The placebo effect

The power of suggestion can be very strong. Believe that the placebo you're swallowing is going to cure your cold, and it might. In my case, the placebo was old wives' medicine: salt water and garlic. Also? No vampires disturbed me last night. I ate well, I read a book, I slept like a baby for 8 hours.

I am feeling much better today, even if not completely 100%. My throat is not sore, my energy levels are normal, my pulse and temperature are as they should. My sniffles are still there though, so my initial plan to see Kungsbackaloppet as a training session is reinforced. So what if I finish last? Someone has to.

I'm sorting out some logistics, like how to drive there, what time I have to leave, what I need to take with me and what clothes to wear. In other words, all the things that I should have sorted out yesterday. There is a strange absence of butterflies in the stomach. No pre-race nerves. No excitement. While everyone else will be running for a PB, I will only be running to complete my Saturday long run, on a there-and-back route, on the side of a motorway. Knowing that I can't push myself today makes me indifferent to the whole ordeal. Yesterday's ill Shaman was whirling like the Tasmanian Devil trying to find the cure to the common cold. Today's almost-healthy Shaman is just shrugging her shoulders and saying ”Meh”.