I don't have a good solution for you, put perhaps you are boarding on overtraining before your pre race taper?

Essentially you have likely got two things going on, 1. Is that your immune system is suppressed during hard training meaning you are more likely to pick up a bug, 2. Whilst you are training hard your body is concentrating on dealing with that 'stress', when the training stress is lifted your body is free to attack whatever nasty you have picked up and hence you feel 'ill'.

If you are almost (or actually) overtraining you will make this situation much more likely.

Caveat - I'm not a doctor, just my understanding of physiology and the like.

One thing to look at is your body fat percentage. A lot of people will get sick easily when their body fat goes too low. This is seen A TON in cyclists, especially at the highest levels where they are putting in a ton of mileage and going to high stress races, but can definitely manifest in amateurs as well. General wisdom, and there are plenty of caveats to this, is to not go below 5%.

Thanks, but certainly not guilty of too low body fat composition. Is the opposite possible?

In a 150+ races I have a one-off food poisoning once, otherwise I have been good *** knock on wood ****. The only thing I do is be a little aware of washing my hands and using some purell in between hand washing. Ideally your system should be in a good place heading into the race because you have backed off your training and are rested and tapered. If you aren't resting and tapering and backing off that could be the problem. After races I have had a problems and in big blocks of training where I have overdid it I have had problems.

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I don’t change anything in the days leading up to a race, but...In 20 years as a family physician I have been exposed to it all. I have never missed a day of work due to illness. Yes, I have lost a few days of training due to illness. I attribute my good health and fortune to good hand washing (as Thomas suggests), keep your hands away from your face, and do all the other things that we triathletes know we should do: get enough sleep, eat healthy and train smart (listen to your body...if the schedule calls for a work out but body says skip it, listen to your body).

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Blog: https://swimbikerunrinserepeat.wordpress.com

Up until about 2 years ago, I would get sick a couple of times a year. It would start with a scratchy throat. I could tell it was coming. If I backed off, I would not get sick. However, I was too stubborn for that. Every workout was that....a tough workout.

About 2 years ago, I finally adopted the 80/20 rule, 80% easy, 20% really hard. I have only been sick once in the past two years, and that one was only about 3 days (instead of 2 weeks.)

Perhaps you are over training and not enough recovery.

Research “aeseptic production” operations behavior. It covers how to open doors, wash hands, change clothes, everything. When you work in pharma, it’s a way of life whether you’re wanting to stay well or not.

I’ve never opened doors or washed my hands the same way since.

I always get sick before my big races. My 1st marathon two years ago - food Poisoning the week before.

My 1st HIM last year - food Poisoning the week before.

It sucks, but when I mentioned it a lot of people chimed in and said it was normal to get sick a couple weeks before a race.

For me, sleeping maximal amounts (not easy for me - I wake up wayy too early, even with a CPAP machine etc) made much more of a difference than even handwashing and sterilizing my work surfaces. Before I was sleeping adequate amounts, I caught like 4-5 colds every winter. In the past 2 years where I've reversed the 'train hard, sleep less' to 'sleep as much as possible, even at the cost of training time', I have barely been sick at all, even with the monster california flu/colds wiping out the communities around here.

Varying degrees of paranoia, up to you where your limit is:

- avoid people. People carry germs. Become a hermit.
- wash you hands frequently
- sleep a lot
- take a lot of vitamin D (not C), that helps the immune system a great deal
- don't touch your face
- when using door handles, use the sleeve or tail of your shirt as an impromptu glove/barrier. Or use your pinky only.
- work from home as much as possible
- make your own food/meals
- use a mask/filter when you go on a plane.
- be careful when the temperature yo-yos. Minimize being outside when it does.
- press elevator buttons with your knuckle, not your fingertip

I'd add don't eat from a salad bar. That is how I got food Poisoning both times.

Hand sanitizer, hand sanitizer, and more hand sanitizer. After every handshake, door handle touch, before every meal, etc. This is the advice I received from a pediatrician/triathlete, who somehow avoids illness even though surrounded by sick kids on a daily basis.

if you have kids, get rid of them. Damn germ factories.

Pay attention to recovery in your training. If you’re in a huge deficit, you risk getting sick. So rest days, sleep, hydration, nutrition, stress relief, etc... I find these are at least as important as my actual training, since if you get sick you can flush a weeks worth of fitness down the toilet.

Great suggestions, guys. I am with those in the camp of becoming a bubble boy in the weeks approaching a race. I know that over-training can compromise the immune system but think I should focus on "aeseptic production". Sickness doesn't just affect races - when I'm on a good run of training I regularly feel set back by 3 or 4 days of down-time with flu-like symptoms. I think I have to make some lifestyle changes to prevent germs invading my body. Sorry, wife, it's going to be a peck on the cheek from here on.

Sleep - lots of it.
Reduce life stress if possible.
Meditate to reduce race induced anxieties.
Eat right.
Avoid large gatherings of people where you could possibly catch something.
Wash hands/sanitize often.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
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This is pretty much me for the past few years and has worked.

I keep some in my car, at my desk etc.

I dont make it obvious that Im paranoid, I just make sure that I do it before any risk of my hands touching my face.

For me the big question is, should I work out if I'm sick? I don't want to lose fitness, but I also want to get better. So - if you have a bad cold, do you go on a 1+ hour workout? Just go easy for 30 mins? Do nothing at all and rest?

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Ha, i thought it was only me that did all these weird things - like not touching door handles and lift buttons and treating co-workers like germ carriers.

I AM normal (for a triathlete) after all.

Now i'm going to go and wash my hands again...

The way I look at it, if it is "just" a head cold that is primarily in my nose/mouth, I will work out really likely. Anything in my lungs and I stop completely.

And don’t send them to daycare either.

I’m at like 1 stomach bug and 3 colds so far in 2018z

Makes sense. Googling this topic basically states the same thing. Neck and above, work out at your own discretion. Below the neck, fever, flu, lungs, etc, best to rest it.

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

30 mins if I feel okay to do it. Last week I had to do a couple of these then the next few days I felt worse. So maybe I made it worse by working out who knows.

Cold in the head, get out of bed
Cold in the chest, get your rest

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin