Sadly, I’m not referring to fresh pow pow at the ski areas, I’m talking about this time of year – the time of year where a lot of people come down with various types of illnesses. Maybe it’s the lull after the holidays, the busy start of the new year, or maybe that fact that it’s winter, but this is the time of year where you hear about all your friends getting sick.
Remember when you were a kid? We didn’t really “like” to be sick, but a sick day was a day we didn’t have to go to school. I remember trying to fake being sick so I could go home early or not go to school at all.
I thought Bueller knew it all :)
As an adult, it’s a major bummer to get sick because we get behind in work and everything else – which brings me to my next point. Getting sick as an endurance athlete.
It seems to me that athletes have the hardest time being sick because a lot of our livelihood is dependent on good health. We are always trying to get stronger, healthier, faster. Additionally, athletes tend to have a higher tolerance for being uncomfortable, and some of us have a high tolerance for being REALLY uncomfortable. We are used to pushing ourselves far past what most people want to deal with. So… when we get sick, it’s appears that we also push ourselves too far in that regard. Even when we think we are getting sick, most of us don’t back off. How many times have you been sick, and you think that going outside to pursue your activity will allow you to “sweat” or “work” it out? While I still think it helps sometimes, training can lower your immune system. The hardest part is the resting. Or in Tom Petty’s words, “The waiting is the hardest part.” We feel that we are “losing” fitness when the fact is that if we try to train while we are sick, we will not be making any gains except slowing our road to recovery. So what do we do? Keep going. Where is the line where it’s ok to keep going versus where you need to halt all activity and rest? As frustrating as it can be, it’s important to rest.
Where did this come from? I started feeling a little run down last week, but instead of taking it easy, I thought I’d ride the trainer inside and that would be less deleterious than sucking in cold air from outside. I felt great when I was done and tired at night but thought that was all good. Fortunately, I decided to give up the idea of going to the gym to run on the treadmill and lift that night. Friday morning, I had planned to go to yoga and do a bigger ride in the afternoon, but was knocked down by fever. I reluctantly stayed in bed instead of forging to yoga. It was my annoying cough that stopped me from going. Coughing and yoga simply don’t mix. I was sick enough where I physically couldn’t train(like sweating from high fever and seeing weird little cartoon characters dance across the room) and have had lingering frustration knowing I’m getting further and further behind. The hard part comes where you start feeling good enough where you *could* start exercising again, but doing so could knock you back into being sick again instead of the road to recovery. I have a good friend who is a very driven athlete, but she has been sick for the better part of a month simply because she starts to get better, pushes too hard, and gets set back over and over. It’s sucks when our drive can be negative…and it happens often! Workaholics, people who overtrain, people who push themselves until they crack. I can sheepishly raise my hand high. I try to tell myself, would I rather take a week or so off and then have quality training and health? Or would I rather feel bad most of the time, force myself through the motions of training, and maybe gain only 60-70% benefit? It seems like a no brainer, but it is still hard to say STOP!!!!! HALT!!!!
So. Next time, I will try to listen to my body when it tells me to rest instead of to shut up and do work, because ultimately, there will be a point where my body will give out and the mind can’t tell it to go farther. How ’bout you?
