Is BeingSeizure Free,
Worth Running
with Me?
Join my journey.
26 posts for 26 miles
26 posts for 26 miles
We can credit a lot of our success to our Grandparent’s generation. Marathon training and Epilepsy medication still rely heavily on things first introduced in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Fartlek running workouts were used by the Swedes to compete with the Flying Finn, Paavo Nurmi. Carbamezepine, aka Tegretol, was discovered by the Swiss in 1953 to help combat seizure disorders. Today, marathon training programs almost always include a strong dose of Super Fartleks, just as seizure patients are likely to be prescribed Carbamezepine. The Super Fartlek is my favorite workout to prepare for a marathon. The main goal of the workout is to play with your pace throughout a run, which fits the Swedish definition “play with speed”. The hardest thing in a race is to change your pace at a given mile, marker or surge. A Fartlek breaks down your resistance to this change because your body becomes comfortable moving between a relaxed pace and race pace. After a mile warm up the workout includes 5 sets of running 4-minutes fast followed by a 2-minute recovery. The “Super” comes from finishing the workout with 8 sprints for 1 minute on and off. After a Super Fartlek, you are sure to know how the Swedes could keep pace with Nurmi, the greatest distance runner of all time. Carbamezepine has become the go-to medication for Freeman’s epilepsy control. The main goal of Tegretol is to prevent the repetitive firing of Brain cells (aka voltage-gated sodium channels). Freeman has tested several different medications, but Tegretol has always provided the best control of his seizures. The side effects of taking the drug need to be closely monitored. Freeman has noticed the drug can decrease his fine motor skills or occasionally make his eyes cross. The most important part of the monitoring is to schedule periodic complete blood cell (CBC) tests. The results will track the interaction of the medication with important blood levels and the health of the liver. With Freeman’s success with Tegretol, it is easy to see why it is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Marathon training programs obviously cannot consist of a single workout, and seizure control is rarely controlled by a single drug. Marathon training must also include long runs, tempo runs and interval workouts. Freeman has found that seizure medications, like Tegretol, are often complemented by adding a secondary drug, like Vimpat. The key is to balance adding the different workouts or medicines. The table below shows how I like to add workouts to a typical 5-month marathon training plan. It allows your body to slowly adapt to the increased mileage, while providing enough challenging workouts to push your body to get faster. The Tempo workout requires running incrementally longer distances below race pace. This works to have your body eventually relaxed while running at your Marathon Goal Pace (MGP). Long runs are the bread and butter of improving your Marathon preparedness. Nothing better prepares the body for the length and time of the marathon than increasing what your body has run. Vimpat has similar benefits in the treatment of epilepsy. The doctors stress that epileptic medications are developed to take advantage of different delivery mechanisms in the body. Vimpat works in different ways to control other aspects of Freeman’s epilepsy. Removing one of Freeman’s medications creates different side effects. Balancing them has provided Freeman with a solid seizure prevention plan.
How do you know if you are improving? How do you know if your seizure medicines are appropriate? The body needs a regular check-in to answer these questions. An interval track workout or occasional hospital stay can respectively provide some much needed feedback. Running on the track is the best way to test your body over a controlled distance. Use the interval workouts to test your awareness on how your race pace feels. You can easily adjust your stride, breathing and effort to maintain the pace you want to run on race day. It is also a great way to build confidence by pushing yourself over a shorter distance to determine how much your body is improving. The hospital is a safe-haven for reevaluating the effectiveness of your prescribed medicines. Freeman has been admitted to a children’s hospital almost every 18 months. The benefit of his time in the hospital is that the doctors are better able to adjust the levels of his medication. Like the track interval, Freeman can test different medications in order to maintain his seizure control with the least amount of side effects. We have been able to eliminate medications and reduce the amount of pills by taking advantage of the controlled environment and care provided at the hospital. Training programs and prescribed medications help us improve toward our goals of running a marathon and being seizure free. No two runners or patients are the same. It takes time to determine what combination of workouts or medications work best for each individual. However, there are several tried and true methods we can all agree have helped improve our chances for success! Next up: Mile 4. Diets (Carbo loading… Ketogenic)
1 Comment
robyn Burgoon
5/9/2017 10:42:40 am
Wow. Kyle this is so amazing! I love everything you're doing-sharing your knowledge and your personal experience of running and training for a marathon and comparing/contrasting it to your very personal experience with epilepsy. I will follow your journey and wish you much success in your fundraising and spreading the word about epilepsy. Freeman's journey has not been easy, but having such devoted and dedicated parents and family have helped and encouraged him, I'm sure. Big hugs to you and your family-we sure miss you all! xo
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2017
Categories |