I'm a huge fan of proper nutrition before and during a race. With the right nutrients you can drive your body farther and faster than if you just eat garbage. To put it succinctly, your body will take more abuse. And let's be honest with ourselves, the Classic is all about abusing your body. Not in a masochistic manner - more along the lines of drawing on all possible physical reserves to reach a certain goal. Classic racers are known for their ability to force their bodies into extreme endurance. Many a Classic race has been finished or won based purely on strength of will alone while ignoring pain and fatigue. Your body will hold up to this abuse much better if you give it the nutrients it needs.
You will travel farther, longer and faster. You'll live longer and your mind and body will be more balanced if you eat right. So, having extolled the virtues of proper nutrition enough I'll get to the point. I came across a great book about sports nutrition the other day. It has some really good information about endurance nutrition. Some of it is a bit basic but even that is all a good review. Here's a link. Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes
Speaking of sports nutrition, here's another book that is based on endurance alpine climbing but has an excellent section on nutrition. The cross-over between the Classic and endurance climbing is obvious and the nutrition fundamentals are very similar. I'm not sure it's worth it to buy the book just for the nutrition section because it's fairly short but if you like climbing books anyway you should take a look. I refer to this book more for the nutrition section than anything else. Extreme Alpinism
Showing posts with label Alkalize. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alkalize. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Training Tip - Alkalize
Journey with me for a moment - it's 4:00 a.m. at some random Alaskan trailhead. Your car is the only one in the parking lot and there is a slight drizzle coming down out of the steel gray sky. It's 50° and it doesn't look like it going to get any warmer during the day. Despite the early hour and weather conditions that most people would consider miserable, you're amped up and ready to start down the trail for an eight hour run/hike.
If you're the type of person who gets excited about a morning like this then this training tip is for you.
The human body tries to maintain a specific pH. Everyone's pH is slightly different but most people's blood pH level hovers around 7.4. Many things throughout a typical day can cause your body to become more acidic. Fried food, air pollution, the PCB's you ate in that salmon you just caught out of Ship Creek, stress and anger can all make your body more acidic. If your body is too acidic, healing is delayed, carcinogens take their toll more readily and you age faster. Most importantly, you won't be able to run your ultramarathon as fast as could.
The good news is that you can do a number of things to alkalize your body and bring your pH levels back toward normal. Moderate exercise will alkalize but if you're reading this blog you're probably not into moderate exercise, which is probably considered something like a light twenty to thirty minute jog. Heavy exercise takes a toll on the human body and makes it more acidic.
This all brings me to my original point which is what you can do to recover from your eight hour high intensity run that you started at 4:00 a.m. At the end of the day, when you're dehydrated, completely spent and even laying down on the couch won't bring your heartrate back down to pre-run levels, alkalize your body. Meditate, do some yoga or tai chi, or watch a funny movie. Deep breathing, laughter and relaxation will all help offset acidosis in your body.
Another powerful remedy is to drink a full glass of water mixed with a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar. Even though most vinegar is very acidic, apple cider vinegar is made by burning apples and some of the ash is left over in the vinegar. Ash is alkalizing and will bring your pH back in the right direction. A couple notes: regular white vinegar won't work because it doesn't have any ash. To kickstart the ash/alkalizing process you can take a couple of magnesium supplements because minerals are required for the body to convert the vinegar. If you don't give your body a mineral to use, it will use minerals in your body such as bone. This is ok but for longer term use, it's probably better to provide extra minerals.
You can offset the potential toll of heavy exercise by alkalizing your body. Maintain a strong, positive mental attitude when training hard. Derive joy from your runs and hikes, take a bit of apple cider vinegar and you'll heal faster, be stronger and feel better.
Happy training.
If you're the type of person who gets excited about a morning like this then this training tip is for you.
The human body tries to maintain a specific pH. Everyone's pH is slightly different but most people's blood pH level hovers around 7.4. Many things throughout a typical day can cause your body to become more acidic. Fried food, air pollution, the PCB's you ate in that salmon you just caught out of Ship Creek, stress and anger can all make your body more acidic. If your body is too acidic, healing is delayed, carcinogens take their toll more readily and you age faster. Most importantly, you won't be able to run your ultramarathon as fast as could.
The good news is that you can do a number of things to alkalize your body and bring your pH levels back toward normal. Moderate exercise will alkalize but if you're reading this blog you're probably not into moderate exercise, which is probably considered something like a light twenty to thirty minute jog. Heavy exercise takes a toll on the human body and makes it more acidic.
This all brings me to my original point which is what you can do to recover from your eight hour high intensity run that you started at 4:00 a.m. At the end of the day, when you're dehydrated, completely spent and even laying down on the couch won't bring your heartrate back down to pre-run levels, alkalize your body. Meditate, do some yoga or tai chi, or watch a funny movie. Deep breathing, laughter and relaxation will all help offset acidosis in your body.
Another powerful remedy is to drink a full glass of water mixed with a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar. Even though most vinegar is very acidic, apple cider vinegar is made by burning apples and some of the ash is left over in the vinegar. Ash is alkalizing and will bring your pH back in the right direction. A couple notes: regular white vinegar won't work because it doesn't have any ash. To kickstart the ash/alkalizing process you can take a couple of magnesium supplements because minerals are required for the body to convert the vinegar. If you don't give your body a mineral to use, it will use minerals in your body such as bone. This is ok but for longer term use, it's probably better to provide extra minerals.
You can offset the potential toll of heavy exercise by alkalizing your body. Maintain a strong, positive mental attitude when training hard. Derive joy from your runs and hikes, take a bit of apple cider vinegar and you'll heal faster, be stronger and feel better.
Happy training.
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