And it was going so well....

Now I'm sure it had nothing to do with paddling through blizzards and ice-storms, but oh my, I've been hit by 2 shocking types of flu ... the second bout of which, didn't even have the decency to wait until I was recovered from the first.

So I go down with 'normal' flu, aches, pains, fever, throat, chest, head ... the usual. I'm laid low for 3 days but start to feel well enough to get myself downstairs for a drink, instead of summoning offspring via mobile phone (too ill to shout) to bring fluids upstairs. I'm still fairly unwell, but can manage to watch television instead of sleeping, when I then get hit with the 'throwing up' flu which 2 of my daughters had over Christmas. Coming on top of the other bug, I've been in bed more or less constantly for 10 days and unwell for almost 2 weeks.

All my training plans - kaput. It's so upsetting, but I've rallied enough in the last couple of days to sort out races and training routines and to get some dates down in the diary. If my cough subsides enough tonight, then I might risk the river tomorrow, although given how fast it was going today, I don't want to head out if I'm not feeling at least 80%.

Now, I'm unbelievably keen to get going.