Halloween marks the first major event of the year’s holiday season. This Halloween let’s remember to be mindful of our holiday celebration customs in relation to our training.With the carnivals, office potlucks and trick-or-treating, comes candy. Many of you may be wondering if candy is totally off limits this year or will hinder your training. You may be thinking, “How can Halloween pass me by without one bite of a delicious chocolate treat?”
Remember, Halloween or not, candy is not off limits. You can have 1 oz. of candy 3 times per day with your meals, if you choose to. This holds true throughout the year, but we need to be more aware of our choices around the holidays. Often when we think of Halloween (or any holiday) as a once a year opportunity or as a special occasion, I find that it gives us permission to overdo it. Keep in mind, Halloween is not just about the candy. Instead of focusing on treats alone, get caught up in the fun of decorating your house or office, buying and carving pumpkins and eating pumpkin seeds (One serving of pumpkin seeds has 20 grams of protein). If you usually enjoy giving out candy at your desk, hand out plastic spider rings instead. Center your celebration around dressing up or creating a new costume. After all, dressing up in a goofy or scary costume really IS a once a year opportunity!
Now, you may wonder, “Do the simple sugars in candy hinder our trainings?” If you want to save your candy for our long run, you can use candy instead of using your gels, sports beans, etc.However, be mindful of whether or not this really allows you to enjoy the treat. “Simple sugar” means that the sugar breaks down faster into your blood stream. In regards to your body, simple sugars tend to make you feel tired, slow, sluggish – I think you get the point. For training you want to focus on complex carbohydrates, which I discussed last week, to stay alert and energized.
Remember we are walking/running 8 miles the day after Halloween - I know you guys want to feel your best! Enjoy your Halloween candy but don’t go over 1 oz at any meal you choose.
Hopefully, we’ve all been mostly injury free up until this point – maybe only a few blisters here and there and, of course, sore muscles.As we move up to 9 miles this week, let’s be more mindful than ever of how our bodies feel and how we can prevent any serious injuries from taking place. Below are three anti-injury technique categories that I’d like us to focus on.
Stability
Stability in your workouts will help you avoid injury. It becomes more and more important as our long walks/runs increase to keep up a consistent training schedule.
Continue to build up your mileage at the same rate each week. If you miss a long run, don’t jump to the next mileage level without catching up for the week you missed first. However, still be sure to give yourself several days between long mileage sessions.
Preventative
Taking notice to how your body feels will also help you stay injury free. If something doesn’t feel right during a workout, don’t push it. It’s always OK to stop, rest and recover. Stretch before any workout. When stretching, don’t bounce. Hold the stretch for about 10 counts. Be sure to focus on the muscles that will be most used during your training – running day stretches and cross training stretches may be different. Prevent dehydration by drinking fluids 30 minutes before your workout.
Recovery
After a tough training session consider taking an ice bath. Your muscles are inflamed from the workout so try to avoid taking a hot bath or sitting in a hot tub. If an ice bath is too cold, try putting an ice pack or a frozen bag of veggies on your sore muscles.
Now that your trainings are getting more vigorous, it’s important to work on proper breathing techniques while walking/running. Proper breathing can improve your endurance and help you to enjoy your training more. Breathing incorrectly can affect your performance by causing fatigue, which in turn, shortens the distance that you are able to complete. Added stress on your body can also be a result.
There are several universal breathing techniques that can be helpful. Learning breathing techniques while walking/running may be difficult or feel unnatural at the beginning. However, like with most things, with practice it will become easier. Start off by choosing one technique at a time and practice it while seated. Work on that specific technique until it feels natural and then incorporate it into a training session.Find your favorite and most useful technique and stick with it! The following are some breathing techniques:
1.Breathe through both your nose and mouth
This practice will assist in increasing the amount of oxygen taken into your air passages.
2.Breathe from your diaphragm
Close your eyes. Put one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly. Just breathe normally. Which hand is moving?The hand on the chest or the hand on the belly? Take time to focus on moving the belly while breathing instead of the chest. If you are moving the belly you are breathing from the diaphragm and your breaths will be more complete.
3.Maintain a 3:2 breathing ratio
Inhale for 3 steps, then exhale for the next two steps. This will assist in deeper controlled breaths. A 3:2 breathing ratio is suggested for people who do a light jog pace or less.
Check out this short video on breathing for additional information:
Now that our trainings are getting longer, I wanted to discuss the importance of fueling your body. Today let’s talk about the importance of carbohydrates. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. During training you want to increase your intake of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates break down at a slower rate which means they provide a slow, steady form of energy which is best for long distance training. A few complex carbohydrate food choices are pasta, rice, beans, vegetables, legumes and potatoes. Beans and legumes are great choices for bariatric patients since they include both protein and complex carbohydrates.
Where does the energy come from?
The energy we utilize during long distance training primarily comes from glycogen, which comes from carbohydrates. The more glycogen storage you have during training, the better you will feel and perform. The more you train, the more efficiently your body will store carbohydrates as glycogen. This means having a consistent exercise program will condition your body to convert more consumed carbohydrates into glycogen vs. being stored as fat. Because carbohydrates break down into glycogen, the more carbohydrates you take in, the more available glycogen becomes. However, don’t let this be an excuse to overdo your carbohydrate intake. For many, exercise is used as an excuse for an excessive intake of carbohydrates and typically poor quality food choices as well. Remember to be mindful of excessive intake that can sabotage your efforts for performance.
As a bariatric patient you are taught to eat 4 oz. of food a meal and I usually recommended that 3 of those oz. are protein. During training you may want to alternate your percentage of carbohydrate intake. For example, after trainings your post meal may consist of 2 oz. of protein and 2 oz. of a complex carbohydrate or 3 oz. of carbohydrate and 1 oz. of protein. The key is to pay attention to your body and find out what works best for you. Choose a combination of proteins and complex carbohydrates that help you feel your best.
Remember, complex carbohydrates are needed as part of a balanced meal plan for optimal performance and feeling great!
See this resource for complex carbohydrate options:
You may have noticed now that we are into the eighth week of training that you are able to walk longer or you get tired much later into your trainings.Well, that’s because marathon training builds stamina.According to Greg McMillan, marathon coach, there are 4 key training zones:
1.Endurance
2.Stamina
3.Speed
4. Sprint
Here’s a brief outline of each training zone:
Endurance is a slow easy pace.The goal is to build endurance.For beginners, you may spend 4 – 6 months in this phase being able to run or walk 5 miles easily.
Stamina training is when your training is “comfortably hard”. You are training at a pace where your heart rate beats between 83 – 92% of max.For beginners, you may start out at short intervals of incorporating 20 – 30 second intervals throughout your endurance training.Stamina training helps critical thresholds resulting in less lactate accumulation resulting in less fatigue.
During speed training, you are training with a 3 – 5k race speed. Your heart rate and oxygen levels are above the 92% of max.The effort in this training is hard.Speed training increases the enzymes that help liberate enzymes from our fuel source as well as stimulate and trains our fast twitch muscle fibers.Speed training will assist in running faster for longer periods of time.
Sprint training is where you are training with 800 – 2500m race pace.During these trainings your heart rate and Vo2 reach max.This type of training will assist with both your power and speed.
For most of us being beginners, our goal is usually to finish the half marathon.If you fall into this category, most of your training will be in the endurance and the stamina training zones.If you continue on for other marathons you may want to start incorporating some of the other zones to assist you in increasing your performance. For more info about the training zones visit check out the below link:
Many of you may have questions about caffeine. What is it? Is it good for me. etc.? Well, caffeine is a stimulant that increases mental alertness so you feel good.
Some sports studies have found benefits to consuming caffeine and that it may enhance marathon performance when taken properly. Research also shows that it stimulates the release of adrenaline from your adrenal glands. This allows more fatty acids to be released into the blood so you are burning fatty acids at the beginning and can save muscle glycogen to the latter miles of a marathon.
Caffeine does have benefits like increasing your speed by just a few minutes. But how important is several minutes to your time? The goal of the GBI Marathon team is to train for a healthy marathon pace in order to reduce injuries and prolong your walk/run so that you can finish the race feeling good. Our primary goal is maintaining a healthy lifestyle, not increasing our speed.
The bottom line is caffeine can benefit performance, but in the end, water is the most important fluid you should consume. Remember you need at least 8 additional ounces of water for every 10 – 15 minutes of exercise. Also, you should drink 1 pint of water approximately 30 minutes before training and race day. So, the fluid to focus on the most is H2O!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about caffeine intake.
In 2008, the New York Times published an article that estimated only 650,000 people in the U.S. had ever completed a half marathon. That’s less than 1% of the U.S. population.This proves that our Gastric Band Institute Marathon Team is very courageous and special!
Last week, you finished a distance of 8.55 miles. What a feat! You are more than half way there with only eight more weeks until the half marathon on December 6, 2009. Your dedication and pace have been amazing.
By conquering this goal, you are redefining the scope of what is possible in all areas of your lives. You are now a part of something extraordinary that you will remember for a lifetime.
You should all be very proud of yourselves.Keep up the good work and we will see you at the finish line!
As you all know, this year’s GBI team has ‘banded together against obesity’ and committed to stretch, sweat, train, recover, press on and accomplish a huge goal – together. A half-marathon is quite the accomplishment. How better to achieve our shared ambition than with the support and friendship of others? Know that our team is not alone. In today’s blog, I’d like to give our group a bit of inspiration by sharing stories that I’ve come across about other groups who have already or plan to accomplish the success and splendor of team fitness.
Shoe trouble?Many of us have already experienced blisters, sore feet or black nails. Just what is the right shoe for each of us? For this man and group of runners, the answer is no shoe! (Don’t try this at home!)
Busy Moms.This team is recognized by Shape Magazine and is large in numbers. The goal of this global group of runners is to make time for those individuals busy with family life to do something good for their health and spirit. Check out these Moms In Motion! http://momsinmotion.com/about.aspx
Run for a Cause.Keep in mind that this year’s Las Vegas Marathon is cause driven. All registered runners are actually on one big team – a team aiding the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. http://las-vegas.competitor.com/press/2009/ccfa/
What other groups have you seen or heard of? Elvis? Santa? 5K runs? Other causes?
Remember, the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon 2009 is our current goal, but what’s next? Keep a look out for other groups or events that may inspire you to keep up with your training in the future and don’t forget to bring your team. It’s a healthy lifestyle we’re all after. Let’s find ways to continue our phenomenal team support and progress!
The weather is changing and you may have noticed the internal dialogue seducing you to stay inside: “You would much rather stay inside under the covers than tackle the wind and the cold.” Be aware of those thoughts in your head as we continue to train and the weather continues to get colder. Keeping on track with training and not missing training days is important to help prevent injuries caused by increasing long walks/runs too quickly.
Here is a list of what we can do to prepare ourselves for Jack Frost! (Ok, I may be exaggerating but it was pretty cold this last week!)
1.As the song goes; “Prepare your mind, the rest will follow.” Be aware of the internal dialogue, “the seducers,” and talk back. This training is as much about a mental training as it is a physical training. You are mentally tough! Every time you follow through with your intention vs. giving into the internal dialogue you have won a battle which will result in winning a long-term war of being in control of your choices. On your rest days you may want to work on training your brain by using guided imagery, visualization or meditation techniques. If you have never done anything like this, there are CDs you can purchase to guide you through the process.
2.Resist the temptation to overdress. Excessive sweating under too many layers may actually cause you to feel cold during the training.Layer your clothing instead. The material closest to your body should wick moisture away. Get wicking materials like acrylic or cool max fabrics. Champion brand sells wicking material clothing or you can go to http://www.coolclothingusa.com.The best fabrics for cold weather training are polypropoylene and capillene. If it is windy, think about wind protection by wearing an outer layer of gortex or nylon. Remember, the layers can come off as you warm up.
If you’ve been following the training schedule, you’ll notice that we’ve included at least one day of cross training or strength training in each week’s routine. While our major focus is building our mileage up to 13.1 miles, I wanted to discuss the importance of these cross training days and how they will help us train for our big day.
Why cross train?
Each week we work on our speed and endurance during our short and long walks. Cross training days keep our bodies moving but also provide us a rest from the regular trainings. As light, easier workouts they allow our muscles to recover from the walking sessions. Cross training decreases the chance of having a burnout and can strengthen muscle groups and soft connective tissues in our body. Upper body strength building is also important as neck and shoulder muscles assist in walking up hills and can become fatigued during the marathon. On a fun note, cross training days shake up our training week and add a little variety to the schedule!
What activities count as cross training?
Are your muscles sore?Try swimming on a cross training day. Swimming is one of the best forms of full body exercise. It can soothe some of the most stressed walking/running muscles by providing a non-contact workout. Upper body strength is built up and your ankles gain flexibility as you swim. Swimming requires you to pay close attention to your breathing – these breathing patterns can be used while walking as well. Your muscles will also benefit from a gentle massage as they move through the water.
Do you want to reduce your risk of injury?Try biking. This cross training exercise can be done on the road or on a stationary bike at your gym. Cycling helps release sore leg muscles and supports connective tissues in ankles, hips and knees.
Need to build your body strength?Try rowing or elliptical machines. These are low-impact cardio exercises that build strength in you quads, hips, and buttocks. Row machines also assist in upper body building.
Need something more relaxing?Try yoga or Pilates. Both exercises count as cross training or strength training and use your body mass instead of weights as resistance. Both are also great for stretching and relaxing sore muscles. If you’d like to improve your breath, check out these Pilates Breath Enhancing exercises: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-266-12996-0,00.html
Remember, these are just a few cross training ideas – there are tons to choose from! Have fun trying new activities and even switch them up each week.
As always, listen to your body to prevent injury as well as to enhance your mileage training or cross training sessions. Rest when you need to rest. Stretch when you need to stretch. Ask questions when they arise!
