I feel a little worse today. I am trying very hard to stay positive.
I’m sure this is a cold not a flu. I haven’t lost my appetite, I don’t have any fever and I don’t feel wiped out like I want to sleep all day. Tho I am taking naps in hopes of healing faster.
A cold peaks on day 2 or 3 after onset. This is day 2.5. So, hopefully, I will feel better in time for my race. Did I convince anyone?
This is certainly a drag, but “it is what it is“. I should be finalizing my transition and special needs bags, but I can’t bring myself to do that. I should be recalling my best workouts of the last month and remembering the mental toughness that got me through them. I should be running through my race strategy inside my head and visualizing myself crossing the finish line with a number less than 12 on the clock.
But instead I am wondering how will I feel on race day. And should I take some cold medicine on race day? If I take some cold medicine, will that affect my heart rate. So maybe I should skip the HR monitor and race by ‘feel’. Anyone have any recommendations about what type of cold medicine to take and if/how it affects heart rate?
I’m sick 🙁 The week leading to my first ultra and i’m ill. 3 days bed rest so far and nanna naps at every chance. fingers crossed i come good. 4 months training….boo!
Hot epson salt baths….soak out all the toxins. Don’t forget the colloidal silver drops under your tongue. Your mind is a powerful healer. This is just another “suffer section”, and you have always conquered those! You are a pro! T
Feel better… and REST!
Hi Carol,
Be vary of using cold medicines like ibuprofen during your race. There are reported cases of endurance athletes who actually have died from (suspected) myocarditis while training or competing with a flu that they treated with medicines such as ibuprofen. And this is the Iron Man..
I´m sure it will blow over by race day, so long as it`s not the pig disease!
-B
Thats not good, hope its gone by race day!! I dont have any recommendations, I use the sweat it out approach, but havent been sick for a race yet.
I’ve heard from some sources that cold medicine can dehydrate you. I’ve always tried to stay away from them as I lose touch with how I really feel. (But that might actually be the point!)
What a bummer! You convinced me that you will be 100% better come race day 🙂 I would err on the side of taking nothing on race day. I once took ibuprofen during an open marathon and developed severe abdominal pain which required me to go the ER and I was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis (basically my pancreas was digesting itself).
Whatever you did in Duke half, do at B2B! I know you didn’t wear anything at Duke, so you could compromise and drop the HR monitor but keep the watch. If you think that you will be able to keep yourself under control on the bike without HR, then I bet just a watch would work great. I am curious what others say.
I know someone who sometimes would take a non drowsy decongestant on race day for swim stuffiness and breathing. Never seemed to bother her.
Maybe for this first ironman and with how you’re feeling, you should go by perception and not heart rate. Not really sure.