Week Two - Day Three

TIME THERE: 32 min. (including a stop at the library to drop off an overdue book)
TIME BACK: 27 min.
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 10C, 19 km/hr wind there; overcast, 18C, 22 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell (shell was in panniers on the way back)
NOTES:
Ever since I first got pregnant a couple years ago, I've had chronic sinus infections. Through most of my pregnancy I was sick as a dog (huh - do dogs get sick a lot? Where'd that expression come from, anyway?) with one viral infection after another. I was even sick when I went into labour. After my daughter was born, she and I had a habit of passing things between us so that for pretty much her first whole year of life we didn't go a full two week without one or the other or both of us being sick. Sometimes we were functional, other times we were bed-ridden. It was a brutal, brutal time. But since the beginning of the summer we've both enjoyed a very healthy few months. It's been great!

But, it seems, the sickness has caught up with us again. I can't really tell if what's making my daughter unhappy is teething or feeling sick, but I definitely know I've got something. I'm operating at about a 70% capacity. I'm not sick enough to stay home from work, but still sick enough to really be feeling it by the end of the day. I'm feeling a lot of sinus pressure behind my eyes and above my upper molars, which is making my teeth sore, and I've got a runny nose and a sore throat. I'm exhausted by the end of the work day, and now that my daughter's in bed all I really want to do is pass out myself.

It sure hasn't affected my ride-time though. My God, did you see that? I made it home in 27 minutes!! That's riding with a cold, against the wind, feeling tired. It kind of makes me feel like a GOD! I finally found a route that I like, and I really do love it - it's scenic and fast and flat. I've also noticed that there's a huge difference in how hard I have to work this week compared to last. I don't feel tempted to walk my bike up the small inclines that I do face, and for most of the flat stretches I can sail along at a pretty decent clip without having to pant like an animal. I can't tell you how fast I'm going because at some point last week someone stole the computer off my bike! That's up there in incomprehensibility with someone stealing my doorbell, which also happened recently. Seriously, my doorbell?

I'm convinced that I'd be feeling a lot sicker right now if it weren't for the commuting, because it seems that the fresh air and hard breathing and increased heart rate are all contributing to a much slower and weaker onset of symptoms. And when I'm biking I feel fine - it's when I get off the bike, at home and at work, that I feel the worst. So, biking is making me healthier in more ways than one! I'll take that for a dollar.