Training Log No. 7 – Covid Edition

I came down with covid this week – I started feeling off on Tuesday, but I chalked it up to higher volume and not prioritizing my sleep. Lo an behold a fever on Wednesday and a positive Covid test gave me 4 days of unscheduled rest this week. Historically, I have been plagued (pun intended) with a taper curse. Out of the 5 marathons I’ve run, I’ve came down with a variety of ailments either right at taper period, or right before the race 60% of the time (3/5). So this is my plea to the universe to spare me from my usual come December.

Plague curse receipts:

-Disney Marathon 2023 – came down with some kind of non-Covid flu that knocked me out for an entire week. Ended up needing the rest, ran my first marathon a week later in 3:54:54

-Chicago Marathon 2023 – Sloane came down with hand, foot, and mouth (as gross as it sounds) maybe a week and a half before the taper. A few days after, I also came down with it which is not something I knew was possible as an adult. Thankfully, my symptoms post fever were just a few spots on my hands which never blistered, so by the time it came to fly to O’Hare, I wasn’t contagious. PR’d at 3:50 something

-Disney Marathon 2024 – the first gift from the universe for a plagueless taper. Probably because it knew I wasn’t running for time. Had a great day running with Linzie in just under 4 hours.

-Chicago Marathon 2024 – came down with something (tested negative for Covid 5+ times, but I’m not convinced) during training. Once that cleared (and it happened quick) and it came time for me to return to running (also at taper), I developed chest pains. It was so weird because they would almost start at the chest and then wrap around and move to my ribs? Went to go get an EKG, doc cleared me and said it was residual effects from Covid but cleared me to run. I ran my last run before heading to Chicago without any symptoms after a week off and I was so relieved. During the shakeout run on marathon eve, the pain came back. Had a small panic attack but ended up running the marathon anyway (as my friend Mavi says often, ‘you don’t have to be smart) and getting a PR of 3:47:41. After I came home, I ended up getting a full work up at the cardiologist and despite months of testing (my heart is in great shape!) we never figured out the cause – I probably had a cracked rib or something with the IC. Who knows. Taper curse.

-Disney Marathon 2025 – Spared! Again, not running for time. We see a pattern has developed here.

I think it’s almost harder to give yourself a break when training for triathlon. When in marathon blocks, your body physically cannot (okay my body cannot) handle running 7 days a week – if I didn’t give myself a break, it would be inevitable that I developed some kind of injury or flare up. With Ironman prep, some of the days feel so low impact that I don’t consider them rest days. Before I caught covid, I was nearing 2 weeks without a single full day of rest. Imagine that.

What went well?

-I rested! It’s funny because discipline doesn’t really mean the same thing that it used to. You don’t need to convince me to go on a run or a ride – in fact, I am convinced after this week that I am probably mentally ill without them. I tend to need discipline to be intentional about my rest. The universe forced me into it with a monsoon on Tuesday, but at that point I was already feeling off. I took Wednesday morning off because when I got home the night before I knew something was coming. Grateful to my body for bouncing back so quick, likely a result of actually giving it what it needed (and anti virals!).

-Spent some time taking inventory of some areas I’ve been neglecting during training—especially the house, which quickly becomes an overwhelm trigger for me when it’s cluttered. In Narcotics Anonymous, we often talk about those aha moments and spiritual awakenings that are hard to have awareness around until the addiction has been ‘arrested’. I definitely had one of those this week. With a little rest and space to reflect, I realized how much I’ve been neglecting my systems and organization at home, and how that clutter was starting to impact my mental health. Had a great chat with the family about it too. It’s hard to see it when we’re in it sometimes.

-My first bike ride back (and outside time in 72 hours!) was so nice. I wasn’t concerned about pace and just enjoyed feeling that moving meditation I had missed all week.

-Still managed to get my long run and rides in so it wasn’t a total wash!

Was I resentful, fearful, or overly self-critical during training?

-Nope. I know I did not lose my base in four days. Growth!

Where did I find joy?

-In the amazing early morning light on my ride this Saturday. It was perfect

-In the self-awareness that only a change of routine can bring and the willingness to make some changes in the future

-Getting to run again! HR was low and controlled and it just goes to show how important it is to stop when your body is screaming at you to