No Pain - No Gain

Since skiing season ended a few months back and I now have my weekends back to my running routine, I’ve been feeling really good.  My running condition is the best it’s been for over a year now.  I consistently keep up with my Monday/Wednesday/Friday runs and on the weekend we have been increasing our distances and are now at 2 hours again.  I think that 2 hours is a nice distance to be at with no particular goals in mind.

My body has felt fine through all the runs and even my first 2 hour run felt great and I recovered well.  But last Sunday, we did our 2 hour run on soft bark mulch through one of our urban forests. It’s only been a few years since our last marathon and I remember the feeling well and that was it.  After 2 hours, I felt like I’d just run a full marathon.  Later that day, I even found it hard to stay on my feet and man did I sleep well that night.  The next day, I still felt a little bit sore, so I decided to put off my usual run until the following morning.  But now I’m back in action and feeling better than ever and running better than ever.

So is it true - No Pain - No Gain?  I asked a running coach friend of mine and he said - “It’s normal to have aches and pains as your body adjusts to new running distances and new running surfaces” (My body wasn’t used to running on bark mulch) “and normally these pains will go away as your body becomes stronger.  But if the pain is severe and doesn’t go away, then it’s time to visit your doctor”.

So it’s a good thing to add variety to your runs.  Try a different route that includes different terrain or grades that your body isn’t used to.  I’ve been very pleased with our results.  Our local town has a half-marathon in September and I’m in.  Last year I went out and supported my friends who ran in it.  It’ll feel good to be on the other side this year.

One more item on sports nutrition. www.poweringmuscles.com is an interesting website that has an online tool to calculate the nutritional supplements that you need for a given workout.  You can put in the details of a workout and specific sport and it will do the calculation and let you know what your body needs before, during and after your exercise. Though there is an unlying focus to the website with advertisements for Accelerade.

Sports Nutrition - The Elixirs of Running

Do you wonder whether you are properly replacing all the fluids your body needs when you exercise?  Running can cause lots of sweat.  Especially on those hot summer days.  Do we manage to replace enough of the fluids we need and stay hydrated?  I for one, am guilty.  I need constant reminders to replace that fluid.

A couple years ago, I was in Toastmasters and I researched and wrote a speech about “How to Study Smarter”.  Okay, so this has nothing to do with running and sports, but it does have to do with the importance of drinking water and how our body reacts to dehydration.  I will just copy an excerpt from my speech:

Our brains are made up of roughly 80% water so doesn’t it make sense that if they were lacking in water it’s not going to function property.  You bet, your brain it very sensitive to your bodily fluid levels.  So isn’t it sad that they say that 75% of North Americans are chronically dehydrated.  Your thirst mechanism isn’t a very good trigger because at the first sign of feeling thirsty, dehydration has already started.  And by then, your mental performances have decreased, you are starting to feel sleepy and irritable, not to mention you are distracted with your feelings of thirst.

In the speech, I was talking about our everyday need for fluid replacement - so how important is replacing water in our system when we are active in sports?  Did you realize that water is responsible for:

• conversion of food into energy
• muscle contraction
• coolant for working muscles
• lubricant for joints; and
• circulation and blood pressure?

Do you wonder how much fluid your sweat actually adds up to?  Try weighing yourself before and after exercise.  Each kilogram of weightloss adds up to 1.5 litres of fluid.  If you are active in exercise, you should be aiming for 8-12 cups of hydrating fluids per day.  These fluids could consist of:

• Water
• Juice
• Sports Drinks
• Milk; or
• Liquid Meal Replacements

Sports drinks are good in that they also replace lost electrolytes which will help to retain more of the fluids that you drink.  Not all sport drinks are created equal though.  Read the labels and try to keep the sugar intake to a minimum.  A higher sugar intake can cause cramping and we certainly want to stay away from muscle cramps.  I stick with Gatorade because, at 8 grams of sugar, it contains less than Powerade.  However, if Powerade is my only choice, I dilute the Powerade with water.  I try half Powerade and half water.

Remember, if you feel thirsty, dehydration is already setting in - drink before that thirst sets in.