Lyme disease

Most ticks in this part of the world carry Lyme disease.  What with running through the woods on a nearly-daily basis, I find a lot of ticks on my clothes, crawling around on me, sometimes even attached to me.  I conscientiously check for these things, and when I find ticks on me, they die a cruel and gruesome death. Most orienteers that I know have had Lyme disease at least once, but so far, I've been spared.  No longer - after the Billygoat, I pulled one of those bloodsucking monsters off my rib, and a few days later developed some swollen lymph nodes.  Could be nothing, but when I noticed a hard lump under the skin near the tick bite last weekend, Dr. Crocker was convinced, and put me on antibiotics.  The day I started the drugs, I also had my jaw lock up on me, and couldn't really open my mouth or chew.  That was unpleasant.  Anyway, things are looking up already, and my energy is coming back.  It's sort of nice to have an excuse for feeling so physically crappy all weekend. I'm hoping that I feel good enough this weekend to do some actual training, and am 100% ready to go by the US champs in 9 days.  Catching Lyme this early feels a bit like dodging a bullet, and I'm glad I did.  Keep checking for ticks...