Run Well by Juliet McGrattan (reading books for 5 year olds .TXT) 📕

getting central chest pain. The coach at my running club advised me to get it checked out by my GP. I was subsequently diagnosed with a very rare heart condition that I’d been born with. Just over a year after my open heart surgery, I ran in my first ever 5km race, having slowly regained my fitness through rehabilitation and running.

Lisa Huddleston, mum, nurse and farmer

Q I get really cold, white fingers when I run in the winter. My gran says it’s bad circulation.

A Your gran is partly right. This sounds like Raynaud’s Disease. There is plenty of blood reaching your hands, so there is nothing wrong with your circulation per se, but what happens in Raynaud’s is that the tiny blood vessels in your fingers constrict and spasm in response to the cold, reducing blood flow. This can happen to toes, ears and noses too. It can be very frustrating for runners, especially during the winter months, because as well as turning white and blue, fingers can go numb, making pressing sports watch buttons or retying shoe laces really tricky. It can also be painful when the blood returns to the fingers as they warm up again. The best bet is to try to stop your hands getting cold in the first place with insulated gloves, glove liners and warmers, and making sure your whole body is warm.

Q Can I exercise with varicose veins?

A Varicose veins are swollen veins near the surface of the skin. They can be straight or wiggly, narrow or wide and are dark blue in colour. They may not cause any symptoms at all but sometimes they can ache, throb, itch or even bleed. Varicose veins develop when blood backs up in a vein. This usually happen when the valves inside the vein, which are designed to prevent back-flow of blood, become weak. Valves weaken with age but being overweight or spending lots of time on your feet increases your risk too. The changing female hormones during pregnancy and the menopause cause relaxation of the vein walls which can make them swell. There’s often a genetic link too so you might be able to blame your parents for your varicose veins.

Exercise helps to reduce the chance of developing varicose veins and you shouldn’t stop exercising if you develop them. Regular exercise is an important part of treatment. It works the lower leg muscles which act as a pump, pushing blood back up the veins to the heart. If your legs ache or your varicose veins are more swollen, painful or tender after exercise then it’s a sign you have done too much. Elevate your legs for half an hour to ease any discomfort. Off-road running can be more comfortable than high-impact road running. There’s little evidence that low grade sports compression socks will stop varicose veins getting any worse but they may make you feel more comfortable. If you knock a delicate vein it may bleed. Don’t be alarmed. Elevate your leg and press firmly over the bleeding point with a clean cloth. If the bleeding doesn’t seem to be reducing after a few minutes then seek medical help.

Q I gave blood yesterday. Can I run today?

A It’s best to wait 24 hours after donating. You can then run if you feel OK, but do bear in mind that you have donated just under a pint of blood, which is 10 per cent of your total blood volume. The body quickly tops up the plasma (fluid) in your bloodstream to maintain your blood pressure, but the red blood cells, which are required to transport oxygen around the body, can take six to 12 weeks to return to normal levels. Try a short, easy run and see how you go. If you feel weak, light-headed or out of breath, then take a few days’ rest, drink plenty of fluids and eat iron-rich foods to help red blood cell formation. Remember that your performance will be affected for two to three weeks after you’ve given blood, so plan your donations during the recovery time after a race rather than in the weeks before. It’s also useful to know that the blood service ask that you don’t do strenuous exercise just before you donate. This is to ensure you are well hydrated and rested to prevent light headedness during donation and help you recover more quickly afterwards.

Real-life runners

I gave my 30th blood donation and decided that the half marathon three days later would be OK if I just went steady. The wheels came off at nine miles into the Conwy Half Marathon. My energy drained away totally. I found myself jogging slowly back, being passed by all my club mates, who looked puzzled as to why I was so much slower than usual. The last four miles seemed to take about a week to cover...

Graeme, UKA group leader, co-founder of Crewe parkrun

Did you know?

It’s the haemoglobin in red blood cells that gives them their red colour. Normal levels for a male are 130-180g/L and 115-165g/L for a female.

Q I’ve heard running can give you low iron levels. Should all runners take iron supplements?

A Iron is essential for the high demands of running. It’s not uncommon for athletes to be deficient in iron, which can have a negative effect on performance. You would assume, therefore, that all runners should take iron. There are situations where iron supplements are a good idea, but there are others where this may be harmful. If we explore the theory behind it, things become clearer.

Iron is required to make haemoglobin, the component of the red blood cell which carries oxygen around the body. Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow. Each red cell survives about 100 days, so new ones are constantly being produced. When red blood cell numbers drop below a certain level, then a person is said to be anaemic. You can become anaemic for two reasons: either you aren’t