I have an irritating cough. Not in a professionally diagnosed 'it would seem you have what we call an irritating cough', irritating cough, but more a socially observed 'Rich, your coughing is really rather irritating', type of irritating cough. Irritating or not, it's made actual breathing a bit of a chore and has kind of dampened any running around ambitions I may have. Being somewhat asthmatic, I'm always cautious that this may drop to my chest and the dreaded green phlegm will rise with vengeance.
This morning I took a walk, rather than a run. I don't walk much, running seems easier and quicker, obviously, but actual walking always seems such a chore. But it got me out and that's what I was striving for. But the air is a bit thick and heavy at the moment and adds to the feeling of chestiness. It was my birthday a few days ago, and near Cape Town where I was staying by the ocean, the air was crisp and fresh. I didn't manage a run on that trip either but did a few really nice walks...and got to put my feet up, literally.
I remember sucking in the sea air and thinking back to a time when I was a kid and my cousins took me to the sea for fresh air after an asthma attack while staying with them in Wales. Being by the sea always reminds me of that, and that sense of easy breathing and calm. Add that to some stunning views and a sense of almost total isolation, the effect was very powerful at making you feel at ease. But there was also promise of coffee and cake, which can have a similar effect! I could do with some of that fresh air right now.
