Hyponatremia: What Is It?

Although summer doesn’t officially start until June, Memorial Day is considered the unofficial start of this season. This means temperatures will rise over the next few months and you will need to start including more hydration when running. If you live in a hotter area of the country, you need to understand hyponatremia and what it can do to your body.

What is hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia is a condition that can occur when the sodium level in your blood is too low for it to function properly. This can occur because you drank an excessive amount of water. Also, if you have an excessive sweat rate and you lose too much sodium.

When you become hyponatremic, your body’s water levels rise and your cells start to swell. This can even become life-threatening.

What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea, vomiting, headaches, loss of energy, constant fatigue, weakness, restlessness, spasms and cramps. Careful: these symptoms are similar to overtraining as well.

Who is at risk of hyponatremia?
Runners who drink too much water during marathons, ultramarathons, and other long-distance workouts can suffer from hyponatremia. Also, older adults and those taking medications such as thiazide diuretics as well as some antidepressants and pain medications are at a higher risk level.

How do you fix hyponatremia?
Fixing hyponatremia is quite simple: cut back on how much water you drink during a workout. Switch to a sports drink to keep your body full of electrolytes and sodium, but also don’t over do it. You’ll still find water in sports drinks. Also, be sure to replenish your body with sodium, adding in a sports drink during and after a long run. You may even want to add in salt tablets to your workouts if they last longer than an hour. Just pop a pill every hour or so to keep you from losing too much sodium.
Source

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/basics/definition/con-20031445

Running through the trails

RunningInRainAs the weather gets better and the days are now almost at their longest, we like to turn our running to the trails instead of always heading to the track.

Here are a few trail running tips:

1. You might want to invest in a trail running shoe or a hiking shoe in general. Running through the dirt and mud can quickly destroy your expensive, beloved running shoes.

2. Always make yourself aware of the trail beforehand. With the Internet, you can most likely do the research of what to expect in terms of elevation and turns within the trail itself.

3. Always carry your cell phone. While we don’t like the extra weight when running, this is for safety reasons. Granted, you might not have cell service, but if you are out alone, it’s best to stay on a trail near civilization.

4. Run through the mud puddles. This may seem counterintuitive, not to mention dirty, but this helps with the erosion process as you will stay on the trail.

5. Keep one earphone out in case you like to listen to music. This will allow you to hear any other runners/mountain bikers who want to pass or any potential dangers.

6. Rehydrate when you return home. This is especially important in hot water. You lose one liter per hour of exercise. On the trail for three plus hours? You’ve got a lot of water to drink. You should also mix it up with sports drink to replenish lost electrolytes.

7. Let someone know you are leaving, where you will be and when you are expected home. A quick text to a friend is all it takes.

8.  This should go without saying, but keep the trash with you. We know how annoying it is to carry an empty gel package or empty water bottle, but it harms the environment.

Happy trail running!

Exercise Lowers Your Risk of Cancer

imagesExercise is even more beneficial than previously thought. We all know the benefits of running: stronger bodies, heart, lower weight, stay in good cardiovascular shape, etc. Now we have more reason to run.

The National Cancer Institute researched dozens of cancer studies throughout both the United States and Europe and published their review in JAMA Internal Medicine. They compared the people who exercised more than 90 percent of everyone else in the study to those who exercised hardly at all.

They found that participants exercised an average of 2.5 hours each week from the 1.4 million participants.

People who exercised the most had the following:

42 percent lower risk of esophageal cancer
27 percent lower risk of liver cancer
26 percent lower risk of lung cancer
23 percent lower risk of kidney cancer
22 percent lower risk of stomach cancer
21 percent lower risk of endometrial cancer
20 percent lower risk of myeloid leukemia
17 percent lower risk of myeloma
16 percent lower risk of colon cancer
15 percent lower risk of head and neck cancer
13 percent lower risk of rectal cancer
13 percent lower risk of bladder cancer
10 percent lower risk of breast cancer

The researchers hope this encourages people to exercise.

In addition, another study shows that those who exercise have brains that look 10 years younger than those who don’t.

In a study published in the journal Neurology, researchers showed that good exercise can extend your brain function by a decade. You do need to do higher-impact exercise. Walking, bowling and golf do not count. The findings are based on nearly 900 older adults who took standard tests of memory, attention and other mental skills at an average age of 71.

That’s good news for runners!

Source:

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2521826

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_157919.html

Overtraining: Running Too Much

cropped-cross-country_1As the weather starts to warm up, so do the level of the workouts. While you may spend the spring performing your workouts on the treadmill and with your gym’s hand weights, as we get closer to summer nicer temperatures allow you to work on your shape using nature’s obstacles. Because of the semi-winter hibernation you’ve put your body in, you must ramp up the workouts and not go full out right away. You risk damaging your body and overtraining.

It can’t be said enough, but overtraining is dangerous. If you feel the following symptoms, it’s best to slow down or take breaks with full days off. You should really be cognizant of this, especially as racing season approaches.

Constant soreness. Sure, the first couple of workouts back may make the muscles full of lactic acid, but soreness goes away after a few days. Chronic soreness, however, is your body’s inability to repair lactic acid buildup because of the increased workout volume. You need to stop and let your body fully heal.

No appetite. When you start going for longer runs and maybe hitting the trails after work, you’ll notice you’re hungrier. This is normal as you burn more calories. Not having an appetite when working out is not. Too much exercise actually makes your body constantly restless and unable to process foods properly; thus, making your appetite disappear.

Your heart races. When you’re under stress, from work or a school, you’ll notice your heart working overtime. Imagine if that was happening all the time. That is the case with overtraining; your heart is stressed from working at an elevated level too often.

You’re too tired to continue with training. If you take a couple of days off and still feel an excessive amount of fatigue, it’s a result of increased cortisol levels. Your body won’t maintain a good immune system, making you more likely to get sick. It’s best if you just do short 30-minute workouts for a while until you start to get your energy back.
Happy training!

Source:

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/overtraining.html

Moves to Make You Faster

We all know speed work is the key to moving down the finish times. Doing at least one hard speed workout, even two, can help make you faster. To me, they are the hardest workouts of the week. Is there anything we can do to help give us more speed outside of running? Yes!

Here are some moves you can do to help:

Bridges: You see this more in yoga but they work for runners. Lie on the floor and put your feet flat on the ground and your hands over your head and then on the ground. Lift your body up. It’s the same as doing a backbend, without moving your legs over your head. This strengthens your glutes. Once you get more advanced, try lifting one of your legs up and holding it for 30 seconds, then switch legs.

One-legged squat jumps: Because running involves one leg on the ground all the time and basically jumping from one foot to the other, mirroring that movement can help build muscle. Stand on one leg, squat down and jump up. Do this for 20 times on each leg.

Foam rolling: After a run, lie on top of a foam roll–you can find these at any local sporting goods store. Slowly roll your leg over the foam roll and notice any pain. If you hit a hot spot –a spot where you notice extra pain–push extra hard on it for 30 seconds, no more. This helps remove the kinks that build up from running and keep your legs fresh. It’s basically like giving yourself a massage for free (although it’s a little more painful).

Side plank with leg lift. Lie on your side and then lift your body up so you are resting all your weight on your forearm. Lift one leg up, hold for five seconds, then move it back down. Repeat for 10 times and then switch sides. This strengthens your hips and posture for faster running.