Oct
02
Girl Talk Along the Path
By
So can we talk? Just us girls here for a moment? What about running at “that time of the month.” There’s a series of commercials on tv for the last year that always end with the phrase “Have a happy period!” I’m guessing the 50% of the population that experiences menstrual periods knows that advertising slogan was written by a man. Nobody has a “happy period.”
But there’s no need to miss a run or a race just because you’re having your period. If you’re suffering from cramps, running often eases the pain,]. That’s thanks to the release of those amazing pain-relieving chemicals every runner loves called endorphins. Speedwork and hill sessions can be especially effective. To guard against leakage, try using a tampon and perhaps an extra liner for protection. Sometimes it’s best to get a little extra time warming up but beyond that, you’re good to go.
When is Mother Nature’s “Monthly gift” at its peak?
And ‘that time of the month’ (or the days leading up to it) is not the time when women run their worst. The hardest time for women to run fast is a during ovulation, which in most women means about a week before menstruation begins. That’s when levels of the key hormone progesterone peak, inducing a much-higher-than-normal breathing rate during exercise. All that extra ventilation tends to make our running feel more difficult.
Overdoing?
If you run so much that your periods become light or non-existent, you may be endangering your bones. Amenorrhoea (lack of a monthly period) means that little or none of the hormone oestrogen, essential for the replacement of bone minerals, is circulating in your body. Amenhorroeic women can stop, but not reverse, the damage by taking oestrogen and getting plenty of calcium. But it’s really best not to do this. You are endangering your future health and happiness, which is never the point of running. If your periods are infrequent or absent, consult a gynecologist, preferably one sensitive to the needs of athletes.
