Germs!

My family have been suffering from various colds over the last few weeks – with two small children there is always some bug or other going round our household.  I have been trying my best to avoid picking up any of the sniffles that they have had by taking extra vitamin C and Echinacea tablets as I aware that increased exercise can weaken the immune system.  I find echinacea pretty effective for preventing and shifting colds quickly.  Unfortunately, you can only take echinacea for two weeks at a time before you should take a two week break.

Guess what happened after I stopped taking echinacea on Monday?  That’s right, I came down with a nasty cold on Wednesday!!  I had to take Thursday off work as it blocked me up completely and gave me a pounding headache.  I was back at work today, but not fully recovered.  This week has also coincided with bad snow and ice in my area, but with this cold I have had no running since Monday.  Clearly this is not part of my training plan, but I am treating this enforced layoff as an extended rest, so I am expecting that my legs will be fully recovered next week and I will gain benefit from a low mileage week.

Perhaps a couple of short runs this weekend to keep my muscles warmed up and stretched out, and then back into it next week.  I am not worried yet!