Not training vs training with a rubbish cold....

miss notax

I had been ramping up the miles nicely in training for the Afan Monster in August but have had a crappy cold for the last 10 days or so and have not been on the bike at all

I'm now getting fed up with it all, and pondering whether it's better for to not train and wait until I feel completely 100% again, or sod it and take the 'max strength cold & flu' tablets and go for it and see what happens :? I am worried that two weeks or so out of the saddle will really affect my training, that I have worked so hard on... Having said that, I don't want to do myself any more damage and prolong the manky-coldness!!

Any thoughts welcome!!

supersonic

Is it flu, or a cold? And how bad? Not on your chest?

A bit of light exercise can be beneficial, but if the symptoms are heavy, rest up and recover.

I am in the same boat :-(

lvquestpaddler

Me too, lost almost 3 weeks now and I'm doing the Corrieyairack Challenge on 2nd July! Tomorrow is the first time I'm getting back out, and I'm considering doing a steady state road bike maybe 30 miles, rather than one of my usual off road routes. Cold/flu in June. who'd have thought it...walked the mutt six miles today and then went out for a 10 mile paddle on the local loch, not exactly a lung challenge though. Not coughing up anything now but have that constant "damp" feeling in the lungs, always feel like they're slowly filling up and having to clear them!(if that makes any sense...)

supersonic

I'm having to blow my nose every couple of mins, is horrible! Just can't ride like this lol.

miss notax

supersonic wrote:

I'm having to blow my nose every couple of mins, is horrible! Just can't ride like this lol.

Yep, me too

It's definitely a cold rather than flu, and *just* sneezing, blocked nose and snotty rather than chesty! Am braving the gym tonight to see what happens, and will then try our usual ride on Wednesday night. I hope I haven't lost too much fitness, although I was out of breath walking up the stairs earlier so it's not looking good!

Hope everyone is feeling better soon

kathg

Well, I don't think two weeks off will have affected your fitness too much. Following broken ribs, I had two weeks off recently and actually felt great when I got back on my bike. I remember reading somewhere that you start losing fitness in a third of the time it took to build it up. No idea if this is scientific or just a 'saying', but I reckon there's some truth in it! Maybe it just does you good to have a break in training?
I really reckon you should take it easy if you still have bad cold though, maybe some gentle, fairly flat riding would be ok? Listen to your body - it knows best!!!
It is damn frustrating though! Good luck.

Kathg

anjs

Yes am already a week into my cold. Got out on the bike last night but it was soul destroying to see how little there was in the tank after 10 days off.

Huck Finn

What are peoples thoughts on training with a dry cough?

Woke up this morning with a cold which other than making me feel like crap, is giving me a seriously irritating tickly, dry cough.

I'm taking the ol' max strength medicine and don't feel too bad at the mo.

Providing the cough doesn't start clogging my lungs do people think it'll be sensible to do a 30 miler on Sunday?

blablablacksheep

if you have a cold dont train simple as that.

If you have cold just dose up,lots of sleep ect and good meals.

you should recover from a cold within 5 days unless its flu ect

i useally find it goes like this.

1: feeling groggy and starting to get blocked up, dose up, early nights,no drinking,plenty of water though

2: gets worse it now a into the chest, make sure wash hands every time i sneeze ect, more dose and plenty of water

3: peak of cold feel like shit

4:less coughing more groggy feels like stage 1

5: feeling iffy but know the worse is over, make sure i dont pick it up again, dose up drink plenty, wash hands lots.

p.s yes you can do 30 miler, i have done a few races feeling like crap and still managed good times, but remember you will take a lot longer to recover and if you dont drink enough fluids you are going to feel pretty bad.

rock_hopper

blablablacksheep wrote:

if you have a cold dont train simple as that.

Sorry but rubbish! I've trained with colds many times and it can often make me feel better. If it's just a stuffy head, blocked nose keep training but keep the intensity low/moderate and pay more attention to nutrition (lots of fruit and veg). You may not make fitness gains but you will certainly stop any fitness loss.

Huck Finn

I remember reading a few years back that if the cold was from the neck up it was fine to train, but if it got to the lungs, time to rest.

I'm properly dosed up and slept for 13 hours last night(unheard of) and feel better today.

I'm coughing up small amounts of filth but chest feels good. I have to be careful as i'm an Asthma sufferer.

If i continue to feel better, i'm going to go out for a short ride on Friday to see how i feel before making a decision on Sundays ride.

Qaudangle racer

I went out and did three laps of ashton court with a cold on saturday, I bought some sudafed blocked nose spray took some ibuprofen and paracetamol which you can do according to the nhs site.

I also looked for advise on training with a cold on and on the british army site it say head colds are fine to train with chesty colds are not.

I found i was more tired than normal at the end of the ride but nothing problematic.

anjs

Still you wont need to worry to much about thr training now the monster has been cancelled for this year

mbhuw

I wouldn't go riding again till you've fully recovered. Maybe a gentle spin but don't push yourself hard.