Friday, July 2, 2010

Doctor-approved

Yesterday, I ran three miles on the treadmill (which was only a little boring) and learned that I am medically cleared to destroy every bit of my body with exercise. Hooray!

After my run and before going to the office (6 AM is a wonderful time of day), I took the trip up to Friendship Heights to visit my physician. When I told her that the purpose of my visit was to discuss training for a marathon, she kind of gave me an “OMG, really?” look. I was a little worried at first but as we talked about my medical history, it became clear that she was super into the idea -- or as much into this as the doctor of a 23 year-old can be who wants to run 26 miles can be.

I had a ton of questions about the impact training would have on my body, what foods I should eat to compensate, and what I could do to avoid injury and fatigue. By the time I left the office, I felt super confident about starting to train seriously.

As far as recommendations went, my physician encouraged me to continue taking Vitamin D supplements. I started taking them in September when we learned that I was deficient. Now that I'll be asking my heart, bones, and immune system to work harder than they have, 1000 IU daily will be a very good move. I should also make sure that I eat 60-70 grams of protein per day. I understood this as "You now have permission to splurge on Greek yogurt."

After runs, I should replace electrolytes. My doctor recommended powerade because it's lower in calories, but I also learned that I can make my own electrolyte-replacing manna by mixing baking soda, salt, sugar, orange juice, and water.

Upper body exercises should be added to my training routine. She recommended 3-5 pounds on my non-running days.

Finally, I should do less running on sidewalks and explore more jogging paths. That sounds fine, but I won't be doing too much of that unless I have a running partner. (Anyone want to run long distances with me?) I tend to stick to sidewalks so that I can stay on main streets with traffic, people, and businesses. Even in the early morning, I feel a bit safer sticking to where the people are. Like Lisa Landry, I've seen Law and Order enough to know what happens to the jogger.


Today, I went to the registration website but decided to wait until I have an estimate of my finish time to officially get on the roster. I'll probably do the calculation after my 3-mile run on Sunday.

Eight miles tomorrow and ample opportunities to celebrate America. Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

1 comment:

  1. But DC-area trails are so pretty! And totally safe - especially if you go during the weekends.

    ReplyDelete