Is training through illness ever a good idea?
A few weeks ago, I crashed at the Redlands Classic, and then got sick right afterwards – not good. However, it seemed to be the “normal” cold that I always get: a few days with a sore throat, then a runny nose, then a phlegmy windpipe, and in (hopefully) less than two weeks, it is usually gone. But with San Dimas just 10 days away, my coach and I had to make a decision: is it worth it to train through this illness, or should I take some time off, San Dimas being a wash?
My dad/coach always told me: If it’s above your neck, you can train through it, lightly.
Translation: if it’s just a head cold (sore throat, runny nose, hacky cough), it’s okay to keep riding. When you mustn’t do any intensity, and keep the volume low too. Whatever your normal training load is, slash it in half. Then slash it in half again. Keep it in Zone 1 to Zone 2, and that’s the maximum amount that you should be training.
High-intensity training and big-volume rides place a large amount of physiological stress on the body. It’s why you see professional cyclists – especially in the midst of a Grand Tour or altitude camp – always rubbing their hands together with a healthy amount of hand sanitizer. It’s why they have hand sanitizer on the team buses, at the team’s dinner table, and scattered throughout their hotel rooms at each and every race.
Despite their outrageous levels of cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and overall fitness, in the midst of a massive training or racing block, their immune systems are suppressed to an all-time low. Their bodies are working so hard every day – processing thousands of calories while expending even more, and pushing hundreds of Watts for five, six, seven hours – that their immune system can’t keep up. They are as prone to sickness as a 3 year-old at their friend’s birthday party.
It’s inevitable – you will get sick. But it’s how you deal with it that will determine the course of the rest of your season. Deal with it well, and you could be back racing, and winning, in just a couple of weeks. Deal with it poorly, however, and your whole season could be ruined.
When dealing with sickness below the neck, or anything more serious, you must take time off the bike. If the illness is in your lungs and affecting your breathing, if it’s a stomach bug that leaves you bed-ridden, do not get back on your bike until the symptoms have 99% cleared. Training through serious illness is a recipe for disaster – you will slow down the healing process, do more harm to your body than good, and possibly make worse an illness that could have been eradicated with just a few days off the bike.
After taking the Monday after Redlands completely off the bike, I went for a spin on Tuesday. Despite my sore throat and runny nose, my legs felt good and my breathing just fine. I pushed it just a little bit up a climb, and actually felt good. My coach and I decided that I could keep training through San Dimas.
Another important note: after San Dimas, I am not racing until Gila in May. That’s 4 full weeks. With an extended break just around the corner, I know that rest – and thusly – good health, is only a few days away.