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Pleurisy, fatigue and Brighton marathon
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After getting the horrible cold bug before Christmas, doctor has diagnosed pleurisy. I'm on antibiotics and no longer coughing/aching but just feeling v tired. Haven't run now for 3 wks and am feeling that I'm massively behind into marathon plans for Brighton. It's my first marathon and my aim was to get round.... So question is if I rest for another week, will I have enough time to fit in my training? Training pal is up to 14miles... What do you think?? Last time I had pleurisy I think I was really run down and was on ABs/steroids and off running for 4 mths. This time I no longer feel ill, just sooo tired....but really want to do Brighton
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Training when you feel like that will do nothing to enhance your marathon chances and potentially more to harm them. I guess what you decide to do depends on your goal and what your base level of fitness is like. What was your weekly mileage before getting sick? If you could easily bash out 10 miles and you start from mid Jan training consistently then you'll probably get round ok. If you are less fit and/or you want to do more than getting round you might want to think about deferring and give yourself time to recover and train properly.
I think you're right in that I need to be sensible and rest for a bit more. I'm doing strength/core stuff at the gym but minimal CV. I'll take another week off and reassess after more early nights.
I was running ~30 miles/week before so I'll see how I feel next week and see if I could do 10 miles or whether more rest is needed.
Perhaps I need to be sensible and face facts....perhaps this isn't the marathon for me and deferring would be better.
I would say proceed with care. Marathon training is hard work on the body and especially the long runs. Can you do your usual runs eg six to seven miles and how do you feel after that? I think you would need to try and do a couple of weeks where resuming normal running minus long run before starting them again. This is what I read on a website. When you do resume long runs, go slower (time on your feet is a good thing anyway) And make sure you don't end up leaving out shorter runs as well as doing long runs as your weekly mileage needs to remain reasonable for being able to get around the course. You might want to think about only doing one 20 Miler in your training rather than two. If you do resume long runs, have a nap within two hours if finishing after having post long run food. If you find you are struggling with long runs or overall exercise, you probably should consider derferring. Don't run a marathon when ill - a friend did this and was unwell with nothing specific for a year or more afterwards and this affected her running too.
My plan for myself is two more weeks trying to run short runs before considering a ten Miler and seeing how I feel. I had hoped to train for a sub four hour this time but i might need to reconsider and train for a finish or if not recovered in few weeks time, it will be a short break Abroad but without running the marathon.
Hope you feel better soon. Oddly two other people from my running club have come down with nasty infections including pleurisy over the last few weeks. Must be some nasty respiratory bugs around.
Thank you so much for the lengthy reply. Despite what I typed, I think I've been maybe a "typcial runner" and ignored all sensible advice (which is v bad) and still try and run. Since I last posted I've managed a 6 and a 4 mile run and kept them v slow and v flat & walked up any hills. I have then pretty much rested the rest of the day and made sure I've had an early night. So far, all is okay...I've finished my antibiotics now and am taking lots of stuff to boost my immunity - stuff from the homeopathic and elderberry tablets.
I think your advice about maybe only doing one 20m run is sensible....my aim is really to get round and say that I've done one. But I need to continue to listen to my body and if I need to defer, I should do that. I certainly don't want to end up like your friend with a year of feeling unwell. Last time I had pleurisy, I certainly felt much iller and still ended up taking 4 mths off.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks again.
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You're on antibiotics, have been told you have pleurisy, are complaining of feeling tired and yet you are going to the gym and planning a 10 mile run to gauge how you are recovering... Seriously? What part of that possibly sounds like a good idea?