Race Tips - Inflammation

I think I responded to everyone who asked me for information or an application for this year's race but if you did not get a return email, please email again.  There were a lot this year so I may have overlooked someone. 

Inflammation plays a key role in the race.  Ankles and feet always take the worst of the race and you’ll need to reduce the inflammation if you want to finish the race.  I strongly advise against using NSAID anti-inflammatories.  These are the non-steroidal over the counter type of pharmacy products like ibuprofen and Motrin that you should avoid like the plague.  NSAID’s place an extra load on your kidneys and liver at a time when your body is already going to be extremely stressed.  Combining NSAID’s and exercise is always a bad idea but this is particularly true on the Classic where you will be constantly dehydrated for several days in a row.  You can cause serious and permanent organ damage if you take too many NSAID’s while dehydrated. 

You will need some sort of anti-inflammatory agent to help you through to the finish line.  Some people resort to prescription anti-inflammatories or a prescription steroid to reduce the inflammation.  You can also try herbals such as Cat’s Claw but herbal remedies take a lot of personal testing to see what works for you specifically.  Vitamin C and Vitamin D have anti-inflammatory properties and also function as anti-oxidants so you should take both of these but they may not be strong enough for the purposes of the Classic. 

What you shouldn’t do is start the race without any anti-inflammatory in your pack.  If you don’t have anything else, take enough ibuprofen so you can take two every four hours of the race.  After you calculate how many that will be, add another two full day’s worth of doses.  So if you think you can finish the race in four days, you should pack enough ibuprofen so you can to two every four hours for six full days.  There’s nothing worse than having too few and besides it can be dangerous if your ankles are so swollen that you can’t walk. 

One of the best things you can do during the race to reduce inflammation is to drink water.  This will reduce the edema and flush your kidneys.  You’ll also feel better overall and stay warmer.  Speaking of water, drink it where you can find it.  Moving, silty, glacial water is probably the best because harmful bacteria don’t grow very well in it.  This is handy because you can just dip your water bottle into the river as you float down it in your packraft.  Drink enough so that your pee is clear and so you have to pee about once every hour or so.  You won’t waste time stopping to pee because you should master the art of walking while you pee.  All these tips should be second nature to you if you’re running the Classic but they are still good reminders. Be proactive with inflammation to keep it under control.  

More Barefoot Running

After suffering last summer running completely barefoot on sharp gravel, I decided to order a pair of Five Fingers KSO and try them out.  I'm pleased to report that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Running in these things gives almost all the benefits of running completely barefoot without much of the pain.

I tried them out on the Turnagain Arm Trail a week or so ago before all the snow had melted.  I found out quickly that they are not waterproof at all and running over snow and ice turned my toes numb in about a half mile.

Overall they worked great though and I've used them quite a few times since then.   The Turnagain Arm Trail has a lot of roots and ankle twisting terrain so take it slow if you run here barefoot until your calves and ankles become stronger. 

There are several models of Five Fingers and I went with the KSO which stands for Keep Stuff Out.  Not exactly an original name but they do work fairly well keeping stuff out.  I put a link below for the most popular model of Five Fingers but if you're in Alaska and you're running trails or doing some peak running you should consider the KSO.

If you do order some Five Fingers don't get them from Amazon.  For some reason, probably because of the barefoot running popularity explosion they really jacked up the price.  REI still has them for a reasonable price.

Vibram FiveFingers Classic Multisport Shoes - Men's

Running Barefoot

This last summer I was inspired to try something a little different. After witnessing someone running down Flattop with only a pair of Vibram Five Fingers I decided to try the barefoot running thing myself. There's a dearth of information about it on the internet and apparantly nobody in Alaska sells "shoes" for running barefoot so I decided to take the plunge and try it comepletly barefoot. Besides, why bother to pay $85 for a pair of running "shoes" that just defeat the real purpose. 

I started out on Turnagain Arm trail and within about 100 yards I broke out into a cold sweat. Aside from the sensory overload, the first thing I noticed was the connection with the ground.  I felt the trail like never before.  My traction was better and I felt more stable.  I ended up going only about three miles total but the next day muscles in my legs were as sore as if I had never run before.

I've eased into the whole idea and have only done the occasional run to adjust slowly.  After about a dozen barefoot runs last summer I did one final run outside at Glen Alps in October just after a snowfall but when the trail was still bare.  Switching to a treadmill inside this winter has been difficult because the surface is like sandpaper.  This is where some sort of aquasocks or the Vibram Five Fingers might come in handy.

While it may seem a bit overboard at first, the benefits of running barefoot are endless.  The human body was made to run without shoes.  Most people have found that they are faster, stronger and have more endurance without shoes.  People claim it has cured back problems, fixed their posture as well as taken away bunions, severe callousing and other foot problems. 

It'll definitely slow your pace a bit until your feet adjust but mud, sticks and large rocks are generally not a problem.  Pavement takes some getting used to and sharp gravel doesn't feel good at all, as you might imagine.  At first, the shock value of seeing people's faces along the trail is amusing but after a couple times it's just annoying.  Gasping tourists ruin the mood so now I try to avoid people as much as possible.

As soon as the snow melts, I'll be exploring different places and I'll post updates here about good trails.  This is a great way to strengthen ankles, feet and lower legs for the Classic, so give it a try if you feel like something a bit different.

The book Born to Run is not only a great read but also has some great arguments for running barefoot.  It's in the Amazon sidebar on the right side of this blog if you want to take a look.  I haven't yet found anyone else who runs barefoot in Alaska but if you do, I'd love to hear from you. 

Ankles and feet.

Ankles and feet deserve their own entry because they take so much abuse. If you're running the race for the first time, at some point in the race, you will wish your feet could be amputated. No amount of training will prepare your lower appendages for the abuse they will suffer.

Take heart though because for some reason, after the first race, there seems to be some sort of body "memory" and your your ankles and feet won't swell up quite so badly. Even in subsequent races though, you'll have to find ways to cope with foot and ankle pain.

There are several theories about why "Classic Ankle" a.ka. Cankle occurs.

One theory is that physical damage occurs to the bones and connective tissue around the ankles and feet. X-rays on my ankles after my first race found multiple micro-fractures and confirmed this theory to be at least partially true.

Another theory is that the swelling is just run-of-the-mill edema from your body being overloaded by toxins and lactic acid that your kidneys and heart can't process after constant, heavy exercise for days on end.

Whatever the reason, your body just isn't used to the abuse and is protesting. Exacerbating the problem is that the best route almost always crosses numerous small creeks. Your ankles and feet are immersed in freezing cold water and then twisted and torqued in different directions as you travel over large rocks and uneven ground. As most Alaskans know, cold flesh is much more susceptible to damage than warm flesh and your akles are no exception.

You probably won't be distinguish your ankles from your legs after 180 miles of abuse.

Smart racers often take ankle gaitors and wear thick socks to protect the ankles from getting too cold. You'll never prevent them from getting wet, but the protection will help them from getting too cold when you wade through knee-deep glacial water several times an hour.

Be sure to take foot swelling into account when considering which shoes to buy for the race. In other words, err on the large side.

There are lots of ways to cope with the ankle issue and none of them are very effective. Early in the race, you can try to avoid getting your ankles cold, later on in the race, you'll try to find cold water to soak your feet in to keep the swelling down.

Standard coping technique is to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's). Ibuprofin (a.k.a. Vitamin I) works for the most part and you'll know it's time to take another dose after 3 1/2 hours because when you're really in pain that's when it'll wear off. NSAID's also include Cox 2 Inhibitors which are things like Vioxx and Celebrex. You should be aware, however, that there are serious risks with taking NSAID's on the Classic and other long distance races. By balancing the pain relief with long term permanent body damage many racers opt for the quick relief but this may not be a good choice. You risk serious kidney, GI and heart damage by running for hours or days in a dehyrated state while taking NSAID's. http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/medicationanddrugs/a/NSAID_endurance.htm

NSAID's are heavily marketed by pharmaceutical companies and you know that what is good for their profit line, can't be good for your health. There are a couple other options. You can either go with a corticosteroid or check out some more natural alternatives. I thought about mentioning a couple of herbal anti-inflammatories but you should probably do your own research. I'm not a medical doctor and herbal medicine is not one size fits all. Herbals are often very effective and can be a good option.

Anyway, back to the feet. Smart racers will find side-trails on the soft forest floor instead of following a rocky creek-bed. Take care of your feet early in the race by running smoothly and lowering yourself off small drops. Don't come crashing down on each foot.

In your pre-race training, strengthen your ankles and lower legs by hiking in shoes instead of boots and going for runs over uneven ground. It's takes time but it will pay off.