Running in winter and seasonal ailments: what to do? The advice

The winter period brings among the various difficulties that ofincrease in ailments. Those who practice outdoor sports could therefore be more subject to drops in temperature, although practicing outdoor sports can positively influence the immune system. Another factor to take into account is the quality of the air you breathe in winterespecially in cities, where pollution rates often skyrocket.

Running in winter and seasonal ailments: first of all prevention

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The first point remains prevention. We can do little against the viruses in circulation, but we can certainly prevent conditions that increase the risk of disease. Perhaps the most risky and difficult to control factor for runners is breathe very cold air from your mouth. Introducing frozen air when you are perhaps already exposed to viruses and bacteria can make the situation worse. Avoid very cold times or bring a neck warmer and scarves can be a good precaution. Also predict a change for the immediate end of training so as not to remain with damp clothes on, this is “grandma’s” advice that must be followed scrupulously. Having dry change available isn’t something for everyone, true, but in that case clothing becomes essential. The good quality thermal shirt helps to move themoisture from the skin and keeps the body warmer.

how to behave if you feel weak

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In the event that the illness arrives, a situation to be taken into consideration with all the necessary scruples, the training will obviously have to undergo changes. Keep running if you don’t feel well it’s a situation that sometimes seems feasible to us, but in reality risks being completely senseless. When the body faces some illness, even if mild, it is subjected to additional stress. Anyone owns a GPS watch with the calculation of fitness data you will easily be able to notice how the parameters change on days of fever and cold. HRV drops, stress rises, heart rate always remains a little higher than usual. The body, even in the resting phase, is fighting its own little battle and must be helped in victory. A stressful workoutmaybe a low temperatures it can become the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

What to do in case of flu

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So how to behave in case of influence? First of all, if you have a situation of high temperature training should be suspended until things return to normal. Even in the case of serious respiratory problems, it is better to suspend training. Then in the second half you have to start again with only slow running and, where possible, replace outdoor activity with indoor activitiessuch as treadmills and cycle simulators, in order to avoid air that is too cold or otherwise polluted. The training plan must be forcibly postponed and adequate to the state of form, including the speed of any work.

What if I lose my shape afterwards?

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One of the problems that runners often experience is during recovery, as the body does not respond to stimuli as before. One might say that this is normal, but then when we find ourselves with our teammates doing repetitions we demand a readiness from our body that it does not haveperhaps worrying about poor results. The previous form will return quickly, as long as you don’t expect too much and rely on sensations rather than the speeds that we see appear on the GPS. Starting again exactly where we left off only increases the risk of relapses and takes away the state of form.

integration and recovery

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A good idea in recovery is to take a specific supplement to be evaluated with your doctor to help the body recalibrate and recover, as well as taking care of nutrition and last but not least hydrationwhich is often scarce during illnesses. Also pay attention to possible interactions of the drugs takenwhich could have unpleasant effects on metabolismbut also up muscles and tendons if we don’t give time for complete recovery.