Week 2 is here and my run was BRUTAL! I worked two 12 hour shifts Tuesday and Wednesday so I didn't have the energy to run when I got home so I'm starting week 2 on Thursday...ugh. This week I am supposed to run for 2:00 minutes and walk for 1:00 minute. This isn't necessarily difficult but today I got a wicked side cramp on my fifth set. I haven't got a cramp while running since I was in high school and thought that cramps were just from pushing yourself when you haven't exercised in awhile. (I used to get them during our mile run fitness tests because those were the only times I'd run for the year). When I got the cramp I stopped my interval timer and stretched on the side of the road until the cramp was mostly gone, however it lingered for the remainder of my run and slowed me down significantly. When I got home I looked up causes and ways to prevent cramping. Most of the sites (Fitsugar, Runner's World, Military Fitness) said the same things.
1) Wait at least two hours after a meal to go for a run
2) Drink plenty of water (64 ounces) to stay well hydrated
3) Perform stretches before you go running (torso twists, calf stretch, hamstring stretch)
4) Breathe deeply while running to better oxygenate your muscles
I didn't eat before my run and I've been focusing on my breathing while running so I knew those weren't the causes of my cramping but I quickly realized that I haven't been toting around my water bottle the last few days like I normally do. I have a bad habit of forgetting to drink water while I'm at work and normally end the day pretty dehydrated. I also didn't drink my usual full bottle of water before my run this morning....LESSON LEARNED!
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| H2O! H2O! H2O! |
To health and happiness!
Jordana
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