Staying Healthy, and other Phobias

Day nine is almost through.  One day closer to the race.  One day nearer to a very long day.  As mentioned in yesterday’s post, there are many things remaining to be done.  Small things.  Sweating the details.

But more so than the planning and last-minute stuff, right now I’m worried about staying healthy.  The last two weeks before the race are considered “taper”… I slowly back off on the volume of my training, making sure to rest up for the race.  This is intended to ensure that my body is strong, and full of energy on the day of the race.  And isn’t at all what I am worried about.  I’m worried about something far nastier.  Far more insipid.  Far less controllable.  Something that as a parent (part-time) I’ve battled for years….

GERMS!  (insert sound of horror)

Yes… I’m scared of those wee, sightless, soundless little germs.  Any kind.  But most of all the ones that my petri dish kids carry around with them on a daily basis and germinate in their noses, mouths, and other orifices! The one’s the spread around my place with every sneeze, snort cough and smear….

Don’t get me wrong… I love my boys to death!  But after 5 weeks with them on the east coast, and with less than two weeks to go until my race, their arrival back with full-on colds raring to go… snot dripping from noses, coughs emanating from them as they fall asleep in the king bed we usually share… well, you can see why I might be worried!  (It’s not easy sharing a 440 sq ft condo with two kids!!!)

So… what to do?  Start by sleeping on the couch.  Second, enforce a very strict hand washing policy.  Third, don;t ever share a glass, or cutlery with them! And finally, ensure that upon their departure after a night or two here, I disinfect the entire place!

And then there’s the internal fortress I must build… Vitamin D.  Vitamin C.  Echinacea.  GoldenSeal.  Oil of Oregano.    you name it… I’ll be taking it oer the next few weeks.  Anything and everything that has proven or purported antibacterial, immune boosting or other properties associated with keeping oneself healthy… I have a bottle.

So.. for the next couple weeks it’ll be me being very careful about what I consume.  What I touch.  What I put in my mouth or near my nose.  I’ll be washing my hands with extraordinary regularity and ensuring that whenever I come in contact with someone or something suspect I disinfect.

It may not be entirely fun.  Nor very “friendly”.  But it is what I need to do to ensure I don’t go insane with worry about the state of my health on race day.

As I have for the past few days, I am ending this post with an appeal for your support to raise money for the American and Canadian Cancer Societies.  Thank you again to those that have generously supported these causes with your donations so far.  And thank you in advance to those that choose to support them now.

Donations for the Canadian Cancer Society –
Donations for the American Cancer Society –