This month marked three years since I started
writing articles for RunnersConnect.net investigating what the scientific
literature has to say about a wide range of running-related topics, from injuries
to training to peak performance on race day. At the end of each year, I've made a list of one useful tip or interesting fact that I learned from each week's research. Here are fifty-two more things I learned from reading scientific
research this past year, one from each article.
If you want to see all of the material I've written, head on over to
the blog section of RunnersConnect! Also feel free to check out the yearly lists from 2013 and from 2012.
1. Celiac
disease, which affects around one percent of the population, can cause a wide
range of vague, non-specific symptoms that can interfere with your training,
like joint pain, extreme fatigue, weight loss, gastrointestinal problems, and
anemia. Further, even once you've
adopted a gluten-free diet, it can take a while for your body to return to
normal.
2. If you
choose to eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, you're more likely to have
iron-deficiency anemia, amenorrhea (if you are a woman), and insufficiently
vitamin B12 levels. Though
it's very possible to have a complete diet as a vegetarian or vegan, you need
to take extra care to ensure you get enough protein, vitamin D, and iron, and
you should probably take a vitamin B12 supplement or eat foods that
are fortified with it.
3. Scientific
findings can run contrary to your own experiences. The research says it's okay to run when you
have a cold, that the speed of your daily runs does not affect your injury
risk, and that it's okay to do some running on an injured area, as long as you
monitor your pain and stop before it's over 5/10 on the pain scale. In my own training, I can't get away with any
of this! There might be subtle reasons why the findings from one study don't
apply to your own experiences.
4. The
faster you run, the greater the proportion of your energy that comes from
carbohydrates. This has some major
implications when it comes to running out of fuel in the marathon. The people most at-risk for "hitting the
wall" before the finish of a marathon are very fit runners who can run at
a high percentage of their VO2 max, and heavier, overweight runners—especially
if their extra weight is not in their legs.
5. When
planning out a fueling strategy for a marathon, you should generally shoot for
taking in 60 grams of carbs per hour of running. If you have had major problems with hitting
the wall, you may consider increasing your carb intake to 90 grams per
hour. However, if you've had
gastrointestinal problems from trying to refuel, you might want to cut this
down to 45 or 30 grams per hour.
6. Gels,
sports drinks, and energy chews are all equally valid choices for refueling
during a long race. None of them offer a
distinct physiological advantage, so feel free to choose whichever suits you
best.
7.
Electrolytes aren't all that important for endurance events. There's no good evidence that you need to
replace the salt you lose in your sweat—it appears that your body intentionally
modulates the amount of salt you lose in your sweat to keep the concentration
of electrolytes in your blood constant, so there's no need for salt tablets or
super-salty sports drinks.
8. There's
no magic formula for carbo-loading. All
you need to do is increase your carbohydrate intake by 50-75% over the last few
days leading up to a long race (over 90 minutes), and you don't need to do a
"depletion period" prior to it to get the benefits of carbo-loading.
9. In a
marathon, elite Canadian runners consume between 16 and 26 fluid ounces of
liquids per hour of running and about 50-75 grams of carbs per hour. Elites use a combination of gels, solids, and
sports drinks according to personal preferences.
10. When
runners collapse after finishing a
race, it's usually (though not always) from a sudden drop in blood pressure
that's triggered when you stop running.
After laying down for a few minutes and elevating their legs, they'll be
fine. When runners collapse during a race, however, it's much more
likely that they're having a medical emergency like hyponatremia or sudden
cardiac arrest.
11. Some
research suggests that taking vitamin C before and after completing an
ultramarathon can decrease your risk of getting sick. Over half of the finishers of a 90km ultramarathon
in one study came down with a cold in the weeks following the race!
12.
However, try not to load up on antioxidant supplements in general. They can inhibit your body's adaptation to
exercise: oxidative stress is a big part of improvement! Fruits and vegetables
are probably okay, though.
