That Time of Year Again...

Monday

24 x-trainer
Calories 113
Miles 3.04
Average Heart Rate 143

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Push Ups 60
HGPU 27


We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's house, but I probably drank too much wine. Alcohol tends to weaken the immune system, and it's that time of the year. Yes, besides the Holidays, it's also Flu & Cold season! While I haven't had a flu shot since I stopped commuting into the City, I make sure my son gets one annually because school buses and classrooms are literal germfests. Still, I'm quite dismayed to wake up Friday morning with a sore throat. I know it's sinus mucous causing this pain so I use my neti pot. I always use filtered RO (reverse osmosis) water and nuke it until it's boiling, with a 1/4 tsp of salt to make it into a saline solution. This is fairly effective in clearing mucous from the sinuses and throat, but apparently not the little space in between. I have to resort to gargling with my head tilted way back to hit the right spot, and then a nasty clump dislodges into my mouth. Yuck. Well, better than swallowing it!

Of course, Saturday was spent outdoors in a park by Lake Mahopac. My son's Boy Scout troop volunteered to help the Chamber of Commerce with their holiday festivities. Temps were deceptive, because 54F seemed warm, but was actually chilly. I had chemical hand-warmers inside my gloves, and alpaca socks, but the hoodie over my flannel shirt wasn't really enough. I did wear a hat. But after two and a half hours, I was cold. And I got a lot colder when evening came. My hubs wanted hot spicy food so we went to an Indian restaurant the next town over. Great food at Jaipore! But I woke up Sunday with a massive head cold. Ugh. I actually resorted to taking ibuprofen because my head hurt so much it was making my ear and teeth ache. Sinus infections have been a bane to my family for generations so I'm not surprised by this. I am, however, disappointed in my body's failing immunity. First shingles, now this. Ugh.

But how do I know I just have a cold, and not the flu? I didn't get a flu shot this year. Publicity about last year's highly ineffective flu shot doesn't reassure me. I check several websites and conclude that I might have the flu. Or I could just have a cold. I'm not running a fever, but I do feel slight, occasional nausea, and this time it's not because of any vertigo. Sometimes I get a chill, or I'm suddenly too hot. My nose is running in spite of taking pseudoephedrine. (I won't buy the fake stuff, phenylephrine, because it doesn't do anything for me except leave a bad taste in my mouth.) I have a dry cough that tastes like I got paper lint stuck in my throat. My left ear hurts and coincidentally, so does that side of my face. Ugh. It's probably just plain ol' sinusitis.

The best thing I can do is raise my body temperature, and the only way I know to do that is to exercise. So I go to the gym. I get there by noon because I had a few errands to run beforehand. I'm miserable in the CVS when I go to pick up more pseudoephedrine. It doesn't help that my son's acne cream gives me sticker shock when I renew the prescription. From a copay of $10 in June, it's now $45 with insurance. I look it up later and find that it retails for $215. WTH? And the copay changed because the pharma decided to change what tier the cream should reside in. What? So without any notice or warning, prescription drugs suddenly cost more, or aren't covered at all by insurance. WTF? Things are suppose to be more affordable under this administration. Well, okay, I didn't really believe that either... but still. (I already know that our premiums are going to skyrocket. Because corporations will steal money out of the middle-class pocket whenever they get the chance. Seriously.)

I feel slightly better by the time I get to Kmart where I shop for holiday lights (the ones on our fake miniature tree don't work anymore). Maybe the meds have finally kicked in? The gym is almost a ghost town by the time I get settled on the cross-trainer. I only do 20 minutes with a 4-minute cool down. I'm barely sweaty, but I'm tired. However, cardio fatigue doesn't crimp physical strength, and I'm able to knock out pull ups, push ups and my core routine without any issues. I do like that one aspect about my body.

Left foot normal. Right foot's a mess.

After a hot shower, I feel okay. Except my nose is drippy in spite of the decongestants. Ugh. Earlier, my feet had started to bother me. Well, the left foot, the good foot, the one without the bunion and hammer toes, started to ache along the outer edge while I was pedaling. But then everything was fine, and the tightness in that heel disappeared as well. Yaaaay me and my ugly feet. A foot model I will never be!

I haven't seen any pantry moths lately, except for the few caught in the moth glue traps. So that seems to be working. I check every week, and while I'm disappointed to have caught so few, I'm happy not to see any fluttering about inside my cupboards. And no little moth larvae crawling out of the grains!

5 dead India meal moths