Thanks for this @IsiSchneider_KoS @Condiec391 .
I got struck by the SARS-CoV-2 virus past weekend. My energy levels are at a low, so I figure I’ll have to build up slowly again…
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Thanks for the info. I just tested positive. My energy levels are pretty low.
I’m hoping sleeping 10+ Hours a night speeds up my recovery.
For what it’s worth I am vaccinated.
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I’m about to have my own version of this. My wife and I both got COVID after a wedding in New York. FWIW we are vaxxed and boosted. The progression went something like this, which i’m told is pretty typical for (i) Omicron variant in (ii) vaccinated folks:
i. Exposure was somewhere around Friday or Saturday (weekend of the March 19th 2022)
ii. On Tuesday, had scratchy throat but unclear whether it was allergies, aftereffects of screaming along to the wedding band or something else (Whoop still green)
iii. Wednesday started to become clear that we were coming down with something but still felt very, very mild (Whoop yellow)
iv. Thursday and Friday we were a lot sicker. General malaise, sore throat, headache, congestion (upper respiratory more so than nasal) and fatigue. Somewhere between a bad cold and a mild-to-moderate flu (Whoop very low red)
v. by Sunday we both felt a lot better and had our energy back but still didn’t feel perfect and had some congestion lingering (whoop back to green, fully)
vi. This past week, i generally feel fine and the only thing remaining is a small amount of lingering congestion / cough. I don’t feel amazing but it’s hard to tell if it’s after effects of being sick or the impact of just laying around for ten days
i plan to start phased return to exercise as soon as we fly home on Saturday (have been quarantined and working remotely in my inlaw’s basement . . . )
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Coming out of a week of recovering from it myself and thought I wanted to do a light inspiration ride. Wisely chose a short walk instead as it turned out I am still a bit light headed at times. Also fully vaxxed but this so called mild version knocked me out like a bad flu would. It’s five days since I came down with it, horribly sore throat and total exhaustion which sleep doesn’t improve (garmin body battery showed stress patterns at night almost similar to the vaccine response).
Covid is no joke😑
Love that chart posted above, keeps the expectations realistic.
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Good luck with recovery.
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@IsiSchneider_KoS & @devolikewhoa
Check out my post titled, Coming Back From Getting Sick: A Coach’s Perspective, where I offer a generalized plan to returning from training after taking time up due to illness.
Good luck and all the best in recovery!
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Really glad to come across this post…. I tested positive on April 8th and had trained 2 days prior on the 6th but it wasn’t easy. I haven’t been back on since as I’ve been completely wiped and was wondering how to handle getting back at it. This post definitely helped with that info…. Thanks!
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current update in the BJSM Blog
even though most of us are non-elite, these are pretty good guidelines for RTS (return to suffering) strategies. take care of yourselves and take it easy for a while 
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In general terms, this seems like good advice for gradual return to exercise for any nontrivial illness.
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I tested positive today. Very mild symptoms (no fever, just a bit tired and sore throat). I feel like I could have done a recovery ride today easily but decided to skip it. I have a gran fondo next weekend and I’m really worried I’ll have to skip it. I just hope the symptoms don’t get worse so I still can have a chance to make it
Hey Alopezor, wishing you a speedy recovery. Hopefully you get it super mildly and are back on the bike soon. I ended up having to take last week off work (and the week prior) as I was exhausted and pretty ill with Covid. Am back at work this week and it has been rough but am finally on the med now I feel, about a 2% improvment each day. Going to try a tentative and short zone 2 pedal this morning and see how I feel.
I’ve been told to take it really easy for a few weeks but have been trying to do quite a bit of walking these last few days which I think has helped.
Honestly don’t rush getting back on the bike!
@alopezor I had a similar situation. My symptoms were mild and I took the week off except for some yoga. A day before the race I did primers to see where I stood and felt fine. The race went great and I placed 10th and a PR over last year’s finish - probably helped by the extra rest and sleep. Obviously your results may vary and my story is just one anecdote and probably not the recommended approach.
I had my third bout with the C19 (and 2nd breakthrough!) the week before last. The worst of the fever/fatigue lasted about 48 hours, and a few days after that I was feeling physically restless enough that I jumped on the trainer and rode with Cotty in Provence. When that went well I followed up with GOAT in 2 more days and then just got back into training as planned.
Luckily for my training I’d already planned the week as recovery so my plans weren’t really altered much – and I’m definitely happy that I don’t seem to have suffered the longer tail of effect. By comparison previous infections caused a lot more training disruption with HR spiking much more easily than had been typical.
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For what it is worth, I wrote an article about getting back to training after recovering for illness, ’ Coming Back From Getting Sick: A Coach’s Perspective ’ that includes a sample guide for a gentle ramp back to training. Most important, listen to your body, hydrate and keep a nutritious diet, and get plenty of rest and sleep. Good luck athletes!
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I woke up feeling fine today (2 days after testing positive). I have been fever-free since yesterday in the morning. I did a light yoga session followed by a recovery ride “across the mountains” and didn’t feel weak but my heart rate was well into Z2 (max 133 when I typically stay below 110 in short recovery rides). Let’s see how I feel tomorrow
Yeah my first Zone 1 ride back, my HR sat in the high zone 2 range. And my HR is always bang in zone on SYSTM. Outdoor ride today and I rode at zone 1-2 effort the whole 30km and HR was zone 4 and just dipping into sweetspot. Not ideal. I’ll be takong it easy for a while longer. But I did have a temp of 39 for a few days and a low grade fever for another several days. I got hit BAAAAD. Timing was foul as was also on antibiotics for another infection when Covid hit so not good timing.
Had it earlier last month, wiped me out for 3 days before the fever broke. I took an additional week before hitting some z2 stuff. As others have said the heart rate was a little high the first couple of rides but has dropped down since then. Took probably 3 weeks total. It feels like it took a toll on my overall fitness as well but that could just be me having other life stuff going on.
Be careful! From what I’ve read, chance of long COVID appears to increase if you exert yourself too soon after recovery.
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+1 what @AkaPete said take it easy, dial back the power targets to keep within the HR targets. A recovery ride done at recovery power but z2 or even 3 power is not recovery. I had a nasty virus Nov 2020 ( not COVID) which had my HR in z4 when I went for a gentle walk, soon as i saw that I shuffled back down the street and had a lie down instead.
Covid kicked my butt a month ago. I’m still wheezing a bit. On Sunday I did my first workout - that nice easy 30 minute On Location spin through Hobart. I’ll slowly ease back into things this week.
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