"It takes seven days to begin to lose anything," Anderson said. "You've got a good grace period, so if you're sick, use it. And that's just for cardio. Weight training takes even longer to lose fitness."

The one exception was those who are close to a race. Obviously, if you've been diligent about training, you can rest up until the race. But sometimes those determined to run a particular race have to muscle through it. Then a doctor's advice on your specific ailment is wise because dehydration is a significant risk. Also you want to make sure if you take medication, your doctor understands the stress your body will be under during the race.

This, however, was not my problem. My problem was being lazy and then being worried that once I'd gotten back on track, lying around and resting would undo anything I'd gained in my workouts.

Because I'm through the roughest part, I'm going to continue training as scheduled. I am still dealing with a little congestion, so I'm trying to get to bed early, and I'm drinking Emergen-C in the morning and before bed. It's been about nine days since I started feeling sick, which for me is an unusually long time to struggle with illness.

The good news is that I feel better when I work out, so that tells me I'm on the right track.

NEXT: Does what you eat really matter? And at what point in your training will it become more — or less — important? Should you use supplements and at what point?

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E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com