Day 31 - Sick

After an especially fitful night of tossing and turning, coughing, and trying to figure out which nostril to attempt to breathe out of, 5 a.m. saw me crawl out of bed, take a couple of Advil Cold and Sinus tablets, and crunch my way through the snow and ice to my first ER shift.

Over the course of the shift, my cold developed itself into quite the raging beast that had me sanitising my hands every time I even looked at a patient out of the corner of my eye. After work, I helped Katie with some interview prep over Skype, forced some soup down my very sore throat, and then slept for a couple of hours.

When I woke up, I knew it was time to sweat.

I've heard a lot about working out when sick. Some people say that you absolutely shouldn't do it, and that you should save your energy for recovery. Others say that it's okay to do something light. Still others say that as long as the illness is above the shoulders (i.e., a sinus infection or head cold), that it's okay to work out as normal.

To be honest, I trust my body's ability to tell me when to stop or slow down, and my bigger concern is transmitting germs to people around me.

After some serious hemming and hawing, I decided to hit the gym, being extra careful to sanitise my hands and wipe down every surface I touched. I ended up doing 30 easy minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill. And pretty much freezing the snot in my nostrils on my way back and forth.

So glad that I have the day off tomorrow.