Too soon to run after flu?

Options
alida1walsh
alida1walsh Posts: 72 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My son brought home the flu from school last week and, lucky me, I came down with it on the weekend. Runny nose, fever and a cough. I’m feeling a lot better today and the cough has almost gone. Is it too soon to go for a run? I usually run about five kilometres in 25 minutes. I’m 54.

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Options
    Have you had a covid test?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    On the assumption that this is in fact the flu (I have no idea what your location is, but right now in my country if I got a fever and cough after contact with someone who was going to in-person school, flu would not be my first thought), I would resume running once I felt good enough to do so and I wouldn't push myself to do my usual length and speed for the first couple of times out.

    You might want to ensure this IS the flu though, because exercising with COVID can be more complicated according to what we currently know.
  • B_Plus_Effort
    B_Plus_Effort Posts: 311 Member
    Options
    if you run regularly than it is fine to run your regular distance / time or less, but if you seldom run or never run it's obviously not wise to start so soon after a cold, if your son recovered then most likely it's not Covid, if you get tested and test positive than I am being told assume your entire family household has the virus (don't freak out it's asymptomatic in over 50% of the population, ie no signs you even have it)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    B_Plus_Effort wrote: »
    if you run regularly than it is fine to run your regular distance / time or less, but if you seldom run or never run it's obviously not wise to start so soon after a cold, if your son recovered then most likely it's not Covid, if you get tested and test positive than I am being told assume your entire family household has the virus (don't freak out it's asymptomatic in over 50% of the population, ie no signs you even have it)

    Influenza typically lasts longer than a couple of days though too . . .
  • alida1walsh
    alida1walsh Posts: 72 Member
    Options
    Thx. I’m a regular 5km runner - 3 or 4 times a week. It’s not COVID. My test result was negative and I’m in Sydney where there’s been no community transmission for more than a month. This is the first time I’ve been sick all year and it’s nearly Summer.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    alida1walsh wrote: »
    Thx. I’m a regular 5km runner - 3 or 4 times a week. It’s not COVID. My test result was negative and I’m in Sydney where there’s been no community transmission for more than a month. This is the first time I’ve been sick all year and it’s nearly Summer.

    Glad to hear you're in the clear there!

    Assuming you don't have any additional health concerns, I'd go ahead and run if you're feeling up to it. I had got hit with the flu or something like it last year and I think I took about a week off running totally and then 3-4 days where my runs were slower and shorter. I just tried to listen to what my body was wanting to do.

Categories