Runner's Web Digest - March 12, 2004

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Our latest column from Carmichael Training Systems is available:
Triathlon: Training Out Of A Suitcase By Stefan Timms.
Check it out at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html

The new issue of Tour de France Times, which features a remembrance to
the great Italian cyclist Marco Pantani, has just been published.
The 65th issue of TFT also includes an essay written by journalist and
publisher Chuck Woodbury, a friend who accompanied me to the Tour de
France two years ago. Plus, there's usual array of diverse features, web
site links and notes and quotes from the peloton.
Check it out at:
http://www.byjamesraia.com/index.php?page=france&getnum=28


Digest Article Index:

1. Ten tools to speed workout recovery and gain performance
2. Where There Is a Will to Gain an Edge, Athletes Find a Way
3. Palestinian Runner Training for Olympics
4. Why You Need Fat
5. Nutrition and Recovery – getting it right:
6. From Runner's World
7. Pros at Work - Joe Henderson
8. The long, lonely road to oblivion:
Marco Pantani, adored by thousands when he won the Tour de France, died last
month, alone in a hotel room and surrounded
by drugs
9. Steroids and sports: A dangerous mix?
10. End-of-winter running gusto brings increased risk of overuse injury
11. Running Times Training Tips
12. Some Experts Say Cut Fat In Small Steps
13. Macrobiotic dieters buck low-carb trend
14. Americans Drive, Watch TV More Than Exercise-Study
15. Fitness, nutrition, rest are best immune-system boosters
16. US Cracks Down on 'Andro' Performance Supplement
17. Speedo goes top secret to develop suit
18. Stretching and Strengthening Exercises for Iliotibial Band Syndrome
19. Finding a Magic Bullet: Can Training Reduce Knee Injuries in Female
Athletes?
20. News Scan


This week's poll is: "What was your level of interest in the recent World Indoor
Athletics Championships?"

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The previous poll was: "How should Olympic athletes be selected?"

The results at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. A formula based on performance over a year 32 28%
2. Multiple trials events 42 37%
3. One trials event 37 33%
4. Picked by the coaches 2 2%
Total Votes: 113

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Five Star Site of the Week: BeginnerTriathlete.com
"Who We Are:
The average Joe dedicated to bringing people into this great sport with
programs, tools and lots and lots of help!"
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FrontPage.

Book of the Week: Better Training for Distance Runners-2nd Edition.
By David Martin, Peter Coe.
Better Training for Distance Runners provides a prescription for success for
today’s competitive distance runners and
their coaches. The book combines recent research, sound training principles, and
proven program strategies to improve
performance in events ranging from the 800-meters to the marathon.
Runners and coaches will find it easy to apply the book’s cutting-edge
information about running physiology and
biomechanics. They’ll receive straightforward advice for conditioning and
competing in the whole range of distance
events. The book also covers many popular topics in running, including how to:
• accurately assess running fitness,
• gauge training intensity,
• adjust training loads to achieve peak readiness for competition,
• determine the most effective racing strategy for each event, and
• stay healthy throughout a running career.
For more information and to buy the book:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=0880115\
300

Be sure to check out our Flash Page where we list all recent additions to
the Runner's Web. This page is updated before Monday morning each week.


This Weeks News:

Articles:

1. Ten tools to speed workout recovery and gain performance:
Spring is the time of year when many athletes ramp up their training in order to
prepare for racing. Athletes should
also ramp up their recovery habits to stay in balance.
Overreaching is required to stimulate your body to adapt. Full recovery is
required to allow that adaptation to take
place. Partial or no recovery leads to partial adaptation, lack of performance
gains and eventually, overtraining.
The quicker and more complete your recovery from a workout, the faster you can
move on to your next quality training
session. The more total sessions you have the energy for, the faster you will
ultimately be.
Top secret ergogenic = full recovery
No matter what you do, when you extend yourself, your body requires a specific
amount of time to refuel and repair. Full
recovery takes time.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10490&sidebar=26&category=triathlon


2. Where There Is a Will to Gain an Edge, Athletes Find a Way:
Drug use in sport is not new. Athletes have used performance-enhancing
substances since ancient times. The last half of
the 19th century saw the beginnings of modern medicine and, not coincidentally,
a significant growth in the use of drugs
to improve athletic performance.
At the time, use of stimulants among athletes was commonplace, and moreover,
there was no attempt to conceal drug use,
with the possible exception of some trainers who guarded the proprietary
interest of their own special doping recipes.
Swimmers, distance runners, sprinters and cyclists used a wide assortment of
drugs, including sugar cubes dipped in
ether; mixtures of brandy and cocaine; caffeine; cordials containing alcohol;
and even nitroglycerine and strychnine.
Not until after World War I was there any widespread attempt to admonish doping
in sports, much less designate it as
cheating. By 1933, the word doping had become a normal part of the English
language. Although physicians and others
continued to speak out against doping, the International Olympic Committee did
not take any action until 1967.
During the 1967 Tour de France, the British cyclist Tom Simpson collapsed and
died. His autopsy showed high levels of
methamphetamine, and a vial of the drug was found in his pocket at the time of
his death. The impact of his death was
extensive, in part because it was the first doping death to be televised.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/sports/othersports/07YESA.html


3. Palestinian Runner Training for Olympics:
DEIR EL BALAH, Gaza Strip - Sanaa Abu Bkheet has qualified for the 800-meter-run
at the Athens Olympics against great
odds: she owns only one pair of running shoes, has no access to a track and used
to get pelted with rocks during her
training rounds in the streets of her hometown.
The 19-year-old is one of two Palestinians who will compete at the Aug. 13-29
games in Greece. The other athlete is
17-year-old Raad Aweisat, a swimmer from Jerusalem who has qualified for the
100-meter butterfly.
Abu Bkheet is something of an oddity in the impoverished, conservative Gaza
Strip. The sight of the tall, thin woman
running through the streets of this ramshackle town in her green track suit used
to cause a mini-uproar, and children at
times would throw rocks at her as she zipped past.
"It's not easy to be a runner in Gaza, especially for a female," she said. "It's
strange because of our traditions. It's
hard to see a girl running in the streets."
More...from the Kansas City Star at:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/8115682.htm?ERIGHTS=30196115\
39088503676kansascity::e1-q7t9-13qp-qm79
@emailias.com&KRD_RM=5ptqpqunorlpqqsrlllllllllr|Never|Y
[MultiLine URL - Free Registration Required]


4. Why You Need Fat:
By Christina Gandolfo
Yes, it's good for you! Here's why you need fat, how much you need and what
types you should be eating.
Eating low fat continues to be an obsession among the health-conscious, and
while we all know eating too much fat is
unhealthy, not taking in enough can lead to health risks ranging from hormone
imbalances and overeating to increased
risk for heart disease.
Did you know that fat...
1. Provides energy to the body! Fat prevents the body's lean tissue (muscle)
from being depleted and allows carbohydrate
stores to be used for energy for the brain and nerves. Without it, your basal
metabolism cannot function properly,
compromising heart and lung function as well as that of the central nervous
system.
2. Guards against heart disease. Studies have shown that diets that are very low
in fat can reduce estrogen levels in
the body, which not only leads to irregular periods and decreased bone health,
but a higher risk for coronary heart
disease, the number-one killer among women.
3. Delivers fat-soluble vitamins. Without fat, your body cannot absorb essential
nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E and
K, which, when combined, help promote healthy vision, absorption of calcium,
antioxidant protection and normal blood
clotting.
More...from Her Sports at:
http://hersports.com/eNewsletter/newsLtr5/news5Article3.html


5. Nutrition and Recovery – getting it right:
The need to recover adequately between successive bouts of training or
competition is one of the most difficult tasks
facing competitive sports people, especially as performance standards and the
frequency and intensity of training
sessions increase.
The key role that nutrition plays in promoting recovery and repair after
exercise is now widely acknowledged. However,
the wealth of ongoing scientific studies on this topic, and the bewildering
array of nutritional products and advice
often leave sports people and coaches confused.
Here at the LSSA we are dedicated to improving our understanding of the role
that nutrition plays in sporting
performance, and passing this knowledge on to all participants. We also want to
understand better the concerns and needs
of sports people, which is why we want to know your key questions surrounding
recovery nutrition.
We are asking all our LSSA on-line members to participate in this survey,
submitting key questions on recovery
nutrition – what you really want and need to know.
From all questions sent in, we will compile a "top 10" list of the most
important/recurring questions which
world-leading authorities in Sports Nutrition will answer. This top 10 will be
published on the LSSA web-site
(theLSSA.com), together with a synopsis of the survey. All contributors will
receive the results directly via an email
from the LSSA.
We would really value your participation and input to our survey and are sure
that you will find the results helpful.
So, all you have to do is tell us your "top 3" questions or topics in this area.
It does not matter whether they are
simple or very technical, they just have to reflect the issues that most concern
you. Respond with your questions by
simply replying to this email at: mailto:lssa.registration@...
The closing date for questions is Friday 19th March 2004.
As an added incentive we will entering all participants in a prize draw for a
case of the new Lucozade Sport Recovery
drink mix specially formulated to aid post-exercise recovery and available to
purchase from May 2004, and an Apple iPod
MP3 player, so you can enjoy listening to great music whilst you recover.
The survey will be complete and results available in April 04. We will notify
you that they are available directly via
an LSSA email.
We look forward to hearing from you soon with your questions.
Lucozade Sport, Lucozade Sport Science Academy are trademarks of the
GlaxoSmithKline group of companies.
Competition terms and conditions:
Questions must be sent in by the specified closing date – Monday 26th January –
in order to qualify for inclusion in the
prize draw.
The winner of the prize draw for the case of Lucozade Sport Science Academy
Recovery drink mix (8x975g packs) and an
Apple iPod MP3 player will be drawn at random on 30th January 2004.
The winner will be notified in writing by GlaxoSmithKline.
There is no alternative prize available. There is no cash alternative.
This competition is not open to employees of GlaxoSmithKline employees or any
third party related companies.
Reply to:
mailto:lssa.registration@...


6. From Runner's World:
Pay attention to your posture when you're not running: sit and stand tall with
your shoulders back, stomach muscles held
firm, buttocks tucked in and back straight

Crunch Time: Add some crunches to build torso and abdominal strength. To do
them, lie on your back with knees bent at 90
degrees and feet planted about 18 inches from your buttocks. Come up slowly,
being sure to lift your shoulder blades off
the ground without hunching your shoulders forward. Pause at the top (with torso
no more than 45 degrees off the
ground), then go slowly back down

Candy and sweets are fun carbs, but the bulk of your carbs (6 to 11 servings a
day) should come from foods like
whole-grain breads, bagels and cereal, fruits, and vegetables. These foods are
digested more slowly, which sustains your
energy, and they contain a wide array of other nutrients that the sweets lack

Fast-finish training: "You can practice fast finishes every day as part of your
normal run. Mimicking your race speed
for a small part of your daily run can improve your final kick at the finish of
a race. It also teaches you how to make
a longer, more sustained, more controlled push for the finish." -Warren Greene,
RW gear editor

"If you eat the wrong food (or no food at all) after your exercise session,
you'll drag yourself around for the rest of
the day with a headache and little energy. Your legs will burn walking up even a
small flight of stairs. And when it's
time to work out the next day, you'll find other, more sedentary things to do,
such as taking a nap. Eat the right
foods, however, and you'll feel awake and energetic. You'll burn even more
calories because your metabolism will
continue to run strong. And you'll have fresh legs and the motivation you need
to exercise the next day."
-From Eat Smart Play Hard by Liz Applegate:

Mind-set: "Figure out a goal and write it down. Now tape your written goal to
your fridge. Why? Because studies show it
works as a great motivator."
-Traci Conrad, RW marketing design manager

"Your immediate concern after the race may be fluid replacement, but within an
hour after the race you should begin
shifting to more solid foods. This may be particularly important if sugar from
replacement drinks makes you nauseous, as
food can slow down sugar absorption to help prevent the nausea."
-From Marathon by Hal Higdon



7. Pros at Work:
This was a business trip for the visiting professional runners. Now began the
last and hardest lap of their weekend.
Local runners who made up nearly all of the race field the day before were home
asleep in their own beds. The pros were
up early to head toward faraway homes.
This was the morning after the race, when the pros hit emotional and physical
lows to balance off the highs of the day
before. These runners were leaving town before the sun came up. There hadn't
been time for an eye-opening run.
In this case the town was Flint, Michigan, where they raced the Crim 10-mile. In
a week or two they would join the
nomadic pro running circuit someplace else.
None of the runners in the backseat was speaking now. They wished the driver and
his front-seat passengers, a TV
producer and a writer, would stop yakking and let them doze.
One of the pros tried not to become ill. All of them tried not to think about
the violent thunderstorm they would soon
fly through.
Two men in the backseat were past winners at Crim, with four titles between. One
finished out of the money this time,
and the other didn't finish at all.
Brian Sheriff is a citizen of the world -- son of a Zimbabwean mother and
Irish-American father, college-educated in the
U.S. and now working in Japan for Mazda. Sheriff flew halfway around the world,
only to eat something at his pre-race
meal that made him ill.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/423.html


8. The long, lonely road to oblivion:
Marco Pantani, adored by thousands when he won the Tour de France, died last
month, alone in a hotel room and surrounded
by drugs. Matt Rendell, who knew the Italian cyclist well, returned to Rimini to
uncover the truth about his tragic last
days
Sunday March 7, 2004
The Observer
In summer, the seaside resort of Rimini on Italy's Adriatic Riviera bustles with
holidaymakers. Out of season, the
arcades and ice-cream parlours close, the cobbled streets are repaired, and the
whole town waits for spring. Shortly
after midday on Monday 9 February, former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani
made an unseasonal visit to Viale Regina
Elena, a one-way street stretching south. Checking into Hotel Residence 'Le
Rose', his only luggage was a small bag. He
made a call from his room and left for 20 minutes. It was the last time he
stepped outside. After a few more brief
calls, he withdrew into silence.
More...from the Observer at:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1161002,00.html


9. Steroids and sports: A dangerous mix?
By Mayo Clinic staff
Most young athletes can attest to the fact that the competitive drive to win —
and win at all costs — is fierce. Besides
the glory of bragging rights and the satisfaction of personal gain, often times
young athletes compete in the pursuit of
greater dreams — a college scholarship or a place on a professional team.
For a growing number of athletes, winning at all costs includes taking
performance-enhancing drugs. Some may appear to
achieve physical gains from such drugs, but at what cost? The truth is, the
long-term effects of these drugs haven't
been rigorously studied. And short-term benefits are tempered by many drawbacks.
Take the time to learn about the benefits, risks and many unknowns regarding
purported performance-enhancing drugs. You
may decide that the benefits aren't worth the risks.
More...from MayoClinc.com at:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=7C05F9A5-A456-4391-AE4457129F6337A\
1


10. End-of-winter running gusto brings increased risk of overuse injury:
As runners shake off the winter cobwebs and hit the roads with the first spring
thaw, the gusto too often gives way to
grievance as overuse injuries abound.
Although anatomical abnormalities like high arches and leg length discrepancies,
as well as biomechanical factors such
as magnitude and rate of pronation, determine overuse injury susceptibility in
runners, in a general sense all overuse
injuries are training errors on some level.
Muscles, joints and bones need time to adapt to the repeated impact stresses
placed on them. If the impact stress is
great enough, and the time allowed for repair and remodeling is not long enough,
an overuse injury results. These
include Achilles tendonitis, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis and medial
tibial stress (shin splints).
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10481&sidebar=13&category=running


11. Running Times Training Tips:
Marathon Training - What is most important?
If you've got a spring marathon planned and a PR in your sights, chances are
you're getting antsy to get in some hard
workouts after a winter of base training. Be aware, however, that you only have
so much energy in any week, and duking
it out with friends on the track may not be the best preparation for a marathon.
Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas wrote
in our July 2001 issue (adapted from their book Advanced Marathoning), "It's
normal to think that anyone preparing for a
marathon should be training as hard as possible, and what better way to be sure
that you're doing so than by hitting the
track at least once a week for lung-searing intervals, right?" But their program
includes such intervals only a few
times in the final six weeks. They go on to explain that the physiological
systems that are most important for the
marathon are: "endurance, lactate threshold and V02 Max, in that order. In the
long run, it's the long runs and tempo
runs that have the most relevance to your performance on marathon day, not how
often you've churned out a sterling set
of half-mile repeats."


12. Some Experts Say Cut Fat In Small Steps:
ATLANTA (AP) -- It's just passing up a soft drink a day, taking a few extra
steps to deliver a phone message by hand
instead of by e-mail, or not vying for the closest mall parking space.
Over time, the little things you do -- or don't do -- will add up in a big way,
by turning lost calories into lost
pounds.
That's part of the government's new "small step" campaign to trim the waistlines
of Americans. Under the new push,
announced Tuesday, the government says people don't need extreme measures to
lose weight -- such as following a strict
diet or joining a gym.
Obesity experts say small steps not only are what's needed, they also represent
a major change in how health officials
are tackling the country's belt-bursting weight problem.
"To have that kind of message is an enormous step and will be very important to
the health of our nation," said Madelyn
Fernstrom, director of the Weight Management Center at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center.
More...from InteliHealth at:
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/344/377003.html


13. Macrobiotic dieters buck low-carb trend:
In an age of low-carb diets and high-protein energy bars, Michael Rossoff is an
anomaly. In his world, vegetables reign
over excessive meat. He has not "got milk" -- and counsels his clients to do the
same.
For more than three decades, the respected whole foods counselor has practiced
macrobiotics -- a diet embraced by
health-conscious eaters ranging from Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna to yogis and
cancer patients.
"I haven't eaten red meat in 30 years," Rossoff declared during a recent
interview. "I suppose the (Atkins) people
haven't made much money off of me."
At 58, Rossoff is energetic, clear-eyed, smooth-skinned and "probably 25 pounds
lighter" than his twin brother, who
hasn't adopted the diet.
More...from CNN at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/29/macrobiotics.ap/index.html


14. Americans Drive, Watch TV More Than Exercise-Study:
Americans spend far more time driving cars and watching television than they do
exercising, researchers said on Thursday
in a study that helps shed light on the country's obesity epidemic.
Americans also spend more time in the office than people in other countries,
found the report from a team at the
University of California, Berkeley.
The report came the same week federal government researchers said deaths caused
by poor eating habits and a lack of
exercise were fast catching up to smoking as a leading cause of death. In 2000,
400,000 people died from eating badly
and laziness, compared with 435,000 who died from smoking-related illness.
"This study provides a wake-up call for the nation, particularly in light of
rising obesity rates in this country," said
Linda Dong, a student of epidemiology at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health,
who led the activity study.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4550240&section\
=news


15. Fitness, nutrition, rest are best immune-system boosters:
You're washing your hands and covering your coughs. You've had a flu shot.
You're trying to escape the winter
cold-and-flu season in one piece. What more can otherwise healthy people do to
avoid getting sick in a germ-filled
world?
There is no magic potion. Herbal remedies such as echinacea and ginseng may
help, and zinc sometimes seems to shorten
the duration of cold symptoms, but the jury is still out.
"All of these various remedies you can buy, frankly, most of them are untested,"
said David L. Woodland, an immunologist
at the Trudeau Institute, a nonprofit research center in Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Woodland says the real secret to staying healthy is staying healthy.
"The most important thing you can do is to actually stay very healthy," he said.
"The immune system is directly related
to your general state of health."
One well-established drag on the immune system is stress. Chemicals released by
the body during periods of strain
suppress the immune system, Woodland said. This fight-or-flight response to
dangerous or urgent situations was probably
fleeting for our human ancestors, he said. "The problem in our modern world," he
said, "is that we're under stress for
long periods of time."
More...from AZ Central at:
http://www.azcentral.com/health/fitness/articles/0129health-immune-ON.html


16. US Cracks Down on 'Andro' Performance Supplement:
U.S. regulators on Thursday announced a crackdown on use of the dietary
supplement androstenedione, or "andro" -- a
performance-enhancing substance made famous by baseball home-run hero Mark
McGwire, who used the drug in the late 1990s.
The testosterone-producing hormone is not technically a steroid, but acts like
one once the body absorbs it and is used
by both professional and amateur athletes to build muscle and increase athletic
performance.
"Products containing andro may seem to have short-term benefits, but the science
shows us that they create real and
significant health risks," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson
said at a press conference.
Those risks for men include possible impotence, testicle shrinkage and breast
enlargement. Women who use it can develop
male-like traits, including a deeper voice and added facial hair, as well as
abnormal menstrual bleeding. In children
and teenagers, it can cause stunted growth or early puberty.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=sportsNews&storyID=4552064


17. Speedo goes top secret to develop suit:
After four years of extensive, top-secret testing on three continents,
integrating computer technology used in Hollywood
blockbusters, Formula One auto racing and America's Cup yachting victories,
Speedo says it has developed the world's
fastest swimsuit.
Called the Fastskin FSII, or FSII for short, it is expected to be worn by most
of the top swimmers on the U.S. Olympic
team at the Athens Games this summer, including phenom Michael Phelps.
It will make its first big public splash at a news conference today in New York
City.
According to Speedo, FSII, which is made in several variations from a
traditional-style swimsuit to a full-body suit
with gender-specific and stroke-specific models, increases a swimmer's speed in
the water by reducing drag by 4%.
More...from USA Today at:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/athens/2004-03-09-speedo-suit_x.h\
tm


18. Stretching and Strengthening Exercises for Iliotibial Band Syndrome :
In the May 2004 issue of Running Times Magazine, Brian Fullem examined the
causes of iliotibial band syndrome in runners
and considered various treatment options. The photos that follow depict a number
of effective stretches and exercises
that can help runners beat this common injury.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/04may/itb.htm


19. Finding a Magic Bullet: Can Training Reduce Knee Injuries in Female
Athletes?
Studies of sports injuries conducted over the past three decades have indicated
that female athletes involved in jumping
and cutting sports sustain non-contact injuries to the anterior cruciate
ligament (NC-ACL) of the knee at rates far
higher than their male counterparts engaged in the same sports. These injuries
are devastating to individuals.
Literature shows that ACL injuries are a major inducer of knee osteoarthritis,
for example, which is likely to
significantly affect the quality of one's life. This injury and possible
prevention strategies were discussed today at a
panel briefing during the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 71st Annual
Meeting.
ACL injuries are among the most common of all sports-related knee injuries and
they affect the lives of more than
250,000 people in the United States each year -- most of them women. "Female
recreational athletes have a probability of
NC-ACL injuries 7.3 times greater than that of male recreational athletes," says
Bing Yu, Ph.D., associate professor and
director, Center for Human Movement Science at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. New research was
presented today with orthopaedic surgeon William E. Garrett, Jr., MD, Ph.D., and
professor, Department of Surgery, Duke
University Medical Center. This controlled laboratory study included 30 male and
30 female recreational athletes between
18 and 30 years of age.
More...from Yahoo at:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040312/cgf002_1.html


20. News Scan:
U.S. Olympic Hall Of Fame Returns
For some reason, it's been dormant since 1992. But the USOC is bringing it back
this year, and will elect 6 athletes.
Among the eligible: Evelyn Ashford, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Valerie Brisco,
Florence Griffith Joyner, and Jackie Joyner
Kersee. The Allstate Insurance Co. helped the revival. You can vote through
April 14.

Salt When You Exercise
When you exercise for more than three hours, you should take in salt as well as
fluids. A study from Switzerland
followed female competitive distance runners who took in drinks with different
concentration of salt during a four hour
run. Ninety-two percent of those who took in plain water with no additional
salt developed low blood levels of salt,
which can be dangerous (British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 37, Issue 4,
2003).
Taking in fluid without also taking in adequate amounts of salt dilutes the
bloodstream, so that the concentration of
salt in the blood is lower than that in brain cells. This causes fluid to move
from the low-salt blood into the
higher-salt brain causing the brain to swell which can cause seizures and death.
Taking in extra salt during prolonged
exercise increases thirst so you drink more fluids, and prevents blood salt
levels from dropping so low that you become
tired, develop muscle cramps, and can even die. Furthermore, without salt you
do not recover as quickly and are more
likely to be injured or tired all the time. If you're concerned about the
reports of deaths from over-hydration, read
http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/1235.html

U.S. cracks down on andro products
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced a crackdown on companies that
manufacture, market and distribute
products containing androstenedione, or, "andro," which acts like a steroid once
it is metabolized by the body and
therefore can pose similar kinds of health risks as steroids. These products are
generally advertised as dietary
supplements that enhance athletic performance based on their claimed anabolic
and androgenic properties to stimulate
muscle growth and increase production of testosterone.
More...
http://www.scienceblog.com/community/article2454.html



More...
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040310/law002_1.html
Register and Vote at
http://www.usolympichalloffame.com/register.asp


This Weeks Events:
*Please verify event dates with the event websites*

Ongoing:

Coming Up
For more complete race listings check out our Upcoming Races
Check the Runner's Web on Sunday and Monday for race reports on these
events.

March 10-14, 2004:
World Masters Indoor Championships - Sindelfingen, Germany
http://www.world-masters-athletics.org/

March 11-13, 2004:
CIS Track & Field Championships - Windsor, ON
http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/track/2004/

March 13, 2004:
Gate River Run 15K - Jacksonville, FL
*USA Men's and Women's Championship; USARC Event
http://www.1stplacesports.com/


St. Joseph Day 5K - Mechanicsburg, PA
http://www.sj5k.org/

March 14, 2004:
Seoul International Marathon - Korea
http://marathon.donga.com/home/default.asp

Surf Coast Triathlon - Australia
http://www.x-tri.com.au/surfcoast/

This Weeks Personal Postings/Releases:

We have NO personal postings this week.


Television and Online Coverage:
[Check local listings as event times are subject to change]

Check out our new Runner's Web Television Links page at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_television.html


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Have a good week of training and/or racing.



Ken Parker
Runner's Web
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