I’m so glad to have read many of the posts here as I am not alone in trying to fully recover from COVID. I am 5 days from when symptoms first onset but fortunately it was more or less a minor flu. The fatigue is still lingering and really anxious to start exercising. The concern from material I’ve read and this forum is heart inflammation (Myocarditis) and breathing issues. I’m going to take a few weeks off then follow the 50/30/20/10 rule.
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Keep us updated please, I’m currently recovering from Covid too
About 10 months out now, and it’s apparent that for me this has become a life-altering chronic illness w/ a long-lasting / permanent impact on my health. From where I sit right now, short of some imminent medical breakthrough, endurance sports is likely over for me. I’m just hoping to regain the ability to regularly do some moderate exercise of limited duration and maintain what health I can. I’ve made some headway on that, which is a positive. The outcome could have been worse, so at least there’s that.
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Hi route66, Sorry to hear of your situation and I hope and pray for the best for you. I saw a post on Zwift Insider on a COVID experience, with a comment on point from a biking long hauler who is now improving. https://zwiftinsider.com/laverack-virus-diary-1/ The commenter referred to a regimen he used based on a vitamin therapy from Gez Medinger, who has a YouTube channel on research around this subject here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeKFdZRYZnXDxU_w2rskedaqkcCUkt58B. I’m not endorsing this and am not a doctor, but I thought I would get you the info to assess. Good luck.
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Thanks for the thoughts. I’m aware of that channel and have seen a number of the videos. There are some supplements that help to a degree (I’ve been taking several for many months), but my best take on it all is that ultimately recovery mostly boils down to time, eating well (being mindful of food types and the impact on inflammation, hystamine levels, etc.), and giving your body the rest that it needs. I’ve gotten back some ability to exercise moderately, but I’ll never need to care about performance levels or pushing for multi-hour sessions ever again because the price to pay would be very steep.
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Thanks for everyone that shared their experiences. This has me worried. I’m 10 weeks out from my positive test and I still feel something lingering around my chest (upper back/lungs) front of the chest (heart?).
I was isolated for the 10 days after getting tested and I was fine with just a loss of taste and smell. After the 10 days I went back to work and slowly I developed other symptoms. Could not lay on my back to sleep (I’m still not comfortable lying on my back). Shortness of breath on some days and some days I was fine.
After 10 weeks I still don’t know when I will wake up feeling good or when I will wake up with shortness of breath.
I just started doing 30 mins recovery rides on TR and I’ve done them fine. Felt fine during and after. After reading some of the experiences here I’m thinking of stopping until I feel no symptoms lingering around my body. Thanks again guys, and hope everyone stays healthy.
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If you are a long-hauler and able to mostly function, it’s really hard to know where that line is to begin being active to some degree in order to avoid the deconditioning that will happen if you don’t. Some people are adamant that convalescence is the way to go. That’s not in my DNA. Then the trick becomes not overdoing it and triggering a subsequent fatigue crash and symptom relapse. If you’re experiencing these intermittent breathing issues at the 10 week mark still, I’d recommend joining some FB long-haul covid groups if you haven’t already.
Sorry you find yourself in this situation. On the plus side, you’re not alone. There are many, many people right there with you, and it seems that these post-viral chronic illnesses which many have suffered with their entire lives will now get much more research attention and funding. With a little luck, we may eventually see some new treatments out of it all.
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I understand your point, but it’s ok to take care of yourself. If you have a regular Dr just reach out. I can do so via their respective apps and I usually get a reply within a few days. I hope you recover quickly.
I tested positive in mid-December ( i volunteer a lot in my community/church during the holidays and wanted to be sure). Only symptom I got was a cough for about a week and I felt a little fatigued. I didn’t go see my Dr but consulted with him throughout. As part of annual physical recently it was determine I had the anti-bodies.
Ultimately the advice I got was you would normally get for respiratory illness, which included staying as active (No FTP ) as possible. I kept working out but very low intensity
Take care
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Hi Folks,
I ended in the ICU with Covid Pneumonia (acute respiratory failure with hypoxia) and I’m glad to be here to talk a little bit about it. I won’t go into all the details of this horrible odyssey, but I can tell you my entire attitude about this disease has changed.
I’ve been extremely fit since 2013 and topped 2020 with 9000 miles of road cycling. I followed a mid volume road racing schedule program here on TR. Many of my cycling friends seem to believe we cyclists have some “special” immunity to covid, especially for the severe cases. Thats simply not true. The virus does not differentiate based on how fit you are or not. This is happening at the cellular and molecular level.
Well, I’m on my way to recovery and have been at home for an entire week after i left the hospital. I’m seeing improvements, but I still feel weak. My oxygen saturation is back to normal levels after been on supplemental oxygen for a while. I’m now doing neighborhood walks a couple of times a day as part of my physical therapy. Also doing lung and breathing strengthening exercises. I’m very much looking forward to getting back on the bike, and I am interested in how to resume training after this disease and what other experiences you might share? Also, I feel i have lost all my leg muscle and vascularity at this moment. I know its all there, but my legs feel thin.
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Glad to hear you are going better.
Take a long time (weeks) going really really easy.
When you think you might be ready for some intensity, wait a bit more.
Don’t compare your self to your pre-covid fitness.
DOI: intensivist. Covid last may. Ill but never needed oxygen. Felt really light headed ith
any intensity for a week or two, FTP only back to pre-covid levels in last month.
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I’ll post my experience -
Took a full 2 weeks to get over COVID - chills, cough, headache, bad sore throat (like you wouldn’t believe, it was like open lacerations in there), shortness of breath, chest pain, etc.
This morning was the first time my waking HR was measured back below 50bpm (normal). I got on the bike for the first time this morning for Taku. It was ok, but I’ve obviously lost a lot of ground. I hope to do Z2 and maybe sweet spot by the end of the week. I’ll start lifting some weights tomorrow as well.
While I’m over COVID symptoms, I don’t have my energy back, or my normal diet (taste and smell still reduced/gone. Hopefully through a week of gentle exercise will boost some things.
The good news is I’ve lost 5 lbs and am the leanest ever right now! Haha. Now to get an FTP back…
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I’ve recently recovered. I started showing mild symptoms at the end of sep and tested positive after taking a test. I got it from a family member who lives with me and wasn’t taking the pandemic seriously. I got cleared by my doctor and the state’s health department to stop isolating a few days ago.
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I just went and got tested today, my wife tested positive Monday is doing relatively well. When she tested positive I tested negative but this morning my throat did not feel right so I decided to get tested to be on the safe side. I will say other than my throat not feeling right I feel fine and my workouts this whole week have been great (wk of ssbhv2) so I am not sure whether I should take off if I feel like I do and do not get worse. I have no cough and my hr is good. I should have my results by tuesday/wednesday and if I start to feel bad I will take off for sure. Looking for some advise or guidance
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Hey riders - thanks co much for sharing your Covid stories. While each situation is unique, and there is no road map for our recoveries, its awesome we have this forum to share. My story ; 61 year old male. Starting FTP of 271, I was on week 5 of Intermediate SSB when I tested positive. I had the usual symptoms (fever, chills, cough, congestion) but it didn’t last long. I took a week off, then did some easy outdoor rides (cabin fever!) and felt decent, but I did notice if I pushed my HR was higher. My resting HR remained normal from diagnosis to present. . I felt good enough that by that Friday, I did a 70 TSS ride. I felt awesome on that ride. All the while the fear of longer term heart issues were in my head. I’m a fat biker, we had some fresh snow, so I did two easy rides on Monday / Tuesday (Z1/Z2). Boom - then the fatigue set in big time. So I over did it. On the following Sat I did Dans on TR (30 min Z1) to have some baseline data. Sure enough my HR is Z2 when my power is Z1. So I’m taking this week off. Since my daignosis I’ve been sleeping 9-10 hours plus a 1 hour nap (I have schedule flexibility). I’ve noticed that last two days I don’t need a nap. In a few days I think I’ll do Dan’s again and compare data. When I do go back on plan I’ll go low volume SS. Fingers crossed I can get back! Good luck to you all.
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Just to add to what’s already been said:
I tested positive on 3rd Jan, after feeling a little rough since the days leading up to New Years. Fatigue had me the worst for around 7 days, and a minor shortness of breath. Wierd thing is I nailed a hard workout on New Year’s Eve, and again the day I went for the test. Only difference was my fan made my skin very uncomfortable. I took a week off, and the next week was mostly zone 2. In all I had a week and a half isolating.
Since then I’m completely back to normal, and a 13w increase on my ramp yesterday.
A bit of positivity for those worrying about their symptoms. Many people have it bad but it’s not necessarily going to affect you forever if you’re showing mild symptoms
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Luckily I was negative and just had a minor sore throat, never thought I would be glad to have a sore throat but I was. More important to me is that my wife is doing much better and is now testing negative so we are grateful
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My story is almost identical. I missed one whole day of training. Did a week of z1/z2 then a week of training but turned everything down 10-20%. 3rd back to 100% and even hit a few alltime prs
I’m currently recovering.
35 years old, fairly fit, though haven’t been on the bike as much of late due to work commitments from the beginning of this year.
Outbreak at son’s nursery, and all 4 people in my house got it, including 11 month old, 5 year old, my wife and I. Fortunately the kids only got minor symptoms, but both my wife and I got completely wiped out.
I’ve experienced every known symptom except for headaches.
The most painful was probably was the 40 degree C fevers, with severe chills, but also hyper sensitive skin and muscle aches, which means I just couldn’t get to sleep for about 3 days.
Extreme fatigue, not helped by also having to keep 2 young children entertained, fed and washed.
8 days into self isolation, coughing and breathing got worse, SP02 levels hovering precariously at 95, just above the threshold for a hospital visit.
Have been on antibiotics for a secondary chest infection for a 4 days now, as the dry cough became a wet cough and the phlegm being brought up was brown.
Hyper sensitive lungs, cold air from a 15 second trip to the garden to put out bins causes shallow uncontrolled hyperventilating episodes, as does dust caused by daughter jumping on the bed, or climbing a flight of stairs.
Until today, I couldn’t comfortably read a short bedtime storey without going into a coughing fit, or having to stop.
Going to be a while until I can get on the bike again I think, I’m hoping there is no medium to long term damage.
Planning to go for a short walk with the family now that everyone has passed the self isolation schedule, hopefully that will cheer me up a bit.
Maybe get on the turbo sometime next week for 30 minutes zone 1, see whether my lungs can handle the deeper breating.
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i’m currently recovering too.
45 years old, relatively fit after a year of hitting consistent training every single week, apart from a week off due to injury.
2 weeks ago, I started noticing that it was hard to breathe.
Considering the air pollution where I live, I didn’t put 2 and 2 together.
A couple of days later, i was having low blood pressure experiences.
Once again, this happens to me once in a while, so didn’t pay attention.
Then woke up 8 days ago with a consequent fever (38+C) and aches in my joints.
Spent the day moping on the couch, trying to hydrate and recover. By that stage I was pretty sure it was Covid.
Next day, fever shot over 39, it felt like someone was threading red-hot needles through every single joint in my body, and the “episodes” of low BP had turned into full-scale vertigo
Got tested that day, and yep, positive.
Wiped me out for the week, fever was down after 2 or 3 days, joint pain has slowly disappeared, and the vertigo was the last thing to go.
I still have some dizzy spells, especially in the morning, but yesterday was the first day where I didn’t need a nap, so I’m back at work today.
Planning on an easy 20 mins z1 spin on Wednesday to assess where I stand. My RHR is back to normal, my HRV seems to be, too, but my overnight sleep is still not there.
And my lungs aren’t completely there either.
Let’s see, not putting any pressure to start adding any kind of intensity, but I’d like to see how my body reacts to very gentle exercise…
Nasty piece of work that virus.