We got sick and our PCR test results came back COVID-19 positive.
Karel had his worst symptoms (flu-like body aches, night sweats, fatigue, no energy, but no fever) from August 27th-30th. I had my worst symptoms (flu-like body aches, sinus congestion, running nose, wet cough, fatigue, low energy, but no fever) from September 1st-3rd. It took us both another 3-4 days until we started to feel more like our normal self. I am still without taste or smell and my sinuses are still very congested. After waiting three days for an appointment, we both tested positive on September 3rd.
Thankfully, we were not in close contact with many people over the past two weeks. We don't eat out, we don't go indoors without a mask (grocery and post office are the only two places we go indoors) and Karel only had three bike fits in the two weeks before he was tested positive. We have two training partners (Alvi and Kristen) so we notified them and they both tested negative. I told my mom and her boyfriend and three other people who stopped by to see Asher (our newest kitten). No one has reported any positive tests since interacting with us.
With the Ironman 70.3 World Championship just eight days away, we are happy to report that thankfully, we are both out of our quarantine/isolation period and we will be safe to travel (and race) race week.
There's never a good time to get sick but this COVID experience has been the (best) worst timing. If we would have gotten sick this week, we wouldn't be traveling or racing at the IM 70.3 World Championship. Certainly we would have preferred to not have gone through this but at this point, we are just so thankful that we were fully vaccinated when we were exposed and thanks to the vaccine doing what it was designed to do, our symptoms were not severe. Although I have had to drastically change our expectations for our race day performance since I am still struggling with heavy legs while running, sinus pressure and overall, I still don't feel 100%, I am just so thankful that I was able to race so much this year without having to overcome any major obstacles.
A younger version of myself would have felt as if my Ironman 70.3 World Championship experience was ruined due to a sickness 2.5 weeks out from the race. But over the years, I've learned not to associate my self-worth to one race. The truth is that happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them. Struggling doesn't mean you are failing.
Although I am disappointed in the timing of this sickness, it's still the best worst timing in that we will still be able to travel to and participate in the race. Sure, this virus took away some of my strength, my taste and smell and time away from structured training but what counts is what you do with what you have left - not wasting energy on what is taken away from you. Worrying and complaining changes nothing.
Life's best lessons are often learned at the worst times. Sometimes you have to go through the worst, to arrive at your best.