# F race (not A, B nor C).



## dolifewell (Oct 20, 2006)

Just to throw this out there, glad it doesn't happen often:
Fortunately for me my getting sick last Saturday evening (the start of tiredness of viral g.i./diarhea for the next 2.5 days or so and 10 pound wt. loss (still peeing clear the entire time ??)) came after the race that day and falls during a week preceding a race in which I had free entry and was planning to do just for the speedy miles. (next weeks another story).

I only rode 2x this week 30 minutes each, on Monday, sub 100 h.r. and on Wednesday moderate mix of real short easier efforts. Legs felt somewhat tired later that evening for a few minutes but fine later.
Ate a ton last night/this am/noon. I'm hydrated, feel good as was yesterday. Decent energy, feels normal but I doubt it will if I hammer for an hour on the bike today and tomorrow. 

Does anyone have experience racing so shortly after such an illness? 
Ride today moderate and see what happens manana? Can I expect results next week?
Thanks!


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Err yeah... and you won't know till you do it. Treat today like your usual Friday before a race. Then race. See what happens.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

So taking a week off (in fact, yours wasn't even off) will rarely result in a noticeable performance drop. You'll probably take a couple days to get used to the intensity again, but you'll be right where you left off.

The only thing I still have a concern about is the 10lb weight loss, no matter where it came from...


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

From a medical perspective...five or so lbs of fluid loss due to diarrhea and poor fluid intake is not at all unusual. This translates to about 2 liters. The other five? Probably not much in the way of fat loss, from such a short duration of illness. 

Enter again the diarrhea...the average adult male intestinal tract can and often does, hold 5-6 lbs of food/ poop at any given time. 

5 lbs fluid and 5 lbs of poo and there you have it.

Just an FYI for the OP, people don't just "bounce back" after an episode of true dehydration. There's a lag time of around 16-24 hours after rehydration for the body to return to hemostasis. The after effects of dehydration include weakness and fatigue, mental slowness, sleepiness, headache. 

Viral infections, however, can wreak havoc after the major symptoms have gone, leaving you under-performing for a couple weeks or more. Depends on the bug and the severity of infection.


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