My efforts for week 3 were cut short by a stomach virus that has lasted 5 whole days. For those of you who know me, you may laugh at the fact that I managed to feel good enough day 1 to stop for a slice of pizza with AB in the evening, thinking that it had "passed", which was a clear mistake, as we stopped at his house to grab me a bucket for the drive home. Did I learn? Noooooo. Day 2- felt good enough to make a cake for a fund raising event that evening, which I had to leave early, because, yes, I was indeed still sick. Day 3- let's just say Sunday 8AM to Monday 8 AM, I slept >22/24 hours. Day 4 was basically a Day 3 re-run. Today was my first actual call-off in 4 years.
What is a runner to do? If you're an athlete and you haven't run into this, knock on wood, and line up your lucky widgets. This is one of a hand-full of times I've been through this. This time, it's mid-training, and I need to be sure it's time to get back to running. Let's brainstorm some ways to assess readiness to train after sickness.
Well, in my mind, it depends on some really key factors:
1- How dehydrated are you? After vomiting for 5 days, you'd think your weight would drop. Mine has not, which is a wonderful thing, because that means I've stated well-hydrated.
2- Where are you at in your training plan? Tail end of week 3, beginning of week 4- this translates to 6 weeks left- I missed a 6 and 7 miler, which isn't a huge deal, because I reached 6 with reasonable effort a few weeks ago. Noooo biggie.
3- Muscle Loss? Sometimes people feel like they lose all of their muscle when they're down and out. Fortunately, I feel neither flabby, nor flat.
So, what's the next plan of action? Wait and see- one day at a time. The plan I chose just happens to have a really light week 4 plan- 2,3,3,4. Sounds like perfect timing.
Reviews are mixed in regard to distance- whether to make up or move on. To me, it's a no-brainer: Listen to your body, and adapt. Plans change, right?
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