Should I just shower?

This has been a lost week. I had great plans for myself. I wrote a great training schedule with several key rides, a nice long run ( AND It's even warm today -- at least in the 20s!), and of course a handful of swims. I was looking forward to a full M-F with the kids in school and lots of time to be productive and thorough with everything.

Ha!

Instead.... I have the Flu. Or I had the flu. I'm on the tail end of it. Today I am at least living my life. Mostly. The past few days I've been basically nonexistent. With an asterix. (I'll get to that.. )

I knew today was going to be better as soon as the alarm went off. For one, my bed sheets weren't soaked with sweat {I know, gross, yeah fevers }  or wet from the cold cloths I had to drape over my head all night. I hadn't been up thrashing and coughing all night. I wasn't absurdly freezing despite lots of sweats. I actually Wanted to get up and help make the lunch boxes and get the kids off. I could stand touching my own skin.

The fever is gone and the body aches are much much better. Pretty much gone as of now I'd say. My lungs don't burn when I breath in, but this cough.Eek.  I actually had to pull off to the side of the road as I was driving away from the kid's school. All this stuff starts rattling around in there and things escalate and I choke and have a hard time catching my breath. It's fun.

And, for the first time since Tuesday when I called it quits on a run when I was working my tail off to run a pace/ mile about 45-60 sec slower than normal and my legs felt like Lead, I actually have thought about my training. I opened training peaks, deleted some great workouts and replaced it with "OFF- FLU". My qquestion for today has been, "should I exercise?" I'm calling it that because I KNOW it wouldn't be much of a training session. Hmm..
This is where coaching myself becomes a little tricky.
But, after the last coughing spell and a wee bit of lightheadedness as I got up from folding laundry, I decided, no, just take a shower. One more day to take it easy / recover is NOT going to change your race outcome in June. Or October. Ha! Of course not. Tomorrow is a busy ski meet day & Sunday hopefully I can ski with the family myself. And that's my decision.

Speaking of having the flu... I honestly don't remember the last time I had this. I know the last time I was sick was Oct 2011. I came down with that bug Saturday ....exactly One week before Kona. Yikes. I flew out on Monday-- fever, nasty cough, and fear. Long story short-- some luck, some meds, and some rest and I was good to go on race day.
I'm off the point.
It's Never fun to be sick. Not when you're 5, 13, 28 or 44. Never. But geez, when you're Mom, you basically have to just "fake it." Now, I work from home so I am lucky that way. The past few days I 'survived' {that's what it felt like} the morning rush from 6-9 and then DROPPED to the couch and stayed there until the last possible second when I had to put on the game face and go. It took all my energy to take my sweats off and clothes on. I think I brushed my hair. I hope so. I was miserable and freezing. I couldn't put enough on. The fever made me shake foolishly or gasp for air because I was so hot. My body hurt. It took so much effort just to be. But, I got through a ski meet, went to a p.m. meeting that wasn't happening that day, (yeah, you read that right.I know.. ), made dinners, helped with homework, drove back and forth to practices and school and cheering ( silently ) at a spelling bee, went back to that meeting on the right day ( heehee), and so on. My husband was out at meetings for two of my sick nights so it was all suck it up Mom for me. I had little pity parties and wanted someone to come to me and put a cold cloth on my head and give me ginger ale. It didn't happen. sigh....
Now, I am on re-entry mode and while I'm not 100%, I am alive enough to see what has happened around here. Or rather, what hasn't happened. Yikes. I need myself back, now!
Good thing this only happens every few years or so!
My suggestion? GET your FLU shot!!!!

Time for that shower. Maybe I'll train tomorrow.