GAME ON!!!!

I felt a little better last night, but then felt really crappy this morning. I was coughing and had chest congestion.   So, I bought some ‘Tylenol Severe Sinus’ to try – the kind with real Sudafed in it that you have to sign your life away to get from the pharmacist.

I decided to do my planned tempo workout on the treadmill doped up on the cold meds:   36 minutes with 16 at LT.    I also decided to make it an extra hot workout by keeping the windows shut and NOT using a fan.    I have this theory that raising the core body temperature will kill off my sick germs, much like a fever.  I’ve been debating testing this theory all week, but erred on the side of getting  rest.  Today, this felt right.

I was really really hot and thirsty.   I chanted “Quick feet, quiet feet, hot hot heat” inside my head.   (I bet Ginger will like that mantra).  My HR numbers were higher than usual, but I expected that (meds + heat).   The workout went great and was a great confidence boost for me!  I was able to hold the hard pace for the full time, and my breathing felt good despite some chest congestion.  And the ‘practice the pace’ set I did after the LT set felt right.   Pace of 9:30 felt not easy but not hard either.   Pace of 10 felt easy.

Of course, I realize that a long day of racing may play out differently, but I am going to race it…GAME ON!!!

Still planning on using the Four Keys to Ironman Execution strategy.   I will go by feel, not heart rate since I will probably take the cold medicine (unless I feel a ton better on Saturday morning).

Oh, and my legs feel totally fresh today, even after this workout.    All week they felt heavy and I had all kinds of unusual aches and pains: ankles, right groin, right IT band.   I always get weird pains during a taper.

Update later in the day: I’ve been researching cold medicines and safety during endurance sports.  The best article I found was here: http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/1064-cold-flu-remedies.htm   Sudafed can raise heart rate.  I already figured that out.  It can be bad during a race if you have problems with high blood pressure, which I don’t.      Acetaminophen  and Guaifenesin both sound like they are pretty safe.  Ibuprofen is  not in my Tylenol medication, but I thought I would mention that is very bad to take during a race because it can interfere with water absorption and also damage kidneys.