Paul is a 41 year old male competitive 10km runner; weighing at 80kg and 1.8m in height. In his late 20's to early 30's he was a county level runner and was within the top 50 10km runners in the UK. Nowadays he is more of a social runner; taking part in local events and attends football matches.
Paul has wanted to compete within the Marathon Des Stables for a number of years now, and has been on the waiting list for 2 years. Within the 2 year waiting period Paul has been training 5/6 days per week and has participated in challenging half marathon and full marathon events, such as 'Hellrunner'.
The Marathon Des Stables is an ultra-endurance event which lasts for 6 days and approximately 151miles of competitive running. The location is in the extreme conditions of the Sahara Desert, where the average daily temperature is around 37 degrees & with a maximum of 50 degrees. What makes this event so unique is that the competitors have to carry their own equipment such as food and clothing (tents are provided at the end of each stage). Strict rules and regulations are enforced throughout the event, such as minimum amounts of water and calorie consumption. There are stages for water where the runners must consume a minimum amount of water; this is around 9 litres per day and 22.5 litres on the 'non-stop' stage where the runners continue through the night, completing 45-50miles. The minimum amount of calories a runner has to carry per day is 1500; however the average calorie consumption is a much higher 3000-4000kcal. If the participant doesn't carry the minimum amount then they will pay with a time penalty.
In 2009 there were 228 British competitors, of which 12 did not finish. Paul has been waiting to compete in this even for 2 years and has been training hard however he needs additional support to help him acclimatise to the extreme conditions he will face, as he only has two days in Morocco before the race. Previous injuries must be taken into account, and it is noted that Paul has an injury history with his Achilles tendon. He has been doing strength exercises to help stabilise and build the tendon, but more precautions need to be taken as neither he nor his body has ever attempted such a challenging event.
The conditions will be extreme with the temperatures at 37 to 50 degrees; direct sunlight (from both above and reflected heat radiation reflected off the sand) will also cause Paul problems. One of the biggest issues he will face however is the sand and terrain he will be running on. Sand is a concern for the strain on Pauls Achilles, not only will he have blisters but because sand is not a stable surface his ankle will be under pressure to stabilise and keep him balanced when running. In order to avoid the positional risk of injury it is advisable that Paul wears an ankle brace/ strap to help support his running on the uneven ground.
The biggest factor however will be the climate at which Paul will be running in, and unfortunately he will not have enough time to acclimatise to the environment. Therefore Paul needs to train as close to the environmental conditions as possible while in the UK; a number of recommendations that Paul can use is to train in an environmentally controlled room, whereby he can train in the temperatures and humidity of the environment he will be participating in. This will give him the advantage of allowing himself to acclimatise to the environment and improve his VOa'' max.
His temperature can be measured in either two ways. For a more accurate reading Paul can use a Digestible Core Temperature Sensor Pill; this pill is a very accurate measurement of any core temperature as it gets closer readings from the heart as it passes through the digestive system. Therefore it will provide Paul with accurate readings and targets which he needs to achieve to be able to sustain the conditions in Morocco. An alternative way of measuring Paul's body temperature is through using sensors which attach to him during exercise. These sensors take the readings of the limbs, chest and core; once the readings have been recorded, by using the simple calculation for the Mean Skin Temperature (by Ramanathan 1964) = (0.3 thigh) + (0.2 shin) + (0.3 chest) + (0.2 arm)
From this calculation Paul can find his mean skin temperature and control it through the digestion of fluids i.e. water during exercise. If he over heats then he could suffer from heatstroke and be in a serious condition.
Through endurance running, the muscle fibres adapt to help with the running economy of the athlete. Therefore an important recommendation for Paul would be to train while wearing his itinerary. This will prevent overstressing the muscles when participating in the event and therefore decrease the chances of injuring himself because he hasn't adapted to the conditions he will be competing in. This will also help to strengthen his Achilles and improve his VOa'' max for the event. It is found that in previous experiments, athletes who overloaded on their fluid consumption to maintain adequate body weight will perform better when under such conditions faced in the Marathon Des Stables and provided Paul maintains the correct calorie consumption of 3000 to 4000kcals per day then he should have sufficient energy and hydration levels to finish. Paul needs to make sure he consumes 9 litres of water minimum per day, but must ensure he tries to overload on fluid consumption as although the exercise energy expenditure will be greater than calorie consumption if Paul maintains his bodyweight through this technique then he should complete the marathon. If possible he should try to keep his core temperature down by pouring water on his face, as the evaporation will help cool his skin and core temperature, helping him to improve his performance.
http://arctrainer.blogspot.com/
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
沒有留言:
張貼留言