This may be unrelated to training, but I wanted to know if anyone else experiences this. Nearly once every two weeks I get a mild cold (just congestion and constant snot downpour) ALWAYS on a Friday. I’m always fully recovered by Saturday. The fact that it’s always the same day is strange, but I attribute it to the build up of stress from the tuesday/thursday higher intensity training days.
Perhaps more to do with stress from the work week and germs from the workplace.
I’ve fell off the training wagon a few times in the last decade. Each time going from couch to bike, I never noticed an increase in illness as a result of increased training stress. YMMV.
One thing I’d strongly encourage is to use moisturizing hand sanitizer after touching doorknobs, faucet handles, etc, and to not touch your face. My dad has a habit of touching his nose throughout the day and gets sick all the time. Viruses get into the body most easily through the nose and eyes.
Yes. I came down with a stomach bug last Friday evening and it killed my entire weekend plans which involved 2 days of riding in my basement. I often find myself pretty fatigued on most Friday evenings after a hard work week and a re-start to my training, which leaves me feeling on the edge of a cold, often. For me it’s stress related I think, I wash my hands more often than a surgeon and drink a lot of water throughout the day, when I get good sleep and focus on hygiene and hydration/nourishment I usually do OK. Like you, I can feel something coming on, and even have had some cold symptoms but I can kick them in a day, usually. I’m really working on carrying less anxiety and stress. Certain work on the bike can help, SS, Endurance. You’re not alone.
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Possible it could be some kind of allergy?
Occasionally I get the dripping nose and I usually just self-medicate with antihistamines (zyrtec, clarityn etc). Guaranteed to stop the dripping nose and get you on the bike over the weekend.
Not sure if this is current science or if I’m even explaining it correctly, but in college I remember learning that due to stress suppressing that immune system, you are likely to get “sick” when the stress let’s up. The symptoms are due to the body finally responding to the threat after letting it go too far. Does this sound right or am I full of it?
Marathon flu. No idea what the state of research is but it’s definitely a known phenomenon.