Allergies, I Hope!

This time of year in Austin, there's always the longstanding debate of, "Am I getting sick or is it just allergies?" The recent cold snap combined with high counts of mold and cedar make it difficult to really tell. Either way, I've been battling some fatigue this week and trying to give myself some much-needed rest going into the Sunmart 50K (next Saturday, December 8th). For heaven's sakes, I owe myself a taper for this one, as evidenced by my recent struggles with running and recovery...not to mention the fact that we're talking about 31 miles of trail running here. I can't go out and "wing it" as I've been known to do.

On Sunday, Amy and I ran 16 miles in the cold and on/off spattering of rain pellets. At one point I even commented as we were standing at a rain-soaked crosswalk, "We're officially f*cking crazy now." You could see it in the faces of the warm dry people who were peering at us from their car windows. Yep, we were the weird ones.

What I'm having trouble shaking is the whole body fatigue this week. Higher than usual heart rates, not sleeping well, not feeling rested in the morning, weird overwhelming exhaustion at about 2pm every day, stuffy nose, scratchy throat, etc. It hasn't knocked me out, but it's definitely keeping me down. My energy level at the end of the day is nil..zilch...zero. This is kinda embarrassing, but on Tuesday afternoon, instead of going home after work, I went to the T3 Training Center before spin class and just napped in my car for about 45 minutes. I knew if I went home, I'd never come back, but I was just so damn tired before the workout. It doesn't help that it's been in the mid 30s in the morning and I'm still hitting my outdoor pool workouts. Wet hair, cold air, cold feet, cold hands = potential sickness.

On Wednesday, I got up at 5:15am ready to go to Gazelles and run 800s on the track. I even turned on the lights and started to put my clothes on when I realized just how tired I still felt. I had gone to bed at my usual 10:30ish time, but I felt like I had just laid down. In fact, I did just that. I crawled right back into bed and skipped my speed workout for the week that I was looking forward to the day before. I did finally get back up after 7am and run/jog 8 miles. Again, it was a tough run for what should've been a breeze. My breathing was labored (ok--I did do Pecos, Mt. Bonnell and Scenic), but I just had no pep in the step whatsoever. I even contemplated walking the last half mile because I was just plain worn out.

So, I spent yesterday downing tea, Emergen-C and Zicam to ward off any demons that might be lurking. I feel much better today, minus a little sinus pressure that can either be traced to swimming or allergies. Who knows?! All I know is that I've got a big weekend of training scheduled including 60 miles in the saddle, an open water swim and a 13 mile run. (not to mention a big party to prepare for on Saturday night!)

All in all, it's 16 hours of mental and physical training including 3 swims, 3 bikes, 4 runs and 2 core workouts.

I'm going with allergies...