Chest Cold
Blast!
As hard as I tried, I got a chest cold this week. I felt it coming on early Monday morning and it got steadily more apparent that day. Tuesday morning we had my favorite workout, the Michigan, on tap.
No way was I going to not do that!
Of course I went to bed in prayer, hoping I’d wake up and my chest and throat soreness was a fluke...but it wasn’t.
I started the workout and got through two intervals before having to stop.
As in, a dead stop.
Ok, reassess, I told myself. Rest a bit longer and try again. It’s only 1200M for the next rep, you can do it.
Gulp, nope. Ok, just breathe, try again.
Nope. I barely made it to 400M.
Not today Ellie.
I know I made the right decision this morning. But that never sits well with me. Thoughts plague my mind often.
Did I wimp out?
Could I have pushed through?
Did I really fail this workout?
Yes, I guess I did. But I think my body feels I succeeded.
My chest still hurts as if I had done a gut busting workout. My nose is runny. I’m in a weird passive state which isn’t my normal. I’m alright energy-wise I suppose, but it might be me just being my customer service self.
Fake it when I need to, convince myself everything is ok.
But it wasn’t. I hit the wall. Hard. Shortness of breath. Chest hurting. Legs out of gas.
It sucked bedause immediately I wondered what I could do to prevent it.
Rest more?
Eat more?
Relax more?
Do less.
Yes, all those things are probably true. However sickness is a sticky wicket. I was probably run down after my long run Saturday and someone I’ll breathed on me. It was just that simple.
All this makes me realize how much is so not in my control. How fickle our sport it and all the factors that have to go right. It used to drive me crazy, but now it’s oddly liberating. I can not control most things, so I give myself grace when things go poorly.
I could not prevent a chest cold even if I wore a mask and washed my hands and bathed in bleach. Some things just happen.
I can however be smart about healing.
That I can control, and that I will do.