Mental

So what's mental, Derrick says me sometimes..........

but get this, SO, I haven't been feeling a 100 % lately, or the past couple weeks. I got a cold two weeks ago and then this sore throat thing, that seems to swell up only at night causing it hard for me to breathe or swallow and of course sleep. It goes and comes, but this weekend I felt pretty rotten at the crit at Brossard. The most odd part about me being sick is yep, I complain a bit (okay maybe a lot), but on the surface I always look fine. You'll see me do the local "A" loop or the "A" crit in Ottawa and I still look my normal self. I did feel a little spacey and sorry if someone talked to me last night and I wasn't all there. That's kind of been my number one symptom the last week or so, just a bit off and not able to focus or comprehend well.

Yesterday after the not so great feelings on the weekend, tired and drained, I went to the hospital, as Derrick made me (he was wrong about his illness a month ago and he didn't want to be wrong about me). I went to the Emerg in Cornwall as we don't have a family doctor in Cornwall. It wasn't really urgent or anything as I felt like I was wasting the hospitals time, but Derrick said don't worry, you'll wait 3 hours and get checked out and least you'll know if anything is wrong with you, he reminded me that is why I have a health card.

I saw the doc after about 3 hours, he did a throat swab, and took a blood test for mono. 60 minutes later he called me back in and said I don't have mono and that I looked fine, probably just a viral infection that is still lingering as they can last for up to 3 weeks. Or even the odd chance that I had some allergies.

Okay so things are good, decide to go to the "A" crit, and I just sat in this week instead of trying to go with anything like I did two weeks ago. Way, way easier this time, although the average speed was 44km hour and it was super jerky. I was able to move up at the end and kind of sprint even though I was still 25 people back, but I figured once I moved up I should always do some what of a sprint through the final corner.

So, back to the mental part. This morning, feeling okay, the hospital calls, and tells me I have a positive result on my throat swab for strep throat and I need to go get antibiotics. Derricks scratching his head and thinking, you don't look sick, you complain your a little off but really you don't look like you have strep. How on earth does that happen...........athletes bodies work in way different ways than the average person. It's probably kind of the same thing that happened in Europe cross season. I got sick but I looked fine a day later so I race a World Cup, not the smartest thing to do and makes things just linger for a lot longer. I think we are so use to all the training and hard workouts that when we get sick we fight until the death. Who knows how long I've had strep, probably not the smartest that I have be training super hard lately but I guess what ever doesn't kill me will make me somewhat stronger.............. one can only hope!

Oh yeah, thanks Uncle Vince for the cool Cyclery socks last night. They totally match my kit and I won't wear black socks with white shoes anymore and be a Lance lookalike! I always want to make people laugh a little bit, like last night I left the band aid on my arm from the blood work in the a.m. I had thoughts of taking it off in the middle of the race and hitting my arm hard and then attacking. I kind of forgot though in the lackadaisical mind I have had lately, it would of been pretty funny if I did though, there is always a bit of Derrick's shenanigans that rub off on me a bit.

NCE