CX season and COVID

Training Plans
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Hi all
Finally caught COVID and I’m beginning isolation as of August 1. I have the CX training plan bundle, and wondered what might be the most appropriate plan with the realistic consideration of a 5 day isolation, additional 5 days of “take it easy,” leading to a mid-August “let’s see how things go?” Intervals? 6 Weeks to CX? Of course, consultation with MD as needed.

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You pretty much hit it on the head with days off, followed by several easy days and then consulting an MD. We are not doctors and can’t give you medical advice or any advice that might affect your health negatively.

So take your days and when cleared to start riding I have been telling my athletes to ride on feel and heart rate. Starting with a lot of zone 1 / 2 rides for 30 - 60 minutes max. Making sure they have no symptoms, cough, fever, elevated heart rate and etc. We do this for a few days to make sure we don’t stress the body more than we need and see how they handle it. Once the perceived exertion and heart rate line up more we slowly introduce higher efforts. Best thing is to have no workouts for at least 2-3 weeks in your TrainingPeaks. Don’t need to see any and you are just going day to day.

So for you I wouldn’t recommend after this easy time frame jumping straight into cx intervals, but maybe 4 weeks of sweet spot cx (3 weeks on and 1 week regeneration). After that point, again if cleared and healthy could look to do cx intervals or 6 weeks to cyclocross.

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Thanks Jake. I’m 2.5 weeks into Covid and am just now starting to feel like myself. I haven’t even considered restarting my training yet. Too much lingering fatigue. I think next week I’ll try some short, easy rides. Your post reinforces everything I’ve read, and my doc’s advice. I’ve also lost my senses of taste and smell. Eating is really dull, but at least I can eat steamed broccoli now without gagging. So I’ve got that going for me!

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Thanks, coach.

Not anyones doctor, but this was a good reference point to compare notes between here and peer-reviewed source: Infographic. Graduated return to play guidance following COVID-19 infection | British Journal of Sports Medicine

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