Runner's Web Digest - September 24, 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
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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
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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
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New This Week:

What others are saying about the Runner's Web:

Siri Lindley, World Champion Triathlete and Coach
"The Runner's Web is my all time favorite site, the first one I go to everyday."

Nicole Stevenson , Canadian 2:34 Marathoner
"I just wanted to comment on how great your site is! I check it out a few times
a week, especially after race weekends to find
results and running/tri news. I spoke with Ken Parker way back when I used to
work at adidas, and since then I've witnessed the
evolution of your work. Great job!".

Simon Whitfield, 2000 Olympic Triathlon champion
"Keep up the amazing work with RunnersWeb.com, awesome, thanks for keeping me
updated."

Amby Burfoot, Executive Editor, Runner's World Magazine
"I'm a big fan of your runnersweb.com site".

Triathlete Jill Savege - 2003 Pan American Champion and Canadian Champion
"I read your website all the time. It is my newspaper in the morning when I eat
breakfast"

Triathlete Natasha Filliol - Canadian Elite Triathlon Team, 2002 Commonwealth
Games Team, 2003 Pan American Games Team
"One of the first things I do every morning is check out Runnersweb.com. Keep it
up!"

Triathlete Sharon Donnelly - 1999 Pan American Champion, 3 Time Canadian
Champion and Sydney Olympian
"...I read it on your Runners' Web, which I have set up as my Homepage of
course!"


To comment on any stories in the Digest visit our Forum at:
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Our latest column from Carmichael Training Systems
Multisport: Fighting Free Radicals by Edmund Burke is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html.

Our latest column from Peak Performance online:
Triathlon: Ironman Triathlon Gender Differences is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PPO_index.html

We have ONE personal posting this week.
Personal Postings, when available, are located after the Upcoming Section
towards the bottom of the newsletter.


This Week's Digest Article Index:

1. Are carbohydrates of benefit during a race?
Running for over 90-120 minutes at race pace can deplete glycogen stores even if
well loaded beforehand. This means your muscles
will have to resort to fat or protein for energy.
2. Running in smoggy conditions: How dangerous is it?
3. Blame It on Hormones
Testosterone routinely gets a lot of bad press; but according to one recent
study, estrogen is beginning to catch up.
4. Top Fitness Trends: From fusion sessions to thinking like an athlete, we
pinpoint new approaches in the workout world
5. Fit or fat? BMI comes under fire
The body mass index is widely used to decide who is overweight and in danger of
health problems.
6. Sharing some ideas on eating and drinking for endurance
7. Racers need to record the good times along the way
8. Researchers working on 'living glue' to secure artificial hips, other joints
9. Learning to balance food and energy
10. Study: Smoky bars top roads for health risk
11. Digital Exercise: New devices are reshaping athletics and physical fitness
12. Winning Battles in the Prostate Cancer War
13. Beware Food Companies' Health Claims
14. Acupuncture Helps Ease Post-Surgical Ills -Study
15. Dieting Myths
16. Cycling: Keeping up with the small stuff
17. From Runner's World
18. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Bill and Joan Show
19. Getting Back Up
20. Are you running properly?
21. Red Wine Protects Prostate
A Glass of Red Wine a Day May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk in Half.
22. Using Glycemic Index to Improve Athletic Performance
23. Triathlon: Ironman Triathlon Gender Differences
24. Weight loss strategies for athletes
25. News Scan


Runner's Web Weekly Poll:
This week's poll is: "What is your level of interest in the Paralympics?"

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: "Which of the following events have you competed in
during 2004?
Cycling - Mountain Bike
Cycling - Road Race
Running Road Race - 5/10K
Running Road Race - Half-Marathon
Running Road Race - Marathon
Track Race - 800M to 10K
Triathlon - Ironman
Triathlon - Olympic Distance
Triathlon - Sprint Distance
Ultra/Adventure Race"

The answers at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Cycling - Mountain Bike 9 3%
2. Cycling - Road Race 15 5%
3. Running Road Race - 5/10K 75 27%
4. Running Road Race - Half-Marathon 64 23%
5. Running Road Race - Marathon 29 11%
6. Track Race - 800M to 10K 6 2%
7. Triathlon - Ironman 18 7%
8. Triathlon - Olympic Distance 17 6%
9. Triathlon - Sprint Distance 29 11%
10. Ultra/Adventure Race 13 5%
Total Votes: 275

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:
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Five Star Site of the Week: Team-Bennett.com.
The site for Greg Bennett and Laura Reback.
"Welcome to Team Bennett, we have designed Team Bennett to enhance our
professional perception as athletes. It has been designed to
communicate our experiences from around the globe and foster a team relationship
with the media, sponsors, family, friends, and
fans.
In a much bigger picture we would like Team Bennett to be a stimulus for
following your own dreams.
It is when you go after your dream with purpose, when you go for it 100%,
without the fear of ‘what if I fail’ that you will learn,
and that is when you are truly living."
Laura & Greg
Check out the site at:
http://www.team-bennett.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: Keep on Running : The Science of Training and Performance.
The realms of biochemistry, nutrition, physiology and psychology are finally
made accessible to the athlete in this long-awaited
text which has been written for anyone who wishes to understand more about the
scientific basis of athletic training and
performance. The authors have provided a wealth of information on this subject
and, at the same time, have succeeded in producing a
creative, up-to-date, easy to understand but completely authoritative text which
will appeal to athletes at any stage of their
career, as well as coaches and physicians. It is also intended to help students
of sports science, in particular those who do not
have a strong background in science. By presenting ‘biochemistry without the
equations and physiology without the mathematics the
authors have ensured that the book will have a wide audience. Features include a
highly illustrated text, high carbohydrate recipe
suggestions for athletes, practical training schedules and a comprehensive
bibliography. Includes training schedules by Bruce
Tulloh, gold medalist and currently training editor of Runners World. "Overall a
great book — possibly the best that's been
published for years." Today's Runner "Absolutely excellent — combines aspects of
physiology and biochemistry and I for one will
utilise it thoroughly in any course I am running." N. C. Craig Sharp, Professor
of Sports Science, University of Limerick and former
Senior Physiologist at the Olympic Medical Centre, London.
Buy the book at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471943142/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. Are carbohydrates of benefit during a race?
Running for over 90-120 minutes at race pace can deplete glycogen stores even if
well loaded beforehand. This means your muscles
will have to resort to fat or protein for energy.
As fat requires oxygen to burn, you will have to slow right down (or walk!), so
that sufficient oxygen can reach the muscles. This
is referred to as 'hitting the wall', quite a common phenomena for those who
have run marathons.
(Check out the number of walkers at the 35-38km mark!). Local muscle fatigue
will result in cramping and/or heaviness of the legs
and a total inability to go any faster.
Carbohydrate taken during exercise can overcome the above. Trained muscles will
take up the glucose for extra energy, helping you to
maintain your pace at the end of a race and therefore better your time.
Carbohydrate also offsets hypoglycemia (low blood sugar
levels) that occurs during high intensity racing. Since glucose is brain food,
you will ultimately 'feel' better and put in more
effort.
So what type of carbohydrate should you consume? Sports drinks are ideal as they
supply fluid and carbohydrate and are absorbed
quickly. Fluids are much easier to consume than solids. Solid food may cause
gastric upset or sit in your stomach, leaving you
feeling 'heavy'.
The amount of carbohydrate needed is around 40 gm/hour. These amounts to around
150-250mls sports drink every 15mins (available in
most distance events). Sports gels (around 20gms carbohydrate) may also be
tolerated, especially if extra carbohydrate is needed
towards the end of an event.
A word of warning about gels: make sure you also drink plenty of fluid (2 cups
per gel) or else dehydration will result.
More...from World of Endurance at:
http://worldofendurance.com/runnersguide/beginners_column.asp?a_id=1038766&st_na\
me=BackToBasics


2. Running in smoggy conditions: How dangerous is it?
Question:
Each summer I get confused because some people say when the smog is bad I
shouldn't run, while others say as long as I run in the
morning the pollution hasn't built up yet. What should I do? Is concern over air
pollution a scam or a real danger?
Answer:
There is good reason to be concerned about smog. Polluted air contains numerous
toxic compounds that have a negative effect on
exercise performance.
They can cause symptoms that begin when your throat tickles, then becomes rough
and scratchy. You may have chest pain, begin
coughing, become short of breath, and develop a headache.
After a few days' exposure most of the symptoms decrease or go away, which makes
some people think they can now handle the bad air
and it isn't a problem.
This is a gamble, because hidden damage continues. We know this because of a
test called a methacholine challenge. This drug narrows
lung airways, and the effect is increased when the air contains ozone (the most
toxic component of smog).
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11241&sidebar=13&category=running


3. Blame It on Hormones:
Testosterone routinely gets a lot of bad press; but according to one recent
study, estrogen is beginning to catch up.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor and the
Cincinnati Sports Medicine Clinic in Ohio recently
polled 28 women athletes with tears in their anterior cruciate ligaments (one of
the 12 ligaments in the knee). Asked about their
menstrual cycles and the times of their injuries (all injuries were less than
three months old), the scientists discovered that a
disproportionately high number of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears
occurred while the women were ovulating.
"Two hundred percent more women than we expected were getting hurt during
ovulation, when their estrogen levels are highest, and a
lower percentage than we expected were getting injured after they ovulated, when
estrogen levels recede," says Edward Wojtys, M.D.,
professor of surgery at the University of Michigan and the study's chief
investigator. "Our findings imply an association between
ACL injuries and estrogen levels. Now we're measuring hormone levels at the time
of injury in order to prove it."
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-78-185-0-843,00.html


4. Top Fitness Trends: From fusion sessions to thinking like an athlete, we
pinpoint new approaches in the workout world:
The '80s brought us spandex, heart-pumping aerobics and step classes.
In the 1990s, yoga, Pilates and the mind-body meld became the new aerobics.
Now, four years into a new decade, there's no clear winner in the Next Great
Fitness Trend race.
However, several distinct themes are emerging in the fitness universe. We've
nailed down five top fitness and exercise trends, as
defined by local experts.
East Meets West
Hands up those who have taken a yoga or Pilates class.
If you're a health-conscious woman, chances are you've struck a warrior pose or
done at least one sun salutation. (Men, in growing
numbers, are also getting in tune with Eastern philosophy in their exercise
regime.)
The popularity of yoga and its close cousin, Pilates, shows no sign of waning.
Instead, that passion for posing, stretching and
scissor-kicking has found its way into aerobics studios in the form of fusion
workouts.
More...from the Calgary Herald at:
http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=85461652-b4c6-49f\
c-949e-b6dde1fef696


5. Fit or fat? BMI comes under fire:
The body mass index is widely used to decide who is overweight and in danger of
health problems.
At 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 146 pounds, you think you're an
average-sized woman.
And as guys go, at 5 feet 11 inches tall and 185 pounds, you think your husband
is in pretty good shape, too.
Well, we hate to burst your bubble but according to the standard international
benchmark for weight — the BMI or body mass index —
you're both overweight and at a higher risk of a host of health problems.
Don't believe it? Neither do a growing chorus of experts who say the BMI does
more harm than good because it focuses on weight and
height and not physical activity as a factor in good health.
More...from The Star at:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1095372613183&call_pageid=9688675
05381&col=969048872038
[Multi-line URL]


6. Sharing some ideas on eating and drinking for endurance:
At the last San Marcos Runners Club meeting Sharon Glosson, a registered
dietitian at the Central Texas Medical Center, gave a talk
on "Eating For Endurance."
Almost all of the audience had either run a marathon, planned on running a
marathon, were triathletes or runners that ran up to a
half marathon in distance. Ms. Glosson gave some very helpful tips on eating for
endurance events and some good tips just for
general healthful eating.
She mentioned that the "low carb" diet was not good for runners or triathletes
as they needed energy for their events. A diet that
had about 65% of the calorie intake from carbohydrates was a better choice for
endurance athletes.
She mentioned that as a general rule to determine for how many calories you
should eat in a day use these formulas as a guide. If
you are inactive take your bodyweight and multiply it by 10. If you want a lower
bodyweight then use that weight as your measure
instead of your present bodyweight. If you are moderately active and run or walk
about three miles several times a week and enter a
race now and then you can take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 10 and
then multiply that number by 1.5. If you are very
active and training to run a marathon in the future you take your bodyweight and
multiply it by 10 and then multiply that number by
1.5 and then add 100 calories to that for every mile you run either long or
hard.
More...from the San Marcos Daily Record at:
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2004/09/19/sports/sports10.txt


7. Racers need to record the good times along the way:
When you step to the starting line of any athletic event, you hope for the best
— the best time, the best experience, the best
result.
But life doesn't always deliver.
That's why we are often reminded everything we do is supposed to be about the
journey. Nevertheless, many of us can be spotted
peering down the road, calculating a hoped-for outcome.
In truth, unless you're running for prize money, the outcome rarely matters. Yet
the pressure accompanying a goal often seems to
outweigh the experience, trampling the simple pleasure that flows from just
doing something.
Hey, these activities are supposed to be fun!
When I speak to novices training for marathons, as I did twice recently with the
Twin Cities Marathon on the horizon, I address the
mental aspect of the sport. It's an obvious requirement that to run 26.2 miles
you must prepare your body, but as Gandhi said,
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will."
Will power increases positive thinking. Expectations increase pressure.
A friend of mine, Liz Stejskal of North St. Paul, has gone through many of the
ups and downs experienced by newcomers to
long-distance events and lived to tell about it. Her first marathon was the
Whistle Stop Marathon in Northern Wisconsin two years
ago, when she was 45. She went into it "scared to death."
More...from the St. Paul Pioneer Press at:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/columnists/9682144.htm


8. Researchers working on 'living glue' to secure artificial hips, other joints:
TORONTO (CP) - Canadian researchers are working to develop a "living glue" that
would help regenerate bone cells to better secure
hip replacements and other artificial joints, and one day might even mend the
damage done by osteoporosis.
About one in 10 hip replacements fail and must be redone because of problems
with current adhesives used to hold the artificial
joint in place after surgery, says Dr. Fabio Rossi, a medical geneticist at the
University of British Columbia.
Rossi and six other UBC researchers - from material scientists to cell
specialists to pharmacists - are pooling their expertise to
come up with a glue that not only sticks but builds, starting with $1.5 million
in funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health
Research.
More...from Canadian Press at:
http://www.cp.org/english/online/full/health/040915/x091556A.html


9. Learning to balance food and energy:
Lance Armstrong is as finely tuned as any race car. Thanks go in part to lead
mechanic Chris Carmichael, a former Olympic cyclist
and member of the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame, who has been Armstrong's personal
coach since 1990.
Carmichael, 43, also has advised Montreal Canadiens hockey player Saku Koivu and
two-time Ironman champ Peter Reid, not to mention
about 5,000 other professional and amateur athletes who've joined Carmichael
Training Systems, his online coaching program. Now his
expertise is available in print.
"Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness: Eat Right to Train Right" (cowritten by
Jim Rutberg and Kathy Zawadzki) hit bookstores in late
July, a few days before Armstrong's record-breaking sixth consecutive win in the
Tour de France.
One of Carmichael's bedrock principles is that total calories consumed (and the
percent of carbohydrates, proteins and fat in your
diet) should fluctuate along with your level of physical activity.
Q: How ignorant is the average person, athlete or not, when it comes to food and
nutrition?
A: They don't take nutrition as seriously as they take other parts of their
lives. By and large, they're uninformed.
Q: What are the warning signs to look for if someone's not eating properly?
A: One thing they should look for is their energy level dropping off after they
work out, or if they're struggling to do their
workout. Another thing to look for is poor sleeping habits, either too much
sleep or not enough. Another thing could be cramping
when you work out.
More...from USAOlympicTeam.com at:
http://www.usolympicteam.com/11796_26849.htm
More...on Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039915194X/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books


10. Study: Smoky bars top roads for health risk:
Which is more harmful to your health -- a smoky bar or a city street filled with
diesel truck fumes? Well, you might want to skip
your next happy hour.
Smoky bars and casinos have up to 50 times more cancer-causing particles in the
air than highways and city streets clogged with
diesel trucks at rush hour, according to a study that also shows indoor air
pollution virtually disappears once smoking is banned.
Conducted by the researcher who first showed secondhand smoke causes thousands
of U.S. lung cancer deaths each year, the study found
casino and bar workers are exposed to particulate pollution at far greater
levels than the government allows outdoors.
"This paper will help localities pass smoking bans," predicted the author, James
Repace, a biophysicist who works as a
secondhand-smoke consultant after spending 30 years as a federal researcher. "It
shows how beneficial smoking bans are for
hospitality workers and patrons."
Repace tested air in a casino, a pool hall and six taverns in Delaware in
November 2002 and in January 2003, two months after the
state imposed a strict indoor smoking ban.
More...from CNN at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/09/20/smoking.pollution.ap/index.html


11. Digital Exercise: New devices are reshaping athletics and physical fitness :
Flying down the road, cyclist and triathlon coach Eric Bean flattens over his
bike frame. He glances at his left wrist, gauging how
hard he should pedal and how long he can last.
Other athletes, breathing hard and pouring sweat, might listen to their pounding
pulse and screaming muscles instead. But Bean
relies on a personal, portable heart rate monitor, trusting the two-piece
digital system to keep him rolling strongly and safely.
The watchlike display on his wrist tells him how fast his heart is beating,
picking up a radio signal coming from a sensor on his
chest. Bean checks once. A couple of minutes later, he looks again.
By keeping his heart rate at the correct level, Bean says he can hit an
athlete's training dream - cranking through the right amount
of effort needed to improve performance, without overdoing it.
In relying on heart rate monitors, Bean takes advantage of a technological wave
reshaping athletics and physical fitness. Personal
fitness devices are letting people serve as their own coaches and work out on
their own terms.
"It's a much more fun way to train," said Bean, 28, who coaches Stanford
University's Triathlon Team and runs an athletic training
company. "It's more motivating. It's as if before you were blind, and then you
can see."
Heart sensors and step gauges keep everyone from professional athletes to
reformed couch potatoes on track. Motion-sensing video
games get kids on their feet. Bathroom scales that measure both weight and body
composition show how much body fat you carry, if you
can stand to know.
In the process, digital gadgetry - usually a diversion from physical activity -
is literally keeping people of all ages moving.
More...from the Billings Gazette at:
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=4&display=phpdata/index.php?id=4&dis\
play=rednews/2004/09/21/build/technology/25-digi-exe
rcise.inc
[Multi-line URL]


12. Winning Battles in the Prostate Cancer War:
Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer afflicting American
men.
And while one in six men will get the disease during his lifetime, only one in
32 will die from it. The death rate for prostate
cancer is declining, cancer experts note, due to developments that range from a
new chemotherapy drug to improved means of early
detection.
These advances are expected to help make one of the most survivable forms of
cancer even less threatening, health experts predict.
That's a message doctors are looking to share in September -- Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month.
"Prostate cancer is a very treatable disease if it's caught early," said Howard
Soule, executive vice president and chief science
officer of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
A walnut-sized gland located just below a man's bladder, the prostate's function
is to produce seminal fluids.
More than 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year,
according to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, making
it the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among American men, trailing only
skin cancer.
Despite the medical advances, death from prostate cancer continues to generate
headlines. Last week, Johnny Ramone, the guitarist of
the seminal punk rock band the Ramones, died at his Los Angeles home from the
disease. He was 55.
The best way to ensure survival is to detect prostate cancer early. Although
some 29,900 men are expected to die of the disease this
year, most cases are treatable with early detection, doctors say.
More...from Yahoo at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=97&e=1&u=/hsn/20040921/hl_hsn/wi\
nningbattlesintheprostatecancerwar
[Long URL]


13. Beware Food Companies' Health Claims:
You may think that a genuine interest in consumer health prompts food companies
to market products that claim to reduce the risk of
heart disease or cancer or help people lose weight. Think again.
Many food companies are interested in one thing - the most efficient route to
extra sales. The more products consumers buy and the
more of them they eat, the fatter the companies' coffers. And, alas, the fatter
the consumers are likely to be, as well.
The concerns and interests of consumers are fickle, and food companies are quick
to cash in on them. In recent years, trends have
shifted from low salt to high fiber to fat free and now to low in carbohydrates,
high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, and
free of trans fats. Food companies have introduced new, reformulated or
repositioned products to satisfy every new vogue in
nutrition, regardless of how well or poorly grounded it may be in science.
But in what has become a near free-for-all marketplace for health claims on food
products, consumers are often convinced that the
more they eat of these products, the healthier, or thinner, they are likely to
be.
Once more, think again.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/health/nutrition/21brod.html


14. Acupuncture Helps Ease Post-Surgical Ills -Study:
Acupuncture, already shown to help ease the nausea patients often suffer after
having surgery, may actually work better than drugs,
U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
And patients were happier with the treatment, the team at Duke University
Medical Center in North Carolina found.
The researchers studied 75 women having major breast surgery such as breast
augmentation, breast reduction or mastectomy.
All needed general anesthesia to be rendered unconscious and immobile. This
often causes nausea upon awakening.
The 75 women were randomly divided into three groups. One group received
acupuncture, another group was given an anti-nausea drug
called ondansetron, sold by GlaxoSmithKline under the brand name Zofran, and the
third group received neither.
Two hours after surgery, 77 percent of the patients given acupuncture had no
nausea or vomiting, compared to 64 percent for those
given the drug and 42 percent who received nothing.
Writing in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, Dr. Tong Joo Gan and colleagues
said they used an electro-acupuncture device that
delivers a small electrical pulse through the skin, rather than traditional
needles.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6298828


15. Dieting Myths:
Nearly every day we hear or read about a new miracle diet that allows weight
loss in record time. Before you are tempted to embark
on such a diet there are some important misconceptions you may wish to know
about.
Myth: If you follow a very strict low-calorie diet you can shed 3 kilos of fat
in a week.
Fact: It is physiologically impossible to burn up 3 kilos of pure fat in just a
week. It is likely that losses as large as these
consist of around 1 kilo of fat plus water and more worryingly, some muscle and
bone tissue. Losing muscle mass actually is a real
problem because muscle burns calories during the day, even when you are resting.
A reduction in muscle tends to lower the number of
calories your body uses up each day. When minerals from bones are lost, this may
increase the risk of osteoporosis in later life.
The message? Crash dieting is bad for your health. Don't do it.
More...from Medical News Today at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=13905


16. Cycling: Keeping up with the small stuff:
In the beginning of the season, much like a new year, many of us start off with
high resolve, doing everything right and by the
book.
We benefit immensely from this and improve our performance drastically and feel
good both inside and out about our efforts.
As the season wanes, and we reach a high level of performance (or not), it
becomes easy to start to slack off on the little things
that helped get us here in the first place.
I know how busy life can be; I am living it as we speak. However, if we start to
neglect the little things such as stretching,
warm-ups, proper rest, nutrition, hydration, and positive self-talk, all our
efforts that lead to this point can end up being in
vain.
It would be such a shame to allow this to happen, and can be easily avoided by
sticking to the plan that got us here to begin with.
As the volume of our training lessens to accommodate our racing schedule -- and
since it's the time of year where we are in peak
fitness and focusing more on quality rather than quality -- there should be
enough time to keep these vital components in our
program.
As we all know by now (I hope), putting in time on the bike is part of the
equation, without which we are definitely not going to
perform at any level of proficiency.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11229&sidebar=21&category=cycling


17. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner -
"Running too fast on the long workouts affects the quality of your speed
workouts. Run 1 to 2 minutes per mile slower than your
marathon pace. Trust me on this." -Benji Durden

* Injury Prevention -
Before deciding on today's run, remember yesterday's. Even if you follow a
"hard/easy" schedule (one day long or fast, the next day
short and easy), postpone that scheduled hard run if you're tired, sore,
stressed, or sleep-deprived. Likewise, don't run hard if
you overdid an "easy" day the day before. An unscheduled easy day won't cost you
any fitness, but running hard when you're tired
opens the door to injury.

* Performance Nutrition -
It's the Sugar, Baby: "When people get headaches during long runs, it's often a
sign that they're not eating enough or drinking
enough. For example, a 150-pound runner should take in about 250 calories per
hour during a long run. Consuming sports drinks,
energy bars, or gels will help prevent low blood sugar and possibly solve the
headache problem."
- Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., sports nutritionist

* Words That Inspire
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into
you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow
their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop
off like autumn leaves." -John Muir, Our National
Parks

* Editor's Advice
"Get mad, run longer! You may be able to last longer during those final miles of
a marathon if you think about something that really
ticks you off. Imagine you're in an angry confrontation and most likely you'll
be able to tolerate discomfort longer than others who
had not."
-Catherine Gundersen, RW managing editor

* Training Talk
"I've known runners who believe that they would get faster if only they could
find the perfect pair of shoes. The perfect fit, the
perfect lightness, the perfect high-tech features. But I've never known a runner
who actually improved after getting a new pair of
shoes. Shoes can't make you faster. Only dedication, consistency, passion, and
hard training can make you faster."-From The Runner's
Guide to the Meaning of Life by Amby Burfoot


18. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Bill and Joan Show:
Not a lot of planes fly into the Quad City airport on the Mississippi River.
When our flight there was canceled, it set back the
arrival time in Davenport, Iowa, by too many hours.
I stood in line to board at Chicago O'Hare when news came that the afternoon
flight wouldn't go. The next one wouldn't leave until
evening, after the Bix race banquet was underway.
In front of me stood Scott Samuelson, Joan's husband. He shouted "Mr. Rodgers!"
to a tall, thin man across the lobby. This was
Bill's dad, Charles, also headed for that city in Iowa.
"Let's rent a car and drive there," said Scott. His family had to be in
Davenport by dinnertime, and driving the three hours across
Illinois was the only way to get there on time.
They and many others from the Rodgers and Samuelson-Benoit families (16 of
Joan's relatives would attend). They needed to reach
their hotel in time to see Bill and Joan honored. Many others of us wanted to be
there, and we too would rent cars.
Ed Froehlich, director of the Bix Seven race, invited dozens of Bill and Joan's
near and distant friends to have dinner with them.
This was the race's 25th running, but its bigger event for us was the unveiling
at the banquet of a life-sized bronze statue
honoring these two runners. It would stand near the Bix finish line.
The convoy of rental cars pulled up to the Blackhawk Hotel just in time for the
evening's program. We wouldn't have gone to this
much trouble for many other runners. Maybe only these two.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/463.html


19. Getting Back Up:
During my senior year at Brown University I had a roommate, Perry, who was
working on a thesis to complete a sociology degree.
From a muggy Rhode Island Summer into a hot pre-graduation spring, she spent
each and every evening coupled with a stoneware mug
full of Peaberry’s strongest dark and the keyboard of her Macintosh, days and
weeks and months where I always tiptoed past her room,
in which I couldn¹t help from stealing glances, such was the intensity of her
effort. I’d see her either scrunched over her keyboard
hunt and pecking the keys or holding her blue mug chin high, a thin line of
steam curling up past her ear, her brown eyes fixed on
the monitor as if she were an astronomer looking for a new star.
It was an hour after dusk on one of these typical evenings when an electrical
shudder passed through our northeast Providence
neighborhood, a trip in the power relays that blinked our lights off for a
second or two. I didn’t think anything of it. But when a
minute later I heard the sound Perry made, I knew what had happened. The shudder
had swept clean the entire memory and hard drive of
her computer, taking with it the 360 pages that she had lived, dreamed and died
for nearly a year. No backup. No hardcopy. Nothing
left but the pain of knowing how much it had meant to her.
This kind of story is no stranger to triathlon. A friend of mine who raced at
Ironman Australia in 1998 told me that at the
post-race awards banquet, the video footage that drew a long and loud groan from
the crowd was of a triathlete in a ditch, holding
in his hands a broken bike chain. It was just a quick image, but everyone knew
what had happened and instinctively knew how they
would have felt had it been them. You do everything you can to prepare for a
race, and an element that is out of your control puts a
swift end to it. Wherever this fits in to the lore of triathlon experience, it
was at this year’s World Championships where I shared
in it.
More...from Siri Lindley at:
http://www.siri-lindley.com/articles/backup.htm


20. Are you running properly?
Are you causing yourself injury through your running technique?
Would you like to increase your speed?
Mike Antoniades has developed a unique methodology for teaching the correct and
most efficient running technique to athletes and
recreational users of all levels.
The application of Biomechanical, Gait and Movement Analysis and video
documentation helps him to identify any weaknesses and the
underlying causes for abnormalities in running, walking, sprinting and motor
control
More...from the BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/in_the_gym/features/newsid_3645000/3645\
728.stm


21. Red Wine Protects Prostate:
A Glass of Red Wine a Day May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk in Half.
Forget the apple; drinking a glass of red wine a day may help keep the urologist
away. A new study shows men who drink four or more
glasses of red wine per week have a nearly 50% lower risk of prostate cancer
than non-drinkers.
In addition, researchers found that red wine's protective effects appear to be
even stronger against the most dangerous and
aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
"Among men who consumed four or more 4-ounce glasses of red wine per week, we
saw about a 60 percent lower incidence of the more
aggressive types of prostate cancer," says Janet L. Stanford, PhD, of the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in a news release.
"The more clinically aggressive prostate cancer is where the strongest reduction
in risk was observed."
Researchers say this is only the second study to compare the anticancer effects
of red vs. white wine or other types of alcoholic
beverages, and the findings suggest that there is something unique about red
wine that makes it a potent cancer fighter.
More...from WebMD at:
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/94/102796.htm?z=1728_00000_1000_nb_01


22. Using Glycemic Index to Improve Athletic Performance:
There is little doubt that carbohydrates play a key role in athletic
performance. Carbohydrate, in the form of glucose, fuels
muscles, the brain and nerves before, during and after exercise. Depending on
the food source, carbohydrate ingestion can affect the
body in different ways, creating responses that can either hinder or help
athletic performance.
We asked Melinda M. Manore, Ph.D., R.D, FACSM, the chair of the Department of
Nutrition and Food Management at Oregon State
University, to examine the topic of the glycemic response to carbohydrate
ingestion and its effect on athletic performance.
With all the hype today about protein being the most vital nutrient for athletes
(not true, by the way), many athletes are beginning
to look at carbohydrates differently. The truth is, carbohydrates play an
essential role in the diet because they are a key source
of energy and provide the glucose necessary to replace the glycogen lost during
training and competition.
In fact, carbohydrates eaten before and during exercise, primarily in the form
of sport drinks, bars and gels, help maintain blood
glucose levels and prevent premature fatigue and decreased performance.
Carbohydrates are important after exercise as well, as they
replenish muscle and liver glycogen, restoring the athlete’s capacity for
intense training and competition.
More...from GSSI at:
http://www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/623/ssn_glycemic.cfm?pid=96&CFID=820175&CFTOK\
EN=30716101


23. Triathlon: Ironman Triathlon Gender Differences:
High energy intakes during an Ironman Triathlon help males athletes to faster
finishing times but have the opposite effect in
females. That is the surprise finding of study investigating energy balance in
10 male and eight female participants in the 1997 New
Zealand Ironman Triathlon, comprising a 3.8k swim, 180k cycle ride and 42.2k
marathon run.
Few studies have described energy balance in these situations, and the
researchers’ aims were to examine gender differences in the
following variables during the Ironman:
Total energy, food and fluid, macronutrient and sodium intake;
Energy expenditure for each stage of the event;
Energy balance for the event;
Relationships between energy and carbohydrate intake, energy balance and
finishing times.
Their theory was that athletes would be in substantial negative energy balance
(EB) after completing the Ironman and that
carbohydrate ingestion would be related to improved performance in both male and
female competitors.
They were certainly right in their first supposition: mean energy expenditure
(EE) was significantly greater than mean energy intake
(EI), with a substantial mean energy deficit after the event of 5,123 and
5,973kcal for women and men respectively.
More...from The Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20040924_PPO_IM_Gender.html


24. Weight loss strategies for athletes:
Dr Asker Jeukendrup
Many athletes, although not overweight, still would like to lose body weight and
in particular body fat. For some this is an
advantage because it increases the power to weight ratio (jumping events), for
others it is simply because they can reduce the
energy expenditure when carrying a lower body weight (running). Research has
also shown that another reason why athletes want to get
rid of some body fat is simply for the looks. Anyone who has tried to lose
weight will know that it is not an easy task. It cannot
be stressed enough that weight loss may not always be a good idea and can even
be detrimental to performance. There are many
mistakes that can be made and the purpose of this short paper is to make you
aware of some of these mistakes and give you some
guidelines how to lose the weight in a responsible way.
Defining the goals
A first step is to define weight loss goals. In conjunction with the coach and a
nutritionist weight loss goals should be
identified. These goals should be carefully thought about and defined. Is it
really desirable to lose body weight? Weight loss may
be useful in some cases but in others it will do more harm than good. Whether it
is a good idea or not depends primarily on the body
fat percentage. Although individual differences exist, it is not recommended to
go below a body fat percentage of about 5% for men
and 12-14% for women. Fat has important bodily functions and these will be
compromised at extremely low fat levels.
More...from UK Athletics at:
http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4854-132425\
-19728-21297-79913--4787-layout01-133733-news-item,0
0.html
[Multi-line URL]


25. News Scan:
* Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine September 19, 2004
High Blood Pressure and Weight Lifting
Exercise raises blood pressure because pressure is determined by the force of
your heart contracting times the resistance of the
blood vessels against the flow of blood. When you exercise, your heart muscles
contract with much greater pressure to increase blood
flow to your exercising muscles. However, studies have shown that lifting heavy
weights does not cause sustained high blood
pressure.
Normal blood pressure is under 120 when your heart contracts and under 80 when
it relaxes. When you lift a heavy weight, such as
when performing a leg press, your blood pressure can rise from 120 over 80 to
400 over 200. When you run, your blood pressure can
rise to around 200 over 80. However, within minutes after you finish
exercising, your blood pressure returns to normal. Regular
exercisers have lower blood
pressures than people who do not exercise. However, if you have a weak heart
or high blood pressure, check with your doctor before
starting a weight-lifting program.
* Does washing your hands really help to prevent colds?
Extensive research shows that upper respiratory infections are spread more often
from hands than by having a sick person cough in
your face. One report from the San Diego Naval Training Center showed that
washing hands frequently helps prevent upper respiratory
infections. Navy recruits were ordered to wash their hands at least before every
meal and there was a 45 percent reduction in sick
call visits for upper respiratory infections. When you have a cold, do not
shake hands and wash your hands frequently. It doesn't
make any difference whether
you use an expensive antiseptic product or just plain soap.

* The Very, Very Latest On Stretching: For some reason, lots of researchers have
been looking into the medical research on
streching's pros and cons in recent months. The most recent study, published
today in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, finds
that "acute" stretching just before a run or event does nothing to promote
performance or prevent injuries. In fact, stretching
before an athletic event, probably reduces the muscle force you can produce. On
the other hand, Dr. Ian Shrier, one of the world's
foremost experts in the stretching field, found that 7 of 9 studies of "regular
stretching" produced improved performance, though
not necessarily improved running. "Regular stretching improves force, jump
height, and speed, although there is no evidence that it
improves running economy," says the abstract at www.cjsportmed.com


Ongoing Events:

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

September 25, 2004:
U.S. Half-Ironman Triathlon Championship -Kansas City, MO
http://www.ushalfchampionship.com

September 25-26, 2004:
Swansea ITU World Series Duathlon - Great Britain
http://www.britishtriathlon.org/swansea/index.php

September 26, 2004:
Boulder Backroads Marathon - CO
http://www.boulderbackroads.com

Cerrone Providence Half Marathon - Providence, RI
http://providencehalfmarathon.com

Fox Cities Marathon - Appleton, WI
http://www.foxcitiesmarathon.org

Heritage Oaks Bank 10K - Paso Robles, CA
http://www.hobfunrun.com/

Nike ACG Boulder Backroads Marathon/Half-Marathon - Boulder, CO
http://www.boulderbackroads.com

Orange County Race for the Cure - Newport Beach, CA
http://www.ockomen.com/race/frames.html

September 26, 2004:
Toronto Waterfront Marathon - Toronto, ON
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.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 ONE personal posting this week.
Potomac Valley Track Club's Young Flyers track & field training program for
young athletes in grades 1 through 8 starts on Sunday,
October 3, 3:00-5:00 pm, and continues every Sunday through December 12, at
Washington-Lee High School 1301 N. Stafford Street,
Arlington VA in October, and at Thomas Jefferson Community Center 3501 South 2nd
Street, Arlington VA in November and December.
Please come join us!
See http://www.pvtc.org/youth.html for full details, or sign up on-line at
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1156347
Registration is $20 for the whole series, with weekly training, refreshments
afterwards including Mario's Pizza, and a colorful
t-shirt and completion certificate at the last weekly session.
Other information and financial aid is available upon request.
Write mailto:racedirector@... or call 703-218-2726.
The program encourages young athletes from Arlington and nearby areas and as far
away as Annapolis, Baltimore, and Columbia, to try
sprinting (50m, 100m, 200m), middle distance (400m, 800m, 1 mile), long jump,
shot-put, and discus, in a friendly, non-competitive
atmosphere, with extensive parent participation.
This training program gets young athletes into shape for PVTC's indoor youth
track meets at Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Community
Center
on Sundays, January 9, January 23, and February 6, and youth meets at Prince
George's Sports & Learning Complex in Landover MD.

Thank you
Jay Jacob Wind


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

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

For Triathlon Coverage check out The Sports Network at:
http://www2.sportsnet.ca/tvschedule/tvsked_sport.php?region=ONTARIO&schedule_id=\
25

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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

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