Alexis Brown Fought Through An Upper Respiratory Infection During The Indoor Season

Jan 31, 2018

Last spring, Kennedale Sophomore Alexis Brown went to the UIL 4A state meet with the goal of winning a couple of state titles.

She came away with one title in the long jump (20-0.25) and a second place finish in the 100m (11.63). Those two All-State performances were just the beginning as Brown would go on to represent her country at the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational in Havana, Cuba.

This indoor season, Brown was set to start another journey for her junior season to try to capture three gold medals at the UIL 4A state meet.

Just one thing.

Brown fell to a familiar foe that several of Texas' top track and field athletes have also fallen victim to. She contracted an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI).

According to Brown, "I actually came down with an ear infection and upper respiratory infection the day before the Texas A&M meet."

URIs have taken down some big time athletes over the last three years. This past November, One of the top cross country runners in all of Texas and the nation was affected by a URI. Alex Maier of Flower Mound was preparing to compete at the 2017 Texas UIL state cross country meet when he came down with a URI. Maier was forced to drop out of the race at the state meet.

In 2015, Much like with Maier, Sam Worley was also preparing for the Texas UIL state cross country meet. Earlier that week, Worley had contracted a URI. Worley would attempt to race, but would be forced to drop out of the race unable to finish.

URIs make it tough to breath and often times result in shortness of breathe. Brown still decided to run during the indoor season despite the sicknesses. Adding the ear infection, you would think things couldn't get any worse. Well, Brown just happened to be the unlucky one. She had an allergic reaction to the medication she was given which affected her performances at the Carl Lewis Invitational.

"My parents always taught me to never make excuses."
Alexis Brown - Kennedale junior

So what was it like? "I just felt really weak during my training and my energy level wasn't the same before my races. Not being able to breath normal during my races was something that was very difficult to deal with. I would say 3 or 4 days after the University of Houston Meet I started feeling a little better and last week was my first week I did not have to take any antibiotics."

Even for an elite athlete, a URI can have intense effects. It took a while for Brown to get her bearings and her strength back. "I felt this week was by far my best week. I was able to train at 100% with out any issues and get back on track with my normal workout."

The effects can also be more than just physically to an athlete. There is also the mental aspect that often times can come into the fray. "It was very frustrating knowing that I was not able to compete at 100%. Seeing my times come across the board I just knew I was better than that. The toughest obstacle was just knowing that I wasn't at my best. I knew going into Indoor this year that my coach was not going to taper me off for Indoor so that I can be ready for outdoor, but to add an ear infection, upper respiratory infection and an allergic reaction was something that made it even harder for me to compete at the level I wanted."

So, why would an athlete not decide to just pull out and put the season on hold? "I just love to compete. We only usually have two to three indoor track meets in Texas and I wasn't going to let my sickness get in the way of me missing those meets. I feel you can learn something from every race. "

As a competitor, Brown decided to keep the sickness close to her vest. Nobody would know she was training and competing through the URI, ear infection, and allergic reaction. "I didn't want people to feel sorry for me and I never wanted my opponents to feel that they had and edge. My parents always taught me to never make excuses."

This indoor season was supposed to be the start to the all important junior year that is key for recruiting. No doubt, her marks took a hit vs. her desired goals that were set before the sickness. Despite the challenges, Brown was still good enough to run a TX #2 and US #7 7.59 in the 60m. The 200m looked to be a little more challenging, but she still ran a TX #7 24.83.

Now that she is getting her legs and lungs back, Brown should definitely be one to watch out for when the 2018 outdoor season comes around. When her health and fitness ramps back up, specifically watch out for the competitor in Brown. She feels this situation might be something she can pull from in the future, "Just knowing that I gave it my all with no excuses and I was still able to compete with the best. I am sure there will be a time that I will be dealing with something and to be able to use this Indoor experience will hopefully help me overcome anymore obstacles that I may face in the future."