It's winter. I run outside. I sweat a lot. I don't always get a chance to change clothes immediately after a run as I rush to pick up Petru from school, or do an errand. I work in a hospital. I hang out with kids a lot. I train hard. So, every winter I embrace the fact that I am going to be sick. However, I try to be proactive as the first signs of a cold, and most of the time I manage to kick it out of my system quickly, or at least be able to run through it.
My run Monday was harder than it should have been. I chucked it up to a "bad day", and did not think much of it. On Tuesday I felt chills and fatigue and cut my run down from 12 miles to 8. Breathing was hard. HR was high for the pace. Wednesday I ran another 8 easy, while listening to the screeching sound I made any time I tried to inhale deeply. I had a threshold run planned for today, and was concerned, so I pulled out all the nonscientific remedies:
Kambucha - love the taste, and the fact that noone in my household can stand that stuff. All for ME!
Blueberries - ate one pint/day!
Fruits and veggies: ate a huge serving of stir fry heavy on the spinach and broccoli for lunch.
Chicken soup for dinner.
Bundled up during my Wednesday run, to make myself sweat more than usual.
Took hot baths with epsom salt.
Took a nap after work yesterday.
I woke up this morning feeling much better. Sure, I still had a cough and my nose was running like a water faucet. But the screeching sound was gone. I was able to inhale deeply (which is something I need to be able to do when I run hard) and I had a great threshold run to boot!
Oh, and the knee is doing very well, in case you are wondering!
I am curious what do you do when you are sick? Take a rest day from running, ignore the symptoms, adjust your runs? Any scientific or nonscientific "tricks" to get yourself feeling better?
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8 comments:
I have 2 school aged children, a husband who works in IT at a local university and I am a special Ed aide for a gal who well, does what kids do with their fingers and their noses and I am never sick. My husband blames either my working out and/my thyroid issues. I just say I wash my hands 100x a day
Washing hands helps, Tami, but a suppressed immune system post a hard workout can't withstand a 7 year old's cough on my face, ha!
I just keep on trucking! I've found I don't really get better faster when I stop running. If things linger, then I might take a day or two off, but only if I just don't want to run.
As soon as I get symptoms of a cold I take those zinc drops. I really have noticed that they help lessen the number of days a cold lasts. They're awful though. They always make my stomach upset. And sleep! Sleep is good good good!
Glad the knee is doing better!
Yep snap - though I don't think they sell Kombucha here? I spend the whole day drinking hot water with lemon and honey - Manuka honey if I'm feeling flush - and all the fluids help, as well as plenty of sleep. Glad you're weathering it though and great that the knee is good!
I do exactly what you do if I start to feel sick! I would also add Kefir for the pro-biotic effect on my gut. :) I think though that pretty much everything can be cured with sleep and plants. :)
I enjoyed reading your recipe! Actually, I don't have any real tricks. I will keep running unless I have a fever with chills or aches. That part usually only lasts a day or two and I will rearrange things. I might schedule myself a rest week and hit it hard the next week. Chicken broth is awesome. So is garlic and garlic chili sauce!
Hey whatever works! I'm non-scientific too. It depends how bad I feel - as to whether I rest, ignore, or make up a Rx (OJ/vit C, chiropractor, antioxidant foods...). Bundling up to sweat it out sounds interesting and baths - I could go for those more in general.
Chicken soup has long been a comfort food for individuals with cold symptoms. Whether the remedy comes from the warmth and comfort of the soup or from actual cold-fighting ingredients in the meal, is still up for debate.
Gretta Hewson
Belden
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