How to Combat Negative Stress - advice from a running coach

How Runners Reduce Stress

by Kathleen Lisson

Meditation can relieve stress in endurance athletes

Running coach Jason Fitzgerald wrote an excellent article detailing the two kinds of stress that endurance athletes face - the "eustress" positive stress of a rigorous training schedule and the "distress" negative stress of tension, anger, conflict, illness, grief and anxiety we can experience in our daily lives.  I liked that Coach Fitzgerald mentioned that runners will often just look to reduce stress from running with sport-specific items like foam rollers and compression socks instead of taking a big picture look at reducing the overall stress level of their lives. Two activities he recommended for long distance runners looking to reduce their negative stress included meditation and volunteering.

I agree! Both meditation and volunteering for Girls on the Run San Diego have reduced the stress I feel in my body and helped me to keep to an endurance runner's training schedule.

How do you reduce the distress in your life?

Read Coach Fitzgerald's article here: http://strengthrunning.com/2016/03/how-to-reduce-stress/

Learn how to treat chronic Hip, Shoulder and Back pain

Informational classes on treating 

chronic hip, shoulder and back pain at Sharp 

by Kathleen Lisson

I attended the 'Treating Chronic Hip Pain Seminar' at Sharp Rehabilitation Center today. Dr. Michael Muldoon spoke about the causes of hip pain - osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, post-trauma arthritis and avascular necrosis. I learned a lot about the hip replacement procedure as well as the physical therapy and strengthening exercises before and after surgery. I was surprised to learn that patients can leave the hospital two days after the surgery and walk 100 feet and climb at least one step before they are discharged. Dr. Muldoon stated that a lot of patients with hip problems have back pain as well, and back pain can be reduced after a hip replacement. After a hip replacement, patients can return to activities like swimming, walking, elliptical and cycling.

View upcoming informational seminars and classes here: http://www.sharp.com/health-classes/category/orthopedics-27

A runner's perspective - Lessons Learned from Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Three Lessons Learned from Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

by Kathleen Lisson


A month before I moved to San Diego with my husband, we traveled to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. In this video, I share three lessons I learned about myself as a result of training for an summitting the world's tallest freestanding mountain. My three lessons - the most valuable tool for mountain climbing, the importance of relying upon others to achieve goals and the wisdom in traveling at the speed of one's own body.

What does your running practice teach you about yourself?

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/bpz6aRx80FE

How to combat Runner's Burnout and silence the inner critical coach: VIDEO

How to Combat Runner's Burnout

by Kathleen Lisson

As a RRCA-certified running coach, I have spoken about runner's burnout with fellow runners and felt the effects of runner's burnout in my own running practice. In this video, I share one technique for combating runners burnout and explain the role of our inner critical coaches and compassionate coaches. 

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/xlU3C1uLz8w

Meditation may help "Chemo Brain"

Meditation may help side effects of cancer treatment

by Kathleen Lisson

Does meditation help "chemo brain?" According to an article in Science Daily titled 'Mindfulness-based stress reduction diminishes chemo brain,' an eight-week meditation program helped men and women with breast and colorectal cancer to reduce chemotherapy's negative affects on their ability to pay attention and complete cognitive tasks. Both groups are close to my heart because my paternal grandfather died of colon cancer and my mother died from breast cancer. 

The mPEAK class I took from the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness was based upon MBSR, the meditation program used in the study. UC San Diego offers MBSR programs to the public - check out their schedule here: 

http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/mindfulness/programs/mbsr/Pages/default.aspx 

Read the Science Daily article here: 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207131717.htm

Help! I pee when I run - How to stop urination during workouts

How to Stop Peeing During Running Workouts

by Kathleen Lisson

Physical Therapist Julie Wiebe shows female runners how to reduce urinary incontinence while running by changing their running posture in this video. 

As a half marathon runner, I have used pantyliners and folded toilet paper to keep my underwear relatively dry during long training runs. I am interested to see if changing my running position will reduce the leakage I have during exercise.

Watch Physical Therapist Julie Wiebe's video here: https://youtu.be/NtywY6DY-Us


Do you grip your abs when you run? Do you use your gluteus maximus to propel you forward or your hamstrings? Do you look at the horizon when you run?

A 45 minute Swedish Massage can help you stay healthier!

Results of a Study of the Effects of a Massage on the Immune System

by Kathleen Lisson, CMT, CLT

As a long distance runner, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my health so that I can stick to my training schedule.

The 1989 Loma Linda University study, 'Effects of Long-Endurance Running on Immune System Parameters and Lymphocyte Function in Experienced Marathoners' found that "exhaustive endurance exercise in marathon runners is associated with many significant perturbations in immune system parameters, most of which return to normal levels at 21 h of recovery." Even though I am not a marathon runner of ultrarunner, I am lowering or "perturbing" my immune system for an entire day after my long run. I want to do healthful things to improve my immune system the rest of the week.

I do not get a massage immediately after running, but I have included massage as one of my wellness practices, because of its positive effects on my immune system. A 2010 study from the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychaitry and Behavioral Neurosciences found that healthy adults can benefit from a single 45 minute Swedish massage.

According to the article, "Adults Demonstrate Modified Immune Response After Receiving Massage, Cedars-Sinai Researchers Show" on the Cedars-Sinai website, results included "significant changes in lymphocyes ...a large decrease in Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) a hormone believed to play a role in aggressive behavior and linked to helping cause increases in the stress hormone cortisol ...a decrease in levels of the stress hormone cortisol (and) ...a notable decrease in most cytokines produced by stimulated white blood cells.

Read more about the study here: https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-Us/News/News-Releases-2010/Adults-Demonstrate-Modified-Immune-Response-After-Receiving-Massage-Cedars-Sinai-Researchers-Show.aspx

The Abstract of 'A Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals' by Mark Hyman Rapaport, Pamela Schettler, and Catherine Bresee and published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine on October 2010 is here: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0634

What do you do to improve your immune system during your long distance running training?