The best way to get back running after illness?

[Streeteh]

I've been struck down by the chest infection that's been going around. The last time i ran was last Sunday and it was terrible due to said chest infection beginning to set in. I'm still on antibiotics but am beginning to feel fit enough to exercise again.

I figured i'd test my body with a few pressups, situps and weight training in a little bit, see how i compare to my original average and then base the distance of my run on that.

Thing is, this has happened to me before, 3 years ago i got tonsillitis and it seemed to set me back to square one in terms of fitness. I'd only been running for a few months and so lost the willpower and gave up. I didn't run again for 2.5 years and now here i am again, with the exact same problem.

Any tips for getting my body back 'up and running'?

[EDIT] Oh, as i hinted at previously, i've only been running for approx 5 months. About 2 miles 3-4 times a week at around 8.5mins/mile. I'm not a fit guy which means any fitness lost due to this is going to hit harder.

 

[Jonny69]

Health is a weird thing. I ran a 10k just as I was recovering from a particularly virusy cold. I ran it pretty damn fast but nearly choked to death after I finished. It's about 3 weeks on now and I've been out running regularly but my strength is lost. I really think illness knocks it out of you and it takes a long time to totally recover if you've actually been quite ill.

Take it easy and build it back up slowly. Been reading Runners World recently and it seems the worst thing you can go is try and overdo it. Make sure you're getting plenty of good nutrition, so plenty of lean red meat, dark green leafy veg, kidney beans and good quality carbohydrate.

8.5 min miles isn't too bad. Maybe slow it down and increase the distance for a bit to ensure/reinforce you've got the strength and conditioning in your legs, then work on getting the speed back up. I need to do this because it seems to be the strength in my legs I've lost.

What do the other runners here think?

 

[D1ngd0ng]

You need to keep chipping away at the run. If you are anything like me then lethargy will soon become a bigger issue than your virus was.

If you own a bike then try cycling every day for a week before you start running again. The last time I was off for a virus I spent a week cycling 6 miles a day then week 2 I kept up the cycling and added two 3 mile runs. Week 3 I cut out the weekend cycling and added another run. Week 4 no cycling but 4 runs. Week 5 back to my routine (pleasure run ,interval, hill & long run on Sundays)

Now I get to do it all again because I broke my ankle. Lovely being at the bottom rung for the 2nd time in 12 months.