When sickness forces you to rest

In sickness and in health...

Sometimes becoming sick can be a blessing in disguise for a runner. Of course I am not talking about serious illness, but something like a light flu that binds you to bed for a few days. The thing is, we who love to run, are not always very good in taking a rest when we should. In that sense, having to stay in bed, as annoying as it is, might give your body exactly the rest it needs.

The first time I experienced this was when I was preparing for my very first half marathon. Just a week before the race, I had a 10 km test run in the early morning where I really pushed myself, after which I entertained guests, drove a long way, and was outside in the cold for the rest of the day. In the evening of that day, I started to feel terrible, got high fever, and ended up in bed for four days. I was so worried during that time. First of all I was afraid that I would not get well enough for the race. But I was also very worried that I was losing my form and my strength by having to stay in bed. What I realized later is that becoming sick at that point was perhaps the best thing that could happen for my performance at that race. As inexperienced as I was, I knew nothing about tapering and slowing down before a race. Had I not become sick, I would have continued to train until the race, and my performance would most probably be much worse. With completely rested legs, and a short run to get my legs going two days before the race, it all went very smoothly and well, and it was an incredibly good race experience.

It happened again just this week, but this time it forced me to rest after a race. The day after the Deer Run race last Sunday, I got sick again and had to stay in bed for three days and away from running for five days. I have become much better in tapering and resting before a race, but when it comes to resting after a race, I am still not patient enough. So this sickness has given me the rest which I might not have taken properly otherwise. After Oslo half marathon in 2014, I did not rest at all, which started a period of more and more pain, and finally ended up in a big injury and no running for a long time. At that time I had just joined my running group Melkesyre in Bergen, and I did not want to miss a single training. On top of that, we went for a holiday in Italy, and I wanted to keep running to compensate for all the eating there. I forced Frank up early every morning, and we went for tough uphills before our friends woke up and we continued the day with hikes and late nights with them. My legs were aching, the morning runs were not pleasant at all, but I still kept going. So incredibly stupid, when I think of it now...

Of course if sickness is going to be a benefit, one has to obey it and actually get to bed. I learned also this the hard way. Exactly a year ago, we were on a week's skiing holiday. The whole family was together; the youngsters hit the downhill slopes whereas Frank and I had plans for cross country skiiing. I started to feel sick already on the second day, and instead of staying inside and enjoying the rest, I took painkillers and went on (now in hindsight) unbelievably long and tough cross country skiing. Why? I was so impatient at that time about training. My form was steadily improving and I wanted it all too fast. I was so afraid to let any more than one day pass by without proper cardiovascular training, because I did not want to lose my form or fall behind my improvement plans. What happened of course, in addition to some pretty unpleasant skiing experiences, is that I got really sick in the end and had to stay in bed probably much longer than I would have had to, if I had not been so stupid and stubborn to start with. But that was not the worst part. When I finally became well and started running again, it took me extremely long to get back into shape. I lost so much form due to training when sick, and it was really hard and took a long time to get it back. I have since then read that this is very common. If you push yourself when sick, you might experience a serious deterioration of your form, which might take you long time to repair.

During the times I have been sick and impatient to train, I have been desperate and searched for hours and hours tons of advice on the Internet. There seems to be a rule that if the discomfort you feel is above your neck, then you can still train. So, just headache, or running nose, or pain in the throat, does not necessarily have to stop you from running. But if your whole body aches, regardless of whether you have fever or not, it seems to be the best to stay away from training. And I have read that training when you have a fever can actually be seriously dangerous. You might end up hurting your heart and having to stay away from training for a long long time. For myself I have found the following rule: if I have to take painkillers to be able to run, ski, bike, swim, etc, then I simply don't do it. Instead I try to concentrate on the benefits of no training for a while.

Always look on the bright side; take your rest and enjoy it!