The bug must have bitten me around Feb 10, a Wednesday. It had been six months
since the last cold and record showed that twice-a-year was my pattern. Since
Jan, I was actually expecting something.
I had no fever but a slightly runny nose and sneezed from time to time. I slept
well and my morning heart rate stayed in the mid 40s. My body didn't ache, not
from the sickness at least, my energy level was OK, and I kept training jiu-jitsu.
Wed(Feb 16) night, we trained takedowns from standing. We gripped, dragged, shot
for the ankles, and flipped each other over on the mat for about two dozen
times. That drill drained me. Next I got steamrolled by four guys, each outweighing
me by 20+ lbs, in sparring. Thu morning, the left upper-body, including the
shoulders, collar bones, the upper rib cage, hurt so much that I had to skip the
evening class.
Recovery from training was slow and did not help the cold. Over the next few
days, even sneezing and coughing caused sharp pains in the left chest and
shoulder. It also hurt to raise the left arm. I found hanging on a bar help
relieving the pain. I couldn't stand low room temperatures during this time. I
tested for the first time for Omicron: negative.
The long weekend brought a much needed respite and by Wed(Feb 23), the cold
seemed to have run its course and I went back on the mat. Thursday's no-gi class
felt even better. Thank You!
