I just faced my first challenge of this training season. A small thing actually but a huge thing for me. A year ago when I got a small flu I started to train too soon and it took ages before I fully recovered from it. For months I balanced between being sick and being somewhat lesser sick but without a day of being fully healthy. During that time I had at least five clear outbreaks with fever. In between I had slightly increased body temperature and resting heart rate and I felt abnormal most of the time. Finally I just couldn’t tell a difference between normal and abnormal as the tiredness and powerlessness became my everyday.
So when I woke up last Wednesday morning with a sore throat and a running nose, I panicked. "No, not again!" I thought. I had just felt superb nearly three months and I couldn't bare a thought of falling into that deep gap again. Luckily I had finally learned something and as contrary to my old me I didn't try my luck this time by doing some silly training on that day in belief that I'd be a super(wo)man and above all infections. Instead I stopped training immediately, took a day off and did absolutely nothing. And another day. And a third one just to make sure I felt okay again before I trained.
Last week was meant to be a top week with high amounts of training and I felt really frustrated when I thought about all the missed trainings and hours. A long run, a tempo run, intervals, and a hill session. All gone. Hill session that I've been waiting for months! Frustration, angriness, and disappointment. I didn't want to miss a thing. So, on Saturday morning (after three days of frustration) my impulsive me put on her training clothes, packed her bag and went out to the car ready to hit the hills (despite her somewhat lousy feeling). But then the more rational and thoughtful me backed up and forced the other me to take a second thought. A second thought that I didn't like at all then but a thought that probably saved me. I wouldn't have been ready for a hard training, not so soon after infection.
But to come up with the right decision I really had to think what I would advice other athletes to do in a similar situation. Deep inside I knew what to do but unfortunately I have a tendency to close my ears to that inner voice and act against it. I always tend to push my limits and ignore the signs of weakness. That's kind of natural thing for an ambitious athlete but makes it sometimes difficult to rest when you need to. You should go beyond your comfort zone to make progress but, at the same time, you should listen to your body. The signs are real. I'm so happy that I for once managed to do the right thing! If you need to get sick, it's much better to get well in a few days than end up counting weeks or months. And as a bonus, a minor injury in my foot also recovered during the rest.
By the way, I'm also in Twitter now: @RKuuselo
