LEISURE
music
A FEEL-GOOD RX
M
usic works like a drug, says Daniel J. Levitin, a neuroscientist from McGill University who wrote “This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.”
Do you dare run an
ultramarathon? ULTRARUNNING REQUIRES: • time commitment to training
He told the New York Times “listening to music with others causes the release of oxytocin, a chemical associated with feelings of trust and bonding. That’s partly why music listeners become so connected to the artists they like. Plus, the nucleus accumbens – the brain’s wellknown pleasure center – modulates levels of dopamine, the so-called feel-good hormone. “Lots of people use music for emotional regulation,” Levitin continues. “It’s similar to the way people use drugs such as caffeine and alcohol: they play a certain kind of music to help get them going in the morning, another kind to unwind after work. Brain surgeons perform their most concentration-intensive procedures while music plays in the background.” Lawrence Chin MD, chairman of neurosurgery at Upstate, listens to music during operations. “I have an eclectic mix that includes classic rock, 70s, 80s, and 90s pop, some jazz and a tiny bit of rap,” he says. “I like music that is upbeat and energetic. I find it relaxing during a difficult case because it provides some relief from a tense part of the case. During very routine portions of the case, it helps break the monotony.”
• gradual increase in distance • adequate rest • learning about nutrition and hydration • awareness of your body’s signals • understanding that it’s OK to stop running and walk during a race • being friendly, supportive of others • fortitude to keep going
T
“
hey’re not as hard as I think people think they are,” says Ryan O’Dell, 26, a neuroscience and physiology MD/PhD student at Upstate who runs 65 to 90 miles per week. An ultramarathon is any distance greater than the 26.2 miles of a marathon. O’Dell compares ultras to feats of every day life, such as the quest for medical and doctoral degrees. When the going gets tough, you take a breather, “and then you get up and carry on,” he says. O’Dell was the slow kid on the high school track and cross country teams. Today he realizes that “in these ultras you can do really well at a slower pace if you keep that pace.” He began college at the University of Rochester intent on focusing on his studies. But he missed running. He began signing up for 5Ks, then 10Ks and half marathons. By Thanksgiving of his sophomore year, he completed a marathon. Then he began tackling ultras. His first 100-mile race was in 2007. Two years
later, he ran 250 miles from Syracuse to New Haven, Ct., to propose to Nilda Alicia-Velazquez, now his wife. “She was very surprised,” he recalls. If you want to tackle an ultra-marathon, O’Dell advises building your training from a solid base. He prefers doing two “long” runs of 18 to 24 miles each on backto-back days “so you get your legs used to running when they’re tired.” Overuse injuries such as shin splints and plantar fasciitis are one of the biggest dangers of ultrarunning, so increase your mileage gradually. Rest is also important, so your muscles can recover. “I take a day off a week, sometimes two,” O’Dell says. “Otherwise, you are just breaking down muscle constantly without building it up.” He says ultrarunners have to train themselves to eat and drink before hunger or thirst sets in. Over time they will learn what works for them. Some runners strictly ingest a certain number of calories per hour; others go with their cravings. When the race begins and everyone blasts off quickly, O’Dell says it’s tempting to try to stay with the pack. Resist that urge. Let them go, and tell yourself you’ll see them in 60 miles, O’Dell says, adding, “You want to run your own race.”
Ryan O’Dell ran 200 miles from Jeffersonville, Vermont to Burlington in June 2011. In July, he competed at a ski park in New Jersey, repeatedly running up and down a 1 ½-mile 1,100-foot climb. “That kind of drained me, so I figured I’d take August off,” he says.
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U P S TAT E H E A LT H
winter 2012
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