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Dealing with COVID-19 as an athlete

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I ran my best 9 miles in 10 years on xmas eve. Low heart rate , felt fast and loose. Recovered super fast with usual HRV and resting heart rate the next day and felt ecstatic to head in to xmas day on a high. Xmas day was great fun with excellent food and wines. I felt 100%. Boxing day came with me 100% but my wife Danielle was hit with her worst “cold” in years. Surely, she couldn’t have covid? I mean we had deliberately taken the last 2-3 weeks with extra caution, not doing anything social with anyone, limiting time off our property, letting Amazon deliver almost everything for xmas and if we were off site then it was masked up, using hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes like crazy and generally being paranoid about staying away from “it”. When Dani’s taste & smell went on the 27th we “knew”. Our tests on 28th confirmed we both have Covid.

My symptoms have been mild luckily. Mostly just tired, a slightly sore throat (2/10) and some chest pressure at times (4/10 at most). Dani has been worse. When we seem to be on the mend this virus seems to morph and change what it gives you every day. I’m not right yet as it’s only early in the 14 day cycle but I’m being very careful and hopeful though it is for sure scary. I’m really hoping I don’t take a turn for the worse.

The reason I’m sharing this is to let you know that even when you are super careful that you are in fact “better at home” like they say. Another reason is that even when you are super fit and think your immune system is strong as an Ox, that you are not impervious to the virus. I’ve been on an immune boosting cocktail of handfuls of high quality supplements for the past year anyway so perhaps that’s why I’ve got it mild BUT I still got it.

On that note, I wanted to share with you some of the high level input that I have gotten from my network of doctors that I deal with. These folks deal with the elite of the elite and so the input really doesn’t get better. I’m not saying it’s 100% and you should always listen to YOUR doctors but if you get Covid or want to avoid it then perhaps there’s something in this for you to grasp on to …..

 

Supplements

  • Vitamin D (with K1&2) 5000iu x 2 per day :
  • Vitamin C (buffered) x 3 grams per day (take 3 doses spread out with water)
  • Zinc x 25 mg per day
  • Quercetin x 500 mg
  • L-Lysine x 500mg +

You can add more but these are the “essentials”

 

Nutrition

  • Make a casserole/ slow crockpot of veggies and meat with BEEF bone broth and turmeric
  • No cold drinks. foods – only warm/hot or room temperature
  • No sugar/ alcohol inc fruit apart from berries and apples
  • No dairy (cheese, milk)
  • Stay hydrated = lots of room temp water, peppermint tea, turmeric tea, lemon water

 

Other

  • Vaporiser in bedroom if you have one and are coughing a lot
  • Sleep on your side or stomach NOT your back
  • Stay active = walks NOT training (if sick) to keep the lungs working optimally
  • Get a pulse oximeter. Reading needs to be between 95-100. If a touch lower do breathing exercises to relax, cough to activate breathing … if trouble breathing or below 90 then call the doctor.
  • Quarantine for 14 days from the day you get tested IF positive
  • Get 20 minutes of direct sunlight on your skin each day
  • Meditate : https://youtu.be/sfC9XF97JcU

 

I also wanted to encourage you to get the ELITE HRV app and start tracking your daily HRV (heartrate variability) and RHR (resting heartrate) EVERY day in the morning for 2+ minutes using a POLAR chest strap. (it’s wayyyy better than Whoop or the Oura ring). The data gave me obvious signs that my body was not 100% and was fighting something. I listened to it (as I always do) and I think it was key. My HRV dropped 10 points (15%) and my RHR rose 12 bpm** (15%) when I started to get sick. Now that I am on the mend my # are starting to come back and today my HRV is back to almost normal and my RHR is down to within 3-4 bpm of my usual. The beauty of the Elite HRV app is that it gives you a readiness score based on all the data it collects so you really don’t have to think much. You just let the science do the thinking for you.

As an athlete you should always be focusing on recovery from sessions and now more than ever during Covid times. Recovery starts DURING the workout by fuelling it properly with water, electrolytes and carbs so that you are never dehydrated or depleted. After hard sessions you should use a protein/ carb recovery drink too.

 

You should also always train in your zones. If your HR is high for the pace or power then your body is saying “hey this is harder than usual, so back off the speed”!!! It can protect you from over doing it. Ignore at your peril.

 

**(reminder: if your RHR is up by 5pm from usual you go easy. If it’s up 10 bpm from your usual then it’s a day off training)

MAKE FITNESS GAINS NOW DURING COVID-19

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During these unprecedented times we, as athletes, are dealing with something we’ve never had to worry about before ….. no races to do! So, as we seek to pinpoint the “why” and to make concrete our resolve, I thought it a good time to look a little deeper in to why we train….. We train to stay fit, to stay lean, because it’s who we are and what we do. We train to be our best, to always make gains & to get ahead. We train so that we can compete and be more ready than the next person when race day arrives. We know that excellence breeds more excellence, so we hone our habits, build our strengths and solve our weaknesses today. Race day has been delayed but that just gives you more time to be better than you would have been originally. Think of it as free time, that if you use it wisely, will take you to higher peaks than you previously thought possible. The time is now. There’s much to gain. Get out of the door. It’s there for the taking.