Pre-race sickness

The last 3 days I've been dealing with the worst allergies I've ever had. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I realized it wasn't alergies, I was sick. I woke up & felt horrible. I tried to go on my scheduled 60 minute run & struggled, I ended up having my first asthma attack in over a year. I knew I should have taken the day off from training, but I can't take a day off without feeling overwhelming guilt & stress. Guilt & stress makes me want to turn to food for comfort, & overeating for any reason is not good for triathlon, speed, or endurance.

I have found through trial & error that getting sick 1 to 2 weeks before a race is a sure sign that I'll have a smoking fast race. When I push myself as hard as my body will go, that breaks my body down, then I have a couple weeks of lower intensity training, and wallah! my body supercompensates, & I end up with a perfect taper & perfect race. But getting sick 3 days before the Holloman duathlon, the worst of it hitting the day before the race not a good sign at all.

This is the life of an endurance athlete. All I can do is show up, ignore the pain, & push myself as hard as I can & leave it in Gods hands. That exactly what I'll do.

By the way, remember those run shoes that I raced in at the Mesa Valley Triathlon that had given me such horrible blisters? I'm wearing them again baby!!!