Finding Our Way Back To Fitness

My wife resting and still not feeling quite right after 11 days

It definitely happens to us runners at some point. We get sick, busy or injured. Well, it just happened to my family.

First my wife fell sick last Tuesday. She had a really bad sore throat, viral fever and was feeling really terrible. She thought she could self medicate and had to take two Panadol tablets thrice a day "just to barely function" in her words. I brought her to see the doctor on Thursday and she got better with the stronger medication given by the doctor.

 On Friday, my two and half year old boy woke up with a fever. Oh dear, my wife groaned, she had passed it to him. We had very little sleep that night as his temperature kept spiking during the night. Our helper had to help us throughout the night too. I ended up not going to my usual Saturday morning long bike ride.

Despite not sleeping well, I managed to see patients the whole Saturday. When I got home, my older seven year old boy was running a temperature.

We spend the whole Sunday resting and trying to keep everyone comfortable at home. Thanks to my helper who decided to forgo her off day to help us. Thanks Ami!

I was the last one standing, the "last of the Mohicans" or so I thought. I woke up with a fever at 3 am on Monday morning! Grrrrrrr. I thought I was strong/ healthy enough not to catch the bug but in the end I succumbed.

I ended up not working for the past few days. My wife still hasn't gone in to the clinic. Though she's feeling better, she just doesn't seem quite right. The older boy hasn't gone to school this whole week while the younger boy still gets a fever on and off. Now that was really strong bug that got us down.

A body at rest can and tends to remain at rest. My wife is just lamenting that her fitness is gone, poof just like that! How do we start running or exercising again?

If you've been away from running more than a week, the pool  is great for doing deep water running. If you prefer something land based, you should just try walking first. The goal is to be able feel strong going on a 30 minute walk. If that's too much try 10-15 minutes walking and build from there.

Next, add in some running. Throw in a 10-15 second run after walking  five minutes. If you feel good, you can continue with 10 seconds run / 40 seconds walk for 5-10 mins. Every other day add 3-5 minutes and you'll back on your way.

Your body will definitely tell you if you've done too much during your comeback- you just need to listen to it.

Hmmm, should I go for my long bike ride tomorrow?

Actually, my helper, Ami, is the last one standing, "the last of the Mohicans". Good on you Ami!