the long run and your immune system

Surprise, surprise.

I'm sitting here on Friday morning with swollen glands and a headache. Lovely.

Tuesday I ran 20, and Wednesday I ran 10, and while I took yesterday off, I still seemed to have run myself down enough to catch whatever bug has been percolating in our family.

This has been a problem of mine with marathon training.  See, the long run can wipe out your immune system pretty good and leave you susceptible to all kinds of bugs.  My last two marathons were both kicked in the butt by bronchitis.  I had a chest x-ray the Friday before Eugene to make sure that my lungs were recovering.

Knock on wood, though, I'm getting better at managing the long miles and the immune system.  I have a pretty good idea about why I ended up in trouble this week.  Because I've been okay in managing my body, I don't think it's going to be particularly nasty. For those of you who are just starting to stretch out the miles, I'm going to share some of the hard lessons I've learned and how you can do the most to keep yourself from coming down with a training halting illness.

1. Build your miles.
I think that a major factor in being able to run long and not end up sidelined by illness is by being adapted to the miles. I've noticed that since my core endurance has gotten me to a point that I can run 12 or 13 with very little after effects, my ability to run longer has improved.  As my recovery has improved, so has my ability to fight off infection.  So really build your base before you start to go long.

2. Take it easy.
Part of the reason I think I had trouble this week is that I ran a little harder than I should have.  I got knocked out with the flu after a particularly fast 20 miler in a previous training cycle.  The harder you run, the more you tax your system. While you think that hard effort might be good for getting your best marathon time, it's not going to help if you are out for a week or two with a cold.

3. Recover well.
Make sure you eat enough after your run - the long run day is not the day to also kick up your diet.  Eat quality food, and make sure you get enough protein.  I should have had my protein smoothie after I ran on Tuesday, but I didn't have enough time. I do think, though, that my healthier eating this winter is helping me stay well more often than not. My family has had a lot of colds this season - this is the first one that is dragging me down.


4. Get enough sleep and rest.
This was probably my biggest problem. I had a fun night on Wednesday with my girlfriends, but I didn't get nearly enough sleep. I woke up with a raging headache Thursday morning, and then spent the day rushing around with errands and chores. I didn't have a choice in the matter, but this meant that I did not get the rest I needed to help my body fully recover.

5. If you do get sick, stop training.
I don't know about you, but I like to subscribe to the theory that I can "run out" a cold. Except that sometimes I can't, and I end up running it even deeper in to my system.  If you just ran a long run, I think it is better to just go ahead and give your body a break.  I've tried running before I was ready - and got an extra week of sick time for my pains.

What are your best tips for staying well during training?