Cross Country Runner.. bad cramps? and what to eat before a 8am practice

Question

i am a cross country runner and lately when i run i get a terrible pain right above my collar bone almost under it.. its very painful and ive tried running through it but it never goes away.. anyone know any way to prevent this cramp or to get rid of it??

also i have practices at 8am what can i eat before it? i have these kids clif bars i eat but thats for regular practice that isnt so early.. or should i eat anything at all? thanks!

Answer 1

Eat a banana 1-2 hours before you run. For the shoulder cramps try to strech it. Also it's because your using a muscle you shouldn't be using. Drink water before you run.

Answer 2

i have practice tomorrow at 7am ):  im going to try and wake up at 5:30 and stretch and eat some fruit and a protein shake  

Answer 3

I'm not sure I agree with the answers above. I also practice at 8 every morning with my cross team. Most people on my team eat little to nothing before the run, and thats alright. If you need something, then I would recommend half a banana maybe half hour to an hour before the run. Feel free to eat or drink whatever healthy foods and fluids you can eat; everybody is different hear. Some people can't eat or drink anything for a long period before they run, just because there system can't handle it. I've also seen a teammate drinking soda and eating cheese-its before a race  (this is just dumb, regardless of who you are). Figure out what your body can handle, and go with that.

Avoid fatty foods. Make sure what you do eat, if anything, is easily digestible and your body is used to it. As far as liquids, just drink water. All the sugar in sports drinks will just make things like cramping worse. Certain electrolytes in sports drinks are indeed helpful, but unless you have just worked out you should already have them in you. Go ahead and drink those sports drinks afterwards to replenish the lost electrolytes, but I've run for a long time now and I've run with a great number of outstanding athletes, and I've never seen them drinking a bunch of Gatorade before a run.

Be cautious of drinking too much water before running, as you can indeed flush the electrolytes and other important elements out of your system. A teammate of mine once passed out at the end of a race due to this.

As far as the cramps, a lot of runners have a tendency to hunch up there shoulders while they run. Not only does this decrease the efficiency of your form, it also makes you much more prone to experience things like shoulder cramps. Drop your shoulders down, relaxing your muscles, and make a motion with your hands like you're taking something from your back pocket. This should help.  

Answer 4

If you're an early bird like me, Wake up about 1.5 hours before practice.  Eat one banana when you wake up, for potassium, and at 7:00 drink 8 ounces of fluid, water is best.  Increase the amount of fluid and for the longer runs, try sports drinks to replace electrolytes.  As for the shoulder cramps, try to loosen up your arms with stretching and plyometrics.

Answer 5

I am also a distance runner.

From what I've heard your collar bone cramp is similar to the dreaded side stitch.

What I would personally do is eat dinner at normal 7pmish time and then a snack before you go to bed.

In the morning have a nice glass of orange juice and perhaps a banana (For an 8pm practice this should be done before 7) because potassium is good for preventing cramps.

Answer 6

Hey I know what you mean! I used to get those cramps, you just need to keep breathing, big breathes and in a 3:2 ratio. That's Inhale (Left foot) Inhale (right) inhale (left) exhale (right) exhale (left). I usually don't even eat 6 hours before a run and I run a 15:02 Three mile. Hope that helped

Answer 7

Sometimes when my team practices at 7 a.m. I usually don't eat anything.

But if you really feel the need to eat something the rule of thumb is eat something about 2 hours before you run.

If you decide not to eat anything try waking up a little later so you aren't as hungry when you run. Or just eat really light like a piece of toast or something just to hold you over.