I've been waffling back and forth about whether or not to share this, because there are so many people who are in dire straits and we're almost getting super-saturated with warnings about staying inside.

But too many of you are still joking about this, so let's talk.

I'm under 40, and by almost all measures I'm in pretty great health. My resting heart rate is 57. When I go on a long run, it's rare for my HR to top 170 BPM. Those long runs barely cause any muscle fatigue.

But after a mysterious cough I had in Jan I can barely breathe.

The cough lasted about a week, and it was like nothing I'd ever experienced. It felt as if I just couldn't get enough air to breathe properly, causing an odd, dry cough and exhaustion. But no fever, no 'strep' or flu feeling, so I chalked it up to pollution + allergies.

I was lucky that it came during a road trip for the Arizona Coyotes and their All Star Break, so I didn't have to worry about skipping more than two games that I voluntarily stayed home from. But without a fever, I didn't bother going to the doctor. Just fluids and rest.

Well, it's been just over two months since then, and that brief bout of fatigue is a distant memory. But I still can't breathe. I'll go on a 3 mile run, barely break a sweat, and barely work my legs. But my chest will stay tight for almost 12 hours after. It sucks.

Here's the thing: it might very well be allergies. It might be adult-onset asthma caused by the considerable pollution Phoenix suffers from. But we just won't know - God knows I don't qualify for a test, and I wouldn't want to waste one needed for more severe cases.

So for now, I've been self-quarantined for almost three weeks, only leaving the house to go on runs (by myself) and to pick up groceries I pre-order. I'll keep this up for as long as I possibly can - and the rest of you, frankly, should too. Because the US is so underprepared.

Let's assume it was covid, and it hit the US before any of us knew. What a mild case! But if this is the diminished lung capacity that even very healthy, athletic adults are at risk of, we all need to do our very best to avoid it. Because society can't handle this.

It's not just whether or not we get the worst-case diagnoses. It's about those of us who have to wonder, do I have it? Did I have it? And how many of us out there won't be able to tell if it's allergies, pollution, a hangover, covid, or a cold. And we don't have enough tests.

So stay home. Please. Don't go on 'socially distant' runs with 6 of your closest friends. Don't have 'quarantine hangouts' with people you don't live with. Don't set up your SUVs in some white chick prayer circle in the Target parking lot and have 'quarantine chats' in the trunk.

It sucks! I know it. I have watched Frozen II over 30 times since we started quarantining and run out of idiot-proof recipes to cook. I feel Vitamin D deficient. I hate it.

But please, give our miserable healthcare system some semblance of a fighting chance. /Fin

One final tweet: this wasn't an invitation to send me medical advice. I am taking perfectly good care of myself and know what to do, both now and in the event I need additional care! Please don't dispense (or accept) medical advice on Twitter, ever. It's very unsafe.