Riding through head colds
I spent yesterday walking around with cigar-sized rolls of tissue stuffed up each nostril because my nose was running so much it was cheaper just to plug it up and just deal with it less often than having it drip like a faucet on my clothes etc.. A bad head-cold.
Over the weekend it was coming on as a bad feeling, like inflammation/swelling in my ears, throat, sinuses. I went for my usual Saturday morning ride in very high winds and cool temps, probably did not do me much good, when I got home my t-shirt was wringing wet under the wind-breaker I had on. I had cut the ride off at 20 miles because of the wind and sick feeling.
Yesterday morning despite having worse symptoms and having to blow my nose out periodically as I rode, I did as brisk a 20 miles as I could stand to do, and while riding it was not too bad, but afterwards the cold ramped up with a vengeance and kicked the crap out of me. I could not finish mowing the yard even using a self-propelled push-mower, and took a couple hour nap in the middle of the day. And of course did not sleep well that night.
This morning still the watery eyes, runny nose, and throat kind of tickling me to cough, it was such a beautiful day outside I just said F-it and went out and did as easy a 20-mile ride as I can remember doing in a long time and it felt really good. Despite having to blow and wipe my nose here and there while riding it seemed better, and now after the ride I feel in better shape than I was after yesterday's ride. Boy it would be great if I was on the way back out of this thing.
I was thinking that to continue riding might prolong the cold or make it worse, but it does not seem to be doing that, and I figure whatever it is doing to screw up the rest of my body, at least I am maintaining some leg muscle I otherwise would have lost if I had sat on my butt for four or five days.
This probably works differently for each person and with each different sort of bug that they catch, but this time it is working out for me. This is the first cold/flu bug I can remember having for three or four years, and I am 60 years old and things are supposed to be a little tougher as you get older in fighting this sort of thing, but whenever I get the next bug, I will remember to try and keep riding through it. Looking forward to maybe not riding while being sick a few days down the road.......