Mental process Part 1

an often used adage, sometimes attributed to Lance Armstrong,“pain is temporary, a sense of accomplishment lasts forever”

What are you thinking about when you run? Understanding where you are at mentally when you are performing at your best is paramount to you having the best time out there – that often equates with better performance as well. Ask “How do I best experience this – what thoughts do I have when running is most enjoyable?”

One way to think about the mental process while going down to road is to break it into four “big net” categories – I’ll give you an example of each and what to look out for.

Organizing: You set up your day, plan your vacation or weekend. Just remember to check in once in awhile about the actual running – if you are stressing about the organizing you are doing set a time limit for how long you can do this as you need to relax during your run too – this is your time and you should enjoy it.

Problem solving: You may solve a number of issues on a given run and since running is considered by science to be a right brain activity you may come up with a solution you did not think of before. That said, do not let problem solving crash you running form and again check in once in awhile about how the body is doing before you go back “upstairs” to work it out.

Wandering: “I wonder who lives in that great house and if they have a horse in that pasture…” You get to slow down your thought process and many folks float through thoughts as they float down the road too. This mind-frame is often associated with relaxed running.

Pondering: working out emotions, sorting feelings and perceptions – sometimes folks can emotionally purge during a run. While this is a good thing, you will want to stay tuned into how stress or “running out anger” for example will affect your form or pace and you may need to compartmentalize some emotion or sorting during the run in order to stay in balance.

It would be normal to have several of these states in a given run – you do what works for you. Generally your thinking breaks more cleanly into two categories

Associate vs. disassociate: Elites are able to perform the way they do because they remain focused on the process of running the entire time or their running process is very close to the surface all the time – rarely in the background. We often need a mental break – especially when the going gets tough and we will automatically switch between the A and Da phases.

Example of associative processes: How is my breathing? Is my stride OK? Am I relaxed? Am I running a pace I can sustain? This feels good. My side cramp will go away if I keep breathing deeply…

Example of disassociative process: I wonder what I will eat after this run? That stream looks like it would be good for fishing. I wish I drove that Mustang he is driving. I think Walt Whitman is my favorite poet. I am leaving it all on the track today…

Mental games for performance. You have already come a long way in this program so many of you may very well use the power of positive association to talk your self up. By eliminating negative talk about yourself and your running performance during a run - you give yourself a tremendous advantage. While some will say that this kind of positive thinking is “hooey” the mental aspects of running and athletic performance really cannot be underestimated. You must develop and continue to foster a belief that you can do this and when negative dialogue comes up during a run you must find a way to “change the conversation” with yourself. Create and change your mood, control your effort, improve your form and focus your attention by using this internal dialogue.

Let me give you two quick examples regarding the power of positive thought and how your mental focus will impact your body.

Psychoneuroimmunology is a new field based on the science that the nervous system and the immune system are interconnected. This discipline has discovered a number of ways that the two systems actually have two way communications with each other and direct impacts. Closely controlled studies have also shown that “a person’s aggressive determination to conquer a disease can increase one’s lifespan” (p619 Alcamo’s Fundamentals of Microbiology, 2007) The same studies have shown that behavioral therapies can amplify the body’s response to disease and speed the immune systems response.

This field has also generated interesting research in 2003 that Tai Chi boosts shingles immunity in the elderly. In a 60 person study over 15 weeks the study group did have reduced levels of stress related to their Tai Chi program and were measured as having 50% higher immune memory functions against Shingles virus. The group did not see improvement in physical movement with this low impact form of exercise and the researchers concluded that the anti-stress elements of the activity gave seniors the significant boost in immunity.

The sciences are discovering mind can affect matter so to speak and performance athletes at the top levels use this type of knowledge to make the difference every day.

Running has been shown to be a right brain activity, which explains why so many good ideas come from a long run. This also means that your creative and visual brain power can be employed to boost your running performance. Positive thinking, pre-visualization, key words and imagery are all part of your metal process toolbox if you want to be your best on race day.

In May of 1954 a man (Roger Banister) broke the mile in under 4:00 minute mark – a world record that people had said for decades could not be done. Forty-six days later the record was broken again and a second man ran faster than 4 minutes/mile. Coincidence, or having the mental advantage of know knowing that it can be done?

When we talk about perceived efforts in pacing (as we did during last seminar) there is an acknowledgment to a “central governor” in the brain. This works a little bit like a governor in an engine but it is smarter. It is constantly calculating, automatically, how much you have left in the tank vs. how far you have to run along with other equations having to do with the burrito you had for lunch and how hot it is outside. These are important calculations because the central governor seeks to protect you and it will never let you run into the redline to the point that you “blow-up”. While that is a great protective feature, the central governor can go a bit overboard too and tell you that “it is just too hot today” or “you’re too tired” and hold you back from an otherwise great day. Here is an important secret from the physiologists who have closely inspected athletes over the years. In testing athletes at the finish line of a race, even the most demanding races, science has found that the runner is not an empty, burned out shell – unable to run another step. That is right, there is energy left, they are not completely depleted of oxygen or ATP or disabled by acidosis because the central governor has held something back to maintain homeostasis for the runner. Few of us are able to outwit or work around that central governor but it is possible with a few motivational tricks and you will still have that safety keeping you from blowing up – yet you may run better and further with practice.

Tom Holland utilizes a number of great mental tricks that work during a run:

This too shall pass – literally your experience as a runner slowly gives you a database of aches, cramps and complaints to reference and you can then learn which ones you can “ride out” and work with the understanding that everything can change just a few minutes or miles down the road. Many use “good pain” the type that passes, to indicate a strong perceived effort score and accept that feedback while then letting it fade in their attention.

I am feeling good – is a replacement for I am feeling _____________. (insert your own demoralizing term here)

Many runners come up with several “mantras” that motivate them and use these as stress reducing refrains during the toughest times in a run. One very important aspect of this technique is that your “mantra” has to be tested. You need to try it in training when the going gets rough and then seek to perform better when you hear this refrain. Repeating this process over and over establishes a pathway that will cause the nervous system to cue to body for a stronger effort – one that might overrule the desire of the “central governor” to hold you back.

Thinking about your training and your goals and ticking them off as you go – sometime these serve as mile posts to the self promise “I’ll take it one step at a time, I’ll get myself to that next mailbox”

Setting short term goals and focusing on the immediate targets for them is a high performance strategy used by elite athletes. The more difficult the effort - the smaller intervals you must subdivide it into.

It is about how you play the game… Your process is the most important and finishing, winning, your race time – will all take care of itself if processes hold up.

Smile – are you thankful to up upright, alive and given the gift to run? Then you’re still ahead, right?! Give yourself permission to run without a set time goal – improving your psychological endurance & boosting performance.

From Outside online – an article from Abe Streep

“Pain threshold—the point in the shower at which uncomfortably warm turns to painfully hot—is a finite physiological limit. But you can manipulate how much pain you can handle after that point.”

According to Stanford's Dr. Brooks Rohlen, pain tolerance is a

cognitive interpretation of discomfort. This means you can train yourself to tune pain out. The key to rewiring your tolerance? Think positive. Sports psychologists rely on cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves elaborate visualization techniques. But the philosophy is simple. "Think, 'How much can I do despite pain?' " says Rohlen. "I firmly believe you can be in pain and not suffer." Here's one trick to keep you moving: Tap your foot five times and say "Click" with each foot strike. "When you say 'Click,' you're blocking negative thoughts," says Dr. Aynsley Smith, sports psychologist with the Mayo Clinic. Repeat the exercise until the "Click" becomes second nature.”

Raymond Petras PHD is a sport psychologist in Arizona and explains that “when I tell an athlete that they can adjust their pain level by using mental techniques they’re amazed. They often find that their performance increases dramatically”

Long before any competition you need to begin visualizing your performance for that event. Try to create an image for each of the senses – recall that this includes sight, sounds, touch, taste and smell. Imagine the temperature, the lighting, the smells, the sounds etc. Include your process goals and preferred outcomes in that imagery. If you review this on your runs, and at times such as during stretching, and while you drift off to sleep you may find yourself referring to these items when race day comes and thus mentally ingrain the performance you wish to achieve.

Jeff Galloway uses several good tricks as well

Imagine that you lasso the runner who passes you - just slightly faster than your pace – with a rubber band and as the tension builds between you both the band stretches and then begins to pull you closer to the runner in front of you. The time distance continuum and spatial relationships you focus on can rally your pace and push you farther. If the band breaks lasso the next runner with a similar pace.

Imagine and visualize the fatigue escaping from your body through the soles of your feet. Your footprints are damp and glowing from the fatigue left behind when you dump that bad energy and thus with every stride you are gaining energy and feeling a floating sensation.

Feel the fluid you take on at the walk break to be super coolant. When you take a drink the liquid seeps into every inch of you and replaces or absorbs heat from your body. As the steam escapes you feel lighter and begin to lope along more easily.

These simple examples of visual imagery are easy to create for yourself and sometimes the goofier the better as the uplift, or distraction may empower you with positive imagery to go further.

Remember that you should also rehearse the “what if and worst case scenario” things that could happen during your race. By carefully planning for all the scary concerns you may have you can cope well if something should go wrong. Do this on paper one afternoon and then come up with an “antidote” for each concern, then take steps to prepare for each contingency. The best part is that things rarely ever go as poorly as you can imagine so it will all be better than your fears on race day – and you’ll feel very prepared.

Many of us enjoy running with music or conversation to keep us motivated and the MP3 player has possibly been responsible for keeping many folks at the gym altogether. Just like your thought process mid-run, you will still need to redirect you attention to the process of running once in awhile during your workout.

Please remember that you must always face traffic when running and that just as talking on your cell phone is a distraction to successful driving – running with headphones can be very dangerous. Please turn them down if you wear headphones and be careful out there (maybe save music for trails & treadmills) It is against USTF rules to compete while wearing headphones and so you will need to understand that you cannot wear them to run 95% of your races.

Most of you will not be surprised to learn that music is a proven performance enhancer. Studies have shown a 20% performance increase in speed and endurance due to music in the appropriate pace range.

Cadence is a term that applies to the rate of breaths per minute, footfalls per minute and beats of music per minute.

Here is some coaching, training, general running and music related to running podcast sites on the web to keep your ears busy while you train. Just remember to listen to your body too.

Robert Ullrey Podcasts for running, couch to 5k plan

DJ Steve Boyett Podrunner exercise music for running

Running Times Radio, popular publications digest of interviews and tips

Endurance Planet Podcast, tips, experts interviewed, short story’s on Fridays

Phedippidations Steve Runner’s ramblings, much running related/much not

Runner round table Q&A for running topics – big conference call

The Onion Radio News – comedy and parody equal to Saturday Night Live

NPR – almost anything you already listen to is being podcast now for free

Feet & Footcare

“Your feet are your friends” unknown, but this sage wisdom has been handed down for a long time...

You need to start looking at your feet each day to better understand their needs and how they are taking care of you. Understanding the way your feet work will keep you running many happy miles. Dr. Tim Noakes states “Treat the cause, not the effect. Because each running injury has a cause, it follows that the injury can never be cured until the causative factors are eliminated.” Would you ever think of treating your hands with the casual disrespect we give our feet? Probably not, because you and everyone else takes notice of them – yet we often forget our most prized running instrument. The tool that contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 12 tendons, and 18 muscles is a terrific and something DaVinci called a wonder of engineering.

I should say upfront that most of what I know about foot care has come from years as a distance hiker and leading groups afield. But what I know (and share today) about running foot care comes from the 300+ page, definitive tome of foot care called Fixing Your Feet by John Vonhof. He has a blog as well but this book is so well thought out that it is in its 4th edition with Wilderness Press and I highly recommend this book.

So here is the nice thing about reading a blog – nobody will see what you do next.
Take off your shoes and we’ll have a brief foot tutorial and review - with you “kicking the tires” to see how these things work and if you are properly caring for them. Go ahead, your privacy is assured – but your running future is at risk if you do not take a look at these things…
Look for changes:
Redness, cracks in the skin, nails are OK, any itching or scaling? Blisters or sore spots, callus buildup, plantar warts or corns etc – should be things you are looking out for & aware of in the developing health of your feet. Our noses, ears and feet with continue to change over the course of our lives and this program, and your new pastime will impact your feet - so get a baseline look now and watch what happen over time.

Keep them smooth and clean.
Brush off the feet before going into socks and ensure nothing is in your shoes that should not be there. Use of lotion on your feet helps skin remain soft and then that skin is less likely to thicken – think about applying before bedtime and sleeping in clean socks to keep moisturizer close to the skin. Callus is generally accepted in the medical community to be a sign of abnormality, high friction, biomechanical issues or poor fitting foot gear. These should be sanded down, smoothed and reduced by gradual filing as often as possible. Failure to take care of this may cause the callus to dry and crack (producing a painful, tender injury to skin below) or deep blisters beneath the callus material which heals much more slowly than regular blisters. Soak feet in warm water or shower prior to filing/sanding with a pumice stone for best results.

Stop “hot spots” or blister right away.
If you feel friction inside the shoe stop and immediately examine the problem. Carry tape or mole foam when you anticipate trouble and apply as needed to stop friction. Even duct tape will work; trim edges to prevent “rolling” while you run as tape peeling up will make blisters worse. I love the Engo patches and have shown these to classes before – they are a Teflon type sticker that you can adhere anywhere inside the shoe as needed.

I will tell you that many of the above issues; dry skin, cracking, callus, even athlete's foot - can be reduced or eliminated by having your home and yard be a barefoot zone. Where your skin can breathe and both heat and friction that can come from shoes is reduced. I never teach anything I have not tried myself, and besides having stronger feet - many of these issues went away for me. I can honestly say that my occasional blister heals faster as well, when I leave my shoes off at home.

Trim your toenails before you need to – straight across to prevent ingrown nails. The failure to trim nails flush with the toe causes snagging on socks or shoes and can lift the nail off the nail bed. Long nails can cause “black toe” bruising and bleeding in the shoe! Yuck. During exertion feet will swell. Feet are largest in the afternoon, which is why it is the best time of day to buy shoes. Feet, running at days end will be very large, and so it is critical that nails be kept at the proper length to avoid impact injury.

Feet age – like we do they change over time. 1) They continue to enlarge and change in size. 2) The toenails often thicken. 3) The padding on the bottom of your feet thins and we lose some of the spring in our step as a result. 4) Feet stiffen and some range of motion is lost over time. 5) Balance sensitivity changes over time with some losses expected. 6) Arches flatten slightly. Again, I should tell you that research by Dr. Dan Lieberman and Dr. Daniel Howell show that cultures that live without modern footwear, do not see these changes over time, with the possible exception of increase in foot size. In other words; five of the 6 changes listed above (by Vonhof) do not occur in cultures that do not wear modern shoes. Take your shoes off at home first and enjoy the health benefits of doing so.

Proper shoe sizing, foot pedicures, stretching and strengthening exercises can also offset these changes to your feet and keep you happily running.

Troublesome toes: Many folks have a condition called Morton’s toe (named for the doctor who discovered the condition). The second metatarsal bone being longer than the first, the second toe is the longest one on the foot and shoe sizing must accommodate this difference. Estimates range from 15-60% of the population having this condition. The second toe length can affect gait and shoe fit. Poor fitting shoes can cause callus formation where the toe bears additional weight. Simply being aware of the condition can allow for accommodations such as sizing, or additional padding.

Little toes can develop what Vonhof calls the little toe triangle. Check your little toes (or nested toes) to see if they are round and smooth on the bottom or if they have a small hardened triangle of skin developing. This triangle is very vulnerable to blisters and even tearing and so it should be soaked, reduced and moisturized to remain trouble free for long runs.

Feet can produce a pint of fluid in perspiration each day! This has to me managed for the runner.
Blisters and foot pain are most often caused by a triad of elements; friction, moisture and heat. Eliminate or effectively manage at least one of the triad and you’ll run with comfortable feet. Complex foot issues can be mitigated using socks, powders, and lubricants in your primary care plan. Additional preventive support can be found with; taping, skin conditioners, antiperspirants, orthotics, specialized lacing, shoe and sock changes, nutrition and hydration, and gaiters.

Socks are as important as your shoes and they need to match up with your shoes well. Your socks assist in injury prevention if they provide cushioning, protection and temperature management. Some of the best socks for running are now made as Right and Left in each pair. Socks do not have a break in period but you should test your socks for 3+ miles or more in your shoes prior to race day to ensure; they feel great, will do what they are supposed to, and do not give you blisters. Synthetic fibers are best and keep feet dry. Feet that are too wet or dry and grabbing something in the shoe/sock are the ones that blister.

Women’s fitted socks, toe socks, anatomically fitted (right & left) socks, anti microbial fibers, seamless socks, double layer socks, compression socks, Teflon enhanced socks to reduce friction are all currently available. There are even waterproof socks called Sealskinz but my experience has shown that these get so sweaty inside that they may be unmanageable for many runners.
Pay attention to the size of the socks as the number on the package may be “sock size” which fits a range of shoe sizes and may not numerically correspond to your foot size. Remember you are buying socks to fit your feet and not the shoe size, which may be larger to accommodate your foot swelling while you run.
Popular fabrics that review well include; Coolmax, polyester, acrylic, olefin, merino wool, bamboo, drymax, x-static, blister guard, are all great fibers currently being used in running socks.

Many running shoe companies make a sock that works well. Other names include: Balega, Bridgedale, Thorlo, Drymax, Under Armour, Injinji, Wigwam, Teko, Wrightsock, Defeet, Fox River, Goldtoe, InGenius, and Smartwool. These are available at Zombierunner.com, Zappos.com, Roadrunnersports.com, REI.com and other retailers.

Lacing can change the fit of your shoe and take pressure off of trouble areas in many cases – refer to the book “fixing your feet” by John Vonhof or Runnersworld.com, or Ian’s link, posted here on the blog, for lacing suggestions and diagrams. There are products that offer micro tensioning for laces; stretch laces that look like springs, lock laces with tension adjustments, and sausage style laces that offer tension adjustments. These may help you micro fit the shoe and unlike the “garden weasel” seen on TV many of these lacing gizmos work.

Footbeds are available for a number of foot types and gaits. Over the counter insole products are shapeable and trim to fit for your shoes. When sizing these tools at home follow directions closely! Many of these products are expected to last about a year under normal use and are often superior to the insoles that come with your shoes. SOLE, Spenco, Superfeet, Hapad, and Sorbothane all make a reputable footbed product. These are not orthotics as a podiatrist would make for you and cannot correct gait issues. They may provide additional support, prevent injury and reduce chafing in footwear. If I reveal my bias here though – many PT’s who are running experts, feel that using a footbed or advanced support works at the pain or problem but not the source of the issue - which may be feet in need of balancing (in terms of strengthening and flexibility) - therefore footbeds may only treat a symptom. I mention these tools because they can enhance the fit of a pair of shoes that are working well for you. But I do not recommend them - rather I suggest that you use them sparingly if need to enhance shoe fit and as we started off with - treat the cause of the problem

Self massage devices, floor rollers or tennis balls can be used to massage and rejuvenate feet with great results. Many ultra runners swear by the monthly pedicure which includes some foot massage and foot maintenance.

A foot soak you can do at home which will deodorize, soothe and soften feet (while being antibacterial/antifungal) is Pedifix FungaSoap. Contains tea-tree oil, Epsom salt, & peppermint, costs about $11.00 at pedifix.com. I have had good success with this product as a way to prep my feet for nail trimming and sanding off callus material. It smells great and leaves feet very clean and soft. Let me know if you have another trick and I’ll post it here.

Ankle strengthening and balance exercises to increase proprioception aid in having stronger healthier feet and serve to offset aging and prevent injury. These need not be complicated – standing on one leg and remaining balanced, for progressively longer intervals, is one simple method and there are many others. Walking barefoot around the house a bit is another.

A great web resource - from the man who wrote 350 pages on footcare is http://fixingyourfeet.com/blog/
Read up, incorporate a few tips each week for your amazing feet, and remember that “Your feet are your friends”

Hills

Hills – Mountaineers are better runners.
“Going to the mountains is going home” – John Muir

This is a read ahead module for those who have inquired about, or already running hills - you know who you are (grin) you need not be running hills yet, but in the next few weeks you'll want to try this to get ready for your Forest Festival 10k, which has a few hills.

Runners from Ohio complain about them and the Boston Marathon has the notorious “Heartbreak Hill” as part of it's mythology but runners who know the benefits of running up and down hill know something – they have both the performance and mental advantage on their competition.
This part of your running can easily comprise 35% of you total mileage & will develop your stride and physical capacity to run more easily. You’ll also never fear a racecourse - something flatlanders get chills about regularly. Again, Danny Dryer’s book CHI Running is a great resource here in dealing with hills because technique can help your newly acquired powers to get up any hill efficiently.

Flow and glide – is the earth flat? Easy question - but think about the last time you enjoyed a roller coaster, surfed a wave, rode a mountain bike or snowboard over that very non-flat planet of ours. That slowing and accelerating feeling you enjoyed can be learned and integrated into your running and while it will not be easy, you already have many of the tools to do this well. Concentrate on an easy and efficient pace going up and learn to love that fast gliding down and you’ll start to reap the physical advantage of hill running.

Physical developments – no matter how fast (or slow) you go uphill you’ll be working at a higher PE than you typically do on a training run. You will be gently adjusting your workload and this gives you better cardio capacity while building powerful hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Towards the end of a race as fatigue sets in runners may shorten their stride and lack muscle endurance to raise their knees and ankles into the next stride. Hill running builds stamina in these key areas and prevents fatigue. You’ll have more power to keep running.

Hill repeats – In the same way that we are able to start running or do speed work in small doses – you can also run uphill in short bursts so as to not tire of it completely and still get most of the benefits. Folks who do not enjoy hills or feel intimidated by a hilly course will find a hill that takes one minute to run and run it at a “regular pace” (PE 4) multiple times. At the top you turn around and gently glide back down, resting as needed at the base before heading up again.

Proper form – we have discussed before that if your form suffers while doing this running then you’re not doing yourself any favors and need to slow down. You get much of the benefits from walking the hills too – find a pace you can handle – progress gradually.

Uphill - You will use your upper body more when traveling uphill. A slight lean forward would come from leaning at the ankle. Your focused breathing to power your body upward, and your arm swing – all play an important role. Think about the little engine that could. Small lean and small strides as well as a relaxed state governed by our breathing rate. You do not want to overwork your hamstrings and calves with long strides and pulling yourself up the hill. Small strides, never stepping past your hips, shoulders slightly ahead of your hips, keeps you pushing yourself up the hill in a controlled way. Take it easy and let your breathing determine your pace. Relax your legs and make sure feet are flat on the ground, heels down, and you’re not asking smaller muscles to do bigger jobs. Conserve energy and know that going uphill is always a bit slower. Pump your arms, thinking about elbows moving back, coordinated with your stride to give you extra momentum moving uphill. Your eyes look up – to the top of the hill and your long straight spine allows more air into the runner for hard work. Think about a positive mental image and know that every up, has a downhill too.

Downhill – Done poorly, you’ll pound your legs, feet and lower back with 6-10x your body weight with each footfall, hammering your legs and possibly your ability to run later in the week! While not all hills are runnable, many are and you’ll get better at the “glide” skills with practice & enjoy the down without the pounding. Relaxing both physically and mentally allows you to loosen up your knees and quadriceps, give in to the speed a bit and enjoy the movement which can be much faster than you ever run on the flats. Stride, cadence, and orientation to the ground help smooth out the ride you’ve earned.

Think about your hips, shoulders and upper body. You want your hips and pelvis level while you run. Your shoulders and upper body should stay centered over your hips. Leaning away from the hill and bracing will shift your legs forward and as they act like the brakes - you’ll transfer impact to heels, quadriceps, and your lower back. This is a time that you want to stay light and footfalls/strides will be much faster than usual.
Your cadence (number of strides per minute) will increase and those smaller steps will keep your feet under your hips and landing quickly and lightly on the ground. If you need to take longer strides as your speed increases, think about the stride getting longer in the back, or behind you, so your feet do not come past your hips and you are recruiting muscles from the posterior of the body. One item to focus on is peeling your feet off the ground from the heel. This tends to make the mid-foot land first for your next step and keeps your footsteps closer to the pelvis – reducing impact forces to your body. Another way to look at it is to lead with the toe – plantar flex the foot – toes point down as you descend and your mid-foot will hit first and quickly transition to the next step.

Safety – while accidents a few, if you start running 35% of your mileage as hills you may want to take an hour one afternoon (on a grassy slope) to think about falling properly. Cyclists do this annually and skiers do too as their falling season starts. If you practice a tuck and roll, drop a shoulder style of falling you are much more likely to avoid road rash and to stop sooner, post contact with the ground. You want to tuck things in and not splay them out – do not make tender and breakable appendages responsible for stopping your trajectory. If this practice drill sounds scary, remember to walk the steepest descents so that you are in control.

Another chapter in nutrition

Groceries in, garbage out, blood goes round and round…
"Endurance events are eating and drinking contests with some exercise thrown in too" Sunny Blende

We have already had a primer on running nutrition and via handouts you had recently, we looked at race day and race week meals to try in preparation. So now let’s talk about the food pyramid (now known as "my plate", new resource ideas for meals to help your running, salt, iron and regulation of “in’s and out’s” a bit. Your everyday training depends on knowing a bit more about fueling - especially as long runs get longer.

Let’s look at the macro nutrients in greater detail and see what you’ll be fueling yourself with in the coming months as you seek to keep yourself well fueled and injury free in training and attain ideal body type for your event. Running hard and all this training is not a diet program – I have said this many times. Yet you will find that over time your metabolic capacity increases and you are burning a lot of fat on your long runs, when they are done at aerobic pace. Therefore, body composition may actually subtly change even while you are eating a balanced and nutritious diet that feeds your energy level. Pretty cool stuff.

Three primary fuel types and all food from the new food pyramid fits into these neat slots as far as the body is concerned, yet not all foods are created equal. Carbohydrates, Lipids (or fats), and protein are the three types.

Fat: Sometimes a dirty word and thought of as something to avoid and yet, this is the most efficient fuel the body can have at 9Kal/gram, and it does not require the storage of water to be used in the body. We store most foods as glycogen and use it all over the body. Fat during aerobic exercise is converted to fuel and used for any endurance activity because it works but also because you cannot store all of the fuel you need to burn without using this fat. Unsaturated fat from plant products is ideal and not refined or hydrogenated fat is most healthy and burns in the body with fewer bi-products like free radicals.

Protein: Nearly everything of value in the body is built from proteins and this makes them simply too valuable to use a fuel. Skeletal muscle is built from a number of key proteins but even elements for your cell membranes and body hormones are made of protein. Daily intake is required and can be attained from animal and or vegetable sources. These proteins are made of amino acids and your body disassembles proteins it consumes and rebuilds good stuff from these amino acid chains. Several key amino acids are important to attain if we are on any kind of vegetarian or alternative diet. The most important of these amino acid chains is Omega 3.

Carbohydrates: Nearly everything else that is not made of protein or fat or a man made substance is a carbohydrate. Even sugar is a carbohydrate. While many people have profited from special diets that eschew “carbs” they are the body’s essential and most easily used fuel. The average American eats far more of the wrong kinds of carbs than they should, however the body will metabolize carbs the best and with fewer byproducts than any other energy synthesis. The trouble is that we cannot store all of the energy we need this way and so we start the running machine on carbs and efficiently transition mid run to fat metabolism as a fuel source.

What is bonk? You’ll see unprepared runners face bonk or “the wall” during a big event. It can be physically excruciating and mentally dehabilitating. Preparation can prevent this and you just need some understanding of physiology and prior practice to fend it off. Two experts define what this is pretty simply.
Sunny Blende, sports nutritionists writes, “The brain also does not store any glucose – as glycogen, as the muscles do – and is totally dependent on blood glucose for its energy supply. In order to function normally, the brain requires a relatively normal blood glucose level. So what happens to an ultrarunner when he or she is running hours and hours with an increasing demand for glucose? If our ultrarunner does not ingest adequate amounts of carbohydrate (glucose) along the way, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) sets in. And with prolonged hypoglycemia comes central nervous system fatigue – the progressive shutdown of the part of the brain that drives the muscles. Bad news for attitude and bad news for performance.”

In one of Tim Noakes’s studies from The Lore of Running, he found that two percent of marathoners, six percent of those who ran 50 kms and 11 percent of those who ran 100 kms were hypoglycemic. He cites the symptoms as a “reduced ability to concentrate, a sudden feeling of weakness, and the intense desire to stop running. Typically, the athlete senses the impossibility of completing the race”. Sound familiar? Obviously foods containing glucose would have helped these athletes perform better, but an explanation of the mechanism of action might make this concept easier to understand. Again, Tim Noakes’s studies from The Lore of Running, “The main supplier of glucose into the blood is the liver. This happens directly from its own store of glycogen or indirectly by a process known as gluconeogenesis (the production of glucose by the liver from substances other than carbohydrates, for example, proteins). Training also helps the liver’s ability to produce glucose from circulating blood lactate. However, because the liver is so small compared to the body’s muscle mass and only stores about 250 - 500 calories of glucose, it could never keep up with the muscles’ demand for glucose when exercising hard or long. In a trained athlete, this amounts to three or four hours of running at a moderate pace. And the muscles are prevented from using too much circulating blood glucose in order to protect the brain. Fortunately our body has provided the muscles with other ways of obtaining glucose; namely a good supply stored in its own tissues and the ability to use fat as a source of energy. And remember, the supply stored in the muscles can be doubled if post-exercise carbs were consumed within thirty minutes or so. But even this generous supply will only last about five to six hours. The rate that the liver releases glucose and the muscles take it up during exercise is increased six-fold from a resting state. When tissues increase their rate of usage faster than the liver can produce it, blood levels fall and body function is impaired. In order to prevent brain drain and preserve our mind’s ability to think and strategize effectively in an ultra event, it becomes crucial to ingest carbohydrates during the race. If the muscles become fatigued, the brain will reduce the number of muscle fibers activated and in order to continue running, the ultrarunner will have to slow down. This is the body’s way of surviving. It may limit the runner’s physiological capabilities, but preserve the neurological function of the brain. Exhaustion, in this case, may be defined as a decrease in signals from the brain to the muscles, not a direct change in glycogen levels in the muscles - in other words, central fatigue.”

So the central governor steps in again to save the day and we learn that this phenomenon is preventable if we keep energy reserves up to meet the exertion demands. That requires you to test what kind of carbohydrates will digest easily for you while running. Gatorade, gel packets, bananas, chia seed, PB&J, fruit roll-ups and others have all been tried and many work well as long as they contain some water of their own and you keep your stomach lining wet w. a bit of fluids. Sunny Blende and others suggest that you might be able to train your body to utilize as much as 240 calories per hour while running (you’ll use more than this often, but that’s the breaks). The average gel packet is 100-150 calories each and 12oz of Gatorade is about 90 calories. So you can calculate what you’ll need and try to eat is small amounts spaced along the duration of your run.

Here is a link for some breakfasts with protein (a good time to get it as you metabolism is firing up and you’ll run on this later in the day) I love protein at breakfast because I am less hungry before lunch.


Here is a video with ideas about eating a snack an hour before a run and 3 ideas that each includes a healthy protein.

Here is an article by Mark Bittman and I like the guy for his simple style, ideas that involve less meat, and yet he is still eating right. He includes about 8 recipes in his article and beans given some attention as the powerhouse food they really are.
There are also links to some Mark Bittner food ideas on our face book site and as someone pointed out - he has started blogging for Runners World. Thanks Lori!

This link allows you to build menus by type and fulfill all the key nutrients in the process – it is free, but you have to register

This link lists what is in the meat and beans group and why you need it – along with a list of foods that will hold off anemia, or the low red cell count that gives rise to lethargy, low oxygenation and poor running performance.

Runners and athletes would want as many red blood cells (RBCs) as possible for best oxygen transport to your muscles. Recall that from a previous lesson that Coach Joe Vigil feels that many athletes, especially female athletes, need to monitor their bodies for signs of low iron or possible anemia. A normal range score of 37-43% RBC for hemocrit scores should be what you are expecting and a runner would be interested in being on the high end of this score for better oxygen carrying capacity. You can have your doctor test this blood value and including lean meat and beans in your diet helps fend off iron deficiency.

The Average American consumes approximately 3.6 grams of salt daily and current federal guidelines for sodium intake is 2.3 grams per day. The American Heart Association recommends 2 grams. What many folks miss at the cellular level is that both sodium and potassium are the two ions that your body uses every second of the day. While it is relatively simple to get your daily supply of sodium some folks do not get enough Potassium and you need 4.7 grams daily in order to function optimally. Having the optimum ratio of these elements lowers the incidence of cardiovascular disease and allows optimal membrane potential at the cellular level. Bananas, peaches, prunes, apricots, honeydew melon or cantaloupe, and OJ all contain good sources of potassium as well as whole grains, beans and many fresh meats.

Blood sodium must be maintained at a level of 135mmol/L and this value is typically easy to maintain without any dietary changes. For runners, the complication comes when someone would be running or walking slowly for a long time, while consuming a lot of water. This can create a condition called hyponatremia. While the article Responsible Drinking on the Trail (Dr. M Hoffman, Ultrarunning, March 2010) states that this condition has been responsible for five fatalities in the US and UK they also write that 30% of the runners at 2009 Western States 100 mile run, who participated in the author’s research, were positive for signs of hyponatremia.

For runners, hyponatremia means low salt. We lose salt in sweating and we can (with great effort) dilute the amount of salt that we have in our bodies by consuming large amounts of water. When you have a lot of water and not enough salt in the body, fluids begin to shift in your system and the results can be catastrophic and life threatening. You need not have a complete class in physiology to get a handle on how this works though. If you are sweating a lot, out for a long time, and throwing in the water as you go – then you need to keep your eye open for crucial signs of what is sometimes call ‘water intoxication”.

Dr. Hoffman list a number of Danger signs: [additions mine] “Your body would not lose the 2% of its weight you would expect on your longest run but would stay the same weight or gain weight during the run. Your body’s water is changing location and you’ll see swelling, [all over], but especially hands, feet, face – [rings and shoes may be tight.] You would see mental status changes as fluid causes brain cells to swell too. [This would look like stumble; mumble, fumble and you would have to look at their other symptoms to ensure you did not think - dehydration. Recall that people call this condition water intoxication because of the mental status changes you see in people.] This person may also feel sick, [feel nausea and be sloshing from all the water they are hauling in their stomach. Urine output would be beyond the “clear, constant and copious” realm that we expect in hydrated folks as the kidney are now doing all they can to solve a fluid overload condition.] This is an emergency medical condition that requires immediate attention and complications can include kidney failure.” [They need medical intervention and you take them off of water while you get them help.]

On a slight tangent but related to your groceries in garbage out theme, comes a question from a runner to the sports nutritionist at Runners World – you can view this online but I included the copy here as it relates to nutrition and is such a good question.

“Over the past couple of months, I've been having to go "number 2" during most of my morning runs. I used to be able to go before my runs without much of an issue. Now I try to go but nothing happens. I eat a healthy diet, for the most part, with fruits and veggies, and get about 30 grams of fiber each day; drink 60 to 70 ounces of water; and seem to get the right amounts of calories (2,500), carbs (60 to 70%) and proteins (100 grams per day). I run about 35 miles a week and I am 5'10" and 155 pounds. Am I just eating too much? Any suggestions? – Joseph”

Joseph, a few observations:
“You say you eat lots of fruits and vegetables and 30 grams of fiber per day. Certain fibers are more helpful with laxation, such as bran-type cereals. In addition, consider swapping one of your fresh fruit choices for four or five dried plums, especially at night before bed.
The recommended fluid intake for adult men is 125 ounces per day, at rest, and more for exercise, so if you are consuming 30 grams of fiber and not enough fluid, that may also be part of the problem; consider increasing your liquids intake.
And based on your diet breakdown (60 to 70% carbs, or 375 to 437 grams per day, and protein at 100 grams per day) your diet may be too low in fat. Fat is important as a lubricant. So you may want to cut the carbs slightly and increase the fat, through nuts and nut butter, or olive oil on those vegetables, or guacamole.
Last but not least: Before bedtime, try a small bowl of All-Bran, Bran Buds, or Fiber One with a few dried plums and 2 tablespoons of nuts. Make sure you have a large glass of water (about 16 ounces) with this.
Hopefully this will get you back to running your route, and not to the bathroom!”
Leslie

Have a question for Leslie? E-mail her. (Please write "Ask the Sports Dietitian" in the subject line.) NOTE: Due to the volume of mail, we regret that Leslie cannot answer every e-mail.
And check out Leslie's newest book, Sports Nutrition for Coaches, on sale now.

The item that I would say Leslie neglected to mention is something called the gastrocolic reflex. We all have this, but many choose to not tune into it. Once our runner, Joseph tries Leslie’s suggestions he will not be able to ignore it! Each day your gastrointestinal system sort of “wakes up” and contracts in a mechanical wave that we call peristalsis and this reflex occurs when food or fluid (often warm coffee or tea) first comes into the stomach. When you listen to your body, you’ll feel this occur and you can sit down to have a bowel movement right away, because your body has this preparatory reflex for a purpose. Following this hint from your gut will train your bowel to go before your run (or your race) and save you a great deal of anxiety along with improving your quality of life. Laugh, because it is good to do so – but then try it because it works.

I’ll have a few handout ideas for you regarding micro meal scheduling and training meals. Additionally, I will be reading a new book this year on nutrition and I encourage you to as well – it sounds great. Matt Fitzgerald’s Racing Weight – How to Get Lean for Peak Performance. There is very little on this subject currently and this work has already seen high acclaim from coaches in our sport, check it out.

Runner Question Answered

I received a question the other day that was a really good one and thus I wanted to take the opportunity to answer this one as an additional post. Perhaps others have this same question and may be able to gain insight about training. The question was something like this; “If I can run 27 minutes now, but it still takes me a few minutes to run a big hill – where should I put by emphasis in training? Should I be running hills or focused on my progress toward thirty minutes and worry about the hill later? I feel like, when I am on the flat I can run non-stop and do well, yet I still need to slow down and even walk a hill sometimes. Is this OK and what should I be doing about it?

Here is the big picture answer: for now, you need to be OK with walking the hill and continuing to slowly enhance your endurance. Now here is the why to that answer, because I would not be teaching a running class if I did not think that the runner needs to know and understand why we train the way we do.

Training on hills is it’s own class content. They are tough and require a few new form techniques and a lot of patience. The whole idea with hills is to adapt to them slowly, just like you do running long distances. We started walking before we ran and we’ll start hills by walking them or by proceeding up them with equal effort NOT equal speed. That is to say that if your run is a (perceived effort rating) of 4-5, so that you can talk and sing while running, the run is about half of your total output. Remember that these runs are 70-80% of your total running volume or training. Your heart rate (easy to measure if you have a watch or a heart monitor) would be at about 60% of your output with these workouts. If you use the Maffetone method to calculate this heart rate number, I want to run at 180, minus my age (42) = 138 beats/minute.

So when I run along I want to stay at around 138 bpm, and that should be about a perceived effort of 4-5. When the hill comes, I want to head up the hill at that same effort, which means that for now, speed will change. I will slow down to keep a 138 heart rate and a PE of 4-5. Over time I will adapt – just like I adapted to being able to run farther – so that I can run the hill, or head uphill faster using the same amount of effort.

For great coaches like Arthur Lydiard, hills were considered to be the athlete’s weight room. Alberto Salazar and Jeff Galloway will tell you that running hills is equal in effort to doing speed work. Which means, don’t overdo it. All these coaches will agree that hills will make you faster, for several reasons. You develop new muscle definition in your legs for hill work, your body adapts to higher workloads, and you gain confidence that you can crush any terrain you train to conquer.

There are a ton of great reasons to train on hills but we have to be smart about it as well. To run up the hill early on is no different that seeking to run too fast initially in your program. You risk too high a heart rate, not having the where-with-all to continue running once your reach the top, being injured from the effort or being a bore from “overtraining syndrome”. Will all of this happen to you the first time you run up a hill? No. But you do need to consider that if it feels like a huge effort, than it probably is, and that our program is based around gradual attainment of limitless endurance in a near tireless state. While that seems a lofty goal, recall how far you have come so far, by proceeding gradually. If you are not injured or discouraged, then you’ll continue to develop and push yourself and we have time for that a bit later.

Know that I have participants who run to church – 7 miles each way, and some of it up hill. My personal distance record is 42 miles from Elkins to Buckhannon and back, but I still walked once in awhile. Yes, I enjoyed nearly every minute of it. Everyone who has ever run an ultramarathon (any distance over 26.2 miles) will tell you that no matter how much you train, walking remains part of your event sometimes – especially to eat, drink, or when the terrain becomes too steep, as to steal your energy for the rest of your event.

Running well is about pacing yourself and knowing when to push and when to hold the pace. After many weeks of running hills, and after you can run 30 minutes continuously, you’ll know when you can push up the hill a bit without overdoing it, and your body will tell you also; in respiration rate and heart rate. Listen to what it tells you and ease into hill just as you do your running. So start some hills now – sooner rather than later – and walk what you need to. Even at a walk you are building adaptations for this type of terrain, but remain a smart and thinking runner when you tackle these challenges and we’ll talk more about hill (up and down) in an upcoming class.

Keep at it, Carl