I'm 2.5 weeks out right now and am pretty ill. I have a fever and very sore throat, went to the doctor's and got an antibiotic. Has anyone been sick this close to a contest? Could you all give me some advice on what to do ( take a few days off etc...), though hopefully this is not the only solution . I'm sure that I am overtrained as many of us are getting closer to contest time and this contributed to my getting sick. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry to hear that you are under the weather. Rest makes sense and what ever your Dr. suggests. We all tend to be more suseptable to getting a bug and minor injuries the closer we get to a contest. Reduced calories and low body fat levels can affect your immune system in a negative way. In general staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, taking a multi-vitamin and supplementing with glutamine can all help. The value in getting extra rest right now probably exceeds the value of a few missed workouts. Hope that you feel better soon and good luck with your contest.

Thanks for the advice, hopefully I'll feel well enough to get moving tomorrow again. By the way, on a different topic I saw that you used ginger as a supplement in the final week, what is the reason for this?

Ginger has many attributes but among them are it's value as an antioxident and digestive aid.