Before One Starts Distance Running

Distance running is already becoming a popular form of exercise. However, there are a few very important things that have to be considered before one decides to join in on all the fun. Running, like any other exercise, has to be approved by a doctor first. Those who have a personal physician may consult their doctors on the kind of exercise regimen they’re suited to before starting one. One must be checked out thoroughly. This is to ensure that the exercise will not aggravate existing heart conditions. For those who think they are fit and healthy, it does not hurt to actually make sure that is the case. Feeling fit and knowing you actually are fit are not exactly the same. Remember the three men who died of heart attacks last 2007 while competing in different running races?

One of them in particular, Mike Banner, was said to have been unaware that he had a very rare heart condition. This caused his arteries to get clogged during the race, leading to a fatal the heart attack. Another one, Ryan Shay, died at 28 while running the U.S. men’s marathon Olympic Trials had an enlarged heart. However, he knew about his condition and used it to his advantage. Unfortunately, this advantage was what ultimately turned on him and led to his early death.

These are simply a few of the examples. Measures have also been taken to remind runners to drink while running. A substantial number of runners, however, are not really keen on guzzling down water while on the run. And who can blame them? After all, it breaks the concentration. And when in a race to the finish line, drinking water may not exactly be the first thought that most athletes find themselves entertaining.

However, information from the USATF states that a person must take his/ her weight before and after a workout and the resulting difference between the two is that person’s “sweat rate.” Since the standard practice is to drink sixteen ounces of fluid for each pound one has lost, knowing one’s sweat rate allows a person to determine it to a per hour or perhaps a per mile or whichever rate that one wishes to suit personal needs and preferences.

This way, athletes can also avoid succumbing to hypotremia, a condition that is basically the exact opposite of suffering from dehydrated. Meaning, one is over hydrated. This happens when athletes, after a long race without drink or fluid, fiercely guzzle down water. It is an extremely bad habit. The body, specifically the kidney, is not made to withstand the consumption of huge volumes of water at just one time. There has to be intervals. Otherwise, water intoxication happens or what is commonly termed by doctors as hypotremia.

This is why it is important to start an exercise regimen that is recommended by a doctor. It makes sense to seek the medical opinion of a physician before doing anything that involves one’s body. One may not know that by unhealthy practices, one may already be putting one’s health—and life—at risk.

One must then make sure an taking on an exercise like distance running is accompanied by medical check-ups. That way, one is sure to be healthy and fit. After all, it is not enough that one feels healthy. One must know it too.