Coach Tip - Training In Heat

Most endurance athletes (serious and casual alike) know the important role hydration

plays in health and athletic performance. But what you don’t know can hurt you –

drinking too little or too much during intense exercise can be dangerous.

Dehydration: Too Little of a Good Thing

Keeping the body properly hydrated with the right fluids is essential to safety and performance in an endurance event. The fiercest competitor an endurance athlete faces is dehydration.

The first obvious sign of dehydration is thirst, but things can quickly get worse. Dehydration not

only hampers performance but also increases the risk of heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion or potentially deadly heat stroke. The good news is that dehydration and heat illness can be prevented and performance improved simply by following the right fluid-replacement plan.

Signs of dehydration and heat illness can include:

• Headache    • Fatigue     • Dizziness     • Nausea     • Muscle cramps     • Weakness    

• Irritability     • Vomiting     • Heat flush     • Abnormal chills

Hyponatremia: Too Much of a Good Thing

While it’s important to drink enough to remain hydrated, overhydrating by drinking too much can

lead to a condition called hyponatremia, which is serious and sometimes deadly.

What is Hyponatremia?

Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in the blood drops below

135 mEq/L (138-142 is normal).* Symptoms of hyponatremia usually begin at blood sodium values below 130, with values less than 120 resulting in a serious medical emergency. Exercise-related hyponatremia is thought to be caused by overdrinking. Although rare, hyponatremia can result in seizure, coma, and death, so it is vital that athletes learn about the condition and how to prevent it.

Who’s at Risk for Hyponatremia?

Anyone who drinks too much and does not adequately replace the sodium that is lost in sweat

risks hyponatremia, but certain people should be especially careful:

• Endurance athletes – those exercising more than four hours

• Athletes on low sodium diets

• Beginning marathoners who tend to be slower and are hyper-vigilant about hydration

• Athletes who overhydrate before, during, and after exercise

• Salty sweaters – those athletes whose skin and clothes are caked with white residue after  

 exercise

Symptoms of Hyponatremia

Watch for a combination of these symptoms, especially if you or somebody you know is at a

high risk for the condition.

Signs of hyponatremia can include:

• Rapid weight gain    • Swollen hands and feet     • Confusion     • Dizziness     • Nausea

• Throbbing headache     • Apathy     • Severe Fatigue     • Cramping     • Bloated stomach

• Wheezy breathing    • Seizure

Seek emergency care for hyponatremia victims. In most cases, they will be treated with:

• An intravenous solution of a concentrated sodium solution,

• A diuretic medication to speed water loss, and

• An anti-convulsive medication in the case of seizure

The Winning Hydration Plan

The best way to prevent both dehydration and hyponatremia is to learn the right way to hydrate.

Use the following tips to create your own hydration game plan:

• Drink to Stay Hydrated, Don’t Overdrink —

Your fluid-replacement plan should be designed to minimize loss of body weight so that you avoid dehydration during exercise but prevent weight gain from excess hydration during training or races. A good way to gauge your hourly sweat rate is to figure out the difference in body

weight plus your drink volume. For example, if you lost 11/2 pounds (24 oz) during the training, and drank 12 ounces, you should try to drink 36 oz (24 + 12) each hour during similar-intensity

training and racing. In this example, drinking 9 ounces every 15 minutes would do it.

Overdrinking dramatically increases the risk of hyponatremia. It is vital not to overdrink before a

race, because doing so can lower blood sodium even before the race begins. Also, don’t overdrink during or after the race!

• Maintain a Salty Diet

To make certain you replace all of the salt lost during training. During a long race (e.g. more than four hours), consider eating salty snacks such as pretzels, especially if you are a salty sweater.

• Favor Sports Drinks

 During long distance or intense training and competition drink sports drinks to help keep your

 Body hydrated, fueled and salted. The flavor of a sports drink will encourage you to drink

 enough to stay hydrated, the carbohydrate energy will fuel your active muscles, and the

 electrolytes will help replace some of what is lost in sweat. But remember don’t overdrink any

 fluid!

• Recognize Warning Signs of both heat illness and hyponatremia and learn to distinguish

 between the two. When in doubt, stop exercise, stop drinking and seek medical help fast.     

Coach's Tip - Running and Walking Your Perfect Marathon Pace

Running and Walking Your Perfect Marathon Pace

Adapted from: Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide, by Hal Higdon

The simplest route to marathon success is to follow the so-called perfect pace that has the runner run or the walker walk at the same speed mile after mile for the full distance. Running or walking the right pace can speed you to the finish line. For instance, to run a 3-hour marathon, you simply run 26 consecutive miles in 6:52. Even pacing seems to work the best overall.

Coach Tom Grogon of Cincinnati agrees: "I want my runners to run at relatively even pace. Given this, they should view those who bolt out early as foolish people whom they will catch at the end."
If you really enjoy catching people, you can even try running or walking "negative splits." This means that you run or walk the second half of the race faster than the first half. The advantage of this approach is that at a time when most athletes are slowing down, you will be speeding up. You'll pass others, rather than have others pass you, which can be stimulating mentally.

 In picking any pace strategy, it's a good idea to know what you're doing before approaching the starting line. Here are some tips for finding the right pace: 1.) Choose a realistic goal. 2.) Believe in your pace chart: check each mile, making no changes in the first 20 miles (no matter how "good" you feel). 3.) At 20 miles, if you feel good, go for it; if not, hang in there. 4.) If the course is especially hilly, be prepared to make the necessary adjustments. Weather conditions also can affect your pace times. 5.) Carry your pace chart with you. This allows you to know how close you are to pace at every point in the race. 6.) Meeting intermediate time goals gives the runner or walker confidence and causes the miles to pass faster. You'll find it easier to run or walk using a pre-determined pace.
On race day, always consider that there are many factors that can affect your pace including wind, temperature and other weather condition, your level of health, hydration and nutrition and others.
Be careful about misjudging your own abilities and setting yourself up for failure on race day.  It's much more fun if you can successfully race your plan versus feeling that you have failed when you go slower.

The best pace-setting device inevitably becomes that in your own head. Experienced runners and walkers eventually know when to slow down and when to speed up. Experience thus becomes a major factor in marathon success as well as one of the fascinations of the race. Although ability and training certainly are major factors, the marathon definitely is a thinking man's (and woman's) race.

Running, walking or doing a combination at the correct pace for your ability level is crucial in the marathon, especially for the first time marathoner. It's so easy to start the race by going at too fast pace for which you are prepared. Your pace during the first mile oftentimes feels effortless due to the adrenaline rush and excitement of the event. If you run or walk the first mile or too fast, you'll pay dearly for the mistake in the later miles. A much better plan is to start out slower than what you hope to average and then run the middle miles at your chosen (hopefully realistic) pace. It's a better strategy to pick up the pace during the final miles when you know you can finish rather than starting aggressively. In the world of marathoning, there's no such theory as "putting the fast miles in the bank early in the race" and then holding on in the end. If you go that route, you will most assuredly visit the dreaded "wall" (the point in time when glycogen stores within the muscles have been depleted and as a result, the runner's pace slows considerably, oftentimes to a walk). During the marathon, constantly monitor how you are feeling, and adjust your pace accordingly based on your perceived energy level. Your past long training runs will enable you to do this.

Runner's Web has a wonderful tool, a marathon splits calculator, that enables you to key in a goal marathon time and view split times for shorter distances displayed in both miles and kilometers. Some texts have "race predictor charts" which will provide you with the opportunity to extrapolate from your shorter race times (e.g., 10K, half-marathon, etc.) a projected marathon times. Check out this great web site, MarathonGuide.com, for their "Race Time Predictor Chart". Use charts such as these as a guide in determining what pace you should theoretically be able to maintain for your marathon. The information derived from these charts is less-reliable if you haven't completed some training runs of 20 miles or longer.

Coach Tip: Dehydration - Too Little of a Good Thing

Keeping the body properly hydrated with the right fluids is essential to safety and performance in an endurance event. The fiercest competitor an endurance athlete faces is dehydration.

The first obvious sign of dehydration is thirst, but things can quickly get worse. Dehydration not

only hampers performance but also increases the risk of heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion or potentially deadly heat stroke. The good news is that dehydration and heat illness can be prevented and performance improved simply by following the right fluid-replacement plan.

 

Signs of dehydration and heat illness can include:

• Headache    • Fatigue     • Dizziness     • Nausea     • Muscle cramps     • Weakness    

• Irritability     • Vomiting     • Heat flush     • Abnormal chills

 

Hyponatremia: Too Much of a Good Thing

While it’s important to drink enough to remain hydrated, overhydrating by drinking too much can

lead to a condition called hyponatremia, which is serious and sometimes deadly.

 

What is Hyponatremia?

Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in the blood drops below

135 mEq/L (138-142 is normal).* Symptoms of hyponatremia usually begin at blood sodium values below 130, with values less than 120 resulting in a serious medical emergency. Exercise-related hyponatremia is thought to be caused by overdrinking. Although rare, hyponatremia can result in seizure, coma, and death, so it is vital that athletes learn about the condition and how to prevent it.

 

Who’s at Risk for Hyponatremia?

Anyone who drinks too much and does not adequately replace the sodium that is lost in sweat

risks hyponatremia, but certain people should be especially careful:

• Endurance athletes – those exercising more than four hours

• Athletes on low sodium diets

• Beginning marathoners who tend to be slower and are hyper-vigilant about hydration

• Athletes who overhydrate before, during, and after exercise

• Salty sweaters – those athletes whose skin and clothes are caked with white residue after  

  exercise

 

Symptoms of Hyponatremia

Watch for a combination of these symptoms, especially if you or somebody you know is at a

high risk for the condition.

 

Signs of hyponatremia can include:

• Rapid weight gain    • Swollen hands and feet     • Confusion     • Dizziness     • Nausea

• Throbbing headache     • Apathy     • Severe Fatigue     • Cramping     • Bloated stomach

• Wheezy breathing    • Seizure 

 

Seek emergency care for hyponatremia victims. In most cases, they will be treated with:

• An intravenous solution of a concentrated sodium solution,

• A diuretic medication to speed water loss, and

• An anti-convulsive medication in the case of seizure

 

The Winning Hydration Plan

The best way to prevent both dehydration and hyponatremia is to learn the right way to hydrate.

Use the following tips to create your own hydration game plan:

 

Drink to Stay Hydrated, Don’t Over drink —

Your fluid-replacement plan should be designed to minimize loss of body weight so that you avoid dehydration during exercise but prevent weight gain from excess hydration during training or races. A good way to gauge your hourly sweat rate is to figure out the difference in body

weight plus your drink volume. For example, if you lost 1 1/2 pounds (24 oz) during the training, and drank 12 ounces, you should try to drink 36 oz (24 + 12) each hour during similar-intensity

training and racing. In this example, drinking 9 ounces every 15 minutes would do it.

Overdrinking dramatically increases the risk of hyponatremia. It is vital not to overdrink before a

race, because doing so can lower blood sodium even before the race begins. Also, don’t

overdrink during or after the race!

 

Maintain a Salty Diet

To make certain you replace all of the salt lost during training. During a long race (e.g. more than four hours), consider eating salty snacks such as pretzels, especially if you are a salty sweater.

 

Favor Sports Drinks

  During long distance or intense training and competition drink sports drinks to help keep your

  Body hydrated, fueled and salted. The flavor of a sports drink will encourage you to drink

  enough to stay hydrated, the carbohydrate energy will fuel your active muscles, and the

  electrolytes will help replace some of what is lost in sweat. But remember don’t overdrink any

  fluid!

 

Recognize Warning Signs of both heat illness and hyponatremia and learn to distinguish

  between the two. When in doubt, stop exercise, stop drinking and seek medical help fast.   

Coach Tip - How to Read the Schedule

Today we will be talking about how to read the Illinois Run-Walk training schedule.

To start first make sure you have the schedule by getting it from your staff person or your coach. The 2015 Sprummer training schedule can be downloaded at

http://bit.ly/1BDjOeM.

Once you have the PDF file open it you’ll see several pages.

The First page is our Saturday Long Run Schedule

Saturdays are when Team gets together for their long runs. Now let’s look at the rest of each column. You'll see:

• The Week
• Date of training
• Start time of training
• Length of training depends on your event.
• The next three to four columns indicate location of training based on the closest city you live in. 
• Example: If Today was February 7th and your training for the Soldier Field 10 you’ll be training at Braeside Train Station Place for 30 minutes if you are on the North Team.

Please refer to your staff and coach emails for directions to training. 

The last column will indicate if the Coaches will feature aclinic that will take place after training.

The other pages are each month that you in training. Each month has it’s own page.

The monthly calendars are the days participants train on their own.  At a closer look:

If you have participated in more than one endurance event and you want to challenge yourself. 

Remember that the schedule is a guide and not written in stone. Contact your coach to help modify your schedule to your needs. Your coaches can help you rearrange the schedule due to personal and job conflicts. Or your coach can modify it so you can train properly if you are injured.  Good luck on your training. 

Thank you for creating a world without cancer!

Coach Tip - Minimalist Shoe Craze

From Coach Jenny Hadfield:

Shoes are like cars. They are a convenience and provide comfort, style (in most cases), and efficient travel from point A to B without having to think about every single step or worry about the elements along the way.

And like cars, there are a variety of shoes that run along a continuum from the least amount of protection (shoes that look like gloves for your feet) to the most protection (heavy stability shoe).

The more minimal the shoe, the more the foot, ankle, and lower leg actively supports and stabilizes your body in motion. The bulkier the shoe, the more the shoe does the work for us. It's very much like driving a stick shift car versus an automatic. Neither are bad, both are driving, and both have unique benefits.

Newsflash: We are born into the world barefoot. From there we learn to crawl, then walk barefoot, and then we go through the awkward transition to walking in shoes. Eventually that leads to running in shoes and wearing high heels and other fun foot accessories. 

If you start with the premise that we were all made to move from one place to the next shoe-free, you'll begin to see how shoes come into our lives for the benefits mentioned above. Although it may look and feel weird to run in less underfoot, it is a very natural skill.

But, does that mean every runner should switch to minimalist shoes? It depends.

It depends what type of shoes your body is used to running in now—the more support, typically the longer the transition time to running with less. Be cautious. If you switch from a supportive shoe to a minimalist shoe and keep running like nothing has changed, you're likely to get hurt. Taking it slowly in the minimalist world means starting with just seconds of running at a time, and spending months, if not years, transitioning. The benefits are incredible, but it isn't a free ride—you have to earn the strength to support your body to run in less.

It depends if you are willing to commit to strengthening your feet and ankles (and core) and taking the time to learn how to run with different technique. It will take time and patience. I advocate lower body strength work first then lower impact activity in less shoe or barefoot (walking, elliptical) and then very short spurts of running (seconds)—all of which are meant to strengthen your lower legs and develop a solid foundation.

It depends on what your running routine is—are you training for a marathon, or running for recreation or weight loss? The more demands your body has in terms of performance and training, the more gently you'll need to transition into less shoe. In other words, it's not a great idea to switch to a minimalist shoe during your marathon training season as your body is already under great stress from the volume of miles. A better option is to weave it in during the off-season or in the lower mileage weeks of your season. That said, outside of the peaking weeks of mileage in training—it is always a great time to strengthen your feet, ankles, and core.

And, it depends on the runner. Some can put on less shoe, without socks, and run from Chicago to Denver (and back) without a problem. I have a friend Marc who has Dean-like form and can run for days in a shoe that is so light and minimal, he had a hard time finding them in the closet. On the flip side, I also have a friend who, in just the act of trying on minimalist shoes, develops an instantaneous pain in his arch. I'm somewhere in the middle and have been transitioning to less shoe for over two years now (and loving the journey).

Regardless, every runner can benefit from the minimalist movement. That is, we can authentically strengthen our bodies, which will help depend less on the shoe to do the work and from that foundation, progress based on what your body will allow and respond too.

Some runners find themselves with less pain after transitioning to running in minimalist shoes or barefoot. Others have gone from a heavy motion control shoe to a lighter shoe with less support—a great progression! Still others have reaped the benefits of having stronger feet, but still prefer (and possibly need) to run with more support under foot.

One pathway to train slowly toward running in less shoe:

1. Strengthening lower body and core (a house with foundation made of straw will quickly be destroyed when the high winds settle in).
2. Weight-bearing strength barefoot (balancing on one foot)
3. Weight-bearing movement with less under foot (walking or elliptical—lower impact activity provides a more gradual transition to weight-bearing activity with less underfoot).
4. And if that goes well (no aches, pains, or injuries), weave in short (seconds to minutes) of barefoot walking around the house while continuing to use the minimalist shoes for walking, elliptical...
5. If that goes well (no aches pains or injuries), focus on learning how to run naturally (some call it barefoot—others call it minimal). This way your body learns the natural running motion and it will be translated when using a minimalist shoe. This is a drill with the specific purpose to learn the mechanics of running with less underfoot. Some runners know this authentically—while most, when they put on a minimalist shoe, run the same way as they do in a supportive running shoe (not good). If this is the case, take your time and learn this step. You have to learn to crawl before you run and you also need to learn to run without (barefoot) before you run farther with less (minimalist).
6. Practice patience and flexibility. Because running in minimalist shoes with natural form uses a host of other muscles (specifically your calves and muscles in your feet) if you plug these shoes (minimalist) into your regular running plan like any new pair of shoes, you will be at a very high risk of developing calf, Achilles, and other foot injuries. I'm hearing and seeing this in epic proportions in runners—be cautious folks! Think of this as a tool on your toolbox—and a strengthening tool at that.

Start with developing a strong foundation.

Let your body be your guide.

And progress to less as your body allows.

Breaking Down the Mental Marathon

Original Article from Active.com - http://bit.ly/Hie9CG

If cognitive strategies during a marathon won't exactly make or break your race, they are still among the most important weapons you have in your arsenal against fatigue. To try and determine which might be the most effective, researchers questioned non-elite runners in the 1996 London Marathon about their race-day thought processes, and found the following four mental strategies to be the most common:

Internal association. This focuses on how the body feels while running.

Internal dissociation. This is essentially distraction: examples include playing songs over and over in your head and solving mental puzzles;

External association. This focuses outwardly, on factors important to the race: passing or being passed by other runners, looking out for fluid stations and calculating split times;

External dissociation. This, too, focuses outwardly-but on events unimportant to the race: enjoyment of the scenery, attention to throngs of cheering spectators or glimpses of outrageously costumed runners passing by.

The questionnaires keyed in on whether, when and how intensely these four groups experienced the Wall, the notorious elephant that sometimes lands on your back during the last quarter of the marathon. Whether runners may benefit from a particular combination of mental strategies as the marathon progresses remains a subject for further inquiry.

The study reported that the greatest percentage of those who hit the Wall said they had relied primarily on internal dissociation. It seems all-out distraction may make it difficult for you to judge your pace and to know other vital information, such as when you're dehydrated. It's therefore not a good idea to avoid monitoring your body altogether.

Internal association, while the most prevalent of the four strategies, magnified discomfort among the runners, who reported the Wall appearing much earlier and lasting longer than others.

Interestingly, external dissociation seems not to lead runners into the trap of hitting the Wall, as you might expect from the results of internal dissociation. The researchers speculate that the observance, however unrelated to racing strategy, of passing by other runners and spectators may provide enough of the focus needed to keep the correct pace, effectively anticipate hills and so forth.

Similarly, runners using external association didn't experience the Wall as often or as intensely as the internally-focused groups. It may be ideal, then, to check in on your body periodically-if briefly-and focus most of your attention externally: on both factors important to the marathon as well as on the enjoyable atmosphere. The latter may be unrelated to performance in any direct sense, but it nevertheless has the power to surround and energize you as you strive to keep your head up, your confidence high and your feet moving toward that finish line.

Coach Tip - Training in Heat

Most endurance athletes (serious and casual alike) know the important role hydration plays in health and athletic performance. But what you don’t know can hurt you – drinking too little or too much during intense exercise can be dangerous.

Dehydration: Too Little of a Good Thing
Keeping the body properly hydrated with the right fluids is essential to safety and performance in an endurance event. The fiercest competitor an endurance athlete faces is dehydration.
The first obvious sign of dehydration is thirst, but things can quickly get worse. Dehydration not only hampers performance but also increases the risk of heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion or potentially deadly heat stroke. The good news is that dehydration and heat illness can be prevented and performance improved simply by following the right fluid-replacement plan.

Signs of dehydration and heat illness can include:

• Headache    
• Fatigue 
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Muscle cramps
• Weakness    
• Irritability
• Vomiting
• Heat flush
• Abnormal chills

Hyponatremia: Too Much of a Good Thing
While it’s important to drink enough to remain hydrated, overhydrating by drinking too much can
lead to a condition called hyponatremia, which is serious and sometimes deadly.

What is Hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in the blood drops below
135 mEq/L (138-142 is normal).* Symptoms of hyponatremia usually begin at blood sodium values below 130, with values less than 120 resulting in a serious medical emergency. Exercise-related hyponatremia is thought to be caused by overdrinking. Although rare, hyponatremia can result in seizure, coma, and death, so it is vital that athletes learn about the condition and how to prevent it.

Who’s at Risk for Hyponatremia?
Anyone who drinks too much and does not adequately replace the sodium that is lost in sweat
risks hyponatremia, but certain people should be especially careful:

• Endurance athletes – those exercising more than four hours
• Athletes on low sodium diets
• Beginning marathoners who tend to be slower and are hyper-vigilant about hydration
• Athletes who over hydrate before, during, and after exercise
• Salty sweaters – those athletes whose skin and clothes are caked with white residue after exercise

Symptoms of Hyponatremia
Watch for a combination of these symptoms, especially if you or somebody you know is at a
high risk for the condition.

Signs of hyponatremia can include:

• Rapid weight gain
• Swollen hands and feet
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Throbbing headache
• Apathy
• Severe Fatigue
• Cramping
• Bloated stomach
• Wheezy breathing
• Seizure

Seek emergency care for hyponatremia victims. In most cases, they will be treated with:

• An intravenous solution of a concentrated sodium solution,
• A diuretic medication to speed water loss, and
• An anti-convulsive medication in the case of seizure

The Winning Hydration Plan
The best way to prevent both dehydration and hyponatremia is to learn the right way to hydrate.
Use the following tips to create your own hydration game plan:

Drink to Stay Hydrated, Don’t Over drink
Your fluid-replacement plan should be designed to minimize loss of body weight so that you avoid dehydration during exercise but prevent weight gain from excess hydration during training or races. A good way to gauge your hourly sweat rate is to figure out the difference in body weight plus your drink volume. For example, if you lost 11/2 pounds (24 oz) during the training, and drank 12 ounces, you should try to drink 36 oz (24 + 12) each hour during similar-intensity training and racing. In this example, drinking 9 ounces every 15 minutes would do it. Over drinking dramatically increases the risk of hyponatremia. It is vital not to overdrink before a race, because doing so can lower blood sodium even before the race begins. Also, don’t overdrink during or after the race!

Maintain a Salty Diet
To make certain you replace all of the salt lost during training. During a long race (e.g. more than four hours), consider eating salty snacks such as pretzels, especially if you are a salty sweater.

Favor Sports Drinks
During long distance or intense training and competition drink sports drinks to help keep your Body hydrated, fueled and salted. The flavor of a sports drink will encourage you to drink enough to stay hydrated, the carbohydrate energy will fuel your active muscles, and the electrolytes will help replace some of what is lost in sweat. But remember don’t overdrink any fluid!

Recognize Warning Signs 
Recognize the warning signs of both heat illness and hyponatremia and learn to distinguish between the two. When in doubt, stop exercise, stop drinking and seek medical help fast.