Congratulations to Super Byron and to every one of you who are making it possible for him!
Fundraising Tip
Email your monthly update reminding others to donate. This is a great way to keep people up to date with your training and fundraising progress. It's also a great time to update your potential donors on your honored patients status.
Training Tip
Essentials of Endurance Recovery
#1: Water, water, water:
The backbone of any recovery program is always water - and more specifically hydration! Water alone can give substantial benefit in your recovery, but even greater gains can be found combining it with other nutrients. However, no other nutrient or magic pill will work without water as its backbone. All cellular reactions, including the basis of ATP production (electron transport-oxydative phosphorylation) require water and oxygen. Without water, the entire process of converting nutrients to glycogen and protein is limited. Choose water first, whether by itself, in a formulated sports drink or through foods such as fruits.
Keep in mind that the average fluid loss during exercise: 1-2 liters (33.6 to 67.2 ounces) per hour. Some individuals may lose even more than that during intense workouts/races in extreme heat and humidity!
It is recommended to drink 20-24 ounces of fluid in recovery for every pound of body weight lost during exercise.
#2: Replenish your carbs:
Following water, the second most important nutrient group to consider is not proteins, but carbohydrates. The primary fuel source for endurance athletes is glycogen…period! If you don't restore your fuel, you aren't going anywhere fast, and some carbohydrates are better than others at restoring glycogen to the working muscles. Keep in mind that a window of opportunity exists where your depleted muscles open their acceptance to this fuel, further allowing for maximum replenishment. Depending on what data you reference, this window is somewhere between 20 minutes and two hours following exercise. To keep things simple, always try to start your recovery immediately following exercise. During this time, insulin sensitivity is at is highest. Insulin, which allows sugar to flow into your bloodstream, works most efficiently immediately following exercise. In addition, high glycemic carbohydrates are broken down easily and further increase the flow of glucose into the bloodstream. This glucose can then be converted to glycogen in your working muscles, in essence 'filling your tank.' To ensure you have refilled your glycogen fuel tank to the top, always practice using a high glycemic recovery product/food immediately following exercise. Glucose (also known as dextrose), a high glycemic carbohydrate, is twice as effective at restoring muscle glycogen as fructose, a low glycemic carbohydrate. Whether a carbohydrate is a simple sugar or complex carbohydrate makes little difference on the recovery rate -- the key for post-workout nutrition recovery is the food's glycemic index.(Gonzales, Roberts, Roy) Whether a food is a liquid or solid will not make a difference either, though some claims state that liquids offer more efficient absorption. But remember, regardless of the form, the glycemic index is a direct indicator of the breakdown of the food into your bloodstream and is most useful as a tool to help select foods for post-workout recovery.
It is recommended to eat 1.0-1.5 grams of carbohydrate (ideally high glycemic index) per kilogram of body weight immediately after exercise to promote optimal recovery.
Here is a short list of high glycemic index foods. A more complete Glycemic Foods lists are available at www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
plain bagel, Rice Chexs, baked white potato
dark rye bread, Rice Krispies, pretzels
bran flakes, Total cereal, skittles
white bread, Instant cooked rice, Gatorade
Cheerios, short grain white rice, watermelon
Cocoa Krispies, Graham Crackers, sucrose
Corn Bran, Vanilla Wafers, Soft drink
Crispix, Saltine Crackers, Dates
Grapenuts, glucose, Maltodextrin
Raisin Bran
#3: Protein demands:
Over the last ten years the media, the body building world, fad diets, and new research have made protein the magic nutrient for recovery. Proteins play many critical roles aiding in recovery, including the building of new tissue; as a primary constituent in cell membranes and internal cell material; comprising the enzymes which allow the body to function and breakdown fat, carbohydrates and other proteins; aiding in blood clotting; acting as a critical agent in muscle contraction; and aiding in regulation of acid-base balance. Though protein is critical in many aspects of recovery, it always works better when combined with carbohydrates. A high protein meal or nutritional product with little or no carbohydrates is relatively ineffective for any endurance athlete as a recovery product. On the other hand, protein added to high glycemic carbohydrates can actually further increase the shuttling of glycogen back into the working muscle. Protein is not a preferred fuel source for your depleted muscles, and ingesting too much protein following a workout may actually hinder the resynthesis of muscle glycogen.
Six to twenty grams of total protein is recommended in the nutrition "window of opportunity" following exercise.
#4. Electrolyte demands:
With excessive sweat, the body may also require the replenishment of electrolytes. The primary electrolytes lost in sweat are sodium, chloride, potassium and phosphorus. Electrolyte replenishment typically only becomes problematic for those athletes who consume only water during a long exercise bout in heat, or poorly designed electrolyte replacement and energy drinks. A 'during race' nutrition plan should always contain some electrolytes in order to keep homeostasis. With excessive sweat, body fluids can become hypotonic (low in electrolytes) when not replenished. The key here is to simply make sure what you drink and eat following exercise contains some or all of these electrolytes. Be careful not to drink plain water following exhaustive exercise. Water alone will actually dilute your electrolytes even further, and may cause additional nausea. Most sports drinks contain sodium. The better sports drinks will focus on all of the key electrolytes in doses large enough to help you replenish your lost stores.
Mission Moment
Abby
TX
Living with ALL for 1 year, 9 months
Age: 5
It will be difficult to forget May 9, 2006, yet we have such a hard time remembering the details of that day. That morning, we took our 3 year old daughter in to our family doctor for the second time in 5 days. The symptoms by this time were unmistakable to her doctor: fever, leg pain, swollen lymph nodes and incredible bruises. We were sent for blood work at our local hospital, and were given the results back at the doctor's office...Abby has leukemia. We were immediately sent from our small town to a nearby city, to a wonderful pediatric oncologist. After an initial exam at his office, we checked in to the Children's Hospital next door, which would become our home for the next 29 days.
During that first stay, Abby was found to have Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). At some point later, testing showed Abby also has the Philadelphia Chromosome, which makes treatment very difficult.
Now, after 5 months in and out of the hospital, and many medicines later, we are finally feeling like we can breathe again. We are adjusting to life with a child on chemo (and sometimes steroids!), we have cried at the loss of her beautiful blonde hair, and we have rejoiced each time a FISH test comes back clear. It is still a long road...6 more months of high and intermediate dose chemo, then 2+ years on maintenance. Our faith in God has gotten us this far, and we know that He will sustain and strengthen us until the day Abby is healed.
No comments:
Post a Comment