let-down" sicknesses. You know the kind that happen when you've been all go-go-go for weeks and months on end and then you give yourself a second to decompress and it's like wham, all the germs in the world attack your immune system, which has now let down its guard.

I'm fending it off the best I can....lots of fluids, cough drops, tissues and decongestant medicine, but I still sound a little bit like a man.

Hopefully this won't hang on for toooo long. Being sick is the pits.