Deathly Ill

Just as my training was ramping up and feeling good I hit a major bump in the road. Last Thursday's long run was misery. I just felt off. Afterward I was in terrible pain and could have slept the rest of the day.

Then I woke up Friday with a fever of 102.5. By 8am it was in the mid 103s and by 1pm it was 104.5. I checked into the ER at 3:25 and wouldn't return home until midnight, and only because I demanded to leave and signed out AMA. After numerous physical exams, blood and urine cultures, a chest X-ray and an abdominal CT, which involved drinking a liter of the most foul tasting solution on earth, there were still no answers and I still had a fever.

This went on all of Saturday and Sunday, although with a lower fever threshold each day. Monday marked major improvement, but still no recovery. I had additional blood tests yesterday and more exams, but no diagnosis. Then today, on day six of my mystery illness, I finally feel "normal." I haven't had a fever (yet) and am not taking any ibuprofen or Tylenol. I don't have any lingering body aches or pains. I have a decent energy level and mental clarity.

I hope this is the end and I hope the beginning of my wellness is just around the bend. I'm so anxious to move. I don't need to go out guns blazing and dive back into training, but I've seen enough of my couch and bed to last a lifetime. Fingers crossed.

Excuses and a New Job!

Once again, I've dropped off the face of the blog earth, but I swear for good reasons. I was easing back into life as an Ironman-in-training, and finding it pretty hard to give up the 9 hours of sleep I'd become accustomed to. Actually, I still am. But that wasn't the reason for my silence.

First, my beloved Macbook failed me. Think about how much you rely on your computer, then multiply that by 10 - that's how I felt. As a freelancer, my entire existence lives in that little, metal box. It took me a week of working with a huge black strip up the middle of the screen for me to find 5 days I could part with my prized possession. During it's absence, I had to work on a Dell... I have nothing against PC people, but I do not work well on one. I stuck to absolutely critical tasks only, like doing my work, and did everything else on my iPhone. Blogging from the iPhone sucks.

Then, I was hit with the stomach virus circulating around the city. It hit fast and hard, and ruined an entire weekend. Plus an entire week of training. While my computer was broken.

But the best reason of all to drop off the face of the earth - I accepted a new job! I wasn't technically looking for something full-time, but was offered a chance to join the executive team of a start up. It's in the wine business and I get to help shape a brand from scratch. Did I mention it's in the wine business!? It was perfect for me so I accepted and started the same day the offer was made. In the meantime, I still have clients so I've been keeping that work going, starting a phase-off and tackling my new role simultaneously. I've never been happier, but I've also never been more exhausted. In a couple weeks it will start to settle into a more normal pace.

So there we have it. My list of pretty good excuses for not training and not writing. But I've restarted the training and my computer is fixed, so no more excuses. Plus there will be a lot to share as I embark on this new adventure. I'm definitely looking forward to the journey.