I am signed up to run a marathon this sunday and 4 weeks ago I had bad allergies with coughing since. Finally getting over that and I had a 24 stomach bug yesterday. I am still tired and dehydrated but doing better.
My question is should I do the full marathon or maybe drop to the half? My training was pretty good but I am not sure what I should do as my training the past few weeks was not that great due to being sick. I want to enjoy the race too but I know if I drop the half and have a strong race, I will wonder if I could have gotten that BQ. Anyone have experience with being sick before a race? Or have coaches advice on what I should do?
Thank you
Last 2 triathlons I did, I pretty much got sick the day/night before. Woke up with that scratchy throat, low energy feeling. Started both races, a half and full ironman, but started to fade quite rapidly on the bike part way through (with my worst ever swim in the ironman), started the run, but pulled out a few kms in in both races. Then was sick for the next few weeks after the races. Felt terrible.
I would see how you feel when you wake up. I think the longer the race, the worse you are going to be affected. You could start and see how you feel, but don’t be worried about pulling the plug if you feel terrible. Your health is more important than a race.
Apparently Henri Schoeman was really sick before Rio Olympics, but he got third…
Wonder how that mircle recovery happened ?..
I will do a shirt run Saturday morning and see how I feel but there is a big difference between 20min run and full marathon
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Wonder how that mircle recovery happened ?..
that’s my point…seems to have been hushed up judging from media reports.
Start taking lots of D3 - 10,000IU or more per day, chug water and liquids, chug green tea, give yourself ample time for rest. Good luck.
About a hundred years ago I got sick before a marathon and LOML was not having me run anything. I agreed to consult a Dr and live with their recommendation. The Dr. gave me three rules of thumb for exercising while sick.
Stop if the exercise itself induces coughing. It is OK if you are coughing before the exercise and continue coughing to the same degree, but stop if the exercise itself makes it worse.Stop if the heart rate is above normal for the exercise.I forget what the third one was, but it was so horrible even I would have stopped.
The Dr. gave the usual caveats, the rules of thumb only apply for normally healthy people, drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest to offset the exercise.
For me, it would come down to why you are running this marathon. If this is your “A” race for the year and you think you are going to PR then I would do it. If this is just a fun run and your A race is later in the year then I would skip it and train instead.
I am signed up to run a marathon this sunday and 4 weeks ago I had bad allergies with coughing since. Finally getting over that and I had a 24 stomach bug yesterday. I am still tired and dehydrated but doing better.
My question is should I do the full marathon or maybe drop to the half? My training was pretty good but I am not sure what I should do as my training the past few weeks was not that great due to being sick. I want to enjoy the race too but I know if I drop the half and have a strong race, I will wonder if I could have gotten that BQ. Anyone have experience with being sick before a race? Or have coaches advice on what I should do?
Thank you
Yes!
In 2012 I ran the Philadelphia marathon. I was well trained and so ready for it! However the week before Sunday’s race I came down with a nasty head cold and I hardly get sick. But when I do it’s usually ugly. During that week I thought about not even driving down to Philly and scrapping the whole race. But my husband thought I’d regret it if I didn’t at least see how I felt over the weekend. We did the 10+ hour drive where I layed in the backseat of the car with blankets and pillows and lots of tissues. I felt awful and gross. I remember feeling like I got hit by a mack truck.
Saturday I felt a bit better but still had to have tissues in hand collecting my race packet and going through the expo. I did eat well and managed to get plenty of healthy carb type food down. I felt a little better Saturday afternoon where we did a quick 2 mile easy run. By race morning my symptoms cleared and I felt surprisingly OK.
It was a beautiful cool day with perfect running temps (low 40sF to low 50sF by end of the race). I ended up having a great race and met my goal. I was really surprised. I do think the head cold took something out of me but I was really well trained that season, and I made sure I ate well even being sick.
The one thing I did wrong was drink a bit too much beer after the race. While it was super fun partying in Philly, my head cold turned into a chest cold and then I couldn’t stop coughing the next day.
I think the rule of thumb is that if a head cold moves to your chest before the marathon, stay home or maybe do a shorter race. I’m not sure about stomach bugs. If you can manage to replenish fluids and eat enough food before your marathon you might be OK.
I know what I had is a bit different from your situation. But I was in rough shape the week and days leading up to the race but surprisingly bounced back for race day. Maybe you can too as long as you eat and drink enough.
If you still feel sick, skip it. That doesn’t mean go back to bed if you sneeze in the morning. Use your own judgment.
If you feel ok to race now but are concerned that the last 4 weeks were poor…who cares? Give it a shot, you never know what will happen. And if it’s not your day, back it off and enjoy the rest of the run. Chat with people, wave to spectators and volunteers. See if anyone on course has a beer for you. Don’t destroy yourself, but have a “fun†race where you’re not worried about time, or splits, etc. those are good to do every now and again.