Returning to running after recovering from COVID (share your story)

I had it in late February(confirmed by antibodies test). I was floored for about a week during the sickness. I had a cough, and felt completely drained. Couldn't get out of bed for a week. Once I started running again it took about 2 months for my breathing to get back to normal. It was a slow and brutal recovery, but I'm definitely back to normal if not better health because I've emphasized eating well since being trapped at home.

My first day back today actually, a 4 mile easy run. My Hr was what it was for a recent 10k race. Sweating profusely and out of breath.

Long road back

For anyone that had this chest pain/tightness, did you continue to run through it?

I tried running off and on but the pain would return and worsen. I have now taken 10 days off. I just wanted to know if you all simply ran through it lightly or didn’t run at all?

Yeah I ran through the whole thing, just easy though. Took a few days off at one point to try and reset everything, which didn't work, but never took extended time off through any of it.

You had the you dipshit get over yourself.

Good thread.

Reading this thread, I'm assuming that even mild cases will impact a person's running, and hence be an earlier indicator. It's allergy season but I find I can run through them without too much problem.

On march 9th I did a fast track workout for the first time in a couple years. Then the next day I did a bike race on Zwift. Felt fine at this time. Then March 12th-14th I had a dry throat and could feel something weird, like chest tightness. Thought it was just from two tough efforts in a row. On March 15th, I ran 2 miles no problem. Chest continued to be tight and congestion started. On March 17th, I did another Zwift race. 40 minutes averaging 178 bpm, so pretty much all out. My chest was tight after and I was light headed but thought I couldn't race that hard/well with the 'Rona.

The next couple weeks I felt fatigued, had aches, sore lymph nodes, congestion and chest tightness. Occasionally tried to run and bike for 3 weeks. This made it worse every time. Eventually had weekly Dr appointments. Started taking aleve and using an inhaler.

Got tested on day 47 of symptoms this past week. Still waiting on results. On day 50 now and not much improvement. Still have chest tightness, fatigue and aches that come in waves. Never felt sick like I had a cold though.

Gotta be honest, I'm really surprised there's not more talk about this on here, or anywhere. Two weeks in, I am symptom free but I cannot run a normal pace for a half mile. I barely had any symptoms. I was thinking that this would be common in recovery from the virus, but perhaps it's not.

4chicago wrote:

Gotta be honest, I'm really surprised there's not more talk about this on here, or anywhere. Two weeks in, I am symptom free but I cannot run a normal pace for a half mile. I barely had any symptoms. I was thinking that this would be common in recovery from the virus, but perhaps it's not.

Totally. Very little discussion, maybe it will ramp up as more people (unfortunately) get sick.

God, it's been so long. I started feeling tightness in my chest around March 20th, and took a day off or two but then tried running a few times. By the third run the tightness was more of a localized pain next to my sternum, and my breathing felt a little more gravelly. This feeling persisted at the same intensity for about a week after.

I don't really remember when everything happened, but I've had ebbs and flows of chills, muscle aches, and nausea/vomiting since then. Was only able to get in like half a deep breath for the first few weeks, and breath was a little short. No coughing, ever, though. But got to the point where a walk around the block caused about the same chest tightness/discomfort as my running had a few weeks earlier.

I tested out running for the first time in nearly a month yesterday and managed a 9:00 mile before I decided to stop as the chest tightness was returning. (In mid-March, I was doing easy days at 7:20-30, and had just run a 2:03 800m, so I wasn't in awful shape). I've been very sedentary, so there's that, but I'm just frustrated as hell not being able to run for so long. I've started using an inhaler, not sure if that's the right call. Still got damn chills too.

So bizarre. I had many of these symptoms, including the inexplicably high heart rate during easy runs, palpitations, headache, and general malaise mid March. Felt exactly like altitude acclimatization that wouldn't go away for about a week and a half. However, if I had a fever, it must have been mild. Running definitely suffered, and I took some time off because, quite frankly, I had no idea what was going on.

A couple things I hadn't really associated with the above are now coming to mind since I'm seeing some similarities with the stories here. Went on a family trip to Mexico. Daughter came down with fever/seemingly bad flu. Fever, chills, congestion. 4 days later, my wife had the same thing but worse. I didn't get it, but I had diarrhea and felt a little like crap. I figured there must have been "something in the water".

I also had 1 week somewhere in there where my left eye was practically throbbing and in pain. I had been out on a run and it was windy, and I figured that something got in my eye. It was very uncomfortable and had me a bit worried before it finally went away.

Somewhere between the time my wife was sick and when I started experiencing symptoms, a friend of ours was over at our house. He also cuts our hair. Some time within a week or two of being at our house, he was struck with a very bad case of the COVID. He tested positive, so no real doubt there. (He also survived, thankfully.)

Anyway, after seeing these stories like the one in this thread, which were so similar to what I experienced, my wife and I went for an antibody test a couple days ago. We did a non-FDA test by Quest and it came back negative for both of us.

Having experienced what I experienced, it seems that whatever was going on with me is going on with other people, as well. It really makes me wonder if the antibody test results were accurate. I've never experienced these symptoms except at 13,000ft, and these symptoms are very distinct.

Yeah, nice thread this.

Could everyone maybe add their age as well? Will be interesting to see if 20 year olds also get hit hard i.e. taking months to get over it.

[quote]slowrecovery wrote:

Received one test that resulted negative, however a series of symptoms and doctors visits have led me to believe I did contract it.

If you have symptoms and test postive -- you have it.

If you have symptoms and test negative -- you have it.

If you don't have symptoms and test positive -- you have it.

If you don't have symptoms and test negative -- you might have it and can get it.

If you were sick and got better -- you had it and can get it again.

It's like being called an alcoholic. Or a witch. If you admit it, you are one. If you deny it, you are in denial and are one.

Amazing how so many Letsrun posters have gotten sick over the past few months when nobody in my family has, none of my neighbors, none of the people I work with, nobody I know has.

Just a bunch with weak immune systems?

Maybe just story tellers?

Mein Gott wrote:

Amazing how so many Letsrun posters have gotten sick over the past few months when nobody in my family has, none of my neighbors, none of the people I work with, nobody I know has.

Just a bunch with weak immune systems?

Maybe just story tellers?

Thread’s only two pages long.

RSAR wrote:

Yeah, nice thread this.

Could everyone maybe add their age as well? Will be interesting to see if 20 year olds also get hit hard i.e. taking months to get over it.

Just to add my datapoint, I'm 20 (few posts above)

Mein Gott wrote:

Amazing how so many Letsrun posters have gotten sick over the past few months when nobody in my family has, none of my neighbors, none of the people I work with, nobody I know has.

Just a bunch with weak immune systems?

Maybe just story tellers?

Do you live in a rural area? Or one that hasn't been hit hard yet?

I live in a city of 500,000. I have family in New York City also. I know nobody who has had it nor do I know anybody who knows anybody who has had it.

Lucky you

hgjvkvbbbhhhbb wrote:

So no one here had a confirmed case? This is really meaningless then.

I agree. these sound like colds/flu/allergy. confirmed case histories sound much more severe