Marathon You Can Do It

After a run it is recommended to drink a recovery drink to replenish lost energy, fluid and electrolytes.

Water as running Recovery drink

The cheapest and most popular recovery drink is good old water. Water helps in restoring lost water through sweating and cooling down the body. Drinking water also helps in preparing the stomach for proper food digestion. Experts tend to agree that rehydrating with water until urine is pale yellow is the way to go.

Sports Energy Drinks

Drinkigng a sports energy drink with a mix of carbs, protein and sodium within an hour of finishing the race is crucial.

Carbohydrate Milk Drink

The chocolate milk has the magic 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, is cheap and tastes good.

Whatever you choose, drink what you enjoy

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Carbohydrate, Chocolate Milk, Drinking Water, Energy Drink, Energy Drinks, Food Digestion, Magic 4, Marathon Running, Milk Chocolate, Milk Drink, Old Water, Pale Yellow, Proper Food, Protein, Sodium, Sports Drink, Sports Drinks, Sports Energy, Stomach, Water Water

Last week I had a minor set back. I suffered a slight back problem, a little pain on my back. It happened while I was drinking water. I normaly drink water from a bottle and I guese I overdid things because I pushed my mouth up and head backwards. The head moved far back pushing the spine down hard. Overstretching the spine!

I wasnt feeling the pain most of the time I only felt a slight pain whenever  I swallowed air.

I managed to do the two midweek speed runs without any problem. Yesterday I managed to run a 30 K run and everything went well.Today morning I decided to treat my body to a thermal massage to remove any physical stress that has accumulated in my body.

This year am trying to focus in finding a perfect running technique.

Leg movement

Am trying to ensure my leg swing starts from the hip downward that way I use all my leg muscles. Another area is the foot strike. I want to perfect the technique of pushing foward using the front of the foot. Using the front of the foot is the way to stronger and faster running.

See you next week.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Drinking Water, Foot Strike, Freak Accident, Leg Movement, Leg Muscles, Marathon Training, Massage, Midweek, Physical Stress, Spine, Stanchart Marathon, Swing

Drinking water is important for healthy development. But research shows that kids, by and large, simply don’t drink water, even if it’s readily available. Which means if not supervised, active kids are at a risk of dehydration.

In a group of studies in the 1990s, young athletes were brought in to a human performance laboratory in Canada and asked to complete intermittent, easy sessions of bicycling, while drinking as much water as they liked. During the 90 to 180 minute sessions, the “children dehydrated progressively and their core temperatures increased faster than in adults,” the researchers found.

Change the beverage, though, and children’s drinking behavior alters — dramatically. In the Canadian laboratory cycling study, when the kids were offered grape-flavored water, they voluntarily drank 44.5 percent more than when the water was unflavored.

The trick : give them flavoured water!

You dont have to buy expensive sports drinks. A flavoured drink can be water mixed with a fruit juice. The home made fruit juice made from natural fruits is better than the supermarket juices. Natural juices are more nutritious.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 1990s, Active Kids, Adults, Canada, Canadian Laboratory, Core Temperatures, Dehydration, Drink Water, Drinking Water, Drinks, Flavored Water, Fruit Juice, Human Performance Laboratory, Minute Sessions, Natural Fruits, Natural Juices, Risk, Sports, Supermarket, Young Athletes

Drinking Water while you run seems to be something simple but it isn’t? Poor water drinking technique is one of the many causes of those painful stomach cramps that we suffer while running.

Runners on the run should drink water in gulps instead of sips! Well, that is according to Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a certified specialist in sports dietetics. In an interview in the New York Times this is what she had to say…..

How we drink can make a difference in how optimally we hydrate our body. A lot of people sip liquids, but gulping is better. Gulps of fluid leave the stomach more rapidly. It’s important to do this. It seems counterintuitive, it seems like gulping would cause a cramp. People are more likely to have stomach cramps sipping because fluid stays in their gut too long.

When you take more fluid in, gulps as opposed to sips, you have a greater volume of fluid in the stomach. That stimulates the activity of the stretch receptors in the stomach, which then increase intra-gastric pressure and promote faster emptying. This is why gulping is preferred.

Her idea is supported by Doctors. Negoianu and Goldfarb medical report about sipping in their “Just Add Water” editorial published in April 2008 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology last year. Drs. G & N argue that water retention is variable, based on how quickly you are drinking. A glass downed in 15 minutes will be excreted. (What Bonci advocates for cramp prevention) A glass downed over 2 1/2 hours will be retained.

Somethings that we assume are simple are not!

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 15 Minutes, Add Water, Advocates, Cramp, Drinking Water, Drs, Fluid In The Stomach, Leslie Bonci, Medical Report, New York Times, Pittsburgh Medical Center, Poor Water, Runners, Sip Liquids, Sports Nutrition, Stomach Cramps, Stretch Receptors, University Of Pittsburgh, University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Water Retention