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Should I train through a reasonably bad cough / cold?

MattAaronsonMattAaronson
in General Training Discussions
The cough has me coughing up a lot of phlegm (sp?) and I'm not sleeping well, but so far I'm hitting may target paces in workout and without abnormally high HR. I just wonder if I will delay my recovery time by stressing my body with training. I'm in the most critical time ~5 weeks out from my target race so I don't want to miss key workouts. That said, I need to do what's best for my health overall and also for maximizing my chances of a good race.

Comments

  • Bruce ThompsonBruce Thompson
    Matt - I suggest you take it EZ for a couple of days.  No sense in digging yourself into a hole, especially if you aren't sleeping well.  You've had a lot of stress in your life (new baby, re-modeling house, high powered job), so it is catching up to you.    If I recall, you are doing your long runs on the weekend, so I'd just make sure you are ready (rested, less coughing) to have a quality long run in a few days.  Those long runs are what really matter for marathon training anyway.  Missing a couple of shorter, mid-week  runs won't matter if you get well and have a good long run.  You still have plenty of time before your race, so focus on getting well now.
  • Joe MatchetteJoe Matchette
    Matt - I have been thinking on this since I first read it about an hour ago..... My initial thought was, "If you have to ask, you already know the answer."

    And, now that I have thought about it.....

    My thoughts are *unchanged*. x2 on Bruce's advice to rest up and avoid getting into a deep hole.
  • wareagledustywareagledusty
    I'm fighting through a bad cold now and it is killing me not to be training. I am 2.5 weeks out from Lake Tahoe and have come to realize that I am going to have to trust the work that I have already done. I hit my long run (the last really long one) this past Thursday and have basically been able to do nothing sense then. I tried swimming Saturday and had no energy. Slept 28+ hours from Saturday pm to Monday am. My advice, as hard as it is for me to follow myself, is to take the time to get well. The last thing you want is to have the cold move into your lungs, which is what I am scared about for myself.
  • cgres123cgres123
    Matt what would your mother say?
  • robin sarnerrobin sarner
    you probably know the mixed medical evidence out there regarding what to do in these situations.         and the rare potential for significant harm to heart muscle, etc.         personally I have experimented with training through mild/moderate/severe respiratory infections.    what works for me::: training ok through mild ones with a bit of reduction in volume.      moderate and severe ones need down time with a slow rebuild.      
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    Thanks all for the thoughts advice. I decided to keep working out but (a) go easier than needed if the RPE / HR/ pace equation felt like it was out of whack and (b) shut it down if I felt like I was getting worse, health-wise. Overall I put in around 60 miles running last week including three quality run days, and felt like I turned the corner on the cough/cold on Friday. I'm not yet back to 100% so it's certainly possible the workouts slowed the recovery, but overall I'm for sure on the mend and almost back to normal.

    On the workout front I actually was able to nail all my targets all week during a very intense build week, including an 11-mile LT session with 3x 2-mile at TP, a 12-miler with 9 at MP and an 18 miler with 14 at MP.

    This was a risky strategy but I didn't want to miss the workouts and was willing to stand down 100% this week if last week turned into a disaster with the cough/cold getting worse.
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