Mono...continued.

Mono truly is the annoying person who won't leave the party and is ruining everyone's good time. As much as I'd like to write about something a bit more exciting and, wonder of wonders, something specific to skiing or training, I'm at a loss currently. But in the last few weeks since I received the diagnosis of this really frustrating virus I've scoured the internet for information on mono, for testimonials and stories of other athletes who have contracted it and dealt with it. How long was recovery? Are there remedies that alleviate the effects? Can/should I exercise? Fortunately I have a great doctor in Joe Jensen and a really intelligent consulting physician/athlete in Jeff Clarke and both have been invaluable in helping me understand what's going on and what I can do. So right now I'll post in the hope that if someone else out there has mono and is searching for answers or commiseration, they might find some here.

But first, a few snapshots of what my days have been like:

Because I'm a lazy sod and have not the time or energy to actually go OUT to hunt for deer, I have my 30.06 waiting on a coat hook by the door, should that pesky young white-tailed buck wander into my orchard.

Not being able to train has left me with a fair bit of time on my hands. Aside from continuing in my online classes, I've been able to log some time in my wood shop - I just finished this bed platform yesterday.

And now the business. By my understanding my experience (thus far, at least) with mono has been relatively mild (refer to my last post to learn about my initial symptoms leading up to diagnosis). For the last two and a half weeks I've been able to move around and do stuff, such as building things like the above bed platform, cooking, easy walks, etc. It hasn't been too debilitating. Which is good and bad. Good because I can do stuff. Bad because I often feel like I can train, but am under direct orders not to. Every week I go to Dr. Jensen's and get blood drawn, to check how my various indicator numbers are doing. The primary pathologies we're watching are atypical lymphocytes and alanine transaminase (ALT), which is an enzyme in the liver. The lymphocytes are an indication that there is an infection present in my body creating them, so as they go down, one can assume the infection is doing the same. The ALT is an enzyme found in the liver. When a hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) occurs with an infection such as mono, the liver enlarges and "leaks" blood which contains these liver-specific enzymes. They can be identified in a blood sample pretty quickly and, like the atypical lymphocytes, are a good indicator of progress. Too high of an ALT reading = liver still inflamed = mono infection still present.

I have another appointment for a blood draw tomorrow. The timeline is this: when those various numbers return to normal levels, I can begin considering "exercise". Not training, mind you. I must crawl before walking. Dr. Clarke is recommending starting with 1/2 to 1 hour per day of light activity, working upwards only as I feel able to do so. Right now I can get tired after a short bout of activity such as a half hour walk with some uphill, so it's going to go slow. As soon as I've got a few weeks of that light activity under my belt and if morning HRs, etc. are showing recovery, I can start upping volume and getting into aerobic "training". My hope is that I'll be in that stage by mid-November. West Yellowstone is out. But if I can return to base training and even a bit of speedwork by early December I can be ready for US Nationals and the rest of the season.

But, as anyone who's had mono can tell you, it's a long process. I'm trying to mix hope with realism and not get too excited about any specific time frame. Just controlling what I can control.

More later...