As race day approaches, and you are all set to go, here are some things you need to remember, before and during the
[the_ad id=”6152″]
run. Adequate hydration, nutrition and sleep before the run: all of these 3 factors are extremely important and are often neglected by athletes, especially those who are travelling from a different city.
Make sure you have planned your ‘day-before’ nutrition as well, as what you will eat and drink on the morning of the run. A simple rule of thumb is not to try anything new. This is often challenging for those coming from out of town. Also, keep in mind the travel time to the venue, and the need to be there at least 30-45 min before the start of the race.
For most runners, it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep just before the run, due to nerves. My recommendation is to make sure you get adequate sleep on Friday night for a Sunday run, and hope for the best for Saturday night too.
Don’t run if you’re not prepared or are unwell on the morning of the race. If there is one simple and common sense piece of advice I can give, which is often neglected, it’s this. You usually register for a race, several months before and sometimes, for various reasons you are not able to train adequately. The temptation is to still show up on race day, and ‘see how it goes. This is a dangerous thing to do. If you haven’t gone through all the needed training runs, then you should not be out there on race day- you are a danger to yourself and the race.
The 2nd one is even harder to follow- you have trained adequately, but catch a flu or some other illness a few days before race day and it’s not completely clear. As a runner, it’s very difficult to ‘sit it out’, but do remember that the marathon, half or full does take a physiological toll on your body, and doing it when you are already ill, is a recipe for trouble. You can always run another time.
During the run watch out for:
- Chest discomfort, Increasing fatigue
- Indigestion / heartburn /gastrointestinal symptoms
- Excessive breathlessness
If you feel discomfort in the chest region, or anywhere from navel to nose, and you find that this increases as you are running, you need to stop running, and see how you feel. If the discomfort subsides, you can try running a few steps and see how it feels – if it comes back on again, you need to stop running and seek medical help immediately.
Often indigestion, heartburn etc mimic the signs above, but when in doubt, please assume it is cardiac and seek medical attention.
Excessive breathlessness- while running a marathon, it is natural to be short of breath at some point during the race. However, as a runner you know what is ‘normal’ shortness of breath and what is unusual for you. Just like angina, this shortness of breath, esp in female runners, could be a warning sign that there is something wrong, and you need to seek medical attention.
Other aches and pains: During the race, it’s quite normal to have some aches and pains, like cramps, maybe some knee or foot pain. Most of these are relieved by slowing down or walking for a short distance and stretching or applying ice to the affected part. These pains are not life threatening, but you should seek medical attention at the first opportunity available. The decision to carry on and finish, is then an individual one – one the one hand you have worked hard for this and would not want to abandon it and at the same time you do not want to push through an injury such that it aggravates and takes so much longer to heal.
Source:
Dr Aashish Contractor
