This is a subject that fascinates me Steve!
I have had problems with this in the past and have fallen victim to this myself over christmas.
I had a bug which I am sure is the same as a couple had in work who were off sick for days. This peaked in hours and cleared in 24.
I then got the dreaded chest infection, which seemed inevitable! I cannot get much more exposure in my job!
Despite all of my measures it was very much in the air and everywhere! It was mild, I mean really mild and cleared in about a week!
I trained indoors lightly to increase my body temp but not spread it around my system. Heard Mick say something along these lines and was very dubious about it but if done right it can be beneficial!
I believe the secret is to take zinc everyday as this prevents and shortens duration, if taken regularly. I take an increased dose over Christmas.
There is a supplement that body builders take of zinc and magnesium called ZMA (just an example). Many people are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is good for combating stress and aiding recovery. It helps with stress because it increases gaba in the brain which quietens the mind. It aids r.e.m. sleep and sleep
is crucial for good recovery.
Christmas brings with it STRESS, as well as an increased risk of infection! Be proactive to stress! It is a serious issue! When I split from my girlfriend recently I adjusted my training to match.
Stress ain’t nothing. I have changed jobs because of it! Things have worked out great for me now because I have a stress free job with the flexibility to train how I want. Being single has actually improved this further now! Will I be at my best in a month or two? I don’t care because I take things a day at a time!
Live in the moment. Do not ruminate about tomorrow or before. If you have one foot in the future and one in the past you are pissing on the present!
I think a good diet with lots of whole foods and as little processed food as possible and one which is high in nutrition, carbs and protein
is very important too! I aim for 10 fruit and veg a day, (organic ideally especially with soft fruit! don’t worry about avocados though) avocados are excellent full of good fats and chia seeds are the food of the running gods! Quinoa is great and nasa have even looked into growing it on other planets for good reason!
Avoid sugary processed foods and alcohol!
Milk thickens mucus in the lungs and many are allergic. Chest infections triggered my asthma, not had asthma since I went onto a vegan diet. (not preaching)
However all of this means very little if you train at a constant moderate or high intensity! I monitor my heart rate but more importantly my heart rate variability.
My last chest infection in May lasted 3 weeks and was bad! Why? Because I was overtrained and I continued to cycle 10km twice a day at a moderate intensity, kidding myself I was training easy!! My diet could have been better too!
You need to build your training carefully and if you monitor your hrv you will have an early warning to prevent overtraining kicking in.
If you are a slave to a schedule or constantly panicking about not getting enough training or missing a day you could be setting yourself up
for a fall!
I could go on but I think those are your main things to look at! There are much better runners than me around but I would be willing to bet the ones that stay well have some of this philosophy or all of it.
Less is more and patience is a virtue!
Sorry about the essay! You did ask!
Edited by user 13 January 2018 12:29:32(UTC)
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