I feel sorry for Sandra, my partner, because when that happens I go really quiet. It hits me so hard that all I want to do is to stick my head under a blanket and sleep for 24 hours. In fact, that is how I usually get better. My old recipe is: eat, sleep, eat and sleep.
T here was a chance that I wouldn’t be able to deal with it this way as I was rostered to be at work this morning… but after a sleepless night there was no way I could go to work so I called them before 5 am saying: - Sorry…
W ith a very sore body, I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Next to me, I had a book by A. Jeukendrupe, High-Performance Cycling where he, and friends, devotes an entire chapter on the immune system.
A fter breakfast, I got into reading that chapter to try to have a better understanding of what I did wrong with my training, my diet and/or my rest in the last few days, causing the failure of my immune system and consequently my infection.
H ere are the causes:
I did a long and strenuous ride on Friday (110 km) after a week of intense workouts.
Insufficient rest and another ride on Saturday morning (60 km)
Possible protein deficiency – common on vegetarians
I didn’t drink enough on the last two rides – dehydration
Small amount of alcohol intake in the evenings
Vitamin A, C and Zinc deficiency
Exposure to airborne viruses and bacteria in public places
N ow, how to minimise the risk of Immunosuppression:
Allow sufficient time between training sessions for recovery
Avoid extremely long training sessions, restrict to 2 h max.
Periodise your training and ensure variation in the day-to-day training load
Ensure hard training days are followed by recovery days
When increasing training load, do it on hard days. Do not eliminate rest days
Keep life/social/psychological stresses to a minimum
Get adequate and regular sleep
Drink carbohydrate sports drinks before, during and after prolonged workouts
T he book has some complex and interesting facts on all the above, it might be a good read for those that are training hard and are preparing for the long road season ahead.
Rest HR this morning: 53 bpm – 5 to 8 beats higher
Weight this morning: 65.7 kg – 2 kg less
No riding today, possible easy (E1) 20 km ride tomorrow.
Y esterday, the signs and symptoms of URTI (upper respiratory tract infection) started to present themselves in the afternoon and in such a manner that in less than an hour I found myself submerged in a state of sickness. I had a sore throat, I was sneezing, had a running nose, I had a feeling of fullness in my head, my body ached and I went quiet. That’s what happens to me when I get a flu-like infection.
I feel sorry for Sandra, my partner, because when that happens I go really quiet. It hits me so hard that all I want to do is to stick my head under a blanket and sleep for 24 hours. In fact, that is how I usually get better. My old recipe is: eat, sleep, eat and sleep.
T here was a chance that I wouldn’t be able to deal with it this way as I was rostered to be at work this morning… but after a sleepless night there was no way I could go to work so I called them before 5 am saying: - Sorry…
W ith a very sore body, I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Next to me, I had a book by A. Jeukendrupe, High-Performance Cycling where he, and friends, devotes an entire chapter on the immune system.
A fter breakfast, I got into reading that chapter to try to have a better understanding of what I did wrong with my training, my diet and/or my rest in the last few days, causing the failure of my immune system and consequently my infection.
H ere are the causes:
I did a long and strenuous ride on Friday (110 km) after a week of intense workouts.
Insufficient rest and another ride on Saturday morning (60 km)
Possible protein deficiency – common on vegetarians
I didn’t drink enough on the last two rides – dehydration
Small amount of alcohol intake in the evenings
Vitamin A, C and Zinc deficiency
Exposure to airborne viruses and bacteria in public places
N ow, how to minimise the risk of Immunosuppression:
Allow sufficient time between training sessions for recovery
Avoid extremely long training sessions, restrict to 2 h max.
Periodise your training and ensure variation in the day-to-day training load
Ensure hard training days are followed by recovery days
When increasing training load, do it on hard days. Do not eliminate rest days
Keep life/social/psychological stresses to a minimum
Get adequate and regular sleep
Drink carbohydrate sports drinks before, during and after prolonged workouts
T he book has some complex and interesting facts on all the above, it might be a good read for those that are training hard and are preparing for the long road season ahead.
Rest HR this morning: 53 bpm – 5 to 8 beats higher
Weight this morning: 65.7 kg – 2 kg less
No riding today, possible easy (E1) 20 km ride tomorrow.