Sleep patterns are foundational to prevention. 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep per night. This sets up deep sleep cycles of 90 minutes. Go to bed at the same time every night (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT). Try to get up every morning to establish your daily diurnal rhythm

Methods of achieving optimal sleep since sleeping is very habitual and cyclical:

Cooperation with family
Effective sleep rituals e.g., music, meditation, and relaxation techniques
Avoid drinking within 20 minutes of going to bed
Avoid talking on the telephone immediately before bed, as you have a tendency to rehash the conversation while trying to relax!

Nutrition

There are studies that also show that proper nutrition definitely keeps the immune system as strong as it can be despite the stress. Here are some very general nutritional patterns:

Ingestion of the right types of food (Complete books are available on this)

Red meat at least Five 4 ounce portions per week.
Complex carbohydrates must be taken within 2 hours of a stressful run. This includes breads, fruits, vegetables, and noodles. Whole grains are good as they have favorable sodium to potassium ratio.
VARIETY! DON’T eat the same foods all the time. Trace nutrients come from variety.

Right amount of food.

NEVER-NEVER over eat. Stop when you are satisfied.
More importantly, though, NEVER-NEVER UNDER EAT.
Portion control, eat a balanced group of food. Not just one big serving of something.

Right timing of meals to match needs:

4-5 smaller meals per day
Prior proper planning, e.g., shopping list, containers, food preparation
Meal sequence: breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, post workout carbohydrate replacement, dinner, bed time snack
Snack on power bars, cliff bars, harvest bars, etc. use a variety of them so you do not get sick of them.

Colds are caused by the rhinovirus. It is everywhere, but your body has defense systems that usually work. The skin is your major defense. Keep the moist membranes like lips, well watered to prevent cracking. The cracking will allow the virus from entering the body.

Hydration

Water bottles.

DON’T share, viruses spread OUTSIDE of bottles
carry bottles everywhere including the classroom

Travel considerations

carry water and complex snacks
consume at proper time as dictated by race time and total travel time

Electrolyte replacement, water is NOT enough, replacement drinks are needed post workout (preferably within 20 minutes after workout session)

8oz. Of 6% glucose solution (Gatorade) should be consumed within 20 minutes of stress run, and followed by 8 more ounces within 2 hrs. plus water.
Suckers and lozenges are great for keeping membranes moist.
Drink water first, then add the glucose polymer solution (Gatorade)

Supplelmentation

There are times where chronic fatigue is experienced by long distance runners. Usually, it is the result of many months of training, and a diet that is lacking some key nutrients. The indicator is usually some sub-par performances and key workouts strung together for no apparent reason. Hemoglobin contains 4 elemental iron atoms per molecule. Hemoglobin is the critical part of a red blood cell. Each iron atom bonds with oxygen in the lungs during exchange and travels to the working skeletal muscle cells. The availability of iron is the weak link in the blood muscle sequence. A visit to your clinic and a request for a Serum ferritin test should be considered. Here are some guidelines:

Serum ferritin levels of less than 12 nanogram/ milliliter characterize iron depletion
Hematocrit refers to the proportion of blood that is made up of red blood cells. Normal percentage in males 40-50%, females 37-47%. As an athlete becomes dehydrated during training or racing, blood volume is reduced, further increasing Hematocrit and the blood’s thickness. Proper hydration, especially in the heat, is essential. Both serum ferritin and Hematocrit can be tested. It is more common in females, but can be found in males. Many people think the iron found in vitamins or fortified cereals is all you need. The problem is this is powdered iron and your body absorbs <20% of what is ingested. What you want is heme iron, found in red meat, your body will absorb >80% of heme iron that is ingested. Red meat should be consumed at least 5 days per week while in intensive distance training.

Calcium

99% of the calcium in the body is in the bones, while the remaining 1% flows through the body controlling impulses along nerves, contraction of muscles and many other activities. For life to continue, the level of calcium outside the bones has to be maintained within very narrow limits. If your calcium intake is inadequate for even one day, your body cannibalizes its own skeleton to make up the deficit.

Athletes are twice as likely to be calcium deficient as sedentary people.
High protein intake can result in a calcium loss
Calcium sources: low-fat dairy products, dark-green leafy vegetables, salmon, navy beans, oats and almonds.

Potassium

Potassium helps maintain normal water balance in the body and is essential for muscle contraction and proper heart function, especially a normal heartbeat. It also helps the kidneys to detoxify the blood and promotes the secretion of hormones.

Runners lose a lot of potassium through sweating.
Potassium sources: melons, bananas, sport-drinks, pineapple, salmon, and whole-wheat flour.

Zinc

Zinc is critical to the immune response system
Take as a lozenge or sucker
Most effective if taken at the right time, you MUST have a supply on hand
Upon immediately noticing a raspy throat (VERY IMPORTANT)
- Take EVERY 2 hours until symptoms are gone
- Never take more than 50 mg in a single day.
- Use the low dosage (15 mg) lozenges

As the coaches of this cross-country team, we would never prescribe or direct exactly what foods to eat and on which days to eat them. Those are family decisions. These are just general guidelines to keep your son or daughter healthy during a grueling season of endurance training. There is always a price paid for commitment, both for the committed and the people around them. We want to transform each athlete’s physical and psychological framework through adaptation to stress, in order to produce results that are satisfying to the athlete. We hope this process will allow your son or daughter to achieve results of which they did not think they were capable. Consequently, we think this will be a wonderful educational experience for them that they can remember the rest of their lives.

What we ALWAYS do as a team:

Post Competition procedure and protocol (includes hard practice days)

Follow the stress run or race with a gradual 10-15 minute cool-down run
Take in 16 oz of water immediately from your water bottle—not from the fountain
Follow with 4-5 minutes general leg stretching
Elevate legs for 6-10 minutes, lay on back put feet 2 feet in air against a wall, or tree, or whatever is available.
Take in 12-16 oz of 6% glucose polymer drink (GATORADE)
Cheer on any teammates that are still running
Discuss the finished run
If legs are even slightly sore, use massage sticks and then spend 10 minutes in an ICE WATER bath, using either the tub or pails.
Circle up to talk about the completed competition and our future strategies (After races only)
Go home or out and have a proper meal of at least 800 calories (within 2 hours)
Drink at least 24 oz more fluid
Make every attempt to go to bed at your normal time.

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