Runner's Web Digest - June 4, 2004

The Original Runner's and Triathlete's Web was founded in January of 1997 as a
not-for-profit resource site. RunnersWeb.com Inc. is
now a small business venture which sponsors the OAC Racing Team, a women's road
racing and triathlon club, and the OAC Gatineau
Triathlon and OAC Corporate Relay. The site is not in any way associated with
the two UK "Runner's Web" copycat sites or the
Runner's Web Book Store in
the USA.

This issue is brought to you by Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running
store at:
http://www.roadrunnersports.com/cgi-bin/rrs/rrs/rrHome.jsp?sc=CBM-00105&prfc=1
Is your favourite running shoe being discontinued? Check RRS to find out.

Runner's Web Affiliate Programs:

TriSwim Coach - The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming
http://hop.clickbank.net/?rhianyth/triswim1

Sof Sole Offer:
A free pair of our technical socks ($9.99 value) with the purchase of
any Sof Sole insole.
http://www.sofsole.com/pages/promo/rwebsockoffer.html

Get Fit Running: If you are 150 pounds, sleeping burns 61 calories an
hour, race walking burns 442 calories and running 5mph burns
544 calories an hour! To reach your personal, health, fitness, and
performance goals, subscribe to RUNNER'S WORLD today!
(Get fit with Runner's World)
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=pgaZgw/VDU4&offerid=58447.10000229&\
type=3&subid=0

adidas' running apparel at 15% off! All running shorts, pants, and
shirts at reduced prices .
http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=20812557&siteid=39999062&bfpage=15745\
37

Get your RoadID at:
http://www.roadid.com/?referrer=50

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

The Stretching Handbook:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cgi-bin/at.pl?a=286905

Buy all your sporting goods at Fogdog Sports, your anytime, anywhere sports
store.
Click here: http://www.fogdog.com/cgi-bin/affiliate?siteid=40054907

The Runner's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the sports of running
and triathlon and general fitness and health issues.
The opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the Digest are the opinions
of the writers and not the Runner's Web. This
newsletter has been composed using Outlook set to text format. The Digest is
sent via an email list at
http://groups.yahoo.com.
If you experience any delays in receiving your copy of the Digest, please advise
us at:
mailto:webmaster@...

Webmasters:
Get our Syndicated headlines for you site.
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_getRSS.html

Visit the Runner's Web at http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html The site is
updated multiple times daily. Check out our daily news
features, polls, trivia, bulletin boards and more. General questions should be
posted to one of our forums available from our
FrontPage.

For new subscribers:
If you have any questions regarding the options available for receiving this
digest, please do NOT email the list, rather email me
directly at
mailto:Webmaster@...


You can receive the digest in three ways:
1. Immediately, via email,
2. Daily, in an email summary, and
3. By accessing the YahooGroups.com web site on demand.

The mail list has been set to not allow attachments out of concerns for viruses.
Also, all messages must be approved by the monitor
(me) prior to being released to the group.

NOTE**[ Some e-mail clients may split the URL address into two lines. If you
have trouble connecting to a link, be sure that you
paste the entire address into your browser, so that it ends in ".html" or
another appropriate suffix ].

References/URLs:
Most references in the digest which do not have a specific URL listed here are
available from the Runner's Web FrontPage at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
Also, if have email software that does not read HTML, all links contained in the
Digest are available from the Runner's Web Site or
from me. All URLs listed here have been verified as of the Digest publication
date. It is possible that the site may have archived
or deleted the page after publication. If you are unable to reach a URL listed
here, ensure that you are using the entire URL (see
above). If you still cannot reach the site, please email me at:
mailto:webmaster@... and I will try to track it down.

Note: Some sites require free registration.


New This Week:

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:
Bigger bang for your bucks - Saving for a Sunny Day, is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html


The Tour Within the Tour de France by James Raia:
The Tour de France is the world's greatest cycling event. As the bicyclists
climb into the mountains and quickly pass through the
rolling countryside, many other postcards of life occur away from the
competition - the ambience, the restaurants, the uniqueness of
the villages and the people who live and work among fields of sunflowers, near
ancient castles and among fields of expansive
vineyards. The Tour Within The Tour de France includes 24 essays about the
author's first six years of attending the race. This
ebook cost $7.95. Order now with your check or credit card at:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?rhianyth/eltomaja

How To Run And Enjoy The Marathon By James Raia:
Price: $7.95
As a practical guide to the 26.2-mile journey, How To Run And Enjoy The Marathon
is a series of 15 self-help and service-oriented
articles about running marathons - the proper shoes to running etiquette - is
written by James Raia, a journalist and veteran
middle-of-the-pack marathon and ultramarathon runner in Sacramento, Calif.
Buy the book at:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?rhianyth/eltomaja


Digest Article Index:

1. The Ultimate Running Machine
Inside a Soviet-style training camp, corporate scientists are reengineering
neuro-mechanics, blood chemistry, and brain waves.
Welcome to the Oregon Project, where Nike is rebuilding the US marathon team one
high tech step at a time.
2. Muscled out of diets, carbs still fuel athletes
3. Heart Disease and Exercise
4. Exercising for Two
5. Buff -- and 84
This former model and fitness trainer is a chiseled octogenarian, to the
surprise of many. 'He looks like he's in his 60s,' one
says.
6. Janet Fullwood: Thai couple documents four-year bicycle trip on Internet
7. From Runner's World
8. Visit to a Shrine
Joe Henderson's Running Commentary
9. Webb Makes Another Run to the Top
10. Opening 13 Cans of Whoop
11. Pacing and Avoiding Race Day Predictions
12. Getting through the marathon pain barrier
13. Enough is Enough
Runners can go overboard with nutrition advice. Here's a simple, moderate plan
of action.
14. Pool-bound plyometrics help you get stronger with less pain
15. Heart group finds pollution causes heart disease
16. Too Much Vitamin C Bad For Joints
17. Finding his way to the Good Life
18. Study finds sports injuries preventable through psychology
19. How To Eat Smart
20.Tempo, Tempo
21. After the big race: Dealing with the post-event blues
22. News Scan


Runner's Web Weekly Poll:

This week's poll is: "How will you follow the Olympic Games this summer?"

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: "The women's world record for the mile is 4.12.56 set
by Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996. Will a
woman ever break 4 minutes for the mile?"
The results at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Never 22 21%
2. 50 years 8 8%
3. 25 years 20 19%
4. 10 years 23 22%
5. 5 years 7 7%
6. 1 - 4 years 25 24%
Total Votes: 105


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

Forward the Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join


Five Star Site of the Week: USATF.org.
USATF.org has recently undergone a major facelift. The site is a one-stop center
for all things running.
"USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field,
long-distance running and race walking in the United
States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the most-watched
events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and
junior high school participatory sport and more than 50 million adult runners in
the United States.Led by President Bill Roe and CEO
Craig Masback, USATF is a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization with a
staff of professional program administrators at the
National Office in Indianapolis. The mission of USATF to provide vision and
leadership to the sport of track and field in the United
States, and to promote the pursuit of excellence from youth to masters, from
grassroots to the Olympic Games."
Check it out at:
http://www.usatf.org/

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 Book of Long-Distance Cycling : Build the
Strength, Skills, and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want
These days, bike riders, like runners, are not satisfied with just a tour around
the neighborhood. Long-distance challenges like the
AIDS Ride and Race Across America (RAAM) have grown in popularity. Burke and
Pavelka, both with years of experience competing,
writing about the sport, and working with professional cyclists, team up for
this thorough resource that includes all facets of
long-distance biking. Not only do they cover the basics, such as best bike gear,
proper nutrition, and what type of bike to buy, but
they give the lowdown on the latest equipment and explain bike technology
without oversimplifying. Readers will become familiar with
bike lingo such as duel-suspension, aero bars, and lactate threshold. Serious
bikers will surely mark, part 2, "The Rides," which
includes training schedules, charts, and race tactics to prepare beginners and
experienced cyclists for Centuries (100 mile rides)
to Ultra's (any distance over 100 miles). Although the book includes a small
section on women's issues, a good supplement would be
The Female Cyclist (Velo Press, 1999). Recommended to build any cyclist's
knowledge and confidence to conquer long rides. Buy the
book at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579541992/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

More books from Amazon at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/amazon.html
and Human Kinetics at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/human_kinetics.html

This Weeks News:

Articles:

1. The Ultimate Running Machine:
Inside a Soviet-style training camp, corporate scientists are reengineering
neuro-mechanics, blood chemistry, and brain waves.
Welcome to the Oregon Project, where Nike is rebuilding the US marathon team one
high tech step at a time.
IT'S A SATURDAY MORNING IN CENTRAL PARK, and 44 elite runners nervously stretch,
retie their shoelaces, and jog in place before the
start of the USA Men's 8K Championships. Most of the invited athletes are
mulling over typical prerace concerns: Did I log enough
miles? Am I psyched to push my body? Should I hit the Porta Potti?
But two runners, Dan Browne and Chad Johnson, have more on their minds: Was
there enough oxygen in our hermetically sealed house?
How reliable is the Russian brain wave software? Did that high-frequency
neuro-mechanical stimulator actually strengthen our legs?
Browne and Johnson are among the half-dozen runners on a Nike team dubbed the
Oregon Project, a stealth experiment headed by onetime
marathon star Alberto Salazar to create a radically better runner. Over the last
eight months, they've lived in a five-bedroom
Portland bungalow, training pretty much like other top-tier racers. They run
about 105 miles a week, sleep 10 hours a night, and
wolf down pasta by the bowl. But the rest of their regimen is highly unusual - a
multimillion-dollar lab project that relies on
up-to-the-minute, sometimes untested, scientific theory and technological
gizmos.
For starters, there's the house itself. Research shows that sleeping at high
altitude increases the production of oxygen-carrying
red blood cells, which, when combined with intense, low-elevation workouts,
dramatically improves athletic performance. Of course,
it's logistically tricky to live high and train low - unless Nike makes you a
special mock-altitude house. Which is exactly what
happened. Molecular filters inside the house remove oxygen, creating the thin
air found at 12,000 feet. Runners eat, sleep, watch
TV, and play videogames at what their bodies think is high elevation. Meanwhile,
they train at Portland's sea level.
More...from Wired.com at:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.08/nike_pr.html


2. Muscled out of diets, carbs still fuel athletes:
In a low-carb world, what's a modern marathoner to eat? What about endurance
racers who run up Pikes Peak, triathletes, hut-to-hut
skiers, all-day hikers and the thousands of cyclists gearing up for Ride the
Rockies and other multi-day events? How do they feed
the machine?
Carbs, carbs and more carbs, balanced with adequate protein and fat.
Carbohydrates lately have gotten a bad rap. As many as 70 million Americans
watch their intake, according to market research firm
Opinion Dynamics Corp. Thirty-six percent of 10,000 households surveyed by A.C.
Nielsen reported someone in the home was on a
low-carbohydrate diet or had tried one. Low-carb products and diets are big
business.
But among people who exercise a lot, and especially those who push their bodies
in endurance events, carbs are king.
Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for our muscles," says Bob Seebohar,
dietitian at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine.
Seebohar also is a coach, author, competitive triathlete and the consulting
nutritionist for Ride the Rockies, an annual
400-plus-mile, week-long bicycle ride around Colorado sponsored by The Denver
Post.
More...from the Denver Post at:
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E45%7E2180923,00.html


3. Heart Disease and Exercise:
So, you are a competitive athlete. Your diet is pretty good and you train
regularly. You figure you don't have to worry about heart
disease. Think again. Coronary artery disease, a narrowing of vessels that carry
blood to the heart, kills approximately one million
Americans per year. It can happen to you.
When I was asked to write an article about heart disease for Competitor, I
immediately called my patient Bill McDermott. A champion
ultra marathon runner, Bill never had the slightest concern about risks caused
by his competitive efforts. Then in July 2002, he
suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack). When I told Bill about the
article, he offered to share his experience as a
springboard for discussion of heart disease in athletes.
Bill's Story:
On July 4, 2002, on a plane trip from Los Angeles to New York, I suffered a
heart attack. It was caused by a blood clot that blocked
100 percent of my right coronary artery. It took me completely by surprise. I
was 51 and had none of the common risk factors. No
family history of heart disease, normal blood pressure, a non-smoker, ideal body
weight as well as normal cholesterol levels. I've
been an athlete my entire life.
That spring I was in peak shape. I had excellent races at both Wildflower and
Ironman Utah, extending my triathlon age-group winning
streak, including four Ironman events, over two years. Then on the 1st of July,
I over-exerted myself during a bicycle race in the
High Sierras.
The Everest Challenge was the first United States Cycling Federation sanctioned
competition for the California climbing
championships. It's a 220-mile race over two days held near Bishop. There is
29,000 feet of elevation gain. Temperatures were over
100 degrees. I wanted to win the state jersey. It turned out to be the hardest
race I'd ever done. Not only was it hot and long, but
aid station support was not sufficient. I gave a 100 percent effort the first
day and was severely dehydrated. On the second day, I
was just grateful to finish after suffering intense leg cramps, fatigue and
other symptoms of dehydration.
After the race I felt terrible, but told myself it was no worse than I'd felt
many times as an ultra marathon runner. I drove home,
drinking lots of fluids during the five-hour trip. Still I weighed in six pounds
below normal on Monday morning.
The following Thursday I got on the plane in Los Angeles for New York. Somewhere
over the Midwest I felt chest pain but denied the
possibility of a heart attack. That evening in New York I did an hour jog/walk
with difficulty. The next day, I did a 20-mile bike
ride also with difficulty. Finally, about 40 hours after my chest pain on the
plane, myocardial infarction was diagnosed. I had
suffered a heart attack. An angioplasty was performed immediately to remove the
blood clot, and the artery was stabilized with a
permanent stent.
More...from Competitor Magazine at:
http://www.competitor.com/story.cfm?story_id=6103&departmentid=34&publicationID=\
17


4. Exercising for Two
ST. LOUIS - When I found out I was pregnant for the first time, I immediately
ordered the bible for all moms-to-be, "What to Expect
When You're Expecting." As a marathon runner and fitness fanatic, I was shocked
when I came to the chapter on exercise and read that
running for more than 2 miles while pregnant was a no-no. Two miles? That's a
warm-up.
I then grabbed "Runner's World's Running for Pregnant Women." That book told
stories of women who had run marathons while pregnant.
That would be 24.2 miles past the other book's recommendation.
Needless to say, I was confused. I began my quest to find the truth. I read
dozens of books on pregnancy, devoured countless Web
sites, read every magazine article I could find, and I came up with this answer:
When it comes to fitness and pregnancy, there's a
lot the experts don't agree on.
Many of the articles and books said cardiovascular exercise should not exceed 30
minutes at a time and heart rate should be kept
under 140 beats a minute. Many experts also seem to suggest some particular
exercises should be avoided: full sit-ups, lunges and
bench presses, for example.
More...from iVillage.com at:
http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/hb/news/article/0,,krt_2004_05_28\
_knihi_0408-0078-HEALTH-PREGNANTEXERCISE~SL~ew~xml,0
0.html
[Multi-line URL]


5. Buff -- and 84:
This former model and fitness trainer is a chiseled octogenarian, to the
surprise of many. 'He looks like he's in his 60s,' one
says.
The physical therapy pool at a West Los Angeles sports medicine clinic is
bustling with people who are rehabbing sore or surgically
repaired hips, knees and shoulders. Their faces occasionally wince as they
slowly struggle through underwater exercises.
Then, a strapping older man with a full head of silvery hair, a bodybuilder's
physique and a George Hamilton-like tan and smile
struts poolside. It's Bob Delmonteque, a former model, fitness author and
trainer, who's there for a minor tuneup to fortify his
lower back. The 6-1, 200-pounder glides into the water, chatting with and
charming the others, as he makes his way to the deep end
of the pool.
"He's how old?" asks Mildred Hattenback, 82, as she exercises after undergoing a
recent knee-replacement surgery. "How old did you
say?"
Eighty-four, she is told.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-bodybuilder31may31,1,3899149.story?\
coll=la-headlines-health


6. Janet Fullwood: Thai couple documents four-year bicycle trip on Internet:
Used to be, people who went on long, arduous journeys kept a journal to be
thumbed through in old age, passed down to family members
or perhaps published as a book.
Wan and Mou Othong, being thoroughly modern adventurers, have been making their
journal public all along through a regularly
updated, highly detailed and bilingual (Thai and English) Web site,
www.thaibikeworld.com.
In its pages are set out the dry facts of the soft-spoken Thai couple's
extraordinary bicycle trip around the world: two years, 17
countries under their wheels; two years, 26 countries to go. The casual reader
can glean all sorts of intriguing statistics while
scrolling around - for example, that the pair pedaled 839 kilometers in Colombia
in 12 days and that on May 8, 2003, they made a
presentation to students in Nana, Peru.
More...from the SACBEE at:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/recreation/cycling_running/story/9453808p-1\
0377819c.html


7. From Runner's World:
*Cross training offers a physical and mental break from running: Find an aerobic
activity you enjoy and cross-train once or twice a
week, on days you don't run. Bicycling, vigorous hiking, swimming, pool running,
and using your health club's cardiovascular
exercise machines offer an array of benefits

*Achilles tendonitis: Since tight calf muscles and a tight Achilles usually lead
to Achilles tendonitis, stretching the calf and
tendon are imperative. Also, consider a firmer, motion-control shoe to limit
rearfoot motion and over pronation, and make certain
that there isn't any pressure or rubbing from your shoes on the Achilles tendon.
Eliminate or cut back on hill training.

*Red Raspberries: This oh-so-sweet fruit is a real hard hitter in the fiber
department. One-cup packs more fiber (5.8 g) than an
equal amount of bran flakes or five dried prunes. This same amount also delivers
five times the vitamin C (31 mg) of a peach and
serves up 22 mg of magnesium--with only 60 fat- free calories! To find the very
best pick your own! But if frolicking in the
raspberry fields is not on your itinerary, roadside stands and farmers' markets
should be. Select bright, dry, firm fruit with
excellent form, hollow centers, uniform coloring, and no hulls (they're tart).

*Rewards Work: "When you've put in the mileage, or completed a key workout
that's important for you, treat yourself to something
that's meaningful and enjoy"! -Katie Herrell, RW online coordinator

8. Visit to a Shrine:
Joe Henderson's Running Commentary.
(rerun from May 1998 RW)
Olympic tracks are the shrines of our sport. Unfortunately we must leave North
America to visit any of them used in our running
lifetime.
The sad fact is that all three tracks used for the Olympics on this continent
since 1976 weren't considered important enough to
preserve. Track couldn't fill these stadiums, so baseball or football moved in
soon after the last Olympic medal was awarded.
Montreal ripped up its track to reconfigure the field for the Expos. Los Angeles
renovated for the Raiders (who later moved back to
Oakland). Atlanta cut its stadium in half to become home of the Braves.
To see an Olympic track, I had to travel to Tokyo. This wasn't the reason for
visiting Japan but was to be the highlight of that
trip. I recommend going there -- or to another surviving shrine -- to all
runners with enough years on them to have a sense of
history.
Some personal history: 1964 was the high point for my track-watching fanaticism
(also my best year of track racing). The Olympics
came to Tokyo that year, to what the Japanese now call "National Stadium."
That October I stayed up much of the night to catch as many events as possible
on television. But the best one slipped past me.
My dad woke me with the stunning news of Billy Mills, who went in as
third-fastest on the three-member U.S. team, winning the
10,000. Americans Bob Schul and Bill Dellinger later went 1-3 in the 5000.
Peter Snell won his second Olympic 800, plus the 1500. Abebe Bikila won his
second marathon
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/446.html


9. Webb Makes Another Run to the Top :
After two years of competitive frustrations and setbacks, Alan Webb broke out of
his seemingly intractable slump last weekend with a
performance that flashed back to the brilliance of his senior season at Reston's
South Lakes High.
Webb won the 1,500 meters at the Home Depot Invitational in Carson, Calif., on
May 22, obliterating a high-profile field in a race
that produced a slew of small victories. It was his first career win in a major
event with a personal best time (3 minutes 35.71
seconds). It also met the qualifying standard for this summer's Olympics in
Athens (he still has to make the U.S. team at the July
Olympic trials), was the top time in the United States this year, not to mention
No. 2 in the world this season.
Webb, who in 2001 broke Jim Ryun's high school record in the mile while at South
Lakes, was asked after the race if he had finally
succeeded in getting a monkey off of his back.
[Editor's Note: Webb finished fourth in the Hengelo 1500 on May 31st (the meet
where Bekele set his world record), and improved his
PR to 3:33.70, making him the eighth fastest American of all time]
More...from the Washington Post at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1276-2004May29.html



10. Opening 13 Cans of Whoop:
Slowly but surely, skinny cans have been taking over the beverage shelves at my
corner convenience store. Their names are strange.
Rush. Liquid Ice. New York Minute. Their purpose is clear: to revive my sagging,
flagging, drooping carcass with a shot of
unadulterated rocket fuel. One heavily caffeinated dose, and I will be ready to
bench-press 200 pounds, run a four-minute mile,
dance frantically until 4 a.m., solve even the toughest crossword puzzle and, as
one product coyly expresses it, "get it up, keep it
up." All this in a little eight-ounce can.
They are the demon spawn of Jolt Cola, a briefly popular drink that delivered a
mighty wallop of caffeine in a 12-ounce can. The
basic idea, to achieve espresso-grade liftoff with a cold, fizzy cola drink, was
just slightly ahead of its time.
Jolt never quite hit the big time, but a new generation of caffeinated energy
drinks has. Led by Red Bull, a disorganized army of
supercharged soft drinks has overtaken bottled water as the fastest-growing
category in the beverage business.
I needed to find out why. It was time to pop the top on a Stacker2 Stinger
Pounding Punch.
In three fun-filled sessions, I drank my way through 13 energy drinks. My survey
was far from exhaustive. In a quick visit to
bevnet.com, a Web site that provides a brief description and tasting notes for
virtually every nonalcoholic beverage on the market,
I counted nearly 200 offerings, from Airborne to Yohimbe, with stops along the
way at such tantalizing stations as Dark Dog, Mad
Croc, Raw Dawg and Pimp Juice. Amidst this product swarm, a few common features
emerged. Virtually all drinks are sold in an 8-ounce
can. All contain caffeine, guarana or a combination of both. (Guarana, a berry
found in the Amazon, has a stimulant effect similar
to caffeine's.) Some use ginseng as well, for extra stimulation. Typically, an
energy drink delivers the kick of a strong cup of
coffee, which has about 80 milligrams of caffeine.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/fashion/23BROW.html?ex=1086235200&en=702f5487c\
51ca519&ei=5070


11. Pacing and Avoiding Race Day Predictions:
By Matt Russ
Matt Russ has coached and trained athletes around the USA and internationally.
He currently holds licenses by USAT, USATF, and is an
Expert level USAC coach. Matt coaches athletes for CTS, is an Ultrafit
Associate, and owner of www.thesportfactory.com
No athlete likes to be passed during a race. A natural reaction is speed up and
attempt to keep pace with the person whose dust you
are now eating, but in doing so you just got pulled out of your game and put
into theirs. Most likely you have no idea of their
performance potential, pacing, or strategy (if any). Multi-sport events often
have a relay team category in which a single athlete
will use up everything they have in the one leg. The point is, to be truly
efficient and race your fastest you must know and race
within your limits, not someone else's. There is only one pace that is most
efficient for you and it's a very fine line between it
and over pacing. Proper pacing becomes especially important in distance races
such as marathon and Ironman distance. It is very easy
to get caught in a moment and push too hard at the wrong time, only to pay for
it later.
In the scenario above, the athlete who passed you could actually be slower than
you and pacing themselves incorrectly, or a faster
athlete who is going to eat your legs up and leave you flat. In either case, if
you are at the top of your performance envelope
chasing them will only slow you down. If you go anaerobic even for a short
period of time you are going to have to recover, and
recovery takes time. Anaerobic efforts are very fatiguing, especially if you are
not trained at these intensities, or to repeat
these intensities. It is important to know your performance potential and pace
and train yourself accordingly. An athlete should get
metabolically tested, or perform performance tests and race simulations to
determine such heart rate intensities as lactate
threshold and max VO2. These numbers are critical to proper pacing. Where you
should be in relation to these heart rates will depend
on your race and conditioning. Shorter sprint races may have you at or above
your Lactate Threshold if you are highly trained.
Longer endurance races may be mainly at an aerobic level with brief periods
above this zone.
Once you have established your pacing parameters it is crucial to stay within
them. A key element of this process is regularly
collecting data as you race and adjusting your pace accordingly. There is a
variety of data and methods of collection available to
you. Some are more effective than others. A simple example is checking splits at
each km or mile marker during a running race, and
adjusting your pace based on your known potential. The best forms of data occur
in real time such as heart rate, watts (cycling), or
using a new GPS based pacing device. It should be habit to scan this data, and
make adjustments if necessary, every few minutes or
less.
More...from EnduranceCoach.com at:
http://www.endurancecoach.com/Pacing_and_Avoiding_Race_Day_Predictions.htm


12. Getting through the marathon pain barrier:
On the starter's gun you're feeling fit as a fiddle. All fuelled up, muscles
flexed and raring to go.
Twenty six and a bit miles later you're exhausted, parched and your wobbly legs
can barely carry you over the finish line.
Yes, the marathon has taken its terrible toll!
Just so you know exactly what competitors in the London Marathon are letting
themselves in for, the Academy decided to find out what
your body goes through during the gruelling 26-mile slog.
We asked UK Sport scientist David Lasini to help us investigate - and to give
some advice for gritting your teeth and getting
through the pain barrier.
How to deal with hitting that wall :
The marathon is a long, long race which means you're likely to use up most of
your energy supplies before you reach the end.
You know you're in trouble when your fuel tank starts running on empty.
This happens when your body runs out of carbohydrate fuel (sometimes known as
muscle glycogen) and starts burning fat for energy
instead.
This is a far less efficient way of producing energy and you'll start to chug
along in the slow lane instead of motoring at top
speed.
More...from the BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/athletics/features/newsid_2924000/29246\
85.stm


13. Enough is Enough:
Runners can go overboard with nutrition advice. Here's a simple, moderate plan
of action.
Faster. Stronger. Healthier. Runners want to be all these things, and more. So
when we're told to eat certain foods, steer clear of
others, and load up on specific vitamins and minerals, we tend to do it--to
excess. This could cause problems for you. Believe it
or not, there is such a thing as a diet that's too high in carbohydrates, too
low in fat, or too high in iron.
Below, I offer some nutrition limits. Check them out, then resolve not to blow
past them like speed-limit signs on the highway.
The Big Four
Carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber are the key essential building blocks of
every runner's diet. Here's how to balance these
four nutritional components.
Carbohydrates. Virtually all runners know the importance of carbohydrates for
top performance, better endurance, and speedy
recovery. Eating 250 to 350 grams of carbohydrate daily will suffice (about 55
percent of total calories) for the non-athlete. But
runners need about 400 to 600 grams daily, or about 60 to 70 percent of total
calories. This works out to around 3 to 4 grams of
carbohydrate for every pound of your body weight. Overboard: If you eat
high-carbohydrate foods at the expense of other nutrients,
you're headed for trouble. Stay under 75 percent of total calories from
carbohydrates, or no more than 4 grams per pound of body
weight. Once you go above this level, it will be difficult to consume enough
other vital nutrients such as essential fats and
protein.
More...from Reebok Runner at:
http://www.reebokrunner.com/features/enoughenough.html


14. Pool-bound plyometrics help you get stronger with less pain:
If you want to turn your workout routine up a notch with the explosive,
muscle-building exercises called plyometrics, take your
regimen to a swimming pool, researchers at Ohio State University suggest.
But do so cautiously.
During plyometric exercise, a muscle lengthens while it is contracting and
producing force. This type of exercise program -- a
mainstay of many athletic team weight-training programs during the off-season --
can increase muscle strength in less time than
traditional resistance training.
Yet plyometrics can also cause severe muscle soreness and even damage, said
Steven Devor, a study co-author and an assistant
professor of sport and exercise sciences at Ohio State University. Devor and his
colleagues found that doing plyometric exercise in
a swimming pool significantly decreased the level of muscle soreness athletes
felt two to three days after a workout.
"The participants who did the exercises in water had the same gains in muscle
strength as the group that did the workout in a gym,"
Devor said. "Until now, no one had looked at the possibility of doing
plyometrics in water."
The study appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10737&sidebar=576&category=healthclub


15. Heart group finds pollution causes heart disease:
Air pollution causes heart disease, the American Heart Association said.
While pollution does not cause as many heart attacks as high blood pressure, for
example, it is a serious risk factor, the group
said in a statement Tuesday. "This is a serious public health problem due to the
enormous number of people affected and because
exposure to air pollution occurs over an entire lifetime," said Dr. Robert Brook
of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who
helped write the statement.Writing in the Association's journal Circulation,
Brook and colleagues said this was the first firm
conclusion from the group about the long-term effects of chronic exposure to
pollution. Their statement adds authority to a
collection of findings that some groups have disputed.
More...from CNN at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/06/02/heart.pollution.reut/index.html


16. Too Much Vitamin C Bad For Joints:
If a moderate amount of daily vitamin C is good for bone health, then more must
be even better, right?
Wrong.
"Everybody needs vitamin C in their diet, but taking supplements beyond the
recommended daily allowance is probably inadvisable"
when it comes to fighting arthritis, said Dr. Virginia Kraus, an associate
professor of medicine at Duke University and lead author
of a study that challenges the conventional wisdom on diet and osteoarthritis.
Millions of older Americans suffer from the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis
-- a deterioration of bones and cartilage in the
joints. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, which experts know is caused by
inflammation brought on by immune system dysfunction, the
causes of osteoarthritis remain unclear.
Seeking a deeper understanding of the disease, researchers are now focusing on
lifestyle and dietary factors as possible
contributors to osteoarthritis. In their study, published in the June issue of
Arthritis & Rheumatism, Kraus' team of researchers
fed guinea pigs low, medium and high doses of vitamin C as part of their daily
diet.
"The guinea pig is the ideal animal in which to test this," Kraus explained,
"because they require vitamin C in their diet, just
like humans, and they get an osteoarthritis of their knees that looks very
similar to the type of knee osteoarthritis that humans
get."
Arthritis specialists have long recommended that patients consume an adequate
daily amount of vitamin C because the nutrient is both
a potent antioxidant and a key player in the formation of joint cartilage. But
would higher doses of the vitamin make bones even
stronger?
Not so, Kraus reports. "More is not better," she said. "We found that the more
vitamin C given, the more osteoarthritis is apparent
in the joints of these animals that are predisposed to getting osteoarthritis."
Guinea pigs fed low doses of vitamin C showed the least signs of knee arthritis,
Kraus said, but since they also tended to weigh
much less than the medium- or high-dose animals, reductions in weight might
explain that result.
More...from Forbes.com at:
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2004/06/03/hscout519328.html


17. Finding his way to the Good Life:
Hard work and dedication needed, trainers advise Fitness entrepreneur bounces
back from adversity
"You're lucky," Chris Sellars is often told. "You're lucky to be so fit."
"It's not luck," the YMCA personal trainer will say. "It's hard work. Don't get
me wrong, I'm not complaining, I like the hard work,
but it's work. Don't kid yourself about what it takes to get healthy and stay
that way."
For David Patchell-Evans, 50, the founder of GoodLife Fitness Clubs, the
consequences of the "unfitness epidemic" that plagues the
modern world are just being felt - in sharply rising obesity rates and diseases
ranging from diabetes to cancer and a whole new
generation of overweight children.
"The ease of life in the Western world is relatively recent," Patchell-Evans
writes in his book, Living The Good Life. In times
past, he observes, most people were worn out by physical labour and died young
from toiling in mines, in agriculture or domestic
work. "Now we have to exercise so as not to rust out from inactivity."
Trouble is, only about 20 per cent of North Americans get any physical exercise.
Eighty per cent do nothing. An entire urban
reality - the suburb - is based on the automobile. For many adults, being "into
sports" means watching hockey, golf or soccer on
TV.More...from the Star at:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1086260468255&call_pageid=991479973472&col=991929131147
[Multi-line URL]


18. Study finds sports injuries preventable through psychology:
A University of Auckland PhD student has shown that psychology has an important
part to play in injury vulnerability for
sportspeople and their ability to recover.
Ralph Maddison has submitted his PhD at the Department of Sports and Exercise
Science and his research has shown that by altering
psychological variables that help to reduce stress, using techniques like
relaxation, then injury vulnerability can be reduced.
Ralph says much of the injury-related studies to date have focused on physical
and environmental factors such as fitness levels,
shoes and ground conditions.
"Psychological factors have a significant part to play in understanding injury
occurrence, prevention and rehabilitation and this is
part of the study I've undertaken," says Ralph.
His study was divided into three parts, initially identifying the connection
between psychological factors and injury occurrence,
then introducing a stress management programme for athletes "at-risk" of injury
to reduce injury-vulnerability and finally
introducing proactive
More...from News-Medical.net at:
http://www.news-medical.net/view_article.asp?id=2165


19. How To Eat Smart:
We know that the foods we eat affect the body. but they may have even more
influence on how the brain handles its tasks. mood,
motivation, and mental performance are powerfully influenced by diet. interest
in the nutrient value of foods is not just a selfish
search for a formula to give us a competitive edge. it also reflects our
profound need for reconnection to the natural world. call
it deep nutrition.
You are, as the expression goes, what you eat. After all, the very, tissues of
your body, the fuels that power every cell, the
hormones that keep you humming, all must ultimately be furnished by the foods
you eat. No surprise, then, that over the past 15
years, perhaps spurred most intensely by health concerns and the performance
demands of elite athletes, a burgeoning body of
literature has documented the intimate connections between food and health. At
the same time, an interest in nutrition has moved
from the fringes of cultural life squarely into the mainstream.
But that turns out to be a very neck-down view of things. For while the foods we
eat have measurable effects on the body's
performance, they may prove to have an even more critical influence on how the
brain handles its tasks. The brain is an extremely
metabolically active organ, making it a very hungry one, and a picky eater at
that. The idea that the right foods, or the natural
neurochemicals they contain, can enhance mental capabilities--help you
concentrate, tune sensorimotor skills, keep you motivated,
magnify memory, speed reaction times, defuse stress, perhaps even prevent brain
aging--is not idle speculation.
More...from at: Psychology Today at:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/htdocs/prod/PTOArticle/PTO-19960501-000033.ASP


20.Tempo, Tempo
For many runners, the term speedwork conjures up images of endless gut-busting
quarters on the track. And indeed, such
high-intensity intervals do have a place in the training plan of any runner who
wishes to improve. Another, often overlooked,
component of speedwork, however, is the lactate threshold (LT) workout,
according to exercise physiologist Pete Pfitzinger.
In the Running Times Guide to Breakthrough Running, Pfitzinger explains that
your LT occurs when your body produces lactate more
rapidly than it can use it. Your LT pace is the fastest running speed you can
maintain without a rapid rise in the lactate levels in
your muscles and blood. Improving your LT can improve your running performance.
Two workouts that can help improve your LT are tempo runs and LT intervals.
Tempo runs involve warming up for 10-20 minutes, then
running at LT pace for 20-40 minutes, then cooling down for 10-20 minutes.
"Because tempo runs require you to maintain a hard pace
for at least 20 minutes, they are quite difficult mentally (more so than
interval workouts because of the extended concentration
required), and some runners avoid them. The ability to maintain concentration,
however, is crucial in preparing for any race,"
writes Pfitzinger.
For a more detailed discussion of tempo runs, visit
http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/99dec/tempo.htm.
The other excellent option for LT training are LT intervals, or cruise
intervals. "In an LT interval workout, you run repetitions of
at least five minutes at your LT pace with a short rest between intervals. The
work-to-rest ratio should be 3:1 or 4:1-that is,
three or four times as much LT running as recovery. These workouts may consist
of two long reps or as many as eight shorter reps.
Between each LT interval you should jog or slowly run the rest interval."
Some sample LT Interval workouts might be a 10-20 minute warm-up, followed by
one of the following:
3-4 x 7 minutes at LT pace, 2-minute recovery jog between hard runs
4-7 x 1 mile at LT pace, 90-second recovery jog
2 x 3 miles at LT pace, 4-minute recovery jog
Marathoners special: 10 miles steady followed by 4-6 reps of 5 minutes at LT
pace, with 2 minutes at steady pace between reps
These LT interval workouts are by no means exhaustive; feel free to make up your
own!
From the Running Times Newsletter at:
http://www.runningtimes.com


21. After the big race: Dealing with the post-event blues:
You did it. You ran the race you always dreamed about, setting an incredible
personal record.
You'd set this goal almost a year before. During the previous winter you
designed a training program for the long months to come.
You logged each and every run, maintained respectable mileage even during the
cruelest weeks of January and February.
Finally, spring arrived and you gradually built up to high mileage with a long
run each week. Then you began speedwork and ran
occasional races to quicken your pace and accustom yourself once again to the
rigors and challenges of competition.
You monitored yourself carefully and rested when it was needed. You did
everything right and ran your best ever. So you should be
feeling terrific, on top of the world.
Maybe you felt some brief elation, but then in a few days there is a feeling of
emptiness, apathy, perhaps even mild depression.
What went wrong?
Many runners and other athletes have been puzzled by this common experience that
often follows a major event, independent of whether
they have performed well or poorly.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=10761&sidebar=13&category=running


22. News Scan:
*Prestretch routine.
Do you know the one thing you should always do before stretching? To prevent
injury you should perform at least 10-15 minutes of
cardiovascular exercise (walking, biking) prior to stretching. Never stretch a
"cold muscle" -- one that does not have sufficient
blood flowing through the tissue to be stretched.

*Post-exercise relief for the inner thigh
Try this a stretch after your workout if you perform weight-training exercises
to strengthen your inner-thigh muscles, or if you
play sports that require sudden stops and starts, such as tennis, soccer or
basketball.
1 Sit on a padded surface or an exercise mat with your knees bent and the soles
of your feet pressed together in front of you. Grasp
the front of each foot with your hands and move your feet close to your body.
Inhale and sit as tall as you can.
2 As you exhale, adjust your hand position to hold your ankles. Bend at your
hips and move your upper body forward. Use your elbows
to gently press your knees toward the floor as you lean forward. Maintain a
straight back and do not jerk or bounce during the
stretch. Hold the position for 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat as often as desired
during the day or after a workout.

*Get the Most from your Warm-Up Time
Warming up before you exercise helps to prevent injuries and lets you jump
higher, run faster, lift heavier or throw further. A
study from Belgium shows that competitive athletes in sports requiring speed and
endurance perform better after they warm up
intensely before competition (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
December 2003). Warming up can prevent injuries because
muscles are made up of millions of individual fibers, just like a rope made from
many threads. When you start to exercise at a very
slow pace, you increase the blood flow to muscle fibers, increase their
temperature, and bring in more oxygen, so the muscles are
more pliable and resistant to injury. When you contract a muscle for the first
time, you use less than one percent of your muscle
fibers. The second time you bring in more fibers, and you keep on increasing
the number of muscle fibers used in each contraction
for several minutes of using that muscle. It's called recruitment. When you are
able to contract more muscle fibers, there is less
force on each individual fiber to help protect them from injury. Usually you
are warmed up when you start to sweat.
However, warming up slowly does not increase the maximum amount of oxygen that
you can bring to muscles that you need during
competition. This study shows that warming up intensely increases endurance
because intensity increases the maximum amount of
oxygen that you can bring to your muscles, as you continue to compete, and lets
your muscles contract with greater force as you
begin to fatigue. If you are a competitive runner, skier, cyclist, or an athlete
in any sport that requires endurance, warm up at a
gradually increasing pace. Then use a
series of increasingly intense repetitions of 10 to 30 seconds duration, with
short recoveries, until you are near your maximum
pace. You will then be able to bring in more oxygen to your muscles than you
could have done without the intense warm-up .


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

Check out our Upcoming Races on our FrontPage. 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

Send this to a Friend:
Forward the Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join

Your Feedback and Comments:
Comments, contributions and feedback are always welcome via this list at:
mailto:runnersweb@yahoogroups.com and in our Runner's Web
Forum, available off our FrontPage. If you post to the mailing list and get your
email returned, please contact the Runner's Web at
mailto:webmaster@... to notify us of the problem. To update your
Runner's Web eGroups subscriber's profile,
go to the web site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join, sign in
and update your changes.

Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
webmaster@... <mailto:webmaster@...>
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html