Pneumonia and Training for Marathon

otheliemoor · March 2015

I've been training for a half marathon. The date for the race is in the beginning of June. Problem? I've got pneumonia. Worst case scenario I will be unable to train for a month, my question is: Will it still be possible to get ready? Or should I reconsider the race?

PeachyPlum · March 2015

Oh, that's awful! I hope you recover quickly - I've had pneumonia several times and it's no joke!

I think it's safe to say this is going to set you back a fair bit, but only you can say what "ready" means to you.

If it's not a huge event (ie plane tickets to run in a Disney marathon) I'd plan to run it and if you need to take walking breaks then you take walking breaks.

If it's a big deal that will involve a lot of expense, you might consider passing on the event, but I think I'd wait until I had recovered and gone out for a few runs to see how they felt before I made the call.

AllanMisner · March 2015

Take the time off and recover. But that recovery can be generally active when you’re up to it. I’ve found that walking and other low intensity activities (not unlike a time under tension perspective) are valuable for retaining training effect. Ease back into training when you’re back on your game. Unless you’re being paid to run, there is no reason to sacrifice your long-term health.

Hoping you have a speedy recovery!

troytroy11 · March 2015

Time off is not necessarily a bad thing. You can use that time to totally rejuvenate your body. Give your entire system a well needed rest. When you are ready to start training again, start slow and gradually build up, listening to your body the whole time. I had pneumonia and it laid me out good; I could barely make it from one room to another much less think about training. The "lung squeak" is the worse. I hope you heal fast!!! Take care of yourself and get better to race another day

MeanderingMammal · March 2015

otheliemoor wrote: »

I'v Will it still be possible to get ready? Or should I reconsider the race?

To a large extent it depends on where your working from, have you run HMs before, and the nature of the race.

For a new runner doing a tough trail race, probably unwise. for an experienced runner on a flat course then it's more a question of setting your expectations and going with the flow.

Sued0nim · March 2015

It depends on how badly affected you are and how well you are treated .. not meaning to worry you but I had misdiagnosed pneumonia (it's asthma for the first 3 weeks) .. ended up with 5 courses of antibiotics, a couple of redlight ambulance trips to hospital and a full year to recover with associated lung scarring.

I wouldn't personally be committing to a race because doing too much too soon can be detrimental to recovery

Pneumonia can be a total b!tch

I was unlucky

Most are fine

But I still think the recuperation should be managed well

Get well soon!

RunnerElizabeth · March 2015

Everyone is different. I have asthma, ended up with pneumonia in 2013, was out all of March because of it, still ran my mid-May HM, achieving an 11 minute pr. In April, I went back to training and let my lungs decide on each run how far I would go. It worked. I revised my plan too, because I typically run 13 or over for a half, so I peaked at a 10 mile long run for that race. Really, just listen to your body and come back slow. I also talked to my doctor about my training extensively and didn't start back until I had the ok.

UpEarly · March 2015

Take your time recovering and be willing to accept that you might not be able to be ready for your race. Don't do what I did when I was recovering from pneumonia. I pushed myself to keep training and ended up damaging my heart muscle. I ended up sidelined for much longer than I would have if I had just allowed myself to rest and fully recover in the first place. I wish speedy healing for you!

Pneumonia and Training for Marathon

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