Troubleshooting
By now you may have had an ailment hear or there, anything from a side ache to the dreaded blister. They happen to anyone and everyone. Here are a few tricks to prevent and/or treat some common complaints:
Side Aches: Caused by a spasm of your diaphragm which is the tissue that separates the lung/heart cavity from the lower abdomen. The diaphragm does all the work while breathing. Prevented by properly warming up, staying hydrated, keeping your shoulders relaxed, limiting the amount of food you consume in the 3 hours before your run, and proper belly breathing avoid shallow breathing. Breathe in through your nose while you let you stomach expand, exhale through your mouth as you pull your tummy in tight. Treated by stop running immediately and reach your fingers into the right side of your belly & push your liver up while breathing out through you mouth at the same time. Another technique that works for some is to exhale as your left foot strikes the ground, instead of the right foot. This works because the organs attached to the diaphragm on the left side aren't as big as those on the right side, so there is less strain on the diaphragm.
Blisters: Caused by friction between your foot & shoe. Prevented by wearing properly fitted, snuggly tied, and well broken in shoes before running too long. Also, wearing "dry-fit" socks that wick away the moisture rather than cotton ones. Lastly, if you know you are prone to blisters, try applying vasoline, talcum powder, or even moleskin to the blister-prone areas. Treated by gently piercing the dead skin covering the blister with a disinfected needle (use either rubbing alcohol or hold over a flame to disinfect), then apply neosporin over the site to prevent infection. Be sure not to remove the skin as it protect the sensitive area underneath.
Chafing: Caused by sweating & rubbing generally around the groin, underarms and nipples, but it can occur anywhere. Prevented by staying dry, keeping hydrated, using a lube such as Body Glide or Runner's Lube, and wearing the proper clothing. The more snug your clothes fit, the less likely you will chafe. Treated by treating it like an open wound. Wash & clean with an antiseptic & cover with a sterile gauze pad that allows the area to breathe until it's healed.
Feet/Nails: Regular pedicures can prevent a lot of problems from corns, calluses, blisters, black nails, to ingrown nails-OUCH! A pedicure also moisturizes your feet, and in order to maintain the skin's moisture, apply lotion everyday. It's recommended that you get a pedicure once a month while you are training & schedule your last one a week to 10 days before a race.
Running Groups
Red Rock Running Company on Cheyenne & Tenaya has a free running group, where you actually can earn free things by running! Wednesday nights they have 6-8 mile runs, be ready to be pushed! You don't have to be fast, but you have be willing to train hard. They start at 5:30pm sharp, so come early so you can warm up. Saturday is for the long runs, anywhere from 3 miles up to 20+, and the leave at 6am sharp. There will always be someone running shorter distances. Most of the runs go North & slightly West from the store using and out & back style course. However there is a loop that goes to Bunker park (bathrooms!) and comes back to the store (water!)- Great for beginners or people wanting to stay close to the essentials (me!). Their website is located in the websites category on the right side of this page. It has all the info & contact information.
Also, I think a few of us would like to get together once or twice a month to go do our long runs on the same trail. As soon as we get the dates & distances nailed down, I will post them on here.
Cool & FREE web tools
Active.com is a great resource alone, but recently I stumbled upon a free training log they call"Active Trainer". You get a free training log calendar and the best part is that you can map out runs in any distance in every neighborhood. Check it out!
Also, if you are looking for more information on anything running, check out the websites bar. I've added a lot of great ones that are full of information from finding half marathons anywhere, to rookie mistakes & race day tips.
Foam Rolling Bliss
Foam rollers are 2-3 feet long foam tubes. They are used to elongate muscle fibers and relieve tightness, think of it as a self massage. For example, if you have knee pain, one likely cause could be IT Band tightness (that is the tissue that runs up the outside of your leg from knee to hip area). You sit on the roller, roll onto one side so that you are facing either right or left from where you started, place your elbow on the floor, bottom leg stays straight, and top leg bends over in front and rest that top foot on the floor in front of you. Now roll the side of your leg that is on the roller, from your hip down to your knee. Some areas here will be more tender than others, some down right painful, but breathe through it. I roll my IT Band before every workout, it's painful but I absolutely notice the difference when I do it versus not doing it. You can roll any part of your body that feels tight, there are certain ways to do most muscles, but for the most part you can play around with it and find out how to address your tightness on your own.
The technique, no matter what area you are rolling is to roll over the complete area, then focus on the knot. Maintain your deep belly breathing as it can be painful and you might have the tendency to stop breathing, but you need to stay relaxed. Roll over the area 5 times, then hold on the knot area for approximately 30 seconds. Rolling should be done after your body is warm, but before the workout. It can be done daily, even multiple times a day depending on your tightness.
Some other areas that are generally tight on runners are the IT Band as I suggested earlier, the glutes (your butt, roll one side then the other), calves (for more intensity, roll 1 leg while the other rests on top, for less intensity roll both at the same time). For more information on proper technique or addressing your problem areas such as knee or hip pain, or shoulder tightness, schedule a session with Arthur so that he can create a personalized program for you. You can email him at arthurhsu.corestength@yahoo.com or by calling him 336.6626.
Snacks on the Run
Now that your long runs are lasting well past 45 minutes, it's time to start talking about refueling during your run for optimal performance. After about 45 minutes, your body needs a little jump start beyond water which includes sugar & electrolytes. Make sure you try different things throughout the next long runs to see what works best for you. Here are some snacks to consider:
- Sports Gels (i.e. Gu, Bloks, Beans) - the most common because of how easy it is to carry & consume, also your body can use it very quickly. Several flavors to pick from, some even contain caffeine if you want it. Can be found at any athletic or running store.
- Honey, peppermints
- Candy (i.e. Gummy Bears, Jelly Beans, M&Ms, Airheads, Hot Tamales)
- Sports Bars or Candy Bars (i.e. Cliff Bar, Luna Bar, Salted Nut Roll, Snickers...these take more digestion power, but also provide more energy longer)
- Bagels or boiled potatoes are a great option if you want to avoid the sweet sugary stuff)
- Sandwich (Jelly or PB & J are the tried and true best bets)
- Sports Drinks (Cytomax Citrus sports drink is the drink they will have on the course, so you might want to go get some to see if you want it at the race, another great option is Carb Boom, Nuun, or Ultima- these are all natural powders or tablets you add to your water, comes in different flavors and are full of electrolytes without all the sweeteners and artificial stuff)
Try different things to see what works best for you. No matter which you choose, be sure to consume enough liquids to avoid dehydration. If you are dehydrated, all of these foods will just cause problems rather than help you. Start your snacks after about 45 minutes to 1 hour, then every 45 min - 1 hour after that, along with regular drinking.
