Sick and In Pain

Wow what a week it’s been. I got a new/used bike one week ago tomorrow, and I’ve done three medium-length rides on it (about 10-18 miles each) and one run/bike brick workout. I would love to go for more bike rides, but I got a cold last Thursday. I woke up with a sore throat, then it evolved into stuffy nose, sneezing, and coughing fits. The coughing fits caused my neck to get sore, and I’ve been applying IcyHot and Ibuprofen like a crazy hospital patient. Hard to believe I’ve been able to run, cycle, and walk 57 miles this week. I think that is an absolute miracle. 🙂

I’m sitting here tonight feeling somewhat better, but I know that is partly due to the grace of God. When my neck flared up to the point of absolute agony this afternoon, I asked for prayer on Facebook. My friends responded immediately, and I felt better. I know pain remedies helped too. 

I am trying not to get discouraged; but it’s ironic that I was accepted as a #sweatpink ambassador when my cold hit full force. I couldn’t do much, and I sure as heck didn’t feel very sporty. I haven’t even met the other ambassadors yet. I’ve added the admins of Fit Approach on Facebook, but that’s about it.

When you feel like crap and you have goals you want to achieve, it can get discouraging and almost heartbreaking. But i am doing my best to keep my chin up. I know there are other people out there who have it worse off than me. Some people can’t even walk, and yet they find a niche that they can compete in, and some of them excel and even win. So I need to stop with the pity party, drop the drama, and suck it up. But it still hurts. And it hurts bad. 

The best thing for me to do is to introvert whenever possible, and focus on my health and my family. Haters are gonna hate, and tell you that you are a fat loser and that’s why you have back pain/plantar fasciitis (sp?)/cancer/heart disease, or what have you. They will tell you that if you ‘just get off your fat ass and exercise,’ you’ll stop hurting. Oh, as if it were that simple! So if need be, I try to stay to myself when the pain is intense. It also helps with preventing me from comparing myself to others.

I have an excellent support system though, on Facebook and Twitter. I also have a very supportive husband and God! And that’s the most important thing.

I’m 90% sure that the cold came from a drinking fountain on one of my rides. The very first ride I went on was a short 3-mile ride to a park and back. I stopped to get a drink of water, and immediately got a headache. I just thought the water was too cold and it gave me an ice cream headache, but I think there was more too it than that. That night I did a 15-mile ride to a State park, with 2 rides on the bike trail around the lake. It was pretty intense, since I hadn’t been on a bike in many years. I probably didn’t hydrate as well as I should, and 48-72 hours later, I was sick. Sucked!!!

So, I chock it up as lesson learned, and I’ll be taking a PBA-free water bottle with me whenever possible. I need to get a water bottle carriage for my bike too. 

Another plus is when I woke up with the neck pain, I decided to make hot pads for muscle aches. I found a pattern on Pinterest that uses old socks or leg warmers, and had them done in minutes; one hot, one cold. Boo to the ya! 🙂 I absolutely love them. And, no pressing, ironing or pre-washing of fabric. So that’s a plus.

My pain is real, but it’s also temporary. 

I hope that if you’re in pain, you find peace, love, joy, and comfort in something tangible as well.

Peace to all