Marathon: You Can Do It

The question how much water you should drink during a race depends on 5 factors

1. Your weight
2. How much you sweat
3. The weather of the day
4. The distance
5. Level of experience

Weight and How much water to drink

The leaner you are the less water you require.  If you have watched Kenyan runners run a marathon you might noticed they don’t drink a lot of water, it could be something to do with their lean bodies.

How much you sweat
Runners who happen to have a high rate of sweating will require to drink a lot of water to replace the lost water.

The weather of the day.
When the weather is hot, the rate of sweating is high and you get dehydrated faster. At the 2007 Chicago marathon the race had to be suspended after one runner died and many marathon runners taken to hospital suffering from heat exhaustion. The temperatures were abnormally high and runners complained that there wasn’t enough water stations.

The Distance of your run

The longer the distance the more water your body needs. Runners doing a 10,000 meters at a track are not provided with water but when distance rises to 21K organizers provide water.

Level of Experience
While elite runner like Kenenisa Bekele can do a mad rush at 10,000 metres without additional water on the way, the same cannot be said of fun runners doing a weekend 10K family fun day.

To know exactly how much water to drink, I recommend you take a sweat test.

The more you train, the fitter you become and you body is able to use water efficiently.

Keep in mind drinking too much water while running can be lethal, at worst too much water can kill, see my post dangers of drinking too much water.

Tags: 10K Running, Marathon, Running, Training, water

Edith Masai is like wine, she seems to get better with time. At 42 she is defying age and competing at the highest level. Just like Sister Buder, the 76 years old marathon runner, Masai shows us growing old doesn’t mean slowing down.

Last week Masai won the 10,000 meters race at the Kenya National Championship. Masai finished in a time of 32.29.1 ahead of four times Boston marathon winner, Catherine Ndereba,

How is she able compete at 42?

She is a late bloomer. According to Edith Masai Bio, Masai was born in 1967, She graduated from High school in 1988. She joined Kenya Prisons Service in 1990, known for recruiting many talented athletes. Masai did not, however, achieve anything until 1999, when she became a national cross-country champion, at the ripe age of 34. That was the Eureka moment for Edith.

Mid thirties is a time when most athletes start winding down on their running career but for Edith, she was just discovering her hidden talent. She started training seriously.

In 2004 she failed at the Kenyan trials for the Olympics. Then you might have thought that was her last best chance to compete in Olympics but we are in 2008 and here she is planning to win a ticket to represent Kenya at 2008 Beijing olympics.

I hope to see her in Beijing, it will be amazing if she beats Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba.

Correction:

Masai did not participate on the Kenya Olympic trials  because she announced her retirement from running middle distance races and she plans to focus on road running. I wish her all the best in her new direction.

Tags: , 10K Running, Beijing Olympics, Running

When Lance Armstrong crossed the Finish line at 2007 New York Marathon he said “for me running is the best type of work out right now because with a busy lifestyle and travel all you need is a pair of running shoes and you can do it in any city in the world”

I agree with Lance, running is the best form of exercise, the benefits are unmatched by other forms of exercise.

After running for two years I have listed down five benefits of running.

1. Running Improves Your Mood
Running stimulates various brain chemicals, one of these chemical is dopamine, dubbed the brain pleasure chemical, which may leave you felling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out.

2. Running Helps You Manage Your weight
My motive to start running was not to reduce weight but to see how fast my body can run. A good example of how running can be used to manage your weight is Mike Huckabee, , the 2008 US presidential runner, at one time he was a self declared “foodaholic” a gorilla weighing nearly 300 pound. After training, exercise and running Marine corps marathon, Little Rock Marathon and New York Marathon he is now fit and lean.

3. Running Strengthens Your Heart and Lungs
The constant pounding of the heart and rapid breathing in and out of your lungs can only make you stronger. But don’t over do it!
Regular running exercise helps your entire cardiovascular system - the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels work more efficiently.

4. Running can boost your sex life
Is running an aphrodisiac? I think so. Hi runners, has running given your sex life a spark?

The evidence is on point number 4, that says regular running exercise helps your entire cardiovascular system, the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels, that also include your erectile tissues, work more efficiently.

Obviously, too much running will live you exhausted, the will for sex will be there but the flesh will be weak.

5. Running Makes You stronger

Running is an impact sport. all that pounding will make your bones stronger. The hills runs will give your muscles stamina. Plus many other benefits of hill running.

5. Running Can Be Inspiring
Running is hard work. If you can train for months and finish a full marathon, nothing is impossible. If you have lost the drive to reach your goal and are looking for a challenge to inspire your life, run a marathon and be your own hero.

Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? look no further than old fashioned running.

Tags: 10K Running, Marathon, Running, Training

I just read on british media that on 31st May 2008, the Queen of Britain,Her Majesty Queen Elezabeth II hosted a reception to celebrate centenary of 1908 London Summer Olympics.

It was at 1908 Olympics when the current marathon distance 42k or 26miles was established. The exact distances are  42.195km (26 miles 385 yards)

According to Modern Urban Legend“The marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London was set to measure about 25 miles (40 km) and to start on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue leading up to Windsor Castle in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. The Princess of Wales wanted her children to watch the start of the race, so the start of the race was moved to the east lawn of Windsor Castle, increasing its length to 26 miles (42 km). The race was to finish at the Great White City Stadium in Shepherd’s Bush in London; however, Queen Alexandra insisted on having the best view of the finish; so, in the words of the official Olympic report, “385 yards were run on the cinder track to the finish, below the Royal Box”. The length then became 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards or 26 ⁷?₃₂ miles)”

Those were the days the British Royal family held some powers. Today the King, the Queen, the Prince and the princes can only look back to those days with nostalgia.

The royal family added colour to the history of the marathon, for that I say “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!”

Tags: 10K Running, Boomers, Marathon, Marathon Running, Running

One of my training plan this year is to run plenty of mountain running. I have chosen a running route that has plenty of hills. The approximate distance of the route is 30K and it has at least 18 hills.  Some hills are steep some others not too steep

 Benefits of Mountain running.

1. Resistance training, Hills requires more effort to climb, the more effort you apply the stronger your leg muscles become.
2. Better Lung and heart exercise, The harder you push the more oxygen your body requires to burn energy. Your lungs and heart will have to work harder to get enough oxygen into the system. To get maximum benefit from hill runs, don’t go easy on hills try to push a little harder. Its like in the gym, to build stronger and bigger muscles you need lift heavier weights.
3. Confidence Booster. This is purely psychology. If you have been used to training on hill, a flat course will look pretty easy. This will give you confidence at the start of a race.

My goal this year is to finally run 26 miles under three 3 hours. Last year I came close finishing 2007 StanChart Nairobi marathon in 3 hours 6 minutes. Actually, my target is 2 hours 45 minutes. Like they say, to land on the moon you have to aim at the stars

Tags: 10K Running, Marathon, Mountain Running, Running