Cold in lungs or chest, take a rest

Let me just state for the record that I never get sick. Each winter, I pride myself on missing the flu season, avoid colds, and staying illness-free while my friends and co-workers miss day after day and slush around the office in a medicine-induced stupor.

I can now chalk three illnesses so far this winter on my "Done" list. The first was the head cold in November. Then was the stomach virus in December. Now I have been battling a chest cold for the past week.

I haven't run at all because of the chest cold. I read somewhere a rule of thumb was if you were sick above your neck, you would be okay to run. If it was below the neck, take time off and recuperate. I looked elsewhere to see if opinions were the same, and the general consensus was just that. So I hung up my shoes and took the week off, the fear of a chest cold escalating into pneumonia or another terror hanging over my head.