{"id":601,"date":"2019-03-28T17:12:20","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/?p=601"},"modified":"2019-03-28T17:12:26","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:12:26","slug":"to-run-or-not-to-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/28\/to-run-or-not-to-run\/","title":{"rendered":"To run or not to run…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A mild cold last week kept me sidelined from running for a few days. Because the cold was mild, I debated whether to run anyway. There were three basic possibilities if I had hit the trail. The two most likely ones were prolonging the illness or making it worse. The third and least likely one was that the bug would just go away with no consequence. So, that led me to the decision to rest. I will emphasize that I am not a medical professional or trained coach but I\u2019ll share the guidelines I follow when making a decision on whether to run when I\u2019m sick, especially when I\u2019m getting towards the end of the illness. One general rule of thumb I keep in mind is that if you stop running for illness or injury, you don\u2019t start to lose fitness for seven to ten days. Obviously you\u2019re not gaining it either, but at least you can get it back quickly. Also, to keep this post from getting to novel length, the types of illness I\u2019m referring to below are mild to nasty colds or stomach bugs. When dealing with more severe issues, it\u2019s good to consult with a doctor.

There are the very easy decisions on whether to run while sick, such as when the symptoms are so severe that the thought of even going to the store or a short walk sounds excruciating, much less going for a run. Obviously I\u2019ll stay in and rest. This tends to happen on at least the first day or two when I\u2019m feeling crummy.

Next come the relatively easy decisions. These are on days three or four, where I feel like I could knock out a few miles but I know that it would sap me and possibly prolong the illness. I can\u2019t think of a good reason to run in a situation like this, as I\u2019m not doing my body a favor.

Then there are the difficult decisions. These happen on day five or six where I\u2019m starting to get back to a fairly normal state. On one hand, I don\u2019t want to relapse. On the other hand, sometimes it\u2019s good to just go out and start running again and not take on the symptoms of a hypochondriac. So, I consider several things here. If I have a race coming up and I do feel legitimately better, I may run a very light three miles to see how it goes and to shake my legs out. But, if I have a trip coming up and I\u2019m hoping to get some good running in while travelling, I may give myself the extra day rest. If I have nothing planned, I will lean towards running three miles at an easy pace.

The most difficult decision on when to run are the times I suspect I\u2019m coming down with a bug but it hasn\u2019t slammed me yet. Do I go out and get one last good workout in, knowing I\u2019ll be sidelined? Do I rest? Part of the difficulty is in determining whether I\u2019m getting sick or if I\u2019m just wiped out from a long week. Generally, I consider how I\u2019ll feel after I\u2019m done running. If the thought of going out for a run gives me the sense that I\u2019ll be inordinately exhausted when I\u2019m done, I\u2019ll back off. Otherwise, I will probably lean towards the run, then hope for the best.

If you do find yourself under the weather and need to take a few days off, you probably shouldn\u2019t make up the mileage you lost once you\u2019re well. Doing so could increase your risk of injury. While your fitness should remain for seven to ten days, and while you can probably add a few extra miles to the week when you\u2019re coming back, a significant increase could be problematic. Also, you can look at the positive side. Your muscles have had a chance to relax and loosen up and for the workouts you do have planned when you\u2019re back, especially the speed ones, you may feel a lot more fresh while doing them. I\u2019ve felt the extra boost from rest for the past several days and the running has been very enjoyable.

Running food review of the week: (note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race): Gatorade Tidal Punch<\/a>. This is part of their \u201cFlow\u201d line. I can\u2019t place the flavor on this one. However, it\u2019s acceptable. It\u2019s also a very light type of Gatorade which makes it ideal for pre- and in-run consumption. I drank this before doing a seven mile run with some significant hills while pushing my daughter in the Bob. I felt good the whole time and the pace was solid, so I\u2019ll give it a thumbs-up. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mild cold last week kept me sidelined from running for a few days. Because the cold was mild, I debated whether to run anyway. There were three basic possibilities if I had hit the trail. The two most likely ones were prolonging the illness or making it worse. The third and least likely one … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “To run or not to run…”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9W0ku-9H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":409,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/understanding-running\/","url_meta":{"origin":601,"position":0},"title":"Understanding running…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Several recent conversations have prompted me to shift topics for this week. 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