Endorphin junkies anonymous

If ever there was a support group for those addicted to “the runners high” my family and friends would arrange for an immediate intervention and drag me to the meeting. They think it’s strange that I lace up my running sneakers on vacation; They think I’m down right crazy for getting up at 4:30 a.m. to “get in a run” when my schedule is jam-packed; And they sure don’t understand why I would put my body through the grueling 26.2 miles of a marathon. In a way, running is an addiction. “The runner’s high” is not a myth and for those who have experienced it, you know the euphoria that goes along with finishing a great run.

 

My love affair with running began eight years ago when I entered college and to this day, my sneakers and I have been inseparable. My freshman year of college, I walked onto the school’s division one cross country and track teams (impressive, right?). Well, to be honest there were no try-outs. I showed up to preseason in my worn-out cross-training sneakers and a too-big cotton t-shirt. I stuck out like a sore thumb compared to all the other girls who were in their new running kicks, showing off their sports watch tans, wearing spandex and cute matching tops. Not only were the girls dressed the part, but they were exchanging stories about their summer training and how many miles a week they were running, what place they had finished in a recent race or when their last Fartlek was. I felt a sense of doom come over me, thinking “what did I get myself into?” I hadn’t run more than 4 miles at one time, and I sure didn’t know what a “Fartlek” was.

 

With little confidence, I set out running with the team on our first of many runs together. I was determined to stay with the pack leaders. It wasn’t easy at first, but to my surprise (and the surprise of the team) I did. And for my entire college career I stayed with the lead pack; finished first in a handful of races and received various awards for my accomplishments.

 

I was hooked on running, and I even enjoyed Fartleks. I learned the difference between a tempo run and an interval run. I learned the importance of both the long run and hill workouts. I discovered that taking a day off doesn’t erase all of your training and can actually speed recovery. I experimented with pool running, lifting both before and after running (a popular debate these days), tested various running sneakers (my favorite: Asics), performed workouts with a heart-rate monitor, ran doubles (running in the morning and then again at night), competed in races from a half -mile up to marathon distance and so much more. But those are topics for another day.

 

People begin running for different reasons; some do if for weight loss, some do it for the social aspect, some run to be healthy, or to raise money for a cause like breast cancer awareness. I started running to prove you don’t need fancy sneakers, or top of the line running gear to keep up. You don’t need to be serious about racing, or know how many miles are in a 5k. You just need to appreciate “the runners high.” And when you do, don’t be surprised if you get addicted like me.

Runner’s high outweighs the pain of osteoarthritis

Running improves general health, but does it increase the risk of osteoarthritis?

 

As a marathon runner and a physical therapist working with patients who have undergone recent joint replacements to rid themselves of osteoarthritis pain, this is a question I debate often. With all of the mixed messages portrayed in the media and conflicting conclusions being drawn in scientific research, even the most well-informed doctors don’t seem to have a concrete answer.

 

Osteoarthritis (or degenerative arthritis) is caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a “cushion” between the bones of the joints. It is thought that exercise over many years, such as running and other high-impact sports, stresses the cartilage to a point that it no longer cushions your joints. Without the cushion, you are left with bones rubbing against each other, causing debilitating pain, swelling, limitations in motion, and ultimately a joint replacement. (Now, if that isn’t a good excuse to skip the gym, I don’t know what is.)

 

But what about all the benefits of running? Running improves body image and confidence, helps to maintain a healthy weight, fights bad cholesterol, improves coordination, reduces the risk of stroke, boosts the immune system and much more. Despite these benefits, however, the possible deleterious effects of running remain controversial. One study I read looked at MR imaging of the hip and knee in runners before and after completing a marathon. The results suggest that “the high impact forces in long-distance running are well tolerated and subsequently do not demonstrate changes on MR images.” Another study compared non-runners and runners who ran 12 to 24 miles/week for a median of 40 years to determine joint changes and cartilage wear and tear. Their results suggest “that a lifetime of long distance running at mileage levels comparable to those of recreational runners today is not associated with premature osteoarthritis in the joints of the lower extremities.” In fact, long-distance running might even have a protective effect against joint degeneration because it stimulates bone-growth and health.

 

Osteoarthritis is still prevalent in runners, however running itself is not classified as a “cause” of degenerative arthritis. If a runner acquires osteoarthritis, it is due to a combination of many risk factors including: older age (people under 40 rarely experience osteoarthritis), sex (women are more likely), bone deformities and previous injuries (some people are born with malformed joints or defective cartilage) and obesity (carrying more body weight places more stress on your weight-bearing joints, such as your knees).

 

Nevertheless, I certainly don’t recommend becoming a couch potato to avoid osteoarthritis. I recommend a healthy approach to running with adequate rest and recovery, proper nutrition, appropriate footwear to help absorb the impact of running, alternating high impact with low-impact cross-training days (such as the elliptical trainer or running on a more forgiving surface, such as turf) and using ice and anti-inflammatories if you pushed your workout a little too far to help combat joint swelling. All of these measures allow you to be active and experience the benefits of running, while protecting your joints.

 

Unfortunately avoiding degenerative changes in joints over many years is not always black and white – it’s the gray area in-between that might just send me running to the nearest surgeon for a hip replacement when I’m 50. Until then, I’ve still got a lot of marathons in me.

It’s hot, it’s cold, it’s…marathon training in New England

At least when it’s freezing outside, you can layer your clothing. When it’s hot, there are only so many measures you can take to stay cool. So what is a runner to do when marathons in New England are scheduled predominantly during the fall and spring months? Race-day temperatures may be ideal, but training during the summer and winter in Boston can be discouraging and downright nasty.

 

I’ve run both fall and spring marathons in New England (including the Boston Marathon, the Greater Hartford Marathon and The Bay State Marathon) where I have battled blizzard-like conditions while dodging plow trucks, nearly passed-out during heat waves, and drowned in biblical-like rains in order to stick to a marathon training schedule. A little crazy, but then again, so is Mother Nature. She is infamous for rendering Boston a “continental climate.” But if you live in Beantown, this is not ground-breaking news.

 

It was news to me, however, when I decided to train for my first marathon. I had been a runner long before I began marathon training, so what would be different about training for a marathon in a city I was well accustomed to running in? I was used to running 50-60 miles a week and even participated in a few 5k/10k/half marathon races to test my abilities. I eat healthy, get enough rest, change my sneakers every 300 miles and stretch daily to maximize my performance. But what I didn’t account for was the intense training schedule consisting of running up to 70 miles per week and the dreaded Sunday long run.

 

Marathon training schedules are often nicely laid out and easy to follow (the schedule I typically abide by looks something like this). If all goes well, one can follow the plan precisely and run a decent marathon. But because the real world is not perfect, roadblocks such as family commitments, illnesses, injuries, and inclement weather can occur. As a result, your neatly-organized routine can frequently become disheveled and finding the time for 70 miles per week can become a chore.   

 

This shuffling of days, and trying to avoid haphazard weather can be stressful, but what I’ve learned is that you juggle the days in the training schedule so that you get in the most important workouts while still allowing for adequate recovery. Part of the challenge of a marathon is that preparing for it takes so long and the training required is so demanding, that it is becomes increasingly difficult to prevent impediments from creeping up. A good rule of thumb is that if you can do 90% of the planned training schedule, then your preparation is going well. If you miss 10 days or less during your schedule, you are okay; 10-20 days missed and you can continue to plan on running the marathon, but you may want to consider revising your goal for race day; 20 days or more missed on the schedule and you may want to run a later marathon since you can’t exactly “make-up” time.

 

With three marathons now under my belt, I’ve accepted the fact that there is no ideal time to train for a marathon given the continental climate that Boston embodies. I’d much rather get the bad weather out of the way during a training run this summer in 90-degree heat and test my luck at landing a great day in the fall to race a marathon. In fact, The Cape Cod Marathon looks fitting this October.