Stop Running So Much!

It used to be that only crazy uber-athletes did marathons and Ironman triathlons. Now everyone and their mother – in fact, their grandmother – is signing up for races. In a way, it gives me much joy. Seeing people out living, instead of on the couch in their living room, makes me happy. I am the first person to lead any movement-movement, whether it’s to get kids off their gizmos and outside at a trot, or dads away from their remotes and chicken wings and on the Ultimate Frisbee field instead. BUT. As my dad always says, if something is worth doing it’s worth overdoing. See, and this is the controversial part of today’s essay: most people should not be doing marathons. In fact, most people should not be doing anything longer than a 10k or an Olympic distance triathlon (and really, I think a 5k every month and the occasional sprint triathlon is just perfect). I know right now you’re thinking,

WAIT – what about all that stuff all you coaches keep saying, that if I can dream it I can do, if I only put my mind to something I will achieve it, anyone can do a marathon…?!?! I am not trying to burst anyone’s bubble – yes, I do believe that anyone CAN do a marathon or an Ironman. I just don’t think that most people SHOULD. Especially not people over the age of about 35.

See, I don’t like this part any more than you do, but once we start to be around 40 years old, all kinds of stuff starts happening. We have a harder time recovering. (Yes, from workouts as well as late night benders). All that abuse we have put our body through for about 40 years is now taking its toll and we may start to notice food intolerances that didn’t exist before, things going on in our gut. Gut health is KEY to overall health. Our hormones, whether we are male or female, are not what they used to be, especially after the 40 years of abuse I just mentioned, affecting our ability to handle stress, the way our body handles sugar/carbs, the amount of and quality of sleep we get. Around this age, we are probably leading mostly sedentary lives, either at a desk or at the wheel of the minivan. We are probably on some level experiencing adrenal fatigue or burnout. And at this point we decide, I need to get my fat ass in shape and dammit, I am going to pick a meaningful cause and get into skinny jeans while funding cancer research! So there!

We hit the “Register” button, download a generic training app, put the workouts on the calendar, link our training app to Facebook to prove to the world what we are capable of doing I mean remain accountable, get fitted for proper running shoes by a running technician not a sports superstore teenage worker, load up on Gatorade and PowerBars, and off we go.

Sometimes we will start off with a slow jog and then gradually increase, while for true beginners, a race-to-walk plan is the way to go. By the time race day arrives, we have perhaps lost a couple pants sizes (though a lot of people actually gain weight - remember the Gatorade & PowerBars?), we gleefully realize that we are now talking about we ran “JUST” 6 miles yesterday (remember when anything over 3 miles seemed unfathomable?), we are starting to think of ourselves as runners.

I will be the first to admit that joining The Marathoner/Ironman Club is incredibly rewarding. So what’s the problem? Well, here’s the deal. I don’t think most people should do it because most people don’t know their bodies. They have spent the past 40 years ignoring the signs their body has been giving them that something just ain’t right: insomnia, indigestion, aching, viruses, clumsiness, headaches, infections, fatigue, depression, PMS, cravings, heartburn, anxiety, gestational diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure, visceral fat, allergies… So you take someone who normally doesn’t listen to his/her body (yes, many of the above issues if not all are completely preventable through diet and lifestyle tweaks) and you throw them into a demanding training schedule which is dictated by some generic computer program, and, well, I think it’s just a matter of time before they end up with a stress fracture or knee surgery.

At this point the all-or-nothing tendency in our culture kicks in and you’re thinking, awesome, I just got a free pass to stop running, lemme go get those Doritos out of hiding! Not so fast.

Mark Sisson, the author of Primal Blueprint, has a really good article about what he calls “chronic cardio” and why he thinks it’s so bad for you. Please read it. I never agree with everything. no matter what book I read, so I also advise you read this article, debunking Mark. I believe the truth lies somewhere between the two. The truth is based on our individual needs, physical state of health, and ability to really pay attention to our bodies and know when to back down. That being said, I feel very strongly that unless you are an elite runner, you should only be running 3-5 miles, 3-4 times per week. Two to three times per week throw in a few sets of pull-ups, push-ups, and ab work. Or take a power yoga class at least once per week. I started running when I was 31 and for about 4 years all I did was run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I would do intervals, going by the song on my mp3 player: every time the chorus kicked in, I’d run really really fast; the rest of the time I ran moderately fast. After the dreadmill workout I’d do pull-ups, push-ups, abs and squats. Period. When I was 35 I did my first half marathon and then I switched to sprint triathlons (.5 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 5k run). I did my first marathon as the last leg of my first Ironman, when I was 40. Note: a slow progression, and while unorthodox, my first marathon happened right after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride, so most of my training for it was on a bike and in a pool.

In conclusion, I believe that if you have a burning desire to experience the hype, or to prove you can do this, or to channel your addictive personality into something “healthy,” then by all means, go for it. I do think that if you train smart, you will be able to avoid the burnout and the injuries, and instead achieve better health. I used to hate running and now I gladly get up early on a weekend and charge up hills wearing a tutu at races.

These are my tips for training smart:

Listen to your body not your training plan. Less is better than more. REST.

There is no need to do more than one marathon per year. The rest of the time, stick to a maintenance plan of 3-5 miles, 3-4 times per week.

Marathon training does not give you a license to carb-up. Those energy/sports drinks, energy bars in wrappers that list more than 4 ingredients, pasta, bread, sweets, beer – it just promotes inflammation. When training for a marathon, you turned your Subaru into a Ferrari; don’t give it diesel.

DRINK WATER and look at your pee. If it’s clear, you’re good.

Along those lines: supplement! I highly recommend 4-8 oz of Body Balance per day, providing minerals from 9 different sea vegetables, as well as the anti-inflammatory, rehydrating aloe vera. OsteoProcare is excellent too, for calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, glucosamine and chondroitin.

Do yoga/poga! Even if it means missing a run. Trust me, it will make a huge difference in terms of recovery, injury prevention, core strength (especially those oft-ignored hip flexors).

Read the book Smart Marathon Training and follow Jeff’s suggestions.

One final point I feel very strongly about: You may need to WALK. Not everyone is supposed to run. In fact, if you’re over 40, overweight, and probably don’t exactly eat clean and chances are, have some level of adrenal fatigue, I recommend you check out Jeff Galloway’s run-walk-run method, or forget the run part altogether and just aim to increase your walking speed. Last week at a race I met Erin, a competitive race walker (Olympic trials competitor). I was telling her that it’s a shame that more people don’t "just" walk (mind you she was doing just over a 9 minute mile), because if you go fast enough you get great health benefits without injury risk (she said the risk is minimal). It’s a shame that most people’s perception is, if I can’t run, then why bother. I would advise you to check your pulse halfway through your walk, and if it’s in your target range, then BRAVO – you’re working it and you probably won’t end up in a boot. Walk it, baby!