The Bronchitis Experiment

Purely in the interest of science, I decided to catch the nasty bronchitis bug that’s going around so the effects of exercising with bronchitis could be studied.  It’s a service I selflessly provide, because nobody else in the history of the internet has ever tried to run with a chest cold and posted about it online.

And the results are mixed.  Exercise can make symptoms better or worse, depending on how bad the symptoms are to start with and how intense the exercise.  As an extreme example, when my symptoms were at their worst, walking to the bathroom exceeded my exercise capacity.

On the bright side, some heavy breathing can be a great way to get congestion moving out of the system.  If it’s done gradually, it’s possible to increase the intensity of exercise as the lungs clear out.  If it’s done too abruptly or symptoms are simply too severe, it’s a recipe for out of control coughing.  Nothing makes me look more athletic than being bent over on the side of the road coughing up my lungs.

Which brings up the downside.  Exertion can irritate the lungs, which makes the bronchitis worse.  So there’s a happy medium, where breathing is heavy enough to clear out the lungs but not so bad as to leave them hyper-sensitive and inflamed.

You may have noticed the use of the terms “exercise” and “exertion” instead of “running”.  After taking time off to rehab my knee, then further time off while bronchitis was at its worst, the best I can manage at the moment is a brisk walk up a slight grade, and maybe a mild jog downhill.  It’s not really enough to improve my fitness.

So why do it?  Because the weather is beautiful outside, and nothing feels so good as a brief burst of speed carefully stepping from rock to rock on a muddy section of trail, during that brief moment when you can breathe deeply and comfortably.  For a moment I am healthy, and perhaps it’s a bit naïve, but how can that moment possibly be bad for me?