4 Tips for the Final Stretch to the NYC Marathon!

Hey all NYC marathoners out there!  We’re coming up to that time of the season where you may be rounding into great form…or you may be struggling with your training and finding yourself treading through a rough patch.  Summer is over, work is back in full swing and the kids are back at school.  You were so excited to start marathon training that you’ve put in lots of work, and lets be honest, you’re feeling the fatigue of all the miles you’ve logged over the past few months.  Here are my 4 tips to rejuvenate for the final stretch to the NYC Marathon Starting Line!

1.  Check your sleep habits.  Most of us underestimate the effect that a lack of sleep has on our health.  Ideally, we should all get 8 - 8.5 hours each night.  While this may not always be realistic,  try your best since every little bit counts and will help your body recovery better.  Aim to eat dinner at least 3 hours before bedtime. Turn off the electronics at least an hour before you go to bed.  If you absolutely must be on your computer at least install a program like f.lux or similar, which was designed to reduce eye strain during night-time use and reduce disruption of sleep patterns.

2. Take a day off!  If you’re feeling fatigued, do it now.  An off day doesn’t have to be planned, training is always adjustable.  If you’re having one of those impossible days, go ahead and give yourself a break.  Or plan an extra off day sometime during the last 2 weeks of your training and schedule something fun that you normally don’t have time to fit in during that time.   Extra sleep is always good too:)

3.  Book a massage/bodywork appointment. Bodywork can do wonders for sore and fatigued muscles. I know you’re busy, but just book it and add it to your schedule.  Also schedule now for a tune up the week of the marathon, as it gets closer you’re favorite therapist will be booked!

4. Take an honest assessment of your current fitness.  If you’ve been struggling to hit your goal training paces this is a good time to readjust your goal marathon time.  Having a new, realistic race plan will take away the stress of feeling like you are behind in training and always playing catch up. If you’ve been running faster than anticipated in the workouts you can adjust your marathon pace to something a little quicker than originally planned.  However, it’s always best to start out a little conservative at the marathon distance!

When an Asset Becomes a Liability...

If you have spent as many years as I have as a long distance runner you would understand that whenever I hear anyone talk about checking their iron levels, I immediately assume it means that they are checking to see if their iron scores are too low.  Low iron is a common concern for runners since we lose it through sweat, from foot strike hemolysis and also through the GI tract.  If you are a female then you will also lose even more iron through monthly menstruation, which makes iron deficiency an even more common problem for women than men. Proper iron levels are important for running since our red blood cells contain hemoglobin, an iron containing protein, which transports oxygen to the muscles. If we don't have enough iron and hemoglobin then we will be getting less oxygen to those working muscles. The warning signs for low iron are an increase feeling of fatigue during more intense training, decreased recovery times and basically feeling miserable when trying to log your normal weekly mileage.

I’ve always considered myself to be one of the “lucky” ones because I’ve had consistently healthy serum ferritin scores (ferritin is a protein within your cells that stores iron and releases it when your body needs it), even when training at 8000 feet of altitude!  Side Note… Altitude exposure increases your body’s need for iron to support the accelerated production of red blood cells.  This will draw on your iron stores so it’s important that they’re at a healthy level prior to altitude training. It was nice never having to worry about bumping up my supplementation or intake of iron rich foods during heavy training stints. However, I had a bit of a shock after some blood work I had done in early 2016.  The blood draw was taken about 2 weeks after I had been very sick so I had some odd results.  I had some very high inflammation markers and a serum ferritin score of 225 (Whoa! this was by far my highest ever).  I figured this was due to the illness but I set up a Skype consult with a naturopath just in case.  I learned that during illness the body takes circulating iron out the bloodstream and puts it in storage (ferritin).  This is because bacteria and viruses need iron to survive just as we do, so the body tries to make it unavailable by moving it out of circulation.

The naturopath told me I should probably stop taking my iron supplement and asked me at what age did my mother go through menopause (Wait….What!?!).  Keep in mind that at the time I was training every day with the BAA elite ladies who have an average age of about 24, so thoughts about menopause did not occupy my headspace!  However, it did encourage me to do some more reading about iron levels…

Outside of people who have the genetic disease, hemochromatosis, I found out that most adult men and postmenopausal women tend to be at a high risk, as they don’t have a form of monthly blood loss.  The next question I’m guessing you’re asking is why is having excess iron so bad if we need it to survive? Well, among other things high iron levels can permanently damage your organs, tissue and joints, and increase your risk of cancer and heart disease.  This excerpt from Dr. Joe Mercola’s recent book, Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy summarizes the effect of excess iron:

Through a process called the Fenton reaction, excess iron acts as a catalyst and transforms the relatively harmless hydrogen peroxide to hydroxyl free radical (OH-). Without question, this is one of the most dangerous reactions that occur within your body because the hydroxyl free radical decimates mitochondrial DNA, proteins, and membranes. It also contributes to increased inflammation throughout your body, which is a precursor to all manner of chronic diseases.

Since we certainly don’t want this, what can we do to lower our iron?  

• Donate blood 
• Get a prescription for therapeutic phlebotomy 

Things to avoid or minimize that can increase iron absorption:

• Alcohol consumption
• Red meat 
• Sugar
• Cooking in iron pans
• Processed foods that are “fortified” with iron
• Vitamin C Supplements

Things to consider adding that can block iron absorption:

• Black Tea
• Coffee
• Calcium Supplement

I realize now that as I both get older and log fewer miles, I will need to monitor my iron levels for the opposite reason that I did during my entire running career.  I encourage athletes to get blood work done 2-4 times a year, and in terms of checking iron levels it’s important to include the serum ferritin test, which measures the amount of ferritin in your blood.  What I always considered an asset could become a liability if I’m not careful.  The naturopath that I consulted with last year was thinking ahead and realizing what I would need to be cognizant of in the future.  Prior to my whacky blood work I had never thought about iron levels from the perspective that too much could be a bad thing. This reminds me of the importance of occasionally taking a step back, out of our own microcosms, and look at things from a broader perspective. 

Note: For more information on this subject I’d suggest reading Dr. Joe Mercola’s latest book, Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy,  Chapter 4, specifically, is titled The Surprising Effects of Iron on Mitochondrial Health.

Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Old Dog, New Tricks.... Who Knew?

Like most elite runners I have always taken my breaks from running pretty seriously.  What I mean is… I switch from “ALL IN” regarding training my butt off and watching everything I eat to “ALL OUT” - which is basically doing absolutely nothing and eating any and every bad thing (and by bad I mean awesome) that comes within reach for the better part of two weeks! This had been my annual routine for the better part of 15 years and usually ended with me either feeling terribly ill or just being a good 10 lbs over my racing weight. Either way it is safe to say that my first run back post break was not very pretty and resembled nothing of what you would expect from an elite runner. 

So in 2011 I decided to get off the merry-go-round and try something different. Ok it wasn’t all my idea. It was more or less suggested to me by my newfound nutrition guru once he saw what effect all of this bad food was having on my body. I guess that I was holding strong to the old saying that a distance runner could eat anything as long as they put in the miles. Unfortunately that isn’t really the case. 

After dealing with the aftermath of my last post-season break I decided that it was time to finally listen my nutritionist and get to work. In doing so I began to read more and more about food and sports performance. I became really curious about the effects of a high carb diet on both athletic recovery and the aging process. Let’s face it - none of us are getting any younger. So I decided to give eating lower carb a try over my next post season break.  I figured it would be easier to forgo the carbs when I wasn’t doing much exercise, which actually proved to be correct.  It really wasn’t hard to adapt to this style of eating since I typically ate plenty of meat and veggies already. I just had to focus on staying on top of eating healthy fats while reading a few more labels than I used to in order to not let too many extra carbs sneak in the back door. 

A typical day’s meal plan during my training and racing seasons would look something like this:

Breakfast: Black coffee, granola with fruit and almond milk

Lunch:  Turkey sandwich on whole wheat w/lettuce, tomato & spicy mustard

Afternoon Snack: Green tea, 1 piece toast with butter & peanut butter

Dinner: Steak, rice or potatoes, colorful salad or a cooked veggies

Dessert: Dark chocolate (min 70%)

Total: Carbs: 200g Sugar 61g

A typical day’s meal plan with my new adapted low carb diet looks like this:

Breakfast: Bulletproof coffee(french press coffee blended w/butter & MCT oil)

Lunch: Salad w/chicken, lots of greens, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, walnuts & olive oil

Snack: Green tea, 2 squares dark chocolate (min 85%), macadamia nuts(maybe 8-10)

Dinner: Steak, cooked asparagus, sweet potatoes

Snack: More dark chocolate, 2 squares (min 85%)

Total: Carbs: 71g Sugar 28g

What came as a surprise was that when I started back running after 10 days completely off is that I didn’t feel terrible!  Typically, throughout my whole career, each time I started back after a break I felt like I had never run a day in my life and this would be followed up by an incredible soreness up and down my legs the next day. I just thought that is what happens to everyone when you get out of shape. It was a sort of rite of passage to coming back to fall training camp. I even remember the previous summer some fellow “older” athletes had joked with me about how it just gets worse each year! It was then that a light bulb went off. What if it didn’t have to be this way? What if I didn’t have to be sore each and every time I came back from a vacation? Maybe after eating relatively clean for a whole season and then eating all of the worst foods I could get my hands on for 2 weeks was the culprit…or at least part of it.  

I thought back to what is probably the most awkward and painful run I’ve even gone on…starting back after an injury at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I had torn my left plantar fascia in the heats of the 5000m and ran on it injured in the final (since I had still managed to earn a spot in the final!).  Given that my season was then over due to the injury my husband and I changed our plane tickets and went straight from Beijing to the Costa Brava in Spain for a break on the beach.  

My vacation diet looked something like this:

Breakfast:  Coffee and 2 donuts (or 2 croissants, or sometimes both), head to the beach

Lunch/ Late Morning Snack:  Ice cream, potato chips, maybe some french fries 

Snack: Late afternoon glass of wine, something from the dessert case

Dinner: Pizza, Pasta, the occasional steak (I didn’t even eat seafood back then…) more wine and finish it off with another dessert (chocolate cake or similar)

Total: Carbs: 400-500g+ Sugar 100-125g+

After returning to the US and a total of almost 3 weeks off due to the injury I began getting therapy for my foot so that I could start getting in shape again. The sports therapist suggested that I start back running so we could track the progress on my previously torn plantar.  Ouch - I had never felt worse in my life!  I remember thinking that no one passing by would ever believe that I ran in the Olympic Final just a few weeks earlier.  Absolutely no way!  At the time I chalked it up mostly to feeling sorry for myself that I got injured at the Olympics…but now I realize there was a little more to it than that.

This dramatic difference in how I was able to return to running after a break of eating clean and low carb (still some wine consumption just for basis of comparison:) really put in my face the difference that nutrition can make in how we feel.  I have the genetics that for much of my career allowed me to eat a high carb diet, maintain my racing weight and train and compete at a high level.  It was when I got a little older and started thinking more about aging that I started looking at things more deeply from an anti aging and longevity perspective and realizing that there was so much that I was missing. It wasn’t all about how much I weighed on a scale, but also about how my body felt when I ran and how it recovered from the stress of all the years of training.

While I don’t recommend that an athlete forgo their well earned post season break of enjoying all the food and beverages that they abstain from during the season, I’d encourage everyone to look at the patterns between what they eat and their levels of inflammation and recovery patterns.  Another thing I learned from my “guru” that is really simple is ask yourself a question after you eat: How Do I Feel?  Do I feel like I need a nap, like I could go back for another workout, like I couldn’t even move for another hour? These are important questions to ask and to answer.  In doing this you will start to make connections between what works for your body and what doesn’t. You will start to learn that food really is fuel and what you eat dramatically effects how your body will react.  I hope that my experience will encourage you to question the way you do things, even those things that have been a long standing way of life!

Welcome!

Welcome!  

I really appreciate you taking the time to read and take a look around at what my new website is all about.    

After competing as a professional runner for more than 20 years I’ve decided to share with you all the knowledge and experience that I have accrued by becoming a Running & Health Coach.  It is my goal to help you understand what works and what doesn’t, what shortcuts you can take and what areas need a long term approach and finally what you need to do to make you feel healthier on a daily basis. 

My running experience includes representing the United States in 3 different Olympic Games, 11 different World Championship teams and countless other road and track races over the years. I have raced around the globe on the indoor track, outdoor track, cross country and the roads - from the mile all the way up to the marathon.  It’s probably safe to say that if there is a major race out there I have ran in it. 

My three keys to longevity in this sport have been balance, adaptability and paying attention to the little things. I have found that having the ability to stay calm and focused when amongst the chaos is paramount both in sport and life. I’m excited to draw on my experiences to help you achieve all of your running and lifestyle goals! 

In the later stages of my career I took a big interest in nutrition, both as it relates to sport performance and managing the aging process. I have found that what I have been doing with my nutrition over the last decade has been as important if not more than what I have been doing out on the track. Over the years I have been fortunate to spend time with some of the greatest minds in sports nutrition. They have all helped to shape the way I think and how I approach this aspect of my health. Not a day goes by now without me reading up on the latest research or checking in with my fellow colleagues on what works and what doesn’t. This winter as part of continuing my education I became a certified Primal Health Coach.  I believe an important quality in a coach is to be constantly seeking new information and being open to learning new ways to do things.  I’ll be sharing with you what I’m really excited about in regard to running, flexibility work, strengthening and nutrition!

Check out my Coaching Section for what I offer in both Running & Health Coaching.  Please contact me with any questions.  More to follow soon!