Runner's Web Digest - April 23, 2004

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The TRACK PROFILE Reader 2004, an in-depth review of the 2003 season by Bob
Ramsak, is now available. Selected from
hundreds of reports filed by the Track Profile News Service last year, The TRACK
PROFILE READER provides a unique look
back at the personalities, stories and events that defined track and field in
2003. With in depth profiles of the
sport's biggest stars and comprehensive on-site reports from major competitions,
this annual review takes the reader
beyond the results, providing a perfect companion for casual and diehard fans
alike. Check out the book at:
http://www.booksurge.com/author.php3?accountID=GPUB00341&affiliateID=A000497

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New This Week:

Check out our new Forum at:
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Get our Syndicated headlines for you site.
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How To Run and Enjoy the Marathon - (A Practical Guide To The 26.2-Mile Journey)
By James Raia
Chapter 10. Women Marathoners: Running Safe Means Running Smart
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20040423_Raia_Marathon10.html

We have NO personal postings this week.
Personal Postings, when available, are located after the Upcoming Section
towards the bottom of the newsletter.

Our latest column from Carmichael Training Systems is available:
Multisport: Fluid Dynamics - Without sodium, water can overwhelm your body - by
Jim Lehman. Check it out at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html


Digest Article Index:

1. Attitude - The Biology of Motivation and Performance
You gotta believe. And when you believe, you will perform.
2. Alcohol and sports performance: the sobering facts (1)
3. Does hill running help or harm? Studies lean toward help
4. Exercise without dieting -- it's a losing battle.
Guys tend to hit the gym to shed excess pounds, even though cutting calories may
be the more efficient way.
5. The science of happiness
That elusive inner glow isn't just for yoga devotees. Turns out going to the pub
and bungee jumping are just as good for
you.
6. Atkins Seeks to Tone Down 'Cheeseburger' Image
7. From Runner's World
8. Even for a clean competitor, doping becomes constant test
9. Study: Mild iron deficiency affects thinking
10. For a terrific ride, relax and 'let the horse run'
Mountain biking's a tough workout, but the payoff is an exhilarating feeling of
freedom.
11. Exercise and Depression
12. Recover with carbs
13. Weight Training Helps Women, Elderly, Studies Show
14. In the Arena - Impatient age devours youth
15. Natural Resource Impacts of Mountain Biking
A summary of scientific studies that compare mountain biking to other forms of
trail travel (2004)
16. Athletes seek high-carb foods in low-carb era
17. Beardsley's Recovery
18. Exercisers Must Adjust to Summer Heat, Humidity
19. Joggers on Roadways, Mind Your Eyes
20. Study: Exercise Helps Out Older People


24. Active Radio - U.S. Triathlon Coach Gale Bernhardt
25. News Scan


Runner's Web Weekly Poll:

This week's poll is: "Which marathon has the greatest stature?
- Boston
- London
- New York
- Olympic
- World Championship
- Other"

Cast your vote at: http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
Post your views in our Forum at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/runnersweb_forum.html
[Free Registration Required]

The previous poll was: "What is your favourite drink after a race or hard
workout?"

The results at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Beer 20 17%
2. Juice 15 13%
3. Soft drink 4 3%
4. Sports drink 31 26%
5. Water 44 38%
6. Other 3 3%
Total Votes: 117

You can access the poll from our FrontPage as well as voting on and/or checking
the results of previous polls.

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Five Star Site of the Week: Marine Corps Marathon Web Site.
When registration for the October 31, 2004 Marine Corps Marathon began on April
1 at www.marinemarathon.com, web site
visitors found a new, improved and more streamlined MCM web page, designed
specifically with MCM runners and spectators
in mind.
New features on the site include a pop up menu bar on the splash page with sub
categories for easy access to MCM links.
A new "Volunteer" page offers resources and registration information for groups
that would like to assist the MCM in
various volunteer opportunities. An in-depth "Travel" page provides participants
with everything they need to plan their
visit to the MCM, including hotel listings, group travel options and
entertainment activities for those who plan to
sightsee while in town.
The new site also launched the MCM Healthy Kid's Corner, focused on providing
children with information they need to
lead a fun, healthy and fit lifestyle. It features a sports vocabulary list,
healthy snack ideas, kid-friendly recipes
and stories from area youngsters about their exercise experiences and stories
from the Healthy Kids Fun Run. Parents,
principals and youth group leaders can visit The Kid's Corner for information on
how to register for the 2004 Healthy
Kids Fun Run, tips on training for the one-mile run and information on how to
get their schools involved.
Come race day, family, friends and MCM fans will be able to view live race
results and runner standings as participants
make their way through the course. Visitors will be able to register to receive
time split information for their
selected runner anywhere on the course.
Additionally, the site's redesigned "News" page, offers easy access to press
releases and race information for the
media, and will include a complete version of the race media guide as the race
approaches. This page holds links to
monthly editions of "The Extra Mile" newsletter published by the MCM.
Check out the new site at:
http://www.marinemarathon.com/


Send us your suggestions for our Five Star site. Please check our list of
previous Five Star Sites available from the
Five Star Window under
the link "Previous Five Star Sites" as we do not wish to repeat a site unless it
has undergone a major redesign.


If you feel you have something to say that is worthy of a Guest Column on the
Runner's Web, email us at
mailto:webmaster@... or leave your comments in one of our Forums at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/forum.html or from our FrontPage.

Our Photo Slideshow is updated on a random basis. Check it out from our
FrontPage.

Book of the Week: The Complete Guide to Triathlon Training.
Herman Aschwer is one of the pioneers of the triathlon having finished more than
150 competitions including 25 "Ironman"
races.
In the Complete Guide to the Triathlon, he shares with you his vast knowledge
and experience of the sport.
Buy the book at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3891245157/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books
[Long URL]

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. Attitude - The Biology of Motivation and Performance:
You gotta believe. And when you believe, you will perform.
By Malvey of http://couchtocompetition.blogspot.com
You already know that attitude and what you believe about yourself has an
incredible impact on what you accomplish. Most
of you are way too young to remember the stunning event that rocked the running
world in 1954. Until a guy named Roger
Bannister came along, there was this thing people called the four minute mile
“barrier.” Human beings, common wisdom
said, just could not run a mile under four minutes. On May 6, 1954 Bannister ran
a mile in 3:59.4 and another false
barrier came tumbling down. Since that time, almost every major track
competition has seen runners come in well under
four minutes. When asked to explain his feat Bannister said, “It's the ability
to take more out of yourself than you've
got."
Is there anybody who visits BeginnerTriathlete.Com who does not hold the dream
that we will take more out of ourselves –
not so much more than we’ve got as more than we ever dreamed we had! Deep within
our hearts is a huge, “Si se puede!”
YES WE CAN! And here is the amazing truth I’m hoping every single one of us can
get hold of. Positive attitude is more
than a matter of correct thinking. As it turns out, emotions have a biological
impact on our bodies.
Norman Cousins has documented the scientific basis of this thesis in his book,
Head First: The Biology of Hope. Besides
being a good read, Cousins’ book documents the amazing physical power of our
emotional life. This should not be news to
the medical community, although Cousins encountered plenty of resistance before
he was finally appointed to the Medical
College at UCLA. Hippocrates, father of medicine, insisted that medical students
give full weight to the emotions, both
as a contributing cause of disease and as a factor in recovery. How all of this
relates to those of us who have fallen
in love with the world of multisports will become evident quickly – but here are
just a few of the amazing facts Cousins
reports.
More...from Beginner Triathlete at:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/Malvey/attitude_motivation_performance.htm


2. Alcohol and sports performance: the sobering facts (1)
Many athletes enjoy the occasional 'dop' - especially the odd beer after a
running event. But what is the effect of
alcohol on the sportsman or sportswoman? Our nutritionist takes a look in this
first of two articles.
The metabolism of alcohol and side-effects thereof vary widely between
individuals. It is largely dependant on the
amount consumed in relation to habitual intake - people who drink frequently
have more of the liver enzymes needed to
metabolise the alcohol, and therefore are able to process and “neutralise” the
alcohol better / faster, and may be able
to have more alcohol with fewer side-effects (and vice versa).
Can alcohol improve performance?
For the most part, athletes take alcohol more for social than performance
reasons. There are a small number of reports
of athletes taking alcohol before and even during exercise to increase their
performance. Alcohol has been used to
decrease sensitivity to pain, improve relaxation, improve confidence, and to
remove other psychological barriers to
performance. It may also be used to stimulate the cardiovascular system (improve
breathing and blood flow), or lessen
the tremor and stress-induced emotional arousal in fine motor control sports
(such as shooting, archery etc.).
Because of the variety of effects of alcohol on the different parts of the body,
and because people respond so
differently to alcohol, it makes it difficult to study the direct effects of
alcohol on performance… Therefore, there
are not a lot of scientific studies and clear evidence to prove any of the
above-mentioned effects.
Although alcohol is no longer on the general doping (“banned”) list of the IOC
(International Olympic Committee), it is
still considered a banned substance in some sports, for example shooting and
fencing. In some sports (darts, billiards),
it is still popularly used as a (proposed) performance-enhancing aid. But this
aspect remains to be scientifically
proven, and might just simply be a reflection of the culture of sports that are
widely played in a hotel environment.
Alcohol can decrease your performance…
More...from World of Endurance (and Part 2) at:
http://worldofendurance.com/article.asp?a_id=592350


3. Does hill running help or harm? Studies lean toward help
Running hard down hills has a bad reputation, but this seems to be exaggerated,
according to a review by John Unger,
D.C., C.C.S.P., in Montrose, Colo.
Hill running is good training as long as you begin cautiously and build up
conservatively.
Unger uncovered 12 studies of hill running and injuries, and focused on
discussions of downhill running. Reports mostly
during the 1980s tended to associate downhill hill running with injuries, but
there were several flaws in these studies'
designs.
More recent studies which were well-designed, used controls, and evaluated
statistical significance found no association
between downhill or hill running and injury risk.
The experiences of the American Running Editorial Board Members tend to support
the value of hill running as long as it
is done cautiously.
"Running hills is usually good training," says Jack Daniels, Ph.D. "The problem
is the need to be somewhat conservative
in early sessions (as you would be in any new type of training).
"It's probably easier to overdo downhill running than uphill running," Daniels
says. "In other words, easier to
over-stress your landing shock systems downhill, which is not a big problem in
uphill running,"
More...from Active.com at:
http://active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10547&sidebar=13&category=running


4. Exercise without dieting -- it's a losing battle.
Guys tend to hit the gym to shed excess pounds, even though cutting calories may
be the more efficient way.
When your pants begin to feel a little snug around the waistline, do you vow to
start working out for an hour every day?
Ask the kid at McDonald's to hold the bun when you order a Quarter Pounder?
Switch to low-carb beer? If so, welcome to
the club: You're a typical guy.
Women will try just about any approach to shedding pounds, weight-loss experts
say, but men who set out to get slim tend
to follow predictable patterns.
Consider a survey published in January by Packaged Facts, a market research
firm, which found that 15.4% of women in the
United States said they "mostly try to lose weight by dieting." Just 6.3% of men
agreed with that statement. That's
probably because males often assume — incorrectly — that they can burn fat in
the gym, without changing their diets.
"Many men feel that exercise is an efficient way to lose weight. It is not,"
says Dr. Frank Greenway, medical director
of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. This
belief seems to be particularly strong
among middle-aged males who were athletes in high school or college, he says.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/fitness/la-he-man12apr12,1,425689.column?\
coll=la-health-fitness-news


5. The science of happiness:
That elusive inner glow isn't just for yoga devotees. Turns out going to the pub
and bungee jumping are just as good for
you.
Sure, life is stressful. No surprises there, but don't underestimate your
ability to deal with it. The fact is, each and
every day you're tackling stress without even knowing it. The good news is
you're winning the battle and you're most
likely doing it in ways you never even dreamt of.
For example, every time you go to the pub or play a sport, you're kick-starting
your body's natural ability to get
happy. In more technical terms, every time you do something you enjoy, a
specific series of feel-good neuro-transmitters
and hormones are activated.
"Every thought or emotion we have is an electrochemical event," explains Lissa
Johnson, a Sydney-based clinical
psychologist. Those events involve dopamine and opioids - which are essentially
the body's natural happy drugs - and
adrenaline.
More...from News.com.au at:
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9295666%255E22807,00.html


6. Atkins Seeks to Tone Down 'Cheeseburger' Image:
Hoping to tone down the Atkins Diet's steak-and-bacon image, the company that
bears the name of the low-carbohydrate
food plan is launching a campaign centered on education rather than its
products.
The ads, which privately held Atkins Nutritionals Inc. is running on the back
pages of Newsweek and other major
publications, feature its new Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid.
The campaign comes as a host of rivals, including those pushing spinoff diets
like South Beach, seek to cash in on
Americans' fight against obesity and topple Atkins from its market-leading
position.
Analysts say Atkins' backers, investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity
firm Parthenon Capital, may want to get
the company in shape for an early initial public offering of stock, and changing
its image may be part of that process.
"They are pressed to reinvent the public perception that the Atkins Diet is not
synonymous with bacon cheeseburgers,"
said Dean Rotbart, editor of the online industry newsletter LowCarbiz.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4857017&section\
=news


7. From Runner's World:
*"If you aren't already doing some form of strength training, it's time to
start. The more muscle you have, the more
calories you'll burn all day long. And it only takes two workouts a week to make
a difference. For a fun strength
workout at home, try using a fitness ball." -Liz Applegate, Ph.D.

*Side-lying leg lifts. On a padded floor or rug, lie on your side. Bend the knee
of your lower leg for balance. Tighten
your abdominal muscles and slightly extend your upper leg, with your knee turned
slightly upward. Lift your leg 30
degrees off the floor, hold for 1 second, and then slowly lower it.

*Bone up on calcium: Studies show that getting enough calcium is the biggest
factor in keeping your bones dense and
strong. Low and non-fat dairy foods (three to four servings daily) and
calcium-fortified soymilk are excellent sources
of calcium. Other good sources are fish with edible bones, such as salmon;
broccoli, bok choy, kale, collards, and other
greens; beans; dried figs; and fortified juices.

*Don't Train In Pain: "If you do get injured, don't train through it. Not only
will this delay the healing process, it
could cause a "referred" injury if you're favoring one muscle group over
another." -Logan Plaster, RW intern

*Studies show that consuming some form of carbohydrate as little as a half-hour
into your workout can help you exercise
longer and more intensely, especially if your session will last 90 minutes or
longer. That's because carbohydrate keeps
your blood sugar levels steady, which in turn helps your muscles access more
fuel." -From Eat Smart Play Hard by Liz
Applegate


8. Even for a clean competitor, doping becomes constant test:
Michael Phelps runs down a mental checklist before he leaves for a competition
site.
He packs credentials, goggles, his favorite rap CD, an assortment of
high-performance swimsuits and one warning.
Don't drink the water - or any liquid, for that matter - if you're unsure of its
origin.
That order comes from his coach at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Bob Bowman.
If you think he is being paranoid, go
back a decade, when a Tonya Harding-led confederacy of dunces tried to whack
Nancy Kerrigan and her knee out of the
Olympic figure skating picture.
The fastest all-around swimmer ever, Phelps should be prominent at the 2004
Olympics, a serious threat to match the
record seven gold medals won by Mark Spitz in 1972. Even if Bowman didn't
consider the possibility that someone could
spike Phelps' drink with a banned substance and sabotage his bid at Olympic
history, that quest is fraught with unseen
dangers on the doping front.
NFL players, bobsledders and swimmers alike have argued that their steroid
suspensions were caused by tainted
nutritional supplements. Could last night's New York strip have come from a
steer that was fed a growth hormone banned
by the World Anti-Doping Agency? Then there is the cynicism that accompanies any
groundbreaking performance.
As Phelps, 18, has gathered world records, riches and acclaim, he has sacrificed
his privacy and Bowman some peace of
mind.
Phelps submitted to drug testing 10 times in an 18-day span last summer, at the
world championships and Summer
Nationals. Elite Olympic athletes are also subject to random out-of-competition
testing. A couple from Virginia
routinely arrives at the Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center on short notice,
collecting urine for the U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency or perhaps blood for WADA or FINA, which runs international
swimming.
More...from the Baltimore Sun at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-sp.doping19apr19,0,3039968.story?coll=bal\
-sports-headlines


9. Study: Mild iron deficiency affects thinking:
Women with even a small deficiency of iron may have a little more trouble
thinking and remembering than those with
adequate iron levels, U.S. researchers reported Monday.
They found that young women with mild deficiency but not medical anemia who took
iron supplements for four months
significantly improved their performance on tests of attention, short-term and
long-term memory. They also did better on
cognitive tasks.
In addition, anemic women clearly had trouble on the tests of mental
performance, the team at Pennsylvania State
University reported. The more anemic a woman was, the longer it took her to
complete the tasks.
But when anemic women were given iron supplements, they also improved, the
researchers told a meeting of the American
Society of Nutritional Sciences, part of the Experimental Biology 2004
conference in Washington
More...from CNN at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/04/20/iron.deficiency.reut/index.html


10. For a terrific ride, relax and 'let the horse run':
Mountain biking's a tough workout, but the payoff is an exhilarating feeling of
freedom.
I didn't come here to "bunny hop." I just hoped I wouldn't "biff." (And if you
want to know what I'm talking about, see
the glossary on Page 6.)
I was here in Thousand Oaks to learn some technical biking skills from the guru
of mountain biking in Southern
California, Mark Langton.
The last time I rode a mountain bike, I went barreling down a mountain so fast I
lost control and landed on a rock. My
hip swelled up like a grapefruit and has been bumpy ever since. The crash put a
chink in my armor of fearlessness. Seven
years later, I decided it was time to get back on that iron horse and try again.
I signed up for a private lesson. Mountain biking includes some counterintuitive
movements, but Langton promises on his
website (www.mountainbikeskills.com) that a few minor adjustments in technique
can put you back in control.
Langton booked me for two hours ($40 per hour), so we could work on some basic
skills, then head into the hills for a
short ride.
Bring a bike, he had told me, so I rented a dual suspension model and helmet
from Europa Bicycle Center in Van Nuys
($40), bought a pair of biking gloves ($12.99) and dressed in layers.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/fitness/la-he-bound19apr19,1,6053721.colu\
mn?coll=la-health-fitness-news


11. Exercise and Depression :
Can exercise really improve my mood?
Yes. Just taking a brisk walk three times a week may help you recover faster
from depression, reduce its severity, and
even ward off the blues in the first place. Dozens of studies have found that
exercise can significantly relieve
physical and emotional symptoms in clinically depressed people. Others have
found that people who work out regularly,
whether you're young or old, tend to have better self-esteem and fewer physical
and mental health problems.
In one study, college students who did aerobic exercise for five weeks recovered
faster and more fully from stressful
life events than those who practiced relaxation techniques. In fact, a Duke
University Medical Center study of 156
clinically depressed patients found exercise to be more effective at easing
depression over the long term than the
anti-depressant medication Zoloft. In this clinical trial, patients in the
exercise group took three supervised classes
per week in which they used a treadmill or stationary bicycle at 70 to 85
percent of their maximum heart rate for 30
minutes, according to a report in the September-October 2000 issue of
Psychosomatic Medicine.
More...from aHealthyMe at:
http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/exdepression


12. Recover with carbs:
Carbohydrates may be considered evil in this age of the low-carb diet
revolution, but the nutrient plays an important
role in helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise.
Two decades of research have shown that consuming carbs after a hard workout
rebuilds worn muscles and primes the body
for the next training. Failure to eat the right food after exercise, or worse,
skipping the post-exercise meal
altogether can harm your body.
"You never think that you can just continue to ride your car without ever going
to the gas station. We can't expect to
be able to continue to exercise our bodies without refueling them," said Cedric
Bryant, chief exercise physiologist of
the American Council on Exercise.
Carbs - the main source of energy during physical activity - are stored as
glycogen in muscle cells. During exercise,
the glycogen reserves deplete and an intake of carbs is needed to replenish the
body. Neglecting or avoiding the
post-workout meal could result in muscle breakdown and leave your body feeling
fatigued during the next workout.
In 2000, the American College of Sports Medicine, along with the American
Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of
Canada, reviewed numerous studies on the subject and took a stand on the issue.
In a published joint position statement,
they acknowledged the importance of post-game nutrition on athletic performance
More...from PE.com at:
http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/healthandfitness/stories/PE_Fea_Health_carbs0420.57\
d29.html


13. Weight Training Helps Women, Elderly, Studies Show:
Weight training can help women lose weight and keep it off, and can also help
older men and women strengthen their
immune systems, according to research presented at a conference this week.
The studies, presented at the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting in Washington,
showed that short, simple workouts could
have significant effects if done consistently.
A team at Baylor University in Texas reported on studies that looked at 160
overweight, moderately obese and sedentary
women.
They took part in a commercial health and weight loss program known as Curves,
which encourages 30-minute workouts three
days a week and also a low-calorie diet plentiful in protein and certain
vegetables.
"We found it to be highly effective in promoting weight loss with no adverse
side effects, especially among participants
who followed the high-protein, low-carb, low-fat diet," said Richard Kreider, an
exercise expert who led the study.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4896398


14. In the Arena - Impatient age devours youth:
The adult with his dues paid up who just won the tournament is nowhere near as
fascinating or marketable as the
adolescent with an attitude who could win it some day in the not-too-distant and
very well-documented future.
To cash in these days, you don't have to be an all-time great. You just have to
look like you will be an all-time great,
which is how 14-year-old Freddy Adu came to be the highest-paid player in Major
League Soccer, the American professional
league, before he had played a professional game. Or how LeBron James came to
sign a $90 million endorsement contract
before he made the leap from high school to NBA.
Though the primary phenoms in question, including the 14-year-old golf whiz Wie,
are all American, this is hardly an
all-American phenomenon. The culture of potential is globalized: extending a
prematurely affirming hand and checkbook
across borders to Russian tennis players, Australian runners, German ski
jumpers, Serbian basketball prospects and
Japanese figure skaters.
"Everybody and their uncle is out there trying to sign the next great player,
and they are doing it worldwide," said
Patricio Apey, the head of ACE Group, a London-based management agency, which
works primarily with soccer and tennis
players. "Outside the U.S., it's even more competitive in sports like tennis,
because there are no NCAA restrictions."
All of us in the sports business are responsible for the shift in emphasis: the
agents, like Apey; the sponsors, like
James's benefactor Nike; the leagues, like the buzz-hungry MLS; the journalists,
like yours truly, who have chosen to
expend column inches and wide-eyed adjectives on the can't-miss youngster
instead of the didn't-miss veteran.
More...from the IHT at:
http://www.iht.com/articles/516386.html


15. Natural Resource Impacts of Mountain Biking:
A summary of scientific studies that compare mountain biking to other forms of
trail travel (2004).
In recent years, hiking and environmental groups have often lobbied to ban
mountain bikes from trails on the grounds
that mountain bikes damage the environment. Some land managers have closed
trails to bicycling because of alleged,
excessive resource damage.
Do mountain bikers truly cause more impact on natural resources than other trail
users?
Very little research has attempted to answer this question, but the empirical
studies thus far do not support the notion
that bikes cause more natural resource impact. What science does demonstrate is
that all forms of outdoor recreation -
including bicycling, hiking, running, horseback riding, fishing, hunting, bird
watching, and off-highway-vehicle
travel - cause impacts to the environment. 1
Social scientists have conducted surveys to study the feelings, perceptions, and
attitudes of cyclists, hikers,
equestrians and motorized trail users. This information, along with anecdotal
evidence and media reports, show that
trail users sometimes do not get along. User conflict is fairly well understood
and demonstrably real.
More...from IMBA at:
http://www.imba.com/resources/science/impact_summary.html


16. Athletes seek high-carb foods in low-carb era:
Even the Boston Marathon is trying to kick the carbohydrate habit.
Race organizers used to stage a pre-race meal they called the "Pasta Party" on
the night before the event. But spaghetti
has acquired a negative connotation as low-carbohydrate meal plans like the
Atkins diet catch on, promising fast weight
loss.
So this year, organizer Mickey Lawrence changed the name to the "Pre-Race
Dinner." She still served 3,000 pounds of
pasta to rail-thin athletes who need the energy, but she hoped the new name
would attract sponsors who fear consumers
now associate eating pasta with being fat.
"We have to do what's right for the runner, but we also have to do what's right
for the sponsor," said Lawrence, in
charge of the event held at City Hall Plaza on April 18.
It's a confusing time for carbs. Casual dieters are shunning them for health and
fitness reasons, while serious athletes
still seek them out. The result is a mixed message.
Big marketers have turned on a dime to offer low-carb products like
Anheuser-Busch Inc.'s Michelob Ultra low-carb beer,
promoted with photos of thin runners. But many marathoners remain huge
carbohydrate fans.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10570&sidebar=13&category=running


17. Beardsley's Recovery:
This was a re-re-repeat visit for me to the Napa Valley Marathon. But this trip
would be like none of the others.
The marathon celebrated the race's 20th birthday by hosting a Runner's World
writer's retreat. That wasn't the official
purpose, but the gathering had that look to it.
Rich Benyo, the race director, had followed me as magazine's editor. Rich left
that job long ago, but after a spell of
interim editors RW gave that chair to Amby Burfoot in 1987. He's still there,
and was here in Napa along with his wife
(and my column editor) Cristina Negron.
We were joined by Don Kardong, RW feature writer, and Jeff Galloway, RW
columnist. And, oh yes, a few outsiders with
stories to tell at least equal to ours: Kathrine Switzer, John Keston and Dick
Beardsley. They were merely:
1. First woman to run the Boston Marathon officially, and founder-director of
the Avon women's circuit.
2. World record-holder for marathoners over 70, now recovering from a bike
accident that broke his hip and required
surgery last fall.
3. America's third-fastest marathon man ever, Napa's record-holder (since 1987)
and now a convicted-felon-in-recovery.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/431.html


18. Exercisers Must Adjust to Summer Heat, Humidity:
As summer approaches, people who exercise or play sports outdoors can reduce the
risk of heat stroke by giving
themselves a chance to adjust to rising temperatures and humidity, according to
a sports medicine expert.
"When it gets hot and humid, you see the risk go up," said Dr. William O.
Roberts, who is the president-elect of the
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
When people who are not accustomed to hot and humid weather exercise outdoors,
they run the risk of developing
exertional heat stroke, Roberts said in an interview with Reuters Health.
Exertional heat stroke differs from traditional heat stroke, which occurs when a
person is exposed to extremely high
temperatures, such as during a summer heat wave. Victims of traditional heat
stroke are often elderly people who do not
have air conditioning.
Roberts described traditional heat stroke as "sort of cooking slowly from the
outside."
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4897726


19. Joggers on Roadways, Mind Your Eyes:
Cars may be the biggest safety concern for road runners, but the debris that
vehicles kick up can also be a hazard,
according to a new report.
Doctors say three cases of with eye injuries suffered by roadside walkers and
runners suggest that such activities
present a slight but significant risk to vision.
All three patients were traveling along the shoulder of a roadway when they
suddenly had trouble seeing out of one eye.
In each case, doctors discovered that a small piece of metal -- presumably
kicked up from the road when a vehicle passed
by -- was lodged in the eye.
The injuries were "potentially vision-threatening," Dr. Philip D. Jaycock of St.
Thomas Hospital in London told Reuters
Health. And although the patients recovered well after the objects were removed,
he noted, their visual acuity was not
as good as it was before the injuries.
Jaycock and his colleagues report on the cases in the American Journal of
Ophthalmology.
In each case, the patient had a laceration through the cornea and a tiny
metallic fragment lodged deeper in the eye that
the surgeons were able to remove. Chemical analysis showed that the source of
one of the fragments could have been a
cutting wheel or diamond saw, possibly a remnant of road work in the area, the
authors note.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=4923963


20. Study: Exercise Helps Out Older People:
Older people who exercise regularly are more likely to maintain brain function
used for everyday tasks like following a
recipe and keeping the pills they take straight, Ohio State University
researchers say.
A study that examined the exercise habits of 28 people with chronic lung
problems for more than a year found that
routine workouts helped stave off not only the physical effects of aging, but
also the cognitive decline
Participants who exercised for a period then stopped lost the benefits they
gained, said the study that Ohio State
announced last week.
Health care experts said the findings bolster the need to encourage the elderly
to follow exercise routines and to
create more rehabilitation programs for people recovering from illness or
injury.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/ats-ap_health11apr23,1,43257\
62.story?coll=sns-ap-tophealth


21. Aerobic Points System by Dan Empfield:
(www.slowtwitch.com)
Contained in our Beginner Training Schedule is a system for quantifying how much
aerobic work you're doing and,
especially for those new to multisport, giving one an idea of work equivalency.
Race your strength, train your weakness,
it is often said. If you're supposed to do as much or more in your weak event as
in your strong, how does one know what
more work is?
Over the years I've developed a system of points equivalency, and it works
thusly:
1 mile cycling = 1 point
1/4 mile running = 1 points
100 meters swimming = 1 point
So, a balanced week might consist of 25 miles running, 100 miles on the bike and
10,000m in the pool. This shouldn't
infer that a balanced week is better than an unbalanced one, only that, over a
period of time, if you're consistently
racking up more points in one event than another, your training favors that
event.
This might not be a bad thing. If you've come to triathlon from swimming, you
might rightly perceive that any lack of
success you might have as a triathlete might be due to a lack of attention to
the run. You might need to run 35 or 40
miles per week in order to make fast progress, whereas a pair of 4000m sessions
in the pool might be enough to maintain
your status quo. In this case, the aerobic work you perform in the pool will
only gain you half the points you log
running. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that.
As we've been moving through a pair of online "virtual camps" this points system
has been employed, and questions arise
about how one might modify this system. I haven't modified it in over a decade,
however perhaps some changes are in
order.
More...from SlowTwitch.com at:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/coachcorn/aerobicpoints.html


22. Age Versus Performance By: Dr. Bill Misner, Ph.D.
Age and peak performance in the Olympics has been confirmed increases with the
length of the race. (Schulz & Curnow
1988) Women generally achieve their performance peaks at slightly younger ages
than men. Most performance bests occur in
the range between 23 and 30 years of age, but after age 40 there is a linear
parallel decline in performance. VO2 Max,
as I described in a former post on mitochondrial cell degeneration, declines
after the age of 30 at roughly -1% per year
until its average result is -27% by age 55 in most of us. Anabolic processes
begin to decrease at ages 25-27, while
catabolic processes begin to decrease. The older athletes need to consider
slowing those catabolic and degenerative
processes by anti-oxidants, macronutrients, micronutrients, also using training
rest-intensity-recovery techniques that
allow physiology to adapt to exercise stress at a maximum rate in the shortest
time period.
More...from Transition Times at:
http://www.transitiontimes.com/viewstory.cfm?ID=4535


23. Shin Splints:
Shin splints are one of the most common injuries known to athletes. Shin splints
are a term commonly used to describe
most lower leg pain. However, shin splints are only one of several conditions
that affect the lower leg. The most common
causes of lower leg pain are: general shin soreness; shin splints; and stress
fractures. For the purpose of this
article, I'll only be addressing the first two. I'll save the topic of stress
fractures for another issue.
Before I move on to shin splints, I want to quickly cover the topic of general
shin soreness. Shin soreness is simply a
muscular overuse problem. By using the R.I.C.E.R. regime outlined in a previous
issue of The Stretching & Sports Injury
Newsletter, you'll be able to overcome 95 percent of all general shin soreness
within about 72 hours. For details on how
to use the R.I.C.E.R. regime, visit
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/sports-injuries.htm.
For lower leg pain that goes beyond general shin soreness, a more aggressive
approach must be taken. Lets now have a
look at shin splints in a little more detail.
What are Shin Splints?
Although the term shin splints is often used to describe a variety of lower leg
problems, it actually refers
specifically to a condition called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS). To
better understand shin splints, or MTSS,
lets have a look at the muscles, tendons and bones involved.
More...from the Stretching Handbook at:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/shin-splints.htm


24. Active Radio - U.S. Triathlon Coach Gale Bernhardt
One of the top endurance sports coaches in America, Gale Bernhardt recently was
named coach of the U.S. Triathlon team
for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Over the next few months she'll be traveling to
selection races with the top-ranked
triathletes in the United States as they vie for a coveted spot on the U.S.
team. This month also marks the release of
Gale's new book, Triathlon Training Basics (VeloPress). We talked with Gale
about tri training and the road to Athens.
Check out the archived show at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10566&sidebar=121&category=activeradio


25. News Scan:
*Hurt rare lion swims to fitness
A lion cub, whose leg was badly hurt when her mum accidentally bit it while
carrying her, is getting back on her feet
thanks to swimming lessons.
The cub, Samira, was born in June at Port Lympne Wildlife Park in Kent and hurt
her leg at just four days old.
Keepers rescued her after her mum tried to bury her, thinking she was dead.
But she is now on the road to recovery after a vet said she should try swimming
to help re-build her the damaged leg
muscles.
Swimming to help exercise damaged muscles and tendons is called hydrotherapy.
It has worked to help smaller animals before, like cats.
But Samira the big cat will only be allowed to paddle in her lifejacket for a
little while longer because she is now
nine months old.
When she is fully grown, she will be two to three times as big, which could get
dangerous in the pool.
Samira is one of the few Barbary lions left. They became extinct in the wild in
the 1920s.
It's thought she is actually royalty too, descended from Barbary lions which
were owned by the King of Morocco.

*Examining the effect of massage on recovery from high intensity cycling
exercise.
The benefit of massage for recovery after strenuous exercise is controversial. A
study at Stirling University in
Scotland looked at the effect of massage against passive recovery on lactate
clearance, muscle power and fatigue
characteristics after repeated high intensity cycling.
Nine male games players attended tests one week apart and kept nutritional
intake the same for the two days prior to the
tests.
The subjects did 6 bursts of 30 seconds high intensity cycling with 30 seconds
rest between. After 5 minutes of active
recovery and either 20 minutes of massage or just rest they performed a Wingate
test (measures power output on a bike).
Results showed that 'no measurable physiological effects were observed from the
massage, however subsequent effect on
fatigue index warrants further investigation'.
(Commentary: Muscles do not recover from high intensity exercise in 20 minutes.
Perhaps the effects on muscle power
should have been looked at over the next 24 hours and beyond?)

*Isometric Exercises
Isometric exercise means that you push against something that doesn't move, such
as a wall. Thirty years ago, most
weightlifters and athletes is sports requiring strength used isometric training
to make themselves stronger. Athletes
don't use isometric training much anymore. The strength gained through
performing isometric contractions is only within
20 degrees of the angle you hold. On the other hand, when you lift
weights, you become strong through a wide range of motion. Isometrics cause your
blood pressure to rise higher than the
other methods of strength training. If you have weak blood vessels or heart
trouble, you can rupture a blood vessel or
develop an irregular heart beat.
According to Dr. John D. Fair, Chairman of the Department of History at Auburn
University, the popularity of isometrics
was the result of the success of some weightlifters who took synthetic male
hormones called anabolic steroids and then
claimed that their isometric exercises made them strong. They claimed that they
were doing a revolutionary new training
method of pushing against bars that didn't move. The steroids made them stronger
by helping them to recover faster from
tough workouts so they could do more work. The only stimulus to make
a muscle stronger is to exercise that muscle against resistance. You can lift
heavy weights, push against special
strength machines and push against something that doesn't move, such as a wall
or bar attached to the ground. Isometrics
are not used much any more, but the steroids are still used, even though they
are banned by most sport authorities.



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

Coming Up:

April 24, 2004:
Country Music Marathon - Nashville, TN
http://www.cmmarathon.com/
Tennessean.com
http://www.tennessean.com/sports/cm-marathon/

Get in Gear 10K - Minneapolis, MN
http://www.getingear10k.com/

International Half-Marathon - Nice, France
http://www.nicesemimarathon.com/

April 25, 2004:
Big Sur Int'l Marathon - Carmel, CA
http://www.bsim.org/

Kingston Half-Marathon - ON
http://www.kingstonhalfmarathon.ca/

James Joyce Ramble 10K - Dedham, MA
http://www.ramble.org/

Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon - OK
http://www.okcmarathon.com/

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon - OH
http://www.clevelandmarathon.com/

Runner's World Half-Marathon - Allentown, PA
http://www.runnersworld.com/halfmarathon/

Salt Lake City Marathon - UT
http://www.saltlakecitymarathon.com/

St. Anthony's Triathlon - St. Petersburg, FL
http://www.satriathlon.com/


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 at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html

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.

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