Nutrition

You know that I’ve been honest and forthcoming with health related articles about running as of late. I don’t hide from some of the risks of running long distances. Just as I don’t hide from the risks, I am not going to ignore potential benefits.

People often tell me that I’m going to ruin my knees with my running. Ashley at A Crooked Trail or Two has alerted me to a study that shows that might not be true:

the Journal of Preventive Medicine, conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine has demonstrated that “Long-distance running among healthy older individuals was not associated with accelerated osteoarthritis,” and in fact, some data in the survey suggests that runners might actually have a lower risk of developing arthritis in their knees and hips, though the specific study sample was too small to prove in a statistically significant way that running had a protective effect.

Now I have had some knee issues that came about as of late. Through extensive research I isolated it to either a IT Band syndrome issue or issues with the shoes that I was wearing. Getting it to those two causes made it easy to correct. I have employed different stretching and no longer wear my New Balance 790s for longer runs. I’m not sure which — possibly both — of the measures corrected it but my knees are great.

I hope this research continues to show the various benefits of running.

After the post yesterday, a friend sent me an article published this year in Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(15):1638-1646. It is authored by people affiliated with the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine.

In other words, these aren’t slouches.

They published the latest results of a 21 year longitudal study that looks at the health benefits of a group of runners compared to non-runners. I read the entire study and looked at their statistics and agree that their conclusion is proved. The conclusion is that Running at middle and older ages is associated with reduced disability in later life and a notable survival advantage.

Some thinks that are worth pointing out:

• The study subjects were runners 50 years or older. Just like the article that I linked to yesterday this is an older subject group. Meaning that for conclusive proof — in my mind — there will need to be some studies that follow runners in the 20-30 year old age range. However, it’s clear there is an association that carries over.
• Annual attrition rates after 21 years for subjects were approximately 3% for runners and 6% for controls (meaning non runners who never ran for a continuous period of six months or longer).
• In 1984 the runners were running an average of 237 minutes per week. That was reduced to 76 minutes per week (although they were exercising in other ways a total of 287 minutes per week) 21 years later in 2005. This shows that the runners we are talking about are not marathon distance or further. So this study really shows the benefits of running for non-marathoners.
• Members of the running group had significantly lower mean disability levels at all time points in the study.
• Lest you believe the control group just rested on their laurels in front of the tv this wasn’t true. In 1984 they had 15 minutes per week of running as a mean time and 87 minutes per week of vigorous exercise mean. This changed to 1 min/week of running and 138 min/week of vigorous by 2005. This shows an average mean increase of exercise yet both disability and attrition rates did not slow for the control group.
• The difference between runners and controls was most striking for women.
• The time required to reach specified levels of disability was significantly longer for runners than for controls.
• Looking at the causes of death it was clear that cardiovascular problems were the cause for 29 of the runners and 43 of the control group. Congestive heart failure however was 2 for each group. Cancer was 30 for runners and 41 for control. Infections caused the death of one runner and 15 control. Also neurological reasons killed 6 runners and 14 control. This is consistent with reports associating regular exercise with reduced incidence of dementia and several cancer types.

I’ve never been a believer that pushing yourself longer distances is any healthier than just running a few miles 4-5 times a week. On the contrary, it appears that marathon runners create problems for their hearts. Read over the article and come to your own conclusions about it. I think that more research needs to be done but don’t blindly assume that further distances means better health.

It’s about time. I am finally getting to where it’s not painful to run on the trails. Today I ran seven miles without much of any pain around my knees. After five miles without blips in the radar I pushed the last two miles at an 8:15 minute mile pace. I ended up running the seven in just under 1:10.

It felt good being out there without pain. I attribute a lot of that to the advice of my friend and fellow running club member, JC. He showed me some yoga type stretches that dramatically improved the ease of his running.

I’m glad that I haven’t been injured often because this recent injury sucks. I’m still feeling a hint of pain after 20-30 minutes of running, so I am really limiting myself on what I’ll do. Yesterday I ran 3 miles which I’ll do again today. I’m also going to bike about 8 miles on the trails. That’ll be enough for me.

Weekend was good with swimming in the gulf and fresh seafood.

This article entitled “Reasons to Run” has a lot of good debunking of various myths that disparage running.

1. Bad for your heart. Of course you can find some examples of people who have a heart attack while running. This men’s olympic trials provided a tragic example of that and Jim Fixx is another. But “as has been shown and proven time and again which point to stronger heart muscles, reduced bad cholesterol, increased good cholesterol, more elastic arteries, improved blood circulation and more.”
2. I can’t run at my age. “Buster Martin, at 101 has registered to run in the 2008 London Marathon and is training along with Fauja Singh, 97. So if you are above 101, you may be right since we don’t know if running is good for you.” Awesome.
3. I am slim, I don’t need to run. Just because you appear healthy doesn’t mean that you are healthy. “LDL-cholesterol, the so-called ‘bad cholesterol’ that clogs-up the arteries, was significantly higher in lean non-exercisers than in those who take regular aerobic exercise.” In addition, impact activities have been proven to help bone density, build cardio vascular strength, help  combat diabetes, and help provide extra energy.
4. Running is bad for the knees. “It is unclear if long-distance running causes the hip and knee joints to deteriorate. The current evidence suggests that moderate level of running does not increase the risk of osteoarthritis of hip and knee for healthy people. In fact there is evidence to suggest that this activity might even have some protective effect on the joints. In addition, a recent study by the University of Exeter concluded that running is better than walking.” Just make sure you have a good pair of shoes, you stretch after running, and you cross train. I wouldn’t recommend ultras if you are worried about your knees because there isn’t enough study about what it does to average runners. However, running a few days a week for 20-30 minutes is advisable.

Check out the article for more information.

I have recently started to feel a little bit of pangs in my knee. It doesn’t seem like a big deal right now but it’s got to stop before it turns ugly. I could buy a brace but I don’t really want to right now. Instead I will do a little stretching and follow some of the stuff found in here. Which apparently they found from Fitsugar. Which apparently they found from a place called healthday. They give it the proper attribution of The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

I think that a lot of runners forget that one of the most important components to running a good race is proper nutrition. This isn’t limited to during a race, because you’ve got to have a proper foundation before the race. There are a few simple things that I have done to get myself in better race form:

1) Better quality food in means better quality energy out.

2) Eat plenty of foods that are high in protein and have a decent amount of carbohydrates.

3) All fruits and vegetables are good. Typically the brighter the color the more beneficial the vegetable or fruit is.

4) On race day you should ignore carb loading; eat something before the race (I like wheat toast with peanut butter) at least three hours before; don’t sacrifice sleep to eat the meal (your muscles will be good to go if you eat a high quality meal before an early morning meal. Just eat 100-200 calories five to 10 minutes prior to the start of the race — if you must).

hundreds of people were sent to the hospital, at least one person died, and the marathon was called off. it’s way too hot out there.

Don’t you hate it when your non-runner friends ask you if you’re worried about the damage you’re doing to your bones? It sort of begs the question of whether or not running actually damages bones. Next time you are asked this you can feel confident letting them know that aerobic exercise, including running, actually strengthens bones.

That study also stressed that diet without exercise actually causes a decrease in bone density. So if you really want to damage your bones — diet without exercise. But any endurance athlete should know that you need to exercise your whole body and have a balanced diet with plenty of calcium in order to keep upper body bone density where it should be.

Get out there and run!

I guess that drinking a pedialyte-type drink has become more popular outside of endurance sports. Athletes I know who run ultras have been doing it for years after long races. I typically make my own rather than buying the stuff at the store. It’s easy enough to do and a lot cheaper.

Here is what you need to mix together:

• 8 level teaspoons of sugar
• 1 level teaspoon of table salt
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 liter of water

Don’t use artificial sweeteners or fructose (fruit sugar) in the place of regular sugar as it won’t provide sufficient energy.

Why do running and beer go together in such a refreshing way? Most people have seen the Michelob Ultra ads where they drink a beer after the run. A lot of marathon runners know that at the end of a marathon there is typically plenty of beer to  be drunk. It does taste nice after a run. Why?

An article by Jeff Galloway about running injury free is posted over at Active.com. He lists six ways to avoid injury and discusses why this is so. Here are the ways to avoid injury:

1. Fewer days of training per week (he says three unless you’re olympic training)
2. Go slower on the long runs (you get the same endurance whether you go fast or slow so slow it down)
3. More walk breaks (most people are going to run any race above 5K quicker if they take strategic walk breaks)
4. Don’t stretch if you have an ache, pain, or injury (get massages…)
5. Be careful with speed training (make sure you do some warm ups)
6. Never push through pain, inflammation, or loss-of-function (it doesn’t really show what a tough athlete you are, it shows what a foolish person you are.)

Good tips..

Nuun now has Gu’s former marketing guru. Why? I think because Nuun is far too underrated. It’s my favorite electrolyte tablet and I’m surprised that I don’t see more people using it on longer endurance races.

A problem with simply drinking water is that your body still needs some sodium in it in order to properly hydrate itself. Just drop a tablet of nuun into 16 ounces of water and let it dissolve for a minute or two.

I don’t think it’s the best tasting stuff in the world but it does the job.

I went on a run this evening with my friend and his dog. Typically this jack russell has no problem running our distance. I think that he’s gone as far as 14 miles with us before.

This evening, due to the 90-something degree heat, we decided to only run 3.5 miles. It was barely 2 miles into the run when his dog suddenly laid down on the trail. He just plopped down and wouldn’t get up!

I guess that the heat was the breaking point. We let him catch his breathe and then finished the run at a slower pace. At the end of the run he was able to drink plenty of water.

When do you decide that you aren’t going to carry water on unaided runs? When it’s cold outside, I won’t bring water with me regardless of the distance. When it’s hot outside, my cutoff tends to be if I’ll be out more than 45 minutes. Otherwise I will just wait until I’ve finished running.

I was reading Kara’s post in the ABC’s of Running series this evening to see about having fun when running. Of course, I like this, because I’ve always said that I won’t run a race unless I’m having fun.

I clicked on her link to the Breathe Right strips because I thought it was silly. Whether or not the strips help you breathe easier while running, they claim that breathing through your nose is better than through your mouth.

I used to breathe solely through my mouth when running. In the past year or so, I have started to breath through both my nose and mouth. Maybe I should try to alter my breathing a little more?

Actually, don’t drink the Endurox or the Gatorade — at least, if we’re to believe one study that came out. They say that a glass of chocolate milk can help endurance athletes recover better than more expensive drinks such as Gatorade and Endurox.

I happen to own a canister of Endurox, which I use when I need recovery assistance. Apparently, the Endurox fared the worse out of the group. They say that athletes who drank chocolate milk were able to bike about 50% longer (I’m not certain if this is time or distance) than those who drank Endurox.

Of course, we all know that you should get those carbs and electrolyte replacements within 30 minutes of exercising. I would just say that you should give milk a chance if you are able to drink it. If not, stick with what has worked for you. I think that everyone’s bodies are different and what works for one might not for another.

Ugh, I so didn’t feel my run today. After two days of running 6.7 miles, I think that my legs wanted to reject me when I tried to go on another longer run. It’s probably not the distance that is the problem but the terrain.

I have moved to a place with a lot more hills than I am used to running. This certainly causes more of a work out than just running on flat ground. I like it because I feel like it will prepare me for more challenging terrains, but I don’t really like it for a fun run.

This is too bad but I feel like I should take a day off tomorrow.

That’s Fit has a post about running with the proper nutrition. Both on longer runs and before the runs, I think it’s very important for any runner to get the proper nutrition. For me, one of my favorite things to eat before running is a banana. I will usually eat one as a snack during the day or the night before a long run. I’m also a fan of carbs and will eat a lot of bread and tortillas throughout the week.

During a run I like to eat a little bit of sugar such as a cookie or two. I also think it’s good to get some pretzels in me so that I have the salt from them. If it is really a long race, I will also stop and have some soup.

After long runs, I will usually have something like Recoverite or Endurox to help repair my muscles and speed up the recovery time. I also keep a jar of salted peanuts in my car to eat whenever I want a little pick me up. They fuel my protein, good fats, and salt to help with recovery.

How about you? What do you eat?

I have to be honest in saying that you shouldn’t hire me to be your mystery buyer. I will do some research beforehand but then I will completely betray that. I will think that I need one product but buy something else. Then I will come back home and research what I decided to get and feel bad.

That’s what happened when I was going to buy some Recoverite. I saw it at the biking store but they were selling it too high. Then a few days later, I was at the vitamin store and saw some Endurox R4 and thought that it could be alright. I was going to look up some reviews of it but was hassled a little by the salesperson.

I realized that I was in the store even though they were closed, so I felt bad enough that I grabbed the small tub of Endurox. It was the Orange Blast flavoring, so I swapped that out with Fruit Punch.

When I researched it the reviews seemed to say that it works really well which was refreshing. However, they also said that Fruit Punch was anything from gross to tasting like vomit. Every review seemed to say to stay away from Fruit Punch.

I’m happy to say that after my 4 mile hard run, I decided that I would try the Endurox for myself. I love the taste of the Fruit Punch. Maybe I just have strange tastes but I coudn’t be happier with it. I’m just hoping it helps my recovery even though I know this run doesn’t really require it but I need to be 100% because I’m planning on a 22 mile run tomorrow morning.

I hate injuries, especially when they affect my running. Awhile back, I injured my foot on a mountain biking ride, and it hasn’t ever healed 100%. Now that I’ve started to run in my new trail shoes, I have had some problems around my arch. I know it’s just because I’m breaking in a new pair or shoes, but it makes me mad. Pain in the foot be damned — I ran today anyhow.

Going home for the holidays meant having to battle with way too much good food. Instead of avoiding it, I took it on full force. We had everything from Mexican food to Italian, from ham to cheesy potato things, and more desserts than you would want to imagine. Alright, maybe you would want to imagine all the dessert. It was great food!

I’m not shy about eating a lot around the holidays because I prepare for the holidays. I run a lot before it all so that my metabolism is already in good form. Then I run and workout during the holidays (admittedly not as much as normal). And I make sure to have some long runs after.

Today I went on a 6 mile run around half of White Rock Lake. There was nothing too tricky about it because my body, even though I ran a little and biked 8 miles in the past few days, was very rested. My pace was even and the temperature was perfect. In fact, I think this has been one of the best running days of the year in Dallas. The sun was up, there wasn’t much of a breeze, and the temperature was perfect for running in shorts and a t-shirt.

I hope that everyone else was able to enjoy their holidays without worrying about the consequences of food. Just put in that long run and stick with your workouts and you’ll be fine!

It’s true that staying in shape can help you save a lot of money. I didn’t realize just how much money it can save until I read some of the statistics at Get Rich Slowly.

If you are overweight you will probably spend more money on food, life insurance policies, higher medical expenses, and you will earn less money. One of the interesting statistics is that for a mere .67 cents, you can supersize a meal. Each time you do this you can expect to spend about 6 to 7 dollars on future medical expenses.

Hopefully, people will see the benefits of running and make sure that they do some sort of cardio exercise (I think running is the best) at least three times a week.

According to That’s Fit, we need to be sneezing or coughing into clothing (instead of our hands) in order to really prevent the unnecessary spread of disease. I don’t know that I agree because when I sneeze or cough into my hand, I will use the antibacterial gel.