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Newsletter
Marathon Recovery
Now that marathon season has arrived and some of you have already run your marathon you now need to consider the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of your marathon schedule….RECOVERY.
I am frequently asked the question, “How soon can I resume training for my next event?” The advice that I always give is that you should do no hard training, no racing, and no speed work until you have allowed a day of recovery for each mile that you raced. In other words you should allow 26 days recovery for the 26.2 miles that you ran.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t run for 26 days, it just means you can’t resume harder training until you have recovered. When you run a marathon you will develop numerous micro-tears deep in the muscle tissue and these tears allow fluid to leak out into the surrounding tissue. You need to allow your body to repair these micro-tears and to absorb and eliminate the residual toxins remaining in the muscle tissue.
Depending on how well you were conditioned for the marathon you just ran, I usually recommend that you either take off the day after the marathon or you just do some walking. After that you can run an easy mile on day two then depending on how your legs respond you can add an additional mile each day or every other day until you are running 5 miles. You then need to limit your runs to 5 or 6 miles for another week and take a couple of days off during that time. At two weeks after the marathon you can begin to build your base mileage again, but all of these miles should be at a recovery pace not to exceed 70% MHR (max heart rate). Add additional miles during the third week up to a long run distance of 8-10 miles and hold that for an additional week. At that point you will be 28 days out from the marathon and you should be able to begin training at a higher effort and to GRADUALLY add some faster pace running and speedwork back into your schedule.
The trap that many runners fall into, whether beginner or seasoned runner, is that if you take it easy for a couple of weeks after the marathon your legs will feel pretty good and you will think it is okay to start running hard again. THIS IS WHERE MOST AFTER MARATHON INJURIES OCCUR!!! If you become injured during this time your recovery will be extended due to the fact that your body is trying to heal the injury while still trying to heal the effects of the marathon on your muscle fibers.
Be patient, something most runners are not noted for, and I promise that the training you do after your recovery will be better and you will progress faster than the amount of time you think you are saving by returning to training before you are fully recovered.
train to be your best
With the arrival of marathon season many runners, both new and experienced, begin to think about running a marathon. This is an admirable goal that takes both a mental and physical commitment. I have coached athletes of all abilities to compete in marathons but I have always told them there is a difference in finishing a marathon and running your best marathon.
To run your best marathon you have to train to run your best marathon. This involves accessing your current level of fitness, how much time you can dedicate to training and how long do you have before your goal event. Once these factors have been determined you can then seek out a coach to help you. I'm not stating this as just a way to solicit business, but I have seen very few athletes who have been able to coach themselves to the level required to have a breakthrough event. A coach will put together a training plan that has all the right elements necessary for success while also maintaining a close watch to prevent burn-out and injury.
A good coach will advise you on all aspects of your training, shoes, clothes, nutrition and most important recovery and rest. To have a breakthrough event will require months of training with long hours spent each week running. This must be taken into consideration with family, work and other obligations because in many cases they must sacrifice some of your time.
If you think you have the drive and the time required to "go for the gold" find a coach and an event and make a commitment to do the hard work required to run the best marathon you are capable of running.
Send me an email if I can help.
the dangers of hot weather running
Running in hot weather can pose dangers to runners. Particularly dangerous is racing in hot, humid summer conditions. Here's how to protect yourself from these five serious (and potentially fatal) conditions.
Dehydration
Dehydration is not limited only to the summer months, although it's
probably more likely to occur during that time. Many physicians believe that
most people are in a constant state of dehydration. Since coffee, tea, soda and
alcohol act as a diuretic, anyone who drinks these fluids on a daily basis, and
doesn't drink at least an equal amount of water, will probably be dehydrated. If
the person is physically active, the potential for dehydration is even greater.
Working out in hot, humid conditions promotes sweating, which in turn can cause dehydration. Sweating is good for you because it cools your body, but when you lose too much water you become dehydrated. If you're already slightly dehydrated, sweating will only make it worse. It's important to maintain an adequate fluid intake all the time. Don't expect that you can make up for several days of not drinking enough by downing two cups of sports drink before your next long run or race. It's important to keep hydrated all the time. Once you start to feel thirsty, it's too late.
The average (sedentary) person needs a minimum of eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day. Runners need more: anywhere from four to eight quarts of fluid. That translates to at least sixteen 8-ounce glasses daily. Remember that diuretics don't count! Drink water and sports drinks, and if you don't have to worry about calories, fruit drinks or juice.
Two hours before your daily summer workout or a race, you should drink 16 ounces of fluid. Then ten minutes or so before you start to run, drink another one or two cups of water or sports drink. Drinking early and drinking often is the key. During a race you should drink six to twelve ounces of fluid every 15-20 minutes. If the weather is very hot, you may need to drink even more. Training in warm weather, you should drink at least every 35 to 40 minutes. (Remember you will have already had two 8-ounce glasses before you started.) If you're running a race shorter than 30 minutes, you probably won't need any water other than what you drank before the start. The same goes for the last few miles of a longer race. If you're racing or training for longer than an hour, drink sports drinks as opposed to strictly water.
Start drinking immediately after finishing a run, no matter if it was a race or a workout. Minimum is 16 ounces for every 30 minutes you ran. If you tend to sweat a lot, you'll need more. Weigh yourself after you've run. Drink at least 16 ounces of fluid for every pound you lose through sweating.
By monitoring the color of your urine you can tell if you're hydrated. It should be pale yellow or even clear. If it isn't, you need to drink more fluids. It's important that you retain the fluid, so be careful it you're urinating every fifteen or twenty minutes. To restore your fluid balance, eat something salty (a bag of pretzels, salted nuts, crackers or potato chips), then drink a sports drink. The salt will make you thirstier, so you'll take in even more fluid and urine production will decrease.
Heat Cramps
Have you ever seen a runner bent over at the side of the road massaging
their calves during a race? Chances are that he or she had heat cramps. Heat
cramps are very painful (envision someone stabbing a knife deep into your
muscles!) and rarely "work themselves out". The cramps occur because you've lost
minerals through sweating and dehydration. Once you've reached the point of heat
cramps, it's too late to try to replace fluids on the run. To make the cramps go
away you should:
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is a very serious condition that can lead to heatstroke. The
symptoms of heat exhaustion are:
If you experience any of these symptoms you must:
Heatstroke
Heatstroke can be fatal. Unfortunately runners will sometimes ignore the
symptoms of heat exhaustion (particularly in races longer than 10K) and will
continue to push themselves until they're nearing a total thermoregulatory
breakdown. The symptoms of heatstroke are very similar to those of heat
exhaustion, but rapidly progress to:
Someone suffering from heatstroke needs immediate medical attention. They should be moved out of the sun, cooled by either rubbing their body with ice or immersing them in cold water and given fluids intravenously.
Hyponatremia
Within the last few years the condition known as hyponatremia has begun
to attract the attention of sports medicine physicians, exercise physiologists,
and the medical directors at some of the larger marathons around the country.
Hyponatremia has been called water intoxication because of the symptoms it
produces. According to Dr. Tim Noakes, Professor of Exercise & Sports Science
Director at the University of Cape Town, "…a person with hyponatremia looks like
he or she is mildly drunk. They can't concentrate normally…they forget what you
were talking about and start to concentrate elsewhere."
Hyponatremia occurs when the body becomes dangerously low in sodium. It's caused when you literally take in too much water. Although scientists have known about it for a long time, it has only been in the last few years as more runners have been competing in marathons that it has become a concern. According to Dr. Noakes, fluid has to be ingested at high levels for several hours for hyponatremia to occur. He suggests that a runner would have to be drinking water regularly for at least four to six hours to develop the condition. So runners taking four to six hours or more to run a marathon are at particular risk.
Unfortunately, symptoms of hyponatremia tend to mimic those of severe dehydration and/or heat exhaustion. By giving the athlete more water to drink the hyponatremia becomes worse, as more and more sodium is flushed out of the system. If a runner with hyponatremia is given fluids intravenously, they can suffer a fatal reaction. Dr. Noakes and other sports medicine professionals recommend that physicians and other medical personnel at road races be alert for the signs of hyponatremia. One of the earliest symptoms is a craving for salty food.
Although hyponatremia is rare, it's wise to be aware that it can occur, particularly if you're running a marathon in unusually hot weather. Hyponatremia serves as a reminder that water is good, but don't forget sports drinks, which replenish your body with the sodium, potassium and other trace minerals you lose through sweat. It's worth repeating: if you're going to be running (or racing) for longer than an hour, you should be drinking a sports drink as well as water.
Hot weather racing tips
Can You Ever Be Too Careful?
Recently an accomplished masters runner and member of the Atlanta Track Club Competitive Team, Patty Foell, was struck by a car and tragically killed. This occurred during the early morning hours in the dark. We will never know the exact circumstances for such a tragic event to happen to such an accomplished runner. This occurred within days of the 1 Year Anniversary of the death of Chattahoochee Road Runners member Carole Rivera from a cycling accident that happened during daylight hours.
We have all heard about the safeguards we need to take as runners and cyclists, but many times we think of it as just a bother to wear reflective gear or flashers. At this time of the year when many of us are running in the dark or riding in low light situations, it is imperative that you make yourself visible. In a low-light situation you are almost invisible to drivers unless you are wearing reflective gear or flashers. When you come to an intersection try to make eye contact with a driver, if you can’t don’t assume that you are seen, stop and be sure you are seen before you run or ride in front of a vehicle.
If a driver is approaching an intersection and intends to turn right they will be looking to the left and if are running against traffic and approaching from the right they may roll through the crosswalk and strike you before they even realize that you are there.
When Patty was tragically struck by the car and medical and police personnel arrived they had no idea who she was or how to contact family because she had no identification with her. Even if you are running with friends YOU SHOULD NEVER LEAVE FOR A RUN OR RIDE WITHOUT CARRYING IDENTIFICATION WITH MEDICAL INFORMATION!!!!!!
There is a link on my site to Road ID to custom engrave metal ID tags (dog tags or shoe tags) with the logo of your choice on one side and personal and medical info on the other side. PLEASE take advantage of this site or use some other form of ID, but don’t continue to go running or riding without identification. We care too much for you and don’t want to hear of anything bad happening to you.
Are You Spending Your Money and Time Wisely?
I have a question for you. Where do you think you would get the most benefit for your money, spending $30 - $40 for a carbon fiber bottle cage to reduce your bicycle weight by an ounce? Or spending the same amount to consult with a coach about your training? If you are capable of winning the race then you might opt for the bottle cage, but if you are of that caliber you are probably sponsored and already have a bike with all the latest gadgets and you probably also have a coach.
It seems funny to me that someone will go out and spend thousands of dollars on the latest bike before they have done everything they can to improve the "motor" that drives that bike. Don't misunderstand, you need a good bike, but unless you have become better than your equipment, your current bike is probably adequate and the additional dollars could be used to hire a coach to guide you.
Are you spending numerous hours each week training, but don't really know if you are using the proper mix for your current level of fitness? Do you condition your strengths and train your weaknesses or do you train your strengths and condition your weaknesses? A coach can help you with the proper type of training, the proper mix and the proper level of intensity.
Most athletes use the "Schedule of the Month" published in magazines or from books they have read. These are good starting points, but everyone is an experiment of one and responds differently to the same training. Although you might have friends who have trained themselves for years and have had a level of success, unless they "tweak" their advise for you as an individual, their advise is not any more relevant than the generic programs in books and magazines.
So before you go out and buy the latest "gadget", maybe you should consider how wisely you are spending your money.
It's Marathon Season!!!!
With Fall just around the corner and with the
cooler temperatures we have had lately, many a runner begins to think about a
fall or spring marathon. If you have been among the group that has tried to
maintain your mileage during these “Dog Days of Summer”, then you are in a
position to handle a fall marathon. If your mileage has slipped during the
summer, then the cooler weather is perfect for building your base again and
prepare for an early spring marathon.
Whatever your current level of fitness there are several “rules” that you must
follow in beginning your training for a marathon.
1. Start slow. Even if you have been running during the summer when you begin
the mileage build-up
you need to allow your body enough time to adapt.
2. Stay hydrated. When the weather turns cooler you don’t realize how much you
are sweating
because it evaporates more quickly because of the lower
humidity. Also when the temperature
drops low enough for you to see your breath, that’s moisture
you are losing with each breath.
3. Buy new shoes. By the time you are ready for your marathon you will have made
several runs in
in them and they should still be stable enough for the
marathon.
4. Practice in your training with gels and electrolyte drinks that you will use
in the marathon. Don’t
use anything in the race that you haven’t tried in training.
5. Be patient. There will be good days and bad days and highs and lows, but if
you stay consistent
with your training your body WILL adapt to a higher level of
fitness.
6. If you have established a specific time goal, either a PR or a Boston
qualifying time you will need
to do pace miles at marathon pace and you will need to do
some speedwork.
7. Have fun!!!! If you don’t enjoy the effort of training for the goal you
either won’t stick with it or
you won’t meet your goal.
Enjoy your training and I hope you have a great race!!!!!
If you have any questions or problems or just need some advice send me an email
coachwill@coachwillsrunners.com
The Jogger Controversy
In the May 1969 issue of Distance Running News an article by Jeff Johnson raised the question “Do Joggers Belong in the Boston Marathon”. There were 1152 starters that year and BAA official Jock Semple thought that most of them were, “joggers, idiots, and prank runners.” A number of the elite runners were asked their opinion and they varied from being supportive of all levels of running to almost hostile reactions to anyone who was not of the elite class. One runner in particular, Art Dudley, who finished 96th in a time of 2:51:14 had this to say; “Jogging itself is done for health reasons, as Bill Bowerman (co-author of Jogging) teaches it. Most joggers have only run 7 or 8 mile training runs, and by running a marathon they are a health hazard to themselves. Competition defeats the purpose of jogging. Moreover, joggers clutter up the field and make the race into a Halloween party, a farce. For the serious runner, the mass of joggers at the start is trouble. Along the route they are a hazard to themselves and to traffic which can’t be kept off the course all day. They are an unnecessary nuisance.”
In the spring of 1999 the Washington Post featured a story that quoted runners who couldn’t get into the Marine Corp Marathon. They complained that 25 % of the spots were reserved for charities, which in turn kept many “real runners” from entering. People who apply too late for the popular marathons are complaining about this situation. Many of these proclaimed “serious runners” blame less serious participants for shutting them out. The purists claim that marathons are races, not a walk when you need to event. Their wrath is being primarily directed at the charity runners, with Team in Training of the Leukemia Society being the largest.
So if these are “serious runners” why are they trying to enter events with huge fields? There are over 300 marathons in the U. S. each year, many with fast courses and small fields. Speaking as a former race director, I’m sure the directors of these smaller events would love to have the fast runners.
I was a mentor and an assistant coach for several years with Team in Training and most recently with Gayle Barron’s Team Spirit. In 1996 I sent 45 runners to the Chicago Marathon, 18 qualified for Boston and 85% set PRs with the slowest time being just over 4 hours.
What is a “serious runner”? I believe a serious runner is anyone who spends months training at distances up to and over 20 miles (not 7 or 8 as was suggested in the 1969 article). I believe a serious runner is anyone who enters the marathon with the idea that they are going to do the best that they can do on that day, given the circumstances they must face. I wonder if these other “serious runners” have stopped to think what kind of event they would have if their money was all that was going into the pot? Sponsors put up money for exposure of their product or service, they look for “the most bang for their buck”. Which marathon do you think they would support, one with a field of a few hundred elite runners, or one with 30,000 participants.
Everyone was not born with the same talent (or ego) of these elite runners, but there is room for both in the marathon field. Most events make an attempt to give the faster runners a placement at the start line that will minimize interference from slower runners.
Runners come to the sport for different reasons, but we all have one thing in common, whether we finish first or last we are all WINNERS!!!
Hydrate,
Hydrate, Hydrate!!!
Now that the weather has gotten warmer, it is even more critical than
ever to monitor your fluid intake and loss. Dehydration of 2% of body
weight leads to 6%-8% reduction in performance. Ex: 140# x 2% =
2.8#. Water = 1#/16 oz. 8#/gallon. Try to weigh yourself before and after your
run and replace 110% of the weight loss. You need to replace 110% of the fluid
loss because your body does not absorb all that you drink. Ex: 2.8#x110%=3.08# =
49.28oz.of fluid needed to be replaced.
Live high,
Train low
For years athletes have been told the benefits of living and training at a
higher elevation in the increased production of more oxygen carrying red blood
cells, but recently researchers have begun to document that the training at
higher elevation usually results in a decreased effort level so that the
workouts are actually done at an intensity level below what the athlete could do at sea
level.
The new research shows that if you live high and train low you will receive a double benefit. Living at a higher elevation does produce more oxygen carrying red blood cells, and training at a lower elevation allows the athlete to train at a higher effort level because of the increased blood cells and the higher concentration of oxygen at the lower elevation.
For those athletes who don't have the benefit of living at elevation the development of altitude tents allows the athlete to sleep in a reduced oxygen atmosphere, the theory being that this will increase the development of more red blood cells.
The two schools of thought about racing at elevation are to arrive the night before the race and trick your body into thinking you are still at a lower elevation and the other is to arrive 5 to 7 days before the race to allow your body to make the adaptation to the higher elevation.
Living and training at the higher elevation will eventually find a balance of effort versus benefit, but it is certain that if you live and train at a higher elevation and come down to a lower elevation to race you have a window of opportunity of about 1 to 2 weeks before your body starts to reverse the procedure and begins adapting to the lower elevation.
Exercise, Intensity And Heart Health
When it comes to exercise and heart health, the more intense the activity
the better. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that high-intensity exercise may be
better at preventing heart disease than moderate activity, and that adding
weight training to high-intensity activity could be especially beneficial. In
the study, researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the
medical records of 44,452 male health professionals aged 40 to 75. Between 1986
and 1998, 1,700 of the men were diagnosed with heart disease. The researchers
found that men who did high-intensity exercise, such as running or jogging, had
a 42 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-runners. Men who did
low-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, had an 18 percent lower risk for
heart disease compared to non-walkers, The Associated Press reports. The
researchers also found that men who pumped iron for 30 minutes or more per week
lowered their risk of heart disease by 23 percent. They theorize that adding
weight training to running or jogging could mean even more heart-healthy
benefits. The researchers add that moderate exercise, while it may not give the
maximum protection against heart disease, is still much better than being
sedentary.
A Drink
A Day
Just a little bit of alcohol every day may keep heart attacks away. Earlier
studies have shown that moderate alcohol consumption can lower a person's risk
of heart disease, The Associated Press reports. But a new study published in
the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the heart-healthy benefits of
alcohol may depend on how often you drink it. Researchers from Harvard Medical
School analyzed data on 38,077 male health professionals participating in a
long-term health study. The researchers found that men who consumed as little
as half a drink every day had a lower risk of heart attacks than men who did not
drink at all or men who drank less often. It didn't matter whether the men had
beer, red wine, white wine or liquor. The men who regularly had a drink cut
their heart attack risk by one-third, while men who drank alcohol once or twice
per week had a 16 percent reduction in their heart attack risk. The researchers
hypothesize that regular moderate drinking helps the heart by thinning the
blood, the same reason that aspirin does, the AP says. However, the researchers
say that their findings apply only to moderate drinking; heavy drinking is
associated with a number of other serious health problems.
Copyright: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
