Cough, cough, cough...wheeeeeeeeeze.

I'm sick. I hate being sick. I've been "sick" for about two weeks now. At first, I thought it was just a little viral illness, a cute little rhinovirus perhaps, that would wreak some havoc in my sinuses for a few days and then move on. Perhaps that's how it started, but just when I thought I was on the mend (meaning, I could breathe through my nose again), the microbes sensed my wavering guard and launched a full assault on my precious lungs. The coughing, hacking and wheezing began in earnest. I no longer simply had erythematous nares as a sign of my weakened state. No, now I had audible clues (the above mentioned coughing, wheezing, and hacking). I actually had to take a sick day from work, and I NEVER take sick days. Fortunately, I think the extra day of rest helped a bit. That and the arsenal of chemicals I'm ingesting.  I am polypharmacy and I will not back down.

While, of course, this is no real big deal... I've got a little cold (I'll bet that's what patient zero with Ebola thought), I am completely disheartened in that I haven't worked out in nearly a month. So much for my bold 2010 training plans! Between some VERY busy work weeks, with VERY busy home projects (i.e., packing, moving, staging and trying to sell our house), and my fragile condition, nay, I've not touched a bike nor piece of exercise equipment in weeks. I wore my running shoes around the house yesterday just to remember that I had a pair. And, the martial arts gym I belong to even called to see if I had been abducted. Coughing tiger, wheezing dragon indeed.

Sigh. I felt like I was losing my identity as a cyclist, so this morning I went ahead and renewed my coaching license with USA Cycling AND became a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. Later, I'll spend some time reading VeloNews and Cyclocross Magazine, and that should help bring me back to myself. Maybe I should buy some bike stuff online...