Marathon Training Update

Now that my corneal ulcer is healing, I am able to resume marathon training. I was starting to feel like a slug. I reviewed and adjusted my training plan to incorporate cross training in a manner that would not cause me to over-train (which I have historically done).

I have allotted Friday as a rest day. The rest of the week is devoted to running, weights, and cycling. Monday's are devoted to one hour of either yoga or spinning. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are short runs of no more than 10km, so I bring Iniko with me. Eventually, I plan on trail running on one of those days to give my knees a break from the pavement, and to utilize my muscles differently on unpredicatble terrain. My long runs are spent focusing on my endurance, and refining my form.

My nutrition has been on track. I ensure my meals are heavy in carbs in the morning and increasing in protein and decreasing in carbs as the day progresses. My goal is to drink lots of water. I have a tendency to not feel very thirsty, and so I tend to be dehydrated on every run. I have been aiming for 3 glasses of water a day (I can easily not drink for three days...not healthy), and this realistic goal has been achieveable so far. A little CrystalLight helps make water more palateable.

Over the years I have noticed that my sweat smells like ammonia after a run. This has puzzled me for years. I finally did some literature research out of curiosity....I also wanted to know what I could do to stop smelling like a cat litter box (okay...so it's not THAT bad). I was told that this is an indicator of dehydration. Other causes are a high protein intake or not eating enough carbs before exercise (I'm definitely guilty). Liver expels the excess protein in the form of nitrogen, which cells convert into ammonia and pass through sweat and urine. Another cause is that during prolonged, exhaustive exercise, skeletal muscle generates ammonia from oxidation of branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In the process, the amino group is removed from the BCAA, producing ammonia.

Elevated ammonia within the skeletal muscle and blood negatively affect performance. Neuromuscular function is impaired by ammonia, leading to local muscle fatigue. Ammonia can cross the blood-brain barrier. So it accumulates in the brain when blood levels are high. The brain's capacity to get rid of ammonia is adequate for short-term maximal exercise, but it is overwhelmed during prolonged, exhaustive exercise. Abnormally high levels of ammonia in the brain can disrupt normal neurotransmitter function. Ammonia depletes the excitatory neurotransmitters, glutamate and its precursor, gamma-amino butyrate, leading to central fatigue. Training and diet affect the production of ammonia during exercise. Endurance training decreases the amount of ammonia produced in skeletal muscle, thereby lowering blood and sweat ammonia concentrations. Depletion of muscle glycogen following a low carbohydrate diet increases the blood ammonia response to exercise due to increased use of BCAAs for energy. Carbohydrate consumption during prolonged, submaximal exercise reduces muscle ammonia production from BCAA degradation.

Looks like I need to drink more water throughout the day, and certainly eat more carbs prior to exercising. I'll post on the outcome later.