Run Well

by Juliet McGrattan

  If you’re over 65 years of age you should also take part in balance and co-ordination activities at least twice a week. Those neural pathways need to be activated or they shut down. Currently there’s only sufficient evidence to definitely recommend this for those over 65, but I believe anyone over 40 would benefit from balance and co-ordination training. This could be a yoga or tai chi class, home exercises such as spending time standing one leg or balancing on a curb when you’re out for a walk.

  Being active enough for good health means taking care of all these aspects of activity and not solely relying on a quick run every few days. That is far better than nothing, though, and should be applauded, because four in 10 adults in England don’t reach the 150-minute target and one quarter are classed as inactive, doing less than 30 minutes a week.

  TRY THIS

  AT HOME

  Balance and co-ordination

  Balance and co-ordination abilities are quickly lost if you don’t use them. Try this exercise at home. You may want to do it holding on to something initially:

  • Stand up tall with your feet together, shoulders back and bottom tucked in.

  • With your arms by your side and keeping your body still, slowly lift one leg and bend it until your foot is level with your knee.

  • Hold this position for the count of 20.

  • Now close your eyes. Try to remain in this position for another count of 20.

  • Repeat on the other leg.

  • When you’ve mastered this, try doing it at the same time as brushing your teeth!

  Top tips for a healthy runner’s balance

  Running, and keeping well and free of injuries, is a continuous game of balance. Here are my tips for keeping the scales even:

  • Rest when you’re ill or injured.

  • Get injuries diagnosed if they aren’t resolving quickly.

  • Take your time coming back from illness or injury.

  • Train progressively, but flexibly too, so you can cut back if you need to.

  • Don’t skimp on the warm-up.

  • Do what you can to get a good night’s sleep and add in extra if you’re training hard.

  • Dress for the weather.

  • Add in muscle-strengthening work, balance and co-ordination activities and cut down your sedentary time.

  • Eat a diet that works for you, and provides you with the energy and nutrients to fuel your active life.

  • Be proud that you’re a runner and doing amazing things for your health and wellbeing, both now and in the future.

  FURTHER HELP AND ADVICE

  NHS website: www.nhs.uk

  Patient: www.patient.info

  Netdoctor: www.netdoctor.co.uk

  Macmillan Cancer Support: www.macmillan.org.uk

  Sleepstation: www.sleepstation.org.uk/articles/

  Beat Eating Disorders: www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

  Trainbrave: www.trainbrave.org

  Acknowledgements

  I really hope you have enjoyed reading Run Well and found some tips and advice to help you on your running journey. We all need help sometimes and I have certainly needed it in abundance writing this book! Thank you to all the wonderful runners who gave me quotes and to my running friends Sally, Jo, Tamsin, Louise, Lisa, Rochelle and Ann for being my chapter reviewers. Thanks also to Bernie and Laraine for their input on the basic life support section. Huge thanks to the amazing runners who waded through proof copies to be able to offer me endorsements, I feel honoured and really appreciate your time and seal of approval.

  I’m so grateful to all the team at Bloomsbury, especially my editors Charlotte Croft and Sarah Skipper. I was so excited they published my first book, Sorted: The Active Woman’s Guide to Health and delighted they wanted to help me realise this vision of creating a health handbook for all runners.

  Thank you to all my followers on social media who motivate and spur me on every day with their passion for running and never fail to ‘like’ all my far from perfect running selfies! I love to chat about running so do come and say hello on my social media accounts or on my blog drjulietmcgrattan.com.

  Thanks to all those people in my life who’ve ‘got my back’ with special mention to friends Tamsin, Nicky, Jennie, Lisa, Vicki and Louise. To Christina Neal, Lisa Jackson, Rhalou Allerhand, Joe Williams, Vicki Broadbent, Moire O’Sullivan and Nell McAndrew, thank you for all the support, encouragement and opportunities you have given me. And to the wonderful team at 261 Fearless, it’s an honour to work with you to bring running to so many women around the world. Kathrine Switzer, Edith Zuschmann and Horst von Bohlen, thank you for teaching me so much about running, life and business, you are truly my inspirations.

  An extra special thank you to my family who raised an eyebrow when I announced my next writing challenge, but then got fully behind me to help me get to the end. To Ken, Joseph, Thomas and Molly, thanks for all the love and fun, for waiting at finish lines and for being patient while I wrote. You’re the best!

  If you have enjoyed Run Well, I’d be so grateful if you would leave me a review at the place you buy your books online. I know it’s adding to your to-do list but it makes so much difference to authors. Thank you so much.

  And finally, a huge thank you to all of you in the running community. You always brighten my day. Enjoy the wonderful gift of running everybody and make sure you run well!

  REFERENCES

  Chapter 1: The Head

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  Chapter 2: The Cardiovascular System

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  Chapter 3: The Respiratory System

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  Hall, A. Thomas, T. Sandhu, G. Hull, J.H. (2016), ‘Exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction: A common and overlooked cause of exertional breathlessness’. British Journal of General Practice, 66(650): e683–e685.

  Hull, J.H. (2015), ‘Not all wheeze is asthma: Time for patients to exercise their rights’. Thorax, 70(1):7–8.

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  Parsons, J.P. Hallstrand, T.S. Mastronarde, J.G. et al. (2013), ‘An official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline: Exercise-induced Bronchoconstriction’. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 187:1016–27.

  Recinto, R. Efthemeou, T. Boffelli, P.T. Navalta, J.W. (2017), ‘Effects of nasal or oral breathing on anaerobic power output and metabolic responses’. International Journal of Exercise Science, 10(4):506–514.

  Chapter 4: The Gastrointestinal System

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  Chapter 5: The Urinary System

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  Bally, M. Dendukiuri, N. Rich, B. Nadeau, L. Helin-Salmivaara, A. Garbe, E. Brophy, J.M. (2017), ‘Risk of acute myocardial infarction with NSAIDs in real world use: Bayesian meta-analysis of individual patient data’. British Medical Journal, 357:j1909.

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  Hewing, B. Schattke, S. Spethmann, S. Sanad, W. Schroeckh, S. Schimke, I. Halleck, F. Peters, H. Brechtel, L. Lock, J. Baumann, G. Dreger, H. Borges, A.C. Knebel, F. (2015), ‘Cardiac and renal function in a large cohort of amateur marathon runners’. Cardiovascular Ultrasound, Mar 21;13:13.

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  Luthje, P. Nurmi, I. (2004), ‘Recurrent macroscopic haematuria due to bladder blood vessels after exercise induced haematuria’. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 38:e4.

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  Millman, A.L. Cheung, C.D. Hackett, C. Elterman, D. (2018), ‘Overactive bladder in men: A practical approach’. British Journal of General Practice, 68(671):298–299.

  Siegel, A.J. Hennekens, M.D. Solomon, H.S (1979), ‘Exercise-related haematuria. Findings in a group of marathon runners’. Journal of the American Medical Association, 241(4):391–392.

  Silva, V. Grande, A.J. Peccin, M.S (2019), ‘Physical activity for lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic obstruction’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4):CD012044. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012044.pub2 .

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  Chapter 6: The Reproductive System

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  Asikainen, T.M. Kukkonen-Harjula, K. Miilunpalo, S. (2004), ‘Exercise for health for early postmenopausal women: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials’. Sports Medicine, 34(11):753–778.