I'm a daily runner and I had influenza in February, for the first time in 30 years. I had a high fever for a full week and could not even sit up in bed.

People tend to think any bad cold is the flu, and underestimate just how bad actual influenza is. In retrospect, the narrative of "COVID is just like a bad flu" is pretty accurate, because the actual flu is a pretty traumatic experience, and the idea of getting a worse version is terrifying.

Also a daily runner (6.5 years) - the worst time to run is when you have a head cold. The impact from the run just pounds throughout your skull. I have run when I had influenza and Covid. Only one mile at a time, up and down my driveway, but it wasn’t pleasant. But it was really only bad for a day or two, and for the sake of the running streak, you run (jog/walk) your mile and you’re done (and you collapse back to sleep). Then, once you’re starting to feel a little better, the feeling of running just one mile (when you’re used to running 3 or more) is the hard part.

I also ended up training for a marathon while I had a mild pneumonia. I had no clue until I saw my doctor for a routine checkup.

When you have a running streak like this, you find ways to make it work. You’re often running with some kind of a knock, be it a cold, or some knee pain.

I am a runner. I had proper flu this year for the first time. I have never been that ill ever before. I could not even get upstairs to bed one night when I was at my worst.

My flus were probably covids, I think it tends to bounce around in the population in the post covid days while loosing strength.

I have one really bad case if flu 20 years ago. Maybe I'll have to give up my streak then. It will be a bit sad, but maybe good for me that it opens up for some other way of exercise.

Different people react differently to flu and colds.

I usually don’t get any colds at all, but I catch the flu once a year and need to be in bed at least for a week. So I started vaccinating since a couple of years and have avoided it so far.

My wife on the other hand catches every cold possible but her flu is gone in a couple of days.

Said that, my doctor has always strongly advised against doing any sport during flu or immediately after due to risks of heart infection. That’s something I’m going to follow, I’m not a sports professional and I have no need to risk my hearts health.

I ran a couple miles on a treadmill the last time I had COVID because I was going stir crazy from lying on the couch all week. It actually gave me a bit of a boost for the rest of the day, though I returned to feeling crappy the following day.

Yes, that mistake is common in English as well.

Different people react differently to flu and different strains are different. I remember when I was 30 I got the flu and I had enough energy to walk to the nearest convenience store to get lunch and enough energy to do an hour of driving practice a day and the rest of the time I lay in bed. I did not have the energy to read a book. I didn’t have the motivation to turn on the radio. It was awful. Glad I haven’t had the flu since.

I think part of it is that I just don't think of pain as per se bad. A lot of people I know who struggle with exercise feel a little discomfort and act like its the end of the world. They get shin splits or something and they decide they can't run. I've had mild shin splits continuously for 15 years. It doesn't really bother me in the same way, I guess. When I get back from a run if I lightly bump my shins its excruciating.

I will say that now that I am getting older its getting a bit tougher - the pain is worse and lasts longer and real chronic pain kind of bums me out, but I just enjoy the challenge of trying to work around my body.

They might be unpleasant but still fun. And they may be painful but in reward you get to see places you would otherwise not. Or you may get to discover your limits, which are of course further out than just pain and discomfort. So there is absolutely enjoyment in these "unfun" things.

Plus of course the chance to humble brag online afterwards!

Just because you feel like shit and your head is saying "this sucks ass", there's also the endorphins being released, the feeling of achieving something, of overcoming your own limitations and stuff.

I mean it's not for me but I can see how in hindsight (it's always in hindsight, never in the moment) it'll be considered fun. Or at the very least a story to share with friends or the internet, which is also fun.

I barely felt covid, if not for temporary loss of smell I wouldn't think it was anything more than a moderate cold.

Lymphatic system is actuated by your movement. Sure, it will work with just the little movements that your body does to keep in one piece, but for full performance so to speak you need to move around.

Depends how sick, I have frequently heard that with mild head cold, that has not gone to lungs it is good to run to activate immune system etc.

> I'd assert that most of the adult population in first-world countries are far more at risk from a lack of sufficient physical activity than from overtraining.

You're using the wrong reference group here. Would you still assert that most people when narrowed down to those who are running every day are more at risk from a lack of sufficient physical activity than from overtraining? Because that's the group we are discussing – those either doing it or considering doing it.

Most of the adult population in first-world countries are not considering running every day.

The problem is that the population which is not doing physical activity is the population uniquely at risk for overtraining. You can't put a couch potato out and have them run, run, run without them ending up with shin splints, stress fractures, and all the other issues that come from pushing too hard, too fast.

Saying we need to do more physical activity is not carte blanche to run yourself into the ground. No decent running coach would recommend running every day anyway. 3-4 times a week, and then let your body rest and recover. Training does not make you healthy or stronger. Recovering from the training makes you healthy and stronger.

I think the nuance gets lost in a lot of the "no days off" messaging

I mean you're right, but if you're fat running is pretty rough on the knees.

Source: was fat, ran a lot, lost weight, got runner's knee, am fat again.

But exercise along with calorie restriction will keep you from losing muscle mass and so your weight loss will be more from fat. I agree though, no need to train hard during calorie restriction.

It started on forums, bled into social media, and now it’s used by advertisers trying to capture the people who recognize it from forums and social media.

Interestingly, the businesses targeting this segment have pivoted into offering actual testosterone prescriptions, pill-mill style. They’ve discovered that if they can find a willing doctor then there are no consequences for writing mass prescriptions for testosterone as long as they can create a minimal paper trail documenting some symptoms. So people see an ad on social media or hear one on the radio, make an appointment, and the doctor quickly diagnoses them with “low T” based on vague symptoms like “not performing as well as I’d like in the gym”, and they get a prescription.

The business model is to charge a monthly fee such as $200/month. Once people start taking testosterone their body shuts off its natural production, meaning they feel devastated if they ever stop taking it. So the customer is hooked. Some people can discontinue and eventually recover, but most people who take it for years will have testicular atrophy such that they may never be able to live without testosterone injections again for the rest of their lives. This inconvenient fact is rarely communicated up front, of course.

I think it's a shame avoidance and marketing effort. It's not flattering for a man to admit he thinks he has low testosterone. Easier to talk about.

There is some fake shit no doubt, but you can have real problems that lower it. Kills dudes motivation, libido, etc and that kinda spirals towards depression sometimes. But it's not meant for long term use or meant to be given out as willingly as it is.

I'm no expert on this, but I also read about this as I also tried calorie restriction.

You still have to keep your macros (and micros) in balance while on calorie deficit, which is even harder. Your body needs various things, you just need to optimize your food. Also, I think the main contributor for OPs issues was the fat deficit, which is very easy to fall into while you think you eat healthy a lean food. Fat is important for your hormone production.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26843151/

https://shilpidietclinic.com/low-fat-diet-and-hormonal-imbal...

When people say calorie deficit they usually mean low calories. Not 3000 kcal intake and 3300 burned which would be a healthy approach for a runner

A small calorie deficit alone won’t lead to major problems.

The phrase “calorie restriction” is often used in the context of life extension to refer to periods of very low caloric intake, near fasting. This would cause problems with hormone levels.

If someone is running everyday like this, do they actually even need to lose weight? Aren't they already very fit?

Also, testosterone also gets impacted by fatigue. Running is more fatiguing than lets say stationary biking or elliptical. So maybe try other forms of cardio to burn calories too instead of only running?

When googling, it seems to be the opposite. That morning erection is a sign of a healthy testosterone level.

He meant the opposite: They were absent.

It should be noted that this isn’t a truly reliable indicator like the internet suggests some times. For many people, they still get them but it occurs while they’re sleeping rather than at time of wake up.

Yeah that’s not true at all. Not sure where he got his info but it’s incorrect.

It's not about the running but the "running through sickness and fractures". It's just plain stupid to risk your health like that. Great that it worked, but this is nothing anyone should blindly emulate. Have fun with the heart infection because you needed to run for virtual internet points.

Read it out loud ‘7 miles a week’

Most people sit at a desk for 40 hrs a week. That is way more damaging to your health.

Ten years might not be long enough for long term damage to make itself known. In fact, most of the time, it's nowhere near long enough.

However, the cardio should help. With overall health that is, not whatever blown knee or hip or whatever he'll have to deal with later.

> with the occasional 0:01 run to be sure I get one in that day

> i call the one-milers "streak savers"

If that game helps, fine.

It worked out for this specific person under these specific circumstances with a methodology he might have not even fully shared.

You should not conclude from that, that it is healthy for every person to do so.

i had similar experience as author. so run few times a week for 7 years.

i was run in pine forest(it produces air with antibiotics), sub zero, down to -20c(in light clothes and sneakers).

for simple throat and nose conditions it was immediately healing, body temperature under 38c.

there rule was - never stop. nor walk. only run(until get to shower). or will get ill. tested few times.

in hockey people does not seem to run all time

also, i was run on frozen randomized ice pieces, dirt and snow like things. i had to adapt my posture for that, basically it does not streess same joints same way, not like thread mill or flat city roads. it was good. rule was never walk. when i started to walk, slipped to ground fast.

How is it worse for men?

Why more so for men?

You have to appreciate how short a mile run is.

And either way, yeah runstreak is probably not optimal for improving your stamina. I am sure there are more rigorous programs for that.

Rest doesn’t preclude running. Most high end runners run every day. It’s very easy to run at recovery pace and feel better than if you’d done nothing at all.

I find the tendency of very amateur runners having very strong opinions about running, odd. There are literally decades of research, and while the particulars change over time, the macros tend not to.

If you are sufficiently trained, a 1 mile day is a rest day though.

This isn't really that simple. Studies keep coming out showing that even people undergoing chemo and other heavy therapies benefit from some exercise(ex brisk walks), showing upwards of 20-30% better results. For his fitness a very light run could be as taxing as a brisk walk for a common person and still bring some benefits in fighting his illness.

i am not sure about the OP or the motivation and I am not a Streak runner/mover myself, but I do see the appeal of it, that will keep someone moving and exercise more or less consistently. Overall maybe the bad it is doing on bad days, is compensated with the good it is doing on good/average days. It is a long term motivator. For me now that i was cycling about 2-300km per week last year, going to nearly 0 this year so far because life and stuff, makes it pretty hard mentally to get back into the saddle, because of reduced performance, fatigue and just the general feeling of what it felt like to be in a faster group ride that I would get dropped from and i need to work my way back up there in performance and endurance. Having a streak going might have helped with this.

Then I would loose my streak and the magic would disappear.

I am not a pro athlete. I think there are many days where athletes go beyond what they should to win some gold medal in some competition.

This is for me only and I am fine with it.

Can you tell me what you think you'd do?

[flagged]