- Tomorrow, 1/24 is DISCOUNT DAY at BIG RIVER RUNNING! All day long, at all three BRR locations, for being a part of the Spring Training Season you will receive 20% off you entire order! This is a PHENOMENAL savings that only comes around once in a blue moon so take advantage! Click here for the locations of the three stores in O'Fallon, West County and South City. Just make sure to either wear your shirt or let them know you're a part of the team. Get your next pair of shoes in advance and pick up the water bottles or fuel belts I've been heavily promoting! BRR has graciously offered this to us so please take advantage to get some good gear, cheap.
- Like on Facebook Run Coach Jeffrey to see all of our training pics, tips or share your comments. The more we have the more fun it is!
And, for this week's email, check out what Coach John has to say:
Hello Heroes!!
Hope all of you are doing well with your fundraising and training. This team has really come a long way since last November and we're all so proud of what you're doing. Speaking of that, have you ever found yourselves second-guessing yourselves as to why you're doing this? Just think about this - every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies from one. That's pretty staggering. However, on the bright side, since LLS started, survival rates for most blood cancers have risen dramatically! Twenty years ago, a child who was diagnosed with a blood cancer was almost certain not to survive. Today, thanks to awesome participants like you, child survival rates are in the 90% range for many types of blood cancers. To me, there's nothing worse than to see a sick child. And knowing these facts makes me want to strive harder to find a cure. We've come a very long way and it won't be long before researchers unlock the door to a cure. But we're not there yet. Our work isn't finished. So, next time you're having a few aches and pains or just don't feel like going out to train, think about someone you love who possibly has been affected by a blood cancer. It would be easy for us to give up and walk away from this. But, for them, they can't. Let's keep all of our patients in mind as we forge ahead with our training and fundraising efforts.
Hope all of you are doing well with your fundraising and training. This team has really come a long way since last November and we're all so proud of what you're doing. Speaking of that, have you ever found yourselves second-guessing yourselves as to why you're doing this? Just think about this - every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies from one. That's pretty staggering. However, on the bright side, since LLS started, survival rates for most blood cancers have risen dramatically! Twenty years ago, a child who was diagnosed with a blood cancer was almost certain not to survive. Today, thanks to awesome participants like you, child survival rates are in the 90% range for many types of blood cancers. To me, there's nothing worse than to see a sick child. And knowing these facts makes me want to strive harder to find a cure. We've come a very long way and it won't be long before researchers unlock the door to a cure. But we're not there yet. Our work isn't finished. So, next time you're having a few aches and pains or just don't feel like going out to train, think about someone you love who possibly has been affected by a blood cancer. It would be easy for us to give up and walk away from this. But, for them, they can't. Let's keep all of our patients in mind as we forge ahead with our training and fundraising efforts.
This week, let's talk about getting yourselves into a routine before and after your long runs/walks. This is very important as the miles climb. You're going to want to start figuring out what to do, eat and drink the day/night before your long miles and what to do afterwards. Here are some suggestions:
- The day before, hydrate well throughout the day. Remember, your urine should be pale in color. That's how you'll know you're well hydrated. Even though it's colder out, you'll still sweat just as much as when it's warmer and you’ll need the extra fluids.
- Eat meals that are balanced with carbs and protein the night before. It used to be that everyone would "carbo-load" the night before, but recent studies show that adding protein is beneficial to performance also. Don’t gorge on your meal, just eat a normal portion.
- Get plenty of sleep the night before, as well as throughout the week.
- The morning of your long run/walk, you should eat something an hour or so before you run. Typically, a bagel, oatmeal, waffle, banana, etc. are good choices. This is where part of the routine comes in. Some people need more time from when they eat to when they run and others need less. Some foods will work better for you than others. You'll need to figure out what works best for you regarding what you eat and when you eat it then stay with that routine throughout the rest of your training and especially on event day. Something else to consider - think of event day. You'll want to make sure that, whatever you decide works for you can be eaten at the hotel on event day. For me, I usually eat a couple of packets of instant oatmeal. So on event day, if there's no microwave to heat water, I can use the coffee maker that's usually in the rooms to make hot water. Making PBJ sandwiches is another easy option.
- Also on the morning of your long miles, drink about 8-12 ozs. of water or Gatorade before coming out. Again, this will vary from one participant to another. You'll need to find what works best for you.
- During your long runs/walks, make sure you continue to eat and drink regularly. The coaches keep plenty of gels, Clif Bars, Sport Beans, Chomps, GU, etc. at the table. Feel free to take some and see what works best. You should actually experiment with these during your weekday runs/walks to see how well you tolerate them. You don’t want to find out at mile 4 of your 8-mile run that it’s not agreeing to with your stomach. It’s really personal preference as to what you use. Some don’t like the texture of the gels or Chomps. Some prefer one type of nutrition or flavor over another. Some people carry pretzles, Fig Newtons and other snacks with them. Just make sure there's very little fat in whatever snack you decide to use. Fat will upset your stomach and you don't want that.
- You don't want to let yourself get hungry or thirsty during your long runs/walks. Once that happens, your body has pretty much used up all the glycogen in your system. This is what fuels your muscles and gives you the energy to keep going. If you feel hungry or thirsty, you’ll have a difficult time to make up the lost fluids and energy. You need to eat at regular intervals during your long runs and during the event. For some that might mean every 30 minutes. For others, it might be 45 minutes to an hour. It will depend on the individual. Either way, work on getting that routine in place. Having a plan on event day is crucial to finishing strong. So start experimenting now so you’ll know exactly what to do on event day.
- After your long runs/walks, make sure you get some fluids and carbs/protein in you within 30 - 60 minutes of finishing. Your body needs the nutrients for recovery. Carbs are absorbed very quickly and will allow your body to store glycogen more efficiently. Protein will help repair the muscle fibers damaged during your run and allow you to come back stronger for your next long run/walk. Examples are: PBJ sandwich, turkey on whole wheat, tuna, fruit smoothies and (my favorite!) chocolate milk.
- Be sure to stretch afterwards. Do it slowly, though.
- Don't sit or lay down when you get home. This will make you extremely sore. Be sure to walk around to help break up the lactic acid in your muscles. Sitting or taking a nap will cause your joints and muscles to really stiffen up and that’s not fun!
- Take an ice bath if you're particularly sore. This will help reduce any inflammation in the joints and muscles immediately which will make for a faster recovery. You can start filling your bathtub with room temp water and climb in. Once you’re in, you can turn the hot water off and let the cold water fill up around you. You can add ice if you like, however, this time of year, the water out of the tap is usually cold enough. I wear a warm hoodie and a cup of coffee to help keep my upper body warm. You only need to be in for about 10 minutes or so.
- John
No comments:
Post a Comment