I really appreciate the kind words of support and encouragement, folks. I really do. Murphy's law, the cold I was valiantly fighting off in Virginia overcame my defenses almost as soon as I got off the plane in Texas. I spent all of last week working from home in an effort not to be Typhoid Mary at the office and the gym. I even took yesterday off. But I'm back in the office today, and I plan on hitting the gym at noon. AND, I plan on watching class tonight if I don't actually participate.
So that's my question to you-- when you've been sick, how do you decide when it's okay to get back on the mats? When I was obsessed (in my previous jiu jitsu life) I would train as soon as I could breathe through my nose again-- even if I was still "a little sick"-- not because I didn't care about my teammates but because I convinced myself I wasn't contagious any more, and I was dying to get back to my friends, my support network, my fun. But now I'm torn-- I want to train because I said I would, dammit, and because even my couch and my kindle are losing a bit of their luster, and because my husband is going back to his academy tonight so what do I get out of sitting around the house? But I also want to be nice-- and while I can totally breathe through my nose, I have an annoying "hrm, hrm" kind of throat-clearing going on too repeatedly to hide or ignore.
So what say you, my friends? I can go in streetclothes and sit on the side and just watch (and enjoy the welcome-back smiles sans hugs) or I can go in a gi and take meds before class and do my best not to clear my throat much.
5 comments:
I say if you can get through class with minimal coughing, sniffling or throat clearing, then go for it. It is winter, everyone has something. So long as you are not constantly coughing on your training partners, or so congested that you have to hide a tissue in your gi. (Ewww!) You probably aren't contagious and a sweat might do you good.
I agree with Jenn. If you're leaking, stay home. I tend to stay home until the fatigue level drops. So I might be able to limp through a day at work (I work from home), but if the prospect of a warmup or a roll fills me with dread, I stay home.
One of our brown belts just returned from a trip to NYC. He got sick during his trip and did not get to train at Marcelo's as planned (he watched a few classes and fought off the urge to join in). Even yesterday he was going to wait a few days until the cold went completely away. The point being it's both respectful and considerate to your teammates (and strangers) to stay off the mat until you're well. A few days off is not going to hurt. In fact, you'll probably benefit from both the physical and mental break.
Phil, you're right (except I've been off the mats for a year more or less!) But I'm going to wait and see how I feel tonight right before class. It will also be my first day back in the gym (the regular gym) so I want to see if I feel better after getting some sweat going-- or worse. And I need to see if I'm still snotty, too.
:)
I was sad we missed each other in VA, but it sounds like it was a good thing ... I was also pretty awfully sick that night! It didn't hit until later in the evening, right when we were deciding to go to dinner. Hope you make it back under healthier circumstances for both of us :)
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