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3. Toronto Waterfront Marathon. September 25, 2005:
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/

4. Sof Sole Offer:
A free pair of our technical socks ($9.99 value) with the purchase of any Sof
Sole insole.
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5. FRS Plus - the antioxidant health drink.
Free radicals are produced continuously in the human body. They are unstable
molecules that cause damage to healthy cells and are
the by-products of our bodies' natural metabolic processes. Athletes create free
radicals at a faster rate than non-athletes. As
exercise intensity and duration goes up, so does our production of these harmful
free radicals. Some have termed this the "oxygen
paradox". Endurance exercise can increase oxygen utilization from 10 to 20 times
over the resting state, with a corresponding
increase in free radical burden.
To offset this increased free radical production in athletes, the body has some
ability to adapt, by increasing our endogenous or
internal supply of free radical scavengers. Free radical scavengers are
compounds that can actively seek out and pair with reactive
free radicals to neutralize their ability to damage cells. The implication of
the oxygen paradox for athletes is that exercise
though healthful in many ways, creates damaging free radicals. It is essential
that athletes strive to consume large amounts of
antioxidants from food and supplements to help augment their free radical
scavenger supply. It has been shown that even short-term
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6. The Toronto Marathon
The Toronto Marathon, Half-Marathon, 5K & relay is set for October 16th. The
Toronto Marathon is sanctioned by Athletics Canada and
the AIMS and meets international standards. Participants can qualify for the
Boston Marathon and other accredited international
marathons. Visit the race site at: http://www.torontomarathon.com


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THIS WEEK:

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Our site traffic continues to grow. For March 2005 we had an average of 7,055
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average of 4,288 for March 2004. On Monday, April 18th, 2004 we set an all-time
high of 11,455 visitors.


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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey.
Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport athletes and a member of the OAC Racing
Team and X-C Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public
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* WatsonLifeSport
Lance Watson is "Just The Winningest Coach in Triathlon". He has been coaching
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years, Lance has coached some of the most successful athletes in the sport of
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This Weeks Personal Postings/Releases:
We have NO personal postings this week.

This Week's Digest Article Index:

1. Multisport: To Stretch a Point
2. Science of Sport: Race And Sport - The race to the swift - if the swift have
the right ancestry
3. Sports Psychology: Mental Approach - What's missing from your training?
4. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
5. High altitude and athletic training
6. Exercise training in ordinary people affects the activity of 500 genes
7. Enduring Questions - Should Your Sports Drink Contain Protein?
Sure, protein is great for postrun recovery. But while you're exercising? The
debate rages.
8. Ask the Tri Doc: Avoiding muscle cramps
9. Marriage of mind and body for peak performance
10. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Beat the Beast
11. Those delicate hamstrings - What is so special about the hamstrings? Part 1.
12. The Sleep-Wake Body Clock May Also Control Appetite
Study offers possible clue to overeating in humans.
13. Multisport: Who Needs a Coach?
14. From Runner's World
15. Take 30 Seconds Off Your Mile Time
16. Swimming vs. Golf
17. Sweat, sanctuary and a unique friendship
Outside the gym, we lead separate lives. But while we're working out, we share
everything.
18. Cycling: Race-Like Bike Intervals
19. Alter Your DNA: Exercise
Muscle study reveals how physical training activates hundreds of genes.
20. Sun protection facts you need to know
21. We're mad about protein, and many of us are eating too much
22. What Do You Mean by Speed?
High-intensity training can boost your fitness but wield its power judiciously.
23. On Being A Race Director - My Job is Secure... No One Else Wants It!
Over the years, I have felt that race directors must feel like the crab grass in
the lawn of life.
24. Psychological Issues with Regard to the Marathon
25. News Scan - A Collection of News Items


Runner's Web Weekly Poll: "These marathons were rated the top 10 in the world
by Runner's World. Which of them belong in your top
ten?
Amsterdam
Berlin
Boston
Chicago
Honolulu
London
New York City
Paris
Rotterdam
Stockholm"

You can access the poll from our FrontPage as well as voting on and/or checking
the results of previous polls.
Post your views in our Forum at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/runnersweb_forum.html
[Free Registration Required]

Last week's poll was "Do the shoe companies provide a fair level of support to
the sports of track and field, and triathlon?"

The results at publication time were:

Answers Votes Percent
1. Yes 19 22%
2. No 42 49%
3. No opinion, don't care 25 29%
Total Votes: 86

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Five Star Site of the Week: Cameron Brown - Kiwi Ironman Champion.
Cam is a four-time winner of Ironman New Zealand and has placed on the podium at
the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in each
of the last three years. Cam's photo gallery includes many images from his
racing in recent years.
Visit the site at:
http://www.cameronbrown.co.nz/

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: Maximum Performance for Cyclists.
If traditional training methods aren't giving you the results you're looking
for, you need a training plan that is tailored to your
own unique physiology. It is only through specific training that you'll find
gains where stock training plans fall short.
As an experienced coach and physician, Dr. Michael Ross prescribes training
plans based on proven science, not the latest training
fad. Learn about muscle physiology and your body's response to exercise, weight
training, testing, and nutrition. Ultimately, a
training plan tailored to your specific needs and goals will give you a stronger
competitive edge.
Maximum Performance for Cyclists guides you through the steps of individualizing
your workout intervals, making sound nutritional
choices, and planning for recovery in order to achieve your best performance. A
sound understanding of the science and physiology
behind your workouts will help you focus on becoming faster. 6" x 9" 224 pp.
Michael Ross, M.D. has consulted with national champions, Olympians, world
champions, and amateur athletes as a coach and doctor. He
has written for USA Cycling, VeloNews, medical journals, and is the author of
Maximum Performance: Sports Medicine for Endurance
Athletes.
Buy the book from VeloPress at:
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?velogear+uHMq3n+mapeforcy.html

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:

Multisport: To Stretch a Point:
By Bruce Rawson, B.App.Sc (Physiotherapy), B.Hum.Movt, Masters of Sports
Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation and Performance Consultant
Fact or fallacy? Stretching muscles before you exercise will help you to avoid
injury.
Anyone attempting to read up on the benefits of stretching may be excused for
coming away somewhat confused. Literature devoted to
the benefits of stretching abounds with recommendations that are clouded by
misconceptions and conflicting research reports. Despite
the absence of significant supporting research, stretching, following warm-up,
has long been promoted as a method of preventing
injury amongst athletes and fitness enthusiasts. However recent research in
sports medicine requires that we examine this assumption
in greater depth.
New evidence suggests that stretching immediately prior to exercise does not
prevent overuse or acute injuries during that activity.
In a study of 1538 Australian male army recruits, published in the February 2000
edition of, "Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise" researchers randomly allocated recruits into two pre-exercise groups:
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050506_EC_Stretching.html


2. Science of Sport: Race And Sport - The race to the swift - if the swift have
the right ancestry:
Let's start with a few safe predictions. All of the sprinters in the men's 100m
final at the Athens Olympics in 2004 will trace
their ancestry to West Africa. Almost all of the world-class throwers will be
white, and mostly of Eurasian ancestry. And, except
for the marathon, there will be almost no athletes of Asian ancestry appearing
in Athens finals. On the other hand, elsewhere in the
Games, Asians will flourish in diving, some gymnastic events, judo, and table
tennis.
A peculiar but decided trend is unfolding: over the past 40 years, as equality
of opportunity has steadily increased in sports,
spreading to vast sections of Asia and Africa, equality of results on the
playing field has actually declined. The more democracy on
the playing field, the less at the finish line. On the one hand, the social and
economic barriers limiting participation in sports
are crumbling; on the other, the winners in many events are increasingly limited
to participants from specific regions of the world.
It's not surprising that the United States would dominate peculiarly American
sports such as basketball, but who can fathom the
trends in world sports, such as running. Why is it that every running record
from the 100m to the marathon is held by an athlete of
African ancestry? Is it racist to be curious about such phenomena?
Nature versus nurture
Absolutely not, say a growing chorus of geneticists, anthropologists, and
physiologists. 'Very many in sports physiology would like
to believe that it is training, the environment, what you eat that play the most
important roles in sports,' states Bengt Saltin,
director of the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center and one of the world's premier
sports medical researchers. 'But based on the data,
it is 'in your genes' whether or not you are talented, or whether you will
become talented. The extent of the environment can always
be discussed but it's less than 20-25%.'
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050506_PPO_Ancestry.html


3. Sports Psychology: Mental Approach - What's missing from your training?
By Michelle Cleere, Sports Psychology Consultant
I was a head triathlon coach for the Presidio YMCA Triathlon Team for many
years. On my team was a woman, Tish, who has been a part
of the team since the inception of the program. She, like many of the other
people who came into the program, were either a)
struggling with their exercise motivation and thought training for a triathlon
might be good motivation or b) needing a challenge.
Either way a lot of these people were new to one, two or three of the sports
involved with triathlons and therefore were challenged
in learning and participating in certain of these aspects so each year to help
with those challenges I would do a sports psychology
clinic. I would talk about motivation, anxiety, positive affirmations, self
talk, etc. and about how the mental aspect of sport is
many times overlooked but can be more important than the physical aspects.
One year I was discussing becoming aware of your thought process and then
continued on talking about how to change negative thinking
into positive thinking by using positive affirmations (2-3 motivational words)
or key words (1 motivational word). I continued
talking about how many times we get to a big hill in a run and we start thinking
all sorts of crazy thoughts: that hill is way too
long; I can't make it to the top or; I hate hills.
These negative thoughts make a person more anxious, tighten muscles for
restricted movement, and actually become a self fulfilling
prophecy; which means you will struggle getting to the top. When what we really
should be thinking is something more positive: I
will make it to the top; relax; fast; strong; light as a feather; etc. Tish,
being very new to running was having a difficult time
with it and in particular struggling with hills. So she decided that instead of
concentrating so hard on telling herself that ?she
can't? that she would come up with her own positive affirmation. She is now
using ?wings of a bird? to guide her up hills and now
whenever I do a clinic for the team she reminds people of how difficult running
hills can be but how thinking positively has helped
her make it to the top more times than not.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050505_SM_Mental_Approach.html


4. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Exercisers Can Prevent Blisters
Blisters don't happen without warning; you'll feel pain before they appear. If
you feel pain in the skin of your feet while you're
exercising, take off your shoes and look for a cause. Usually, your sock will be
wrinkled or your shoe will be rubbing because it
doesn't fit properly. If it's your socks, straighten the wrinkle. If it's your
shoes, take them off. You can try to soften the shoe
where it irritates your skin by rubbing bath oil or cooking oil into the shoe
and stretching it. If you still develop blisters, buy
a new pair of shoes. If you're too frugal to throw away shoes, take
a piece of adhesive tape and place it tightly on the spot on your skin where the
shoe rubs.
Wetness causes skin to stick to anything that rubs against it. Adding powder to
the toes of your socks can help to keep your feet
dry. It doesn't matter whether it's cornstarch, medicated powder or baby powder.
Studies at Walter Reed Army Hospital showed that
the most effective treatment for blisters is to sterilize a pin and the skin
over the blister, stick the pin into the side of the
skin over the blister, express the fluid, and then tape the skin tightly over
its base.
* Aspirin Does Not Improve Athletic Performance
Many athletes think that taking aspirin or other nonsteroidals before
competition can help to block the muscle pain that they feel
when they exercise intensely and will help them to compete more effectively. It
doesn't. When you exercise intensely, you run out of
oxygen and your muscles start to burn. This is caused by breakdown products of
energy metabolism accumulating in muscles to make
them more acidic and hurt. Aspirin does not block the acidity and therefore, it
does not block pain. The only way that you can stop
the burning is to slow down.
When you are injured, your muscles feel sore and taking aspirin will help to
relieve some of the pain, but it does not help you to
heal faster or improve strength. Aspirin can cause diarrhea, belly pain and
bleeding. Taking aspirin or nonsteroidals for several
days after injuring yourself can delay healing. Try to avoid or reduce
exercising when your muscles feel sore because the soreness
means that muscle fibers are torn and frayed. Exercising before the fibers heal
increases your risk for a serious muscle-tear
injury.
* I read an article that said bicycling weakens bones. Is that true?
Several years ago a study from the American College of Sports Medicine reported
that bicycle riders have bones that are less dense
than people who don't exercise at all. This led some science writers and sports
reporters to make the ridiculous recommendation that
bicycle riders should lift weights to strengthen their bones, or change sports.
Bone density tests do not necessarily measure bone strength. Birds have
unbelievably thin bones that are extremely strong. Many
birds with thin light bones are far more resistant to fractures than many
mammals that have much denser bones. There is no evidence
that bicycle riders or racers are at increased risk for bone fractures. Racers
crash all the time. Lance Armstrong spends as much
time on a bike as anyone, and
he has had many serious high impact crashes. If he had weak bones, he would be
in a wheelchair, and not be the greatest bicycle
racer in the world.


5. High altitude and athletic training:
The underlying problem with high altitude (>2000 m) is that there is less oxygen
and while this may not be that threatening to
individuals at rest it does pose a challenge to athletes.
The underlying problem with high altitude (>2000 m) is that there is less oxygen
and while this may not be that threatening to
individuals at rest it does pose a challenge to athletes.
Of course for the pure anaerobic events no adaptation is required so this
discussion is necessarily focused on endurance training
and competition. In general the higher the altitude the longer it takes to
adapt. Understanding the adaptation process and the
things that you can do to aid it will make for a less taxing transition. A
number of physiologic changes occur to allow for
acclimatization at high altitude. These can be divided into immediate, which
take place over several days, and long term which
requires weeks to a few months.
The first thing that happens is your respiratory rate and heart rates speed up.
This occurs both at rest and during sub-max
exercise. This helps offset the lower partial pressure of oxygen. You will not
be able to reach your max VO2 so don't get
frustrated. The faster breathing rate changes your acid-base balance and this
takes a little longer to correct.
The longer term changes are a decrease in maximum cardiac output a decreased
maximum heart rate.
An increased number of red blood cells.
Excretion of base via the kidneys to restore acid-base balance. (Unfortunately,
the net result is that you have less tolerance for
lactic acid).
A chemical change within red blood cells that makes them more efficient at
unloading oxygen to the tissues.
An increase in the number of mitochondria and oxidative enzymes.
More...from the World of Endurance at:
http://worldofendurance.com/runnersguide/training_column.asp?a_id=1325876&st_nam\
e=AchievingPersonalBest


6. Exercise training in ordinary people affects the activity of 500 genes:
A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm shows that hundreds of genes
in the thigh muscle are activated in regular cycle
training. The study also reveals that great differences in training response may
be due to the ability in some people to activate
their genes much more forcefully. The study is published May 2 in FASEB Journal.
It is common knowledge that it is very dangerous to be inactive and that regular
physical activity brings health, improves quality
of life and extends life span. How these positive effects are created in the
body is not known. Influences on gene activity in the
heart, vessels and muscles are probably immensely important.
In this study, the first of its kind, Drs James Timmons, Carl J Sundberg and
co-workers show that hundreds of genes are activated by
regular cycle training for six weeks in young healthy men. Some of these genes
are most likely linked to diabetes and cardiovascular
disease. These training study findings can therefore be important for the
development of new treatment strategies for such diseases.
More...from News-Medical.net at:
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=9688


7. Enduring Questions - Should Your Sports Drink Contain Protein?
Sure, protein is great for postrun recovery. But while you're exercising? The
debate rages.
There's no hotter issue in sports nutrition right now than the carbs versus
carbs-plus-protein controversy. The battle pits
scientist against scientist, small companies against behemoths, and new research
against long-held beliefs. At one crucial juncture,
it even threatens the foundations of exercise physiology.
This is quite a change from the time, not long ago, when carb was King of all
Exercise Land, and giving nutrition advice to runners
was easy: Eat carbs, and only carbs, before you run, while you run, and after
you run. Bon appetit!
The runner's perfect, or at least simple, nutritional universe began coming
apart in 1992 when a University of Texas exercise
physiologist named John Ivy first challenged King Carb. Ivy and his colleagues
published a study showing that a meal of carbs plus
protein (C+P) after exercise boosted the resynthesis of muscle glycogen (your
body's best energy source) more than carbs alone (C).
This was an important finding because glycogen resynthesis is the gold standard
for measuring recovery, and most coaches and
nutritionists believe that recovery is essential in any training program.
Only one problem: Ivy seemed to make a critical mistake in his research design.
He gave more total calories to the C+P group than to
the C-alone group. Doh! Of course you'll recover faster and better if you get a
bigger pile of grub on your plate.
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-197-0-0-8011,00.html



8. Ask the Tri Doc: Avoiding muscle cramps:
By Dr. Andrew Baldwin
Dear Tri Doc,
I recently completed a 20-mile training run in preparation for an upcoming
marathon. Everything went well with the exception of
muscle spasms in my left and right calves. The spasms felt like quick electric
shock twinges that occurred on and off for a period
of about 15 minutes.
I am a follower of Galloway walk breaks. After this occurred, I walked more
frequently. I carry water, Gatorade and Hammer Gel with
me. I consumed about 40 oz of water, 40 oz of Gatorade and 3 servings of Hammer
Gel. I consumed the water and Gatorade alternately
during the run about every 10 minutes (water then wait 10 minutes then Gatorade
and wait 10 minutes). Hammer Gel was at the start,
then at two hours, then at three hours. I finished the 20 miles in 3:30. I
urinated at the start of the run (clear) and at the end
of the run (clear).
I asked someone about the spasms, and they indicated that it was probably due to
dehydration. I had heavy salt residue (as usual)
all over my face and body. As such, I could have been dehydrated even though I
thought I had ingested enough liquid and urinated.
More...from Triathlete Magazine at:
http://www.triathletemag.com/story.cfm?story_id=9626&publicationID=92&pageID=170\
5


9. Marriage of mind and body for peak performance:
It's the day of the race and you've been preparing for months, worked smart
through the off season and correctly periodized your
training, and seemingly nothing can stand in your way. Then a peer poses a
question, are you ready? Then much like your $1,000
wheels rolling downhill, so flows the negativity from your mouth.
I didn't get much sleep last night, they changed the course from last year,
there are more hills, the rubber band broke on my
profile design bottle ... and the list goes on. Where's your faith? Physically
you're prepared, mentally you're lacking! Where does
ones ability to believe come from?
are blessed and seem to be born with the ability to have unshakable focus and
single-minded purpose, but for those who don't there's
hope. Add these 10 tips to your mental tool chest and begin building a stronger
resolve to accomplish your goals and extract the
most from your ability.
1. Walk before you run. Hey, let's face it, this is an instant gratification
society. We want it and we want it now. Ah, patience my
friend. Set a goal; devise a plan. If you don't possess the knowledge to do so,
then enlist a qualified professional. Now begin your
journey. The body is subject to unchangeable laws: Introduction of a stimulus,
adaptation and progression. Embrace them and be
rewarded.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11657


10. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Beat the Beast:
A run is such a nice way to start a day that I've started nearly 15,000 days
like this. Most of these routine runs were worth
repeating, but few are memorable.
Already I can barely recall where this morning's run took me. It was too easy
and pleasant to remember for long. Like footsteps on a
dry road, it left behind a nothing to distinguish it from thousands of other
runs.
Of all the days the days in a career, a tiny percentage go into the mental video
library, Here the pictures and words forever stay
as clear as the day they went onto tape.
My most memorable days are all race days. What I remember first about them is
that they were no fun until they were done. Racing at
its best never is.
Please don't misread me here. Running can be great fun in ways that runners
define the word.
Fun is running through the woods on an October afternoon, hearing leaves crunch
underfoot. Fun is leaving the first footsteps in new
snow on a January morning. Fun is the first stripping to shorts in spring or the
first baring of shoulders to the sun in summer.
Fun is joining a partner or a group and easing the miles with your conversation.
Fun is going into a run or race with no goal,
thereby leaving yourself open to surprises and immune to disappointments.
Everyday runs can be joyful in and of themselves. But memories so easily and
often won are short-lived.
The race, if run with great effort and high expectations, is no fun before or
little fun during. It is a beast to be fought.
You hate the thought of going into battle, but you must. If you retreat, the
beast wins by default because your nerve has failed
before your strength is tested. This battle brings moments of panic and pain,
but not to try would feel worse.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/505.html


11. Those delicate hamstrings - What is so special about the hamstrings? Part 1:
Or putting it another way, why should a footballer like Michael Owen or Great
Britain’s Olympic sprinter Darren Campbell be prone to
injuries in the same muscle as some marathon runners? Similarly, why should your
hamstrings start complaining at the beginning of
the cross-country season, at a time of the year when pace is not usually at its
most electrifying?
I will try and provide some answers in this article and in PART 2.
Introducing the hamstrings
The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run down the back of the leg
from the bone that you sit on (ischial tuberosity) to
the lower leg just below the knee. They are attached to the two bones of the
lower leg, the tibia (on the inside) and fibula (on the
outside).
What do they do?
If you asked a medical student this question they would probably answer by
saying that the hamstrings produce flexion (bending) at
the knee. However, their function is very much more complicated than this and
therein lies the problem.
Because the hamstrings pass across two joints (hip and knee), when they contract
(shorten) they have the potential to cause movement
at both joints. To make things even more complicated what effect their
contraction has on the leg will depend on whether the leg is
supporting weight.
With the foot and leg off the ground the hamstrings action will draw the whole
of the leg back. This is referred to as extension at
the hip joint. If the whole leg is prevented from moving back either by
contraction of the hip flexors which lie in front of the hip
joint or by physically blocking the leg’s movement, then the knee will bend,
bringing the heel up.
More...from Real Runner at:
http://www.realrunner.com/injury/article=ic29.php


12. The Sleep-Wake Body Clock May Also Control Appetite:
Study offers possible clue to overeating in humans.
Our molecular body clock may also play a role in regulating appetite,
researchers report, in a finding that could someday be used to
help compulsive eaters slim down.
Mice bred to have irregular body clocks were unable to keep their body weight
under control, said the report in the April 21 online
issue of Science by investigators at Northwestern University.
"These animals have the munchies all day long and in actuality eat all night
long as well," said lead investigator Dr. Joseph Bass,
an assistant professor of medicine, neurobiology and physiology at Northwestern.
Mice with normal body clocks eat just twice a day,
he added.
The finding offers no immediate solution to the human problem of obesity, and
related health problems such as diabetes, Bass said.
But it does add to "the abundant evidence that timing is important" in eating
habits, he said. "It will be a matter of time before
we know how to translate this into practical advice [for people], but it makes
us aware of how important synchronization is to
eating."
One important finding is that "the clock, which we thought is only in the
central part of the brain, actually is also present in the
part of the brain that controls appetite," Bass said.
More...from Health Scout at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/525269/main.html


13. Multisport: Who Needs a Coach?
Who needs a coach? Ask six time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong about
the benefits of having a great coach. Chris
Carmichael, founder and CEO of Carmichael Training Systems has been working with
the World Champion cyclist since his early days as
a junior National Team member, when Carmichael was the head coach for USA
Cycling. Carmichael's relationship with Lance has
transformed from that of coach, to advisor, mentor, confidant, and close
personal friend.
The elite coaching team at Carmichael Training Systems, Carmichael's Colorado
based coaching group, coaches 3000 plus athletes of
all abilities and sports, all over the world. World Champion mountain biker
Alison Dunlap, World Champion time-trialist and Olympic
silver medalist Mari Holden, Olympic swimmer Ed Moses, superbike racers Ben
Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel, Champ Indy car racer A.J.
Almandigger, supercross racers Kevin Wyndham and Timmy Ferry, and women's
downhill racers Kathy Pruitt and Tracy Moseley are just a
handful of the elite professionals that fall under the guidance of Carmichael's
coaching staff.
Clearly, the best of the best need the guidance, nurturing, mentoring, and
friendship to succeed at the world's highest level of
competition. The perceived stress to succeed at this level of competition takes
a great deal of focus, meticulous preparation, and
flawless execution. However, athletes at every level of competition experience
the same perceived stress as the aforementioned
professionals. Masters athletes must have the same level of focus, junior
competitors must meticulously prepare for competition, and
weekend warriors must flawlessly execute their plan of attack.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_CTS_20050503_Coach.html


14. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
"If you've become increasingly frustrated with your racing results at a certain
distance, try a new one. For example, you're dying
to break 20 minutes in a 5-K, but race after race lands you in the 20:20 to
20:30 range. Forget the 5-K for a spell; try a 10-K, a
half-marathon, or even consider racing a mile. You can also hunt down races of
less-than-typical distances, such as a 12-K, 20-K or
30-K event." -Mark Will Weber, cross-country and track coach at Moravian College
in Bethlehem, Pa.
* Injury Prevention
Ice baby ice: "The next time you sprain an ankle or get some ITB inflammation,
ice it right away. A bag of frozen peas or corn works
well, as do the many frozen gel packs now on the market. Continue to ice the
injury in 15-minute sessions several times a day until
the pain and swelling have subsided (this can take two days or more). Once this
happens, it's okay to switch over to heat therapy,
which will speed healing by bringing more blood to the affected area." -Runner's
World magazine
* Performance Nutrition
Keep Healthy with Honey! Next time a bee stings you, console yourself with some
research findings from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, which suggest that honey may contain the same levels of
antioxidants, molecules that repair cell damage caused by
ultraviolet light and vigorous exercise, as some fruits and vegetables. After
drinking 16 ounces of water mixed with 4 tablespoons
of honey, subjects had significantly higher levels of antioxidants in their
blood.
* Editor's Advice
"If your watch or stopwatch is giving you fits, then throw it away for a while.
By doing so you will improve your chances of a
no-stress, effortless run." -Lori Adams, RW assistant editor
* Training Talk
"A program of strengthening and flexibility for the muscles around the leg is
the single most effective preemptive strike you can
make against knee pain." From The Knee Crisis Handbook by Brian Halpern, M.D.
* Words That Inspire
"In high school I was lousy in every sport. I hated P.E. But I joined the track
team and fell in love with running. This helped me
find myself." -Jacqueline Hansen, two-time world marathon record holder; first
woman under 2:40; 12 marathon wins, including Boston
and Honolulu


15. Take 30 Seconds Off Your Mile Time:
By Andrew Neugebauer, CTS Coach, Nike Farm Team
Improving your mile time by thirty seconds is no small task. The mile is as
demanding on your anaerobic energy system as it is on
your aerobic energy system. The ratio is about sixty five percent aerobic to
thirty five percent anaerobic. This calls for a variety
of training intensities and a well organized training plan.
There are many things you can do to improve your time. Sitting on your couch
wishing you could run faster is not one of them. To be
as blunt as I can, the only way to improve is to have a systematic and detailed
training plan set up for you, and then to get
motivated and follow through with the plan. Just as an architect follows a
step-by-step blueprint when designing a house, your
training must be built the same way. Likewise, the coaches at Carmichael
Training Systems would like to have 6 to 8 months to work
with an athlete in order to help them reach their true mile potential.
If you are starting fresh you will need at least eight to twelve weeks of base
training. At CTS we call this the foundation phase.
The first thing we like to have the athlete complete is an eight-minute field
test. In a nutshell, it’s 8 min of all out running. At
the end of the test, you record your average and max heart rate and the distance
you covered. This gives us an accurate and
reproducible gauge of fitness, and allows us to prescribe heart rate ranges for
particular training runs.
More...from Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/outside/default.asp?article=1&newest=1&sortBy=139&arti\
cleID=1406


16. Swimming vs. Golf:
By Kevin Koskella
www.triswimcoach.com
Recently, I have taken up golf, and I can’t help but notice the similarities
between learning golf and learning swimming. Both are
finesse sports that require large amounts of concentration and practice to get
right, and it is unnecessary (and ill-advised) to
gain great amounts of strength to make major improvements in either sport. Let’s
look at some specific ways golf is like swimming:
1. It Starts with Head Position. In golf, you must keep your head still and look
straight at the ball while you swing in order to
make contact. In swimming, you must keep your head still and look straight down
at the bottom of the pool while you rotate in order
to get the most out of your stroke.
2. Concentration is Key. The moment you start thinking about more than one thing
when you are about to hit the ball is the moment
that something goes wrong. If I get 2 tips on my golf swing and I think about
both of them the next time I tee up, I tend to have an
underwhelming result! The same goes for doing the swimming drills. As a coach,
if I give a swimmer several things to think about,
inevitably, nothing will go right. The idea is to concentrate on one aspect,
practice it, master it, and move on.
3. The Fewer Strokes, The Better. When improving your score in golf, you want to
take fewer strokes to get the ball in the hole. To
improve your swim (especially open water), you want to take fewer strokes per
length, in order to utilize your energy for the entire
swim or triathlon.
4. Follow Through is Important. When you hit the ball, it is important that you
follow through all the way with your club. In
freestyle swimming, to get the most out of your stroke, you must extend your arm
and glide.
5. Power Comes from the Core. Your arms and legs themselves do not need to be
incredibly powerful to have success in either sport.
With both sports, the power comes from the core- abdominal muscles, lower back,
and hips. Legs are used more for stabilization than
to propel you forward in swimming. Legs in golf are also used more for
stabilization, rather than for more powerful strokes.
Both sports can also be frustrating, but with practice, patience, and
persistence, swimming and golf can both present you with a
meditative-like form of exercise that I have found to be both fulfilling and
fun!
About the Author
Kevin coaches masters and triathlete swimmers in San Diego, CA. He operates the
website www.TriSwimCoach.com, a resource for
beginning through intermediate level triathletes looking for help with swimming.
The site features a free email newsletter offering
tips and articles on triathlon swimming. Kevin has also written an electronic
book titled “The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming”
which is sold on his website in downloadable form.


17. Sweat, sanctuary and a unique friendship:
Outside the gym, we lead separate lives. But while we're working out, we share
everything.
My friend Rita Rago and I have been pals for about seven years. We see each
other several times a week and share the most intimate
details of our lives, from work to our marriage to families.
The thing is, we've almost never seen each other outside of the walls of the gym
we belong to in Hollywood. Yes, a couple of times
we've run into each other at the Hollywood Farmers Market, but because that
immediately follows our Sunday morning workout, it feels
like an extension of the gym.
Rita is my gym friend. This is different from a workout buddy. Workout buddies
meet regularly for the primary purpose of exercising
together, coaxing one another through that last set of bicep curls. Gym friends
don't really care if you do that last set of bicep
curls; they want to know what you thought of last night's episode of "The
Apprentice" or whether that dinner with the in-laws went
smoothly.
It's a relationship with few strings attached that usually doesn't extend beyond
the gym — and that's fine.
Richard Sherman, a clinical psychologist in Tarzana, agrees. Such relationships,
he says, are similar to how our parents and
grandparents casually kibitzed at barbershops and across clotheslines. Today, we
may be more likely to form such friendships at the
coffeehouse, nail salon — or gym.
At his health club, Sherman says, "there's a comfort level at seeing the same
friends and having something to talk about as you're
changing or working out." Plus, the casual environment of the gym — no street
clothes, no makeup — encourages people to let their
hair down. "It's almost like a sanctuary," he says.
And Sherman knows first-hand the value of a gym friend. For 18 years he had a
gym buddy with whom he "shared everything. It was a
very close relationship," he says. Then the friend died last year. Sherman says
he still finds it difficult to go to the gym at the
time of day when he used to see his friend.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-bodywork2may02,1,6559636.story?coll\
=la-headlines-health


18. Cycling: Race-Like Bike Intervals:
This article was published in the April 2005 issue of Inside Triathlon.
There's an incredible method of interval training that allows you to train like
you race. These intervals require you to take a
race-like focus of covering a given distance as quickly as possible. We call
these intervals Parceled Out Effort (POE) intervals.
POE intervals can be a great part of your training across the triathlon
disciplines. Here, we'll take a close look at how to
incorporate POE intervals into your bike training.
POE intervals are performed exactly as their name implies. You parcel your
effort out over a given distance (or duration), with the
goal of covering the distance as quickly as you can or going as far as you can
over the duration.
Let's look at an example to see exactly how POE intervals work. A set of POE
intervals on the bike could look like this: 6 X 5' POE,
RI = 2', 90-100 RPM. Your job, in completing this set is to perform six
five-minute work intervals, while taking a two-minute rest
interval (RI) between the work intervals. You ride fast/hard during the work
intervals and slow/easy during the rest intervals.
Specifically, it is your job to complete as much work as possible during the
total 30 minutes (6 X 5') of work intervals. You want
to view this as a 30-minute time trial, broken up by rest intervals. Completing
as much work as possible in the 30 minutes can be
viewed in a few ways. From a theoretical perspective, you can view this as
riding with the intent to travel the greatest distance
possible in these 30 minutes of riding. Alternatively, you can view this as
riding with the intent to maintain the best average
speed or best average power output that you can for these 30 minutes of riding.
To time trial any distance in the best time possible, you should aim for
even-splitting or better yet, negative-splitting your times
during the first and second half of that performance. View POE intervals in the
same way. The only difference being the rest
intervals, which create broken time trial sets. By setting up the duration of
your work and rest intervals in a variety of ways, you
can create specific intensities and train across all spectrums of your anaerobic
metabolism in the course of a periodized training
year.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050504_THS_Bike_Intervals.html


19. Alter Your DNA: Exercise:
Muscle study reveals how physical training activates hundreds of genes.
Genetic activity: Insight into how exercise affects genes could provide targets
for gaining health benefits with less effort
Exercise has been shown to activate hundreds of genes, and differences in their
activation may partly explain differences in
athletic ability.
James Timmons and Carl Sundberg of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm have
shown that regular cycle training affects about 500
genes in thigh muscles.
Their findings suggest that differences in training responses are due to
differences in people's ability to activate genes more
forcefully.
The study, which involved healthy young men in regular cycle training for six
weeks, showed that participants who improved their
performance most also had markedly greater activation of several genes in
muscles.
Fitness pills?
Besides providing insight into athletic ability, the study provides targets for
developing interventions that mimic the effects of
exercise.
Exercise is known to improve health and quality of life. Determining the genetic
factors involved in such benefits could lead to
interventions that mimic exercise.
For example, Timmons, Sundberg and colleagues found in their study that many
activated genes are likely linked to diabetes and
cardiovascular disease.
In an interesting twist, the researchers also compared genes activated by
regular exercise with genes activated in people with
Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, a muscle wasting disease.
They found similar genes that were activated. This could mean that muscles in
people with muscular dystrophy strive to adapt in a
similar way to those of people who are exercising.
The research is reported in the FASEB Journal


20. Sun protection facts you need to know:
By Heidi Kelchner - Her Sports Magazine
If you've been less than diligent about slathering on sunscreen in the past,
consider this: Melanoma is now the most common cancer
in women age 25 to 29, and second only to breast cancer in women 30 to 34,
according to The Skin Cancer Foundation.
Protecting your skin takes just a little planning and shopping before heading
outdoors. With the number of quality sunscreens,
bronzing products and self-tanners (much safer than getting a suntan) available,
there's no excuse for damaging your skin.
Here's how to beat the sun -- May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, by
the way -- this summer and for the rest of your life:
Skin Care 101: wear sunscreen or sunblock! To protect against skin cancer and
premature aging, the American Academy of Dermatology
(AAD) recommends wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen or sunblock that protects
against both UVA and UVB rays with an SPF of 15 or
higher. UVB rays pose risk to top layers of skin and lead to sunburn (think "B"
for burn). UVA rays affect under layers of skin,
which leads to premature aging (think "A" for aging). All sunscreens protect
from UVB rays but only broad-spectrum sunscreens
protect against both.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11660


21. We're mad about protein, and many of us are eating too much:
Find out how to avoid going overboard and which sources will leave you in
fighting shape.
By Kimberly A. Tessmer, R.D.
You know high-protein diets lack essential nutrients, and that carb restriction
can be an athlete's death knell. But protein is
vital to everything from muscle building and repair to metabolism and hair
growth, and needs careful consideration in an active
woman's diet. The question, then, is how much do you need? And what sources are
best?
The theory adopted by many athletes is that more protein equals more muscle. In
truth, extra protein offers no added performance
benefits, and may actually be harmful to the kidneys and weaken the bones.
In proper quantities, however, protein is a powerhouse nutrient. It's found in
every cell of the body, and is responsible for
helping build and repair body tissues, regulating digestion and metabolism,
producing enzymes, replacing red blood cells, growing
hair and fingernails, creating hormones and other body chemicals, and boosting
the immune system.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
When you eat too much protein—as studies have shown most Americans do—it is not
stored as protein but rather used as fuel or stored
as fat. If you're consuming adequate calories, protein will likely end up as
fat, since the body will select carbohydrates as an
energy source first and foremost.
More...from HerSports at:
http://www.hersports.com/mainarticles/proteinInbalance.html


22. What Do You Mean by Speed?
High-intensity training can boost your fitness but wield its power judiciously.
How fast do you need to train to optimize your speed? The answer to that
question varies depending upon whom you ask. Some people do
several high-intensity sessions each week, and others do every workout at the
same moderate pace. For a small minority of athletes
one of these two plans may result in success, but the majority of multisport
athletes' workout schedule should fall within these two
extremes. There is no doubt that speed sessions will improve performance, but
how fast and how often should you go hard?
High-intensity training can be defined as anaerobic, or above lactate threshold,
workouts. Aerobic work is done at an effort below
your lactate threshold. If you use a heart-rate monitor you can develop a good
estimate of your lactate threshold (the training
intensity at which you produce lactic acid more quickly than your body is able
to flush it) by doing a hard 30-minute cycling or
running time trial when you are rested. Determine your average heart rate over
the last 20 minutes of the workout ¾ it will be close
to your lactate-threshold heart rate. Note that you should perform tests on both
the bike and run as your LT will differ for each
sport.
Finding the balance
For most athletes, races under one hour will rely primarily on the anaerobic
system ¾ that is, you will be racing above your LT.
However, races longer than two hours are almost exclusively sub-LT efforts.
Ironman-distance racing typically occurs substantially
below lactate threshold.
Too much high-intensity training greatly increases the risk of illness, burnout
and overtraining and such efforts require more
recovery time as they temporarily break down the body. But with adequate rest
the body will overcompensate and recover, leading to
greater fitness.
The University of Colorado's Mark Whetmore, coach of one of the top U.S.
collegiate running programs, warns against too much
anaerobic training. Whetmore, who has coached U.S. Olympians Adam Goucher and
Alan Culpepper, relies primarily on aerobic training
and only adds anaerobic training toward the end of the season. Says Whetmore,
“The contribution of anaerobic training to one's
overall racing ability is overrated. It is more productive to train the aerobic
system.”
More...from EnduranceOne at:
http://www.enduranceone.com/articleshowfast.html


23. On Being A Race Director - My Job is Secure... No One Else Wants It!
Over the years, I have felt that race directors must feel like the crab grass in
the lawn of life.
I often ask an audience the day before a race how many are running in the race?
Hundreds of the folks in the room raise their hand.
Then I ask, how many in the room are directing the race? No hands go up…except
mine. I’m immediately reminded how the odds are truly
stacked against the race director and his/her team.
So, how, or better yet, why, do most race directors become race directors?
Certainly not many aspired to be race directors when they
where making career decisions in high school and college. I’m not aware of too
many educational institutions that offer race
directing as an elective. For most, like me, it just happens by default…right
place, right time…or could it be wrong place, wrong
time.
Most race directors do this on a volunteer basis and to help a specific cause
near and dear to them. Others have chosen this as a
career path and end up producing multiple events a year with the hope that when
it is all said and done they can earn more than ten
cents an hour.
Without race directors, there are no races. And, without runners, there are no
races either. So, it sort of makes sense for all of
us to work together and to support each other. Most race directors are or have
been runners. However, most runners probably have
never directed a race.
More...from Cool Running at:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/6/6_1/on-being-a-race-director-.shtml



24. Psychological Issues with Regard to the Marathon:
Of all the distance running events, a marathon or ultra presents the greatest
challenges both physically and mentally.
Even after completing all the required training and making it to the race rested
and healthy, arriving at the starting line in less
than the ideal state of mind can have a devastating effect on your performance.
In this article, a variety of mental strategies will be discussed that will
enable you to set realistic goals, complete the
necessary training (in particular, the long runs), and be optimally prepared
mentally for the challenges that await you in
completing the marathon. Please be familiar with the following terminology
(described with positive outcomes), as each will be
mentioned later:
Mental Rehearsal/Visualization - The process of creating pictures or images in
your mind.
Imagery - Playing out/imagining in your mind the way you wish for an event to
occur.
Self-Talk - The "voice" in your head that can be trained to provide positive
affirmations during adversity and tough times.
Before You Begin
There are certain "prerequisites" or internal characteristic that a runner must
possess in order to undertake the necessary training
that the marathon requires. These include motivation, self-discipline, and
effective time-management, all of which are inter-related
characteristics.
A coach can be enthusiastic about the training program he or she
designs/presents and show interest in the runner's development;
however, motivation and self-discipline must be developed primarily from within.
The best marathon training program in the world will not enable a runner to make
it to the finish line of a marathon if he or she
isn't internally motivated to undergo and complete the training and then finish
the race.
Similarly, it requires a great deal of self-discipline to complete the long
training runs while at the same time, cope with other
daily distractions and manage all the personal responsibilities daily living
provides. This is why it is crucial that the runner who
wishes to train for the marathon be an effective manager of time.
More...from the World of Endurance at:
http://worldofendurance.com/runnersguide/beginners_column.asp?a_id=1403557&st_na\
me=BackToBasics


25. News Scan:
* Women On The Run:
According to Racestats.Blogspot, 6819 of the 11392 finishers in the Country
Music Half Marathon were women. The men finisher's count
was 4573. That puts the women's finishing total at 60 percent of all finishers,
one of the highest percents we've seen for a race of
this kind.

* Brooks Joins With Los Angeles Triathlon:
Brooks Sports has announced a licensing agreement with the 2005 City of Los
Angeles Triathlon. The Triathlon will take place on
Sept. 11.

* Asthma - Take Exercise and Take Control
Taking exercise and staying fit can help to keep asthma symptoms under control,
said experts on World Asthma Day (3 May).
Four out of ten people with asthma say their condition can stop them from
exercising, yet research shows that active people can
control their asthma symptoms more effectively and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
Asthma UK has produced a guide to exercising, 'Stay Fit and Active', which
offers advice to people with asthma on tackling sports
and physical activities safely.
Tips offered in the guide include: always carry your reliever inhaler with you
when you exercise; try to avoid your triggers such as
pollen, and warming up and down will help to avoid asthma symptoms developing.
An incredible one in four of the British Olympic Team in Athens last year was
found to have asthma in pre-Olympic tests, but with
symptoms effectively controlled many went on to win medals.
Marathon champ Paula Radcliffe certainly hasn't let having asthma stand between
her and a world record.
'Research is showing us that asthma is not a barrier to exercise and fitness,
and also that staying active has a really positive
impact and helps people to keep their symptoms under control,' said Katie
Shepherd, Asthma UK's Care Development Manager.
For a copy of 'Stay Fit and Active' contact our Supporter & Information Team
(020 7704 5888; email mailto:info@...).
http://www.asthma.org.uk

* Women hydrate more than men during a marathon race: hyponatremia in the
Houston marathon: a report on 60 cases.
From the MRC/UCT Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine,
Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town Sport
Science Institute of South Africa, Newlands, South Africa.
OBJECTIVE:: To examine the relationship between gender and the development of
hyponatremia in marathon runners. DESIGN:: A
retrospective analysis of prerace and postrace data collected on 117 runners
completing the Houston Marathon from 2000 to 2003.
SETTING:: The Houston Marathon. PARTICIPANTS:: A total of 117 marathon runners
(63 male and 54 female) who consented to participate
in hyponatremia research. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: Prerace and postrace body
weight and serum sodium ([Na+]) concentrations were
measured. Total fluid intake was self-reported immediately following the race.
RESULTS:: Of the runners tested, 28% developed
hyponatremia ([Na+] </= 135 mmol/L). Hyponatremic runners (n = 33) drank
significantly more fluid (31.70 versus 18.90 cups; P <
0.001), lost the least weight (-0.14 versus -1.61 kg; P < 0.001), and dropped
serum [Na+] levels further (-7.48 versus -1.92; P <
0.001) compared with nonhyponatremic runners. Female runners (n = 54) were
significantly lighter (62.46 versus 80.73 kg; P < 0.001),
ran slower (303.02 versus 269.06 minutes; P < 0.001), lost the least weight
(-0.62 versus -1.68 kg; P < 0.001), dropped serum [Na+]
levels further (-4.44 versus -2.67; P < 0.01), and had lower postrace serum
[Na+] values (136.87 versus 138.50; P < 0.01) compared
with male runners while consuming the same total amount of fluid during the race
(22.87 versus 22.30 cups; P = 0.83, NS). There were
significant inverse relationships between serum [Na+] change versus body weight
change (r = -0.65; P < 0.001) and between postrace
[Na+] versus body weight change (r = -0.60; P < 0.001), with significant sex
differences noted only between nonhyponatremic female
and male runners (-0.91 versus -0.2.05 kg; P < 0.001) and between hyponatremic
and nonhyponatremic male runners (-0.11 versus -2.05
kg; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:: Female marathon runners drink more fluid than male
runners in proportion to body size. A loss of 3 kg
body weight corresponds to a 0 change in serum [Na+] from prerace to postrace,
suggesting that a loss of 3 kg during a marathon
represents euhydration and not dehydration. All cases of hyponatremia reported
in this study are a result of overhydration based on
this convention.
PMID: 15867557 [PubMed - in process]

* Ask Coach Watson: On the subject of ice baths for recovery: Does it have to be
ice? or cold tap water?...
On the subject of ice baths for recovery: Does it have to be ice? or cold tap
water? How long should we endure this? FYI, marathon
training!
Ice baths are one of the best forms of recovery and I'm sure they will be an
excellent compliment to your marathon training.
Although not exactly enjoyable, soaking in a tub of ice water after a long run
or an intense workout will not only help boost the
body's recovery processes, but also help prevent injury. Many elite athletes
swear by them, making them an essential part of their
daily or weekly program. There are essentially two types of water therapies: ice
baths and contrast showers. Most research has shown
ice baths to be superior in terms of recovery but both are beneficial.
After exercise we have microscopic tears in our muscles that cause inflammation.
When you get into an ice bath, the cold water
causes your blood vessels to tighten and drains the blood out of your legs. When
you get out of the tub, ‘new' blood flows into your
legs, invigorating your muscles with oxygen and in turn, reducing inflammation.
This increase in blood flow also makes its way deep
into the muscle tissue, helping flush out any build-up or damage. Most often the
results are noticed the next day, but you may find
your legs feeling fresher right after the bath.
Ice baths are most effective when taken within 60 minutes of finishing a
workout. They should last anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes but
for those to cannot stand the icy water, sets of 2-3 minutes are just as
beneficial. The water should be cold, uncomfortably cold.
To answer your specific question, tap water usually isn't cold enough for an ice
bath, unless you live in a colder climate. Water
anywhere from 50 to 60 degrees F is good. Colder is not necessarily better and
warmer will not be as effective.
Be sure to move your legs around every minute or so. You will find that your
body will warm the water closest to your legs so moving
them will ensure the coldest areas keep flowing over your legs. Also, don't be
afraid to sit down in the tub so the water covers
your entire legs, glutes, hip-flexors, low back or anywhere you are feeling
fatigue.
If you are short on time or have no ice, taking a contrast shower works well
too. Within an hour of exercise, hop in the shower and
alternate 30-60 seconds of cold water and 2 minutes of hot water. Three to four
rounds of this are best. The coldest temperature
your shower will go is usually sufficient as it is the contrast of the extreme
temperatures that causes the effect. The change
between the vasodilatation (from heat) and vasoconstriction (from cold) of your
blood vessels causes an expansion/contraction of
blood pumping through the muscles. Like the ice bath, this will dramatically
speed waste removal, nutrient delivery and overall
recovery.
Remember to keep the thoughts positive while enduring this seemingly torturous
procedure! Your body will surely be thanking you
during your next run.
{From LanceWatson.com]

***End of Articles***

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

May 7, 2005:
Montana Women's Run, Billings, MT
http://www.womensrun.org/

Mother's Day Duathlon - Cumberland, ON
http://www.somersault.ca

Rotorua Marathon - Rotorua, New Zealand
http://www.rotoruamarathon.co.nz

May 8, 2005:
Demi-Marathon International de Quebec - Quebec, QC
http://www.marathonquebec.com

Enschede Marathon - Netherlands
http://www.enschedemarathon.nl

Forest City Road Races - London, ON
http://www.forestcityroadraces.com/

Fredericton Marathon - Fredericton, NB
http://frederictonmarathon.ca

Geneva Marathon - Switzerland
http://www.genevemarathon.ch

Mothers Day 1/2 Marathon & 5/10km Run - Cumberland, ON
http://www.somersault.ca

Oberelbe Marathon - King Stone, Germany
http://www.oberelbe-marathon.de

Quad Cities Distance Classic - Augustana Rock Island, IL
http://www.cornbelt.org/

Rhein-Marathon Dusseldorf - Dusseldorf, Germany
http://www.rhein-marathon.de

May 28-29:
National Capital Race Weekend - Ottawa, ON
http://www/ncm.ca


For more complete race listings check out our Upcoming Races, and
Calendars. Check the Runner's Web on Sunday and Monday for race
reports on these events at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.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
mailto:webmaster@...
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
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END...OF DIGEST...