After kicking off the New Year with a 50K run in the rain and swim in the icy Pacific, I caught a bad cold.  Bummer.  ( I guess it's OK to use that word on the Club Fat Ass website, eh?)

For almost a week, all I felt like doing was crawling a corner and being alone and miserable.   My Mom said I should take Cold FX.  My wife handed me multi vitamins.   My Grandma would have said don't do stupid stuff like run in the cold and rain and swim in the frozen ocean afterwards.   Some friends say, "It's going around", as if it is 100% certain that everyone is going to get the same cold.  Others say, "The kids drag home everything" as in you have kids, therefore colds are inevitable.  While still others informed me that they'd not had a cold in 10 years!

All of this got me to wondering what my fellow runners do to cure their colds... and, more pro actively, what they do to maintain a consistent schedule of outdoor running without getting a cold.

I'm sure this could be quite a long discussion!  Hey, maybe we'll discover a cure for the common cold?  Here are some initial thoughts.  I'll add reference links as I get the time.

Cold Cures

1.  Tough it out

I'm personally not a big fan of throwing a bunch of drugs at a common cold, so I prefer to drink lots of fluids, top up the sleep and cut back on the exercise.

2.  Over the counter drugs 

There have to be about a million "cold cures" you can pick up at the drug store.  I'd lump in everything from NeoCitran to aspirin.  I'm not sure if any of this has been proven to cure anything rather they make the symptoms a bit easier to take. 

3.  Natural remedies

I suppose one might argue that since Cold FX is made from "natural" ingredients, it's a natural remedy, but I think it's more of a #2 that comes from the health food store.  A lot of people swear by garlic.  I like hot tea with honey and lemon and a bit of rum.

4.  Vitamins

It seems to me that once you have a cold, it's too late to throw vitamins at it.  I don't know if that's true or not? 

Cold Prevention

1.  Get enough sleep

It seems simple enough, but with all of the stress of jobs, school and training, it's easy to cut back on sleep in order to fit it all in.  

2.  Eat Well

My Grandma would say that eating an apple a day would keep the doctor away.  I think science is proving my Grandma right.  I'll try to dig up some references to antioxidants.

3.  Flu Shot

I may be mixing things up a bit here.  I always try to get one every year as an insurance policy.  I still get sick, though.  Not sure if they work?

4.  Wash your hands

Listen to what yo Mamma always told you! 

Since I routinely get a cold or two every year, I must be doing something wrong on the prevention side.  I hope that people who never get a cold share their wisdom here.

More Information 

Wikipedia on the common cold 

Cures for the common cold from Dr. Stoll

I could live with this one!  Sex:  Best Prevention for a Cold  

A site dedicated to the common cold