Take steps to reduce suffering in days following marathon

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2015 (4089 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Your legs throb so intensely that making your way down a single stair is agony.

Your head pounds as if you spent last night at the bottom of a bottle of booze.

You’re so exhausted and sore you swear a mosquito-fogging truck drove over you in your sleep.

Welcome to the morning after. The morning after the Manitoba Marathon, that is.

Congratulations. You completed either a half or a full marathon on Sunday. At 21 kilometres (13 miles) or 42 kilometres (26 miles), you’ve accomplished an amazing feat, no matter what your pace.

But now you’re paying the price — consequences that come with the territory, including chafing, aching, fatigue and even stomach upset.

Over the past 10 or so years, I’ve consulted numerous marathon experts who know how to speed up post-event recovery. If you have the strength, take the following quiz to see if you know what to do to feel human again:

 

• During Sunday’s run, you got hit with a case of runner’s stomach — nausea and diarrhea, likely due to increased adrenalin and decreased blood flow to the belly area. This morning, it’s important to:

A. Eat a couple of avocados since they contain essential Omega-3 fatty acids, which are a potent anti-nausea remedy.

B. Load up on black tea, which will soothe your upset stomach.

C. Sip water all day since it’s important to stay hydrated.

 

If you chose C, you’re correct. It’s important to stay hydrated after a case of runner’s trots, since being sick has a dehydrating effect. Eating avocados or other foods containing fats can exacerbate stomach upset because fat — even from a healthy source — is difficult to digest. Black tea can also make you feel worse; caffeine can trigger nausea when you’re recovering from stomach issues.

 

• It’s common for distance runners to have chafed skin on the thighs and nipples after completing a marathon. The best way to care for such an injury is to:

A. Lubricate the area with petroleum jelly.

B. Keep the area uncovered so it can dry out and avoid becoming infected.

C. Keep moving so the chafed areas become desensitized and used to friction.

 

Answer A is correct. Covering your red, irritated areas with petroleum jelly or even antibiotic ointment will keep the moisture in and speed healing. (Drying out chafed areas can lead to scabbing, cracking and infection.)

 

• Researchers say how and what you eat in the minutes, hours and days after the marathon plays a significant role in how your body recovers from the trauma. Many nutrition experts advise marathoners to opt for fair amounts of carbohydrates combined with smaller amounts of lean protein. This reason behind this is to:

A. Keep your blood sugars running as high as possible; glucose gives you the energy you need to recover.

B. Decrease the pain and lactic acid buildup in your body after a race.

C. Help your body absorb the food you’re eating, and carbs are easy to digest.

 

Congratulations if you chose B. Believe it or not, experts say eating the right carbs can decrease lactic-acid buildup in the muscles — a cause of much of your post-marathon pain. Carb-loading works by increasing the glycogen stores in your liver. Glycogen, in turn, prevents pain-inducing lactic acid from building up in the body. Dietitians suggest including items such as whole-wheat toast, whole-wheat pasta and yogurt in your post-marathon diet. Combining these foods with things such as peanut butter, lean chicken or almonds will make those carbs work more slowly and efficiently.

 

• In the days following the marathon, it’s best to do which of the following activities:

A. Walk, bike or swim

B. Take it easy and stay in bed as much as possible

C. Take part in a half-marathon rather than a full marathon

 

A. You ran. Now it’s time to stop everything and rest, you tell yourself. Not so, say experts who warn that staying in bed and doing nothing can stiffen your muscles and make you feel worse. Most people should continue with slow to moderate physical activity — such as walking, cycling or swimming — for at least one week after the race. Doing so will help rid your body of pain-inducing lactic acid. Stretching every day is also essential to help your muscles recover. Remember to keep your exercise gentle; overdoing it is a sure-fire path to injury. (That means no marathons or half-marathons).

 

• You know that it’s important to use ice and heat therapy properly after a marathon. That means:

A. Relaxing in a hot bath after the race

B. Soaking in an ice bath after the race

C. Waiting a week to do ice and heat therapy

 

None of the above. You may be tempted to ease your post-marathon pain with ibuprofen or acetaminophen and then get on with your day. While popping an over-the-counter pain reliever can help reduce pain and swelling, medical experts say it’s better to deal with your pain rather than mask it. This usually involves treating sore muscles with ice and heat. Sports physicians say you should use ice after a marathon — or any acute injury — since the goal is to reduce swelling. One school of thought says to place a wrapped ice pack on sore muscles for 10 minutes, four times daily in the first two to three days after your race. After that, place heat on the area to increase the flexibility of your muscles. One caveat: do not place heat packs on bruised areas. Doing so could cause blood vessels to dilate, making the bruise worse.

 

Have an interesting story you’d like Shamona to write about? Contact her at shamona.harnett@freepress.mb.ca.