How has Covid affected you this time around?

Triathlon Forum
1

For those who have had Covid in the last few months with this highly infectious version going around, how has it affected your training, racing, and health?

I got it July 6th, and had a fever, fatigue and persistent post nasal drip that made sleeping very difficult. It lasted 4-5 days, but as I got back into training my HR was depressed at similar outputs and my breathing didn’t feel good - like I wasn’t getting the same amount of oxygenation.

It’s now closing on three weeks since I had it, and while the breathing has improved, it’s not like it was beforehand. My estimated swimming pace is still 3-4 seconds per 100 meters slower. Zone 2 cycling and running is back to where it was pre-Covid but I suspect at higher intensities it won’t be as good.

I’ve been trying to focus on using my diaphragm in breathing. It’s felt like there’s been a dysfunction from Covid where I became very chest expansion dependent and the diaphragm stopped doing its thing. Seems like it’s improving and feeling like I’m using more of my lungs now but not back to normal.

Got sprint tris this weekend and next. Not expecting to be at my best but will focus on efficiency and staying within my limit.

Covid sucks.

2

Would be interesting to know vaccinated status and previous infection strain on this stuff.

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/237315/omicron-infection-poor-booster-covid-19-immunity/

Even in people tripled vaccinated, if you didn’t get an earlier strain previously you’re more likely to get infected again by an omnicron strain.

Also of interest, even triple vaccinated were more likely to have respiratory issues:
Omicron breakthrough-infected individuals with three or more vaccinations or previous infection were less likely to exhibit systemic symptoms (fever 0·50 ), but more likely to exhibit upper respiratory symptoms

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00271-2/fulltext

My personal experience is eat a lot. Take vitD. Sleep a lot. And do some daily very low intensity cycling or running (outside) if you feel up to it.

But I was never more than 2-3 days marginally under the weather. Never dragging on for a couple weeks or more. That sucks 😕

3

Hello, I’m new to the forum and your post encouraged me to reply.

My advice is to come back to fitness very slowly from covid. There is still a lot of unknowns about the disease, particularly for very fit people. Those who aren’t doctors don’t understand the research developments and will not know that it is now known that repeated covid infection is very bad for us athletes.

I’m a coach originally from England but now based in France. I can see the issues and negative impact in those I coach from their heart rate and also myself, with HRV, and power output across sports decreased. The impact gets worse with each covid reinfection.

What you describe is normal for 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 covid patients, normal post covid or longcovid effects, with very mild or mild covid illness. If you experience reduced lung capacity for more than 12 weeks in the UK this is then called longcovid. You are experiencing endothelial damage. My job means I’m vaccinated and have had 5 MRNA vaccines. They work to reduce the severity, but like you this time round I have extended reduced lung capacity and issues resuming my normal triathlon activities. I’m 41 years old.

If you are a triathlete you should be aware of the issues on your health regarding repeat covid infection.

Do not rely on a single study for information, rely on scientists who translate study of studies and summarise those studies. In the UK doctor cardiologist Rae Duncan provides useful summaries of covid19. She’s the national health service UK longcovid clinic director. The damage even very mild infection does is now obvious, including in children, which is worrying. Repeated infection year after year is having negative effects in athletes. You can prove her credentials by googling her.

The new evidence is that covid reinfection causes damage to accumulate with each infection. Any infected person has a raised of cardiovascular complications and heart problems for 12 to 24 months after infection. If you are catching covid twice a year, you can see why this is going to cause untold damage as you age, your risk factor rockets upwards even if you are a very healthy individual. Covid is S.A.R.S, severe acute respiratory syndrome. You are repeatedly infecting yourself with S.A.R.S and it is now known that this is not good for long term health, as was always obvious to us medics.

Here she describes the endothelial damage seen even in mild covid patients:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mksXzAvUW8

Here is the effect on children from repeat infection, which is my concern for the teenagers I coach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0mojFpAU00

I’ve just noticed she was on the BBC trying to raise awareness of the new developments in covid research which shows repeat infection is actually bad for us. It isn’t a cold, after all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIxbiogyF38

The US and Canada covid19 lead researcher is Ziyad Al-Aly, if you want to read scientific papers on covid his research unit is a good place to start. Canada, UK, and USA are leading the way with covid research.

Some recent articles:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/long-covid-is-serious-and-complex-but-becoming-less-likely/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl0867

People will open up if you speak to them one-on-one about the effect covid infection has had on them. You don’t need to always ask, because you can see it in their strava stats. People blame it on ageing and other factors, but if you have had covid repeatedly you will eventually notice the endothelial damage on your cardiovascular system even if you have no symptoms during infection or had a very mild infection. This is why you are struggling to feel as if you have full oxygenation. It appears in one third to one quarter of mild infections, so it is very common.

Is it healthy? Of course not. Trust how you feel, not how people tell you to feel. I wish you a speedy recovery.

4

I managed to stay Covid free all the way up to 2 weeks ago when i went to Europe and hung around with a bunch of cyclists and staff.

I came back, 0 symptoms.
2 days after return, went biking, power levels 100% normal
3 days after, I went for a run, felt a bit sore and was 45s/km off pace. That is weird.
That night aches all over. I could not figure out why.
Next day, through on a CGM (I am diabetic). Glucose was through the roof.

Ok, this is not right

Tested positive.

3 days later I rode my bike, power levels completely normal.
5 days later, Glucose levels back to normal

So it’s been 2.5 weeks since my return, all back to normal.

5

I’m vaccinated with all boosters. My wife caught it and was bedridden for a few days (she’s as vaccinated as I am). I also tested positive and did not have a single symptom. I felt great. I even kept riding and running. It took over a week to final get a negative test result, but in that time not even a sniffle. Very lucky.

My wife’s had COVID three times since 2020. She gets hit hard. This was my first time testing positive. She had some choice words for me. LOL

6

One thing people miss about covid is that you don’t always feel the damage covid is causing after the infection appears to have disappeared. Your feeling of a common cold, any cough, headaches or aches might disappear, but it still causes damage internally.

Think of it like cancer. You don’t feel cancer. Your organs have no pain receptors. You only feel the effects of cancer when it infects other parts of your body, such as your central nervous system, brain, and impacts specific areas of the body, from which you then go to the doctor about.

After the acute phase of a covid19 infection the virus has been shown to use the ACE2 receptors and blood, as a vascular disease, to spread to organs and reside there. During this time it’s causing damage.

Advice to exercise during a covid infection is stupid advice. The French healthcare and UK NHS advice is to not exercise for 8 to 12 weeks after an infection. This lessens the risk of longcovid.

Telling someone with post-covid symptoms that they can feel, not just the hidden symptoms they can’t feel, to exercise is silly and is playing with fire. The videos and articles above refer to this underlying damage you cannot feel occurring.

7

Got it for the second time at the start of April, exercise consists of a 20-30min walk per day at the moment.
The illness itself was minor but the aftermath has been annoying, shortness of breath, weird heart behaviour (had an ECG the other day that got the GPs worried) and fatigue.
So I’m just going to wait till I feel right (and have seen a cardiologist) before I try to do anything that I enjoy (walking is not high on the list, too slow).

8

I heard if you inject bleach it fixes it… 🤪
.

9

Take vitamin C, D and zinc daily. That’s what I’ve been doing since the beginning. I had something right at the beginning, before there were even tests out for it, but it only lasted a couple days. Tested positive August of last year - 36 hour cold.

When I was working at the hospital (only a month ago), our protocol was just a crap-ton of vitamins, unless you were on death’s door step. Stay the fuck away from the experimental injections.

10

I prefer UV light… on the inside.

I heard if you inject bleach it fixes it… 🤪

11

One thing people miss about covid is that you don’t always feel the damage covid is causing after the infection appears to have disappeared. Your feeling of a common cold, any cough, headaches or aches might disappear, but it still causes damage internally.

Think of it like cancer. You don’t feel cancer. Your organs have no pain receptors. You only feel the effects of cancer when it infects other parts of your body, such as your central nervous system, brain, and impacts specific areas of the body, from which you then go to the doctor about.

After the acute phase of a covid19 infection the virus has been shown to use the ACE2 receptors and blood, as a vascular disease, to spread to organs and reside there. During this time it’s causing damage.

Advice to exercise during a covid infection is stupid advice. The French healthcare and UK NHS advice is to not exercise for 8 to 12 weeks after an infection. This lessens the risk of longcovid.

Telling someone with post-covid symptoms that they can feel, not just the hidden symptoms they can’t feel, to exercise is silly and is playing with fire. The videos and articles above refer to this underlying damage you cannot feel occurring.

My wife suffers from “long COVID”. So I’m well aware of what COVID can do. Thankfully, she has a doctor that takes it seriously. Even when my wife get’s the common cold, her chest hurts now.

I’m comfortable exercising while I had COVID (more like active recovery, easy Z2 rides and runs). At my age (51) and for how long as I’ve been racing (25+ years) I’m comfortable listening to what my body is telling me. Because of what my wife went through, I’ve had my lungs scanned and just went through a cardio stress test (not so much fun). If had felt anything during COVID, I would have chilled. We do take COVID very seriously (I’ve lost family to it).

12

I’m getting another covid shot this afternoon, just in case.

13

WTF is an experimental injection to you?.

14

Please Michael, dont get her started on that…Her thoughts are best left to the LR, and the tiny few left there who actually still believe the nonsense…

15

Please Michael, dont get her started on that…Her thoughts are best left to the LR, and the tiny few left there who actually still believe the nonsense…You get your Pfi$er shot if you want. I won’t stop you. As for me, I’m happy to be in the control group.

16

Then why are you advising against it? Mind YOFB

17

Then why are you advising against it? Mind YOFBThe OP posted here so I assume he was looking for a variety of feedback. But if you just want echo chamber, I get it.

I get it though. Some people are all in for the shots and don’t want to listen to anything contradictory to that. OK, fare thee well.

18

Then why are you advising against it? Mind YOFBThe OP posted here so I assume he was looking for a variety of feedback. But if you just want echo chamber, I get it.

I get it though. Some people are all in for the shots and don’t want to listen to anything contradictory to that. OK, fare thee well.

I’m with you. Not interested in any of it. To each their own though.

19

I just want to reply on the pro/anti vax stances that it’s not particularly helpful to get into shouting matches at each other.

I think people on both sides of the issue are often a little hesitant to share their thoughts because it always seems to invite someone from one side or the other. My comments on it are simply I think it’s an important piece of information to know. If we were all talking about getting chicken pox and some of us were infected previously, some were immune naive and some were vaccinated, I think those are important pieces of information.

Obviously, none of this on the forum is itself medical advice with reems of data behind our experiences, but I do appreciate people sharing theirs. And it’s annoying when people want to beat others over the head. We don’t get open, fair, honest discussion if randos want to jump in and start grinding an axe on a decision like made (or not made) long ago.

20

Then why are you advising against it? Mind YOFBThe OP posted here so I assume he was looking for a variety of feedback. But if you just want echo chamber, I get it.

I get it though. Some people are all in for the shots and don’t want to listen to anything contradictory to that. OK, fare thee well.

Well, I just went back and read the OP and nowhere does he ask for medical advice or feedback regarding how to treat and or prevent C19 and its symptoms. He asks how it affected you in 2024. And you of course can’t resist offering your RFK JR brainworm bullshit advice, then say “ah do what you want”. Just GTFO, no sane person believes as you do