Running with Covid

Hi All

Apologies if this has already been addressed. I know that there are several Covid threads on here. I can't seem to find what I am looking for.

This morning I tested positive for Covid. We have a bad backlog here in South Africa and I took the test on Saturday. Both before and since the test, I have felt pretty good. I am asthmatic, and so I have felt it a bit in the chest and my tonsils have been slightly swollen. But I have had none of the traditional symptoms. On my doctor's advice, I took the weekend off from running and have cancelled my plans to run 42kms on Friday to celebrate my 42nd birthday. But I did run yesterday and the day before on a treadmill at home. Often when I have respiratory illnesses, running makes them worse. But in this case, I have felt the same after both workouts. I normally run and cycle 10 to 13 hours per week.

My doctor is not an athlete and is very conservative. He wants me to keep my heart-rate below 100 bpm for the next six weeks! The thought is absolutely intolerable to me. So, what I am wondering is whether any of you carried on running in the first few weeks of a Covid diagnosis, and how it went. I appreciate that, in the short-term, it would be prudent to avoid anything high intensity. But I was hoping to carry on working out in the aerobic zone, as long as my symptoms stay mild. I would love to hear from anyone who has managed this successfully.

Thanks!

This is a nasty disease with a wide range of severity. Just because you feel okay today doesn't mean that you won't eventually develop problems.

Severity has been linked to cortisol, which is produced after high intensity or endurance exercise, so if I were in your position, I would dramatically curtail my exercise for at least two weeks. The onset of severe symptoms seems to be between 3 and 14 days so if you get past 14 days, you might be okay.

A study in Isreal found that half of the patients had symptoms several weeks after "recovery." Athletes are reporting shortness of breath for weeks after recovery.

As an athlete, a TINY reduction in lung function can have a far more dramatic effect on you than on a sedentary person because the average person never does anything aerobic so they never use their lungs at 100% functionality.

In my opinion, it's possible that the long term effects on lung function are much higher than what's being reported because the average person getting COVID never does any aerobic activity.

If/when I find myself in your situation, I personally will take 10,000 IU/day of vitamin D and a zinc supplement for a week or so. Both are helpful against viruses and deficiencies in either seem to correlate to the severity of COVID-19.

That's high for vitamin D. My normal daily dose is only 5,000IU, but if you're going to get really sick, your body might need it now.

I'm not a doctor. I'm telling you what I would do.

You can research vitamin D and COVID by doing an online search. Oh, and one more point, African Americans are far more likely than whites to have insufficient vitamin D levels. This is possibly genetic so any readers worldwide who are black should consider supplementing with vitamin D. Just do a search and you can find the data.

Best of luck to the OP. Keep us posted on your progress and be patient for another couple of weeks. Lung damage is NOT something you want to risk. I'm speaking from firsthand experience here.

Running with Covid

Of General Interest

This thread has already been deleted.

You have been subscribed.

Running with Covid

Follow Renfrew

Block Renfrew

Follow fisky

Block fisky

Follow Renfrew

Block Renfrew

Of General Interest

This thread has already been deleted.

Reply Replying to

You have been subscribed.