Hi everyone,
Last week was HUGE! 3 15-minute segments \u2013 that is fantastic. We are SO proud of all of you. This is another lengthy email, so please bear with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week, we are keeping it steady with the same 15 minute segments. \u00a0For those of you going away for the ASL break, just do your best to get in the runs. \u00a0Remember, beginning this week, the Tuesday run is now a total of 45 minutes exercise time and your weekend run should be 30-35 minutes total. \u00a0Break it up with walk\/runs however feels most comfortable to you.I am here on Thursday so I am planning to coach the run as usual assuming there is enough interest. \u00a0Please respond to let me know<\/strong>\u00a0if you will be here. \u00a0Let\u2019s give us an extra few minutes of sleep and meet at 9 am. \u00a0When you email, let me know if you have a preference for doing a loop back to SJW or a destination. \u00a0There is an Portuguese bakery in Kensington we could run to, but if you need to get back to cook, it may be better to do a loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pace<\/strong> Headphones<\/strong> Gait<\/strong> And now for the lengthy part of the email. \u00a0Feel free to skim or skip it \u2013 I know it is quite verbose!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nutrition<\/strong> Protein:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start with protein because that is probably the most critical component as you increase exercise intensity or duration. When you run, you create tiny tears in your muscle fibers and protein is required to repair that damage. For female long-distance runners, experts suggest taking in about 90g a day (or 1.6-1.8g\/kg of body weight). That\u2019s a lot of protein \u2013 it takes a concerted effort to get there and at our level, we don\u2019t need that much. Make it \u201cclean\u201d protein when possible \u2013 lean meats, fish, nuts, yogurt, lentils\/pulses and low-fat milk (this is the one low-fat product that most nutritionists agree is fine). Most professional runners eat salmon like crazy \u2013 I\u2019ve never heard a nutritionist say that salmon is THAT much better than other fish, but a lot of very experienced runners sing its praises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbohydrates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of trainers will encourage you to increase your carb intake, but I don\u2019t fully agree (particularly for our type of running). It may be necessary for athletes training at extemely high intensity zones, but that\u2019s not what we\u2019re doing. Bottomline\u2026. we are trying to teach our bodies to use fat as fuel. Fat is easier to access as an energy source and requires less fine-tuning in terms of timing carb intake during exercise. Our bodies have about 1000-1200 \u201ceasy access\u201d calories available which will get most ladies about 10-11 miles (depending on their weight and fitness level). After that we will use gels (carbs) to fuel that last 2-3 miles of a half-marathon. If you increase your carb intake on a daily basis, then your body starts expecting a constant feed of carb fuel and may begin to resist going to fat as a fuel source. Your body needs carbs so don\u2019t completely cut them out \u2013 just choose clean carbs, complex when possible, ie. grains, wholewheat products, basmati rice (the longer the grain the better \u2013 long grain basmati is better for you than even brown rice). Bread is not evil, just don\u2019t rely on it as your major carb source. Sourdough bread is better for you (usually made with naturally occuring yeast) than traditional loaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fat:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fat is necessary in our diets. I would make a nutritionist cringe by explaining it so simply, but basically fat creates a slower release of energy\/fuel. It\u2019s as though you\u2019ve taken a time release medication rather than a typical dose when you combine a bit of fat with your other nutrition sources. Fat from avocados, olive oil, nuts, etc is obviously better for you than fat in brownies, cookies, etc (sorry about that!!!). Some current research is suggesting it is actually it\u2019s the sugar in those products rather than the saturated fat that is causing a big problem with obesity, diabetes and heart disease. We can let the scientists battle that out \u2013 for us, just try to get your fat from more natural foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With all nutrition, the closer you can get to whole food, the better (i.e., apples are better than applesauce, whole vegetables are better than pre-packaged ones). Basically, the closer your food looks to how you would find it \u201cin-situ\u201d, the better. That concept is one thing on which all nutritionists\/dietitians seem to agree. That could be a half bagel with cream cheese, yogurt with nuts (if the nuts don\u2019t upset your stomach), a smoothie, or try oatmeal\/porridge \u2013 it wins the prize for a near-perfect carb\/protein\/fat mix for pre-run. Most people find simpler carbs work better before a run than complex carbs as they are more easily digested (so a plain bagel instead of a wholegrain\/seeded bagel). Ideally, eat the pre-run meal 90 minutes before running. Sometimes that is just not possible, so the closer to the run that you eat, the more you should consider simplier carbs for easier digestion. The latest research on coffee\/caffeine pre-exercise, suggest there is no impact on performance, but a huge impact on perceived exertion. This is interesting to me \u2013 basically these new studies conclude that given two athletes who have eaten the exact same thing, and are asked to perform at the exact same level, and who have the exact same result feel differently about how hard the session was. The one who has caffeine in their system will feel it was easier \u2013 their \u201cperception of exertion\u201d is lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within 30 minutes after you run, I would suggest the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The protein piece is critical as is the timing of this food. \u00a0Again, a nutritionist\/scientist would cringe at how I try to explain this, but here we go\u2026 when you exercise your muscles are agitated\/traumatized. \u00a0The cell membranes temporarily become more porous (instead of a wall, it\u2019s more like a mesh allowing the flow of nutrients easy passage). \u00a0Some post-run ideas would be a latte and yogurt, a latte and a piece of fruit or a latte and half a skinny muffin. \u00a0I\u2019ve attached the Starbucks nutritional info to make this easier for you. \u00a0Basically a tall, skinny latte has 14g of carbs, 10g of protein and 0g fat \u2013 so you\u2019re looking for another 35g of carbs in addition to the latte. \u00a0All of this pre\/post run info would apply to longer runs and what qualifies as a long run is different from runner to runner. \u00a0You are probably just fine eating whatever you normally consume until about mid-end January when our runs lengthen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for Starbucks beverage nutrition info
I want to say a little more about pace and such. \u00a0We are now getting to the point where the group may start to split up. \u00a0This is completely normal. \u00a0Please please do not worry about your pace or the pace of anyone else in the group. \u00a0You don\u2019t need to worry about going faster. \u00a0ALL of you are running at a pace that is completely standard for beginner runners. \u00a0And honestly, we will stay at a similar pace throughout the program. \u00a0You should not be concerned at all about being fast enough to do the race – it is not about speed, it\u2019s about finishing and finishing with a smile on your face (and sweat on your brow). \u00a0As I\u2019ve said before, if you are feeling like you don\u2019t want to talk, you are going too fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that in mind, I also want to talk about headphones. \u00a0I know some of you have said you need the headphones to get through the run. \u00a0If you are feeling that way, you may be going too fast. \u00a0It is hard to run next to someone who is wearing headphones, even for us coaches. \u00a0We are a social group and it can make your fellow runners feel that you are not part of the group and also make them feel isolated because the person next to them is sending the signal that she wants to be left alone. \u00a0It feels like people may be getting in the habit of wearing headphones in the group and that is not what we are about. \u00a0If you absolutely HAVE to have music, please only wear one headphone. \u00a0Come and talk to me if you have concerns about this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have also heard some people worry about their gait. \u00a0Everyone has her own gait and it\u2019s generally not a good idea to try to change it unless a licensed professional has said there is a problem and is guiding you. \u00a0Some people hit harder on their heels, some run flat, some run on their toes – it\u2019s ALL fine. \u00a0We are not trying to be Olympic athletes with the perfect positioning for the fastest marathon (and those Olympic athletes have many professionals guiding them). \u00a0If you are hurting, please please see a physio or osteopath to get a professional opinion.
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With Thanksgiving this week and many of us having food on our minds, I thought it would be a good time to talk about nutrition for runners. \u00a0The information here is taken directly from Paula, the founder of our group (she is the \u201cI\u201d in the text). \u00a0She has years of experience as well as trainer certification. \u00a0That said, everyone is different and you need to figure out what will work best for you.
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Before you run, I would suggest the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for Starbucks food nutrition info<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"