I can recall getting the flu, just before I was about to run a marathon. I had to make the crucial determination, do I continue training or stop and wait for my body to heal? But being as stubborn as I can be, I decided to continue training as I heard that exercise can help when one is sick.
That was my first mistake. It’s true running or getting some cardio in when you are sick can potentially help because when you exercise, your white blood cells (Infection fighting), travel through your body faster and do their jobs better. However, when you are a runner especially for long distant running its important to know when it is safe to run because sometimes you can do more harm that good. And the last thing you want do is risk elongating the flu because of exhaustion.So how do you know when to run when you are down with the flu? The best way to go about it is taking inventory of your flu symptoms.The best advice that I would give you is based on physician’s advice: take some time and take a break so that you don’t slow down your recovery. With that said, I know that as runners we tend to be dedicated exercise regimen which often prompts us to insist on training. A rule of thumb is, when the symptoms are from neck up, such as a sore throat accompanied with a normal temperature, you should be fine to run. It is strongly recommended to avoid longer distances.
However, when your symptoms are below the neck, including, but not limited, shortness of breath, coughing and most importantly, fever, this is usually a sign of something more severe; these type of situations usually warrant rest and possible treatment for recovery. Additionally, I would highly suggest consulting with a doctor before jumping back into your training routine.So what are the negative effects of flu on your body? Well the most relevant to us as runners is the muscle destruction. These symptoms typically come by way of muscle aches. There has been research that shows that various strains of the influenza virus can infect and destroy muscle cells. This viral effect is similar to what is experienced during long runs with muscle-cell destruction, possibly even kidney failure and this is brought about by the clogging effect that those destroyed cells have on the kidney. The effects of this can adversely effect your ability to run, especially if you’re a risk of developing a fever. You can put yourself at risk of chronic fatigue syndrome by not treating persistent or worsening flu-like symptoms.
So what to do now? Runners don’t like getting sick-heck no one does, so here are a few tips from the experts that you can use to help either prevent and manage a flu conundrum:
1. Practice prevention. This will help you avoid loosing valuable training time from illness. There are so many medications and prescriptions out there, too many options, that will literally leave your head spinning. It’s important for you to know what what will possibly work best for you, and trust me, there are no right or wrong answers.
2. Don’t forget to take your vitamins! Many runners swear by mega doses of vitamin C, or multi-vitamin and mineral mixtures, although not substantiated by research, Vitamin C at least based on my experience, does help boost the immune system and tends to make it more difficult for the flu bug and other illness to attack.
3. Consider an influenza vaccination. Physicians highly recommend getting flu shots, many consider this a discretionary option. Personally, I’ve found them helpful in the past.
4. Plain and simple – eat right! I know this sounds cliche, but it is true. I have a secret love affair with junk food and have a healthy appetite. So, as you can imagine, this can be a combustible combination. To avoid potential problems, I’ve started introducing more organic foods into my diet and cooking more. This has helped me to resume control over what I consume. Eating healthy helps complement a strong immune system and makes it more difficult to contract viruses. Remember, prevention is always better than cure.
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