A century with a cold?

So, I was supposed to do a big ride up in the mountains, but everyone who was gonna ride with me bailed in order to do a popular century (benefits a cyclist killed while riding...). So, I changed my plans and signed up for the century too. Ride is tomorrow, 8am.

Sitting here at work, I can surely and definitely feel a cold coming on -- nose itches, eyes are watery, starting to feel achy. Can I still do the century?

(For the record, the miles aren't a big deal - this will be my 5th century in the past two months, so it's not a huge deal for me, but I really wanna do it!)

HELP!!! And, what should I do tonight - Airborne pills, chicken soup, what are your favorite remedies????

My remedy for an oncoming cold- as much water as you can stand to drink today (flush out time!), hot Chinese food (hot and sour soup works wonders to clear out your head), rest- as in get sleep tonight (early to bed, etc)and lots of Vitamin C.

Is this a ride you can bail out early as in a metric as opposed to the full 100?

See how you feel tomorrow. No sense stressing your body when you're not up to par. Yes, you're conditioned, but 100 miles regardless of hills, etc is no "walk in the park"!

I have ridden races and centuries with a cold when I was younger, but it was always a mistake! It always took forever to get over the cold afterwards, really felt bad afterwards, etc., etc.

When you get a cold you should rest so your body can work on kicking hte bug! Other people I know who have tried this have then gotten sinus infections, and really yucky things!

I wouldn't do it. Your health is more important than racking up another century. And feeling crummy for hours on end....well, it's your call, but all I want to do on the first real day of a cold is take it easy and pamper myself with naps and chicken soup.

Feel better soon!

Emily

I tried to do a longer ride in Sept with a cold and I couldn't even breathe. I had to stop because I was nearly going to faint, and my throat was constricting so much, so I turned back. After that debacle it probably set me back another several days in terms og getting healthy again. I would let it run its course and not worry about it. I will NOT ride again being as sick as I was that day.

I must be getting wise in my old age - I took everyone's advice. Sorta regretting it, because the sun is gorgeous outside, but it's still in the 40's. When I woke up for the ride (at 5:30am - yuck!), my throat was feeling scratchy, so I bailed on the ride and went back to sleep. Slept for another 5 hours, and woke up feeling okay. But, it's still probably best. I've got a huge weekend next weekend, and I need to be more than 100% (volunteering on bikes for route safety crew for the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk!) since we'll be on our bikes all day, and sleeping in the tent city at night.

Thanks for the reality check. I needed to hear what I knew all along.

Wise woman, you live to ride another day.

Pamper yourself today. :) Here's hoping you're well rested & recovered for next week.

When you're *not* strugglign to sleep in teh night, and struggling to stay awake in the day next week, thank yourself :-)