I am somewhere half way through fighting a bug, probably a flu bug, and probably H1N1. I have had moderate symptoms - no fever, but queasy stomach/gut, some respiratory stuff.
Race day is Sunday (Duke Half). I have been tapering/de-training since IMKY. I planned on just floating through the Duke Half and am treating it as a moderate workout.
As this is my last tri of the season, and since i already paid $1xx bux, I don’t want to DNS. I really don’t mind DFL. So my only concern is what sort of respiratory (?) or other damage I would/could do? If I really cruise it easy, should I be concerned at all?
Have always heard if above the neck, race, if below, rest. I may have gotten the flu also, and am into week 2. Still feel it in my chest, so bagged the race this weekend, and have not really trained for 2 weeks now.
The money is gone, so why even worry about it?
if im not going to hurt myself, im going to slog through. if i am risking anything long term, then i probably will rest.
if its just a matter of going no faster than zone 2, etc., then i think i will go out for a leisurely 6 to 6 1/2 hours and keep my streak of 2 consecutive years going
i would feel so slimy wearing the shirt without doing the race
I agree… I go one further and I don’t even train when I have a head cold. I have chronic sinusitis so the deep breathing can make that happen, as well another reason is you can end up pulling the mucus into your lungs and get pneumonia… that happened to me twice… I can park it for a week and wait it out.
Yep, NO desire to even risk pneumonia. Now that I was so bad at worlds, I have come to peace that having ones body healthy is much more important
than any race. At least I got the flu at the same time I am trying to recover my back, 2 for the price of 1. :O)
Biggest danger is having a disappointing performance and getting pneumonia or something else. Happened to me once. Myocarditis is another danger, I know of one who died of arrhythmia when he went running a couple of weeks after having a flu. But usually, you can feel tenderness around the chest and arrhythmic beats. And myocarditis can cause scarring of the heart muscle, but it can cause scarring wether you race or not.
Myocarditis and complications than can lead to death is a possibility. Better chances you will be okay, but risks increase especially if running a fever. Many have participated when sick. If you have the flu, you risk making others sick although there will probably be others racing with flu symptoms. You can probably do a google search and find a "sudden death " case where the athlete only felt like they had the flu.
When I worked in schools as an athletic trainer and the parents and coaches wanted a kid to play in the game, the myocarditis and death thing worked well as a scare tactic.
I have raced when sick and probably not one of the brightest things I have done.
I am in the same situation with Augusta 70.3 this Sunday. I made it to to the taper just fine and midway through had to fly out for a family emergency and boom a cold. I took a few days off from training and the doctor put me on medications to be safe. I am definetly not being able to race it as planned and since we live in Florida there is a race close to the same distance in 4 weeks, I can refocus my energies on that race. If I am feeling well enough I may do the sim and bike as training and not start the run but that is dependent on feeling better bu Saturday.After racing for 27 years just finishing is not worth risking more serious problems and not having chance of reaching your goals. If you have any doubts go on the side of lower or no effort to get better. I know it is hard at the moment but there will be more races so it is not an end all.
NO FEVER, not influenza or H1N1!!!
MOst people who say they have the flu really just have a virus that is NOT real influenza. Once you have real influenza, you know the difference!!!
THat being said I never train / race with a fever as I think that is where the true myocarditis risk comes from.
NO FEVER, not influenza or H1N1!!!
MOst people who say they have the flu really just have a virus that is NOT real influenza. Once you have real influenza, you know the difference!!!
my 5yo daughter went to 104.5 and vomiting. 3yo son went to 103 2 days later. then my wife got the bug, and the following night severe vomiting and aches. during this gauntlet, i picked up something. odds are, with all the sneezing and lack of hygiene that 3 and 5 yo’s have, i got the same bug. my wife actually had to take a puff of flovent which our daughter has to take for viral induced asthma.
based on what those 3 went through/are going through, and my wife works at a university, i feel confident that we picked up H1N1.
my takeaway so far is that i am risking pneumonia. i have thurs and friday to start feeling substantial improvement, particularly to the lungs/throat, or im pulling the damn plug.
the swim is in a murky lake that is prone to high bacteria, so that makes me a bit more nervous than usual as well.
Sorry to hear you are sick. It’s a tricky situation and I’m not sure what I would do. But if you really don’t feel well the day before I would say don’t race. This exact thing happened to my training buddy 2 years ago (flu). He raced IMNZ and it absolutely wiped him out for at least 6 months and he was a really fit guy having rowed for Great Britain for years. He would get exhausted going on even the easiest bike ride.
Good luck.
If you put pressure on your heart when suffering from a virus you risk permanent damage and death.
If you decide you will race, make sure you listen to your body and race well within yourself. Wear a HR monitor and if it tells you, or you feel like, you’re overdoing it, slow down or stop.
Thanks for posting this question. I’m in the same boat you are – kids are working their way through the flu (and yes, to the previous poster, it is the flu). I don’t have the fever, but I feel a little funny and have been wondering whether I should continue my workouts this week. I’m training for the NY marathon on Nov. 1. This is a recovery week, but I hate, hate, hate to miss any workout, especially since my training has been going so well to date. I wish this thing would either hit me hard or pass me by. It’s hard for me to tell whether I think I feel funny because my kids are so sick or whether I’m really getting sick. Given the risks, however, it would appear better to err on the side of caution.
I’m still getting over the tail end of a flu (occasional cough). Picked it up on the evening of Sept 3 (above neck). Took Sept 4 off and the weekend of 5-6 was still sniffly but foolishly did a bit of gardening in chilly conditions. Following Monday started to feel crappy and it began moving down into the chest. Took all of Tues-Fri off and then returned following week. Commuted all last week whilst still coughing up a bit of phlegm. First couple of days were tough. I could barely breathe even at slower speeds.
Commute is about 8k and takes around 18mins ride time. I know about taking it easy for training but commuting has always been a grey area for me. I was totally rugged up.
First - I’m not doctor. My comments above were on the basis of conversations I’ve had with a number of top levels sports doctors regarding racing when sick and a number of athletes who have caused damage and/or died as a result.
With that out of the way. I’ve always been advised that light exercise can be good for you when ill but it’s a matter of using common sense.
Light exercise, getting your metabolism going = good.
Heavy exercise and putting your heart under significant strain = bad.
A high profile Australian athlete (Olympic medalist etc) a couple of years ago had to undergo major heart surgery because she over did it when sick. She said she knew at the time she was hurting but she was used to hurting, training and so just thought HTFU and push through. Bad move. The lesson is, when you’re sick or recovering from being sick you need to listen to your body because trying to push through the pain might cause you serious and permanent harm.
