Hi all,
so now that Im over my jet lag from my New York trip - Im ready to share again! It was nice to be able to offer some assistance to a few of the runners doing the New York marathon, who had also done the Dublin marathon the weekend previously. One such runner had experienced bad cramping in his quads during the Dublin marathon and was very stiff and sore on arrival to New York, 2 days before his next long distance run! He had been massaged, used a foam roller, applied heat and cold, and still he was in a lot of pain and discomfort in the fronts of his thighs. As I was on holidays, I was a little unprepared for giving treatments so I had no retaining bands to immobilise limbs - but we managed with a gentle session for about 45 minutes. We started with some gentle hip mobilisation and bent leg stretching, then moved to full leg and finished with quad and hip flexor stretch. 'John' commented that after the session, his legs felt 100% lighter and that the 'painful ache' was all but gone. When I met him before the run the next morning, he told me that he was about 98% on his left and 96% on his right leg - this was an improvement on the previous day where he had to climb down the steps of the bus sideways!!!
'John' passed me at the 25mile mark at 3.48 and finished with a sub 4 hr marathon looking very strong and with no limping which was a big improvement on the previous weekend. As a personal trainer, John was delighted to have found a new therapy that he might be able to share with his clients to aid recovery and improve performance. Hope to have some interesting issues to share after next week's clinics. Again, feel free to leave a message if you want advice on how to stretch you aches and pains away! Fiona Bron ;-)
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Monday, 14 November 2011
DEHYDRATION, CRAMPING & FEEDBACK FROM RUNNERS AT NYC MARATHON
Hello All,
The evenings are getting darker still and outdoor training is significantly hampered by cold wet weather and the unfortunate pains and strains that seem to accompany the cold weather. Having given it some serious thought, I have moved away from thinking that injuries are increased during the cold weather because people are not warming up enough - having spoken to and treated a number of runners at the recent New York marathon, I have come to the conclusion that hydration is a big issue during the winter. The common reminders to stay hydrated (heavy sweating during the warm summer months)(physical heat accompanied by thirst) are absent and so ongoing hydration is not as important to those individuals training hard. That is - not until the few days before a race, or a match or competition. If you start intensive hydration the day or two before a race serum electrolytes can become imbalanced (dilution) and cramping may occur. Schwellman et al (2004) discovered very low sodium and very high magnesium levels in runners who experienced cramp during ultra marathon distance. Miller et al (2010) advise that adequate continuous hydration with an electrolyte solution should be one of the preventative measures that should be taken. Moreover, adequate fuel intake during a longer run will help to prevent cramp. Does this mean that if we always cramp at mile 23, we should have some salty carbs at mile 22 to prevent it? The pretzels in New York are now beginning to make sense! The NYC marathon took a lot of runners by surprise as the day was very warm for November and cramping was a big issue during the race. I saw a few runners afterwards for recovery and they all felt that the gently myofascial stretching techniques used yielded amazing results compared to the standard self administered post marathon 3 minute stretching routine (ya....I know....3 minutes was the average!!!).
Anyway, the point being made is that hydration doesn't just mean water ! And a well hydrated body means well lubricated tissue and joints - meaning less injuries! So drink up!
The evenings are getting darker still and outdoor training is significantly hampered by cold wet weather and the unfortunate pains and strains that seem to accompany the cold weather. Having given it some serious thought, I have moved away from thinking that injuries are increased during the cold weather because people are not warming up enough - having spoken to and treated a number of runners at the recent New York marathon, I have come to the conclusion that hydration is a big issue during the winter. The common reminders to stay hydrated (heavy sweating during the warm summer months)(physical heat accompanied by thirst) are absent and so ongoing hydration is not as important to those individuals training hard. That is - not until the few days before a race, or a match or competition. If you start intensive hydration the day or two before a race serum electrolytes can become imbalanced (dilution) and cramping may occur. Schwellman et al (2004) discovered very low sodium and very high magnesium levels in runners who experienced cramp during ultra marathon distance. Miller et al (2010) advise that adequate continuous hydration with an electrolyte solution should be one of the preventative measures that should be taken. Moreover, adequate fuel intake during a longer run will help to prevent cramp. Does this mean that if we always cramp at mile 23, we should have some salty carbs at mile 22 to prevent it? The pretzels in New York are now beginning to make sense! The NYC marathon took a lot of runners by surprise as the day was very warm for November and cramping was a big issue during the race. I saw a few runners afterwards for recovery and they all felt that the gently myofascial stretching techniques used yielded amazing results compared to the standard self administered post marathon 3 minute stretching routine (ya....I know....3 minutes was the average!!!).
Anyway, the point being made is that hydration doesn't just mean water ! And a well hydrated body means well lubricated tissue and joints - meaning less injuries! So drink up!
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