Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Many people have enjoyed my 'The sweet series' Instagram posts. Some have liked the relevance of the information to their within-run fuelling, but most have really just enjoyed the comparisons. I compared the amount of carbohydrate between gels (e.g. Gu ) and common snacks ( lolly snakes  [Image 1], muesli bars , glucogel jellybeans , jellybelly jelly beans , skittles , dates and red frogs ). I also outlined how much of each snack you need to consume to meet the equivalent amount of carbohydrate found in one gel. Image 1 : Lolly snakes were yummy but really impractical! Each of my posts included a pros and cons list related to the consumption of each snack during a one hour high intensity run, ending in a rating out of 5 stars. I didn't include any comments on how the consumption of each lolly impacted my performance because performance is influenced by m...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. There are people who insist on eating before a run to feel energised and prevent the dreaded mid-run "bonk" (no, not that kind of bonk...) and those who absolutely refuse to eat to avoid tummy upsets and hope for the best. Both of these runners will use stored carbohydrate, which comes from food consumed in meals consumed in the hours and days before the run. Regardless of whether you eat before a run or not, your run is going to use carbohydrate/carbs (sugars) to fuel your muscles. Therefore, getting the most out of your running depends on the food you consume, and don't consume, at times when you aren't running too. Those who make sure they get sufficient carbohydrate in their diet throughout the days leading up to their run will likely get more out of their running. Eating to run: How much carbohydrate should I eat each day? There's plenty of e...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. What is “running power”? Let’s start with an analogy:  You are walking in the park and feel water beginning to drop lightly on your shoulders. That’s OK, a little rain never hurt anyone and it’s certainly not going to stop you going for a walk in your favourite park on such a beautiful, sunny day. Wait…sunny? Yes, it’s a warm, sunny day. The temperature and the absence of clouds in the sky, together with your choice of summer outfit and knowledge that today is meant to be sunny, conflict with the feeling of raindrops on your shoulders. Ah, it rained last night! Those drops must just be left over rain falling from the leaves of the trees above you. The above example shows that, when coming to a conclusion, we can use one piece of information (feeling of rain drops = raining) or many pieces of information (sunny and warm day ≠ raining). Often, the more informa...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Running and walking solo means silly finish-line selfies are a must! Finally we have been given some freedom when it comes to running events. What?!? I hear you say. I know, it's ironic really with all the COVID19 restrictions and all. But what I mean is that we finally have the freedom to participate in running events at a time and place that we choose. No more getting up at 4am to get into the city in time to start my marathon on a rainy, miserable Melbourne Marathon day. I hear mothers and shift workers everywhere yell  "Halleluiah! I can compete in my run and be back in time for when the kids wake up/my shift starts!"  Personally, I have noticed that suddenly I'm not overcome with the guilt associated with taking half a day out from mum duties to prepare, attend and participate in a fun run (although the atmosphere, and lack of snotty noses, is p...