Hi I tested positive a few days ago and though improving am still quite tired.
I'm wondering what are other's experience of running after Covid? Did it have much of an impact afterwards and for how long?.
S
Had a very mild dose of covid in early March, double vax and boosted. Running was a real struggle after having it, even though I was fine in every day life.
Heart rate high, chest very sore and legs feeling fatigued (runs were 1 min/km or more slower per km v pre covid runs). It's only in the past few weeks that I have started feeling back to myself when running.
Doc sent me for several tests just to be sure it wasn't anything other than covid recovery, all tests were clear.
Its taken me almost two months to feel fine when running and back to normal.
Heart rate can be still a little on the high side but sore chest seems to have gone and fatigued subsided.
7-8 weeks out from covid, out of curiosity I headed to parkrun on Sat with the intention of giving it a good go. Ran 80 seconds slower than the last time i gave it a good hard effort for the same HR metrics. Found it a bit demoralising as i just couldn't hold a decent pace at all. I haven't been doing much in the way of sessions bar a few strides so hoping it'll come back with a few weeks of proper training, in fairness HR is slowly coming good on easy runs now. Garmin still has me down 3 VO2 max pts overall, I dropped 4 altogether and have gained 1 back, slow and steady 🤞
Ah crap, 3 weeks away from Cork and these are my exact runs at the moment. 2 'runs' in the last 10 days a 6K that felt like 20, and an 8K today, where I died a death, couldn't keep in HR2. Lungs are the main issue, feels like I'm not getting a full breath and it's like I'm running through sand.
Can't see myself running a marathon in 3 weeks 😥
Another quick update....generally feeling much much better and even starting to sleep better as well.
Haven't felt the need to use inhalers in a couple of weeks which is good, and while I still feel like I'm plodding a bit rather than running free like a wild gazelle, things are definitely trending upwards.
Still on the fence about the DCM....the thoughts of marathon training atm doesn't appeal at all but I'll hold off on making a decision for another bit.
Good luck to all 👍
Also similar experience - mild to moderate symptoms after Easter, no chest issues. Resting HR now +10 bpm. Running very easy but struggling to stay in Z2 (120-140) in third week back, will keep it there until pace improves at that range. Breathing fine and legs good - have to hold them back. Also sleeping more and drinking liters of water. Trying to stay patient as I was just hitting form again after injury-ridden past couple of years. Good to know there's others in same situation.
My experience so far is pretty similar to others - HR has been high on the easy runs I've been doing since covid. I only had (very mild) symptoms for a few days but continued to test positive for about 12 days. Restarted easy running in week 3, but using the HR monitor and keeping it at 65-70% HRR max (zone 2). Slow and sluggish still in week 4 but getting there. I'll be trying something a bit steadier next week. I'm still sleeping more and better than usual which suggests to me that my body is still working it off.
My experience is similar to a lot of people here which if anything is a small bit comforting. I got Covid back in mid March and only in the last week or two have I felt back to normal and my race results suggest I'm back where I was in terms of fitness and performance. I took 6 days off fully and even though I was over the worst after 2-3 days, I wanted my body to really get a good rest before I ran again. Overall it was about 4-5 weeks of post-disease impact which is not the worst but those few weeks are not pleasant when easy runs feel so sluggish and you question if you'll ever feel 'normal' again. I pretty much pushed through it, maybe not the smartest but I just wanted to keep showing up and putting in the effort. Eventually I came through the other side as most people seem to.
So despite all my doom mongering I actually managed to run a course PB (< 39:30) on Sunday 🤯
There was zero indication of this in my training....my longest long run was a poor quality 12K and speed work was pretty much non-existent or ended in a wheezy mess.
Still not sure how I pulled it off tbh...got a bit tired after halfway but nothing out of the ordinary. I was waiting for the inevitable blowout but it never really came...no shortness of breath and no issues since the race.
Maybe I was subconsciously minding myself or being over cautious in training (??)
Or maybe being in a race scenario with large number of runners, crowds etc helped me (??)
Hard to know either way I guess and I'm not going to spend too much time analyzing it....but it's certainly given me some hope and encouragement
To be honest it’s a fantastic way to train anyways even if not recovering from Covid.
I improved my running and PBs dramatically by taking up cycling and adding it into my weekly training.
Saves the legs from constantly pounding them with running keeping them fresh and still builds that aerobic engine. I do quality over quantity now with my running and use the cycling for recovery and building that aerobic engine. I’ve never felt or ran better.
I wouldn’t train any other way now.
Folks, If the pressure is coming on the lungs (short breath) (and you're going to run anyway) then go easier and longer. Don't stress your lungs. So easy or one gear above (steady). Focus on using the period to get the little things incorporated into your training, so by the time you'll back firing on full cyclinders all those little 1%s are habit.
If you have persistent fatigue then that could be heart. I don't imagine putting it under serious pressure would be good at all.
Focus on getting healthy, very very mild exercise if at all.
Could you try diversifying out to include non weight bearing aerobic activities which you can make less intense (cycling?).
Many very fast runners/duathletes/triaths mix cycling and running etc with little ill effects to racing paces.
Taking the positive slant cross training is something you may need to do when youre a few years older anyway.
You can also 'test' your condition more by going very easy and LONG so pressure comes on legs not lungs. If this is not an issue for you then you'll (probably) know the issue may be lung function and you can use your training (and cross training) to work around that until you are fully recovered.
Caveat: I am no expert.
Still no real change for me really.
Training away ok-ish - doing the 6 Mile Run in Limerick on Sunday so tried to pop in a couple of speed sessions this week to remind myself what running fast feels like.
Ordinarily my target race pace would be < 4:00 per km but won't be anywhere near that for the weekend.
In the past my faster training runs would be fairly comfortable at < 4:15 pace; my regular pace at ~4:30 - 4:45 with slow runs at 4:50 - 5:00 per km pace.
Now, everything has shifted to the right....4:15 pace is off the table and 4:30 is now my "fast pace" and even holding that for 8K was a real battle earlier on.
So the 6 miler on Sunday won't be pretty time wise...a pre-Covid target would have been at least < 39 mins but I'll be deffo nearer 43 mins and even a sub 45 could be a more realistic goal tbh.
Not getting any pains, wheeze etc but to continue my car driving analogy, it still feels like I'm on the motorway and can't go beyond 3rd gear.
My sleep is still a bit hit and miss but generally feeling grand. Hoping my running mojo returns at some stage...willing to be patient and not going to push to hard
If your case is similar to what I experienced you can expect another month or so of high HR and your runs not feeling all the great and energetic. The good news, for me at least, is that eventually the HR will go down again and the energy will return.
As far as I know there's nothing you can do to speed up that process, so just be patient.
Your current situation sounds quite like a couple of people In my club who are still struggling with running quite a while after having covid.
If every easy run leaves you genuinely feeling like you ran a session, have you considered NOT running every day?
I’m getting over a mild case myself and have not run in 12 days but I plan to be very cautious about the return.
I have a pain i my hole waiting to get back to some sort of normality.
5 weeks now since i went down. 5 days in bed, back running after 10 days. could only jog for a few days, improved a bit, done a bit of faster stuff, got through it but was way off what i should be doing.
since last week resting heart rate is still about 5 beats too high, running about 8k a day, v slow, and feel like i have done a hard session every day.
I have no symtoms other than being tired and an elevated heart rate.
I will be 5 weeks post first + test tomorrow. My HR (resting & running) has finally returned to normal. I still have some fatigue (heavy legs) but that could also be due to a drop in fitness as it's closer to 6 weeks since I was running consistently due to having symptoms for 2-3 days before testing positive. I'm not in a rush back to full volume/intensity but it's a relief and a comfort to see the beginnings of a return to normal. The time 'off' has given me a chance to reassess some things so in hindsight not a bad thing at all.
If the symptoms were very mild and mostly above throat then it's Omicron. Omicron and Delta are effectively different diseases with Delta more likely to spread to lungs. Delta and the current variant (a hybrid of both) infect the lungs more.
The question 'should i run after covid' or 'when can I start running after Covid' are this variant dependent.
Also note that 1.2 million people had long covid in UK on Jan 2nd 2022 (had symptoms after 4 weeks).
Those were broken down into two groups: those who had severe covid tended to have breathlessness and an ongoing cough and another group with general symtoms particularly tiredness/fatigue and can include heart palpatations, increased heartrate, effects to gut and brain, brain fog.
It is not known whether putting pressure on a body not recovered from Covid adds to the symptoms and potential disability.
That is why I would like to see this tread supported by research. It's important.
I'll try and add something later.
Again, best and safest to base strategy greatly on the cautious side.
If you have any symptoms, do not run. If you run after Covid, run completely within yourself until you are sure there are no persistent issues.
I don't know which variant I had. It was at Christmas, so could've been Beta or Omicron.
Did ye have the same variant?
This is almost exactly the same as my experience of sickness length, recovery time, heart rate elevation etc.
This all depends on if the particular variant of disease hurt lungs of the individual or not, or if long covid (PACS) symptoms present.
You need to research this folks.
I am not an expert but would advise doing exercise (eg walking or extremely slow jogging if that's possible) where you are NOT getting out of breath and stopping before that happens.
Build from there very gradually. That is safest way. You don't want to mess around with this disease.
I had it in December sore throat and cough, I started back after the isolation ended ,HR was a little higher than normal for it but all good since then.
Just run. Ni speed or tempo sessions, till feel good.
Running is a big part of my life and I have been lucky to avoid covid so far (as far as I know). As an over 50 boosted in December it is a pity I can't buy an extra booster. The vaccines are plentiful now and paying for them for those who want it should be allowed. It used to be the way with the flu vaccine.
Even willing to pay twice the price so that someone else who cannot afford it gets it.
I really do not fancy the risk of being floored for a week and unable to run properly for months. Quality of life matters.
At the same time, Covid is probably the most researched disease in history, so luckily we have far more to extrapolate from than just our own individual experiences and opinions.
Like with everything else, there are all kinds of factors involved; you are more likely to get Covid when you are stressed from
life and your immune system is down. For example, my mother and sister had it and my dad didn't get it.
There is so much at play.
Also cycling is easier no matter what, you lose your fitness faster with running and it takes longer to gain your fitness back.
Running after Covid?
I heard of people trying to catch it early on, but that is ridiculous
I track HRV daily (first thing in the morning) using a finger sensor and the Elite HRV app. I find it pretty reliable, the morning after a hard session my HRV goes down and my RHR goes up giving me a lower readiness score, I have also seen negative changes after vaccines and if I've had a few beers, followed by a poor nights sleep. Ultimately I will go by feel, but if I feel a little extra fatigued and the data is backing that up I will adjust my training or bring forward a recovery day.
this is hard to say i have seen athletes where those metrics like hrv hr etc where fairly good yet athletes still felt flat.
at the same time when they are off i guess that is much more often then not a good indicator but also not always . but its a solid 2nd opinion but feeling still rules, and this is the danger with those metrics some people forget about how they feel ...
one thing that is almost sure running feel the worst the longest while cycling feels almost always not as bad and comes back quicker
Prior to covid I was in a good place fitness wise, could head out with the little lad in the buggy and easily do a 1hr 40 marathon distance and training for a big race in May.
But got Covid in mid January and while I had it I felt fairly fine, towards it clearing I started to feel really, really tired and that tiredness really stayed around for about 3 weeks afterwards. I could get up and feel fine but I'd do a 2mile leisurely walk with the dogs and I'd get home and be exhausted and fit for nothing.
Running wise wasn't great even into late Feb/March, 3mile run could feel like doing a hard 15miles. Even now between loss of fitness runs just aren't as plesant as before though I do have a few now and then that I'm starting to enjoy again which is something. That race in May has no chance of happening.
My resting HR would normally have been about 43, during covid it actually went down to 39
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