Evidence indicates that my review of the ice bath may have been completely invalid.
“What evidence?” You may ask.
Well, I spent much of Sunday shivering in a similar manner to how I had shivered after my ice bath on Saturday…the only thing was, on Sunday, there was no ice bath. Or really anything that should have been making me cold. I was just shivering, and unable to warm myself. So my uncontrollable shivering after taking the ice bath may not be a typical response. It may be because I’m sick.
I’m not the type who stops working out just because I’m sick. Don’t they usually say that exercising improves the immune system? If I just have a cold, I’ll run anyway. But shivering when it doesn’t make sense to be cold makes me think that my body is having difficulty regulating my temperature, so in cases such as this, I think it best to avoid activities that will raise my body heat.
While I had planned to do strength training on Sunday, I decided that this was a bad idea. The only exercise I did was take Ada the Dog for a walk. Which I did in a snowboarding jacket and thick sweatpants. In 60 degree weather. I’m sure my neighbors were impressed with my fashion choices. While walking I had the fun experience of feeling both hot and cold at the same time. Oh joy.
This is what I felt like on Sunday. (I changed out of sweatpants and into a fancy red dress while I laid around the house shivering and feeling miserable).
Right now I’m hoping this doesn’t keep me from running for too long! Here’s hoping that I feel better by tomorrow! But for right now, I think shivering serves as a clue that running might not be such a good idea.
How do you decide when your sick enough to stay in from a workout?
[...] My shins have been bothering me and I’ve been sick this week. (Besides my extreme shivering on Sunday, I also had laryngitis on Wednesday, and have generally been sick with a [...]