To defy flu (or any other malady) with diet, exercise, and cold showers was the
dream (or maybe illusion is a better word here) that I have deliberatedly chased.
I seem to have made progress as my physical condition improves. I used to get
sick multiple times annually but only came down twice a year recently. In fact,
according to record, I had been lucky for the past 15 months.
Tuesday night, my throat felt dry and drinking water didn't help. That moment, I
understood that finally I was about to have a run-in with the devil. Sure
enough, the attack came on Wed, and although the symptoms were mild, the cold
lasted for a whole week.
I stopped running and weight-lifting for four days, feeling weak, and stayed
away for six days from coffee. My bodyweight took a dive from 151.4 lbs to 148.4
lbs due to lack of appetite. My body did not ache all over as it did in the past. I
felt no need to take time off from work, experienced no stress and slept fine.
Sneezing in the first couple of days was followed by infrequent coughing with a
lot of phlegm toward the end. On day six, I lifted weight. On the seventh day,
80% of my strength came back. On the 10th, I ran five miles.
One surprise was that the flu seemed to bring on pain in the left wrist around
where the ulna(I simply looked it up) joins the hand. It could be the ulanar
collateral ligament, the flexor tendons, the head of the fl. capri ulnaris
muscle, or others in the area. Squeezing the CoC or twisting the forearm hurts.
The pain prevented me from heavy dead-lifts and bothered in pullups and yoga.
The wrist pain stayed even as other symptoms lightened. So I concluded that flu
could also make certain areas of the body ache. The question is what makes a
part extra susceptible.
I was suspecting my cold the result of a build-up process that finally led to a
virus overtaking the body. Things started as a clean slate, say. Over time, wear
and tear in the immune system accummulated. Pathogens started to have a chance.
Then, just like paying off piled-up debt in a lump sum or a Wall Street crash, I
had to pay with a cold, which shuffled the cards in about a week and the game
started all over again.
OK. I accept. Not everyone can be like my friend L, who just doesn't get flu.
But do I regret the effort all these years? Certainly not. It has given me
priceless habits that yield dividends every single day. Besides, what would have
been the alternative? Running marathons does not acquit me from flu but neither
could I count on vaccination. I have heard stories over the years that vaccine
fails to work. So I have no regret skipping flushots.
