LOLZLetter 108 | Interviewing 3 People Who Received Both Doses of the Moderna Vaccine
How it effected life and workouts
Welcome,
Hopefully, you are having a good start to February! I always get excited when a newsletter that is important to me is widely shared. All of my newsletters are important in their own way, but I’ve found interviewing and learning more about the vaccines to be especially important, so thank you!
In the newsletter last week, I interviewed three people who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. This week, I'm interviewing three people who have received both doses of the Moderna Vaccine. From chatting with various people, it sounds like both vaccines have roughly the same side effects. Like anything, these are personal experiences, and every person is different. Listen to medical professionals as well as your body.
This week I interviewed Stefanie, Allie, and Tim about their Moderna Vaccine experience.
About the Moderna Vaccine:
You can learn more about the Moderna Vaccine on the CDC website. Unlike Pfizer, which is administered 3 weeks apart, Moderna is administered 28 days apart. Most people report a "sore arm" after the first dose and flu-like symptoms after the second dose. An interesting and fun fact, but Moderna must be stored between -13 degrees and 5 degrees. That's cold!
About Stefanie: Stefanie Flippin is 31 years old, and while she runs almost every distance, her favorite distance is any ultra. Despite not training for anything specific, she still runs between 70-80 mile weeks. She boasts a marathon PR of 2:54 and a 100 mile PR of 15:55. You can find her on Instagram here.
Her first dose of Moderna was administered on December 26, 2020, and her second dose was administered on January 21, 2021.
The First Dose: After the first dose, she ran a 16-mile progression run. Except for a sore arm, she didn't have any symptoms or side effects.
The Second Dose: Before receiving the second dose, she ran 8 miles. Roughly 8 hours after receiving the second dose, she felt achy with the presence of a low-grade fever, and mild headache. She slept poorly, and the symptoms continued into the next day. The day after, she rested and spent most of the day on the couch. She also noticed more joint pain and muscle soreness.
Once she hit 24 hours post-injection, she took 400 mg of ibuprofen, which helped. She mentioned she tried to wait until 24 hours later to have the most robust immune response possible.
She also scheduled her "down week" the same week she received the second dose to allow her body to properly respond to the vaccination without additional stress.
Now? She feels normal and has resumed her training.
For Stefanie, this was never about "should I or should I not" receive the vaccine. She was fortunate to be in a position that allowed her to receive the vaccine early on. She fully trusts the science and the three full phases of clinical trials (for those interested, the results of Moderna's phase III clinical trial were published in the December 2020 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine).
She has seen many of her patients, patients' family and friends, and a member of her own family suffer and ultimately lose their lives to COVID-19.
For Stefanie, 24 hours of discomfort and a day off of training following the second dose is worth knowing I'm doing the best she can to protect myself, my family, staff, and patients.
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About Allie: Allie is gearing up to train for IMAC 70.3 after her originally scheduled Ironman was canceled last year. She has done 5 marathons (4:44:08 PR), 14-ish half marathons, and several shorter distances.
Allie is a health educator on a college campus, and she focuses on topics people don’t want to talk about: Suicide, sexual assault, mental health, substance abuse, and sexual health. She is also an indoor cycling instructor. You can find her on Twitter and her training on Instagram.
Due to working in person on a college campus, she received the vaccine early. She received the first dose of Moderna on 12/29 and the second dose on 1/26.
The First Dose: After the first dose, her arm hurt at the first injection site. Other than that, she had no other symptoms or side effects.
The Second Dose: She worked out before receiving her dose around 9 am. At 2 pm that day, she felt exhausted. She later fell asleep around 6:30 pm and woke up around 8 am. The next day, she called out of work with a slightly elevated temperature. Around 24 hours later, at 2 pm, she felt a lot better. She mentions it was almost exactly 24 hours of feeling crummy. The following day taught her indoor cycling class with no issues.
Allie mentioned: "I was cranky for 24 hours but would 100% do it again if it helped to end this covid stuff. We’re all over it."
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About Tim: Tim is a 31-year-old who enjoys distances between 5k-marathon. He has a 5k of PR 16:45 and a marathon PR of 2:59. He is not training for anything right now and runs between 40-50 miles a week.
Tim is an Air Force pilot and received his first Moderna Vaccine on 12/29 and the second dose on 1/28.
The First Dose: During the first dose, he felt no side effects minus a sore arm.
The Second Dose: He ran the morning of the second dose and received the vaccine around 9 am. He worked the entire day, but he felt exhausted when he came home. The day after, he slept in and felt groggy in the morning. He felt tired, achy, and lethargic. He rested and opted to work from home, which he says: Played with his cats most of the day. He ended up sleeping nearly 12 hours the next day and feeling a lot better.
He was told to wait 12 hours before taking any Motrin to allow for the best immune response. He tried waiting as long as possible but elected to take one about 24 hours after the second dose (which helped a little) and one right before bed.
Tim also mentioned: While I did have 24 hours of sickness, it was no worse than any other vaccine I've received.
Thank you, Stefanie, Allie, and Tim, for your time! From the people I’ve interviewed, it sounds like more people experience side effects and tiredness after the second vaccine. Many opted to schedule a rest day after the second dose or a cutback week that week.
Next week, I will talk with someone who participated in a vaccine clinical trial.
What is Keeping Me Entertained:
Article: Ted Metellus named race director of TCS New York City Marathon
Blog: 7 Last-Minute Valentines Day Gifts for Runners
Recipe: Easy Homemade Sushi Many people asked me to share how to make sushi, and it's really not as hard as you think!
Shoe Review: Diadora Mythos Volo Shoe Review One of my favorite shoes of 2021.
I hope someone else can relate to this…
As always, stay healthy and safe. Thank you to everyone who reads, shares, and subscribes.
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