48 MARCH 2017 womensrunninguk.co.uk
SMALL CHANGES
“I TOOK UP BIKRAM YOGA
AND MY NERVE PAIN WENT AWAY”
“I SWAPPED TO A
HEALTHY
BREAKFAST AND
MY RACE TIMES
IMPROVED”
Accountant Eva Hatfield, 35, from Surrey found her running was stopped dead by nerve pain- one weekly yoga class made all the difference!
Alice Kershaw, 33, from London, made one
change to her diet and saw her race times
improve. The change? Simply switching from
a sugary cereal to a healthy one.
“I’ve been running for a number of years
and I’ve always led a fairly healthy lifestyle
conducive to being a good runner. I eat
healthy foods, I barely drink alcohol and I
have a varied training plan. I ran my first
marathon in Brighton in 2011 and my race
time was 3hrs 45mins. Over the years, I
kept running marathons and saw my times
improve.
“Everything was going really well until
a few years ago, when I began increasing
my mileage for another marathon and
developed a debilitating nerve pain in
my left glute muscle. I saw a number of
different experts who couldn’t get rid of
the pain – including physiotherapists and
chiropractors. The pain was sharp and
would radiate down the back of my leg
when I ran. It became so uncomfortable
that I could barely run. A few of the experts
I saw told me my sedentary desk job was
probably the cause. I started standing upon trains when commuting to work, but
the thing that made the most difference
was taking up yoga. I started doing Bikram
yoga, also known as hot yoga, which really
made a difference. I did the class once a
week without fail and, over time, my nerve
pain went away. I’ve had no problem with
it since. I now think yoga complements
running very well.”Why it worked
“The best way to reduce injury risk is to
work on those areas of weakness and
tightness. Yoga is one way to do this, along
with improving biomechanics when you
run, to avoid getting tight in those areas,”
says Buckingham. “Yoga engages your core
muscles during poses, which is beneficial
for all runners when it comes to improving
running technique. Core strength will
improve your ability to hold a good upright
posture when you run.”“I have been running for two years and
found that I used to run out of energy
after five miles. I just didn’t feel as if I had
enough energy in the tank. I decided to swap
sugary breakfast cereals or toast and jam for
porridge and bananas every day, about six
months ago, and knocked five minutes off
my 10K time, bringing it down from 55mins
to 50mins.
“I have more energy now but, even if
I do have the occasional day of eating a
sugary cereal, I get a bounce and then a
crash, which feels horrible. My energy levels
are now much better and I feel less sore and
much more comfortable.”Why it worked
The best breakfast choices are those rich in
complex carbohydrates with a small amount
of simple carbs, high-quality protein and a
little healthy fat. Complex carbohydrates
provide a steady release of energy, which
means your energy levels won’t dip during
your run.
Porridge is a good choice if made with
semi-skimmed milk for a creamy protein
boost. If you find it hard to stomach, try
adding more milk so it’s less thick. Stir
in stewed fruit or banana for instant fuel.
Adding cinnamon can also help stabilise
your blood-sugar levels.