Marathons are fun, right? We all know that after marathon muscles are quite sore for a couple of days. But, there are happening a lot more than muscles fatigue and soreness. Following things might sound crazy and scary, especially if you are a beginner or just planning to run a marathon. Remember, everything is temporary and overall feelings during the marathon and after crossing the finish line beats everything else.
you are smarter
Running increase positive neurotransmitters; endorphins and serotonins, and the brain goes in an alpha-wave state. These together increase our mood, but they are also found to increase problem-solving capability. Simplified, you will be smarter.
You can lose a little bit over 1cm of your height. Fluid loss in intervertebral disks (spine) causes temporarily shortness. In addition to being shorter, you can lose 2-5kg of weight. This also caused by water loss, which will revert once you get fluids and food back in.
Running nose is common for some runners. When breathing more, the nose is hyperactive and start to produce mucous, which is often watery. This is also called runners hay fever or exercise-induced rhinitis.
Other “nice” things
Besides you become smarter and short, there are other not so pleasant things. Blisters, missing/black toenails and chafing are common for runners. Good shock and shoes, as well as anti-chafing cream, helps a lot, but sometimes things happen. Men can also get nipple bleeding, but a bandage often prevents this. Sunburns! Remember to wear sunscreen, there are many good brands that are designed for sports and sweating.
Short-term kidney injuries and slowed digestive system; abdominal pain, diarrhea and bloating. These can partly avoid testing the products before hands. But, even your energy supplements are familiar sometimes things happen and our digestive system wants to play around. When this happens during the marathon, slow down the pace and take a little break from the energy drinks and other products.
Heart rate rise, lungs pick up pace and body temperature rise too. Besides that our body temperature rises, sometimes marathon runners can suffer hypothermia, especially if the weather is cold, windy and rainy. Put enough clothes on. Whereas overheating can happen in hot conditions and when water intake is too small.
Jeans are tight for the next day. Sometimes legs can be swollen after the marathon, even we lost a big amount of fluids. But once we start to take drink more and recover, a slight swelling can appear. This will be temporary.
Marathon running does a lot of damage to our body, that’s why you should not run them each weekend. Proper recovery decreases future injury risk.