How to Outrun Winter Colds

Running with a mild cold is a good way to make a vile cold in my book.

Don't think much of rushing back to running until feverish feelings are long gone either. Virus things are a little bit like scorpions: the sting is in the tail.

Yes, so you miss a couple of sessions.  So? 

I doubt there is any real substitute for figuring out how your body responds to colds and running, and stick to what works for you, whether or not it works for anyone else.  Part of the real plus of running training is that you learn to make decisions based on your own assessment, and not merely following someone else's rules or instructions.

Posted: 07/01/2011 at 22:56

Yes it is remarkable how the advice here is 'Not to skip a run' when going down with cold symptoms.  I rested last week and managed to get rid of it for a Saturday event; highly unlikely if charging around!

Posted: 16/01/2011 at 09:41

I have come down with a cold this week. I don't feel too bad, got a stuffy nose and sore throat.

But after doing something slightly energetic like climbing the stairs I'm puffing. I do consider myself a fairly fit person normally. So this although I have not got a chest cold or a fever, would stop me from doing anything to taxing.

 As I would assume that with getting so tired after slight energy output, would mean that my body is busy elsewhere trying to back-up my immune system to shake the cold.

so for me it would make sense to take it easy, stick to a nice walk, well dressed, IF you have the energy.

http://sprigsnsprogs.wordpress.com

Posted: 20/02/2011 at 22:32

Thi s thread is for me !

I had a really heavy cold last week and rested. Lots of hot diluted juice to drink  and rest. 3 easy miles this moirng while well wrapped up.

Posted: 21/02/2011 at 05:50

Hi all,

 I'm doing the London marathon in April and have got the most disgusting chesty cough.. last time i ran was Monday and frankly, because I have asthma, I am not running until I feel a little better.. considering antibiotics - I am stressed that I am beind on my training schedule.. does anyone have any advice as to how soon you can get back in to training? or maybe this coming weekend i could do a small 30 minutes jog to get back in to it?

 Need to get more long runs under my belt but soo frustrated right now!!!

Any help much appreciated

Charlotte

Posted: 23/02/2011 at 08:38

I carried on running with a shitty cold which turned into a virus - I was doing 10k training runs in 50mins with plenty to spare and always felt as if I could have gone further and faster - these runs became totally exhausting in the last couple of miles - sometimes it's worth listening to your body - mine says stop in and have a rest !
Posted: 22/03/2011 at 19:56

I carried on running through a cold- I had a series of four races in five weeks and didn't want to miss a single one. They were all hard, hilly trail races and I was exhausted for the first two, even though I enjoyed it, having a cold made an already hard course, even worse. And there wasn't much excitement upon finishing, I was just happy it was over. I had to drop out of my third race as I was experiencing a lot of trouble breathing up the hills and almost fainted at one point. I am now going to have to give the fourth a miss and haven't enjoyed any of them nearly as much as I would like. There are times when you have to recognize you're body, and your trainers, need a rest
Posted: 07/12/2011 at 14:54

Rosiebelle83 wrote (see)

Hi all,

 I'm doing the London marathon in April and have got the most disgusting chesty cough.. last time i ran was Monday and frankly, because I have asthma, I am not running until I feel a little better.. considering antibiotics - I am stressed that I am beind on my training schedule.. does anyone have any advice as to how soon you can get back in to training? or maybe this coming weekend i could do a small 30 minutes jog to get back in to it?

 Need to get more long runs under my belt but soo frustrated right now!!!

Any help much appreciated

Charlotte

If it's on your chest, running is a big no-no. Besides, without wishing to be too complacent April is a long way away.  Get yourself 100% (or at least 99% and definitely not coughing up any gunk) and try not to fret too much about catching up. Just get back on course when you can.
Posted: 07/12/2011 at 16:55

"Your nose is very stuffy and you're coughing so much that you haven't been able to get a good night's rest."

...so they suggest a 30 mins jog??  Sod that, Lemsip and daytime TV for me. 

Posted: 07/12/2011 at 16:58

Rosie, I'm also missing a couple of weeks of training due to flu. I can only echo what Phil has said, rest and concentrate on getting better before you start running again. A week off now is better than three or four weeks off later because you've picked up a secondary infection.

That being said, I have found that going for a run is one of the best things to clear all the gunk out during the final stages of a cold. 

Also, are you following the London Marathon training plan (from their website?) - I think that is much longer than the training plans available on Runners World, take a look at some of those if you are panicking about running out of time on the VLM one. I'm basing my training on the 16 week sub 4.30 RW plan, and I'm not officially due to start until end of Dec. 

Posted: 07/12/2011 at 17:19

Heh, just realised that the above sensible advice is ironic considering my own panicked thread on the same topic last week. So I do understand how frustrating it is to miss training for illness, and the temptation to go back to it when you still aren't fully recovered. But you will miss more time by pushing yourself when you are sick, so try to think of the rest as a part of training.

Hope you feel better soon

Posted: 07/12/2011 at 17:22

I'm panicking about the London Marathon too - I've had a terrible cold, coughing up loads of gunk... I thought I was better, did 5 gentle miles, and now my chest feels like I've been whacked with a cricket bat all the time.  I'm thinking it's time to rest for a bit - and hope the nightmares about not training go away! 
Posted: 11/02/2012 at 11:21

Perhaps not helpful when you're already coughing up gunk and feeling miserable, but to prevent coughs, colds and snuffles I absolutely swear by glutamine. I got put onto it years ago when I was into bodybuilding, as an aid to muscle growth/repair, but it's really a kind of good-for-everything supplement, and compared with most of the other wonder-powders out there, it's dirt cheap too.

Posted: 11/02/2012 at 11:45

i have a cold at the moment and was really frustrated at the start of the week at having to miss training but now realise that i just wouldn't be up to it and feel that it is better to get properly well first.  taking berocca boost which seems to help with the symptoms and gives me some get up and go but feel that as this is probably a false sense of wellness should just leave the training and maybe do some exercises/stretching instead.
Posted: 16/02/2012 at 12:15

 4 weeks to Paris gone down with very chesty cold!!! Oh no...............Training

was on target.Any experiences,words of wisdom?

Should I try to run through it ?

Many thanks

J 

Posted: 18/03/2012 at 11:55

Running with a chesty cough can cause permanent damage to your CV system. It's a BIG NO-NO - IN UPPER CASE, BOLD AND UNDERLINED.

Posted: 18/03/2012 at 14:14

I've sometimes found that the enforced rest that comes from being laid-up with a cold actually helps in the long run - after a few initial difficult runs to get back into the swing of things I find I'm at least where I was before, and sometimes better. So it needn't necessarily spell doom to anyone's race plans - especially if it's still over a month away. I'm at the tail end of a cold now with a 25-mile off road event on 1 April but  I'll probably wait a few more days before getting back on it - loads of time! In fact I'm pretty sure it was running myself ragged at a similar event last weekend that lead to me getting the cold in the first place... 
Posted: 19/03/2012 at 13:56

The Zatopek Effect
Posted: 19/03/2012 at 14:28