pure nastiness

This week sucks, yep it does. It's not really that anything going on around me sucks but I've somehow managed to come down with a nasty cold. In the past couple of years I've come up with a pretty good defense against fighting the common cold that tries it's best to attack me once sometimes twice a year. At the first sign of any symptoms that remotely resembles a cold I normally start pounding echinacia and Zinc in the form of Zicam in large doses. Basically echinacia is a natural herb that helps boost the immune system but if not taken early enough is pretty much worthless. At work I don't have my own office or phone or computer, everything is shared by multitudes of people and of course someone is almost always sick this time of year. They do provide us with antiseptic wipes that I try to use regularly to disinfect the control panel when I'm working inside. Last week I noticed my throat started to feel a little scratchy while I was at work and normally I keep a stash of echinacea in my backpack for instances like this but I was out and before I knew it a cold hit me like a freight train. Had I been more properly prepared I would probably be outside riding my bike in this beautiful weather but instead I'm moping around the house scattering a trail of tissue every where I go. I am fighting this cold with a full frontal assault leaving no man behind and I'm almost certain I'll whip it's ass in the next day or so.



One of the more interesting weapons in my defense, The Nasal Genie! It's really called a Nettie Pot but I think Nasal Genie is much more fitting. Basically it's a small kettle that you pour a warm saline solution into and then the spout goes into your nostril. Tilt your head to the side with the genie and it washes out your nose. The trick is to get the saline solution to come out the other side and not down your throat.

I attempted to go for a trail ride yesterday thinking that getting out and riding some rocky singletrack might clear my head but it just didn't seem to work. I loaded up the dogs and my Karate Monkey and started out on the first trail right out of the parking lot, "Darwin's Revenge" I felt pretty bad and my reaction time was a little off so I kept the pace at a minimum so I wouldn't come in contact with the ground or a tree furthering my miserable state. My plan was to finish one trail and see how I felt to determine if I should continue. The weather was amazing and the trails were in perfect condition so when I reached the end of the first trail I decided to continue onto "Boneyard" with the same plan to see how I felt at the end but taking it easy the whole ride. Half way through Boneyard my cell phone rang and it was Melinda calling to check up on me. She asked how I felt which of course was bad but then sounded puzzled at why I was out of breath. I told her were I was and she scolded me for thinking that was a good idea. I agreed, finished the trail and headed for the parking lot. With just a little over 6 miles in I felt as if I was being a wuss but knew it was the best course of action. The dogs got some exercise so it wasn't a total loss.
I was hoping to get as many miles in this week as possible because I have the 6 Hrs of Warriors Creek coming up in less than 2 weeks and next week will be a total loss due to work constraints. I guess I'll just have to do the best with what time I have and do some indoor spinning after work next week.