Thursday, February 16, 2012

Taking a quick poll ...

Do you run when you have a cold?  Does it depend on what stage of the cold you are in, or the severity?  Do you put on your game face and run no matter what?  Or do you pull the covers over your head and figure you can make it up later?  PLEASE LET ME KNOW!


I'm suffering from a cold and trying to figure out just how hard to push myself.  The timing is pretty bad, as this Saturday will be my VERY FIRST TEN MILE RUN!!!  AND it will be on the exact course as next month's race.  Obviously, this is one run I really don't want to miss, so I'm telling myself that a little cold never hurt anyone.  However, that careful part of me says I'm no spring chicken and that I need to be careful not to turn this head cold into something worse.  Temps should be in the mid to upper 30s Saturday morning and they aren't calling for any precipitation, so the conditions will be good for running.

Would love to hear from all you runners out there!

8 comments:

  1. I feel your pain! The rule of thumb is, above the neck: run; below the neck: don't run. If you go out on Saturday and feel like crud, just cut it short. I was very sick (fever, etc.) when I was on my peak mileage week before a marathon once. I had no choice but to skip my 22 miler and just pick up my training from there. The marathon ended up being miserable... BUT... it was terribly hot & humid so it was miserable for everyone. Will never know if it was caused by my illness. GOOD LUCK! And be kind to yourself!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the response, Phoebe! I had not heard that rule of thumb, so I greatly appreciate the advice. Right now it is all nasal, so I'll plan to get out there and just take it easy. Our training program coach usually wants these long runs to be at a conversational pace, so I will take that to heart this week. Have a super day!

      Delete
  2. Good advice and what I have heard - the neck rule. Above the neck, run. I did a long run with a head cold and after my run realized I had a slight fever...but I did not get worse. That said, I am a big believer in listening to your own intuition. If you aren't feeling it, it might be better to postpone it. Let us know what you decide and how you feel :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jen. Right now I want to crawl back into bed, but maybe by Saturday I'll be over the worst of it. I'm popping those zinc things, which might ease the symptoms a bit.

      Delete
  3. Listen to your body. I just ran my way through a cold but kept the mileage and pace down. I have also broken the head rule over a year ago when I had a terrible cough that wouldn't go away. Thing is, the only time I found relief was when I was running so I ran. When I stopped, the coughing started up again. Eventually it went away once I broke down and went to the doctor to get a cough syrup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great advice, Erica! I will try very hard to listen to what my body is saying, even if my mind is saying, "Run faster, Lisa, run faster!"

      Delete
  4. I agree - listen to your body. You might not want to tax yourself with a ten miler - long runs tend to zap a lot out of you. I will run with a slight cold but try to slow it down and not put in quite as many miles. Hope you feel better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jen! I've been cursing this cold all day, but it is much better to get it now than a month from now when I'd be near race time.

      By the way, I clearly have the world's BEST blog followers! I feel the love! ;)

      Delete