Starting training again after Covid-19

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Cyclops Jun 2021 8:40pm, 4 Jun 2021 4,301 posts	0 Cyclops Hello! I was ill in March 2020. I was on a school residential and to begin with was just surprised that I couldn't smell the sick on the coach although I was depressed when I couldn't taste my evening meal. The next day I was breathless climbing the cliff steps up from Boggle Hole to the Cleveland Way to get to Robin Hood's Bay. I have never been so laid back on a trip before as it was too much effort to do anything else - luckily everyone else had cancelled so we had the youth hostel to ourselves and didn't need to worry too much. For several weeks afterwards I was generally out of it and had headaches, a sore throat, palpitations, conjunctivitis and a fearsome ear ache. I was left with hearing loss and tinnitus. For most of last year, work was more than enough for me to cope with - the constant changes and teaching live lessons online was hard - and all I did was meet a friend to run a few very slow miles once a week for the company and ride the horse (she is old and slow) but this year I have tried to get back into doing more regular exercise. The trouble is, I kind of can't. I have no strength or energy and my lungs feel weird when I exert myself. Walking uphill leaves me completely breathless even though I can do quite a number of miles on the flat, and open water swimming feels so strange. I don't know whether to keep trying in the hope that it improves or accept that this is it and stop bothering.
Slantendicular Jun 2021 4:22pm, 20 Jun 2021 28 posts	0 Slantendicular So sorry to hear about that Cyclops. I hope you are feeling recovered soon. Fortunately (for me at least) the fatigue seems to have gone since 4-6 weeks after Covid. I'd def recommend going back to C25k, even though it's frustrating, although I realise for many who've shared on this thread, even a short walk is out of the question. By the way, after both vaccines (Astra Zeneca, April and June) I've had bad reactions, and I was laid out with exhaustion for several days afterwards. Side effects are apparently if you've had the nasty disease. Although it won't help us individually (yet) Nottingham uni are asking for runners to log their experiences of Covid on their "Running through" project. runningthrough.org
Slantendicular Jun 2021 4:32pm, 20 Jun 2021 29 posts	0 Slantendicular I noticed that the Nottingham uni have posted a link to an interesting article on Post-COVID-19 Syndrome and the Potential Benefits of Exercise mdpi.com
Longwayround [LWR] Sep 2021 9:41pm, 9 Sep 2021 1,731 posts	0 Longwayround [LWR] I’ve been on the Nuffield Health COVID-19 rehab course for seven weeks now. It’s helpful to meet others who have experienced similar difficulties although my main issue now seems to be chronic fatigue. I can feel great when doing a gym session and great a day afterwards. Two or three days later however, I can feel like the flu has struck me as every nerve ending in my body yells at me. It takes a heck of a lot of mental strength to plough on!
Schnecke Feb 2023 12:03pm, 6 Feb 2023 7,613 posts	0 Schnecke I was searching on the forum for any information from other Fetchies about running again after having covid. I came across this thread, and although I know it's quite out of date now - with the last post being nearly 18 months ago - I was very interested to read about other people's experiences of this. I managed to avoid covid for nearly two years, but finally succumbed at Christmas (really rough on Christmas eve, Christmas day and Boxing day, then slowly got better over the next week or so.) This was after working in a school and being in daily contact with people who then went down with the virus, including my colleague who shares an office with me, and never catching it once (tested twice a week for months on end.) One week into the Christmas hols and I caught it, heaven knows from where! Anyway, I'm hoping some folks will still be watching this thread. I did a 6 mile walk the first day I tested negative for covid, and felt fine. After that, I cautiously tried out some easy running, found I felt ok and resumed a fairly normal training load (this is pretty light for me these days, after a year out with knee arthritis and increasing age have taken their toll.) However, a few weeks down the line, I am finding I have a lot less energy for training, and cannot manage the pace or distance I was doing pre-covid. I ran four out of five of our xc league races, and found them all a struggle, but the two I ran post-covid felt really, really hard - yesterday, at the final race, my mind and body were both screaming at me to stop and walk on multiple occasions. I managed not to, apart from on one final hill, but it felt like an almost insurmountable task. It probably hasn't helped that I also gave blood (which I've been doing now for 45 years) in January, and that always makes me a little more fatigued and breathless during training runs, but that usually sorts itself out in a couple of weeks. I feel like I'm going backwards, however, and it has been very interesting to see that other people have had the same experience. I hope those who were really suffering post-covid are now in a much better place, but I would be very interested in an update as to how everyone is getting on, and whether my story chimes with what others have experienced.
Lesley C Feb 2023 12:23pm, 6 Feb 2023 3,172 posts	0 Lesley C I had covid in November for the first time. I was completely knackered. I took three weeks off. Started back with easy runs of 5k. I found it hard. I also had a couple of colds in December which didn't help. I have built up to 6.5 miles now. It's not easy getting any sort of fast pace, including going downhills. I have tried some interval type sessions in the last few weeks and have had to cut them short - my lungs just can't handle it. I have also been struggling with hills - even short inclines that are not that steep. I am getting better slowly at this but if I have to walk then I have to walk. I feel like I have reduced lung capacity now. I am going to keep going with the slow build up and speed sessions but if I have to cut them short the I will. I am hoping that in time things will get better. Maybe you just need to give your body more time to get over the infection, and the blood donation. Everyone seems to be different.
DocM Feb 2023 12:38pm, 6 Feb 2023 47,179 posts	0 DocM I had COVID a year ago. Was moderately unwell, and started back very gentle running after testing negative. It was probably 6 weeks before I could run ",properly" and before it started to feel like normal. But it did return to normal.my advice is ease back in slowly and listen to your body
AndyS Feb 2023 8:35pm, 6 Feb 2023 1,786 posts	0 AndyS I was an "early adopter" - got covid in March 2020.Prior to infection, I was quite literally the fittest I'd ever been in my entire life. Took a few months of very gentle progress before I could manage to do anything that could be generously described as running - nowhere near where I was before. Then, after a couple of months of that, I went out one day and it was like someone had taken my batteries out - I couldn't run more than a handful of steps. And here I am, almost 3 years later, and on a really good day, I can "run" slowly for about a minute, but then need a couple of minutes walking to recover. No way I could even attempt Week 1 of Couch to 5k. I can't see any way that I'll ever be able to run a whole parkrun again. It is impossible to overstate just how much damage this thing can do. Be careful.
Schnecke Feb 2023 9:42am, 9 Feb 2023 7,614 posts	0 Schnecke Thanks for the updates - I'm so sorry to hear that others have really been brought so low by this horrible thing. DocM - thank goodness you did make a full recovery, but it does seem to take longer than getting over other viruses. I think I started back a bit too soon and was a bit gung-ho about it. Lesley C - this chimes very much with my experience, especially the hills. If anything, that has got worse since I first started back after Covid. I did a xc race on Sunday, and expected to be a lot slower these days for several reasons, only one of them being Covid, but it felt exceptionally hard - both physically and mentally. AndyS - I am so sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds pretty devasatating. As runners, we struggle so much when that is taken away - for me, it is so much a part of who I am that when I couldn't run (I had almost a year out with knee problems) I didn't feel as if I was the same person any more. It's incredibly hard, mentally and physically, to make that adjustment. I was eventually able to run again, but I am constantly having to adjust my expectations and remind myself that I can't do the sort of times/distances I once achieved. I know one of my club-mates had a very bad bout of Covid, over a year ago I think, and it has taken him many months to come back to running again. He undoubtedly had long covid, and is still quite a long way from where he was pre-pandemic. And with that enforced lay-off, we lose our fitness and can start putting weight on, which doesn't help when we do try to come back to training again. Your description of feeling like someone had taken your batteries out sounds exactly like how I have been feeling on most of the runs I have attempted recently. I assume as an 'early adopter', you hadn't had any of the vaccinations and consequently it would have hit you much harder. I do hope you are able to persevere with the exercise, even if it's walking at the moment, until one day you are strong enough to start back running again and feel as if you are able to make some progress with it. It is a sobering thought that the damage can be so long term, and apparently hidden - for a while - in some cases. I am signed up for a hilly 10k this coming Sunday, and I am now wondering if I should bin it rather than put myself under pressure. But I've already dropped out of several races in the last few months