I was in San Francisco Last weekend to do the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. I had been Excited about the event and felt I was well prepared. The weeks leading up to the event I had done Bay to Breakers+ bonus (15K) and the Armed Forces 1/2 Marathon in Concord (12K option) the week before I did The Herbalife 24 L.A. Triathlon (Olympic). So after three events in a row my and training my immunity was probably Challenged. Combine that with the 5 year old kid who plopped down next to me at the gate in LAX and started hacking and sneezing and low a behold I came down with a cold mid-week. By the time I got into S.F. for Alcatraz registration I was on the downslope of the cold but it was in the cough stage. Sat. night as I tried to sleep I was into a heavy coughing cycle and every time I breathed in a deep breath my throat tickled and I started to cough again.. Considering the possibilities I decided that the middle of the Bay while swimming and breathing heavily which I assumed would create undesired coughing it would be best if I scratched. It was a hard decision and I wan't sure If I was afraid, lazy? all negative input my inner voice sometime feeds me. I determined that since I do this for fun the potential benefits were not worth the potential risk. I am going to scale back my competition schedule next year and will circle Alcatraz. It was a beautiful calm sunny day on the Bay and was perfect weather. I can only hope for the same next week. Otherwise as an Aging Athlete I think its important that we keep our limitations in mind. Not barriers put up by negative inner voices but real limitations associated with who and what we are. Shawn