Contamination

In Australia we are well and truly in that time of year, that sniffly, coughy, phlegmy time of year. It is nearly winter and we are getting all the goodness that goes with it.

Colds and sniffles would have to be one of the biggest enemies an athlete has. Nothing short of an injury can derail a race plan quicker than a poorly timed cold. I think nothing is more frustrating to an athlete than getting sick and knowing there is not much they can do about it other than skip training and rest up. So very annoying.

Frustratingly too, athletes tend to be one of those groups that are just that little bit more susceptible to getting ill. Often athletes tend to think of themselves as being a bit indestructible, rather invulnerable. However, ironically, an athlete's high level of training and fitness is what actually makes them more vulnerable. All that fatigue that comes from the training means that an athlete's immune system is a bit weaker than normal, meaning that coughs and colds often come our way a bit more easily. More annoying.

In my opinion when it comes to coughs and colds prevention is by far the best remedy and one that I found to be most effective.

Now I am not going to go into supplements and flu shots, they tend to be an area where people get pretty subjective. I will say that I used to use both dietary supplements and flu shots because my approach was that I would do everything I could and take every option open to me in order to reduce my chances of getting sick. Were these options effective? I don't know, but I used to use them nonetheless.

To be fair supplements aren't really necessary if you diet is good. If you are getting all the nutrients you need to remain healthy, then supplements are just extra on top. I would say that a healthy diet is one of the keys to remain well. If your diet is lacking then supplements might not be a bad idea, but my suggestion would be to look at your diet first as there are probably some additional benefits that could be gained there. Easy win.

The second illness prevention measure I would say is sufficient sleep. As you know I am a big fan of sleep and its benefits to recovery and staying well is yet another place where it plays a big part. If you aren't sleeping well you aren't recovering as well. If you aren't recovering well, then you are more run down and more likely to get sick. Sufficient sleep is another easy preventative measure to take.

The other really big preventative measure, and one that many athletes are particularly obsessive over is personal hygiene. It may sound a bit pedantic, but simple measures such as regularly washing your hands, using hand cleanser, not eating left overs from sick children etc can make a big difference. Usually people get sick from those around you, if you can avoid having their sicky germs spread to you then you can avoid getting sick. The best illustration I have seen of this was experiment done by Mythbusters.

Contamination

They actually did a second one when Adam was conscious of his germs and deliberately didn't try to spread them and the difference was significant. It really is an effective strategy to staying well.

The ultimate iteration of the above is simply staying away from sick people. That may sound anti-social, but if you are a couple of weeks out from your big A race that you have been training 8 months for it is sometimes the best option. Sometimes elimination of the threat is the best strategy.

So there you go, this may be the time of year, and chances are you will get sick eventually, but with a bit of care and precaution you can minimise that illness downtime as much as possible.