Being Crook

So, a topic I have written about several times before, but one that has recently come up and so I thought I might address it again. The topic is this:

Being sick.

One of my athletes got sick today (well last night actually) and so the usual questions have arisen about what to do, how to train etc. This athlete is actually very good, mature and balanced, and so there has been none of the panic that you often get with triathletes, instead they are annoyed, but happy to get on with the process of recovering. Kudos to them.

The approach this athlete has taken is exactly the right one, and the response that we encourage all our athletes to have.

Getting sick is going to happen, sooner or later a cold or some other illness is going to strike. Yes you can (and should) practise good hygiene etc to minimise getting ill, but eventually you will feel rotten.

When you do get sick there isn't a lot you can do. Sure you can be frustrated and sure you can be annoyed, but you might as well get over that pretty quick, because none of those reactions will help you get better sooner. Rather you are better off focusing your energy on recovery, resting up, staying hydrated, eating well etc, all the usual things you do to get over a cold. If you are more seriously ill you need to be seeing your Doctor and doing what they tell you. In short you need to stop dwelling on what has happened and instead refocus on what is ahead of you. Put your energy into recovering as quickly as possible so that you can get back to the training that you want to be doing.

Should you train, should you not?

Well that is always the million dollar question. I am certainly no Doctor, but by all accounts you are usually okay to train with your standard head cold type deal. Chest colds, fevers and that sort of nasty stuff you need to be resting (and perhaps considering a visit to the Doctor). My usual reaction once I was properly, definitely sick was to just rest. I don't think this was due to any sort of aversion to discomfort, but rather my attempt to get well as quickly as possible and to prolonging an illness. I always hated trying to train for weeks with an annoying, lingering illness and so my preference was to rest up early and rest up hard and try to get over the cold as soon as I could. Not sure how effective an approach it was, but it seemed to go okay for me.

Once you are resting there is nothing to be done but relax and wait for nature to run its course. Sometimes it doesn't seem it, but you will always get better eventually, and then it will be time to focus on your goals and get back to your training and racing.