I've got a cold, but I bashed through Carson this morning. At least half of each work interval was in the aero bars (and without back pain), so I'm making progress...
https://www.trainerroad.com/career/duncanm23/rides/52766677-carson-4
My approach during this "turbo-season" (i.e. since the Autumn) has been to skip/delay any workout where I don't feel right. Hint of a sore throat coming on? Skip training. Bad night's sleep leaving me feeling sub-par? Skip training. Anything not right at all, skip training.
Feb '18 was my first time with TR and I was too keen to train, showing the zeal of the newly converted. I lost successive weeks where I'd overdone it a bit, was too eager to get back at it, and then just couldn't shake a cold/viral infection. Result: great big gaps in my training last Spring...
Could be just coincidence, but no gaps at all this time around following my new
zero-tolerance approach to any hint of sickness (or pre-sickness!) plus a big focus on getting more sleep by going to bed (much) earlier and generally more and better recovery, which I seem to need as I age. Where I've decided to skip a session due to feeling sub-par, I've often been able to do it one or two days later having quickly bounced back from the ropey feeling, resulting in the number of workouts permanently skipped due to sickness being tiny. Big contrast to the prior year.
What allowed me, psychologically, to take this approach was commencing the prep for my target event 8 months in advance. With so much time to prepare, backed by a solid plan, it always felt like I had (have) the necessary time with plenty of contingency, so no need to be concerned about taking a day or two off. This is in contrast to last year where I didn't begin the properly structured training until the end of February, leaving me too much to pack in and hence intolerant of downtime.