I get common flu/running nose easily. A little bit of google told me
“The harder and more often you train, the bigger the strain on your immune system. A compromised immune system makes you more susceptible to common bugs being passed around.”
How about you guys? Are you the same?
Pre cancer I would have the runny nose when cycling but I was hardly ever sick; if I was I’d shrug it off over night and at most a couple of days. When I got bowel/colon cancer with the catastrophic lack of iron in my body/ then chemotherapy things wouldn’t be shrugged off over night but I was still one on the healthiest in the office when something was doing the rounds. 3 years later I’m back to how I was pre c (a runny nose when cycling at the most) but wfh and being single has probably helped me when it has come to avoiding bugs.
Have done in the past, normally a good sign that I’m overdoing the training and/or not paying enough attention to sleep and nutrition.
Also helps if you can avoid coming into close contact with lots of people shortly after an intense training session when your immune system takes a dip. E.g. I used to train first thing and then almost immediately get on a busy commuter train to work. When I switched to cycling to work or working from home more I noticed a big drop in how often I got sick. Early years when the kids first started going to nursery and school also got sick more as they were getting exposed to so many bugs, lack of sleep when they were younger didn’t help either!
Hardly ever but I don’t train to long nor too often and also supplement vitamin D and make sure my diet contains plenty of zinc
Hardly ever sick and i have a 5 year old petri dish in daycare who also rarely gets sick. Btw, a runny nose during exercise isn’t necessarily a sign of illness. I get exercise-induced rhinitis especially when one of my laskos is blowing rught in my face.
Here are some worthwhile threads on the broad topic along with specific info to review:
Had a cold in 2014, otherwise no I don’t get sick.
I’ve a habit of picking up colds, invariably from my nephews. Especially after very long hard rides. I’ve starting giving myself extra recovery day if I start feeling a scratchy throat etc. In the summer it’s fine, I’ll bounce back in a week, and there’s no real loss to training. This winter past it went on for months though, just couldn’t shake it.
Long time ago discovered that I don’t travel well… and have a cold/flu bug right now after returning from a trip to TX and Vegas. Sucks being me.
I get sick 1-2 times per year. I usually can feel the sickness coming on and back off training to not get sick. I have kids also
I feel like I get sick less then other cyclists and my colds do not end up more then just colds.
Yep for me it is related to sleep. If I have a few nights of poor quality sleep due to kids or work…and still training…. I will get sick. Have learnt to prioritise sleep and back off intensity at these times.
I have taken immune suppressing medication for the last 12 years. I have rarely been sick in this timeframe. I wash hands after client meetings, prior to eating and as soon as I get home. I don’t sit near anyone with an symptoms of cold sniffles etc. I also ensure I get sufficient sleep.
I am not sure that a suppressed immune system is the issue as much as you need to be aware of how we get sick.
When I was using TrainerRoad plans I was sick almost once a month… sounds crazy but constantly felt run down from all the intensity, could barely hold on mid intensity.
Then I switched to a coach, lots of endurance, less intensity, intervals based on LT1 and LT2, and voila, sick 1-2 times a year instead now.
I used to never really get sick, then I had 2 kids (ages 2 and 4, both in separate day care). Wife being a teacher in yet another school doesn’t help either.
Still looking for ways to best manage it all with regards to my training, but am slowly getting better at it. After being bed-ridden for a week on 2 separate occassions earlier this year I am now erring on the conversative side of things so whenever sleep takes a hit, I immediately back off on the training.