Alternative title:
Highway to Hell! One Woman's Epic Tale of Stupidity, Insanity, and Frozen Feet
Follow the link to the document. Sorry, this was a massively long story and it was easier to make a word document and then embed it here.
Six Hours to Paradise
Showing posts with label Running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Running. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Nina And The Cursed IT Band: A Running History
In middle school, I had been a promising runner and had won many of the 5k-cross country races by a minute or more. I specifically remember several times looking back behind me, seeing no one at all, and feeling my shoulders relax: I had the race in the bag. I would then impressively kick it in at top speed to the "Ooos and Aaahs" of the crowd. I loved to win.
Of course it wasn't a mere fluke. It was the start of Illiotibial Band Syndrome or ITBS, a common overuse injury for runners.
After almost a year of pushing myself through the left knee pain, the burning sensation started to travel up into my hip. And then, probably because my gait had changed without me knowing it, my right knee started to hurt. And then my right hip.
Ameliorating my knee situation turned out to be the easiest change (at least in the short term). I researched the IT Band, found out the causes and the solutions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz73i3O01d8). I ended up not doing any sports Senior year and the first semester of college--I thought this was going to be hard, but I had been so frustrated and down that I was glad to get out of it for a while. I went to PT, did the stretches for real, and focused on relaxing more.
My style of racing was similar in the 800 meter race. The first of two laps were spent in the mid to back of the front pack. At the 500 meter mark I would start to pick up the pace, pour on whatever I had in the tanks, and speed ahead to win the race.
I also excelled at the triple jump. In 8th grade, I had already been jumping over 30 feet and got to go to the state comp (most other girls were jumping 26-28 ft).
Getting in shape and winning was easy for me back then. I could start the running season with no preparation at all. I'd take for granted that my body could go from no distance work (just soccer running) to full on cross country training, including hills, speed work, tempo runs, and distance runs. And stretching? Yeah, maybe I'd quickly "stretch" for a couple seconds before or after a run--you know, go through the motion of reaching for my toes or grabbing some shoelace to stretch my quads.
For three and a half years (6th-part of 9th Grades), I was able to do this no problem.
Then it all went downhill and not in a good way.
I remember the exact moment that my knee started hurting me. It was the last home meet of the cross country season in the 9th Grade and I'd done fairly well--tenth place. Post race, some people were stretching out, cooling down properly, but I was lazing about in the grass, eating Smart Food and scanning for my Mom's silver Volvo to pull into the parking lot. When I finally caught a glimpse of the car pulling up, I instantly jumped off the ground, threw my bags across my back and sprinted across the field. As I was sprinting, I gradually felt a burning sensation just below my kneecap. The pain increased exponentially and I hastily stopped, stretched out, massaged the area, and prayed to the Gods. It seemed to go away. After five minutes, I was running across the field again, telling myself that it must have been a weird fluke.
Of course it wasn't a mere fluke. It was the start of Illiotibial Band Syndrome or ITBS, a common overuse injury for runners. At the end of the Fall running season and into the Spring track season (I played basketball during the Winter), I started to consistently feel the pain in my left knee. Instead of doing what a normal person would do--take time off, see a physical therapist, cross train, stretch...--I felt that I should just continue to push myself through the pain. It didn't seem to change my gait or running style; I could still keep my pace up; I was still getting PRs (personal records). It just became another challenge to overcome. Isn't that what running is all about: staying mentally strong, pushing yourself as hard as you can go? It didn't occur to me then that not all pain is good pain and that this injury could go on to affect me for the following ten years.
After almost a year of pushing myself through the left knee pain, the burning sensation started to travel up into my hip. And then, probably because my gait had changed without me knowing it, my right knee started to hurt. And then my right hip.You would think that all of this pain would have been a signal to me to listen to my body and ease up. No dice. I was stubbornly stupid [back then] and convinced that these problems would work themselves out without taking time off or changing my lifestyle.
Well, mid-cross country season in 10th Grade, my body went on strike without my permission. By the time homecoming came around, I was barely able to walk. My hips were so stiff I couldn't stretch properly--yes, now I was at least trying to stretch out. I was unable to keep a good pace during the races. I was now finishing in the latter half of the race.
What a blow to my ego! No longer being able to run through the pain, and no longer being able to walk without pain, Coach Sawyer ordered me to physical therapy. I went to a local place, to a guy who specialized in IT Bands. He told me that in his entire 20 years of therapy he had never seen a case as severe as mine. Usually ITBS localizes in the knees or the hips. My entire band (from the knee extending into the hips) was tight and tender. We started with FRICTION rubs--massage meant to break up tissue, circulate the blood, and release tension. These are not nice, soothing massages. The pain was so severe that I would feel it shoot into my brain.
This did help a bit. I was able to walk without pain. Unfortunately, I was too stubborn to take time off. And I wasn't really stretching outside of the PT sessions. And I did no cross training to help build the muscles around the knee.
Junior year was a disaster. I consistently ran in the back. I physically couldn't hit good times. I became frustrated and negative. The spring season was worse. My triple jumps were an abysmal 25 ft and often I would fault out because I couldn't keep my stride consistent and mess up the timing.
I would often end these meets in tears.
In retrospect (ahhh, how nice it is to be able to look back on these events with the wisdom I've gained since then), my problems with my knee and the way I handled the situation was representative of a larger problem in my life. That is, every time a problem would arise, I would be convinced that somehow it would just work itself out. The best thing to do would be to keep plugging along, don't change how I'm going about things, and just hope for the best.
The wrongness of this line of thinking is so obvious when I'm here, sitting at my desk, contemplating my life, and trying to suss out the past. If only I didn't have to keep learning about this the hard way! As a side note, my Dad has always said that the sign of true intelligence is being able to learn from mistakes and to not make the same ones over and over again. This is a wise statement and has proven to be hard to follow through on!
Anyways, this lack of problem confrontation came to an apex in the winter of Junior year when I came down with the croup and almost died--mostly because I did too many things and didn't admit that I needed help or needed to take a break when I felt overwhelmed with life. Again, even though I felt pretty sick and overwhelmed, I kept thinking that if I just kept going and made it through this difficult time, my health would work itself out. Sound familiar? How stubborn of me!
This bent with the croup and near-death caused me to re-examine my life. I realized that my problems with my Health, the IT Band, and doing too many activities were all connected. I'm not taking action to make my life better. I just keep going forward, making the same mistakes over and over again. Not the sign of intelligence at all!
I needed to change. Easier said than done, right?
Ameliorating my knee situation turned out to be the easiest change (at least in the short term). I researched the IT Band, found out the causes and the solutions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz73i3O01d8). I ended up not doing any sports Senior year and the first semester of college--I thought this was going to be hard, but I had been so frustrated and down that I was glad to get out of it for a while. I went to PT, did the stretches for real, and focused on relaxing more.
By the time I got to college, I was ready to start running again. But this time, I was going to do things right. My first semester, I still didn't run, but I walked everywhere I went. I read that it's important to build a strong foundation before getting into serious training. Once I had been walking for 30 minutes 4 times a week, I started easy jogging--just for one mile and then walk the rest. In this fashion, I started to add on more and more mileage. A slow build up was key.
In addition, I made sure I added in stretching sessions after each run and one longer session per week (one hour focused solely on stretching and core work). This lateral and core work turned out to be a key to rehabilitation: I had learned that ITBS is not only caused by doing too much too soon, but also because the muscles surrounding the knees are not built up [in runners]. Makes sense: with all the forward motion we do, the sides of the legs are completely neglected, weak, and tight. This causes imbalances in the knee which can lead to injury.
The real test began in the Winter of freshman year at Colby: I joined the Track & Field Team. I'll admit, I was nervous. Would I fall back into my old patterns? Would my knee start hurting again? Will I ever be as good as I used to be?
In addition, I made sure I added in stretching sessions after each run and one longer session per week (one hour focused solely on stretching and core work). This lateral and core work turned out to be a key to rehabilitation: I had learned that ITBS is not only caused by doing too much too soon, but also because the muscles surrounding the knees are not built up [in runners]. Makes sense: with all the forward motion we do, the sides of the legs are completely neglected, weak, and tight. This causes imbalances in the knee which can lead to injury.
The real test began in the Winter of freshman year at Colby: I joined the Track & Field Team. I'll admit, I was nervous. Would I fall back into my old patterns? Would my knee start hurting again? Will I ever be as good as I used to be?
I will never forget my first race back. I gave up being a distance runner and became a 400m runner instead. I came in dead last. By five seconds. Yep, Nina Martin came in dead last and could only whip out a 75 second 400. And my glutes had never burned so much! While I went on to improve my 400m time by 12 seconds over the course of the next four years, I sadly was never able to regain my triple jump skills. Indeed, I never broke 30 feet again and fouled out many, many times.
Regardless of this one negative, many good things happened for my running career at Colby. I relentlessly worked on technique and form and became one of the "instructors" of weight lifting technique to the underclassmen. Me and my workout out buddy Liz (and then later Kate), would think nothing of spending an extra two hours in the weight room before or after practice. Cross training, stretching and core work became a normal part of my everyday routine (on top of the running workouts). Also, I proved to myself that I could train hard and remain injury free: a sign of a responsible runner. My confidence and good spirit was rejuvenated as well.
These good habits and experiences at Colby not only prevented further injury, but also influenced decisions post-graduation. After college, I went on to train for the Philly Marathon AND remained injury free! I made sure I trained for this correctly and took an entire year to build up the mileage, adding in massages, stretching sessions, and lots of cross training. I followed the Runner's World Training plan. I was (am) extremely dogmatic about training safely.
My obsession with technique that started at Colby has also influenced me to become a group exercise instructor in Body Pump (weight lifting) and Spinning (great cross training for running). I feel it's very important to share my mistakes with other athletes and help them safely achieve their goals.
In summary:
*The good news: no IT Band pain since high school!
*The bad news: I never regained flexibility in my hips--they still cramp up and are rod-stiff.
*The Extra Good News: I am a marathoner with no injuries (knock on wood). I continue to be vigilant about listening to my body, stretching, and dealing with problems as they come up. I have taken up climbing and yoga to work on my flexibility and hopefully one day I'll be able to sit in the V-position and lean forward.
So, if you are serious about running, my advice is to become serious about cross training and stretching. My story turned out well because I am now completely dedicated to the well being of my body. Health comes first! This means taking the extra time to stretch and work on your weaknesses.
I learned these lessons the hard way, but at least I have proved over time that I have at least some intelligence and have stopped making the same running mistakes over and over. Now if I could only apply this to the rest of my Life, I'd be a genius!
Lessons Learned:
1) Health comes first. You have nothing without your health.
2) Listen to your body; don't ignore pain. Take action: ice, aspirin, stretching, heating...
4) If you feel bad pain, immediately take three days off, if persists, take more time off, get help!
5) Make stretching part of your daily routine
6) Make cross training part of your weekly routine; build up those non-running muscles + strengthen the running muscles! When I do consistent core work, I feel stronger when running.
7) Be consistent...my racing style used to be start off slow, then sprint the last leg. Terrible, can lead to injury! Pick a goal pace, stay with it. Never do more than you have trained for. This goes for your overall training plan too. Be consistent with your running. Don't leave off training until the last minute and expect your body to do more than it's ready to.
8) Add on mileage slowly, never more than 10%--this lets your body adapt slowly
9) Have your race pace be consistent with your training pace.
10) Be patient with your training, i.e. building a solid foundation or taking time off. Shit happens. Deal with it.
11) Have fun; don't take yourself too seriously. We are choosing to do this in our free time. Most of us will never be pro's, so why get all bent out of shape if one day you can't hit a pace or if you have to take a day off. Things that you do for yourself in your free time should be fun.
Happy Training!
Useful links:
Great YouTube Video on ITB(S): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz73i3O01d8
Injury Prevention: http://www.runnersworld.com/channel/0,,s6-241-0-0-0,00.html
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Six-Week Training Plan For Broad St 10 Mile Race (May 3, 2009)
Goal Pace: 7:50 min/mi pace
Notes: First race of the season. Haven’t been running that much since I started teaching Body Pump (BP) and Spinning in January. Last year, I ran 8 min/mi pace for this race. This year I’m shooting for sub 8. I think 7:50 min/mi is a reasonable goal. My PR for a half marathon was last year’s Nike Women’s Half Marathon in October and I averaged 7:31 min/mi. Obviously, not at that pace yet, but sub 8 is def doable considering I am very fit from my classes!
-Speedwork gets 800m jogs in between sets.
-I’m not sure that I’ll be able to keep to the >7 min/mi pace for the mile repeats….that’s pretty slow, but that’s the suggested pace considering I haven’t done any speed all Winter. I’ll let you know how that goes!
-I also kept out 400 repeats from the schedule…going to save that ‘til after I get my legs back.
-Tuesdays are my worst energy days (so much teaching mon/tues). I tried to allow for that in my planning.
Notes: First race of the season. Haven’t been running that much since I started teaching Body Pump (BP) and Spinning in January. Last year, I ran 8 min/mi pace for this race. This year I’m shooting for sub 8. I think 7:50 min/mi is a reasonable goal. My PR for a half marathon was last year’s Nike Women’s Half Marathon in October and I averaged 7:31 min/mi. Obviously, not at that pace yet, but sub 8 is def doable considering I am very fit from my classes!
-Speedwork gets 800m jogs in between sets.
-I’m not sure that I’ll be able to keep to the >7 min/mi pace for the mile repeats….that’s pretty slow, but that’s the suggested pace considering I haven’t done any speed all Winter. I’ll let you know how that goes!
-I also kept out 400 repeats from the schedule…going to save that ‘til after I get my legs back.
-Tuesdays are my worst energy days (so much teaching mon/tues). I tried to allow for that in my planning.
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Runs On A Run: Nutrition For Runners
Runners, and in particular marathoners, must keep properly fueled and hydrated throughout the day for peak performance. But what happens if during your hard runs you can't keep the nutrients in your stomach long enough for it to be digested and efficiently used; i.e. you either have to spew or you get the runs? Both are very pleasant experiences.
I started to have this problem during my monster month of training for my first marathon (monster month = weekly mileage of 60+ miles). I just couldn't keep the food in my stomach. Even though I was eating like crazy, I lost 20 pounds in a month. People were asking me if I had an eating disorder. I was mortified: "Really guys, come with me during the day and see how much I'm eating; I really can't pack in anymore...I just can't seem to get control of my stomach during the speed workouts or after those 17-20 mile runs." I remember being in that last mile of my run and panic-stricken: "Oh my God, I don't know if I'm going to make it!" I always did make it just in time, but not without cursing, scrambling up the stairs, and pleading with God.
What was going on?
Since I didn't want to lose anymore weight or be accused of eating disorders (which is ridiculous if you know me), I knew that I had to get into research mode and figure out what the heck I was doing wrong. After much reading and talking with my doctor friends, I realized I was making rookie mistakes in my view of nutrition and how I should be properly fueling myself during the day.
NUMBER ONE THING TO REMEMBER. Etch this in your brain:
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
For the serious runner, these are the only two states that matter. The period of time from the second you finish a run to the moment you start a run is your recovery time. Recovery does not just happen in the 30 minutes proceeding a run. And getting ready for the next run does not just happen 30 minutes before a workout
Rookie mistake #1: "Oh yeah, I've got to take that run soon, let me toss back a bit of water and a power bar" = what NOT to do).
Solution #1: Recovery is an all day/night process. Every meal and snack is geared towards your recovery and preparation for the next workout.
Rookie mistake #2: Only eating/drinking when you feel hungry or thirsty (this applies during and after the run). If you are feeling hungry, you are NOT fueling properly. Your brain sends out signals to make you have the sensation of hunger AFTER it realizes that you are low on nutrients.
Solution #2: Schedule 5 mini-meals during the day/evening. www.runnersworld.com has many great suggestions for these mini-meals. The key here is to be balanced and to not fully satiate yourself with food at any one time during the day. Read: you never feel hungry, but you never feel stuffed either.
Rookie mistake #3: Carbo loading pre-workout. Carbo loading, i.e. eating tons of pasta, is a phenomenon of the past and can contribute to the GI problems I mentioned above. Pasta is great and should definitely be incorporated into any runners diet, however, to load up on pasta before a hard workout is not only ineffective, it can give you gas and diarrhea. The reason is because if you have too many carbs in your system, they will sit in your stomach, unused and just be excreted. If you have a lot of undigested, complex carbs sitting in your stomach by the time the workout comes along, you will in the very least get very gassy.
Solution #3: Eat balanced. Check out www.runnersworld.com for meal plans and new recipes. On day with hard workout, avoid foods that take a long time to digest--i.e. complex carbs, fats, greasy foods in general. Hold off on that pizza til tomorrow! I also am careful about what I eat after the hard run, i.e. for dinner. I find that my stomach stays in sensitive mode for the hours following a run. I stay away from watery fruits (berries), acidic foods (orange juice, tomatoes), and I go easy on the cheese and milk. Definitely drink non-water beverages lightly, especially juice. Drinking lots of juice post-run is a sure way to get sick. I wait to have that burger until the following day. Post-run, I can always handle a bowl of multi-grain pasta, olive oil, garlic salt, chicken breast, and broccoli or peppers. Rice is good too!
Rookie mistake #4: Guzzling Gatorade or water post-workout. If you're feeling extremely thirsty by the time you reach the end of your run, this means that you did not hydrate properly before and during your run. Hydration is an all day and night requirement. Even if you down a liter of water before you go to sleep at night, it has already been used up by morning. Again, you want to avoid drinking large quantities of anything at one time. Drinking more than your body needs at any particular time will just lead to its excretion in the best case scenario. Over drinking is one of the common causes of diarrhea post-run.
Solution #4: Find out for yourself the amount of water per hour you can drink and feel comfortable--again, you never want to feel thirsty or overly satiated. Obviously, if you have to gulp down tons of liquid at any time, you are not drinking enough.
Rookie mistake #5: Drinking Gatorade or water and nothing else post-workout. In order to speed recovery of the muscles, protect against sickness, and to get ready for that next run, you need to replenish the nutrients that were lost within 30 minutes of the workout. The worst thing you can do is just replace the water or the carbs. Flooding your body with too much water or too many carbs without sodium, protein, or carbs will lead to diarrhea--it could also lead to cramping of your muscles as well.
Solution#5: Make the trip to GNC. Buy a recovery drink (it comes as a powder and you add water). ****Amy, I am not asking you to buy a protein drink like that disgusting one that Edward has, this is different and imperative that you invest in this!!! Check out the label. You want a drink that has a three to one ratio of carbs to protein. It will also have some form of sodium in it as well. Some have Vitamin C and Calcium/Vitamin D, but these are not as important. Bananas are always great--never had a problem eating those post workout. Stay away from juices and watery fruits (i.e. berries). Be careful of oranges, these are a traditional post-sport snack, but the acidity can be brutal on your stressed-out stomach.
Rookie mistake #6: Not drinking or eating during a run. When I first started the training, I drank some water during the run, but never ate anything--with my sensitive digestive system, I certainly wasn't going to upset it further with food. Much to my surprise, I learned that not replenishing your nutrients during a run can also lead to cramps/gas and diarrhea. Again, it's all about balance. If you just put water in your system, but not protein, carbs, or sodium, the pH balance in your stomach is altered, you body tries to adapt, and in this process you get diarrhea. Have I mentioned yet that diarrhea in this scenario is caused by having too much water and (mostly likely) low sodium levels in your stomach--your body reacts to this state by excreting watery poo. That unfortunately also gets rid of that power bar that was trying to be digested as well...
Solution #6: They're FUEL BREAKS, not water breaks! It's probably no surprise that you should be drinking water during a run. During my long (15+ miles) runs, I like to make a stop at CVS along the way and slowly drink some Gatorade, in addition to stopping at the water fountains along the bike path. This translates into taking fuel breaks twice an hour (more if it's hot out). If you have a sensitive GI system like me, you are going to have to experiment a lot with different combo's of drink and food. Unlike during a meal, during a run you want to snack on simple carbs. I often find that power bars are too hard to digest--I cannot handle digesting any bars that have protein or too much fat in them. Again, if you prefer the classic power bar, make sure that it has a high carb to fat ratio (read, you don't want a meal replacement bar that has tons of fat in it--hard to digest and really not helpful during a run anyway. We need quick fuel = carbs. Plus, if you are looking to lose weight, this will counteract that goal). I like the Cliff Shot Blocs--they very easily dissolve and are digested. Also, I sometimes bring along pieces of hard candy--like the butterscotch or peppermint candies. These give you just a little extra boost (NB: I'm not a candy person at all, but to avoid getting sick during the run, I've had to try all sorts of different things). For longer runs, I always bring one or two power bar gels. Again, if you have a sensitive stomach, suck these SLOWLY. I take one during the first 10 miles, and then another in the second ten miles along with sips of Gatorade. Remember, these gels don't replace water--you still need to hydrate. Diarrhea can also be caused by the reverse of the above scenario--too much sodium/carbs and not enough water. The mechanism is different for this case (since with the above situation, you would think that you'd get constipated, but it's a different response system, but believe you me the consequences are the same).
In Sum:
If you do have problems with the GI tract, the best thing that I've learned is that whatever you are eating or drinking, do it SLOWLY. Do not overwhelm your system. Do not wait until you feel thirsty or hungry.
Also, be careful what you eat during the day. If I know I have a super hard workout that evening, I avoid cookies, any kind of greasy food, and certain vegetables--even these can be hard to digest. I love chocolate chip cookies, but even one cookie can cause me problems during a run--keep that in mind when you are picking out what to eat on a given day. Stick to plain foods. Eat balanced.
NB: I am not a nutritionist, so if I've said anything incorrectly, feel free to correct me. This is just what I've learned to survive the hard workouts and it works for me.
Say again three times to yourself:
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
I started to have this problem during my monster month of training for my first marathon (monster month = weekly mileage of 60+ miles). I just couldn't keep the food in my stomach. Even though I was eating like crazy, I lost 20 pounds in a month. People were asking me if I had an eating disorder. I was mortified: "Really guys, come with me during the day and see how much I'm eating; I really can't pack in anymore...I just can't seem to get control of my stomach during the speed workouts or after those 17-20 mile runs." I remember being in that last mile of my run and panic-stricken: "Oh my God, I don't know if I'm going to make it!" I always did make it just in time, but not without cursing, scrambling up the stairs, and pleading with God.
What was going on?
Since I didn't want to lose anymore weight or be accused of eating disorders (which is ridiculous if you know me), I knew that I had to get into research mode and figure out what the heck I was doing wrong. After much reading and talking with my doctor friends, I realized I was making rookie mistakes in my view of nutrition and how I should be properly fueling myself during the day.
NUMBER ONE THING TO REMEMBER. Etch this in your brain:
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
For the serious runner, these are the only two states that matter. The period of time from the second you finish a run to the moment you start a run is your recovery time. Recovery does not just happen in the 30 minutes proceeding a run. And getting ready for the next run does not just happen 30 minutes before a workout
Rookie mistake #1: "Oh yeah, I've got to take that run soon, let me toss back a bit of water and a power bar" = what NOT to do).
Solution #1: Recovery is an all day/night process. Every meal and snack is geared towards your recovery and preparation for the next workout.
Rookie mistake #2: Only eating/drinking when you feel hungry or thirsty (this applies during and after the run). If you are feeling hungry, you are NOT fueling properly. Your brain sends out signals to make you have the sensation of hunger AFTER it realizes that you are low on nutrients.
Solution #2: Schedule 5 mini-meals during the day/evening. www.runnersworld.com has many great suggestions for these mini-meals. The key here is to be balanced and to not fully satiate yourself with food at any one time during the day. Read: you never feel hungry, but you never feel stuffed either.
Rookie mistake #3: Carbo loading pre-workout. Carbo loading, i.e. eating tons of pasta, is a phenomenon of the past and can contribute to the GI problems I mentioned above. Pasta is great and should definitely be incorporated into any runners diet, however, to load up on pasta before a hard workout is not only ineffective, it can give you gas and diarrhea. The reason is because if you have too many carbs in your system, they will sit in your stomach, unused and just be excreted. If you have a lot of undigested, complex carbs sitting in your stomach by the time the workout comes along, you will in the very least get very gassy.
Solution #3: Eat balanced. Check out www.runnersworld.com for meal plans and new recipes. On day with hard workout, avoid foods that take a long time to digest--i.e. complex carbs, fats, greasy foods in general. Hold off on that pizza til tomorrow! I also am careful about what I eat after the hard run, i.e. for dinner. I find that my stomach stays in sensitive mode for the hours following a run. I stay away from watery fruits (berries), acidic foods (orange juice, tomatoes), and I go easy on the cheese and milk. Definitely drink non-water beverages lightly, especially juice. Drinking lots of juice post-run is a sure way to get sick. I wait to have that burger until the following day. Post-run, I can always handle a bowl of multi-grain pasta, olive oil, garlic salt, chicken breast, and broccoli or peppers. Rice is good too!
Rookie mistake #4: Guzzling Gatorade or water post-workout. If you're feeling extremely thirsty by the time you reach the end of your run, this means that you did not hydrate properly before and during your run. Hydration is an all day and night requirement. Even if you down a liter of water before you go to sleep at night, it has already been used up by morning. Again, you want to avoid drinking large quantities of anything at one time. Drinking more than your body needs at any particular time will just lead to its excretion in the best case scenario. Over drinking is one of the common causes of diarrhea post-run.
Solution #4: Find out for yourself the amount of water per hour you can drink and feel comfortable--again, you never want to feel thirsty or overly satiated. Obviously, if you have to gulp down tons of liquid at any time, you are not drinking enough.
Rookie mistake #5: Drinking Gatorade or water and nothing else post-workout. In order to speed recovery of the muscles, protect against sickness, and to get ready for that next run, you need to replenish the nutrients that were lost within 30 minutes of the workout. The worst thing you can do is just replace the water or the carbs. Flooding your body with too much water or too many carbs without sodium, protein, or carbs will lead to diarrhea--it could also lead to cramping of your muscles as well.
Solution#5: Make the trip to GNC. Buy a recovery drink (it comes as a powder and you add water). ****Amy, I am not asking you to buy a protein drink like that disgusting one that Edward has, this is different and imperative that you invest in this!!! Check out the label. You want a drink that has a three to one ratio of carbs to protein. It will also have some form of sodium in it as well. Some have Vitamin C and Calcium/Vitamin D, but these are not as important. Bananas are always great--never had a problem eating those post workout. Stay away from juices and watery fruits (i.e. berries). Be careful of oranges, these are a traditional post-sport snack, but the acidity can be brutal on your stressed-out stomach.
Rookie mistake #6: Not drinking or eating during a run. When I first started the training, I drank some water during the run, but never ate anything--with my sensitive digestive system, I certainly wasn't going to upset it further with food. Much to my surprise, I learned that not replenishing your nutrients during a run can also lead to cramps/gas and diarrhea. Again, it's all about balance. If you just put water in your system, but not protein, carbs, or sodium, the pH balance in your stomach is altered, you body tries to adapt, and in this process you get diarrhea. Have I mentioned yet that diarrhea in this scenario is caused by having too much water and (mostly likely) low sodium levels in your stomach--your body reacts to this state by excreting watery poo. That unfortunately also gets rid of that power bar that was trying to be digested as well...
Solution #6: They're FUEL BREAKS, not water breaks! It's probably no surprise that you should be drinking water during a run. During my long (15+ miles) runs, I like to make a stop at CVS along the way and slowly drink some Gatorade, in addition to stopping at the water fountains along the bike path. This translates into taking fuel breaks twice an hour (more if it's hot out). If you have a sensitive GI system like me, you are going to have to experiment a lot with different combo's of drink and food. Unlike during a meal, during a run you want to snack on simple carbs. I often find that power bars are too hard to digest--I cannot handle digesting any bars that have protein or too much fat in them. Again, if you prefer the classic power bar, make sure that it has a high carb to fat ratio (read, you don't want a meal replacement bar that has tons of fat in it--hard to digest and really not helpful during a run anyway. We need quick fuel = carbs. Plus, if you are looking to lose weight, this will counteract that goal). I like the Cliff Shot Blocs--they very easily dissolve and are digested. Also, I sometimes bring along pieces of hard candy--like the butterscotch or peppermint candies. These give you just a little extra boost (NB: I'm not a candy person at all, but to avoid getting sick during the run, I've had to try all sorts of different things). For longer runs, I always bring one or two power bar gels. Again, if you have a sensitive stomach, suck these SLOWLY. I take one during the first 10 miles, and then another in the second ten miles along with sips of Gatorade. Remember, these gels don't replace water--you still need to hydrate. Diarrhea can also be caused by the reverse of the above scenario--too much sodium/carbs and not enough water. The mechanism is different for this case (since with the above situation, you would think that you'd get constipated, but it's a different response system, but believe you me the consequences are the same).
In Sum:
If you do have problems with the GI tract, the best thing that I've learned is that whatever you are eating or drinking, do it SLOWLY. Do not overwhelm your system. Do not wait until you feel thirsty or hungry.
Also, be careful what you eat during the day. If I know I have a super hard workout that evening, I avoid cookies, any kind of greasy food, and certain vegetables--even these can be hard to digest. I love chocolate chip cookies, but even one cookie can cause me problems during a run--keep that in mind when you are picking out what to eat on a given day. Stick to plain foods. Eat balanced.
NB: I am not a nutritionist, so if I've said anything incorrectly, feel free to correct me. This is just what I've learned to survive the hard workouts and it works for me.
Say again three times to yourself:
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
If I'm not running, I'm recovering.
Friday, January 30, 2009
5 Most Embarrassing Race Moments
If you've been running in races since the sixth grade, shit happens...literally.
5. I took a year and a half off from running between senior year of high school and spring of freshman year at Colby because of IT band problems...in this time, the most exercise I did was walking from my house to school. When I started running again in January of 2001, I found that I had, surprise, lost all fitness. My first race back, I got dead last in the 400...by five seconds. Five seconds in the 400 meter race is equivalent to at least ten minutes behind in a mile race. It was pitiful and embarrassing.
4. Again, freshman year of college. I attempted to triple jump as I had in middle school and high school. The bounding drills caused me to get incredibly painful shin splints so I would have to pull a "seagull on hot sand": shifting my weight from one leg to the other and then back again. The pain was particularly acute at one indoor meet, so I decided to take some ibuprofen. Well of course the regular dose was not enough...20 pills later I was feeling a bit loopy. At the end of the meet, I jump onto the bus and am ready to head back to Colby. One by one my teammates climb onto the bus and say, "Whose Colby sweatshirt is this?" "Whose Colby tank top is this" "Did someone leave their spikes on the risers" "Who left their Colby sports bra by the track." I embarrassingly kept raising up my hand. Whoops. In total, I had left ~20 items of clothing strewn about the track. It's a wonder that I was still fully clothed. Chalk it up to dehydration. Chalk it up to ibuprofen overdose. Whatever. That earned me the title (and end of season award) for "I-took-so-much-ibuprofen-I-left-all-my-shit-at-the-track-and-apparently-my-brain-too." Definitely felt a bit sheepish after that and stopped triple jumping. NB, my other end of season awards included "The Prime Rib" Award (I'm particularly fond/proud of that one) and the "Full-Body Spandex Suit" Award (let me know if you want to hear about that).
3. Sophomore year of college. I was at a race at Tufts and wicked excited because my whole family was coming out to watch. Before the race, my mom was standing next to me and helping me to take off my warm up clothes. Once down to my race tank and underwear bottom, my mom gives me a good look up and down, smiling in support..until her gaze rests on my neck. Instantly her eyes narrow and her smile transforms into a grimace. "What is THAT?" she barked. "What?" "You have a hickey on your neck! I can't believe it. Don't let your father see this." My hand automatically shoots up to try to cover the evidence. But what are we kidding, you can't hide anything in my skimpy track uniform. I then had to walk proud over to the start line to greet my coaches and teammates. Apparently my mom was correct, my boyfriend must have gotten a little too frisky before the meet, and left a nice love bite for all to see. And everybody did see it. Nice. My sprint coach laughed, my head coach raised her eyebrows, and at least my teammate threw up her hand to give me a high five.
2. In the eighth grade I was an awesome distance runner. I often placed first by a minute or two. At the end of the cross country season, we had a big state meet at Pingree School in Ma. Kids from all over MA were competing in this meet = more competition = more pre-race jitters for Nina. The first half of the race went very smoothly, I was in a solid standing in the top ten and was feeling smooth. Little by little however, I became aware that I had to go to the bathroom...and not just pee, but a full on number two. The race was only 3.1 miles, so I figured I would just hold it in. Unfortunately, after five minutes of holding it in, I started to get sharp pains in the ol' GI tract, pains that turned to stabbings. I had a choice. Pull over to a Jiffy John and lose precious time. Or relax. I mean really relax. Ha. I chose the latter option and just let it go. The results were twofold. On the one hand, pooping in your race bloomers is obviously disgusting. What if some came out and I left a trail of droppings? Oh God. And then there's the stewing. Ah, yes, yuck. But on the other hand, I got rid of the pains, I felt light and smooth again. I was able to kick it in and get 8th place (and a nice little trophy). The embarrassing part was not just the act of defecating in my shorts; the embarrassing part came afterwards when everyone came up to congratulate me. I had to make an excuse and high tail it to the Jiffy Johns (finally) and clean myself up as best I could. Wow. I was pretty committed/insane even back in the 8th grade.
1. Most embarrassing moment ever. May 5, 2007. Broad St 10 mile race. In the two weeks leading up to the race, I had been suffering from a bad case of bronchitis: coughing, wheezing, fevers. Obviously this is not a good way to prepare for a race. I was feeling better by race day and felt compelled to do it because my Dad comes down every year to do it; it's a special event that we share together (though we don't actually run it together). That year my running buddy Melissa and I were running it together. Things were going well at an 8 min/mile pace for the first 7 miles. Around mile 7.5 however, the consequences of the illness started to rear their ugly heads. I got a case of brick legs and my tummy started to act up and I start coughing lots of nice balls of phlegm. Fun fun. I was determined to just keep going, so I threw back some Gatorade and put one foot in front of the other. By the last 200 meters I was feeling like complete crap and my stomach was definitely having a bad reaction to the orange Gatorade. 100 meter mark comes into view and I realize that I'm not going to make it...not going to make it in the sense that I had to pull over and puke on the sidelines. This is unfortunately not the most embarrassing part. Melissa tugs at my hand and says, "Come on, Nina, let's just finish this. It's right over there." Me being masochistic, stupid, stubborn, easily goaded--however you'd like to describe it--totally let her pull me in. I hadn't gone more than 50 meters when I got that queasy feeling again. And oh man, in the last 100 meters, of course the street is jam packed with spectators and worse, CAMERAS. That's right film and video. I'm pleading with myself, "Please, please, please, not now. Not here!" I think that I'm in the clear when I reach two feet in front of the finish line, only to suddenly experience an involuntary heaving. Oh no. As Melissa observes that I'm slowing down and tugs on my hand again, the vomiting commences. Not just any kind of spew...uncontrollable projectile vomiting (and what was the culprit--uh huh, the orange Gatorade). In front of hundreds of people and, oh yes, right into the cameras (only five feet in front of me and I was projecting the Gatorade at least three feet. Impressive?). Yes, so what's my awesome race photo from that year? That's right, they caught the projectile vomit on camera. And not after the fact; as it's coming out of my mouth. OMG. Grossest (and, come on, it's a bit hilarious too) moment ever.
As I was writing this post, I realized that I have many embarrassing moments (none so disgusting as that last one, thank goodness). These ones are the first that came into my head. I haven't even gotten into the wonders (and pitfalls) of marathoning. Perhaps another time.
5. I took a year and a half off from running between senior year of high school and spring of freshman year at Colby because of IT band problems...in this time, the most exercise I did was walking from my house to school. When I started running again in January of 2001, I found that I had, surprise, lost all fitness. My first race back, I got dead last in the 400...by five seconds. Five seconds in the 400 meter race is equivalent to at least ten minutes behind in a mile race. It was pitiful and embarrassing.
4. Again, freshman year of college. I attempted to triple jump as I had in middle school and high school. The bounding drills caused me to get incredibly painful shin splints so I would have to pull a "seagull on hot sand": shifting my weight from one leg to the other and then back again. The pain was particularly acute at one indoor meet, so I decided to take some ibuprofen. Well of course the regular dose was not enough...20 pills later I was feeling a bit loopy. At the end of the meet, I jump onto the bus and am ready to head back to Colby. One by one my teammates climb onto the bus and say, "Whose Colby sweatshirt is this?" "Whose Colby tank top is this" "Did someone leave their spikes on the risers" "Who left their Colby sports bra by the track." I embarrassingly kept raising up my hand. Whoops. In total, I had left ~20 items of clothing strewn about the track. It's a wonder that I was still fully clothed. Chalk it up to dehydration. Chalk it up to ibuprofen overdose. Whatever. That earned me the title (and end of season award) for "I-took-so-much-ibuprofen-I-left-all-my-shit-at-the-track-and-apparently-my-brain-too." Definitely felt a bit sheepish after that and stopped triple jumping. NB, my other end of season awards included "The Prime Rib" Award (I'm particularly fond/proud of that one) and the "Full-Body Spandex Suit" Award (let me know if you want to hear about that).
3. Sophomore year of college. I was at a race at Tufts and wicked excited because my whole family was coming out to watch. Before the race, my mom was standing next to me and helping me to take off my warm up clothes. Once down to my race tank and underwear bottom, my mom gives me a good look up and down, smiling in support..until her gaze rests on my neck. Instantly her eyes narrow and her smile transforms into a grimace. "What is THAT?" she barked. "What?" "You have a hickey on your neck! I can't believe it. Don't let your father see this." My hand automatically shoots up to try to cover the evidence. But what are we kidding, you can't hide anything in my skimpy track uniform. I then had to walk proud over to the start line to greet my coaches and teammates. Apparently my mom was correct, my boyfriend must have gotten a little too frisky before the meet, and left a nice love bite for all to see. And everybody did see it. Nice. My sprint coach laughed, my head coach raised her eyebrows, and at least my teammate threw up her hand to give me a high five.
2. In the eighth grade I was an awesome distance runner. I often placed first by a minute or two. At the end of the cross country season, we had a big state meet at Pingree School in Ma. Kids from all over MA were competing in this meet = more competition = more pre-race jitters for Nina. The first half of the race went very smoothly, I was in a solid standing in the top ten and was feeling smooth. Little by little however, I became aware that I had to go to the bathroom...and not just pee, but a full on number two. The race was only 3.1 miles, so I figured I would just hold it in. Unfortunately, after five minutes of holding it in, I started to get sharp pains in the ol' GI tract, pains that turned to stabbings. I had a choice. Pull over to a Jiffy John and lose precious time. Or relax. I mean really relax. Ha. I chose the latter option and just let it go. The results were twofold. On the one hand, pooping in your race bloomers is obviously disgusting. What if some came out and I left a trail of droppings? Oh God. And then there's the stewing. Ah, yes, yuck. But on the other hand, I got rid of the pains, I felt light and smooth again. I was able to kick it in and get 8th place (and a nice little trophy). The embarrassing part was not just the act of defecating in my shorts; the embarrassing part came afterwards when everyone came up to congratulate me. I had to make an excuse and high tail it to the Jiffy Johns (finally) and clean myself up as best I could. Wow. I was pretty committed/insane even back in the 8th grade.
1. Most embarrassing moment ever. May 5, 2007. Broad St 10 mile race. In the two weeks leading up to the race, I had been suffering from a bad case of bronchitis: coughing, wheezing, fevers. Obviously this is not a good way to prepare for a race. I was feeling better by race day and felt compelled to do it because my Dad comes down every year to do it; it's a special event that we share together (though we don't actually run it together). That year my running buddy Melissa and I were running it together. Things were going well at an 8 min/mile pace for the first 7 miles. Around mile 7.5 however, the consequences of the illness started to rear their ugly heads. I got a case of brick legs and my tummy started to act up and I start coughing lots of nice balls of phlegm. Fun fun. I was determined to just keep going, so I threw back some Gatorade and put one foot in front of the other. By the last 200 meters I was feeling like complete crap and my stomach was definitely having a bad reaction to the orange Gatorade. 100 meter mark comes into view and I realize that I'm not going to make it...not going to make it in the sense that I had to pull over and puke on the sidelines. This is unfortunately not the most embarrassing part. Melissa tugs at my hand and says, "Come on, Nina, let's just finish this. It's right over there." Me being masochistic, stupid, stubborn, easily goaded--however you'd like to describe it--totally let her pull me in. I hadn't gone more than 50 meters when I got that queasy feeling again. And oh man, in the last 100 meters, of course the street is jam packed with spectators and worse, CAMERAS. That's right film and video. I'm pleading with myself, "Please, please, please, not now. Not here!" I think that I'm in the clear when I reach two feet in front of the finish line, only to suddenly experience an involuntary heaving. Oh no. As Melissa observes that I'm slowing down and tugs on my hand again, the vomiting commences. Not just any kind of spew...uncontrollable projectile vomiting (and what was the culprit--uh huh, the orange Gatorade). In front of hundreds of people and, oh yes, right into the cameras (only five feet in front of me and I was projecting the Gatorade at least three feet. Impressive?). Yes, so what's my awesome race photo from that year? That's right, they caught the projectile vomit on camera. And not after the fact; as it's coming out of my mouth. OMG. Grossest (and, come on, it's a bit hilarious too) moment ever.
As I was writing this post, I realized that I have many embarrassing moments (none so disgusting as that last one, thank goodness). These ones are the first that came into my head. I haven't even gotten into the wonders (and pitfalls) of marathoning. Perhaps another time.
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