Running tidbits - continued...

 In conclusion to my previous blog on running just wanted to add a few things.

The negative to too much water without enough salts (sodium and Potassium mainly) while running are cramping; cramping to a point where a toe will kick out at an extreme extension creating excruciating pain that will stop you from running or a hamstring or quad that tighten to a point of feeling rock hard. To relieve this cramp you pop a sodium pile and follow it with water and it is a miracle how quickly the cramp will loosen and your off running gain.

Just a tidbit of information on blood circulation in the human body. It takes the heart less than one minute to pump blood to every cell in the body. In fact, six quarts of blood can fully circulate throughout the body at least three times within that minute. That totals thousands of round trips each day.

 

Running in the constantly changing environment and weather are huge factors requiring serious consideration when running as well, especially on longer remote runs. Type of terrain will change your choice of runners (grip, cushion, toe box width, breathability, shank stiffness and shoe flexibility and rebound, weight, how they are tied is also a factor – looser in the toe area and tighter around the ankle), also ensure your shoe is about half a size longer than your foot, because lots of downhill running will literally beat your toe nail to a point which it will go black and fall off (happens all the time). Being prepared for all types of weather in the mountains in crucial. Your gear should include everything you need to battle all the extremes that can occur in the mountains…like rain gear. The Canadian Death Race is held during the August long weekend, which we have experienced everything from -10C (at a summit which can move in in just a few minutes) -45C, rain, hail, sleet, thunder and lightning at the summit which has actually knocked out a runners headlamp) running through 45 cm of muddy water and creeks of the same depth.

Some other things I consider and try to achieve in my everyday living is a chemical free environment. Heavy metals tend to migrate to joints and fat, so for obvious reasons this would not be good. Cold water body exposure is also something else that I’m starting to work with for quicker healing, reducing mental and physical stress. Breathing is also something that I continue to work with and try to advance for body cleansing and to assist with body fueling. Just a blip on breathing, it is an auto response for many people which is not really thought about, but the reality is that most of us breath inefficiently and not serving our health as well as we could with more intentional deeper breaths.

Inflammation, hmm…this can be a good thing and or a bad thing. Inflammation is the result of the body trying to protect an area of trauma in the body. If inflammation occurs on the trail, it could seize a joint and its connected tissues/ muscles. Continuing to run or administer a drug to counteract the inflammatory response…associated thoughts – will I be creating long term pain or damage?? Part of the battle against inflammation is good well diverse training, muscle building, balanced training for balanced muscles and well-placed joints. But injury does happen, and inflammation will occur.

Here are a few things that are valuable information items, for which I didn’t expand on but hold huge value to me. The reason I bring this into the picture is to lay out how important it is to understand your body and what it needs in extreme conditions.

Muscle cramps during running – know why this is occurring and what to do to avoid or counteract this disabling condition during your run.

Understand Alactic, Anerobic Lactic, Aerobic, lactic acid and lactate – what these means – what and when they do what they do – why lactic acid is being produced and what happens when the body produces too much. Why it becomes a problem.

Understand aerobic and anaerobic running conditions. Know what’s happening in the body when it has oxygen to assist in ATP production and know what’s happening in the body when it doesn’t have adequate oxygen levels of ATP production.

ATP – understand what it is – how it is produced in the body – how you can increase levels and its availability while running and high intensity endurance activities.

Understand metabolism and mitochondrial activity.

Also, by knowing more about what, when and how much food we need in everyday living (and during extreme energy needs) to assist with muscle growth and energy; and moving to optimum levels of minerals and nutrients, the body will function more freely and efficiently without having to adapt. Learning about proteins, sugars, and the different levels of carbs and their breakdown time into glucose will equate to knowledge that will assist with getting you to the finish line or a lack of knowledge that will bring you a DNF (did not finish) Or you squatting in the bush rather than running.

The previous post along with this one on running are some (not all) knowledge and science that should be understood to be successful during extreme physical activity events honestly apply to everyday life, but this is all very real-time application when performing. During everyday life our bodies do all the thinking and regulating, because of the mediocre physical lifestyles that most people live. Anytime we are jumping the threshold from mediocre living or activity to the other side of mastery in anything we do it involves extraordinary, knowledge, effort and action.

 

When I run in a race or training, I want to challenge myself, work hard and feel proud of my accomplishment. To do this I need to stay engaged and believe in the process, if I’m not prepared the setback can be a long injury recovery. Preparation both mentally and physically is what these last two journal entries are about. These reminders to myself assist in my engagement and help maintain a consistent approach; they create a sense of urgency, they keep me moving the right direction whether it’s nutrition, hydration or the well rounding training involved in running.

 

This might all seem overwhelming at first, but when living with health and fitness in mind, this all becomes habitual and a framework which to live. As a disclaimer, I am a junior-intermediate level runner, these are my focal points and may not be everyone’s.

 

BTW. My surgery recovery is doing super well, so I’ve started to get into more push ups and back work, sit-up adaptive work, such as various plank moves and leg lifts. I will also be stretching into my forms as well.

 

 

June 13 (day 139) 

Acts of Kindness recorded - 366,

Push-ups - 12635, 

Sit-ups and or equivalents - 14895, 

Abdominal hernia repair May 8th, 2025

Rehab - Squats and step-ups started May 28th - 1150,

Kilometers (intentional extra mileage) - 960.3, 6.4,

Meditation/ inversion table  (min.) - 732, 

Stretching/ rolling (min.) - 761,

Sparring/ grappling (min.) - 78, 

# of forms re-familiarized - 7.0

Form reps - 246, 

Form time (min.) - 697, 

“Mastery” recite (min.) - 94, 

Blogs - 20