Radish_legs

For a mild-ish case? I know this is different for everyone, have to listen to your body. Watch for signs of heart stress (like abnormally high HR). Bummer to get covid for the first time right before the very first crit down here. Anyone hear of any stories that made you consider being careful coming back too fast?

For a normal cold, I wouldn't think anything about jumping right back in. Heck, I used to ride straight through anything short of a fever.

Doge

Get an Incentive Spirometer. Ideally - before you get Covid. IMO 3-4 months. I had Delta, then Pneumonia. But after 3 months I was as good as after 1 year.

zandoval 

Remember that Covid and Covid Like viruses are endothelial infections. That is they are known to inflame the lining of your lungs and heart and other organs. Even after recovery this inflammation can remain. One of the tests you can request during your recovery is the C-Reactive Protein CRP. It should slowly return to normal during your recovery but it is not Covid specific. Another test you can do is the LDH. These two tests when elevated indicate inflammation some where in your body but not necessarily Covid...

Covid is a BUGGER!

We are still studying this suspiciously weaponized like virus. As a health care provider I am constantly challenged with reasonable questions like, when can I go back to work? or when am I not infectious? or when am I going to get my energy back?...

zandoval 

So can I do a Criterium?
Well if ya have to ask then the answer is no, but that doesn't mean ya can't...

furiousferret

I just got over mine. I had chest pains for 7 months. Like, if I went over 200 watts, ran any distance I would get a dull pain in bottom of my rib cage but inside and it would last a week. I´ve been riding everyday for about a month now (I could ride during it but couldn´t go over 1 hour or 150 watts) and opened its up for 285w for 10 minutes (I know its an odd number but the hill ended there). Thats not too far off where I need to be, but I also have about 10 lbs to drop.

I was honestly a few weeks off selling my stuff it was that bad.

hubcyclist

i'm fortunate to not have had it, but a buddy of mine had it recently in late Feb, he was off for 2 weeks, did 5hrs easy first week back, 5hrs (2 rides) 2nd week back, 7hrs last week with a few more efforts, and this past Tuesday he did an FTP test and smashed it and has a higher FTP than before covid lol I think the key is just to take time to get over the illness and gradually get back to reintroducing activity

himespau 

Trying to come back from it myself. Tested positive ~2.5 weeks ago (but had another respiratory infection for 3-4 weeks before that which I'd been trying to ride through - it's been a crappy winter for training). Once I tested positive, I took the next 2 weeks off - had thought about riding on Zwift the next night because my team had a race and I didn't want them to ride shorthanded (a Z2 finish in dead last would have been more series points than not riding), but I got dizzy and lightheaded halfway down the stairs to the basement where my trainer is and I I got scared of falling off the bike and hurting myself so I slowly dragged myself back up the stairs.

After 2 weeks off, I was down 5-6 pounds (hooray!!!), and tried hopping on the bike with a nice easy warm up and then a 30-40 minute race on Zwift to see where my fitness was. When warming up, my hr was about 10 bpm higher than expected given the effort I was putting out. Zwift race was similar - ~10 bpm higher than I should have been given the effort, ended up sitting up after repeatedly hitting max hr on little surges in the first 6-8 km until I couldn't hang anymore. Since then, I've tried a couple of easy z1/z2 rides to just see if I could get my legs moving again. HR is still higher than it should be, but maybe not 10 bpm up on low Z2 power. Eventually, I end up losing my patience and pushing harder than I should and finding my limit, which is lower than it was 3 weeks ago. I had been planning on starting a training block this week, but that's going to be pushed back a couple of weeks so that I can find a semi-accurate baseline before starting.

furiousferret

I had a big race right after, and I did a 60-mile ride a week later, which was probably as much the cause as COVID was.

BTinNYC 

I had the bug in the middle of this January, felt like a bad flu lasting 3-4 days. I was in the middle of a 6 month training plan. Long endurance rides were most effected by covid, the 1 hr interval rides less so. This week my CTL is back to my early January level and that's due to getting volume back in my schedule.
This bug effects people in very different ways, so I assume our recoveries will be different too.

Kai Winters

It took me 3 months to fully recover and I too had only a mild case...more like a bad cold.
I took 3 days off the bike as complete rest then began with short, 1 hour, rides at very low intensity...basically 70ish rpm at under 100bpm per day 6 days per week.
I slowly ramped up the time and intensity.
My worst symptom was terribly coughing up phlegm for the first 2 months...it hit my lungs hard and after every workout I would cough for some time expelling the gunky crap. My nurse told me this is the best thing I can do for my lungs as it is expelling the gunk. I only coughed after the hard effort when my lungs were calming down from the effort. During the effort they were fine.
I'm 67 and have finally fully recovered, imo, just this week. I was able to do full gas 30/15 second intervals and a wtrl ttt yesterday without any coughing or desire to cough and my speed, power, aerobic/anaerobic abilities are where they were pre-covid.
Basically I feel I lost near 1 month of real training but since it was planned as all zone 2 and my recovery is complete I'm happy where I am.
Covid sucks but you have to push through it for your bodies sake.
Good luck...

Enthalpic

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who never got covid. I've been tested a bunch, always negative. I didn't even take the boosters, just the two shots of AstraZeneca a long time ago.

I must be one of the mutants! https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/a...mmune-covid-19

Radish_legs

Enthalpic, I was one of those guys until 2 weeks ago. After my 10 day of quarantine, I did the "slow" group ride. That was last Tues. That felt pretty okay. So on Thurs I did the fast group ride. That felt pretty okay. On Saturday I did a "slow" longer group ride - by this I mean guys who don't race, but are pretty fit. I would normally when fit be among the very strongest of this group. I certainly was not the very strongest on Saturday by any stretch of the imagination. So I can't tell if covid has affected me, or just not riding and being generally out of shape is the issue. I'm thinking about doing the Crit tomorrow, but without any expectations. Just to be in the action, and if I get tired, pull out.

Radish_legs

It didn't go well. Pulled up after a few 1 mile laps on the B race. Pulled up on the 40+ crit after going too far in the red (I might have tried to stay on if I had known it was just before 1 to go). And didn't even complete the first lap of the A crit. All time worst performance, but not shocking, as I haven't felt strong on the road in the last week when I started riding again.

procrit

Just pay attention to how you feel and how your heart responds. If you are in zone 2 power and in zone 4 HR, then stop. If it all looks good and you feel 100%, you’re likely fine.

WB4racing

I’ve had it twice. The first time it took me about 2 to 3 weeks to get back to regular riding fitness. In the beginning I had a bit of blood in my phlegm. The second bout of Covid only lasted for about 5 days and I was right back at riding without any residual effects.

goose70

Having just emerged from my fourth confirmed Covid case, I recommend listening to your body carefully and erring on the side of caution. I managed to get it around Fed.5. Typical case, body aches, bad head "cold" but nothing debilitating. By Feb. 10 I felt much better and tried a short, easy indoor ride. Felt ok, but head pressure was noticeable and had chills that night. I tried again the next day, a little longer (60-minutes), same thing. Took three days off, tried again. Tremendous head pressure, my wife said that my left ear was bright red and swollen. Stopped the workout. A couple days later, felt terrible, tested positive again for Covid. Continued to worsen, went to doctor the following week, tested negative for Covid again, but positive for influenza. The flu was worse than the Covid from a misery index standpoint. This past weekend I finally got back to riding indoors (very light, one hour rides). I feel much better now, but legs are like rubber. (It took me until last Thursday to be able to walk upstairs without taking a rest.)

Did trying to ride too soon cause me to revert and also catch the flu? I'll never know, but this was the scariest three weeks of my life from a health perspective. The first round wasn't bad, but the rebound just kept escalating. I also managed to get a fungal infection in my airway due to a depressed immune system. There was a point in late-Feb. where I felt that I was on the edge of being hospitalized. I could just feel my body shutting down. I'm in my early 50s and, like most of you, in great shape. I've had Covid confirmed twice before this, going back to 2020. This was the scariest bout yet. The problem is, you don't know you're in trouble until you're really in trouble, so all of this -- in my mind, at least -- weighs strongly in favor of being conservative with your cycling recovery and waiting until you're well clear of any symptoms to start any significant activity.

P.S.: Good news is that I lost 15 pounds.

Enthalpic

Covid 4 times? Crazy. I still have never had it and only had the two AstraZeneca shots, never took any booster rounds or any mRNA shots whatsoever.

I've done loads of high-risk behaviour too (tinder, international travel, casinos). I must be one of the mutants. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/a...mmune-covid-19

Polaris OBark

You posted this the day I got it for the first (and only) time.

Sierra_rider

First time I got Covid was back in late summer of '21, it was the Delta variant. It screwed me up and I didn't even get back on the bike until the next year. I'm a fit, youngish(30s) XC racer too, so I was surprised by how it affected me.

The next time I at least had a positive test was back in December of this last year...compared to the Delta, this one was a joke. It felt like a very minor cold, scratchy throat for a day and then a few days of nasal congestion. I was planning on taking a week off the bike anyway(my end of season break,) so I did that and was back to doing some zone 2 indoor rides after that week. The first ride back, I had some more-than-usual cardiac drift towards the end of the workout, but that quickly resolved itself by the next session.