Whether you had a virus that lasted for weeks, or only a minor head cold for a few days, the
recovery from internal health problems last longer than folks may realize. You might feel fine,
fully recovered, and resuming normal activities per usual, but why are the runs still so
challenging?

Often the immune system is still fighting off final remnants of illness even when all main
systems (e.g. cardiac, pulmonary, digestive) are all getting the green light, thus leaving little
energy for running. Since our bodies are hard-wired to allocate our prime resources (circulation,
energy, and metabolic pathways) to protect and rebuild our vital systems above all else, our
muscles might not yet be getting their full resources when we are seemingly fully recovery. In
other words, when you go out for a run after feeling recovered from an illness, your
musculoskeletal system may still not be responding optimally

The next time you are under the weather, keep your expectations realistic:

During these additional recovery days, avoid any higher exertion running until those easy runs
feel 100%, and be sure not to push the pace, or have expectations of your pace and effort
matching up as before. With the right expectations of recovery, you can more easily stay patient,
keep mentally calm when your runs feel slow or tiring, and then be more motivated to bounce
back when the time and body is right.