©™ |
|
||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
 |
 |
|
Edition 1- Week of 4/30/07 BU: Mambo Jose, good to have you back. How was your weekend? MJ: It was alright. I’ve been recovering from a bone spur in my foot, so I spent Saturday testing out the foot on a 10 mile run/walk. I signed up for the San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon in early June, so I definitely have some incentive to keep moving in the right direction. I’m still feeling it, with some foot soreness, although I’m more disappointed it’s affecting my mambo dancing.
MJ: When you say muscle tightness, I’m assuming you’re talking about mild strains or general tightness. First off, the most important thing is to keep the muscle from getting tighter. When a muscle is tight or strained, for me, I try not to sit or rest for long periods of time. If I am resting, I continue to rub the muscle and apply heat. When already tight muscles cool down, it becomes that much more difficult to come back to that optimal running level. The key here is try to “actively work out” the muscle tightness through continued walking or stretching. Gradually, as the muscle warms and loosens, you can increase activity. You may not get back to 100% during the race, but for most runners 80% good is manageable. It can be hard during a marathon or half-marathon or 10k, where the clock looms large for most people. For the longer ultramarathons (i.e. 50 miles, 100 miles), people tend to have a lot more time and opportunity to “work it out”. Those races are built on the idea that you will probably have to walk/slow down at certain points during the race. When I “actively work out” that muscle tightness, I see me overall downtime decrease. Why? Because that’s “The Mambo Way”. BU: Mambo, how’s the week been? MJ: Very good. I’m now signed up for the San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon on June 3, so that’s exciting. I’ve been running 5 times this past week and am feeling mambo good. BU: Ok, Mambo. Here’s the question of the week which comes to us from Ricardo in Dallas, TX Do you use gels and other engineered nutrition during a race? MJ: Good question, Ricardo. As a matter of fact, I do use the gels on a limited basis during races. This is despite the fact that I tend to despise the taste of most gels. Really, it depends on how far the race is. For most races less than 10 miles, I won’t need gels. In fact, my performace in those types of races will be more heavily weighted on what was eaten/loaded up on prior to the race than during the race. For Half-marathons and beyond, I definitely want to replenish the supply of sugars in your body. Keep in mind that most of these gels and engineered foods are not designed as the “perfect replacement” for solid food. Most are heavy on sugars, which is fine for races up to the marathon level. Once you get beyond the marathon level, gels and engineered nutrition need to incorporate certain amounts of protein as well to help keep your muscles in good health. Like we’ve talked about before, the body responds best to foods and nutrition that I’ve had an opportunity to “test drive” before. If I’m doing a race, I like to see what kind of nutrition or sports drinks they’ll be offering at the race . If they don’t use what I’ve been training with, I may just want to bring some of your own stuff depending on your preference. Your body is a machine; give it the fuel it needs and is used to. That’s The Mambo Way. BU: Mambo, how was the weekend? BU: Ok, Mambo. This is the second part of the question of the week which came to us from Naila in
BU: Mambo, how’s it going? BU: Ok, this question comes to us from your former country of residence, Canada. Natalie in Vancouver, B.C., Canada asks “Mambo, what is altitude sickness and how does it affect my running?” BU: Mambo, it’s been awhile. MJ: It’s going well. Felt better at the San Francisco Marathon than I thought I would. It was a pretty relaxing run, cruising in to the finish area in 5 hours. Badwater, of course, was an amazing experience with a lot of amazing people from the athletes and crews, to the volunteers and race organizers.
MJ: Jose, good question. That’s the kind of question that has a lot of answers. If you haven’t done a marathon before, the upset stomach could be a product of the stress of the activity. As our bodies become more stressed, our stomachs tend to increase in acidity. It could be the distance, the intensity or even the mental stress of pushing towards your first marathon. What someone might consider doing is slowing down the pace during the long runs to allow the stomach to catch up to the expectations of it. If that doesn’t work, it may take some experimenting with different energy sources or energy drinks or taking a couple antacids to help the stomach subside. Remember, though, that dealing with root cause is always better than just quelling the symptoms. Consulting a doctor is always a safe bet. Just like the rest of your body, your stomach’s in training too. Give it some time and be smart. That’s the Mambo Way. MJ: Not much; just got through the AC100 which was challenging for the crew and the runner. Lots of ups and downs, but we finished incredibly strong MJ: I just want to take this opportunity, having really reflected on all that I saw at the Angeles Crest 100, to thank all the crews and pacers who really make these runs possible for all the runners. Almost every runner, from top to bottom, had some sort of support crew out there. You all are the backbone for these runners and really keep the lows the runners experience from knocking them out of the race. Dare I say that if support crew wasn't there, you'd probably see finishing rates at such a tough race as the AC 100 down in the 20% range. Everyone always talks about the emotional, spiritual and physical drain that the runner experiences, but the support crew has their own ups and downs as well as trying to keep the runner going. Support crews sign up for around the clock support that often goes unrecognized, which is why I want to recognize them here and now. So, raise a glass and toast, to all of you who make what these runners are able to do possible. That’s the Mambo Way. BU: Mambo, long time no talk. BU: What’s new Mambo? MJ: Well, I’m going to have to step away from the competitive racing aspect at least until mid-2008. It’s been hard to go to all of these races and still maintain balance in my life. I’m still chasing after “the bling” (marathon medals); I just have to put the chase on hold for a bit. But hey, I always have “Mambo’s Way”. Fire away. BU: Ok, this question is from Jimmy in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Mambo, I tend to get pain under the kneecap of my left knee about 20 miles into a race. It tends to go away after a few miles and a couple ibuprofren. What do you think could be the issue? MJ: Pain is certainly something that is often associated with running ultramarathons. When you mention knee pain, there’s all sorts of things that could be going on. One potential source of your problem could be reduction in the amount of cartilage in your knee (i.e. osteoarthritis). Things like glucosamine and chondritin might be things you look at to deal with it if that is the case. While not evaluated by the FDA, I’ve found them to be quite helpful when taken on a regular basis (available at drug stores and Costco). Other potential issues could be small ligament tears/sprains. There are a host of issues, depending on the type of pain and severity. What ibuprofren does is deals with the symptoms, like the pain, rather than the underlying problem. Blocking pain does not stop whatever is going on inside the knee to cause the pain. If this happens every single race, this is definitely something you’ll want to look into further. But Mambo isn’t Dr. Mambo, so make sure you get checked out by a medical professional. That’s the Mambo Way. Edition 10- Week of 1/21/08 BU: Long time, no talk Mambo. MJ: I've been busy remodeling my new house, getting it prepped for some new flooring. It's definitely coming along, but it also means I have to work extra hard to find time to sneak in some running. This is the offseason for most runners, where it's time to retool, reload and prepare for the 2008 running season. BU: Ok, this question is from Harold in Dallas, TX. "Is there room for weight training in a training plan for a runner and if so, how should I approach it?" MJ: I highly recommend some form of weight training in a runner's training plan. Sometimes, people neglect it in order to focus solely on training runs. While I'm not a big fan of lower body weight training, I definitely recommend upper body weight training. High repetition sets for the core, arms and shoulders can really augment a runner's ability to handle major climbs as well as the ability to maintain proper running form late in a race. In particular, the core is really a major stabilizing force for body. While weight training 5 days a week is probably difficult to handle with a full training run schedule, putting in at least 2 days of targeted weight training (in addition to that day's run) can put you ahead of the pack on race day. That’s the Mambo Way. MJ: Today, this will be a different format where I, Mambo, will talk with my brother, Uncle Andy about his experiences crewing. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Andy, first question: So, how many years have you been crewing for Jonathan? MJ: What were some of your early adventures in crewing like? UA: Pretty crazy. We were very green as to what was needed for the race, for the crew and for the runner. Even though I was a cyclist and had ridden over a dozen 100-mile bike rides, ultrarunning poses many new challenges that I was unfamiliar with. Luckily, his first 50 miler was around 4.5 mile oval (around a lake), which had excellent race support and required very little beyond giving encouragement when needed. MJ: That wasn't my finest crewing/pacing moment; let's learn from the follies of Mambo's youth.....That’s the Mambo Way. |
|
 |
 |
Copyright 2006 Jonathan Gunderson. All rights reserved. |