Sick for 10 Days

To defy flu (or any other malady) with diet, exercise, and cold showers was the
dream (or maybe illusion is a better word here) that I have deliberatedly chased.
I seem to have made progress as my physical condition improves. I used to get
sick multiple times annually but only came down twice a year recently. In fact,
according to record, I had been lucky for the past 15 months.

Tuesday night, my throat felt dry and drinking water didn't help. That moment, I
understood that finally I was about to have a run-in with the devil. Sure
enough, the attack came on Wed, and although the symptoms were mild, the cold
lasted for a whole week.

I stopped running and weight-lifting for four days, feeling weak, and stayed
away for six days from coffee. My bodyweight took a dive from 151.4 lbs to 148.4
lbs due to lack of appetite. My body did not ache all over as it did in the past. I
felt no need to take time off from work, experienced no stress and slept fine.
Sneezing in the first couple of days was followed by infrequent coughing with a
lot of phlegm toward the end. On day six, I lifted weight. On the seventh day,
80% of my strength came back. On the 10th, I ran five miles.

One surprise was that the flu seemed to bring on pain in the left wrist around
where the ulna(I simply looked it up) joins the hand. It could be the ulanar
collateral ligament, the flexor tendons, the head of the fl. capri ulnaris
muscle, or others in the area. Squeezing the CoC or twisting the forearm hurts.
The pain prevented me from heavy dead-lifts and bothered in pullups and yoga.
The wrist pain stayed even as other symptoms lightened. So I concluded that flu
could also make certain areas of the body ache. The question is what makes a
part extra susceptible.

I was suspecting my cold the result of a build-up process that finally led to a
virus overtaking the body. Things started as a clean slate, say. Over time, wear
and tear in the immune system accummulated. Pathogens started to have a chance.
Then, just like paying off piled-up debt in a lump sum or a Wall Street crash, I
had to pay with a cold, which shuffled the cards in about a week and the game
started all over again.

OK. I accept. Not everyone can be like my friend L, who just doesn't get flu.
But do I regret the effort all these years? Certainly not. It has given me
priceless habits that yield dividends every single day. Besides, what would have
been the alternative? Running marathons does not acquit me from flu but neither
could I count on vaccination. I have heard stories over the years that vaccine
fails to work. So I have no regret skipping flushots.

[7grizzly]

The left forearm pain went away in two months. Last Friday, I lifted 275 lbs, a personal record.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you, 暖冬, for reading and your kind comments. I agree with both of you ladies on balance ;-) and that's why I skipped running a 50k race the past weekend. Moreover, I think developing extra capacity (when well) is just as important as
conserving energy (when sick) and that's why I signed up for another 50k race ;-)

In the end, health is a very personal and complex topic. I enjoy sharing experiences and learning from anecdotes but think one should avoid trying to educate others just because something worked for him. Linhaifeng seemed to have proved the point. But he seemed a decent guy and his death was short. Not a bad way to go. I've seen much worse.

Happy Holidays!

[暖冬cool夏]

I read this post in my trip to Joshua Tree yesterday, but did not what to write. I am glad that Grace said a lot of what I want to say, and I agree with her that sometimes life does not hinge on sports/exercises alone, it is more of a balance. Conservation of our energy, through ways of sleep, rest or 静, helps a lot too. If you cannot sleep well ahead of the next day's running, it may have mixed results. The recent death of Linhaifeng's (林海峰) at 51 shocked me and put me into questioning some longevity theories. I know you are a person who seeks after life quality:)
It's good you recovered quickly and listened to your inner calls. I need to run an errand. Talk to you more later.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[7grizzly]

回复 'GraceX' 的评论 : Thank you, Grace, for reading and sharing your experience. Happy Holidays to you!

> 让身体尽量节约出足够的能量来疗愈你的病体
That's a good point. It is interesting that taking rest is so obvious that it is often ignored. I learnt that fasting when sick works from Maxwell but didn't do it this time.

Meditation could be effective, too, and I would definitely do more of it when I get sick again, which I hope is a long time from now :-)

I think I have only taken flu-shots a couple of times since coming to America.

Thank you again and have a great week.

[GraceX]

7grizzly 好，感冒很大的可能确实是免疫系统弱造成的，你的很多运动，比如举重，马拉松都是很消耗体力的，我个人认为你可以把锻炼的重点转移到瑜伽，站桩，静坐，和短距离的慢跑上。动生阳，静生阴。生病是阴阳的失衡，导致了免疫系统的薄弱，静坐对健康非常有好处，表面是静，其实是通过静来疗愈身体，我最近一，二年通过静坐身体健康改善很多，往年我都打感冒预防针的，今年故意没去，觉得没那个必要了。

还有，如果感冒了，一定要好好休息，所有你的那些运动都要停止，包括脑筋也要少动，多睡少吃，让身体尽量节约出足够的能量来疗愈你的病体。这样感冒才会好得快，不会拖延很长时间，甚至可能引起其他的病，直到完全康复后，再能去进行锻炼。我老公过去只要一有咽喉肿痛的感冒症状，就需要至少一个星期才能好转，最近一次发生这种现象后，我马上让他好好休息睡觉，只要有可能就去休息睡觉，结果只用了3天时间，完全康复了。

希望你一切都好，祝你圣诞快乐！