decrease in performance after colds

Well, think about it. What's the hardest thing to do when you have a cold? You guessed it, it's to breathe!

I think we can all agree breathing is a important component to running. Anything that inhibits that can only be bad.

sorry,

you've lost me - I am talking about after the cold i.e. when my breathing is not constricted.

Okay, then you've got to consider the amount of energy your body has expended ontop of training and what you normally do day to day while fighting the cold. It requires a good amount, so you've got to expect you'll be feeliing shitty for some time afterwards as well.

sorry, lost me again!

I'm talking about:

1) catching the cold

2) resting\reducing training by 80% with no hard efforts for 1 week

3) building things up gradually when everything is clear i.e. no blocked nose, swollen glands etc.

4) then racing say 2 weeks later and being 2-3 mins down on what performance was immediately prior to catching the cold - 30 min over 10km.

This effect continues for something like 3-4 weeks after this, giving a total of at least six weeks in total since starting back.

Anyone know anything about selenium and the effect on viral infections?

The myocarditis you're referring to is a potentially very serious problem that would probably cause much more in the way of symptoms than just declining performance. Essentially what happens in viral myocarditis is that the same virus that caused your cold becomes more virulent when you stress your immune system with running and then attacks your heart muscles. This then causes destruction of those muscles, leading to what is called cardiomyopathy, more commonly known as "heart failure". Cases serious enough to require cardiac transplantation do occur.

So you probably are just experiencing a normal performance related decline following a viral infection, unless you are noticing swelling of your feet, inability to lie flat because of shortness of breath, or marked exercise intolerance. I seriously doubt you could even think about running a 10K if you have viral myocarditis.

I normally skip working out when I have a cold primarily because I want all my body defenses and immune systems working towards helping me get over the cold. I don't worry too much about the theoretical risk of myocarditis. Also, none of my workouts are of good quality if I am ill. For me, I have found that taking time off, getting extra sleep, etc shortens a cold from 7 days to 3-4 days. I've trained thru colds and such before and the benefit is just not there for me.

There are those who feel that training hastens recovery from a cold ("I burned it out") but there is no scientific basis for this thought.

hope this helps!!

colds usually make me run better because i take medicine that opens my airway

shut up. go away

no!

Yes, I have noticed EXACTLY the same thing: about a 10% decrease in running speed at a given heart rate, lasting nearly a week after other cold symptoms were gone.

I've noticed the a similar effect, but not as marked, probably a 3/4% increase on times, but that still has a big effect if you're aiming for cretain targets - I've felt like I'm "not firing on all cylinders" for up to 6 weeks after the cold has gone, where other people seem to recover almost immediately. Another annoying problem is where you get a cold that either will not go away, or goes away but then comes back again as soon as you think it's gone, prolonging the effect further. I might try a flu jab next year.

So what's the main nutritional factors involved in maintaining a strong immune system?

All the usual suspects like Vit C, Zinc, but is there anything else?

What about glutamine, echinacea (spelling?), selenium, and also eating foodstuffs every 2-3 hrs?

Would appreciate some advice from someone who has had experience of this or a nutrition expert.