How to Deal with Getting Sick as a Runner
Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running
RunnersConnect: Coaching Community, Running Experts, Inspiring Runners, No Fluff Blog
4.6 • 931 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2025
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you get sick, your body probably needs rest but how do you know how much rest to take and when to get back to normal training?
This cold and flu season is the perfect time to prepare yourself since getting sick can be unavoidable.
In this episode of the show we’ll answer questions like:
- How to know if you’re too sick to run
- How to adjust your training while you’re sick and after recovering
- Whether running can impact the chances of you getting sick
- What to do if your symptoms linger after recovering from being sick
A lot of runners will get sick at some point during the winter so make sure you know how to respond if you suddenly find yourself feeling under the weather.
Previous podcast about whether to run through sickness: https://runnersconnect.net/running-interviews/should-you-run-when-sick-when-not-to-run-and-how-to-modify-your-training/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | One of the good rules of thumb is, you know, if it's above the head, so anything in your |
| 0:05.1 | upper in your head, your congestion, that kind of stuff, not necessarily something that's going to be |
| 0:10.4 | horrible to keep running through, anything below the neck. So anything in your chest, if you |
| 0:16.9 | have a fever, anything like that, we don't want to run through. We just have a higher likelihood of exacerbating things, making things worse, creating prolonged sickness, more likely to get, you know, the infections and different things like that. |
| 0:32.0 | And so we want to just be really careful and really let your body guide you. |
| 0:39.4 | The new year is here. And while the holiday season is come and gone, cold and flu season is still very much here. Sometimes there's |
| 0:44.9 | nothing you can do about it, but man, it sucks being sick. Even a really minor cold can leave |
| 0:50.1 | you feeling less energetic for run, and workouts might be the last thing on your mind for more |
| 0:54.5 | serious illness. It might sound insane to non-runners, but one of my first thoughts when I feel a cold |
| 0:59.5 | coming on is how is this going to affect my training? And I don't think that I'm alone on that. |
| 1:04.4 | You don't necessarily have to completely cut out running for a little bit of congestion, |
| 1:08.4 | but running more than your body can handle is likely going to do more harm than good. So today, I'm joined by Coach Andy and we're helping you |
| 1:15.3 | figure out how to adjust your training if you start feeling under the weather. We do have a lot |
| 1:19.5 | of training experience navigating sickness, but neither of us are medical professionals. So please |
| 1:24.1 | don't take this as professional advice and consult your doctor if needed. |
| 1:32.1 | There's a fine line between giving your body the rest it needs and fitting in just enough running to keep your fitness if you're healthy enough for it. Of course, there's also nothing |
| 1:37.1 | wrong with taking a break from running. Your body will thank you. We'll cover topics like what |
| 1:42.0 | kind of symptoms are okay to run through and which aren't, |
| 1:46.7 | how to know when you're ready to get back to normal training, |
| 1:50.2 | and how to adjust your training plan while you're sick and after you recover. |
| 1:53.6 | I'm wishing everyone listening good health in 2025, |
| 1:57.7 | but just in case you happen to pick up a bug, you'll know what to do. |
... |
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