about iron

Since it's been awhile, figured it was time to touch base on the importance of iron!  Below is a link to a really good article, for those of you who want to read up on this very important topic...

http://www.runningwritings.com/2017/04/low-ferritin-and-iron-deficiency-anemia.html

For those who don't want to read, because it's summer and all, here are some important bullet points:

*one study showed by the end of a cross country season (i.e. the point in the season where you want to be your best), iron deficiency had increased to 17% of boys and 45% of girls.  And in those who were not classified as iron deficient, the majority had a decrease in their serum ferritin levels.

*the above numbers were found in using the conservative standards for iron deficient serum ferritin levels used in the general population of less than 12 ng/mL.  A case can be made that for endurance athletes, serum ferritin levels less than 40 ng/mL should be consider iron deficient.

*ferrous sulfate, taken with vitamin C, is the weapon of choice to raise serum ferritin levels; while tea, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and antacids should be avoided as they inhibit the absorption of iron.  One study showed that simply putting a slice of cheese on a hamburger reduced the amount of iron absorbed by 50-60%!

*because of the above, the iron in a multivitamin is almost useless.

Suffice to say, your serum ferritin levels are very important to your aerobic performance.  If you are not managing your iron intake and absorption, you are putting your season at serious risk.

Now, on to training, this week's workouts:

Tue: 16-20 x 30" @ faster than 6k or 8k goal pace with 2' easy recovery
Fri:  8-10 x 1' @  6k or 8k goal pace with 4' easy recovery

*make sure you are taking the full recovery and running EASY during the recovery; you can follow the structure of the above workouts, or you can free fartlek them by just running up to one minute efforts at goal race pace followed by sufficient easy recoveries for forty minutes or more.

Lastly, a redux about the importance of sleep...new scientific studies have calculated that 9hr 14min is the optimal sleep time; also that anything under 7hr 30min severely compromises your ability to recovery and you will not get full effect of training.