It still does. They call AS the ‘young person’s arthritis’, and when I heard that, I hated it. I associated it with being limited, and I wanted to be unlimited. I’d travelled to Switzerland to compete for Australia, I’d won Australian and Oceania XC running titles, made the all time Australian fastest 5k and 10k list in 2018, and was on the podium at nordic ski races, I’d gathered the support of various sponsors and eventually made the move to the US to run in D1 NCAA. I really wanted to grab life by the horns.
AS affects 1-2% of Australians, that’s around 520,000 people, and is 3 times more common in men than women. (Empowered – Arthritis Australia, n.d.) 3.2 Million people in the US have AS. It’s most commonly diagnosed between 15-40, however 80% of patients will experience symptoms before the age of 30. (Ankylosing Spondylitis : Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment, n.d.) On average it takes more than 3 years after symptom onset for the diagnosis to be made in a teenager or young adult. It’s a small percentage of the population, and my chances of having it were small, but I did. The reality is the emotional and physical impacts are immense, particularly if you’re yet to be diagnosed (this condition can be tricky to spot), or having trouble obtaining treatment (it’s a lengthy process, as without government or insurance support, the injections cost around 60k a year).
I’ve forever known myself to be a go-getter, and somewhat of a perfectionist. Being diagnosed with AS challenged parts of who I am immensely. It was both a physical and emotional thing. The constant pain lingering felt like a constant ‘hum’, that at times made me feel like I should just give up. Then it would suddenly disappear for a couple of days and I’d really get moving again. The unpredictability of the pain made me feel unstable, and I really struggled with that. I love planning and chipping away at something, but AS didn’t allow for that. I had to learn to find stability in the instability. It was a microcosm for living life in general.
I spent from around the time of diagnosis, October 2021 to September of this year in disbelief that I actually had the condition. It sounds stupid right, like, if multiple doctors are pretty convinced, you should definitely think so too. There was always the chance it wasn’t, and that my anxiety around having potentially ‘ruined’ myself in my early years and being a washed up junior athlete would become the truth. Early treatment wasn’t working, which didn’t give me any further hope. All I could do is what I’ve always done, keep persisting and doing what I can do. I just knew it wasn’t what I had the potential to do; I felt limited. I’d known something wasn’t quite right long before the diagnosis, but neither I nor any doctor could pinpoint it. It took 4 years to really find out and more recently to begin to make a turn for the better, to feel like I could be that high-level athlete again.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when things started. However, we are pretty sure it was late 2018 at 20 years old, when very atypical tendon pain and other inexplicable injuries started to ravage my training and performance. I’d only been running properly for 2 years, coming from a nordic skiing background, and I hadn’t explored high volume training yet. I felt like I ‘survived’ through 2019 with some success on the Boise State University XC and Track NCAA program, however, things were never quite right, and by the time I started to feel a bit better, COVID hit and the next 2 years were spent living in a grey sort of state with my sport. I was stuck in the US with strict COVID laws in Australia preventing me from returning, and needing to finish my Master’s. It wasn’t until I returned to Australia in 2021 that things calmed down and I was properly diagnosed.
There currently isn’t a cure, however there are medications which can improve quality of life drastically. I began fortnightly injections called ‘Biologics’, in September this year and they have changed the game for me. I didn’t trust that they would, but I have less and less days in pain, less flare ups, and my mental health and performance has improved as a result.
Sometimes I still let fear get the better of me and wonder if I’ll ever compete as I did before this condition crept its way into my life. I recognize that this isn’t a helpful way to think, and that I have to actively practice living in the now more than trying to predict the future. I do know, whatever the case, AS has taught me to persevere and get myself out of the weeds, no matter the challenge. I believe I can handle it. I will keep persisting and being resilient. Things tend to work out in some way or another, even if it’s hard to see when you’re caught in the weeds. Uncertainty, fear, anxiety – they are all easily magnified by the world around us. If we can learn to ride out the storms, ask for help, and simply do what we can do in these times…’chop wood, carry water’, it usually will work out.
It was in learning to deal with the realities of Ankylosing Spondylitis that I learnt how to handle disbelief and fear as an athlete. It honed my skills to find stability in instability.
“A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.”
2023 is either here for you, or right around the corner. Life will continue to be like a moody ocean. Some days will be calm and clear, you’ll be able to see what’s beneath you, and likely what’s ahead. Other days will be a storm, with persistent waves that feel like they’ll never settle. If you can ride out the occasional storm, and harness the restorative energy in the calm, you have found stability in instability. You’ll get better at getting yourself out of the weeds. You’ll be like a tennis ball, you can bounce back.
Recovery is the key to success. Many athletes can master training as such, especially over years and years, however, beneficial adaptions will not occur to their most optimal standard unless recovery is also understood and ‘mastered’ in a sense (to use that term loosely). It’s pretty simple when we get down to the nuts and bolts of it – sleep and nutrition are king, and outweigh things like foam rolling and active recovery in the long term.
Also, I don’t think I’ve said this before, but when I write these articles I am attempting to do so in a way that makes these topics comprehensible to anyone who decides to give them a read (thank you for being here!). I don’t intend on getting too deep into scientific concepts and the applicable research because I think it would miss the point for my audience reading this and the simplicities of practical application.
It is hard to say what will work best for each individual – to understand this takes testing the practical application of recovery methodologies on yourself. However, there are a few well-known ‘best’ recovery methods for runners derived from both research and, as I mentioned, practical application and positive response.
I wrote a post in mid-2021 on ‘how to have more energy for running’ (click here to read). I bring this up because this article has a lot of cross-over with this current one. Why?
The key is – you get stronger when you recover, not whilst you’re ‘doing’ the said activity. That’s when we apply stress and strain to the body. When we recover well, we adapt well. I really wish someone had explained this to me as a very young athlete with this type of simple wording. The typical athlete is very driven, and quite often it is not a matter of telling them to do more, but more so to train smarter not harder, and recover even better. Another important thing to note, is “stress is stress”. An athlete will hinder their recovery in an environment inducing stress overload. For example, if work is stressful, and the university is stressful, then there isn’t much room for training to be a large stressor too. This is where the balancing act begins.
How Can I Recover Faster From Running?
Sage Burner 13k, Gunnison, CO!
This is the golden question, and funnily enough the top ‘googled’ question around this topic. Everyone wants to recover faster so they can get back to it faster, right? The goal is to recover well enough to stress the body again (consistency), with the occurrence of adaptions targeted to optimal performance in the activity, and likely, an event/s. If we don’t recover we risk overtraining, which can lead to unfavorable adaptations, or a limit on adaption, illness, injury, etc. You want just enough stress to elicit a favorable response, consistently.
The good news is that there are a few tools that can optimize recovery and therefore elicit optimal performance benefits. However sometimes there’s no ‘magic’, it’s simply a matter of time to allow the body to adapt. This reigns true particularly if training has multiple stressors such as environmental stressors on top of load (heat, altitude, humidity – to name a few). I’ll explore that a bit more below.
Recovery Nutrition For Runners
We need to think of food as energy availability. The food you eat fuels the activity you do and the life you want to live. I like to remember that energy intake has to equal (and better for athletes) energy output. This will ensure not only optimal performance but adequate general health.
We don’t need to track food unless we have specific goals or are guided by a medical professional as that can pose its own issues. However, we need to always eat enough. Food is fuel and the building blocks of repair from our training load. It’s likely you’ve heard of RED-S by now – Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, which will eventuate in adverse health and performance in athletes. RED-S occurs when energy expenditure is not being met adequately with energy intake over a sustained period of time. The adverse effects of underfuelling can impact both male and female athletes, however data trends highlight that, ‘1 in 3 female athletes has 2 or more symptoms of underfuelling’. From a data collection standpoint, it seems that women are more ‘prone’ to this issue, however, it can be easier to tell if a female is under-fuelling.
Well-timed and adequate food intake is a crucial component of recovery. Ideally, endurance athletes will intake a 3:1 ratio of CHO (carbohydrates) to protein within 30 minutes of exercise particularly over an hour in length. If your exercise duration is > 60 minutes, bring fuel with you. This could be gels, liquid nutrition, waffles, or a combo of a few. I personally like Tailwind, Spring Energy and Maurten. I avoid preservatives (sorbates, benzoates, MSG, nitrates, flavour enhancers) at all costs, and these nutrition brands are perfect in that sense. Look out for 200 and 600 numbers on ingredient labels (not including food acids etc.) if you’re trying to be wary of these artificial additives.
Long story short – find food that you enjoy eating, always eat enough, and find what works to fuel your training + life! Nutrition should be a fun part of recovery.
Sleep Recovery For Runners
Red Lady/Mt. Emmons, Crested Butte, CO
Sleep is the only time the body fully recovers, so for the runner, (and anyone) sleep is going to be a key component of recovery. I could write a whole piece on this, and I will at some point, but here are the nuts and bolts of it… If you can’t get enough sleep in a night, try for a 20-minute power nap around lunchtime or mid-afternoon. This can elicit beneficial responses. Steve Magness, author and performance coach, recently posted about a NASA study. NASA found that just one, “twenty-five-minute nap improved judgment by 35 percent and vigilance by 16 percent.” The data is clear, short naps do work. Longer naps, not so much as that’s when our nighttime sleep can be negatively impacted. My personal favorite which I was introduced to by my good friend Bastein is to drink a coffee right before the 20-minute nap, and by the time you wake, the coffee will work. It’s a double whammy in that sense!
A properly planned training program
A well-structured training program is a plan, and a plan needs to be flexible. This allows for realistic changes due to life, needing extra recovery time, events, etc. Athletes should have a range of interests that aren’t just work and training, to maintain a healthy mental and physical state. Flexibility allows for this. It’s important to remember that mental fatigue can be a source of physical fatigue (stress is stress), so we must account for this.
Further, the training load needs to be balanced appropriately with recovery time, to ensure favorable training adaptions are made. This means the next time we do ‘said workout’ or activity, we are able to handle it better, push ourselves a little further, and likely elicit another positive training response.
Environmental Stressors Impacting Recovery for the Distance Runner
Red Lady/Mt. Emmons Summit, Crested Butte, CO
I decided to include a section on environmental stressors as external to the training load itself, environmental factors can impact our recovery and therefore need to be considered.
If an athlete lives in an environment of high altitude or intense heat, per se, this needs to be considered in the training program and predicting ‘total-training stress’ (TTS). Training Peaks track this (sans environmental stress) which can be useful to gain a rough understanding when tracked over a few training cycles of general fatigue. I won’t go into this too much, but you can check it out here.
I live at a moderate altitude, around 2350m – so it’s fitting for me to discuss altitude as environmental stress on physiological systems. You’ll hear of athletes adopting varied training protocols such as live-high train-low (LHTL) or live-high-train-high (LHTH) in an attempt to gain favorable adaptions for their specific events. ( Generally agreed as, High (8,000 – 12,000 feet [2,438 – 3,658 meters]), Very High (12,000 – 18,000 feet [3,658 – 5,487 meters]).
However, adaptions will vary depending on the type of exposure the athlete has. For example, are they chronically adapted (they have lived for an extended period of time at said altitude)? Do they expose themselves to altitude in acute episodes? A series of encounters consistently over time? Even then, the athlete’s response will likely be highly varied from individual to individual. There’s decreased oxygen availability and therefore higher cardiac output. Adaptions to better oxygenate tissue in the body include a higher hemoglobin (Hb) count. Increased Hb levels allow the body to better oxygenate working muscles. To explore this a little further, EPO (a hormone) production from the kidney in response to hypoxia will spike (peak) within 48hrs of exposure to elicit bone marrow-produced red blood cells (red bone marrow), to increase oxygen carrying capacity of blood in the body to the tissue. Red blood cells use Hb to transport oxygen around the body. Having a higher red blood cell count will boost Hb count. You’ll perform at a higher level the more efficiently your body can oxygenate tissue in response to the increased demands. Think of it like a repeating cycle in the body’s fight for better blood oxygen levels at altitude. Why am I discussing this in an article about recovery? Because this environmental factor, and the type of exposure, need to be considered when planning training load and recovery time. Stress is stress. Severe Hypoxia is a large stress on the system. Account for it with extra CHO (carbohydrate intake) and food intake in general, watch your fluid and electrolyte levels, and ensure you are putting up your feet enough!
Next, just make sure you’re fit. You can buy all the gadgets in the world, but fitness and overall health will win out in the end. If you will be racing at altitude and you don’t have the chance to train at a similar height often, follow an acclimation protocol. I won’t go into detail here as that is very individual and race-based.
What Drinks Help Sore Muscles?
I personally wouldn’t resort to ‘drinks’ as a sole aid in muscle recovery, however, there are a few which can assist in the recovery process. Before I briefly write about this, can we give a big shout-out to water first and foremost? Water is your friend! Extra bold this if you have heightened environmental stressors too.
Tart Cherry juice, such as my favourite, Cheribundi, aids in sleep and therefore can assist in recovery. This is due to the higher melatonin content in tart cherries. Magnesium powder such as this one by Natural Vitality has helped my sleep and inflammation, although I’m not a regular user. I prefer to get most of my nutrients from food (macro and micro!)
Valkyrie Trail Marathon, CO Springs, Mad Moose Events
Heat Training For Running Performance
You’ve probably heard heat, in the training context, referred to as ‘the poor man’s altitude’. The context behind this is, altitude camps and taking the time off (generally from work, family duties, etc) is costly. There’s truth to the poor man’s altitude. You can use heat to train for altitude (cross-adaptation), and clearly, use heat to train for heat. To prepare properly for an environmental extreme such as heat, a protocol period of acclimation or acclimatization can be undertaken to elicit favorable adaptations. This is particularly important if you are going to:
Race in hot environments
Need to maintain heat adaptations over the winter for hotter races in warmer climates
Are racing at altitude but don’t have access to altitude training (cross-adaptation for runners)
The goal should be to expose yourself to the minimal dose of heat possible to elicit the most significant adaptation. This is because too much extra environmental stress can impact the most important thing of all – RECOVERY!
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.
– Albert Einstein
If you need to introduce heat training, it’s important to identify which heat protocol will work best for you given your goals, finances, and lifestyle. Working with a professional and understanding this for yourself would be advised here. The most effective protocol for an individual with a high training load, as research indicates thus far, is a passive dry sauna after an exercise session.
Is heat training good for running? And does heat make running harder?
Moab Trail Half-Marathon, Utah 2022
Yes, heat training is good for running, but only when done sensibly in a planned manner, with a goal in mind. Heat Training is especially important for athletes who will race in hot and/or humid conditions. When you exercise in a hot environment, the body will undergo a series of processes to thermoregulate, in order to maintain homeostasis. If our physiological systems fail to maintain homeostasis in a really hot environment, it can result in hyperthermia. The body has failed to compensate for the environment. This is the same with hypothermia in the cold.
You’ll notice on the first hot run of a season that you’ll probably sweat more, and your perceived exertion will be higher (elevated HR). The good news is, even without a specific heat training protocol, after roughly 10 days you’d likely notice that your resting and active HR have returned to normal. A few other adaptations you’ll notice if you pay attention are an earlier onset of sweating, how much you sweat (volume), and a lower core body temperature.
What about heat training strategies for both shorter and longer trail running events?
Just finished Broken Arrow Sky Race 52km, Palisades, Tahoe, CA. 2022
The goal of heat adaptation will differ from trail runners to track runners, given that trail running events are often longer. This makes pre-race cooling strategies, such as ice packs on the places where you lose the most heat (head, neck, wrists, underarms, groin, etc.) effective for shorter track events. For trail running, it is best to mitigate heat as much as possible, supporting the event with an appropriate prior heat training protocol. A few good examples of trail running events you’d want to heat train for would be the Western States Endurance Run (100 miles), and Bandera 100.
How do you learn to run in the heat?
Sunset on Signal Peak Trails, Gunnison, Colorado
You have to get out there and run in the heat if you are in an environment that enables you to do so. Otherwise, a professionally guided heat protocol will be your next best bet. Take it easy for the first few days. Maintain hydration by drinking regularly. It’s important to remember to hydrate (electrolytes specifically) in hotter environments. Interestingly in a virtual symposium for The European College of Sports Science, Lewis James explained that “dehydration of >2% body mass degrades endurance and cognitive performance, and the effect increases with increasing ambient temperature.” What does this mean? Practice drinking during exercise, and if you’re inevitably going to face dehydration, practice for it. It also means that it doesn’t take much to impair performance. For perspective, for a 70kg/154lb male equates to 1400mls.
You can monitor urine concentration – this might be TMI, but it’s very useful. You want to be peeing pale urine rather than concentrated bright yellow. It may be helpful to monitor weight, as weight loss will indicate dehydration as well.
In around 7-10 days of running in a hot climate, you’ll likely notice a better tolerance to the heat. For trained individuals, adaptations will occur quicker, compared to the untrained individual which, after continual exposure will usually see benefits after 2 weeks. As discussed below in more detail, some helpful signs that indicate heat adaptation include an earlier onset of sweating, more sweat, and less time to fatigue conducive to a lowered HR (by this, I meant it is closer to your usual HR for the specific activity, compared to an initial spiked HR upon introduction to the heat).
How do you adapt to running in the heat?
Running Highland Mary Trail, San Juan Mountains, Colorado this Summer 2022
It takes at least 10 days for adaptations to occur, but as with anything, it can differ from individual to individual, and for male and female. It’s important to make sure you prepare enough time ahead of the event.
Various adaptations occur, including a higher volume of sweat and an earlier onset of sweating. The sweat itself is more dilute than at more temperate climates. The athlete’s Heart Rate (HR) increases, and stroke volume (SV) increases (HR x SV = CO) CO, being cardiac output. Peripheral vessels will vasodilate – all changes which result in heat loss.
Heat loss is vital as the body is only as efficient as a light bulb. About 75% of the energy made during exercise is used by the muscles – the rest is lost in heat. If the body can lose heat quickly and efficiently, it can continue to exercise at its best capabilities. – hence the adaptations it makes to lose the increased heat made in hotter climates.
However, if the body cannot lose heat to the environment either due to high ambient temperature, or high humidity, or the person is not adapted to the heat, then the body will store heat, with the core temperature increasing – and this will initially impair performance but can eventually kill from severe heat stroke. (temp >41 degrees).
Long story short, it’s important to prepare for your race properly.
Some other benefits of heat training include an improved VO2 Max, Lactate Threshold (LT), lower HR under higher stress and workloads, increased fat oxidation, and therefore increased chances to lose weight (if that’s a goal). Since endurance performance is largely determined by running economy, VO2 Max and LT, heat training can help!
What are some passive methods of heat training for endurance athletes?
This awesome photo was taken by ProImage-Photo, located in Boise, Idaho
Sitting in a dry heat sauna is likely the best option for a heat training protocol where you don’t have access to a naturally hot environment. This is done (passively, so sitting, not exercising) straight after concluding your exercise and doesn’t have to exceed 20-30 mins in time.
The Hot Tub method requires you to be fully emerged (past shoulders) for a very similar length of time.
You’ll elicit beneficial adaptations without having to exercise in strenuous conditions or run around in a sauna suit, or more clothes.
It’s important to note that you should always undertake protocols under the guidance of a professional – this is of crucial importance if you are doing ‘active’ heat training such as running in a sauna suit or spin biking heated chamber or room. Since the benefits of a post-run dry sauna session (sitting, passive) for 20 odd minutes elicit very similar adaptations, this is the path I’d choose. You’d want to hop in very soon after exercise. A hot tub immersion for heat training could work, however, to elicit the best response you’d want to be immersed right up to your neck, and for a similar amount of time to the sauna. The sauna simply seems more comfortable and practical to me. Besides, utilizing a sauna frequently is great for reducing the risk of all-cause cardiometabolic fatalities.
Some important timing things to note:
You will begin to lose adaptations after more than 2-3 days away from heat, so it’s best to follow a protocol with a minimum of 1 dose every 2nd-3rd day
Periodize your training load around the heat protocol and/or training load, to ensure you don’t have a high training load week paired with a high heat training week.
Work with what you have available to you!
How do you recover from heat training?
Fire Trails in Bouddi National Park, NSW, Australia
It’s really important to remember that we could do all these things to try to maximize performance, but the reality is, sometimes in trying to do too much or be a perfectionist about it, we end up shooting ourselves in the foot. It is meant to be fun after all, and it isn’t meant to take over your whole life. In saying this, the goal should be to find the minimum dosage to elicit the most beneficial adaptations for the event/races you’re training for.
In applying this principle, you’ll set yourself up for more optimized recovery, and in turn, a (hopefully) better performance come race day.
Sleep is really important, as it is the only time we fully recover – optimize this. Chronic stress such as an environmental one is just that, a ‘chronic stress’. We need to account for this. The stress could be long periods at a high altitude, or training in intensive heat. If you don’t sleep enough to account for this, it could result in maladaptations, the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
More often than not, you can elicit beneficial physiological and cellular adaptations with shorter, smaller bouts of heat in the lead-up to an event, and this can be the most convenient thing for your training, time and total stress. Be smart!
Part 2
Heat Training For Altitude: Cross-Adaptation For The Runner Racing At Altitude.
Does heat training help with altitude?
Running Handies Peak, a 14er in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado – 2022
Heat training can help endurance athletes perform at altitude, particularly if the athlete does not have access to altitude or other mechanisms to mimic this environment (such as a chamber, an altitude tent, and actual higher-altitude environments, to name a few). Hot environments, let’s take, a dry-heat sauna, elicit stress on the system whilst it’s in a resting state, particularly if the individual spends a decent amount of time in the dry-heat sauna. Note, to elicit favorable adaptations, as mentioned earlier, 20-30 mins in the sauna post run or ride can have a multitude of positive benefits. The reason being is your core temperature is already elevated, corresponding with an elevated HR. At altitude, the physiological systems of individuals not acclimatized to the environment will experience elevated levels of stress at rest and exercise. Heat acclimation protocols can assist with attenuating this strain altitude. As discussed above in the beneficial adaptations of heat training and/or heat protocol, there will be an increase in plasma volume, and a lower core body temperature to elicit better oxygen delivery to working muscles. Better oxygen delivery to working muscles is a very favorable adaptation for an endurance athlete looking to perform at altitude.
However, as discussed in the intro of this post, stress is stress, and if an individual is living and/or training at a high altitude, and does not need to prepare for a race in the heat, heat training and protocols may not be necessary. The key pillar to successful training is even better recovery. These tools should be used under the supervision of a specialist, and the minimum dosage to elicit positive adaptations should be given. Further, the added stress of heat training and/or heat protocols should be in harmony with the training load of the athlete. For example, don’t schedule the highest volume week with the largest doses of heat training. That’s a sure way to burn out and impact recovery. For those out there that are interested in a cellular level, below I will briefly discuss heat shock protein (HSP) responses when exposed to altitude.
Heat Shock Proteins (HSP), altitude, and heat acclimation for endurance athletes.
Exercise induces stress on the cellular homeostatic mechanisms of the body. This exercise-induced challenge on these mechanisms will result in adaptations. Adaptations, both short and longer-term, are our physiological systems that maintain homeostasis in extreme environments. When cells are exposed to heat there’ll be an increase in heat shock proteins (HSP), particularly if it is in the early phases of heat introduction.
Importantly, HSP40 is activated in cells in response to physiological stress (not unlike other factors that induce HSP expression such as glucose deprivation). These HSP proteins respond to protect cell integrity and maintain homeostasis – for example, a response to hyperthermia (body temperature is well above normal, not to be mistaken for hypothermia, which is the opposite). Interestingly, for those athletes at altitude, HSP40 specifically, assists in the preservation of HIF-1 alpha which has an increased cellular response at altitude. HIF-1 plays a crucial role in the body’s response to hypoxia. This is important to note as HIF-1 acts as a dominant, “regulator of numerous hypoxia-inducible genes under hypoxic conditions.” (1) The HSP40 induced in cells as a response to heat stress is likely beneficial to performance in hypoxic environments. To put it simply, an individual who has heat trained or followed a heat training protocol prior to training or competing at altitude (such as a dry heat sauna protocol) and therefore is heat acclimated, will likely respond well to the increased physiological stress experienced at altitude. This is because, on a cellular level, heat adaptations have reduced HSP response when in a hypoxic environment.
However, there is still a need for further research into the role of HSPs, as this research could serve to benefit the likes of athletes, patients, and the general population. If you’re interested in reading more about HSPs, check this journal article out here. Further understanding of the role of HSPs in exercise physiology may prove beneficial for therapeutic targeting in diseased patient cohorts, exercise prescriptions for disease prevention, and training strategies for elite athletes. It would be interesting to monitor recovery via heat shock proteins through blood-based testing, however, this at current is not viable on a mass scale due to costs.
I hope this made you think about how you can better prepare for your next race in a strenuous environment. Whether you use a cross-adaptation technique, an intervention protocol, or outright training in the environment, preparation, timing, and harmony with the training load + other stressors and recovery are key!
Is heat training the same as altitude training?
Pro-Image Event Photography. Table Rock Trails, Boise, Idaho.
In a literal sense, of course, heat training is not the same as altitude training. However, heat can be used to enhance performance, including endurance performance in hypoxic environments. Heat acclimation can improve our cellular and physiological functioning when exercising at altitude. Hence why earlier I mentioned the common saying, heat is the ‘poor man’s altitude.
A study by Fregly, 2011(2) noted that exposure to one environmental stressor can produce the same protective physiological adaptations needed to benefit performance in another environmental stressor. For example, moderate hypoxia and high levels of heat exposure elicit the same heat-shock response (cytoprotective HSP72). If an individual is acclimated to heat or hypoxia (focusing on longer-term exposure here), they’ll have more favorable gene expressions for increased cellular resilience to these environments. (Hutter et al, 1994) (3)
So whilst heat and altitude training are not the same in a literal sense, the cross-adaptations elicited by a sensible exercise protocol in heat are favorable to performance in a hypoxic environment (altitude).
Does heat training help with altitude?
Yes, different stimuli, including heat training, can help with running performance in hypoxic (altitude) environments. Long-term heat training protocols and exposure lead to what is called ‘acclimatory homeostasis’, where the body functions more capably in the environment; i.e. physiological systems and cells are more resilient to the environment.
I discussed some of these adaptions and responses earlier in this article but I’ll touch on it again briefly as it relates to heat and altitude cross-adaptations. Some favorable adaptations include:
Reduced exercising HR at altitude (longer-term acclimation protocols)
Increased SpO2 (oxygen saturation in the blood, a good thing to have higher levels for general health and altitude performance) (Heled et al., 2012)(4)
Greater cardiac output, therefore physiological efficiency (aka. work harder, for longer, more efficiently)
Increased HSP72 baseline levels, indicating increased resilience of a cell in stressful environments. A heat-acclimated individual (can be acute dosage/short term) will likely have an attenuated HSP response due to these increased baseline levels of HSP72. Elevated levels of HSP72 indicate that the individual has greater levels of adaptation to handle environmental stress (Lee et al., 2015)(5)
Please note that the optimal dosage of “heat” to improve the HSP72 baseline levels in the sense of long-term adaptation is still under investigation
(1) Lee, J. W., Bae, S. H., Jeong, J. W., Kim, S. H., & Kim, K. W. (2004). Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1)alpha: its protein stability and biological functions. Experimental & molecular medicine, 36(1), 1–12. https://www.nature.com/articles/emm20041
(2)Lee, B. J., Miller, A., James, R. S., & Thake, C. D. (2016). Cross Acclimation between Heat and Hypoxia: Heat Acclimation Improves Cellular Tolerance and Exercise Performance in Acute Normobaric Hypoxia. Frontiers in physiology, 7, 78. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2016.00078
(3) Hutter, M. M., Sievers, R. E., Barbosa, V., & Wolfe, C. L. (1994). Heat-shock protein induction in rat hearts. A direct correlation between the amount of heat-shock protein induced and the degree of myocardial protection. Circulation, 89(1), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.cir.89.1.355
(4) Heled, Y., Peled, A., Yanovich, R., Shargal, E., Pilz-Burstein, R., Epstein, Y., & Moran, D. S. (2012). Heat acclimation and performance in hypoxic conditions. Aviation, space, and environmental medicine, 83(7), 649–653. https://doi.org/10.3357/asem.3241.2012
(5) Lee, B. J., Mackenzie, R. W., Cox, V., James, R. S., & Thake, C. D. (2015). Human monocyte heat shock protein 72 responses to acute hypoxic exercise after 3 days of exercise heat acclimation. BioMed research international, 2015, 849809. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/849809
How To Have More Energy For Running: The ROI’s of Sport
Written in conjunction with a sports medicine specialist, ex-elite athlete, and consulting of a variety of accredited sources.
ROI in digital marketing means the return on investment. We calculate ROI by figuring out how much we have invested in ads, and how much revenue we’ve made as a result of those advertising investments. If our ROI is low, we have to figure out why, and a solution to improve. It’s a matter of updating, refreshing, and/or rethinking, most often. In training the other day, I thought about how similar this is to being a competitive athlete. What we put in, including the 1%’s like sleep, nutrition, and forms of recovery all add up to a better ROI for the athlete.
This inspired me to write an article on Energy, Fatigue, and Running. How can we increase our ROI, whilst maintaining a healthy balance between sport and life outside of sport.
For many individuals, exercise can increase energy levels, but did you know that there are many other ways to do this? For athletes that train in high loads, a buildup of fatigue is very natural, and quite often exercise won’t be the best source of ‘gaining’ energy.
I will go over some easy tips for running more efficiently and how they can help you have more energy for running and other training in general. One way is by setting a goal for yourself that has nothing to do with how many miles you intend to cover during each jog. It could be a location destination, a sunset observation, planning to meet up with a team or a friend, or a podcast you’ve been waiting to listen to.
Setting goals related specifically to what kind of pace you’d like to achieve (i.e., faster than normal or average) can also help you have more energy when running. You don’t have to look at splits, you can go by feel as well. In fact, I often think this is the better approach when leading a busy life outside of training demands.
Why Do I Have No Energy When I Run?
This is a loaded question. There are a large array of reasons why someone may feel as if they have no energy when they run. Often, if medical issues are ruled out, it can be a result of one or a combination of sleep, nutrition, and recovery.
When you wake up in the morning, do you feel like jogging around your neighborhood or taking a spin class at the gym? It’s easy to get motivated when it’s still dark outside and all you can think about is coffee. But what happens after lunchtime rolls around? Often at times, people will skip a workout because they are tired or feel too lazy to exercise. Get it done early, before the distractions of the day set in.
A lack of energy can also be a result of a calorie deficit. If you haven’t fuelled enough the day before, and wake up hungry, you’ll lack energy for your workout. I am a big fan of the pre-training snack. This can be something as simple as a banana, or a small bowl of cereal 1hr to 30 minutes before training, depending on intensity and time constraints.
Keep easy days easy, and hard days hard.
Athletes are often given programs by their coaches, which have the various sessions set out to ensure adequate recovery after high-intensity sessions, and longer slower sessions factored in. However it’s very common to see athletes who during their long slow sessions become bored, and speed up, turning it into a long hard session, or who, for example, whilst cycling in a group, see someone going off the front, and can’t help themselves by chasing – and so, the session turns into a fartlek/sprint session. This will then drain the athletes’ energy systems so that they may not recover adequately for their next session, and over time can result in burnout.
How Can I Increase My Energy For Running?
Sleep and Running
Sleep is the only time the body entirely recovers. I would be as bold to say it is the best thing you can do to put an extra edge on your physical performance. If you are having trouble sleeping, then this can lead to decreased energy levels when running. Put simply, a lack of sleep often causes your body temperature and heart rate to change so that it is more difficult for the muscles in your body to function as they should during exercise. While you may want to catch up on rest during the weekend, it is best not to break your normal sleeping schedule too much.
Getting quality REM sleep and (Rapid eye movement sleep) deep sleep are important in order to have more energy when running. These are two different stages of sleep. High REM sleep quality allows us to perform better mentally, and a lack of REM sleep is often the cause of that common feeling of sleep deprivation.
If you know someone who tends to have insomnia or stays up late at night working on a computer or watching television, then you may want to consider getting them blackout curtains for their bedroom. You could even take it a step further and download f.lux to adjust the lighting on your laptop, and wear blue light filtering glasses in the evenings to promote the production of melatonin. A good night’s sleep will help keep energy levels even throughout the day and make training much more enjoyable overall.
WHOOP has a great article on the importance of REM sleep if you would like to explore this further. Click here to read the article.
Blue Light and Melatonin – Get outdoors in the morning!
Make sure you step outside in the morning when daylight or sunlight is up. Our body is designed to wake up better with light, and even better if you look at the ‘blue’ in the sky. It signals that it is the beginning of the day and to halt the production of melatonin.
If you’re an evening runner or have a double, although you may be tempted to go home and take a nap after work instead of going on your run, there are some ways to make exercising at this time much easier and even fun!
Vitamin D for Runners – Natural energy from the sun.
Many people report a boost in energy when exposed to direct sunlight. What is the connection between Vitamin D, sunlight, increased energy, and improved mood? There are many studies that show the link between Vitamin D levels and depression. People living with chronic pain conditions like Fibromyalgia often report symptoms of depression because their condition can be very difficult to manage and has a poor prognosis that makes it feel hopeless. The good news on this topic is quite encouraging!
Vitamin D is a great supplement to existing treatment plans for depression, chronic pain conditions, and fatigue. However, if you can get your daily dose of vitamin D naturally – from sunlight (even 10 minutes is great!), and foods such as oily fish, red meats, egg yolks, and cheese for example that is even better. For vegans, some food sources high in Vitamin D are mushrooms, fortified plant milk, and cereals. Mushrooms are the best natural plant source of Vitamin D. Ultimately, sunshine is king.
Some people do feel better after taking a single dose of Vitamin D consistently. It’s important to realize that taking Vitamin D on an ongoing basis will have continuing benefits on your mood.
Some people like to have a cup of coffee before heading out for training. If timed well, this can be extremely beneficial. In fact, I wrote an entire article on coffee for runners. This article included how to time your caffeine intake, how caffeine can be taken in different forms and some of the negative side effects of coffee. Give it a read by clicking the link here: https://larahamilton.com/coffee-for-runners/
While coffee may help boost your energy levels, if you are not used to caffeine before high-impact activity, it can be a cause of GI problems which can shut down your run entirely. It’s important to train yourself to eat and drink before you run, so when race day comes along, it’s like clockwork.
Considering this, some people prefer to only have caffeine around race day. If you’re like me, I chose to drink Matcha (green tea powder), green tea or Decaf coffee the weeks leading up to a race, and only drink coffee close to race time for a potential performance enhancing effect.
Build up energy for running long distances
For runners starting out, setting small goals will make exercising much more manageable because they are easier to achieve (i.e., walk around a block one time). Once these smaller tasks feel easy enough, then move onto another goal until finally working up toward whatever big fitness wish list item has been on hold for so long. You can even start with run-walks, as athletes returning from injury must do.
This can look something like 1-minute walk, 1-minute run, repeated 10-20 times depending on where you’re at with fitness or recovery.
Also, remember not to be too hard on yourself when you don’t reach an initial goal right away. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
For seasoned runners, energy increase and fatigue resistance comes with consistency in training and scheduled recovery periods. Be patient, and it will come. This is why it is called training or practice.
Strength Training for Distance Training
If you want to reduce fatigue and get faster, lift weights. I’m sick of hearing about injured distance runners who do no resistance training.
Think about it like this – if you’re pounding your body as a high-level runner for 50 miles a week, that’s a lot of stress through the whole system. Muscular, skeletal, and even cellular. You want to be doing everything within your control to make sure you can sustain that load and rock up to the start line uninjured….. and beyond the start line through the race.
If you are looking for a way to have more energy when running, then consider adding strength training into the mix. If guided correctly by a knowledgeable strength and conditioning specialist or exercise physiologist, this will allow you to gradually build muscles and therefore build up muscular endurance so that running doesn’t become difficult halfway through every workout session. Strength training can also be done in conjunction with various forms of cross-training exercises like biking, paddling, or swimming because they work in a variety of muscle groups and go through different ROM (range of motions).
Strengthen your bones for running
Our bones love different stimuli – that is how to strengthen bones. Repetitive sports, such as distance running, only strengthen your bones on a certain plane. Adding in a variety of sports will strengthen them on different planes and vectors.
This is why cross-training should be included in a running program. It has a purpose, not just for recovery from injury.
So how important is it to stretch before a run?
Yes, stretching is an important part of any workout routine because it helps you warm up and prepare for exercising at higher intensities so that your muscles don’t feel as tired when running. However, what is more, important is using the right muscles and then you’ll find, you won’t need to stretch as much. For most people, the deep postural stabilizers, also known as your “core” are not firing correctly. I’m not talking about the superficial “6-pack abs” here, these muscles are much deeper than that.
You can have visible abs and little “core” strength. These are deep muscles that can’t be seen. This is a very complex topic which I will explore in a future post. If you’re interested in reading more on this and improving your biomechanics and body alignment, head over to TIE (The Invisible Exercise) by clicking here.
What will give me energy before a run?
How To Have An Energy Boost Before Running – Take a rest day or a down week!
Recovery is a part of your training program – it is just as important as the training!
You’re not a machine. You’re human, and you have to respect the body. Give it the time to strengthen and recover. Gains are made when we rest and repair.
If you feel as though your body needs a day off from exercising, then don’t be afraid to take one. Your mind and muscles will thank you for giving them the rest they need before starting up again with another training cycle.
In fact, having a down week every 4-6 weeks is super important to ensure the body absorbs the work you’ve put in, and decreases the risk of injury. Time it up with your key races if you can, working with your coach and team commitments if you have one.
There was an article on this in the recent issue of Australian Trail Running Magazine, if you can get your hands on a copy.
How Diet Affects Energy For Running
This is very simple. Energy intake has to equal energy output.
The biggest mistake long-distance runners make is not realizing the high level of calories they need to balance the energy equation. Most long-distance runners have low energy availability. This doesn’t just affect the body in its appearance.
It affects every single system in the body. Here are a few examples:
The gastrointestinal tract, causing slow transit time
Hormonal system
Psychologically, with interrupted sleep patterns
Neurologically, it reduces coordination and strength
Changes the metabolism, so instead more fat is stored in the liver
It affects bone mineral density
Increases risk of injury
A healthy balanced diet can be obtained from a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, alongside healthy and diverse fat and protein sources. We don’t actually need to spend gazillions of dollars on fancy supplements.
So, low energy input equals low energy output. I’m a big fan of eating before training in the morning. It doesn’t have to be a full meal, but working out fasted isn’t helping me achieve my goals of high-quality workouts and speed, strength, and endurance gains from these workouts.
What should runners eat for breakfast?
People who run regularly in the morning are often advised to have a healthy and balanced breakfast before heading outside for their daily jog or workout session. This will help keep blood sugar levels even throughout the day so that energy is sustained with each passing hour. This is even more important for insulin-resistant individuals, like me. I wrote an article about my normal pre-race and pre-session breakfasts here, including examples: https://larahamilton.com/5k-meal-plan/
The Impact of Alcohol On Running
While having a few drinks might seem like the perfect way to unwind after work, it can have some negative side effects on your body for running. Alcohol can dehydrate your body and cause muscle cramps if you have too much, so it is best to avoid drinking /running (especially if you are thirsty and need to replenish your body’s water levels).
Further, drinking will impact sleep. You may be able to achieve deep sleep, which can help muscular repair, however, the mentally restorative stages of sleep (REM) following the deep sleep stage, are rarely reached as the body is working overtime to process the alcohol consumed.
In conclusion, there are many ways to increase your overall energy before and after a run. I hope you take these tips and incorporate them into your daily regimen!
The top tips, summarized.
Nutrition during exercise > 60 minutes
Hydration
Adequate CHO (carbohydrates) in the first 15 minutes after an endurance race
Sleep 8 hours minimum per night
Understanding that mental and physical recovery is as important as training strategies.
Ensuring there is a balance in life with some social and recreational activities, specific recovery actions such as massage, sports psychology, ice baths (if you are into them) stretching, and appropriate strengthening work.
Work-life balance and recovery are particularly an issue in long-distance triathletes, ultra runners, and adventure racers.
In athletes who participate in tournaments and regattas, ensuring adequate hydration and nutrition between bouts and races will diminish feelings of fatigue.
Overall though, making sure that one has a range of interests, not just work and training, to maintain a healthy mental state. Mental fatigue can be a major source of physical fatigue.
If the idea of meditation running or running as meditation seems like a foreign concept to you, consider the fact that you’ve probably already participated in it. Many of us like to pop in the ear buds and check out while logging our miles, especially for long distances. For some, this is the easiest way to “get through” a workout.
However, the idea of meditation running is not to “get through” your run, but rather “get into” your run. Meditation and running do not have to exist as separate entities. In fact, for those of you who prefer to proverbially “kill two birds with one stone,” meditation running can save time allowing you to benefit from both at once.
Running as meditation can turn what sometimes feels like a chore, or something you’re forcing yourself to do, into an adventure. It offers deeper meaning, mental clarity and healing on top of your physical fitness routine. In the state of today’s world, who doesn’t need a little clarity and healing?
If you’ve ever gone out for a run in a new neighborhood or on an especially craggy trail, chances are good that you’ve participated in meditation running. Meditation in itself is not meant to clear your mind, but instead to become present in the given moment. In a new city or on a rugged trail, you must be vigilant and focus on where you are and the ground beneath you. This action causes you to be present in the moment and to concentrate on right now.
This is just a simple and common example of how you may have already used running as meditation. You can set out to purposefully participate in meditation and running, and I will tell you how in the following sections. Of course, distracting thoughts are going to pop up now and then. That’s normal and expected. Acknowledge them and come back to the moment. Put a pin in those recurring thoughts for later, and be careful not to follow them down the rabbit hole.
How to Meditate While Running
Meditation while running is not necessarily hard, but it may require some practice. This is especially true for those who prefer to zone out with some tunes while running instead of tuning into your zone. The following ideas are a good starting point for learning how to practice meditation while running. Later, I will give you a few more resources to help you use running as meditation.
Counting Breaths or Footfalls
Counting your breaths or foot steps can help keep you grounded in the now. Make up a pattern such as a 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2 count or count by twos or fives. You can even incorporate counting breaths to footfalls and take note of which foot lands on what numbers each time.
Acknowledge Pain or Discomfort
Obviously, intense pain means you should end your workout immediately, but I’m talking about the normal running aches and fatigue that sometimes appear. Don’t ignore these tinges, but don’t focus intently on them, either. This also goes to uncomfortable or stressing thoughts. As mentioned, put a pin in those, save them for later, and come back to now.
Use Mantras or Devotions
Whether you choose a quote from Rocky or prefer a Bible verse, mantras can help keep you focused and present in the moment. Simply repeating positive phrases like I am strong and bold, I can do all things, or I am tougher than this trail can keep you focused. The key is concentrating on what you are saying and repeating it.
Be Aware of All Sounds and Sights
It may be a bird chirping in a tree or a simple stop sign—just take notice and focus on it for just a moment. Perhaps you choose to run as the sun rises and sets. Focusing on the grandeur of the setting and which senses are being triggered can offer a feeling of relaxation—even when you’re running. It may be easier to focus on things by stating what you see, hear, feel, or smell. For example, you could say to yourself I see a tall, green Oak tree, or I feel a gust of cool air on my neck.
Mindful Running: Being in the Moment
Running Meditation has many benefits beyond maintaining your physical fitness and health. For example, let’s go back to rugged trail running. You have to constantly scan the terrain ahead of you and make decisions about where your foot should fall to reduce the risk of injury. You might be dodging low-lying tree limbs, circling around mud pits, or hopping over roots and other natural debris.
All this focus directed at the trail in the very moment you are running it keeps other thoughts and worries at bay. There simply isn’t time to think about problems such as how difficult the run actually is when you are running with the mind of meditation. Instead, you are able to explore the world around you, reflect on it and connect to it.
Not only can running meditation offer practice in meditating, it can also help you improve your running. Perhaps you want to run faster or longer distances. Most often, the only things holding us back are the thoughts we have. Meditation can also help to increase your response inhibition, or ability to ignore the instinct to slow down or stop due to muscle aches or fatigue and keep running.
Running Meditation Books
To learn more about running meditation and the benefits of it, you can find a great running meditation book or two. Running With the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind is one such book written by Tibetan lama, Sakyong Mipham. The book offers simple and practical advice and instructions on melding meditation and running.
Another highly-rated running meditation book I found is Still Running: The art of Meditation in Motion, written by Zen-practitioner and long-time runner, Vanessa Zuisei Goddard. Like Running with the Mind of Meditation, Still Running offers instructions on practical ways to practice meditation and running. Additionally, it focuses on the power of being still and how that can lead to “wholehearted” living.
Running Meditation Apps
If you are interested in guided meditation while running, try out a running meditation app. When I went to the app store, I was inundated with meditation apps for relaxation. However, with continued research, I stumbled across Headspace, a website and an app that focuses on meditation for focus and relaxation.
Additionally, Headspace has partnered with Nike to provide a Mindful Running Pack within the Nike Run Club (NRC) app. Choose the length of time you want to run and pick from runs with titles like “Don’t Wanna Run Run,” “Breaking Through Barriers,” and “Mindful Miles.” Then, you simply set out on your preferred route and listen in. This running meditation app does all the focusing for you.
Final Thoughts on Meditation While Running
As you can see, meditation can coexist with running, or other activities. You do not have to be sitting still to reap the benefits of meditation, and practicing meditation while running has its own benefits including lowering stress, easing depression or anxiety, and making your runs easier.
It may take even the seasoned runner some practice, but I’m certain with the help of this article and the resources I discussed, anyone can do it. If you want a little more guidance, don’t hesitate to try a running meditation app. Happy trails!
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Hey! I’m Lara, a long-distance runner, and outdoor sports enthusiast. if you want to stay up to date with my latest articles, offers, and happenings, fill out my newsletter form below:
