Under the weather

I've been fighting some cold symptoms this week.

Things started turning sour on Sunday. It was unseasonably cold that day and my throat began feeling a little raw. I knew it was a bad sign. I usually avoid taking medication at all costs, but I have heard that if you feel a cold coming on it's best to try to attack it early. Reluctantly I choked down some Alka Seltzer Plus Night Cold Formula (yuck).

"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz..."

The "night" part worked right away. Within minutes I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I went to bed, hoping that I'd be back to normal the next morning.

When I woke up, I most certainly did NOT feel better. My throat was aching and it hurt to swallow or to talk. I also felt lethargic all around. I considered calling in to work and trying to work from home. It was a 50/50 proposition for me.

I didn't really want to call in. In general I try to save that for the days when I am really, REALLY sick. Adam suggested having something to eat and taking a hot shower. I did both and felt better, so I decided to suck it up and go in.

It wasn't the best day, though, of course. And it hasn't been the best week.

Wah! Wah! Wah!

I very rarely get sick so I'm not used to this. It's been frustrating trying to go about my days despite a stuffy nose, sore throat, periodic headache, occasional loss of appetite (VERY unusual for me), and just feeling blugh all around.

On a half-joking note, ice cream has never been so appealing. I had a bowl of chocolate ice cream last night to help calm my sore throat. It was all I could do to stop myself from turning the ice cream into dinner.

From the exercise front, I've heard many times that you can still work out if your symptoms are neck-level or above. Here is how things went for me this week:

• Monday - I stubbornly dragged myself to my favorite yoga sculpt class. It ended up being taught by a substitute teacher that day who completely changed things up. I was craving familiarity so I wasn't thrilled. Bad timing.
• Tuesday - I had signed up to take an introductory boxing class. I did enjoy the session, but afterwards my arms and back were KILLER sore. Again, bad timing when under the weather. Even today I am still feeling some lingering soreness. As the name implies, the class involved lots of punching, bobbing, and weaving. It also involved a lot of jump-rope drills. Flashback to my childhood days on the playground. It's been easily 20 years since I've jumped rope so it was awkwardly challenging to lope around.

• Wednesday - I was signed up for a bikram yoga class and debated all day long whether or not to go. Ultimately, the thought of 90 minutes of yoga in 104 degrees Fahrenheit/40% humidity was too much and I ended up cancelling. Instead, after work I Divvy'd around to do some errands (by the way, big thumbs up on the Divvy bike share program!) I felt okay while riding around, and was actually enjoying the fresh evening air. When I got home, though, my throat let me know otherwise.
• Thursday - I did 3 very slow miles on the treadmill. After not running for four days, it actually felt pretty good. But afterwards, I regressed. Time for round two of the Alka Seltzer. (This time I tried to drink it quickly so as to minimize actually tasting it. While that did work, the accompanying quick intake of carbonation ended up being unsettling to my stomach. Blech.)
• Today - My original plan was to run 10 miles after work. I am running the Disneyland Half Marathon next weekend, and the last time I did a double-digit run was the weekend of August 8. I'll be in Michigan tomorrow and Sunday, and I don't anticipate having much time this weekend to get in a long run. Therefore, today was supposed to be the day. But between still not feeling 100% right now, and the weather forecast being unfriendly (thunderstorms), I'd say my long run odds are exactly zero.

I read up on how long it usually takes for the common cold to dissipate. Most reports say between 7-14 days. When I first saw that, I was incredulous. One to two WEEKS? Sadly it seems like my body is moving right in tandem with that timeframe. The recovery can't happen fast enough, but apparently I have at least another few days to get through.

Thou shalt never take thy health for granted ever again.