Some of you might know I’ve got a cold. Actually, all of you probably know because I’ve mentioned it in pretty much every post I’ve written lately. Because I am a runner on a plan, having a cold is naturally a total disaster worthy of much drama and angst. Every day that passes is a missed opportunity for progress. It’s possible I’ve blown it out of proportion a bit!
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about whether I’m ready to start running again and came across a really helpful article from Women’s Running. There’s a clear set of questions to consider which I’ll quote below:
Can I cope with normal daily activities such as showering, cooking and cleaning without feeling wobbly and ready for a lie-down?
Can I get through my normal, working day okay?
Can I take a brisk walk or run up a set of stairs without coughing or feeling breathless?
Have at least 48 hours passed since I had a high temperature? [or a week if it was covid]
Am I eating and drinking normally?
Has my resting heart rate returned to its normal levels? (Only answer this question if you are used to tracking it)
Has my fatigue lifted and do I feel strong enough to run?
For me, the answer isn’t yes to all of these yet so I’ll stick to a gentle walk.
There’s some nice discussion of the risks of coming back too soon and tips on how to return after an illness in the article too. It’s well worth a read and it’s definitely helped me make a positive decision that resting is the best thing for me right now.
Thanks, that’s a reply helpful set of questions. I’ve still some coughing but am not feeling unwell at all. I’m hoping to try a shorter, slow run today.
The covid cough can hang around for ages after you’ve recovered. Such a nuisance. Hope it won’t bother you too much longer. Really good luck today. Have you got a plan or are you going to start and see how it goes? I’ll be taking Coach Bennett from NRC with me when I’m back out there!
I’m away on a four week trip in a week’s time, so my plan for these next seven days is only to get out and do some short exercises before the trip, then pick it all up when I’m back 😁
Thanks for sharing the link. It convinced me that my decision to try out a walk today, rather than run, is the right one for me- I want to make sure my hamstring is sufficiently recovered before going back to my running plan.
Very handily, the article you posted also has a link to “The ultimate guide to strength training for runners”, which looks interesting. I think it’s finally I time I started to incorporate some of this into my weekly plan.
Thanks and sorry about your hamstring. Really hope it’s not too long before you’re ready to run again. Being patient and sensible is really hard sometimes!
I hadn’t noticed that strength training article. I’ll have a look as well! I like really like reading Women’s Running although articles I want to read are sometimes behind paywalls. Reading about running is a very nice thing to do when you’re not running!
"Because I am a runner on a plan, having a cold is naturally a total disaster worthy of much drama and angst" 😂 Love it! That's me all over. And I think you'll find it's called 'Man Flu' (it is real) when I've got it.
😂😂😂 Here’s hoping that our fantastic scientists can develop a cure for man flu, or at the very least a good vaccine!
I’ve just been back to the wonderful c25k guide written by Tim (much missed). He wrote that Runners are drama queens, in that what to a non runner is an annoying pulled muscle, is for the runner, a full blown injury.
I think we’re in very good company with our high tendency for the dramatic!
I think this is sensible and a useful post to remind us not to batter ourselves when we're not up to it. There are some really nasty cold viruses about. My husband wasn't well for at least two weeks. I managed to avoid catching the latest family cold, despite my baby grandaughter coughing in my face! Lucky escape!
Giving ourselves a battering is such a great way of describing it! I’m far meaner to myself than I am to anyone else. Even when I’ve decided I’m best not running, I often feel bad about it. Having something objective to help make a decision definitely helped with the self-battering!
I use that phrase because a couple of years ago I had a shiatsu massage at a music festival, which was an interesting experience. I mentioned that I had aches and pains and told her that I wax watering my allotment with 2 x 2 gallon watering cans. She said 'why are you battering yourself'. Since then I've invested in water butts!
Last time I had a cold, I spent a lot of time debating whether a cough caused by a tickly back of my throat counted as above the neck or not. I think the final decision was that I was too tired either way!
A very helpful post, thank you so much. For days I thought had the beginnings of a cold but then I remembered my hay fever / allergies always start kicking in in February. So some antihistamines have sorted me out! Hope you feel better soon 🤗
Now that’s something I hadn’t thought about yet. I’m allergic to most of nature will have to be on the lookout for that starting! Maybe this is a combination of both cold and hay fever. Thanks for the reminder!
Really useful... I remember reading something like this a while ago....I think I used it in a past Catch Up post.. ?
Reading this and re reading that article is so useful... we may sometimes kid ourselves that we feel okay, but when we face the facts, we realise we are not invincible... and we do need to be kind to ourselves...
Yes-I’ve just looked it up. I remember now-it was when you’d had covid. Some great (and very similar!) articles linked by you from the Zoe project. They do brilliant research. In a weird coincidence, the photo you’ve got on that post is very similar to the one I used today for the photowalk challenge on active 10 today! Great minds think alike!!
Just what I needed as been down with this cold for a week, so annoying !! I pushed through yesterday as I had an event I couldn’t cancel or didn’t want to, I managed not to cough throughout but came home exhausted ! Doesn’t look like I will be running for a while yet.
Sorry you’re under the weather. It’s so rotten isn’t it! My voice has totally gone today after I thought I was feeling a bit better. Recovery day here again too
Maybe we’re so used to pushing ourselves out ti start runs that we struggle to push ourselves not to when we’d be better resting. I remember lots of heroic “I didn’t want to run but pushed myself to [insert heroic distance here] miles” runs but no “I heroically sat on the sofa and let myself recover” times.
Thanks for sharing that, I’ve not been right for 4 weeks with a cough, cold and sinuses. I keep thinking I’ll be able to run tomorrow but it’s not happening yet
I noticed your comments about beating yourself up over not running. Does it help to know that, despite answering “yes” to all the questions, I’m still going to skip today’s run? For that matter, I didn’t do my speed run or my long run last week and I’ve three races coming up in the next couple of months. I want to be well clear of this throat infection / cough before I head back out!
That does help although it’s rubbish you’re ailing too. I think I’ve got the fear suddenly of being six weeks out and having missed one long run, and will be either missing or shortening the next one. I know it’ll be counterproductive not to recover properly and then spend more time on half power. Really hope you’re better soon. There are so many nasty bugs around. Coughing at night and not sleeping properly is rubbish.
That's a great article. Ha ha I feel the same .... did I mention mine was covid .... oh only a few times 🙊🙊 But I was awake last night worrying about how much time off my training plan I'm having! Sooooo frustrating as I was on a real roll doing my heart rate training. 😤 I'm only ready for gentle walks, but am going to have a go at starting some strength training... .gently! We'll be fine for FoD.... won't we???? 😱
I feel exactly the same! I’d really got back into the HM plan I was doing and was starting to see PBs falling on easy runs without trying. Gutted to have been put on pause. I haven’t run in over a week and I feel like I probably need to build up a bit more slowly than going straight back to 10 miles for this week’s long run! Will kick the cold first and then see where I am. We’ve still got time and some gentle jeffing is always an option. Health first is the priority.
We’ll most definitely be fine! My A goal was run strong all the way round. My B goal is to run at any pace all the way. My C goal is to have a lovely time making it round to the finish in whatever way works. I’m absolutely sure of hitting one of those and feeling great with the bling at the end. I keep telling myself that I’m doing this for fun, and just for me because I wanted a lovely run in the countryside. It won’t be any less lovely if I’m walking for more than I’d hoped. We’ve got this 💪❤️
Nice goals. Yes one way or another we will be fine! I agree, my return to running will definitely be gentle now. I've already started practicing the tree photos so it'll take me ages to get round a Forest 🤣
That’s a really beautiful tree photo. I hadn’t thought about taking photos on the way round-that’s a great plan!
It’s a bit of overkill really to have different goals for what I’ve entered as a fun thing and I’m seriously not fast, but it’s helping me not to totally freak out about how much time I’m spending not running! Whatever gets you through, hey!
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...and I will run/walk500 miles...
Three runs & a bit of illness
Running After a Reset*
