Not Down With the Sickness

So, there hasn't been a post for the last two days, and since I've tried to post what I do every day, you might be thinking that's not a good sign. And you'd be right. I got sick. And I don't get sick, so it was something of note.

It may be a bug that's floating around the Toronto area, or it may have come from the NYE party, but my wife got hit very hard by a flu bug on the 2nd, and it caught up with me on the 3rd. No violent symptoms, just a whole-body ache and a level of fatigue worse than after most races I've done. You're not in good shape if you're falling asleep at your desk. After I blinked, and woke up 5 minutes later, with a trail of drool on my chest, I figured I might need to scale back the intensity of Thursday's bike ride. By the time I got home, the ride had been cancelled. I knew better than to force myself further into that pit, with the race just over a week away.

Friday, the consecutive workday streak came to an end. In twenty years in the workforce, I had never called in sick. I had put off surgery until after summer jobs had ended so I wouldn't miss time. My opinion was, either I could go to work, or I was in the hospital. No in-between. But my wife talked me into taking the day to rest. Even though I felt (slightly) better than on Thursday, I spent the day on the couch, floating in and out of naps. All in all, it seems to have helped. I guess I'll have to start a new streak on Monday.

The fatigue had finally passed by this morning. I woke up without the alarm, refreshed, just after 6 am. I forced myself to stay in bed until almost 7, then got up to make preparations for a brief run. The only sickness left is a bit of a runny nose and cough, but that's manageable, and should clear up in a day or two. The plan was for a 6 mile run, at about 7.0 mph. That went out the window pretty quick, as my heart rate spiked very quickly. Even a pace of 6.2 mph had my HR over 150 bpm, which is more taxing than necessary, so I cut the run short at 4 miles. A few hours later, I feel OK, the muscles aren't taxed, but my joints (ankles, knees) are stiff. Tomorrow's plan is 12 miles, but I'll have to see what I can pull off. It will likely be at least 8, maybe 10-12. We'll find out then.

Run: 4 miles @ 6.2 mph