Time for a break?

Last week I was excited about my coach and I starting to put our foot on the gas. Excited about increasing volume and intensity in my training. And then it happened. I contracted this upper respiratory cold that everyone around me seems to have had lately. Despite getting plenty of sleep, eating well, taking my vitamins and drinking plenty of water (with emergen-C twice daily!) I still got the cold. Now, I've been doing this sport long enough to know that complaining about missing training for a cold or other illness does to necessitate a blog post. I know and have seen many athletes that compete with illnesses and disabilities that they would gladly trade for a simple common cold. As usual though, I don't just get a cold and get over it in a few days like everyone else. Any type of infection or virus irritates my airway and negatively affects my asthma. So, after getting in some decent trainer rides over the weekend, I was forced to rest all week.

I felt OK on Monday, but decided to take it off to be safe. By Tuesday I was all congested and already coughing. Wednesday wasn't much better, but by Thursday I was done with the congestion and just dealing with the asthma. I'm going to try and ride indoors today (it's cold and rainy outside in Oregon right now) and see how my lungs react. If they try and fight me, I will not fight them back. I have 12 weeks until it's go time at CDA. The last thing I intend to do is press my asthma too much now and then be forced to take more time off in a few weeks. Better to get healthy now so we can make the final 3 months of preparation really count. Thanks for all the support I get out there from friends and family. It's tough to be sidelined when you are trying to ramp up for an event like Ironman, but you guys are always great about helping me keep everything in perspective. Thanks for taking the time to read,

-T