Sick of It

This past week has been awful. I got sick. And by sick, I mean VERY sick. Fever, chills, profuse sweating, disoriented, headache, muscle aches, stiff neck… I could go on with the symptoms but you get the point. But it was so bad that I went to urgent care. But for some reason, the doctor just prescribes me antibiotics and sends me on my way. Barely any tests. Doesn’t listen to my suggestions, just kind of shoos me out the door.

Ever felt like that with your healthcare provider? I know they get people in there that are crazy, but I rarely go to the doctor and only go when it’s serious. I wasn’t looking for pain pills or narcotics, just wanted to stop sweating through my clothes. And that lasted for 4 days. So it’s obviously some kind of infection, just do’t know what because the doctor doesn’t feel the need to do much in the way of testing. Whatever it was, it knocked me on my butt for a week! And I guarantee you, it wasn’t the flu or a cold.

But I think the worst part about being sick is not being able to maintain your fitness the way you want. The antibiotics made me so sick that the first day I was vomiting and had bad diarrhea so I could eat or keep anything down. No big deal, but then the next few days left me with severe stomach pains that I had no appetite. I lost weight and most of all I lost my fitness.

When I finally felt better, I went to do a moderate workout. I told myself I would walk uphill 10% grade, 3.0 mph, 30 minutes. This is something I do regularly, so I figured it wouldn’t  be that much more difficult. Boy was I wrong! I had to knock the speed down to 2.6 mph and bring the grade down to 8% just so I could finish the 30 minutes. Then, I tried to lift a few weights and that took just about everything I had. It was awful. I felt so weak and out of shape just from being sick for 4 days.

Now it’s like starting from the bottom again. I’m traveling so it’s hard to get in the gym, but I’m managing my diet and walking as much as possible (hey, it’s NYC so it’s not that hard to walk places!). But what gets me really excited is that I just got my training schedule for RnRLA half marathon. This awesome group I’m a part of got this amazing trainer to help us run the half marathon. And it’s just in time as I begin to get back in the swing of things and train for the half. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes. Should be this big, challenging ball of fun, in my opinion!