Week 1 of Round 2 of 12WBT

Well, this week has a been a bit of a write-off. I came down with a bug on Mother's Day on Sunday which I tried to ignore until I couldn't any more. Now have a nasty cough and still have a headache and a bit of a temperature. And no exercise since Sunday. I probably shouldn't have gone to the pool on Sunday when I wasn't feeling "quite right" but I was worried about using it as an excuse and I followed the mantra of JFDI.

This is the first time I have been sick since I started on my exercise regime and started eating more healthily. And you know what, after nearly 8 months I thought I was immune. Wrong, wrong, wrong. But it has given me cause to think about why I got sick now (and not doing any exercise for 5 days gives you time for that!).

I think it was more related to stress than anything else. The physical stress of my mega swim together with my mum who has been a bit of hard work this past week, and getting organised for an overseas holiday, combined with knowing I needed to have a scan for a lump in my breast has taken its toll (scan yesterday, have lump, not a cyst or anything worse - still waiting on the formal report but appears to be okay).

I KNOW that stress is a problem with me.
I KNOW I get anxious.
I KNOW that if I get anxious I get sick.
But I still repeat it over and over and over.

And ever so closely related to that is that I don't sleep well at the best of times. And when I am stressed I sleep even more badly. Quite simply, for the past few weeks I have not been getting any where near enough sleep.

My old habit of going to bed really late - really, really late - has crept back in. And I need to fight that. I know what I need to do - I need to put my iPad away by a reasonable hour (which as I write I am trying to work out what that would be - but I am going to say 8pm) and then relax and go to be BEFORE MIDNIGHT. Prefereably well before midnight. Then I won't wake up in a fog - but more importantly, I won't get sick. Sounds so easy ...