Sleep and Plants... Magic Cure!

The game we play with Ironman training has us trying to figure out the balance of Train as much as you can! with Stay healthy! Sometimes balancing those out is a real challenge. Especially when you really enjoy training a lot (and training hard!)

Last week when I was in Kona I went a day early and stayed a day late... mostly b/c I just wanted some extra time on the Big Island to truly drill myself (that's what trips to the Big Island are for, no?) and I think I was successful in finding the edge of my cliff again! In fact, I think for the first time in quite some time I actually started to slip down it... Nearly 30 hours of swim/bike/run in those 7 days... the most I've ever done... ending with a 4.5 hour brick on the last day at just above 70.3 race pace/power... That was enough to do me in for a while. I had some planned down time for the rest of the week after I got home and it was really interesting- I felt fine (great actually!) after that last w/o but as soon as I got home and allowed myself to shut it down, I mentally and physically went into a bit of a coma. Not really of course but damn if I wasn't just completely useless for a few days.

Then in the middle of the night on Saturday I found myself up and running to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up... so odd b/c I never throw up... and I didn't actually do it that night either but I did wake Scott with my dry heaving. He asked if I was ok and in my still sleeping mind I replied that I thought I was just playing out part of the dream I was having (the dream where I was puking)... odd. I let it go, went back to sleep and got up the next morning to get ready to ride. It didn't take long before I realized I was in no shape to ride a bike that day. Nausea, chills, fever, achy, low energy... Totally sucked b/c I had a couple of guys I coach showing up at my house ready to roll at 6:30 and I had to go out and meet them and tell them they were on their own. Blah! But there was just no way I could ride.

Anyway, the point of this post is about how I managed to rid myself of that virus in what I'd say was a pretty quick turn-around! Whenever I get an email from an athlete telling me they think they are getting sick, I tell them to support their body as best the can with sleep and plants. And I mean it! Sleep and plants! Magic cure. Here was my personal opportunity to try it out again...

So Sunday I ate pretty much nothing but fruits and vegetables. Literally- everything I put in my mouth had previously grown from the ground and I hit as many colors as I could. Mango, apple, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, kale, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, orange, lilikoi, banana, tomato, avocado, etc. I also drank a couple mugs of apple cider vinegar mixed with hot water (like ACV tea). I took a nap mid-day and then I went to bed at 8PM and slept until 7AM Monday morning. Monday I wouldn't say I woke up feeling spunky but def better than Sunday. I continued on my plants only diet and by mid-afternoon I felt like maybe I could attempt a little jog. There's a lot of nutrition packed into those plants and I swear they are the best medicine! This morning I felt nearly normal- good enough to ride my bike and run- and now I feel good again! Sleep and plants... magic cure!

Being sick 7 weeks out from your Ironman is in no way ideal... in the end for me I think it was a good reminder that there is indeed a cliff I can fall right off if I'm not careful... It takes a lot for me to get there and I'm glad I went searching for it even if I did start to slip down a bit. It wasn't completely catastrophic or anything- just a good lesson. And a good reminder about the power of plants. So there you go... get your sleep. And eat lots of plants. :)