One question posed often by my track runners is about protein shakes. Do they really work? Will they work for me?

The truth is that, as a runner, you do need more protein than most people. In fact, you require about twice as much as the typical couch potato.

But an average runner doesn’t need as much protein as a shake holds. Muscle recovery demands about .7 grams of protein per lb. of body weight. Most people already get this much through their diet. Your chicken dinner, in addition to the milk from breakfast and the peanut butter sandwich you had for lunch, is sufficient.

Your body can absorb more protein than this in a day, but still only about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight*. Any protein beyond that point just leaves your body with urine. And if that protein comes form an expensive shake, you’re literally pissing your money away.

If you’re a runner and concerned about building muscle, where your protein comes from isn’t as important as when you pack it in. There’s a half-hour window after workouts when your body is craving carbs and protein. A turkey sandwich or peanut-butter covered banana will give it what it needs. And chocolate milk. God bless the inventor of chocolate milk.

*This excludes whey protein, which can be absorbed in greater quantities.

I am very proud of my runners. Wednesday I joined them for some uphill 400m repeats. It was a tough workout, and they did admirably. One story, which deserves special mention here, surrounds a kid we’ll call Connor.

First, let me introduce Connor the runner. Conner is a new entrant into the running fold. He used to be a wrestler, and he’s still built like one (or perhaps a tree stump). He has crippling asthma and carries an inhaler on our longer runs. The boy is SLOW. He does, however, get the distance in.

You can see why I’m moved by his struggles- struggles being the key word here.

On the day in question, Connor was struggling to keep his feet beneath him. We had done four out of the five reps, and an inhaler-less runner stood bent over on the road. He wheezed into the oversized shirt he was clasping to his mouth. Clouds of steam were rolling off his wide shoulders. I asked if he was okay for one more, and his head swiveled in the negative. I told him to jog back to school, that he should feel good about today’s workout. He watched us take the line for one last sprint, watched us get into position, watched my signal to start.

Then, with a glorious bellow of “FUUUUUUCK!”, Connor chased the group up the hill. He joined us for one last repeat, and completed the workout with the rest of the team.

As I peeled post-workout Connor off the asphalt, I asked him why he needed to do the last repeat. He squinted at me, as if the answer was obvious.

“No one quits with one left,” he said.

Connor may have some potential after all.

“Coach B., is it okay to pee blood after a run?”

The question came from a high school runner as he scrutinized the contents of his urinal. It looked like pink lemonade, and he remarked in a chagrined sort of way on this resemblance.

As I examined the offending piss, rather chagrined myself, another runner interjected. “Oh, don’t worry about it. It happens to me after soccer games sometimes.”

I wasn’t so sure. I had never peed blood after a run, and I’ve been on some pretty demanding runs. I was concerned enough to do some research… for both of their sakes.

It turns out the second runner, the soccer player, was correct; peeing blood after exercise really isn’t too uncommon. It’s called Haematuria, and it often happens to active humans. In fact, samples taken from marathoners post-race have returned 20-30% positive results (Lam). The difference is in how much blood is in the pee. Most of the time, it can’t be seen with the naked eye. Humans, being visual creatures, don’t panic until they can actually see the red blood cells leaving their body.

Some people seem more susceptible to this more alarming phenomenon than others. Why that is, physiologists still debate. Some possibilities include:

1. Damaged red blood cells in the feet from impact with the ground. Don’t worry- this doesn’t happen to everyone. It seems to only affect people with unusually fragile red blood cells (Dr. Andrew Bosch).

2. Dehydration. One of the oldest and most pervasive enemies to runners, it may be the root of yet another malady.

3. A whole host of other things, including…

“…renal ischaemia (lack of adequate blood flow to the kidneys), hypoxic damage, the release of a haemolyzing factor during exercise, bladder and/or kidney trauma associated with exertion, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs… and the peroxidation of red blood cells which is an inevitable feature of sustained aerobic exercise

(‘Sport-Related Haematuria: A Review,’ Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, Volume 7(2), pp. 119-125, 1997).

So if you’re seeing blood after your runs, you probably still want to consult a doctor- but don’t, as I would have, get too worked up over it.

Glad I didn’t have any pictures this time?

I thought this article from Runner’s World deserved mention, partly because it’s amusing and partly because it raises a good point. Apparently Cranston, a small town in Rhode Island, recently discovered that almost 700 of its 2600 stop sign were placed by a citizen, without the town’s authorization. That’s more than a quarter of Cranston’s stop signs!

Like Mr. Remy, I hesitate to assume that this is the work of a runner. But if you run in a town without conspicuously abundant signs, you probably understand how this would benefit us athletes.

The law, at least in my native state’s law, says that pedestrians pretty much have the right of way, unless they’re jaywalking or doing something stupid. But we run in a country that values comfort. This has led to our dependence on cars and an our diminished sense of priority. A dangerous combination, that. Among the dangers is indifference to traffic laws. After all, what is a speed limit when Bill is late for work? How can you expect Nicole to yield when Dancing with the Stars has already started?

In the suburbs where I run, pedestrian safety seems to be most drivers’ lowest priority. I could ennumerate their small (and not-so-small) transgressions against me, but you’re a runner- you understand. Hell, everyone knows how thoughtless humans are when behind the wheel. Suffice it to say that there are many towns in the US that would benefit from a few illegal stop signs.

Between student teaching and preparing myself for my first real job screening, I’ve been pretty busy. The days have whirled by with little time to focus on anything but my future.

And that is precisely why I’m running a marathon tomorrow. I’m going to take a break from it all, plot out a 26.2 mile loop, and run it. No official course or timers or anything– just the Turtlerunner Lone Marathon. I’ve been training at such high mileage that a marathon doesn’t seem too intimidating. At least, not at a turtle’s pace.