Last Sunday I did a 9 mile run. I then had a pretty nasty head cold and only got in 3 miles on Monday. Now that I am feeling better if I get in a couple short runs Friday and Saturday, should I be ready for a long run Sunday?
last week i put in the longest mileage i ever did in a week over 50 miles with a sinus infection cold. Everytime i ran the cold seemed to subside to only come back at night. Finally kicked it around Saturday. All in all I had the cold around two weeks. They say your body produces more white blood cells from working out. I am told the white blood cells aid in fighting infection. At what point your doing more harm then good i dont know.
hey say your body produces more white blood cells from working out. I am told the white blood cells aid in fighting infection. At what point your doing more harm then good i dont know.
Moderate exercise increases the level of natural killer cell activity. (Immune system boost)
“Excessive” exercise lowers T cell production. (Bad)
After a long or big competition, if an athlete takes time off, she is very likely to get sick because Natural Killer cell levels drop to a normal level (like non athlete level) and even though this is a normal level, it is comparatively low.
The textbook I’m looking at does not say what “Excessive” is… that will obviously differ person to person.
one last thought… make sure you’re totally better… I had a cold that I trained through (thought it was getting better) and wound up with a new piece of jewelry because of it (pneumonia, hospital bracelet, bad deal)
Thanks, I have always wondered about that. However, being a biology teacher I have to ask, “What book”?
I always like to know the science behind such claims.
Thanks again!
book
Mcardle, Katch, and Katch. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, & Human Performance. Sixth Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: Philadelphia 2007.
college ex phys text 
Dealing with something similar now where I’m getting over a cold that only seems to flare up now at night. Doesn’t bother me when running, just seems to be more of an annoyance now than anything.
I think it depends on your symptoms, and other metrics.
Were you symptoms located mostly above your neck (head), or did they extend down into your bronchial tree? (Bronchitis) Did you have have any fevers along the way? Do you have any lingering muscle aches and pains? I also believe that if you track a morning HR, has it returned to baseline?
Also if you need to ask, probably better to wait. Why stress your system more as it’s attempting to recover? I’m sure you’ll get more training benefit from a long run, after you have fully recovered, than going for it too soon and being knocked out for a couple of days trying to recover.
I’ve been home with a cold all week so I know where you’re coming from. I have not been training, and I have Oside 70.3 coming up April 4.
Like tridoc3 said take some time off.
I hope you feel better soon.
You won’t know unless you try. How’s that for cliche!?
Training while ill is definitely a balancing act. I would just do shorter runs and skip the long run this week. It normally takes longer than a week to recover from a cold, and why risk making yourself sicker? I also wonder if you get the same training benefit if you have lingering symptoms.