covid and cycling

Morrisp · 26-03-2022 2:23pm #1

So have covid last few days and headaches are more less gone very tired ect .

just wondering if anyone had same recently and how soon you got back on the bike.

not looking for medical advice . just how you have got over it yourself.

fat bloke · 26-03-2022 3:30pm

Right. So I had covid last week. Isolated Saturday to Saturday. I was really beaten into submission by it. Bed and couch and no more for about 5 days. Very grabby cough which lingered, and still hasn't completely gone and very tired and fatigued.

So, back to work on Monday I decided I'd fight the fatigue and get back training so I did gym Monday, an hour up the hills Tuesday, gym Wednesday. Nothing banzai and I had to really motivate myself to get out. But once I did I felt good and really felt the better of it afterwards. Thursday then it was such a nice day I did 45k over the Sally gap and again once I got out I felt good. Gym again Friday and today I went back out with my training pals and we did 130k and a load of hills and I felt super! Fucked tired at the end of it but really chuffed with myself. I didn't really know how I would fare, endurance wise.

I wouldn't at all like to minimise anyone else's post covid fatigue levels but for me getting out and active again was exactly what I needed for my head and body.

EAD · 26-03-2022 4:14pm

Sick enough at Christmas that I didn't want to go anywhere for the 10 days; not dying but not nice.

Took me about 6 weeks to not feel 'empty' on the bike. Was getting out 3-4 times a week but couldn't do anything at pace.

Weepsie · 26-03-2022 4:36pm

Today is my last day of isolation. I've not been too bad. 2-3 days of sore throat and bad headaches but easily tired all week and feel like my asthma which rarely bothers me is always lurking if I do anything remotely strenuous

secman · 26-03-2022 7:21pm

Not me, but a cycling mate was smothering with what he thought was man flu, he tested negative Mon to Wed, I spoke to him on Wed, he sounded very rough. He tested again in Thursday... Positive . I see he did a solo spin on Fri 45km. He did a 100km solo this morning at 28kph. I was amazed as he was in bits on Wed...

saccades · 26-03-2022 7:28pm

It's different for everyone, I used zwift to build up with the handy fall back of being in the garden shed if I felt rough.

Gavlor · 26-03-2022 8:16pm

Tested Positive during the week and had the usual crap sleep and subsequent lack of energy for a couple of days. Did 40k today as the weather was so good and deliberately kept the hr avg very low staying well clear of the red. Still touched 30ph avg for the spin and felt great.

BUT….. I’ve had a dose of the trots since I got off the bike!!! Not pleasant

davegilly · 26-03-2022 8:49pm

I have Covid now, isolation finishes Monday and I'm supposed to be doing Quest Glendalough next Saturday. Was thinking of pulling out but reading above gives me some hope I'll be able to finish it, maybe not at max effort though which is disappointing after three months training for it.

Gavlor · 26-03-2022 8:53pm

@davegilly I’d be worried about the longterm impact of going too hard too soon. Bring some Imodium!!

jethrothe2nd · 26-03-2022 9:41pm

I had it week before last. Because of work and other commitments, although my spins are frequent they are generally short at the moment - max 50km, more usually between 25km and 35km. First few spins after covid I felt really sluggish. Legs didn't really want to get going, and I was a good 3 or 4kmh slower than I normally would be. Last couple of spins I was back to my normal speeds though.

Seth Brundle · 27-03-2022 11:53am

One person I know has had long covid going on almost two years and their performance has been massively affected.

A club mate recently struggled keeping up with a group and towards the end of the spin we had to stop every km or so until they went home instead of the coffee stop. They seem to be fine now.

Everyone seems to have different reactions to the virus and there is no knowing how you might end up. There are indications that follow on infections, not just covid, can knock you back soon after you overcome covid.

magicbastarder · 27-03-2022 2:36pm

a colleague had breathing difficulties from april 2020 (though had never tested for covid IIRC) and when he got the moderna booster before christmas (he'd originally had two pfizer jabs), he was saying his symptoms dropped by well over half in the space of 48 hours.

cletus · 27-03-2022 4:21pm

It's a really bizarre disease. I had it at the end of January. I've had worse head colds, and if my two boys weren't already positive, I probably wouldn't even have taken a test. It literally felt like nothing. I've had two Pfizer jabs, but no booster

CramCycle · 27-03-2022 10:51pm

Got it today (well most likely last week on the train), shortness of breath is the main symptom so far, very odd sensation where every few minutes I have to consciously take a really deep breath. Its like my body isn't reacting to the shortness of breath automatically and I have to force it myself. I tested this morning and was negative. Felt a bit off but the clocks, young people and life, just thought it was a normal not the best on a Sunday morning. Went out for a walk with my partner and just started to struggle a bit. Offered an inhaler (never had one before) and refused, then 5 minutes later I caved as I felt like I was in a CO2 chamber. Not struggling to breath but definitely not getting enough oxygen in. Inhaler was like a wonder drug, perked me up, got home, done another test and a faint line has appeared so obviously just starting to spread. Hopefully this is as bad as it gets

cunavalos · 28-03-2022 12:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118844641#Comment_118844641

TUE sorted for the rest of the season 😉

(Joking aside hope you make a full recovery)

MojoMaker · 28-03-2022 2:05am

Can anyone receive a positive benefit from an inhaler? Always thought it had to be prescribed for you, so interested to hear this as someone with no experience of.

CramCycle · 28-03-2022 8:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118845031#Comment_118845031

You need a therapeutic usage exemption, basically, you have to need one regardless of whether you were in sports or not. So you are right, it needs a prescription. On the other part of your question, I would presume mileage would vary but most people would get some mild benefit in the right sports from it but it would be a terrible idea to take one all of the time. Long story short, if you see me taking one before a race (or during and I have seen this in A4), it is cheating/doping. If your mate who is asthmatic takes it, then it is not.

ARX · 28-03-2022 9:47am

I'm thinking of joining a club but am wary of catching covid (I'm the sole carer for an elderly relative with health issues so I have to be careful). Does anyone know of cases of infection in group cycling?

Seth Brundle · 28-03-2022 9:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118845589#Comment_118845589

I'm not aware of any transmission from a group cycling but I'd say that the spin itself would be unlikely to facilitate transmission as you'd be moving and despite how it may appear, you're still a reasonable distance from the riders around you. However, the level of risk would massively increase at the likes of the coffee stop.

magicbastarder · 28-03-2022 10:04am

i'd say it'd be very hard to prove any, if it did happen, and it's such a niche way of getting it that i'd say there'd be no data on it regardless.

could you be contagious without having lost form? i.e. would you be suspiciously eyeing the rider who seems to be performing below their usual par?

Macy0161 · 28-03-2022 10:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118845317#Comment_118845317

You no longer need a TUE for salbutamol, at least for inhalers*. They only work at those doses if there's an issue (i.e. if you airways are tight), so there's no point if you haven't symptoms. But it is prescription only. I'm an immunity clusterf*ck (on antihistamines all year for various allergies), so I have it for when the pollen count is high which sparks exercise induced asthma.

*it can also be used in nebulizers, and I think tablets and injections. In those cases, you would need a TUE as the effective dose is higher. Hence Froome getting popped based on dosage rather than substance.

CramCycle · 28-03-2022 11:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118845589#Comment_118845589

My view would be to avoid the coffee stop (which makes you cold and slow anyway) and you should be grand. There is very little indicating that transmission occurs in well ventilated, not crowded places and a spin with a few people ticks both those boxes. Nothing is impossible but as activities go, my educated opinion is it is about as safe an activity as you can do. On a related note, we did have cases in the club, but no follow on infections. So people who were positive, went out for a spin (not knowing at the time), tested positive within a day or so but none of those on the spin reported getting it in the following few weeks. An anecdotal account and I imagine you won't get much more than that.

JMcL · 28-03-2022 11:01am

Recovery seems very variable from person to person. I've never tested positive, but am 99% sure I had it at the start of February as my wife and eldest daughter both had it then and I had the same symptoms (really heavy head cold), bar a cough, plus our youngest had it last week and I spent the week minding him, with no effect.

As to recovery, I had a few spins in mid-late February which would usually be handy enough, but one in particular wiped my out for about 2 days afterwards. I'm finally getting back to being on-track again now, and have been feeling energised over the past week, though for several reasons I've taken to doing the bulk of my workouts on Trainerroad, which as @saccades said means at least all you have to do is stagger off the bike.

In the case of my brother in law who's an extremely fit runner in his early 40s, he's been wiped out since having it in early Feb as well. He tried a 5km run at the start of this month and ended up awake half the night. Even St Patricks weekend, he was down with us an went out on a walk with the kids (5km give or take), and had to lie down for an hour after coming back.

On the other hand, a colleague had it week before last and appears to be back at full capacity now

So OP I think the best advice is to listen to your own body, and ease yourself back in gently, don't overcommit

loyatemu · 28-03-2022 11:40am

got it the weekend before last from one of the kids - was flattened for about 4 days then gradually better, but the cough and head-cold symptoms have only cleared up in the last couple of days. Hoping to get out with the club this week but between the 'rona and the sh!te weather at the start of the month, I've barely been on the bike in March so expecting to struggle a bit.

fat bloke · 28-03-2022 1:25pm

My wife is convinced she got it at a club spin before Christmas.

Large bottle small glass · 28-03-2022 1:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118846634#Comment_118846634

I tried to figure out where I got it.

When I went researching I learnt that symptoms with Omnicron can present anywhere from 0 to 10 days from infection.

Not the kind of window which would allow for certainty.

I was at a party the day before I tested positive. Was in close contact in a poorly ventilated house and none of the 10 other attendees at party got it off me there.

There is no figuring out where you got it for most people

Macy0161 · 28-03-2022 2:55pm

Brother in law is just coming out of isolation - none of his immediate family have it (regular tests), the day before he was in a 2 hour car journey with someone who remain negative, and we were all at wider family occasion the 2 days before he tested positive. He has zero symptoms, so only he did a test before going to the office for a day, we would be none the wiser.

tbh, a few people I know have medium term (apparent) side affects, so I'm still reasonably cautious, but at the same time I have to just go on the public health advice. Hard to know if more active people are just more aware of their body - I don't know too many people not training who track their resting heart rate for example. Plus RPE can be a mind trick too, if you're worried about longer term affects.

CramCycle · 11-04-2022 2:40pm

100%, I still have symptoms but they are getting milder every day but the RPE is variable to say the least, sometimes I get out of breath going up the stairs, other times I am holding the wheels of fit young racers with nary a bother.

koutoubia · 11-04-2022 3:56pm

Picked it up over Xmas. A sore throat and a trip to the in laws meant I took an antigen test.The positive line almost jumped out of the test kit it was that strong. No one else in the house caught it strangely enough. Symptons were very light. One day of a runny nose and a bit tired. Is been since I have tested negative that its been a disaster zone.

A few days off the bike as prescribed by Doc and ease back into it.

Heart rate was all the place. Any small effort and it went sky high but came back down easily. Its since come under control but is deffo running a good 10beats higher then before. A club mate had it the same time as me and is getting worried. He isnt getting his under control and any hint of an effort and his HR is going over 180.

A few weeks after it and any decent effort was near blackout events. Strange thing is one day I would feel on the floor and the next day I was flying. I then picked a very nasty chest infection*.I am not a big fan of horsing antibioctics into me in a whim so let my body try to fight it for 10 days. Eventually had to give in and got some antibiotics and steriods. Took a good 10 days before it started to clear and then re-appeared for a brief while.

Getting out on the bike was a sombre affair. On one spin I kept getting dropped on the flat with a tailwind. Nearly packed the whole thing in that day.My breathing became so bad that I moved into the spare bedroom for week.

Eventually started to come out of it and early last week picked up something else. Just a mess. Had a medium intensity spin on Sat and felt ok. A few paceline sessions yesterday and am struggling to stay awake today.

*That chest infection seems to a very common thing for a lot of people within a certain time frame of recovery.

TL;DR

Covid over Xmas. Havent been in good health since.

ARX · 11-04-2022 4:43pm

Thanks for posting that. I'm still in two minds about joining a club. What you've described is putting me off - maybe I'll wait till next year.

koutoubia · 11-04-2022 4:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118912022#Comment_118912022

I reckon I picked up the plague from a push button coffee machine after a spin the day before. Not from a club member.

(serves me right for drinking coffee from a push button machine)

Mr. Cats · 11-04-2022 5:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118912087#Comment_118912087

Did the machine have a bad cough?

(sorry!)

Weepsie · 11-04-2022 6:32pm

Yeah I only had it just under 4 weeks ago, and I'm back and forth. I feel nearly fine, but sometimes I just get randomly tired doing very little.

Think leisurely cycling is the only thing for the foreseeable, not that I technically do anything but, but I tend to be out on my own sometimes burying myself

magicbastarder · 24-04-2022 12:27pm

am on day four since symptoms started to appear (weds evening); caught it off my parents in law, so i'll be milking that one. last night was the first time it got any worse than light head cold, going into bad head cold territory, but am feeling a little more human now. but i'm well aware this can be a rollercoaster.

Roberto_gas · 25-04-2022 4:38pm

Got it last month and initial rides were very tough (you can see the heartrate and effort on rides that were easy before covid)....Almost back to normal now but still taking it easy not going on over 1000 meter climbs yet ! Hopefully soon.

lissard · 25-04-2022 6:22pm

I can echo the heartrate comments. I caught Covid just over a month ago and the symptoms were mild for the week I spent in isolation. The nasty surprise came when I got back on my bike - my standard group spin was suddenly a big challenge, especially when we started climbing. I was red-lining on what were previously straightforward efforts. Just looking at my heartrate data I can see that I wasn't imagining it, for the first 3 weeks post covid 50% of my 4 hour group spins was spent in threshold. One spin had me in threshold for 60% of the time - I was totally f**ked after it. Last Saturday was the first time I started feeling ok. Hopefully that's the back of it but honestly I'm not sure.

Gerry · 25-04-2022 6:26pm

I got covid mid feb. symptoms were very mild, Ive had worse colds since. was testing negative by 4th day, 6th day i decided to go on the turbo easy. felt very normal so i probably didnt go that easy. eased back into normal routine over the next few days.

I then had about two weeks of elevated heart rate, nothing crazy but enough to cause concern. resting seemed 10 beats higher also

i was due a checkup, all was fine by the time I was at the doc. resting he back to where it was. ecg, all perfect so am cracking on now. Obviously I've been very lucky.

Macy0161 · 26-04-2022 9:07am

Well my brother had it, also cycles. He had very mild symptoms, was only testing because his partner had it. However, 4 weeks on he his still having the heartrate spikes, especially while climbing. Admittedly he lives somewhere much flatter than Wicklow, but still had it way higher than it should've been up Glenmacnass (so not really a steep one), and spiked enough he stopped a couple of times up luggula. He was fit going in - he generally gets out both days a weekend for 100+ plus a couple of weekday spin.

secman · 26-04-2022 9:58am

Any infection in the body will cause heart rate spike, I noticed mine spiking for no apparent reason and a full week later I got a sinus infection, a course of antibiotics and it's back down to normal.

Macy0161 · 26-04-2022 10:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118977784#Comment_118977784

Normally resting heart rate though, I thought? In my brother's case, resting heart rate is back to usual - it's any sort of "effort".

G1032 · 26-04-2022 4:29pm

G1032 · 26-04-2022 4:49pm

I tested positive on March 24th. I was just beginning to come right after the Booster in late December (was absolutely floored after that too) and then, bang, floored again.

Didn't get a bad dose of COVID. Sore throat for a day I'd say, but awful fatigue. I could have slept all the hours God gave. A bomb wouldn't wake me. I took 10 full days off the bike and then started training again. 3 weeks done since and almost exclusively with no intensity (bar a 10s sprint away from a sheepdog!!).

HR was absolutely through the roof though, even at low intensity. I've just reset my FTP to 40 watts lower than it was last summer. On Saturday just gone I tried a tempo block session. 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off. For the 30 minute on blocks my power was 45 watts lower than a similar session last July and my HR 5 beats higher. It's insane.

But I think now I'm on the road back. My RHR just dropped about 5-6 beats on Sunday morning when compared to the last 4 weeks. In Sunday I did 3hrs 45 endurance (based off new FTP 🙈) and felt good. Started to get tired after 3hrs but while my HR was high it was just a little high and not alarmingly so. Fingers crossed.

Bambaata · 29-04-2022 10:20pm

I got it just after Xmas, i wasnt too bad, mild temperatures day 1 and 2 and a very slight sore throat then for about 5 or 6 more days. Took it handy on the bike after resting about 3 or 4 more days but then caught a throat infection which was waaaay worse, that went on about 2 weeks and then got a cold (throat, headache, cough). took about 2 months to finally be rid of everything. I was very phlegmy for about 2.5 months after Covid! Be careful with it, i know a load of people who got sick again, and a few times, in the weeks after!! I lost the guys of 10 weeks training to it!

billyhead · 29-04-2022 11:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995497#Comment_118995497

I'm just getting over COVID. I thought it would be a slight head cold. It wasn't for me. It more like a bad dose of the flu. I had to spend a week in bed due to it. I'm still not 100 percent right.

CramCycle · 30-04-2022 9:06am

I eventually gave in and took a full two weeks off (bar the commute which I aimed to keep my effort really low). Grand most of the time but would get bouts of breathlessness and severe burning sensation in my chest, as well as the odd coughing fit that would knock me over.

magicbastarder · 02-05-2022 9:43am

Yesterday was the first day I tested negative but I'm still a little stuffy and phlegmy so will wait another day or so before getting back on the bike.

covid and cycling

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