Discussion: Does anyone know how big a ...
in: BorisGr; BorisGr > 2007-10-06
Oct 8, 2007 1:24 PM
#
PG:
Does anyone know how big a difference being sick can actually make, in terms of minutes or percent?
I've run a couple of times when suffering from food poisoning (and therefore severe dehydration), once at a German 5-day and once at the WMOC qualifying in Italy, both times when the option of not running was pretty unappealing. I think it added about 15% to my time both times. At least I spiked every control both times, just had no strength, especially going up any sort of hill. Neither day was fun.
Obviously it depends on how sick you are.
I can't recall ever racing with a bad cold, but it's been a very long time (decades) since I've had one.
I've run a couple of times when suffering from food poisoning (and therefore severe dehydration), once at a German 5-day and once at the WMOC qualifying in Italy, both times when the option of not running was pretty unappealing. I think it added about 15% to my time both times. At least I spiked every control both times, just had no strength, especially going up any sort of hill. Neither day was fun.
Obviously it depends on how sick you are.
I can't recall ever racing with a bad cold, but it's been a very long time (decades) since I've had one.
Oct 8, 2007 1:29 PM
#
My not-very-educated guess at the time I was capable of was around 60 minutes (judging by world ranking scores for this event and my world ranking scores this past year). I ended up doing 67.5, which is an add-on of 12.5%, so, from this extremely rigorous scientific study, I'd be willing to concur with your estimate of 10-15%.
Oct 8, 2007 2:11 PM
#
PG:
I know in both my cases the course couldn't end soon enough. I wouldn't have wanted to be out there the 67 minutes you were.
Did a little research -- in Italy, my time was 50 minutes, best was 40, I would have expected to be no more than 42-43. So that one was 15-20%, but I felt totally awful. In Germany my time was 41, best was 36, I would have expected to be 36-38, so I lost maybe 10%, felt bad, but nothing like Italy.
Here's a bit of what I wrote after Italy:
Talk about a day that wasn't fun. Woke up in the middle of the night feeling bad, then throwing up, then just feeling awful. No breakfast, managed to drink just a little water before the start. By the time I reached the start triangle I was exhausted, felt like I was at about 70 miles of a 100-miler, and that is not usually a good/strong feeling. Walked even the slightest upgrade and even had trouble just walking up the last couple of hills. But hung in there mentally, missed nothing. That was the plan and nice to actually do it.
It was a day when experience helped, both from the late stages of ultras and rogaines (you are capable of more than you think you are if you just hang in there mentally), and from once 10 or 15 years back at a 5-day in Germany when under similar circumstances I made it through the day and then recovered enough to run really well the last three days. I hoped that would repeat itself.
After I finished I felt so bad I just wanted to lie down under the table where they were downloading times. Staggered off to the car, slowly drank a little, lay on the ground shaking and panting for about an hour while first Randy and then Gail tried to take care of me, and then threw up everything all the way back to the first course for dinner last night (a salad with lots of shredded carrots, if you want to know the forensic evidence....).
At that point Gail suggested we head off to the first aid tent to see if an IV was possible. It was, and after an hour there I felt a touch more human....
Did a little research -- in Italy, my time was 50 minutes, best was 40, I would have expected to be no more than 42-43. So that one was 15-20%, but I felt totally awful. In Germany my time was 41, best was 36, I would have expected to be 36-38, so I lost maybe 10%, felt bad, but nothing like Italy.
Here's a bit of what I wrote after Italy:
Talk about a day that wasn't fun. Woke up in the middle of the night feeling bad, then throwing up, then just feeling awful. No breakfast, managed to drink just a little water before the start. By the time I reached the start triangle I was exhausted, felt like I was at about 70 miles of a 100-miler, and that is not usually a good/strong feeling. Walked even the slightest upgrade and even had trouble just walking up the last couple of hills. But hung in there mentally, missed nothing. That was the plan and nice to actually do it.
It was a day when experience helped, both from the late stages of ultras and rogaines (you are capable of more than you think you are if you just hang in there mentally), and from once 10 or 15 years back at a 5-day in Germany when under similar circumstances I made it through the day and then recovered enough to run really well the last three days. I hoped that would repeat itself.
After I finished I felt so bad I just wanted to lie down under the table where they were downloading times. Staggered off to the car, slowly drank a little, lay on the ground shaking and panting for about an hour while first Randy and then Gail tried to take care of me, and then threw up everything all the way back to the first course for dinner last night (a salad with lots of shredded carrots, if you want to know the forensic evidence....).
At that point Gail suggested we head off to the first aid tent to see if an IV was possible. It was, and after an hour there I felt a touch more human....
Oct 8, 2007 3:22 PM
#
Hi Boris! Sorry I could just wave from far away yesterday!
I think this is way too much of a complex problem to assess minutes/percentaces lost in any kind of sickness as there are so many variables.
People/athletes have achieved great things when they are sick, but it is never pretty nor does it feel good. But the more pressing question (which never gets told), how does it feel the day or week afterwards? One CAN finish a marathon being sick but then does not recover for several months. Is that worth it?
For a cold, there is a general rule: when it hits from the neck up (like a runny nose, congestion, sinus stuff) it is ok to try; when it manifests itself from the neck down such as a cough or even a fever, it is best NOT to train hard or race! In this case, there is alway the (slight) chance that a viral infection hits the heart muscle which is very bad news.
Basically, when you're sick your body fights the intruder and weakens you which you will feel while running because your strength goes elsewhere, and it is best to "honor" that healing mechanism.
Often a step backwards brings you eventually 2 steps forward as you might be able to train again much sooner!
I think this is way too much of a complex problem to assess minutes/percentaces lost in any kind of sickness as there are so many variables.
People/athletes have achieved great things when they are sick, but it is never pretty nor does it feel good. But the more pressing question (which never gets told), how does it feel the day or week afterwards? One CAN finish a marathon being sick but then does not recover for several months. Is that worth it?
For a cold, there is a general rule: when it hits from the neck up (like a runny nose, congestion, sinus stuff) it is ok to try; when it manifests itself from the neck down such as a cough or even a fever, it is best NOT to train hard or race! In this case, there is alway the (slight) chance that a viral infection hits the heart muscle which is very bad news.
Basically, when you're sick your body fights the intruder and weakens you which you will feel while running because your strength goes elsewhere, and it is best to "honor" that healing mechanism.
Often a step backwards brings you eventually 2 steps forward as you might be able to train again much sooner!
This discussion thread is closed.