Att Runners: How much running is too much?

natalyau
natalyau Posts: 18
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi guys,

I am a bit peeved at my Boyfriend and his Dad who have told me off for my long runs which is a bit of a downer as I have really been enjoying challenging myself! They say it could cause infertility in the future and I should not do more then 10 km. I am going to the docs on Friday for a general check up so I will ask her but would like to know what you guys think anyways

I am 23, and healthy weight for my height and eat healthy. I am trying to train for a 1/2 marathon for early next year, started a bit early.

I started at 8km being my longest run in September and have gradually trained up to running 22km. I run a long run 19-20+km on Mondays, a 6 km Wednesdays and a 15-18km on Fridays. All done in the Forest so on average its about 400-700m uphill. On the rest I walk or jog for 3-6 km with my dog. I consider my doggy walks as my rest day but sometimes will have an actual lazy day.

I would like to keep doing long distance runs so I hope the boys are wrong.

So how much is too much and is unhealthy?

Thanks

Replies

  • learnerdriver
    learnerdriver Posts: 298 Member
    Why do they think running or distances affects fertility? I think a bigger reason is body fat%- either too low or too high can be a problem.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    Why is your boyfriend's dad talking to you about your fertility?


    creepy
  • chard_muncher
    chard_muncher Posts: 75 Member
    Head out for a long run and never go back...

    As an answer to your question, I believe Tim Noakes (Lore of Running) puts forth some data suggesting that running more than 10 hours per week seriously increases your chances of overtraining. That's the only figure I can recall.
  • runner_girl83
    runner_girl83 Posts: 553 Member
    As long as you are having resting/slow days I wouldn't think there would be any problems.
    Strange that they thing that. I wish I had been as fit as you before I had my children - If anything I think it would put your body in the best health for when you want to have children. I wish I had exercised during pregnancy too! Don't listen to them, unless they can prove their theories and enjoy your exercise :)
  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
    Hi guys,

    I am a bit peeved at my Boyfriend and his Dad who have told me off for my long runs which is a bit of a downer as I have really been enjoying challenging myself! They say it could cause infertility in the future and I should not do more then 10 km. I am going to the docs on Friday for a general check up so I will ask her but would like to know what you guys think anyways

    I am 23, and healthy weight for my height and eat healthy. I am trying to train for a 1/2 marathon for early next year, started a bit early.

    I started at 8km being my longest run in September and have gradually trained up to running 22km. I run a long run 19-20+km on Mondays, a 6 km Wednesdays and a 15-18km on Fridays. All done in the Forest so on average its about 400-700m uphill. On the rest I walk or jog for 3-6 km with my dog. I consider my doggy walks as my rest day but sometimes will have an actual lazy day.

    I would like to keep doing long distance runs so I hope the boys are wrong.

    So how much is too much and is unhealthy?

    Thanks

    Worth a read: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/running-and-fertility-the-facts/2805.html
    The ladies

    There’s little research into how the running mileage of the mother might affect the gender of their children, but research does exist to suggest that, unlike male runners, some female runners are putting their ability to conceive at risk. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, as many as 44 per cent of athletic women experience changes in their menstrual cycle, or have seen their periods stop altogether (amenorrhoea) at some time.

    The symptoms may be there but female runners sometimes assume that, even though their periods may have stopped, they’re healthy in other ways thanks to their running. In truth amenorrhoea can lead to infertility and a loss of bone density. In the short term that might mean more stress fractures, but in the long term difficulty conceiving and the early onset of osteoporosis are also possibilties.

    In the 1970s experts thought amenorrhoea was linked to weight loss or low body fat but that view has since changed. Now an energy imbalance is thought to be the key: "We think that these women are in a ‘low-energy’ state, meaning they are expending more calories than they are replenishing with dietary intake," says Professor Anne Loucks of Ohio University in the USA. The theory goes that if there isn’t enough energy for the body to function well on every level, it prioritises, using available calories to get you through your 10-mile training run rather than maintain reproductive function.

    The good news is that experts believe the infertility associated with amenorrhoea is reversible when menstruation resumes. The key to reproductive and skeletal health is making sure your energy availability is maintained at around 45 calories per kilogram of fat-free mass per day (cal/kgFFM/day) when you’re training. You can determine your fat-free mass with electrical impedance body composition scales. Dip below 30cal/kgFFM/day and reproductive and skeletal health are impaired. A large proportion of the women analysed by Loucks fell below this critical level.

    Diets high in carbohydrate and low in fat can also exacerbate the problem. One study found that a daily exercise expenditure of 840 calories (equivalent to an eight- to nine-mile run) on a 62 per cent carbohydrate diet reduced energy availability to a critically low level of 21cal/kgFFM/day.

    You can work out your energy availability by adding up the number of calories you eat during the day, as well as the number you use during exercise (most heart rate monitors have reasonably accurate calorie counters, or visit www.caloriecounter.co.uk). Subtract the latter from the former and divide this by your fat-free weight. If you discover you have less than 30cal/kgFFM/day, it’s time to reconsider your diet and training.

    Ensuring you consume enough calories to fuel every session should be part of any long-term approach to running – then with any luck you should still be going strong if Isla, or your own little runner, does decide to make her marathon debut.
  • scottwhitten
    scottwhitten Posts: 1
    Make sure you are having your normal menstrual cycle. Also notice if you seem to be catching colds and other illnesses more frequently. If either of those two things are off, back-off your running a little and make sure you are eating nutritionally dense food and get enough rest between running sessions. Many runners runners, especially women need more iron to keep healthy RBC counts. If you feel the urge to chew on ice that can be a clue that you need more iron.
    There is not a set number of miles or time running that is right for everyone. Your genetics, training age and lifestyle will determine your upper limit of training. They key to running is to build volume slowly and consistently as the heart, lungs and muscles respond to the stimulus faster than the bones and connective tissue. A lot of people are not patient enough to callus their bodies slowly. It is also wise to balance your running with resistance training and stretching/foam rolling.
    Running can be a very healthy activity. Your father-in-law's claim that 10km is too much for women is not supported by the scientific evidence I have seen or my experience coaching women for over 15 years. In fact, the longer the distance run the more the women close the performance gap to men. It is not unheard of a woman beating the boys overall in ultra-running events. At events like the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships I can think of Paula Newby-Frasier, Chrissy Wellington, Miranda Carfree and Erwin Baker that have posted top 10 overall marathon times among all pros (men included).
    Be sensible and get regular check ups with your doctor and you should be fine.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Why is your boyfriend's dad talking to you about your fertility?


    creepy
    This
  • natalyau
    natalyau Posts: 18
    Why is your boyfriend's dad talking to you about your fertility?


    creepy
    This

    Lol We have been together for ever, He is just as much my dad as my partners and he wants grandbabies. But yes your right.

    And thanks to everyone's input!
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    As long as you're eating enough and resting enough, run as much as you'd like. My body is very good at telling me when I am running too much :)
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    As long as you're eating enough and resting enough, run as much as you'd like. My body is very good at telling me when I am running too much :)

    This! As long as you are giving the body fuel and recovery time, and not injuring yourself, you'll be ok. There are aultra runners that run over 100 miles a week and are in great shape.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    you seriously need to TELL THEM WHERE TO GO!
    NOW!
    Run all bloody day if you want to.
  • yogamoods
    yogamoods Posts: 9
    That is the craziest thing to be told!!! I ran a marathon when my frist child was 2 years old. I ran throughout all my pregnancies, and ran a marathon when my youngest was 9 months old. Many of my friends run 100 mile races --with no ill effects on their fertility. Don't listen to crazy criticism. Unless you don't feel well, ignore that.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    There's no known correlation between the two, what they may be concerned about relates - from what I understand - to body fat and menstrual cycles. One of the evolutionary responses the human body has when it thinks it's being starved is to interrupt menstrual cycles which kind of makes sense - you don't want more mouths to feed during a famine.

    My understanding is that this affects a very small number of women (they are usually high performance athletes with incredibly low body fat %) and anorexics.

    ETA: "too much running" is an oxymoron!:laugh:
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,661 Member
    Hi guys,

    I am a bit peeved at my Boyfriend and his Dad who have told me off for my long runs which is a bit of a downer as I have really been enjoying challenging myself! They say it could cause infertility in the future and I should not do more then 10 km. I am going to the docs on Friday for a general check up so I will ask her but would like to know what you guys think anyways

    I am 23, and healthy weight for my height and eat healthy. I am trying to train for a 1/2 marathon for early next year, started a bit early.

    I started at 8km being my longest run in September and have gradually trained up to running 22km. I run a long run 19-20+km on Mondays, a 6 km Wednesdays and a 15-18km on Fridays. All done in the Forest so on average its about 400-700m uphill. On the rest I walk or jog for 3-6 km with my dog. I consider my doggy walks as my rest day but sometimes will have an actual lazy day.

    I would like to keep doing long distance runs so I hope the boys are wrong.

    So how much is too much and is unhealthy?

    Thanks

    I would be slightly more concerned with something else here OP.

    Consider the following: God forbid, you have trouble conceiving in the future, it will be YOUR running that will be blamed for the problem regardless as to the real reason. Couple do have problems conceiving, many of which the problems are never discovered - it just happens. If it were that your boyfriend or husband had the problem, it will still all be blamed on your running and the amount you are running - why? because that is what they believe and they will discount any other possibilities because it will suit them to do so.

    Personally, for what it is worth, I say to you, good luck in your HM next year, I do not think you have started too early training for that either, I think you are spot on with what you are doing and being intelligent with your training plan, I sincerely hope you run to your personal goals and enjoy every minute of it all.

    Regarding your other half and his dad's opinions and beliefs on what long distance running can do for fertility (or lack of it), consider this.... if you stop running because of that reason, it is a cast iron certainty that somewhere down the line, in the future, you will begin to resent them both, why? because they had a hand in controlling what you so enjoyed doing.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    Hi guys,

    I am a bit peeved at my Boyfriend and his Dad who have told me off for my long runs which is a bit of a downer as I have really been enjoying challenging myself! They say it could cause infertility in the future and I should not do more then 10 km. I am going to the docs on Friday for a general check up so I will ask her but would like to know what you guys think anyways

    I am 23, and healthy weight for my height and eat healthy. I am trying to train for a 1/2 marathon for early next year, started a bit early.

    I started at 8km being my longest run in September and have gradually trained up to running 22km. I run a long run 19-20+km on Mondays, a 6 km Wednesdays and a 15-18km on Fridays. All done in the Forest so on average its about 400-700m uphill. On the rest I walk or jog for 3-6 km with my dog. I consider my doggy walks as my rest day but sometimes will have an actual lazy day.

    I would like to keep doing long distance runs so I hope the boys are wrong.

    So how much is too much and is unhealthy?

    Thanks

    It's better for you than driving...
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/29/saudi-arabia-women-drivers-ovaries

    BF% is your bigger concern. THAT'S the main reason women have higher healthy BF% than men.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    IBID -- what others said.
    My wife has run about 40 miles a week average since we met and we have two sons. No trouble conceiving whatsoever.
  • natalyau
    natalyau Posts: 18
    I love you guys! Thank you for your input!
  • Lexandreia
    Lexandreia Posts: 82
    If it makes you happy then run as much as you want as long as you aren't pushing yourself to injury. I know this sounds weird but you running might make them uncomfortable because they can't share that experience with you. Or that they're slightly envious that you can do something they can't. My best friend absolutely loathes running and hates it when I do because it's not something he's interested in and doing so would just make him miserable. I'm the same with his video games. We both get it and it's totally ok.
  • nathalier71
    nathalier71 Posts: 570 Member
    Why is your boyfriend's dad talking to you about your fertility?


    creepy

    I agree! Weird!

    Running doesn't cause infertility - that's ridiculous. If your bodyfat % is too low - now that's a different story... but running?!

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