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] 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:

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:

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:
::: 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

while eating junk food.

Quoted message said:

I used to eat a power bar, grab my bike, and disappear at lunch time, so
nobody could ambush me with working through lunch.

i don't eat lunch 50% of time, and I will have fruits for lunch the
other 50%. I am pretty cautious about what I put inside myself.

Quoted message said:

I do it routinely on hot days when I go up into the mountains. On some
occasions I have had to dip the bottle below the stuff floating on top.
Looking into the bottle there is a myriad of little things swimming, but
I consider them free protein.

that's why I bought it. My theory ('theory"😉 is that people get sick
around other people unless it's some exotic animal-to-human disease).
On my numerous trips to the wilderness, experiencing
wind/snow/cold_wet_feet_24_hrs_a_day/sleepless_nights_because_its_too_cold
I have never got sick. In the civilization, it takes an open window to
knock me down. I bet your trick with the bottle wouldn't work in Japan
where they use human feces as fertilizes (unverified information, but I
am too sick to google it).

Bill Baka said:

...
Who I am, as most people know is a soon to be 58 cubicle burnout. I
think the job with the high stress and weekends is the problem. Salaried
jobs sound good at first until that near 6 figure income starts
requiring 10 hour days, overnighters (been there, done that, new job
time), and weekends, all with no overtime pay. Some times your health
and sanity outweigh the money.

Near 6 figure income? A lot of people work salary jobs like this for
less than $50,000 (USD) per year in major urban areas.

--
Tom Sherman - Behind the Cheddar Curtain

age,

30

weight

175/6.0"

general fitness level

threshold 180-185 with max BPM of 195, Vomax 65, 7+ L lung capacity
(when I am not sick); the rest is compensated by pain tolerance.

Diet?

high protein, high carb, fresh veggies, fruits for desert

Vitamins

I think I get them from the fruits.

Quoted message said:

Near 6 figure income? A lot of people work salary jobs like this for
less than $50,000 (USD) per year in major urban areas.

yeah, that's me. People don't do my kind of job for the sake of money.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I do it routinely on hot days when I go up into the mountains. On some
occasions I have had to dip the bottle below the stuff floating on top.
Looking into the bottle there is a myriad of little things swimming, but
I consider them free protein.

that's why I bought it. My theory ('theory"😉 is that people get sick
around other people unless it's some exotic animal-to-human disease).
On my numerous trips to the wilderness, experiencing
wind/snow/cold_wet_feet_24_hrs_a_day/sleepless_nights_because_its_too_cold
I have never got sick. In the civilization, it takes an open window to
knock me down. I bet your trick with the bottle wouldn't work in Japan
where they use human feces as fertilizes (unverified information, but I
am too sick to google it).

I wouldn't take you up on it in China or Japan, or even Mexico, for all
that matter. I went to Mexico for the weekend way back in about 1971 and
ate some of their salads made with local vegetables, obviously not FDA
certified. When I got back to my mother's house (I was visiting) I got a
bad case of Montezuma's revenge. It turns out that the Mexican field
workers in Mexico don't have porta potties like they do up here in the
states so they just [censored] on the veggies. As for Japan using human waste
as fertilizer that is probably a correct assumption, and probably holds
true for China and many other countries in that area. I keep my immune
system on alert, but not to that extent. Yuck.
Bill Baka

Quoted message said:

while eating junk food.

Quoted message said:

I used to eat a power bar, grab my bike, and disappear at lunch time, so
nobody could ambush me with working through lunch.

i don't eat lunch 50% of time, and I will have fruits for lunch the
other 50%. I am pretty cautious about what I put inside myself.

No bike at work? I worked at a place that was bike friendly and even had
a bike rack inside. The only problem I had was with the pissy Brits who
didn't want my mountain bike to even touch their fancy overpriced road
bikes. Two of them got a flat "F**k off", but the other was one notch
above me in the ranks. Three Brits, three snobbish asses.
One of them even had a title of "Sir", and man, was he a snob.
I have always had trouble with Brits thinking they are so superior.
Bill Baka

bike to work, bike back from work, bike during work, nothing against
Brits.