At the first sign of any illness STOP 🛑 training!
Resting upfront will allow your immune system to have energy to fight off the bug. When you rest before you get sick, your body may fight the bug faster. If you continue to train through illness, you may take away energy from your body’s immune system & be forced to take multiple rest days later. Allowing yourself rest will get you back to 100% quicker than dragging it out and training at subpar levels.
Tips To Combat Your Cold
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✅ SLEEP: Sleep is your BEST defense against illness. Just like muscles, your body recovers and repairs itself during sleep – so take naps, go to bed early. Sleep as much as you can in the first 24 hours.
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✅ HYDRATE: Drinking water will speed up your recovery, especially if you are experiencing a fever. You are more at risk for dehydration which leads to bigger problems. Make sure to avoid sports drinks (too much sugar), juices, coffee and alcohol. Instead, sip on herbal tea, water, soup, pedialyte popsicles if you need electrolytes. Hydration also breaks up mucus if you have a cough.
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✅ Load up on Vitamin C: There are Vitamins and supplements out there such as Emergen-C. However, it is best to get Vitamin C through Whole Foods – oranges, sweet peppers, broccoli, etc. The nice thing about Vitamin C is that you can’t have too much since it is water soluble, your body excretes what it can’t use.
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✅ Zicam/Zinc – there are mixed reviews on this, but I tend to think it helps – especially if you take at the first sign of illness. Studies have shown it cuts down duration and severity of cold. –
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✅ Other REMEDIES – ⭐️Taking Apple Cider Vinegar ( With the Mother) with real lemon and honey twice a day in a glass of water. ⭐️Epsom Salt Baths⭐️Steam Showers. –
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*NEVER run thru a fever – this can cause serious complications such as dehydration, higher fever, heart issues*
How/When to Return to Training:
✅ WHEN CAN YOU RETURN TO RUNNING? : You never want to dig yourself into a deeper hole. I recommend waiting until you feel okay, then add an additional day to be safe. Example: You are sick on Saturday, feel better on Monday, I would run on Tuesday. This ensures you are truly recovered.
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✅ DO NOT TRY TO MAKE UP MISSED MILES OR WORKOUTS!: It is okay to miss a day or a week of training. Trying to play catch up, is not a good plan! I recommend your first run back being VERY easy and shorter than you’d like. Ex, if you have a 7 miler easy on the schedule, try 3 miles to see how your body does. With running, sometimes you don’t see the damage done until the next day, so give yourself some grace. –
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✅ TAKE IT EASY! In line with the above, when you return, take it EASY!! A lot will depend on how many days you took off and what kind of illness you are dealing with. If you missed a day or two due to normal cold, you can probably do 2-3 easy days and then go back to your normal schedule. If you missed a couple days or over a week due to FLU or more serious illness, you will want to come back even more cautious. The FLU is a different beast than a cold and can really put you out for awhile, so I would recommend making sure you are fully recovered before returning and then taking up to 7-10 days of full of easy runs. However listening to your body will be KEY! So, if you need more easy runs – take them! You will be okay since you are maintaining your aerobic system, which is what most running events rely the MOST on! –
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⭐️ LET US EASE YOUR MIND⭐️
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👉🏻Missing 1-2 days will not result in fitness loss, no harm done. Jump back on the horse and keep moving forward. It can actually help with recovery
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👉🏻 Missing 3-6 days, does not result in fitness loss. You may feel a little different because you are not used to resting for a week, but your fitness is still there.
👉🏻Missing 7-14 days is around the point where you might start losing some VERY MINOR fitness. We are taking 1-2 seconds per mile. Not a huge deal. You can gain fitness back faster than you think. Your health is number one
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⭐️ TAKE CARE OF YOUR BOD⭐️
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