Genevieve Whitson Elite Road Cyclist

I did have grand plans to start the year off with a bang, in terms of getting some solid roadie miles in now that I am in the South and supposedly in the warm part of the UK, but it looked like life had other plans in store for me. Around a week before Christmas I left work with what I thought was a 24 hour bug; back pain, slight fever, general sense of ‘I could fall into a dark hole and go to sleep without any problems right now..’
I skipped a training session at the gym and went home to bed, expecting to wake up to pure health. Little did I know at the time, that I had picked up one of the nastiest viruses circulating around the UK at the moment, and wouldn’t even embark on a training ride or practically leave the house for 3 weeks. Although I did appreciate all the chocolate that one is given in times of self pity, thanks to Lizzie and her parents, as well as Gordon and Kerri.

This virus would honestly have to be the worst flu I have ever experienced in my life. What really shocked me though, was to hear that it actually killed 5 children in Australia - that is absolutely tragic and seems so wrong in this day and age. The virus started with an initial fever, followed by hot and cold sweats, the banging headache, razor blade throat, the inability to consume food for 4 days and the need to sleep excessively for 12-15 hours a day, followed by the sense that you have just completed a very intense gym workout that has ripped each muscle to shreds. It was merely depressing to know that I was feeling this bad and I had nothing to show for it, except a pale ghost like complexion and a distinctively ill look to me. After two weeks I decided to go to the doctor, as I was getting a bit concerned that I didn’t seem to be improving, infact I seemed to be going further down the flu slope. While I begged the doctor for anti-biotics and was told that they don’t issue them for ‘viral infections’, I was advised that a ‘positive attitude goes along way’ – while I agree with the cup half full motto, I really wasn’t in the mood to hear this, especially since I had a rather impressive cough that had bruised my ribs to the point where I really didn't have any flexibility and was finding a simple walk around the block a mission in itself. The thought of any exercise felt like a distant memory that was slowly fading away, as I opted for sleep, cough medicine and more sleep!

Luckily around about the 2.5 week point, I started to feel a little better and managed a 40 minute walk with a friend feeling like I had ‘turned a corner’ as they say. At 3 weeks I even felt strong enough for a 30 minute bike ride on the turbo trainer, but sadly to say this was the absolute maximum I was able to cope with for the next week. Apparently this is quite good in comparison to the majority of people who have this virus for 4-6 weeks. I am now in my second week back into riding and it really is quite frustrating to have to take it so easy with riding sessions cut back and I am pretty sure I have lost a about 4- 6 weeks worth of training. This isn’t really ideal with the NZ Womens Tour coming up in less than 8 weeks, but there really isn’t anything I can do about it except take it easy and wait for my body to feel 150% again. A couple of years ago I would have tried to stake on too much too soon, but after a some harsh lessons with pushing the body too hard too fast I have learnt to restrain when you really need to! I know a lot of athletes can find this really hard, and I can totally relate to this, but the body really does seem to know best, even if it doesn't feel that way at the time.

I am really looking forward to seeing the sun in NZ (as well as my family!). Winters are very very long here in the UK and can make it hard with so few hours of daylight. It has also been one of the coldest winters in years here. Oxford got down to -9 around the New Year, which I find a little ironic considering I left Scotland looking for warmer weather. All the riding I have done so far has taken place on the turbo trainer, which can get extremely monotonous, but I think within the next two weeks the temperature should rise to double figures and I will hopefully be able to head outdoors… (fingers crossed anyway).