Masters Mission Moxie by Vinny Galanti I remember a few times hearing stories of guys training through the flu, or just being sick. Hearing how they would have looked better, if they had been 100% healthy while training for the show. Call me a big wuss, but if I had the flu or had been sick to the point of not going to work, there is no way I'd be heading to the fucking gym to train. When I started my prep at 12 weeks out for the 2007 Masters Nationals, I was already feeling like I was on the diet for 12 weeks. I don't mean I thought I looked good, or even thought I was feeling good. I straight up was tired and trust me, I hate when people say they are tired. I just shut my mouth and went on with the prep. Mentally I was on fire, I truly believed I would win the show, I truly believed I would earn an IFBB Pro Card. With my mind being positive, I ignored how my body was tired. I never gave it a second thought of how much I was sleeping during the day, I would take 1-2 hour naps after training and I would fall asleep at 9pm on the couch. Ironically I had the stamina and energy to train, never missing a workout but when the training session was over, I wanted to fall down. At one point I decided I was going to accept the fact that I'm 40, and this is how it's going to be--old and tired all the time. I figured, I have been training over 24 years and It must be catching up to me. Makes sense, right? At about 5 weeks out from the contest, I was even too tired to post on the Animalpak.com forum. I stopped walking my dog, I just took her out to go pee and then we were back in the house. And when I tried to practice posing for the contest, it lasted maybe 2 minutes at a time. Damn I was never like this... It sucked big time and was a situation I most certainly wasn't used to. By the time 2 weeks out, everyday was like I had the flu, everything ached. When I arrived in Pittsburgh, I started getting headaches real bad, to the point of almost throwing up. I chalked it up to the air in the room was drying out my sinuses, causing me to feel heady. On Thursday, I thought my wife was mumbling to me, I realized I couldn't hear, and then on Saturday my eye sight was fuzzy. OK, I know what you're thinking. Go to the hospital, and ya know what, this was the first time I thought, “OK. Something is not right.” Ya think? When I woke up on Monday morning I thought I had a stroke, the right side of my face was drooped. I went right to the ER where I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, and later the blood work came back positive for Lyme Disease. I had been bitten by a tick and didn't even know it. I had Lyme the whole time while training for the show, and the Lyme caused me to have the Bell's Palsy. Right now I still can't blink my right eye, and I my face is still slightly drooped. Looking back I guess I'm not a wuss after all, and although I was tired. I never once said those words. If you think about it, I trained, competed, and took 2nd place in a national level show. Considering the circumstances, that ain't half bad.