Am I sick? Should I still run?

How sick is too sick? Will running help me not be sick? Answers to timeless winter questions

I have no idea how effective oranges are to combat minor illness, but they’re very pretty and sweet. I highly recommend them!

It’s the time of year when the romance of long, dark nights and twinkling lights can make us self-reflective and peaceful. It’s also the time of year when kids, colleagues, and total strangers band together (seemingly) to spread weird, mediocre viruses to one and all. You do it to them; they do it to you; and suddenly, we are all slightly icky.

The kind of sick I’m talking about is the boring kind. You know these illnesses: they make you woozy and tired, but they don’t knock you out. They make you aware that your breath passes down your throat, but it’s not a flaming hot whirlwind in there. When you’re this kind of sick, it can be a tough call to know if you should run. Here’s how the mental conversation usually goes for me:

1. On one hand, it’s cold and dry outside, and cold and dry can irritate my throat. On the other hand, my throat isn’t that irritated.

2. On one hand, I’m tired; on the other hand, running always makes me less irritable-tired and more now-I-can-sleep tired.

3. On one hand, I feel nauseous, on the other hand, running stimulates the vagus nerve and can make me less nauseous.

4. On one hand, if I skip today and then I’m worse tomorrow and also have to skip tomorrow, I’m going to be pissed. On the other hand, if I don’t skip today and then I get worse and have to skip tomorrow, I’m going to be pissed.

Any or all of these go through my mind as I try to figure out whether or not I should run while mediocre sick. But my overall answer is this:

You should go run.

Here’s my logic: running helps mediocre sick. And I don’t mean that in an old-fashioned, if-the-medicine-tastes-bad-it-must-be-good-for-you way. It really does help stimulate your lymphatic system, which is one of the main ways your body fights off illness, as well as your immune system. So it’s pretty clear that, as long as you don’t have a fever or other significant symptom, like a hacking cough or GI issues, you should run.

Those caveats, of course, also lead to their own annoying questions. Fevers and hacking coughs are pretty obvious, but what about watery eyes, or a snotty nose, or minor GI troubles? I figure it out this way:

For watery eyes and a snotty nose, I run with a washcloth or small towel tucked into my sports bra bands or the waistband of my leggings. If you’re running alone, away from groups, this is totally adequate. These runs won’t be your best efforts, but you’ll be able to get through them.

An unwrapped orange is the height of winter visuals.

For GI troubles, there are several guidelines. If you’re actively needing the restroom, stay home. You’re risking dehydration if you try to run. If the issues are in the lower GI, I stay home simply because that’s not the type of mess I want in public. For the upper GI, I go run. This is because in all honesty, throwing up is pretty rare. The cinematic value of a runner puking has been exploited for dramatic effect, but if you’re worried about it, rest assured: you probably won’t throw up.* A large part of upper GI queasiness is, as pointed out above, the vagus nerve, which runs from your brain stem down through your GI tract. So if you stimulate it through exercise, you’ll likely decrease your troubles, not spur them on.

The final piece of this method is moderating your distance. If I’m sick, I am totally okay cutting down my mileage for a day or two in order to keep running, because the health benefits to even short runs are clear. Even if you end up doing one of your shortest routes, it’s better than nothing.

So minor illnesses: they’re a bummer! But they’re only going to be more of a bummer if you let them linger, and running is one way to get rid of them fast. Absolutely the worst thing you can do is stop running at every little boring illness. Taking time off over and over again all winter just sets back your training and make it harder to start again once you’re feeling better. So feel your body, make informed decisions, but whenever you can, go run.

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*Anecdotal evidence only, but I’ve only thrown up maybe 12 or 15 times in the course of my career, which is a rate of only 0.208% over 35 years and a competitive career. Additionally, that count includes the times when the nausea was caused by overexertion or overheating, so the times caused by viral illness are even more rare. But if you do need to pull off the road and throw up a little, that’s okay. Try to do it in a trash can or bend down enough not to splatter on your shoes or leggings, then walk your way out, and prioritize staying hydrated and resting. You’re sicker than you thought, but you’re smart and you can manage it.