Workout Don’t Wimp Out

Up until two weeks ago, I could proclaim, with a tinge of arrogance, that I hadn’t been sick in any way in over two years. And what a wonderful two years it was. And now I must say, “Was,” because my sickless streak has ended.

In the last two weeks I have gotten sick twice. First it was a nasty case of “intestinal distress.” Well, that is a really nice way of putting it, wasn’t it? I had diarrhea so bad, it reminded me of the time I got a parasite while travelling in Kenya ten years ago. Stabbing pains in my stomach, intense cramping so bad it had me doubled up in pain, and nothing but liquid shooting from my nether regions for days. I mean there was nothing solid about what was squirting out of me. Five long days of that. I would have thought I’d been the poor victim of some horrid terrorist’s bioweapon snuck into my water supply, except I knew others going through the same ordeal

Right on the heels of that divine experience came a head cold. Coughing, sneezing, scratchy throat and feeling overall ickiness.

I am happy to report that I did not miss one workout in the midst of all that crap. Am I bragging? I’m not trying to. I’m just trying to show that being sick, as nasty as it was, didn’t keep me from working out.  And it shouldn’t stop you in your quest for health, regular exercise and fitness either. I despise weakness. I refuse to be a weak, whining, wimp. I absolutely will not give up or quit unless I have to.

Now I admit that there are some things that stop us justifiably, but so many people just wimp out at the first sign of sickness, aches, or pains. They feel a bit of a scratchy throat, and that’s it. They take the day off from working out.

I am not stopping unless I have to. That’s my attitude and it has worked for me. Amazingly enough, each day when I ran or worked out last two weeks ago, the cramping and diarrhea took a break. And boy, was I glad they did. Could have been really ugly. The trick was to eat a good 1 to 1 ½ hours before running, take lots of trips to the bathroom before the workout, and focus on staying hydrated before and after.

Here’s my approach to the head or chest cold. Be aware of the early signs. Then I hit it hard with some strong meds at bedtime the very first night. I don’t wait for the symptoms to get huge before I do this. I hit hard and early. A friend turned me onto Fisherman’s Friend this week so I popped one in my mouth right before my runs or workouts. Those little lozenges really pack a punch. My nose was clear and the throat felt all the way to the end of my longest workout – an 11 mile run on Saturday that took just over an hour and a half.

You can wimp out if you want at the first hint of the squirts or sneezes, but not me. My workouts make me feel better than lying around on a couch feeling sorry for myself. I say Get Up, Do What You Can. Even you do a toned down version of your workout,  do something. Be strong in will and body.  I feel better every time I push through and do my workout. I also happen to believe it shoves that sickness on its way out of my body a bit faster.

I pushed through diarrhea and the snotty nose and guess what? Now the rains have hit. The forecast says it’s going to pour all week long. If it’s not coming out my butt or my nose, then it’s gushing out of the skies. But it is not going to stop me. Please don’t let it stop you either. I’ll give you ideas on how to put your workouts on Rainy Day Schedule for you tomorrow.