Managing Those Running Tweaks

Posted by David Hanenburg on 07 May 2009 at 5:54 am | Tagged as: nutrition, recovery, running

What are some ways you may assist your body with running tweak management? basil-tomato

How can you help you body heal faster and more effectively?

While reading Vegetarian Sports Nutrition by D. Enette Larson-Meyer, I came across some ways that may help support your bodies natural processes and keep you running or have you running sooner if you are unable to.

This all revolves around managing the inflammation response.

Larson-Meyer provides the following nutritional items to consider:

Include Omega-3s in diet daily. Examples include flaxseed oil, ground flaxseed, hemp oil, and walnuts.
Vitamin D – This would be achieved through adequate sun exposure and/or supplementation.
Eat those fruits and veggies.
Fresh herbs. Some examples include green tea, ginger tea, and pesto (yummy!). American running stud-ette Deena Kastor has a nice recipe for homemade pesto on her site.
Olive oil
Turmeric
Basil
Tomatoes

Larson-Meyer also mentions the supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate as something else that may be worth investigating.

Another often talked about source of Omega-3s are fatty fish such as salmon or a quality fish oil supplement.

I personally have used Hammer Nutrition’s glucosamine/chondroitin product. I used it throughout my Ironman training days. Did it work for me? Not sure, but I was able to train quite intensely for three years without significant injury. I currently take a fish oil supplement and try to include many of the other items mentioned in the above list within my normal lifestyle.

Dr. Weil provides some nice general tips for an anti-inflammatory diet (nutritional choices):

Aim for variety.
Include as much fresh food as possible.
Minimize your consumption of processed foods and fast food.
Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables.

Also check out his useful and informative Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid. It may surprise you a bit.

You can also help yourself by following a few basic lifestyle/training habits:

Get quality and adequate sleep.
Appropriate gear for you. (ex: correct running shoes)
Increase training stress gradually.
Reduce training stress when your body asks for it. Shhh listen!
Stretching and massage (either by a person, self, or with various tools available such as foam roller and/or The Stick).
Hydration

Finally, if you are having continued issues and would like additional insight, seek your preferred professional.

What things have helped you with tweak management?

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David – EnduranceBuzz.com

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