Internal Thoughts of a Morning Runner

Internal Thoughts of a Morning Runner

by | Oct 5, 2021 | Guest Perspective, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Shelby Schmidt *

Note from the Editor: I am subscribed to the “Running and Schmidt” blog by Coach Shelby. A few weeks ago she wrote a funny post. It was funny only because it was real, and somehow reflected the true nature of every morning runner out there. Every runner will be able to find a little bit of him/herself in these random thoughts. I am publishing her post with her permission.

Feel free to contribute with your own thoughts in the comments section. Enjoy!

Morning runner

There are countless tihngs that go through the mind of morning runners. Some, funnier than others (Picture by libreshot.com)

If you wake up at ungodly hours to run countless miles, you can safely fall into the category of \”crazy morning runner\”. You know them, you see them, you are them: we are the ones with headlights, neon vests, half opened eye lids and enough coffee in us to fuel a small rocket.

Most of us don\’t run with headphones at that time of the morning, for safety, so we have A LOT of time to think. Have you ever run more than three miles without headphones? I don’t love it. It allows me to have WAY too much time to think and my mind is like black hole with no end in sight.

While my endless thoughts just won’t stop, every once in a while, I come up with some gems that I can’t help but share.

So, with that being said, I present you:

Internal Morning Running Thoughts

  • WHY am I up this early!?!?

  • When does the time change for it to be brighter earlier? (Then repeats “spring forward fall back” and try to do math at 5am to what time it would actually be).

  • Passing the same house you did earlier but now they have lights on: “Ohhhh look who’s awake now.”

  •  Seeing someone’s garbage/recycle full to the top: “Damn! did someone have a party?”

  •  When you see another runner like you crazy enough to give up sleep: “Did we just become best friends?”

  •  Seeing a dark object that I can’t fully make out: “Is that a human/dog/ wild animal.”

  •  When a car seems to be slowly coasting along past every house: “What is that car doing? I’m gonna break out my ninja moves—watch out!!!!! Oh it’s just paper delivery l, carry on.”

  •  Literally, every time I bump my pepper spray against myself: “Please don’t let me pepper spray myself.”

  •  Passing houses with lights on: “Doesn’t anyone sleep around here!?!”

  •  When there is a mound of tree clippings taking up half the sidewalk or road: “Do they have any trees left?!?”

  •  When anyone comes around a corner, otherwise of the street or basically into existence remotely near me: “Stay awayyyy!”

 I know I can’t be the only one to have these thoughts and I’m sure that everyone has their own!

What are some of the thoughts you have?

 *Shelby Schmidt is a running coach certified by RRCA. You can follow her in Instagram at @runningschmidt, and read her blog at https://www.runningandschmidt.com/

 
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The Lore and Facts of Carbo Loading

The Lore and Facts of Carbo Loading

by | Sep 28, 2021 | Article, Reflection, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

 When I started running marathons in the early-1980s, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, guzzling carbs indiscriminately was the way of life. The more carbs you ate, the more energy you would have stored for your long run the next day. It didn’t matter if they came from a pizza, your sixth bowl of pasta or a handful of cookies. The point was to ingest in as much as you could.

Carbo Loading

Regardless of how much pasta you eat the night before, your body can’t store beyond its capabilities (Photo by Anna Tis, from Pexels)

The thought process was that if carbs were good for endurance, more carbs would be better. And many, many more carbs would the way better. I recently heard an interview with Dr. Tim Noakes, the influential South African sports scientist and author of several books on exercise and diet, where he regretted his role in the popularization of the carbo-loading myth. He said that if you had an earlier edition of his groundbreaking book The Lore of Running, published in 1985, you should rip off the entire chapter on nutrition, where he champs this topic. He now preaches a low carb, high fat diet.

Now that there is money to be made, running has gone through tons of research in the last couple of decades. Nutrition is one of the subjects with most studies and scientific papers. Therefore hydration and gel options have grown exponentially in the last few years. Same with pre and post-workout powders and supplements. None of this was available way-back-when. We still call “water stations” by this name because when they started, that is all they offered. Gatorade came later. Earlier runs didn’t even have water. But I digress.

The science on glycogen is a bit complex to get into it in this post, plus, this is not a peer-reviewed paper for publication. There are plenty of resources available to explain what glycogen is and how it is metabolized to produce the energy that will push you forward. What is important to know is the new, science-based approach, about how to practice the proverbial carbo-loading.

Most runners are well familiarized with the term glycogen, the most immediate source of energy while we run. Anecdotally, I must have heard that word for the first time about 15 years ago, even though glycogen was discovered in 1857, four years before Abraham Lincoln became President.

In the early eighties there was this theory that if you depleted your body from carbohydrates the week of the marathon and about 3 days prior you started consuming carbs indiscriminately, your body would absorb more and thus have a bigger reserve. Despite the fact this silly theory has been disproven, it is still practiced by some marathoners today, to atrocious results. The amount your body can store is finite. So, regardless of how much pasta you swallow the night before, you won’t be able to collect more than what your body’s capacity allows.

Carbs are very important for a runner, thus the carbo-load. We do so to restore the glycogen stores in our muscles and liver. Just by being alive, our body burns through its glycogen. They deplete faster with activity. We need to replenish them to provide our body with quick fuel to burn during our runs. You could train your body to burn fat instead of glycogen as its primary source of fuel but that is beyond the scope of this post.

Carbo Loading

It is not just about carbs. They have to be the right carbs (Photo by Dana Tentis, from Pexels)

Assuming you are well hydrated, appropriately fed and in good health, your body has all the resources it may need to run from a 5K to a half marathon. There’s no need to overthink those aspects of your race unless it is an extremely hot or humid (or both) day. Beyond that, each mile is pushing your body closer to its reserve limits. And when the reserves get depleted, you hit the no-longer-so-mythical wall. Therefore, for longer races a hydration and fueling strategy is imperative.

Now, the other important point to consider is that not all carbs are created equal. Stuffing yourself with Oreos, Doritos and donuts is not carbo-loading. Those are simple carbohydrates that are broken down immediately and enter the bloodstream as sugars. They do not get stored for later use in your muscles or liver, thus, contributing nothing to what you should be trying to accomplish. This is the reason most sports drinks and gels are packed with sugars and simple carbs. So they can be tapped immediately by your system to produce energy. You wouldn’t carbo load with those.

What you’d rather be doing is consuming complex carbohydrates, such as brown rice, quinoa, oats, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and whole grain pastas. They take longer to break down and get stored in your muscles so they can be used later, like when you are running/racing. All this works better if you prepare your system, so these products become a compliment to your body resources and not the only source of energy production for long distance running.

Time has come to change our view on the old science. Time has come to adopt what the new research has shown to work. Let’s move forward, then.

 
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8 Tips for Out-of-Town Racing

8 Tips for Out-of-Town Racing

by | Sep 21, 2021 | Article, List, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

 As the fall racing season gets into full swing, the Marathon Majors are ready to finally return (sans Tokyo) and runners are excited to stand at starting lines, again, many of us are ready to reward ourselves with a race beyond the boundaries of our immediate area. Exploring the great cities of the world; or celebrating for a few days, sipping margaritas at the beach; or discovering the less traveled paths in lesser-known parts of the world, is always a bonus for our efforts.

But traveling to a race, especially if it is your goal race, doesn’t come without its challenges. It requires planning and additional preparation. If something doesn’t go according to plan, and it will, the chances of fixing it on-the-fly diminish considerably.

Out-of-Town Racing

Always carry your race-day gear in your carry-on. You don’t want a lost luggage derailing your race (Photo: Pexels.com)

So, if you are setting out to a running/travel adventure, these are a few tips that will help you perform the best at your race while getting the most out of your trip:

1.      Do not check your running gear: If traveling by plane, whatever you are wearing on race day, goes in your carry-on. The last thing you need is lost luggage derailing your race plans. You don’t want to run with brand new shoes purchased at the expo or borrowed short.

 2.      Run first, be a tourist later: Take care of the running portion of your trip, first. Don’t arrive too much in advance before the race. Save the tourist plans for after the race. This way you will be well rested at the starting line, and ready to enjoy as much alcohol and unhealthy food as you want.

 3.      Plan your pre-race meals: Never take your food intake for granted. Make sure that what you need eat it is available nearby. It happened to me once, that after identifying the restaurant I wanted in Philadelphia, I went pre-race night, and I needed a reservation.  If you are staying at a relative’s house, make sure you let them know exactly what you need to eat and at what time.

 4.      Know how you are getting to the starting line: Do not improvise. Plan for the wort-case scenario. If you are taking a cab, know the phone number and confirm they provide service at the time you need it. Have a B plan in case there are no Ubers available. If you are taking public transportation, have the tickets purchased in advance. If a relative is driving you, be aware of any road closures due to the race

 5.      Make sure family and companions understand why you are there: If you are traveling with family or friends, make sure they understand that the first few days is all about you and your race. You are the protagonist. Everything else can wait until you cross the finish line. Remind them you wouldn’t be in Berlin, or Buenos Aires or New York if it weren’t for the marathon. 

Out-of-Town Racing

Preparing for time-zone changes is one of the biggest challenges for out-of-town races (Photo: Pexels.com)

6.      Prepare to adjust for time changes: Never underestimate jet lag and time zone difference. They can screw your sleep and derail your race. Find out in advance how to adjust to the time zone in which you will be competing. Research what are the best ways to adjust to the number of time zones you need to adjust. There are plenty of online resource for this.

 7.      Pack for any weather: Remember you are not home, so you can’t just go back to your closet to pick up something. Be prepared for any weather changes and don’t rely 100% on your phone weather app. It is always better to bring back something unused than to need that pair of gloves you left at home. 

8.       Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home: Pre-race is not the time to be adventurous. Trying new, exotic foods; white water rafting, Segway tours, or running a beautiful trail when all you know is the asphalt. Those are recipes to guarantee a bad race. Hold all thar for after the finish line.

Any other recommendations from your experience travelling to races?

 
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Cardiac Health and Running

Cardiac Health and Running

by | Aug 31, 2021 | Article, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As athletes, especially as runners, we are usually very fit people. It doesn’t matter if you weigh 120 pounds and look like a Kenyan world-record holder or if you are on the 200+ or 250+ side of the scale with an overhanging gut. Being fit does not mean being healthy, and it doesn’t mean you have a heart disease vaccine.

In the 1982 New York City Marathon, when my dad ran his first 26.2, a French runner collapsed and died. He told us that he passed this guy in the middle of the ruckus, which made it to all the newspapers next day. It must have been quite an impression on a 16-year-old kid, for 39 years later I am telling you this story.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a 24-year-old runner passed away from a cardiac issue during the Montreal Half Marathon. Unfortunately, this is one of the handful of cases that happen every year, where a fit athlete goes out for a run and, sadly, doesn’t comes back.

Cardiac Health

Jim Fixx wrote one of the most influential books in the history of running, yet he passed away from a cardiovascular issue, suddenly, at age 52.

If the father of the running boom in the United States is Frank Shorter, the Godfather must be Jim Fixx, author of the mega 1977 best seller “The Complete Book of Running”. In a pre-internet, pre-Google era, this book popularized access to the knowledge of the sport, including the cardiovascular benefits of jogging and running. This guru went for a run on July 20, 1984, at age 52, and died of a fulminant heart attack. He was in great shape, but his autopsy revealed he had atherosclerosis, with one artery blocked 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%. His father had died at age 43 of a second heart attack.

During the Marathon Trials for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ryan Shay, a 28-year-old, high-performance athlete with a 2:14 PR, collapsed 5.5 miles into the race and was pronounced dead 40 minutes later. Autopsy report said: “Cardiac arrhythmia due to cardiac hypertrophy with patchy fibrosis of undetermined etiology”. Whatever that means, it doesn’t sound good.

But there have been many cases of runners luckier than Fixx and Shay. One of the most active and fit guys you will ever meet is Dave McGillivray. You may know him as the Boston Marathon Race Director since 2001. His athletic accolades include running across the United States, (3,452 miles) in 80 days, running the Boston Marathon every year since 1973, 9-time Hawaii Ironman finisher and has participated in over 1000 organized races. Yet, in October 2018, at age 63, underwent triple bypass surgery. His family cardiac history was against him, regardless of how fit he was. He is one of the lucky ones that is telling his story.

Cardiac Health

Ryan Shay, a young marathoner with a 2:14 PR, passes away suddenly at the 2008 Olympic Trials.

These are just three relevant cases from many that time and time again prove that just because you are fit, doesn’t necessarily mean you are cardio-vascularly healthy. These are two concepts that are not inclusive.

And there is a reason I bring up this subject, today. And it is because of my personal experience, which I would be dishonest if I did not share with my readers. Two years ago, during my yearly medical check-up, my doctor told me that even though a stress test wouldn’t do much for me because I was a fit marathoner, I should do it anyway “because you never know”. And guess what? you do. A congenital issue in my arteries was discovered. Unoxygenated blood was recirculating while bypassing the lungs, which created such a stress for my heart it could have provoked a heart attack. Fast-forward two years, and on June 23, 2021, I underwent open heart surgery to fix the issue. This “unneeded” stress test potentially saved my life. Now, very shortly, I should be cleared to run again.

The moral of this story is to make sure that you understand that even though you keep an active and healthy lifestyle, you are not immune to the genetics of your ancestors, cardiac birth defects or the sequels of your unhealthy habits prior to your active life. Get checked up. You never know. I am proof of it.

NOTE: If you are having or had a cardiovascular issue and you are an athlete, one of the best support resources I’ve found is the Cardiac Athletes Facebook group. I invite you to check it out.

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Keeping a Running Logbook

Keeping a Running Logbook

by | Aug 17, 2021 | Article, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Maybe because I started running way before personal computers and the internet were ubiquitous. Or because I am a visual person. Or because I am just traditional. I like to keep track of my sporting activities in a written log. For years I handwrote in a 3-ring binder and, as the technology progressed, I set up a spreadsheet that has been constantly changing as I learned more about the wonders of MS Excel.

These days, with Garmin, Strava, TrainingPeaks, RunKeeper, and many, many more, you just forget about it, and someone keeps track for you. And they do so with more parameters than you will ever need, know what to do with, or care for. I do believe it is inevitable that any “serious” runner will end up with a GPS watch and an online account, and that is a good thing. But at the same time I believe that so much data, uploaded up there in the cloud, where you can access but small portions of it at a time, is not necessarily better. Yes, well into the 21st Century, I advocate for a written running log.

Running Logbook

World Record holder Eliud Kipchoge has been keeping a handwritten running log since he turned professional

Eliud Kipchoge, —yes, that Eliud Kipchoge— has kept a had written, yearly running log since he became a professional runner. He records in every single workout as detailed as possible, also adding things and thoughts from outside the running world that may help his training. “When you write, then you remember”, he says. If it works for Kipchoge, maybe you should give some thought.

There are multiple ways to keep track of your activity. You can do it by hand in an appointment book, a 3-ring binder, or a notebook. There are also a variety of journals on sale specifically designed for this purpose. In your computer you can develop an Excel sheet to track what is important to you, or you can just write in your entries in a Word (or equivalent) document. Google has spreadsheets and documents that are accessible in your desktop computer and phone. The options, these days, are limitless.

It is important to take your time to write or type something into your journal, purposefully, so you can internalize it, meditate on it, and visualize. Your GPS watch doesn’t record your thoughts.

Your entries can be arranged, based on the platform where you keep them: daily, weekly, or monthly. My personal preference is monthly because it allows me to review a bigger segment of my training in a single glance. Since I developed my Excel sheet, I have added weekly totals, monthly and yearly totals, pace average, heart rate, temperature, humidity, cross training, and much more.

Why do we keep track?

  • Because when we get in a rut (and you will), you can go back to when you were doing great and check what worked for you back then.

  • Because when you are training for your goal race you can glance your entire training without thumbing through hundreds of single entries in Strava or Garmin.

  • Because when you decide to change GPS watch brand, or want to change your online tracking platform, you won’t lose the data in your account.

  • Because when you are looking for a specific piece of data you can flip a page or two instead of combing through thousands upon thousands of data entries that were not designed with your needs in mind.

  • Because you can store it by year, month or whatever parameter works for you so data will be easily accessible when you need to consult it.

  • Because it creates a spectacular database that will become your frame of reference to get you from where you are today to where you want to be, tomorrow.

Running Logbook

Handwritten logbooks or computer spreadsheets can become as elaborate or a simple as your individual needs.

If by any chance I have persuaded you to give a running log a try, start right away. Now! Write down date, mileage, time and specific, detailed notes of each workout. If you did a particular mobility exercise or weightlifting routine that made you feel good, write it down. If you ran with someone who helped you get the best out of your ability, write it down. If the temperature or humidity became a pro or a con on your run, write it down. If you started with a new pair of shoes, write it down. If you feel any parameters become key in every workout, start tracking them.

The key to the usefulness of your log is the quality and trustworthiness of the data. If you fail to do your entries after each training, if you don’t keep good notes on why it went great or why you bonked, if you are just guessing your mileage and time, if you are lying to yourself, if you misplace your logs in your home or computer; then you are better off not wasting your time.

Think of all the benefits I’ve enumerated and check for yourself if they have any merits.

 
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The Case for Urinals at Starting Lines

The Case for Urinals at Starting Lines

by | Aug 10, 2021 | Article, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I visited The Netherlands for my birthday, a few years ago, and of course I looked for a race. I was going to be in The Hague, and God smiled at me with the Den Haag Marathon on the exact same weekend I planned to arrive. I ran the half. It was an unbelievable experience. The most beautiful course in one of the prettiest and quaintest cities I’ve ever visited.

But one of the memories that has endured from my experience in the Den Haag race is kind of weird. The urinals at the starting area, which was in a public park. Yes, urinals. And not just at the starting line but also in many public places around town and as permanent structures throughout several cities in The Netherlands.

Urinals at starting lines

Public urinal in front of the Department of Justice in Den Haag, The Netherlands.

While waiting for the gun to go off at Den Haag, I saw these weird rigid plastic structures. They were on top of a square shaped base, maybe 4 feet to a side, about 7 feet tall, each side bisected with a wall, which created four “cubicles”. Each space had a “V” shaped opening at about 3 feet high at the innermost corner. They looked like… No!!… It can’t be!!!… But they were! They were urinals and weirdest of all, men were actually urinating in them, leaving the port-a-potty facilities for those males with “bigger needs” and women.

As you may imagine, I did not take pictures of people using these artifacts, but I did take a picture of an exact one, at a later date, this one in a square surrounded by restaurants, bars and located right in front of the Department of Justice (See accompanying image). It was there 24/7 for people (men) visiting their favorite watering holes to “take care of business” without resorting to the unsanitary and illegal option of going against the walls, cars, trees or bushes. Very pragmatic, like most Dutch solutions.

I know this may be a weird topic for this forum, but I assume we are all adults and we can discuss the issue with some degree of maturity. And, since every runner has at least a handful of port-a-potty horror stories during their racing career, I wanted to make the case in favor of the use of urinals for races in the United States.

THE MATH

Let’s set up a case study with a mid-size race of 3000 runners. Let’s assume a 50-50 split on the binary genders (1500 each). And let’s assume for this example the race director calculated a port-a-potty for each 75 participants, for a total of 40. If 75% of people use the facilities pre-race (2,250) and let’s say one third of them (563) are in line at any given time before the gun goes off, this means an average line of 19 people per door. Assuming an average time of 3 minutes per use, the average waiting time is 57 minutes per user. We’ve all been there and if not, we haven’t raced enough.

Now, let’s say this same race director decides to be pragmatic and exchange just five traditional port-a-potties with 4-corner urinals placed at an appropriate location in the starting area. For this example let’s say 75% of the male users (844) are using the facilities only for urination. Then, the overall population of runners using the port-a-potties has been reduced from 2,250 to 1,406, which at 35 doors and the exact parameters of usage as before, the average runner will be waiting in line for 40 minutes. Does it sound like still a long wait? I’ll take it. It is 30% shorter. It is a start.

 THE SOLUTION

Urinals at starting lines

There is a solution to this problem. Do we have the maturity to solve it?

I don’t assume to be speaking for all male runners, but I believe I am for a vast majority. Let’s face it, most of us at some point have found a tree, a bush or a wall to relieve ourselves while waiting at the starting area of a race. And while there, very likely have witnessed females crouching with their shorts half down doing the same and for the same reason as us. And let’s come clear here, there is nothing sexy or sexual about adults exposing themselves to take care of business before a race. I haven’t experienced the first sexual frenzy in such situation. So let’s grow up and find a solution. There is one and it has been in use in Europe for years.

A difference between the Dutch and the Americans is that the former are extremely pragmatic in the solutions to their public issues while the latter are still embarrassedly prudish with anything related to sexual organs, even if they are being used for purposes other than procreation or related fun-driven activities. While the municipality of Amsterdam installed urinals around the bar areas once they figured out a substantial percentage of drowned men in the canals were found drunk and with their fly open, in the USA we would face a “Today Show exclusive investigation on the immorality of urinals in foot races”, reported by non-runners, despite the fact that it will ameliorate a big problem within this industry.

The use of port-a-potties is as part of a race as complaining of nagging injuries with your friends. None of them are going away anytime soon. There is a solution out there. Can we grow up and use it? Or are we to prudish to implement it?

Any thoughts?

 
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