Road Runners Club of America (newsletter)
Advice for RRCA Members, Running Coaches, and Club Leaders

Excerpt:
Sprinkle in Some Effort. On the other hand, the good news is that you can also continue with high intensity training. As Dr. Jeff Messer, an exercise physiologist and 2017 US Girls High School Coach of the Year writes in an email, “Two (2) such vigorous sessions per week, for example, interspersed with multiple recovery sessions might be highly conducive to both a progressive enhancement of aerobic fitness and a corresponding enhancement of immunocompetency.”

Thus you may feel comfortable adding in 20 minutes of Lactate Threshold Tempo Run or 1-3 miles total of Track Tuesday-style vigorous sessions.

Dr. Messer writes that this sort of training, “presupposes, of course, that an individual has no physician-imposed limitations to aerobic exercise / training and no substantially or potentially limiting health issues (such as a prior myocardial infraction, for instance).”

In sum, Dr. Messer indicates that consistent mild-to-moderate intensity interspersed with periodic vigorous intensity bouts “can collectively yield improved immunological health.”

Remember in contrast to training for peak performance, the goal in this phase is to be moderate. In this public health crisis, you want to provide time for rest and recovery so that you are not feeling lethargic.

Advice for RRCA Members, Running Coaches, and Club Leaders.pdf