Not So Fast, Bucko.

The snow and ice was almost gone from the roads, leaving puddles behind as it retreated but also wide stretches of dry pavement. I was planning on making my escape to the outside within the next few days, starting with the occasional short ride before increasing both the duration and frequency. It was going to be glorious.
  
Then I got crushed.
  
One of my Mighty Mite kids didn't show up for the last day because he was at home with the flu. I was sorry he didn't get to have fun with us on the hill, but I didn't realize at the time that he had left me something to remember him by. Yep, for the second time this winter I was hit by a strain of influenza that wasn't covered by this year's vaccine. 
  
And I got hit hard. It started with a violent hacking cough, so intense I barely avoided getting TBIs from nearby furniture and walls on multiple occasions. Then there were the chills and muscle aches that kept me up all night and made it impossible to concentrate on anything. Unfortunately, I didn't catch it in time to take any of the drugs that minimize the severity and duration, so I was left with half-assed treatments for the symptoms. This also wasn't a couple days of misery, but a full week of debilitating suck.
  
Yeah, you could say my training progress was all but ruined. I didn't care. All I wanted was to be able to function again like a semi-normal person.
  
Then I got my wife and toddler infected, and suddenly it just got that much worse. It's bad enough when you're closed off in your own little world of pain, but to drag your loved ones in with you? That just makes it that much worse.
  
I'm not fully recovered yet, and my last attempt at the trainer resulted in violent coughing and puking, but not a lot of wattage. While I was sick, about ten inches of snow fell on my "almost ready" roads, pushing that back a bit as well. They'll melt soon enough, but the way I feel now I'm in no hurry. There's no need to risk prolonging this illness just to get in a few miles of pavement. Bronchitis is not part of the training plan.
  
I just have to remember that it will happen sooner or later. I'll get out there and it will be good. Or it won't. It will almost definitely be better than the trainer. It will get better and better as the weeks go by. My fitness will return, and it might even do it before the first race of the year.
  
I just have to be patient.