Sick for a Week

It started with a deadlift on Thu Nov 7. 200 lbs shouldn't be too hard, I

thought as I loaded two pairs of 45lbs onto the bar at the corner of the gym

before the jiu-jitsu class. After all, my record was near 300lbs at my last   

employer's gym three years ago.                                               

 

That assumption turned out to be the cause of injury. I struggled to hoist the

weight up at the cost of poor posture. The lower-back pain felt slight and   

familiar. I finished the class that day but decided to take a break.          

 

I suspected that things were connected. In the next few days, my morning routine

told me that not only my back was compromised but my left arm suddenly became

weak. It felt like a ligament tear and I could only finish four toe-to-the-bars

before the left arm gave up.                                                 

 

That Sunday as Tim and I took a walk in Shoreline park before sunset, I suddenly         

started sweating. "Cold sweat?" Tim asked. "I know how that feels." But it was

over before we left for home.                                                 

 

Into the second week, things didn't improve as far as the sun salutation and leg

raises were concerned. The rain came. I stayed indoors reading and writing.   

 

Thu, Nov 14, the bug attacked. My throat felt dry for the first time in a long

while, I felt a bit heady, and breathing through the left nostril was not

smooth. The next day, the dry throat was gone and I was fine again. A chill hit

in the afternoon of Sunday Nov 17. Next, the symptoms were gone but the sluggish

feeling stayed for another three days. Like in the past, my body did not ache, I

didn't have a fever and I felt almost normal except for a running nose.       

 

Nov 22, I returned to the mat. It turned out to be tiring. So I gave myself   

another break and trained only three days during Thanksgiving week.           

 

My back was still not 100% recovered but the left arm felt OK now.