Well, there’s nothing like starting the new year with a head cold.  I started getting a scratchy throat on Saturday night.  I knew that I had probably picked up something from my trip to Wisconsin.  Sure enough, my glands are swollen and I’m dripping mucus.  Hmmmm….tasty!

I had a couple of days of hard workouts planned, but ended up just biking easy for 30 minutes each day. It’s always hard having to cancel workouts, but it’s probably better for the long run.  I really liked some great advice from Dr. Andy Pruitt’s book, Andy Pruitt’s Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists”.  For colds and upper respiratory tract infections, his advice is to exercise lightly for when your symptoms are just above your neck (eg, running nose).  If your symptoms are below your neck (coughing), you should take some time off.  Good advice and I had never really thought of it that way before.

So, how did I get out my frustration of having to cancel my workouts?  I finally got around to doing some projects.  First, I rebuilt my Zipp 404 on my new PowerTap SL 2.4 hub that I’ve been wanting to do for a few months.  I also removed the Zipp logos to give the wheel a stealth look (see attached photos).  The whole wheel comes in at 890 g.  Not bad.

After finishing the wheel, I tried a new form of training–shock therapy.  I needed to relocate some outlets from behind built-in cabinets.  This was the first time that I ran new conduit and installed a box.  I got to cut out drywall and everything.  Miraculously, I only shocked myself twice and the outlets work.  Now, I just need to patch the drywall.

Fun stuff, but not as fun as 3×15 min threshold intervals!