Well, it’s been 7 days of stasis, stagnation, sulking, and sickness…
While I was in Chicago and Minnesota two weeks ago I managed to allow a pathogen to hitch a ride and populate my respiratory system. It began with chills and dull body aches which made me think that it was a viral infection (those are classic symptoms of the innate interferon response by our immune system). Then, each night, my throat became a little inflamed by the excessive postnasal drip. Lack of good sleep and persistent coughing significantly affected my energy levels. So I decided to allow myself to heal rather than push through and try to train. I hoped with rest the illness would pass in 2-3 days.
About day 3 my left eye began getting red, was it pink-eye? My family decided to keep a 5-foot safety-space from me at all times. After I noticed the potential pink-eye, I made an appointment to be seen at the local medical clinic and get an official assessment.
I had pink-eye! There was no way to determine if it was a bacterial infection or a viral infection, so she wrote a prescription for antibacterial eye drops. If I was a viral infection, the drops would be worthless as there is no treatment for that.
I was told to use the drops every 6 hrs for 5 days.
I was feeling worse overall. Now, I looked like a contagious monster too!
Three days of adding eye drops didn’t appear to be making any difference in the redness of my eye. I figured that it was a viral infection after all. I would simply have to take it easy, supplement with good nutrition and allow my body to heal itself.
Last night I slept well and today, my eyes look normal. No more chills or aches either. However, I decided to take it easy one more day.
Tomorrow is a run day, I’ll get up early and get a few miles in to let my body know that it still needs to perform. There’s a big, big goal ahead.
I’ve really missed training. I feel the addictive aspects of all this exercise and I’m anxious to get back in the mix and improve my performance before Jacks Generic Triathlon in August.
