Day 36 : "Cure for the common cold"

Week 6 did not start well.

One thought that's lingered in the back of my mind since I started my challenge has been "what if I get ill?"  I've asked myself if I could haul myself to the gym if I felt really rough, just so I didn't break my commitments.  The worst thing would have to be sickness and diarrhoea.

Thankfully, the worst hasn't (yet, touch wood!) come true.  But yesterday evening, I started coming down with a cold.  And it came on so strong, from nowhere, that I had a terrible night's sleep - it's one of those horrible dry colds that totally dehydrates you, so that you keep waking up with a ridiculously parched mouth... and because you keep having to drink water in an attempt to hydrate yourself in order to sleep, you then have to keep getting up to pee.  I must have gone five times during the night. And when I did actually get a few snippets of sleep, I kept dreaming I was already at work. Aaaaarghh!

By the time I got up at 6am to drive to Milton Keynes, I felt awful.  Not only was I knackered and full of a cold, but the aches in my muscles from the gym (which I've got used to now, and even enjoy) seemed to be heightened ten-fold.  What a Monday.

By the time I got back home this evening at 7:15pm, I just wanted to curl up in a warm bed - aching, sniffling and feeling sorry for myself - and eat some comfort food.  A big, warm shepherd's pie would have been lovely.

Instead, I put on my shorts, vest and trainers, and hauled myself to the gym.

It really was the last place I wanted to go tonight.  But, amazingly, by the time I started doing some bench presses (Monday night is chest night...) I started feeling a lot better, and by the time I moved onto my stomach exercises I'd forgotten all about my cold.  I did start to feel a bit fatigued when doing sit-ups... and then when I got on the cross trainer I actually spent the first five minutes thinking I might die.

However, then the endorphins kicked in again: I got into the zone, and half an hour later walked out of the gym feeling great!  I've come home, had a salad and am now writing my blog feeling pretty dapper. Probably ten times better than if I'd curled up in bed like a wet lettuce when I got in from work. Endorphins rock!


My diet today has consisted of:

- Breakfast:  An apple;
- Lunch:  A mackerel salad;
- Dinner:  A salmon salad and a banana.

Now I'm going to go and curl up in bed like a wet lettuce.