Well, it looks like I didn’t dodge the virus-from hell this year. (Wait a second — maybe since I came down with it in 2009 and still am fighting it in 2010, this is it for both years! That would be super nice!)
After nearly four weeks of trudging my way through severe fatigue, congestion, hives and other fun symptoms from an antibiotic allergic reaction, steroid jitter-y-ness, and an early a.m. bout of throwing up (I have no idea if that last one is related — bad food maybe? Body just trying to clear EVERYTHING any way it can?), I feel like I finally may be turning the corner.
Definitely, the asthma/allergies makes it tough for me to shake some viruses off. I’d like to think I’ve learned a bit about “athlete vs virus” over the years though. Here’s the latest round up of wisdom tidbits I’ve dervived from this last go-round with being sick:
Have an exercise back up: As far as I’m concerned, every day is a good day for a swim. So, heck yeah, I miss swimming. But I know from prior experience that getting in too soon is a disaster — it only leads to being sicker and staying out longer. So this time I’ve sucked it up and remained grounded for nearly four weeks. Instead, I’ve been riding my track trainer on a light setting, doing light runs, yoga tapes, etc. Still moving around a bit, and only on days I feel like it. But I think it helped keep my spirits up and keeps me nudging towards sounder sleep.
Stick to the norm in tems of diet as much as possible: Normally when I am wiped out and have had it with being sick, I eat something not so, um, “supportive,” like an entire bag of torilla chips, for dinner. I am super proud to admit then, that this time, for the first time ever, I did not succumb to temptation. Tired or not, I made sure I made something healthy and as close to normal as possible per meal. Even if it was just scrambled eggs with some peas tossed in or a bowl of veggie soup. Again, I think this tactic went a long way towards staving off other undesirable side-effects, such as “sugar crash.”
Trust my body: I am just starting to realize (gasp!) that I have spent a lot of time forcing body through stuff (tail-end lesson from my summer break no doubt). So this time I had an entire new approach: listen and obey my body. Kind of a leap of faith for me, because it meant doing things I normally would not “allow,” like not working out for 3 days in a row, watching 6+ hours straight of ice skating on T.V. on a Saturday, or eating two bananas at once and calling it dinner since that’s what I was craving at the moment.
Of course, the true test will be once I hit the water again — will I be able to get up to speed at an average, slower, or faster rate than in the past?
Stay tune for details; hopefully I will be swimming again next week…
Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist