Ugh! I'm Sick!

I guess the excitement of Tour de Moore finally caught up with me. After the high of a successful event, I came down with a crash. Tuesday went OK, but bY Wednesday noon, I knew something was up. After lunch, I got extraordinarily tired and my throat got scratchy. But Thursday was much better; I know I consumed at least a couple liters of water. But Friday dawned beautiful on the outside, while I felt like crap on the inside. I had planned a wonderful, early morning run, which of course didn't happen. I know that I will have plenty of other mornings to run, it really hurt my feelings that I couldn't capitalize on the gorgeous weather.

One of the hard things about being an athlete year-around, is that I always feel 'on'. Nothing ever seems like it can be put on hold. It unnerves me to feel like I'm missing a workout, God forbid 2 or 3 and when the weather's beautiful out, it hurts that much more. In the beginning hours of illness, I spend way too much energy worrying and stressing over missing workouts and housework that's not getting done, when I should be relaxing and using my energy to heal and get well.

The funny thing is that being a coach has softened my view of illness and it's hassles. Now, I view my own illnesses by what I would tell one of my athletes. It gives me a way to be objective about my own situation, which is often hard for us Type-A folks! I must say that I'm proud of myself this time. After the initial disappointment, I parked myself on the couch!

So what to do when you fall ill:

• Understand, accept and embrace the fact that you are ill and need rest.
• Don't ever try to work out with a fever.
• Change your attitude so that it's one of healing. Don't fight it; just let it be.
• DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS!