How much does sickness affect running?

It can definitely affect it. Rest when ill...I speak from

experience.

If you're all recovered from being sick, I would think that it's just stiffness from taking five days off. It seems like you should be okay within a day or two.

It can effect you, but Cram got the world record in the mile on a day where he considered not running because of his head cold.

Today we did a 6 mile run. I felt OK - not as light and springy as I should, but better from the complete exhaustion from yesterday. Tomorrow we're doing a tempo run, should I err on the side of caution or try to run at the level I was two weeks ago? Because even though I felt better today, it might have been because yesterday was a hard workout.

Thanks for your help.

I think sickness really affects running. I also think that's why it makes the sport so hard for the average person to understand at the elite level. In most sports an athlete could get sick/injured be out for a while and come back just as strong.

WIth a distance runner, youget sick at some point, miss a couple days of training and have a couple sub-par days coming down/recovering from the illness and it affects you in the race you were pointing for 2 months later.