Recovery from chest cold

david ware

 Chest congestion and slight headache Friday. As I went to bed started to have a cough. No sinus or sore throat issues. Hard to sleep as got some fever symptoms and the breathing felt like fire and was hard. No deep breathing possible. Saturday got worse with increased headaches and it felt like a spike going thru my brain every time I would cough. . Chest congestion increased and breathing was harder. Slept a little better but Sunday was the most awful day. Chills and sweats. Difficulty breathing. General achiness. Continued headaches, etc. spent most of the day in bed. Today feel a bit better but still cannot take a deep breathe. For the first time just a touch of nasal but really or congested. Still a mild headache. 

I know it will be several days before I can get back in the saddle. I am scheduled to run Rock and Roll Phoenix Mary 3 weeks from yesterday and tomorrow will be a week since I last ran (walked 5 miles with my wife today.). I do not want to start back too soon and relapse or have this turn into something worse. How do you know when it is safe to start running or biking again?

cgres123

Well full breathing without coughing would be a start. You need to stand down and recover... you will lose an insignificant piece of fitness for your 1/2.The last week before the run, your taper, you will get your running legs back and be in fine shape for your 1/2 just take it easy in your taper. My 2 cent...

david ware

I know I need to be able to fully breathe. I am just not sure what other things to look for in recovery to know I am OK. That's why I figure at least another few days at a minimum.

Carrie Chavez

Personally I would start with an easy spin on the trainer once I started to feel better. "Test the waters" a bit by riding easy and seeing how you handle getting a little out of breath. Then I would go for an easy run the next day and see how that goes. I would baby step my way back one workout at a time, evaluating how I tolerate it. I would do no hard stuff until an easy one feels great. I would be careful not to get exhausted.

I hope you feel 100% soon.

William Jenks

One really good rule of thumb to remember is not to run (etc) if you're sick beneath the neck. Too risky for secondary and extended infections. But that's really apart from the advice you're getting here, which is to recover...pretty much what this rule of thumb would say! :-)