I always get ill after a race - any tips to prevent it?

[weddingdress]

I started running a couple of years ago and for the last 18 months have been entering occasional races.

After every race, without fail, I go down with a cough/cold that wipes me out for 2 weeks - have had some of the worst colds of my life since I became "fit"

I'm assuming it's something to do with the increased exertion affecting my immune system, as training runs don't seem to have the same effect, but what can I do to prevent it?

stop running in races?

Hi Weddingdress. Sorry to hear about your colds! It sounds as if your body peaks at race time and then post-race when you decrease your training intensity, your immunity is compromised and you succumb to colds. I can only suggest trying to keep the intensity up a bit post-race so that your body adapts more gently. Does that makes sense? When I am racing, I tend to be training non-stop anyway and just treat races as an indicator of my fitness/pace at any given point. I don't work towards "peaking" for races like most do as I have three kids (soon to be four!) and there is no way I can carry out a proper training schedule so I do what I can, running everywhere with kids hanging off a buggy! Let me know how it goes as you don't want to stop racing - it is too much fun!