Frequent sickness with light training - is this common?

I think it's pretty common for endurance athletes to have issues with colds/flu etc. Hard training (whatever your body thinks is hard training) can temporarily suppress the immune system and make one more vulnerable to whatever bug is going around. In my case I tend to remain healthy all through really hard training blocks, then get sick just when I start to taper for a race! After at one point being sick for three races in a row, I came pretty close to giving up on either taper, racing, training, or all three! Some ideas based on my experience.....

1. Carefully evaluate if your training is progressing at a reasonable rate or if maybe you are building volume/intensity too quickly for your body to handle. This can be hard to judge, as not everyone responds the same way to a training overload. Soreness, fatigue, and elevated morning heart rate are typical but then you have people like me who rarely if ever show those signs before just getting sick. This is one case where input from a coach MIGHT be helpful. If you don't want to go that route, then think carefully about how to incorporate recovery days/weeks even if you don't think you need them, and how to modify plans if you're feeling off.

2. Look into nutrition, rest, and other aspects of recovery. You mention getting up early AM being difficult, and that you often train when feeling tired. How much sleep are you getting? Eight hours is a good goal to shoot for. Sometimes when I'm in peak HIM training I really need closer to 9. I don't think most adults get that much sleep! While most people probably take a little time to get going early AM, feeling unusually sluggish and struggling to get out of bed can also be a sign of overtraining or impending illness. I know...it's hard to distinguish that "Ugh....4:30 already and gotta get in another trainer ride" from true fatigue/overtraining. I usually see how I am feeling 10-15 minutes into the workout. If better, then it's just laziness. If worse, then maybe true fatigue.

Nutrition can also affect your immune system. I found that I got sick a lot less often when I made sure my diet included enough healthy fats and protein. That can be particularly challenging if you are vegetarian, vegan, and/or watching your weight. And of course plenty of fruits and veggies. My diet can be less than ideal here (whole grains aren't always available) so I take a daily multivitamin to make sure I'm getting enough micronutrients. When I was younger I paid a lot less attention to what I ate and I seemed to specialise in getting sick--at least 6-8 colds/flu per year. Really keeping on top of rest and nutrition has cut that to about 2-3.

3. One other possibility--if your issues seem to be seasonal, could your illnesses be compounded by allergies/asthma? I also have this issue (with spring/dry season in SE Asia) and I think the increased irritation from allergies can make one more vulnerable to infections, or at least make a minor bug feel a lot worse. Not sure what to do about it other than be extra careful with training, nutrition, and rest at that time. If congestion or other allergy issues are affecting your sleep quality, then getting some symptom relief should also help you stay healthier.

Hope some of this is useful.

Thanks for a full reply. All of this is helpful.

I've actually *avoided* coaches for this reason - I had a semi-professional coach who had a light load offer a free training schedule a few months ago, and despite knowing I was coming off illness he put on more distance and speed than I would normally handle. Similarly, there's a local tri swim group, but they train at a pace that isn't good for me. I'm interested in slower gains which I can sustain, rather than pushing to exhaustion and then burning out with sickness again.

I can almost always eat more greens and fruit. Despite being a vegetarian, it's easy to let this slip in an otherwise balanced and nutritious diet (lots of beans, nuts, grains, and healthy fats). Drinking more water is probably also a big thing, and when it's cold your body regulates thirst to maintain ion and energy balance.

Sleep is definitely the big one though, and I'm not sure how to balance life against triathlon - 5:30 starts require getting to bed at about 9:30pm, and that's hard to maintain. A consistent sleep schedule is actually harder than anything else in training. Out of all the advice you've given, I think this is the most modifiable and possibly the most important.

The seasonal thing is true. I also know that my general physical health is usually better when I live somewhere tropical, like Timor-Leste. At the moment it's cold out (0-10C) in the mornings and my airways get a bit congested, which makes training hard. I'm not sure what to do with that, other than to not train in winter. Inhalers don't seem to make that much difference. Evenings are reserved for being a normal person and doing the other things in life that make it worth living!

Edited by georgedarroch 2015-08-09 1:16 AM

Sorry for your frustration, but this does sound surprising to me.

First off, it's neat reading about a vegetarian triathlete. I don't get how you all do it, but I admire your discipline and intentions. I could never fathom taking meat out of my diet but I try to be conscientious by limiting red.

I can't share any supporting facts, but can share what I experience, though I'm sure a lot of factors are involved such as age and environment.

I notice my body struggles in the mornings. I often feel lazy, like I have lead in my feet, especially before breakfast.
I try to give myself at least an hour after breakfast before getting to it, but I understand this is difficult with many people's schedules.
I do most of my work from home so have a great deal of flexibility yet somehow my sleep still suffers due to deadlines.

As far as sickness, I can only relate while doing weight lifting only. If I slack off on my runs while focusing more on weights I find myself in the public gyms where my chances of exposure is greater, and I find sickness setting me back. On the contrary to your condition, using 7-15 miles a week of running, I find my immune system to be stronger. I imagine a healthy amount at healthy intensities does the same for most people.

I know my mom always told me to take a coat or I'd catch a pneumonia, but I'm not sure what scientific evidence there is to support that, but I do wonder if your long exposure to the elements and cold increase your risk. I find during long camping trips or cross country rides in the cold, I tend to catch one. Might want to increase your vitamin C, improve sleep, and dress smart. Hope you figure something out because that sounds very frustrating. Good luck.

While I'm at it, I also wonder the accuracy of the other warming my mother used to give me, to wait 30 minutes before swimming or I would cramp?