getting sick all the time and training

Quoted message said:

Since I've been having training religiously (2 years) I started having
these colds that take forever to resolve. By "religiously" I just mean
riding hard 200 miles a week, which is not a big deal after all, pros
ride much more than that. When I am not sick I feel greatand not
overtrained, but I get infections from every sneeze around me. What
supplements should I take to stop this? Any comments?

I would guess you are training pretty much the same every day -- sure
way to chronic fatigue and impaired immune system. You will be
healthier and get faster by training harder on some days and much
easier on the others; totlal weekly hours remaining the same.

Best,
Bill Black

Quoted message said:

I would guess you are training pretty much the same every day -- sure
way to chronic fatigue and impaired immune system.

actually, it's been like this:

2 hrs/30 miles Tue
2 hrs/30 miles Th
3 hrs/50 miles Sat (or equivalent crosstraining)
5 hrs/80 miles Sun (or equivalent crosstraining)
I do ride fast (just below the LT and above it on most climes),
especially on the short rides.

Is that proven that athletes have weakened immune systems? I like to
exercise to stay healthy, and to place in a race here and there, but I
would not want to "use" my health to exercise/race. And I certainly did
not expect the above regiment to be "beyond" that line.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would guess you are training pretty much the same every day -- sure
way to chronic fatigue and impaired immune system.

actually, it's been like this:

2 hrs/30 miles Tue
2 hrs/30 miles Th
3 hrs/50 miles Sat (or equivalent crosstraining)
5 hrs/80 miles Sun (or equivalent crosstraining)
I do ride fast (just below the LT and above it on most climes),
especially on the short rides.

Is that proven that athletes have weakened immune systems? I like to
exercise to stay healthy, and to place in a race here and there, but I
would not want to "use" my health to exercise/race. And I certainly did
not expect the above regiment to be "beyond" that line.

A weakened immune system can come from too much work, stress from work /
marriage / lack of quality sleep -- in addition to whatever training you're
doing. Your training load is too weekend-loaded, and it's sheer insanity to
do all your training "just below LT", which you couldn't be doing anyway, or
else you'd have broken down a lot faster. Chances are your training is
largely in the junk zone -- fast enough to produce cumulative muscle damage,
but not fast enough to effectively train LT. At the very least, limit your
effort days to 2/week and no more than x% of training volume (20% sounds
reasonable in this case). Slow down the 80 miler to <70% effort; in other
words make it very easy, that's how you build endurance, not by burning out
your legs trying to ride everything hard.

-Tony

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Since I've been having training religiously (2 years) I started having
these colds that take forever to resolve. By "religiously" I just mean
riding hard 200 miles a week, which is not a big deal after all, pros
ride much more than that. When I am not sick I feel greatand not
overtrained, but I get infections from every sneeze around me. What
supplements should I take to stop this? Any comments?

are you training indoors with a bunch of other people around? that's a sure
fire way to catch something. as soon as i stopped going to the gym, my virus
rate went way down! also-consult your physician.

Quoted message said:

Your training load is too weekend-loaded, and it's sheer insanity to
do all your training "just below LT", which you couldn't be doing anyway, or
else you'd have broken down a lot faster.

my understanding is that LT is defined as the effort in a race that
lasts for 1 hour. So I just kept the effort below it to be able to last
for 2 or 3 or 5 . It certainly felt good mentally. And yes, it did help
to unwind from the stress at work. Passing everyone on the road also
feels good, and I can't deal well with being passed.

OK, If I am convinced I am overdoing it, I am ready to slow down... as
soon as the current 2 week long cold is over. But I am sure there are
people who can handle more, so I am wondeirng how they can do it.

email hidden said:

Quoted message said:

I would guess you are training pretty much the same every day -- sure
way to chronic fatigue and impaired immune system.

actually, it's been like this:

2 hrs/30 miles Tue
2 hrs/30 miles Th
3 hrs/50 miles Sat (or equivalent crosstraining)
5 hrs/80 miles Sun (or equivalent crosstraining)
I do ride fast (just below the LT and above it on most climes),
especially on the short rides.

Is that proven that athletes have weakened immune systems? I like to
exercise to stay healthy, and to place in a race here and there, but I
would not want to "use" my health to exercise/race. And I certainly did
not expect the above regiment to be "beyond" that line.

Curious. Do you find that being 'ill' has much of an effect over your
training? Logically, if you're sick a lot of the time and these are your
mileages, it seems like it's having little or no effect. Obviously you're
better when feeling better, but riding 50-80 miles would be beyond most
people when truly sick wouldn't you say?

(I assume that fever is -not- part of this illness? Many can train through
a cold but not through a fever.)

Maybe you're just having an allergic response to some common allegen. That
can seem like a cold sometimes.

Quoted message said:

Do you find that being 'ill' has much of an effect over your
training? Logically, if you're sick a lot of the time and these are your
mileages, it seems like it's having little or no effect. Obviously you're
better when feeling better, but riding 50-80 miles would be beyond most
people when truly sick wouldn't you say?

(I assume that fever is -not- part of this illness? Many can train through
a cold but not through a fever.)

By "sick" I mean fever and I can''t ride through fever. Otherwise, I
have a constant background asthma/allergy which I ride through. I just
take it easy for the first 30 min, then I let myself go. I did develop
the asthma during these 2 years of "serious" riding, too. Fever colds
used to take a day or two in the "healthier" (but less fit) days, and
now they take 2+more weeks.

Tony S. said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would guess you are training pretty much the same every day -- sure
way to chronic fatigue and impaired immune system.

actually, it's been like this:

2 hrs/30 miles Tue
2 hrs/30 miles Th
3 hrs/50 miles Sat (or equivalent crosstraining)
5 hrs/80 miles Sun (or equivalent crosstraining)
I do ride fast (just below the LT and above it on most climes),
especially on the short rides.

Is that proven that athletes have weakened immune systems? I like to
exercise to stay healthy, and to place in a race here and there, but I
would not want to "use" my health to exercise/race. And I certainly did
not expect the above regiment to be "beyond" that line.

A weakened immune system can come from too much work, stress from work /
marriage / lack of quality sleep -- in addition to whatever training you're
doing. Your training load is too weekend-loaded, and it's sheer insanity to
do all your training "just below LT", which you couldn't be doing anyway, or
else you'd have broken down a lot faster. Chances are your training is
largely in the junk zone -- fast enough to produce cumulative muscle damage,
but not fast enough to effectively train LT. At the very least, limit your
effort days to 2/week and no more than x% of training volume (20% sounds
reasonable in this case). Slow down the 80 miler to <70% effort; in other
words make it very easy, that's how you build endurance, not by burning out
your legs trying to ride everything hard.

-Tony

He's only riding 15mph. Doubt that's LT unless he's a newbie.

[email hidden] wrote:
::: I would guess you are training pretty much the same every day --
::: sure way to chronic fatigue and impaired immune system.
::
:: actually, it's been like this:
::
:: 2 hrs/30 miles Tue
:: 2 hrs/30 miles Th
:: 3 hrs/50 miles Sat (or equivalent crosstraining)
:: 5 hrs/80 miles Sun (or equivalent crosstraining)
:: I do ride fast (just below the LT and above it on most climes),
:: especially on the short rides.
::
:: Is that proven that athletes have weakened immune systems? I like to
:: exercise to stay healthy, and to place in a race here and there, but
:: I would not want to "use" my health to exercise/race. And I
:: certainly did not expect the above regiment to be "beyond" that line.

Due....don't comparison yourself to a real athlete! Do you work a job?
Also, you're not elite.

You're probably overtraining if you're getting sick a lot.

Quoted message said:

He's only riding 15mph. Doubt that's LT unless he's a newbie.

I knew the speeds would rase questions. I did not bother calculating
precisely how fast I am riding and gave estimates. Last time I rode 80
miles I did ~17 mph average with 9,000 feet of climbing. And yes, my
background is not bike riding, I am relatively new to it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you find that being 'ill' has much of an effect over your
training? Logically, if you're sick a lot of the time and these are your
mileages, it seems like it's having little or no effect. Obviously you're
better when feeling better, but riding 50-80 miles would be beyond most
people when truly sick wouldn't you say?

(I assume that fever is -not- part of this illness? Many can train through
a cold but not through a fever.)

By "sick" I mean fever and I can''t ride through fever. Otherwise, I
have a constant background asthma/allergy which I ride through. I just
take it easy for the first 30 min, then I let myself go. I did develop
the asthma during these 2 years of "serious" riding, too. Fever colds
used to take a day or two in the "healthier" (but less fit) days, and
now they take 2+more weeks.

You are aware of what true 'asthma' is right? That's when the small
bronchioles of your lungs constrict and you can't breathe deeply. If you're
riding these kinds of mileage at what feels like LT with asthma then that's
pretty amazing.

Perhaps your MD could test you for common allegans and prescribe some
asthma inhalers? You could also get a white blood cell count which is an
indicator of infection (high) or of low immunity (low).

Sounds to me like you're mostly having allergies. If I'm not mistaken, you
can also have a bit of a mild fever with allergies, too.

AFAIK, the most important thing for cold prevention is to wash your hands
frequently. Might try carrying some disenfectant wipes for a while and see
if your frequency decreases. Do you have some exposure risks? Kids in
kindergarten? Wife works in a hospital?

Good luck.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Your training load is too weekend-loaded, and it's sheer insanity to
do all your training "just below LT", which you couldn't be doing anyway, or
else you'd have broken down a lot faster.

my understanding is that LT is defined as the effort in a race that
lasts for 1 hour. So I just kept the effort below it to be able to last
for 2 or 3 or 5 . It certainly felt good mentally. And yes, it did help
to unwind from the stress at work. Passing everyone on the road also
feels good, and I can't deal well with being passed.

OK, If I am convinced I am overdoing it, I am ready to slow down... as
soon as the current 2 week long cold is over. But I am sure there are
people who can handle more, so I am wondeirng how they can do it.

They work up to it.

One thing's sure, if you're running yourself down and getting sick,
and then not backing off once you're sick, you're going to be sick for a
lot longer than you would be if you just took it easy and got better.

Symptoms in the head, OK to ride (gently).

Symptoms below the neck, no riding. Just rest.

I'm sure that will frustrate the hell out of you, but you have to step
off the merry-go-round at some point.

--
Chris BeHanna

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Quoted message said:

You are aware of what true 'asthma' is right? That's when the small
bronchioles of your lungs constrict and you can't breathe deeply. If you're
riding these kinds of mileage at what feels like LT with asthma then that's
pretty amazing.

Yep, too aware.

Quoted message said:

Perhaps your MD could test you for common allegans and prescribe some
asthma inhalers? You could also get a white blood cell count which is an
indicator of infection (high) or of low immunity (low).

Have inhalers, they don't work. The leukocyte count is a great idea.
WIll mention that to my doc.

Quoted message said:

Sounds to me like you're mostly having allergies.

I know I have them, but docs never can say specifically what it is -
they say "tree pollen", which is not very specific.

Quoted message said:

AFAIK, the most important thing for cold prevention is to wash your hands
frequently. Might try carrying some disenfectant wipes for a while and see
if your frequency decreases.

I buy that!

Quoted message said:

Wife works in a hospital?

Yes. But she does not get sick while I do.

Quoted message said:

Good luck.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Perhaps your MD could test you for common allegans and prescribe some
asthma inhalers? You could also get a white blood cell count which is an
indicator of infection (high) or of low immunity (low).

Have inhalers, they don't work. The leukocyte count is a great idea.
WIll mention that to my doc.

Well it should be part of any routine physical workup, smear and wbc count,
hematocrit, platelets. I'm surprised he hasn't worked with you to find an
inhaler that will help your asthma. What in the world do you do if you have
an episode if inhalers don't work?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sounds to me like you're mostly having allergies.

I know I have them, but docs never can say specifically what it is -
they say "tree pollen", which is not very specific.

Yes, but if you're having allergies you can get treatment, maybe some
antihistamines and you can then not worry about harming yourself by riding
as though you're having a virus. AFAIK, allergies are all symptoms and not
dangerous by themselves. You could try riding during the part of the day
when allergens are not high and you could watch the pollen report and avoid
bad days. Just a thought. ;-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

AFAIK, the most important thing for cold prevention is to wash your hands
frequently. Might try carrying some disenfectant wipes for a while and see
if your frequency decreases.

I buy that!

Quoted message said:

Wife works in a hospital?

Yes. But she does not get sick while I do.

She may have gotten natural immunity due to being in such an environment.
You might suggest she routinely wash her hands when she comes in after
work. Most common route is hand to hand contact and then you rub your eyes
introducing the virus into your blood system rather directly.

In actuality it's probably a myth that hospital workers can transmit the
common cold any better than a basic office environment, ha-ha, but worth a
try, eh?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Good luck.

Quoted message said:

Do you work a job?

Actually, yes. Sounds silly, but It happens to be a
high-risk-project-high-competition-deadlines-to-meet-work-on-weekends
kind of job. The bike riding is what kept me sane so far.

[email hidden] wrote:
::: Do you work a job?
::
:: Actually, yes. Sounds silly, but It happens to be a
:: high-risk-project-high-competition-deadlines-to-meet-work-on-weekends
:: kind of job. The bike riding is what kept me sane so far.

Real (ie, not weekend warriors) athletes generally don't. So, don't be so
hard on yourself. You're doing fine. Perhaps over time you'll be better
able to keep/meet your pace.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

He's only riding 15mph. Doubt that's LT unless he's a newbie.

I knew the speeds would rase questions. I did not bother calculating
precisely how fast I am riding and gave estimates. Last time I rode 80
miles I did ~17 mph average with 9,000 feet of climbing. And yes, my
background is not bike riding, I am relatively new to it.

I have been reading all of the posts and I think that you just need to ride
slower on your easier days. Training is riding really hard or really slow.
The "kind of hard" riding is what gets most racers in trouble. I suggest
that you read a few books about training plans. It sounds like you have a
passion for cycling so I am sure that you will make a lot of progress when
you develop and stick to a training plan developed for your goals and
lifestyle.

[email hidden] wrote:
::: Your training load is too weekend-loaded, and it's sheer insanity to
::: do all your training "just below LT", which you couldn't be doing
::: anyway, or else you'd have broken down a lot faster.
::
:: my understanding is that LT is defined as the effort in a race that
:: lasts for 1 hour. So I just kept the effort below it to be able to
:: last for 2 or 3 or 5 . It certainly felt good mentally. And yes, it
:: did help to unwind from the stress at work. Passing everyone on the
:: road also feels good, and I can't deal well with being passed.
::
:: OK, If I am convinced I am overdoing it, I am ready to slow down...
:: as soon as the current 2 week long cold is over. But I am sure there
:: are people who can handle more, so I am wondeirng how they can do
:: it.

More details. What your age, weight, general fitness level? Diet? Vitamins?

Roger Zoul said:

[email hidden] wrote:
::: Do you work a job?
::
:: Actually, yes. Sounds silly, but It happens to be a
:: high-risk-project-high-competition-deadlines-to-meet-work-on-weekends
:: kind of job. The bike riding is what kept me sane so far.

Real (ie, not weekend warriors) athletes generally don't. So, don't be so
hard on yourself. You're doing fine. Perhaps over time you'll be better
able to keep/meet your pace.

Can you get away to ride at lunch? Not a high pace ride, but to avoid
having lunch 'with the guys' and talking shop while eating junk food.
I used to eat a power bar, grab my bike, and disappear at lunch time, so
nobody could ambush me with working through lunch.
Bill Baka