Taper Catey vs Normal Catey

I've been on vacation for the past week.  Well, actually we got back late Friday night after being gone for a week, but my brain is just starting to shift back into reality mode.

Vacation was a fabulous break.  It was an epic week away for a number of reasons, good...and bad.  Let's just say it cost about $20,000 more than we expected it to.  Plus there were a million little things that happened as well.  But that's another story for another day.  Today I'm inviting you to hop aboard and enjoy the view from the crazy train.

One of the reasons getting away was fabulous was that it was the perfect distraction from taper crazy.  If you've tapered, you likely know what I'm talking about.
If not, allow to me sum up quickly.  For four months I've been training and increasing my mileage in prep for the marathon this weekend.  My body got used to running around 40ish miles a week.  For the last couple of weeks before marathon that drops a lot.  Last week I had only 24 miles on my schedule.  While running less is a little bit of a sigh of relief for a tired body, it's a challenge for a mind used to running a lot more.  Thus it can make one a little crazy.

Hanging with friends in Vegas, then spending time at the beach and at Disneyland with my hubby, kids and parents, as well as the treat of getting my shorter running done where the weather was beautiful and I was surrounded by palm trees was amazing at keeping any crazies at bay.

And then there is this week.

Aaron got sick while we were on vacation.  We left Friday, by Sunday night he succombed to it.  He was still well enough to enjoy all the things we did, he was just doing it with the mother of all sinus infections, which brought with it a host of fun symptoms.
Well, before the trip was over, I picked up the loveliness.  I felt it creeping in on Wednesday night.  By Thursday it hit me full force.
At first I was all little miss sunshine about it.  "Aren't you glad this is hitting us now instead of a week from now?!"  "Thank goodness it's just a sinus infection and not something dropping down into the chest, that would be awful." "It should just work itself through our systems and be gone by next weekend.  It could be worse!"
This is the approach I typically try to take.  I know, it's annoying a lot of the time, but hey-complaining never helps anything, right?

Then we got home.
Aaron sounded worse on Saturday so we got him off to see a dr who confirmed nasty sinus infection as well as double ear infection.  Super.  Since I was just a couple of days behind him and was feeling progressively worse as each day went on instead of feeling at least a little tiny bit better after steaming out in the shower and getting up and going for the day, I figured I would suck it up and go see the dr as well.
You need to know that's a big deal for me.  I am not a big fan of meds and firmly believe that too many drs are just pill pushers to satisfy people.  I am very much a champion of letting the body work through things on its own whenever possible.  I don't visit the dr often, and I can't think of a time since I got my tonsils out (almost 4yrs ago after major strep issues) that I have been to see a dr or been on meds other than the occasional allergy pill or a couple of ibuprofen after having a baby.  For this I am very grateful!

So it took a lot for me to actually go in to see a dr and admit that I might need meds.
I wandered into the clinic on Saturday afternoon after putting it off for just a few more hours in case I might have started feeling a little better.  I was going to wait until Monday and see my regular dr, but thought I would err on the side of caution and be proactive instead of waiting until 48hrs closer to marathon.  Yay me for admitting I'm not invincible and being willing to ask for help!
Thankfully there was no one else there so I wasn't picking up anything else other than what I already had.
I get taken back and through what is left of my voice I hoarsely croak out my symptoms and their duration.  If you've talked to me in the past couple of days you know how ridiculous I sound.  The dr checks my ears, nose, throat, we go through the regular rundown of questions.
Then he takes a step back and says "well, you definitely have a huge sinus infection!  It's a mess."
Oh goody.
"Buuuut...let's wait it out a little bit.  Hopefully your body will just kick it on its own.  If you're not better by Thursday, give me a call and I'll call in a prescription for you.  I know it doesn't give you a lot of time before your marathon."
Ya think?!
Normal Catey would have agreed, glad that this dr isn't a pill pusher, glad in his confidence of a strong body overcoming the infection on its own.
Taper Catey wanted to tear his head off.  Thursday?!  Are you kidding?  You want me to wait until 48 hours before the marathon I have been training for for the last 4+ months, the marathon I've been looking to for redemption from what happened with Ogden in May, the marathon that I'm lined up to snag a huge PR in?  48hrs?!  Don't you see how big of a deal it is for me to even come in to see a dr?  To admit that I might just need meds after all?  Do you not understand that I can't breathe, can't talk, and have what may just be the worst headache I've ever had?!

Then to add insult to injury he looked at me and said "So a marathon huh?  Don't you have a long jog today or something?"
Um, no.  I don't have a "long jog".  I had an 8mile run on the schedule that wasn't happening because I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. Props to me for having enough common sense to know that I needed rest over the run, but being sick enough that it hurt too much to run just messed with my head even more.

I know I'm in crazy mode.  After I came home and was explaining it all to Aaron I told him that I knew how irrational it was to be so upset.  So at least there is the upside of still having enough connection with the rational side of me to realize that this is crazy mode taking over, and having enough coherent thought to censor my feelings about the dr's idea of waiting it out instead of telling him what I thought at the moment.

The next fun round of crazy hit last night when I couldn't get attachments onto an email because my head hurt so bad I couldn't think straight.  I was almost in tears.

It's more fun than a barrel of monkeys around here!!

So to anyone who happens to cross my path in the next few days, I apologize in advance for any crazy you may be unfortunate enough to encounter.
The good news is that when I'm not on the crazy train, I am really very excited for this race on Saturday.  I haven't been nervous until I got sick, and unfortunately I am still sick, but the rational side of me is still holding out hope that my body will kick this infection within the next four days somehow.
If not then...well...we'll see how a marathon with a sinus infection goes.  Neither of my other two marathons have been under optimal conditions (1st-pregnant and it was 80+ degrees before I finished, 2nd-back issues and pouring rain with occasional bursts of sleet), so it fits right in, right?
But hey, the weather for Saturday is looking absolutely perfect, so there's that!  It would definitely be worse that weren't the case.  Plus I get to carb load very soon, and that my friends, has happy written all over it!
And if any of you happen to have any magic cures for sinus infections, please feel free to share.