Hey! Fever…..

………enough already!

It’s been six weeks now and I’ve had enough. Enough of itchy eyes, tight chest, constant sneezing, coughing, nose running, feeling bunged up, difficulty breathing – of all the misery that is hay fever.

If you’ve never had it, you may find it hard to understand how debilitating being allergic to a tiny grain of pollen can be.

Our house backs on to open fields – and there are millions of the little blighters out there, all doing their best to get right up my nose.

Yesterday I spent half an hour pulling grass and weeds out of the garden. Within minutes my arms were covered in a red angry rash, just as a result of brushing against the seeds.

My training has gone to pot. It’s like trying to run with a paper bag over your head. Every time you breath in, there’s just no clear air.

It’s hard to sleep at night, so sometimes I doze off during the day. It’s difficult to focus on things when your head feels like it’s in permanent fog. As for make-up? Forget it! Mascara and sandpaper eyes really don’t go together.

The expert advice is to stay indoors with doors and windows closed. Oh, how very practical – I don’t think!

……and not a suggestion I can follow this coming weekend, as I’m heading up to Carlisle to run the length of Hadrian’s Wall, around 70 miles, to Newcastle.

That will equate to two ultras in two days, taking my overall marathon count to 41 – which is a figure not to be sniffed at.

Pollen in Cumbria please take note!