One of the worst things that can happen to an athlete during training camp is to catch a cold. Red leaves and the promise of snow in the future also bring around the common cold. Combined with tougher training in preparation for racing season and sickness can be tricky to avoid. Three days in to our second week of high altitude fall training camp I found myself with an itchy throat and a water faucet for a nose.
For many people the common cold is simply a nuisance but for an athlete it can be a big deal. During the racing season when I get a cold I generally take time off from training until I feel I have recovered, however since it is only October I decided to try and train through my head cold. The risk in training through your cold is that it can move from your head to your chest and then go from days to weeks before you recover.
I am very fortunate to have my teammate and wife, Caitlin
to help take care of me at home and on the road.
I backed off my weekly training load by decreasing the intensity in my workouts. I think the blood moving around in my body when I trained at a distance pace and heart rate actually helped flush some of the sickness out of me.
It is hard at training camp to ski easy and slow when your teammates and friends are working hard in intervals and time trials but the patience paid off. I woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful fall day and the ability to breath out of my nose.
Noah, Caitlin and Mikey and I set off for a nice long run in the mountains.
One of my favorite things to do in addition to ski racing is to run, hike and climb in the mountains. I grew up in the Cascades of Washington and my passion for the mountains has for the most part been put on hold as I pursue my ski racing goals and dreams. I am grateful for the opportunities I do get throughout the year to play in the mountains and train for skiing.
The mountains have always had a rejuvenating effect on me.
I finished our run on Saturday tired but feeling healthy and fresh.
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