Although I love to run and write about it too, I encountered my first real case of writer’s block today—largely because I haven’t done any running for more than a week.
No, it wasn’t due to sheer laziness. After a midnight spinning extravaganza last weekend, I showed off New York City’s party-till-4 a.m. mentality for an out-of-town guest. But by Sunday afternoon my plans for a seven-mile run had morphed into a seven-hour movie marathon on the couch, complete with head cold, cough drops, and a cup of tea.
I took a few days off from the gym and from work. At first I welcomed the excuse to sleep in. But as the week went on, it was getting old and I still didn’t feel great. So would a run in the cold air help get me back on track or send me into a (stuffy) nosedive?
Thankfully William Roberts, MD, a professor of family medicine at the University of Minnesota and an avid runner himself, helped me answer the question.
His advice? Follow the “neck rule.” Runner’s World describes it well: Below-the-neck symptoms (bad fatigue, bronchial infection, muscle aches) require time off, while it’s OK to exercise with above-the-neck symptoms (runny nose, stuffiness, sneezing)—some cardio may even slightly improve those symptoms.
And it was probably a good thing that I skipped strength training too. “You’ll recover faster if you just rest and let your body fight the infection,” Dr. Roberts said.
So I did the right thing by taking a few days off while my fever subsided and my chest congestion cleared up. But now I have to get back on track, despite my stuffy nose—especially if I want something to write about next week!
Comments (11)
Hope you feel better soon!
Ditto! My problem that when I get into a good gym routine, I get sick. Then I have the hardest time going back because I feel out of shape and wind up not exercising for a few weeks…or more. Any advice?!
I don’t like running with snot dripping out of my nose. But now I’ll try!
Runner’s World and their staff of experts often has fantastic advice when it comes to “should I or shouldn’t I” questions. I’ll say Amanda Macmillan’s investigative reporting skills move her into a close 2nd! Hope you’re ready for the warm weather I’m praying will come soon…real soon?…please?
Great article Amanda! I exercise all the time when I’m sick (that didn’t come out right – I really don’t get sick often) and I really think it helps me heal faster. Thanks for backing me up! Now if I could just get people to stop glaring at me as I snot all over the cardio equipment (hey, I wipe up.)
I’ve also been thinking about this recently. I believe that the energy that normally/routinely would have been spent on exercise contributes to speeding up healing. Nice to see your comments.
I have once read that running while being feverish / having the flu (and thus an increased body temperature) is very dangerous and can cause heart problems (permanent damage to your heart) because you’re body is too hot and not able to cool down effectively.
- Arjan
How long should I wait to run after getting a pretty big goose egg on my head? It is above my left temple and my eye is black and blue.
My nose runs every time I run so that is no biggie. I do have a hard time when allergies kick in and it is nice outside and I have to be stuck inside on a treadmill, though. Thanks for the post!
Some of my best runs have been when I feel myself getting sick. I’m not sure if it’s that my body is already in high gear because it’s trying to fight something off and I’m able to really push it, but regardless of the “why” I usually have a fantastic couple of runs before I get sick, and once I do get sick it never lasts long.
Dont run while ill.
Someone from my Uni died last year doing it due to the strain on his body. He had a heart attack. Or at least don’t push yourself too much!