coughing and training

vermooten

Hi,

I had a virus that started as a sore throat and became a full-on chesty cough.

All that remains is an occasional cough. I'm not sure I should resume training yet, because the remnant of the cough suggests that the virus is stil living it up in my lungs.

But I'm no expert - what should I do? I'd like to resume training - indeed ann supposed to be doing a 24 mile TT on Saturday. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,
Andy

Slow1972

Andy,

That b******d virus takes some time to shift, there's been quite a few of your fellow manc's suffering the same thing this winter. Don't try too much too soon, it'll only set you back.

Suggest you see the doc and see what they think.

That said when I started riding after a similar virus I didn't have a cough usually but after a higher intensity ride the cough would be back for an hour so - couldn't decide if the exercise was celaring the remaining sh*t out of my lungs... but it stopped of its own accord after a week or so.

a_n_t

I had it at new year and it's only really been since the start of march that i've felt ok on bike!

sicrow

If its a virus then rest is the only thing, but if there's any bacterial infection there then antibiotics will help

For a herbal remedy then Sandersons Throat Specific is brilliant, you can get it from lots of chemists, it tastes like s**t so it's bound to be good.

I had a pharmacist reccomend it to me and they were right - Sandersons is a Bolton company I think so I don't know if its nationwide but you should be OK Vermooten

Bhima

Funny how it's only Mancs in this thread and I just so happened to get a weird cough yesterday while out cycling in Manchester...

Couldn't have been that serious though, as it's gone now. :?

vermooten

must be the shitty wet weather we think of as normal...

Alex_Simmons/RST

I wouldn't plan on doing the TT.
Time off and rest now to get right will be a far better option in the medium/longer term.

http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=107

vermooten

Thanks Alex!

"If in doubt, leave it out - don't train."

ColinJ

vermooten wrote:

"If in doubt, leave it out - don't train."

I had some sort of bug once which laid me low for about 10 days, then I started to feel better. I left it another couple of days, decided that I must be back to full strength and jumped on my bike. I went straight up one of the local hills without much of a warm-up and started to feel a bit wobbly so I dismounted and leaned against a low dry stone wall. Next thing, I blacked out and fell over the wall into a pile of leaves. It was about 15 minutes before I had the strength to get back on my bike and freewheel home. I felt ill again for another week after that...

Since then, I've been much more cautious about exercise and illness.

If I am ill - I rest. If I've been ill recently, but feel better - I rest some more. If I was ill more than a week ago and have felt okay for at least a week, I take some gentle exercise for a few days. If I still feel alright, okay, I'm recovered and can get stuck in again.

It's not worth risking your health for the sake of a bike ride or two.

Alex_Simmons/RST

I am practicing what I preach by the way, having just had a week off the bike due to a flu/cold - seems I picked it up at the track champs the other week. It's bummer but it happens. I did 45-min steady last night on trainer and felt OK, so will ease back into it for a few days of endurance stuff before attempting any harder efforts.

AndyRubio

I've followed the advice on Alex's link, blasted the virus with Vit C, zinc and echinacea - this seems to have had a substantial and signficant beneficial effect! The cough is almost down to zilch now. Went out for my first ride today - just 45 mins at low low low intensity, enjoyed it and it didn't seem to kill me either!

Thanks all!!

Andy
(formerly 'vermooten')

Alex_Simmons/RST

8) It's the rest that's the most important part of the equation.

I too have had a week off with a cold, did 2 easy spins on trainer on thu/fri and then 2 good endurance rides on weekend. feel much much better for it.