A Free Weekly E-zine of Multisport Related Articles.

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 Corporate Relay and the Canadian Iron Distance Triathlon. The site
is not in any way associated with the two UK
"Runner's Web" copycat sites or the Runner's Web Book Store in the USA.

Support our advertisers:

1. Runner's Web Online Store:
Through a partnership with HDO Sports, the Runner's and Triathlete's Web has
opened an online store. Check it out for your shopping
requirements. Provide us with your feedback.
http://store.runnersweb.com

2. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
http://www.roadrunnersports.com/cgi-bin/rrs/rrs/rrHome.jsp?sc=CBM-00105&prfc=1

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.
http://www.sofsole.com/pages/promo/rwebsockoffer.html

5. The Toronto Marathon
http://www.torontomarathon.com


Shopping on the internet?
Father's Day Sale!
Check out our new storefront just launched in partnership with HDO Sport:
http://store.runnersweb.com/

The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and
health issues. The opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the Digest
are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily
those of the Runner's Web. To comment on any stories in the Digest visit our
Forum at:
http://excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=4655


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

For new subscribers:
This newsletter has been composed using Outlook set to "Plain Text" format. The
Digest is sent via an email list at
http://groups.yahoo.com.
If you experience any delays in receiving your copy of the Digest, please advise
us at:
mailto:webmaster@...
You can receive the digest in three ways:
1. Immediately, via email,
2. Daily, in an email summary, and
3. By accessing the YahooGroups.com web site on demand.
The mail list has been set to not allow attachments out of concerns for viruses.
Also, all messages must be approved by the monitor
(me) prior to being released to the group. If you have any questions regarding
the options available for receiving this digest,
please do NOT email the list, rather email me directly at
mailto:Webmaster@...
NOTE
**[ Some e-mail clients may split the URL address into two lines. If you have
trouble connecting to a link, be sure that you paste
the entire address into your browser, so that it ends in ".html" or another
appropriate suffix ].
Note: An increasing number of media sites require free registration.
If you wish to sign up for free access to sources for our articles without using
your main email address we suggest the use of a
mail alias program such as http://www.emailias.com.


THIS WEEK:

We are still trying to get Yahoo News to add the Runner's Web to their indexing.
You can help us by completing and ending the form
at: http://www.runnersweb.com/running/yahoo_news_site.html

Our site traffic continues to grow. For March 2005 we had an average of 7,055
visitors per day, a 64.5% increase over the daily
average of 4,288 for March 2004. On Monday, April 18th, 2004 we set an all-time
high of 11,455 visitors.


Webmasters
Get our Syndicated headlines for you site.
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_getRSS.html
Add the Runner's Web News feed to your site through a simple JavaScript. Check
out OnTri.com's implementation at:
http://www.ontri.com/runnersweb.html
The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is now available through an RSS feed
for myYahoo at:
http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/cstore?.opt=content&.url=http%3a//rss.groups.yahoo.\
\com/group/RunnersWeb/rss
[Long URL]
The Digest is also available through other RSS Readers on request.

If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
Google's GMail. Currently you can get GMail by invitation
only from a current user. My stock of "invites" has been replenished. I will
give invitations to the first 40 Digest subscribers to
respond (by email timestamp). Contact me at:
mailto:kparker@....

Microsoft(r) Alerts on RunnersWeb.com Inc.
RunnersWeb.com Inc. now offers Microsoft(r) Alerts! This service lets you
receive important messages through your MSN(r) Messenger
or Windows(r) Messenger, your e-mail, or your mobile device. You can choose how
and when you receive these messages by specifying
your preferences during the easy setup process. Sign up at:
http://www.messagecast.net/alerts/login.do?PINID=2598&returnURL=http://www.runne\
\rsweb.com

We are currently at 1290 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the
Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they
subscribe. at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join.

Race Directors:
Advertise your event on the Runner's Web. Over 1.8 MILLION visits in 2004!
7,055 visitors per day for March 2005, a 65% increase over March 2004.
7,263 visitors per day for April 2005, a 62% increase over April 2004.
On Monday, April 18th, 2004 we set an all-time high of 11,455 visitors.

For more information:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_advertising.html
For text ads check out our AdBrite partnership at:
http://www.adbrite.com/mb/commerce/purchase_form.php?opid=15182&afsid=1
You can also list your events for free in our Interactive Calendars and on our
Marathons, Races and Triathlons pages.

Runner's and Triathlete's Web Content Partners:

* 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
Health and works in the field of nutritional epidemiology as a Research
Associate with the University of California, San Diego. Her
column index is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/SK_index.html

* Carmichael Training Systems
Carmichael Training Systems was founded in 1999 by Chris Carmichael.
From the beginning, the mission of the company has been to improve the lives of
individuals we work with through the application of
proper and effective fitness and competitive training techniques. Whether your
focus is recreational, advanced, or you are a
professional racer, the coaching methodology employed by CTS will make you a
better athlete. Check the latest monthly column from
CTS at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html.

* Running Research News
Running Research News is a monthly newsletter which keeps sports-active people
up-to-date on the latest information about
training, sports nutrition, and sports medicine. RRN publishes practical, timely
new material which improves workouts, prevents
injuries, and
heightens overall fitness. Check our latest column from Running Research News
at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html
On January 7th we started a new feature on the website - A Question and Answer
with Owen Anderson from Running Research News.
Send in your training related questions for Owen to answer to
mailto:webmaster@...?subject=Owen_Anderson
Check out the questions and answers from the Q and A Index page at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_AskOwen_index.html

* Peak Performance Online
Peak Performance is a subscription-only newsletter for athletes, featuring the
latest research from the sports science world. We
cover the whole range of sports, from running and rowing to cycling and
swimming, and each issue is packed full of exclusive
information for anyone who's serious about sport. It's published 16 times a
year, including four special reports, by Electric Word
plc. Peak Performance is not available in the shops - only our subscribers are
able to access the valuable information we publish
Check out our latest article from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PPO_index.html

* Peak Running Performance
Peak Running Performance Is The Number 1 Technical Running Newsletter In
America! Check out their article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html.

* WatsonLifeSport
Lance Watson is "Just The Winningest Coach in Triathlon". He has been coaching
triathlon and distance running since 1987. Over the
years, Lance has coached some of the most successful athletes in the sport of
triathlon and duathlon.
Check out the Lance Watson Online Article Index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/LW_index.html


This Weeks Personal Postings/Releases:
We have NO personal postings this week.


This Week's Digest Article Index:

1. Science of Sport: What To Do When You're Just Out Running Around
2. An Uphill Battle?
3. Science of Sport: Can Endurance Runners Be Vegetarians?
4. For asthmatics, laughter is no laughing matter
5. Where is the next Pre?
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve
Prefontaine: January 25, 1951 - May 30, 1975
6. Under attack: the no-time excuse
7. A Commitment to Excellence
The Long Run of Doris Brown Heritage.
8. Tips for the Travelling Athlete
9. Can Too Much Exercise Make You Sick?
10. From Runner's World
11. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Watch It
12. Overreaching and Overtraining in Endurance Athletes
13. Give your nutrition skills a workout
Dietary needs vary from sport to sport, but one fact remains constant: What you
feed your body is as important as how you train it.
14. Science of Sport:
Plasma Expansion: If you're an endurance athlete, you need more blood than the
individual who sits around watching the telly.
15. Triathlon 101 with Coach Lance Watson - Pumping Up
16. Multisport: 12 Tips For Ironman Tapering
17. The Graceful Decline
A funny thing happens in an athlete’s career when you have kids.
18. Treadmill workout: Guaranteed speed!
19. Carbohydrate Loading
20. Does the World Know About Triathlon
21. Low zinc intake may sap exercisers' energy
22. Here's to antioxidants
It's getting harder and harder to be naughty.
23. Baring their soles for the sake of a good run
Barefoot runners say they are less prone to injury. One shoemaker is taking a
closer look.
24. Are my knees getting old?
25. News Scan - A Collection of News Items


Runner's Web Weekly Poll: "Will Marian Jones ever regain her former performance
standard?"

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: "Which of the following is your favourite running
(athletics) movie?
Chariots of Fire
Golden Girl
Marathon
On The Edge
Personal Best
Running Brave
See How She Runs
St. Ralph
The Jericho Mile
Have not seen any of the above"

The results at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Chariots of Fire 26 37%
2. Golden Girl 1 1%
3. Marathon 1 1%
4. On The Edge 0 0%
5. Personal Best 2 3%
6. Running Brave 3 4%
7. See How She Runs 0 0%
8. St. Ralph 20 28%
9. The Jericho Mile 6 8%
10. Have not seen any of the above 12 17%
Total Votes: 71

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


Five Star Site of the Week: AchrafTadili.com
Canadian 800 m runner Achraf Tadili Pan-American Champion.
"Achraf's first race was not against other humans, but against a dog. The story
of the transformation from a soccer player to a
track and field runner all began out in Casablanca on a farm. One day as he was
visiting his uncle, he decided he wanted to play
with his uncle's 2 guard dogs. Out of nowhere, one of the dogs broke loose from
his chain and began to charge furiously towards
Achraf. This forced Achraf to sprint 200m as fast as he could to escape the
furious dog. After watching Achraf outrun the dog,
Achraf's uncle strongly suggested that he join a track and field club."
Visit the site at:
http://achraftadili.com/index.htm

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: Your Performing Edge: The Complete Mind-Body Guide for
Excellence in Sports, Health, and Life, Third Edition
By JoAnn Dahlkoetter
Tour de France For Dummies is a plain-English guide to the world's most famous
bicycle race.
Runner's World Magazine – Eileen Portz-Shovlin, Senior Editor
Excellent information on so many
crucial points of performance. Good strong writing that gets to the point, with
powerful examples.
Bill Rodgers, Four-time winner, Boston and New York City Marathon
This book has everything you need to be successful. It's filled with powerful
mental training exercises, humor, and inspirational
tips.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0970407971/runnersweb/002-1817318-6841649\
?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:

1. Science of Sport: What To Do When You're Just Out Running Around:
By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. (Copyright © 2004-2005)
Almost all of us have days when we have a track workout scheduled - but we just
don't want to go. It may be that we have been to the
track a little too often recently, and that the thought of running ovals gives
us a distinct feeling of ennui or dread. Or it might
be that even though we are highly motivated there is simply no sense in
attempting our pace-based effort on the track, since wind or
rain would make it impossible to maintain a planned velocity. In such cases, is
there an alternative workout which would provide
benefits similar to the projected track session? If we decided to run somewhere
else, in a place at which we really enjoy running,
could we give big boosts to vVO2max, lactate threshold, economy, and speed - the
kind of booster shots that the track running would
have furnished, even if we don't actually run at a specific pace?
Thanks to recent research carried out by Stephen Seiler and Jarl Espen Sjursen
from the Department of Health and Sport at Agder
University College in Kristiansand, Norway, we know that the answer to these
questions is a resounding "yes." In the Seiler-Sjursen
investigation, runners were able to conduct great interval workouts even when
they did not attempt to run at specific paces (1).
12 athletes (nine males and three females) from a Kristiansand running club
participated in the study; all trained regularly,
competed in races, and carried out interval training routinely. The runners had
been training for at least four years prior to the
onset of the investigation and averaged 5.4 workouts per week, with two weekly
interval sessions.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050603_RRN_Running_Around.html


2. An Uphill Battle?
By Paul Greer
Many runners consider hills to be a hindrance, an obstacle getting in the way of
the goal at hand. So why, many runners would say,
should one train on hills? How’s this, for starters; nearly 90% of all distance
runners are deficient in muscular strength, and hill
workouts are specifically designed to build just this – the muscular and
cardiovascular strength we lack. For this reason it is
vital for all runners to implement hill training in their regimen. When you run
hills, you develop elastic muscle fibers – these are
your most significant source of power!
Still not convinced? Here are two additional benefits you’ll achieve from hill
workouts.
1. Increased leg strength and power. Since hill training builds leg strength, it
is an excellent addition to early conditioning
programs; it will help you prepare for the faster running and interval training
you’ll be doing later.
2. Superior endurance. You’ll be able to run faster for longer periods of time
because hill running allows middle and long distance
runners to build lactate tolerance without running faster than race pace. This
type of training also requires both steady state and
oxygen depleting efforts, which provides you with a good transition from aerobic
to anaerobic capacity training. This transition
will radically increase your endurance as your body develops a greater tolerance
for the build-up of lactate acid. This is essential
in enhancing anaerobic fitness.
Hills are an excellent and surprisingly underused element in a runner’s training
regimen and hill training can continue to provide
benefits in power, leg strength, anaerobic fitness and speed throughout your
training and racing career.
Technique
The BEST terrain to run on is grass and trails. These surfaces are easier on you
joints, knees, ankles and lower back. If you must
share a hill with vehicles, never choose a hill with a cross street that doesn’t
have a stop sign. Also, when you hill run, you
always want to face traffic so you can see which SUV you might have to avoid.
In terms of technique, the biomechanics of efficient uphill and downhill running
differ from running on flat surfaces. When running
uphill, it is important to keep your body’s center of mass as high as possible
to optimize stride length. To accomplish this you
must run as tall as possible with your head up and eyes on the horizon line.
Exaggerating your forward lean into the hill is a
common mistake that only serves to lower your center of mass and decrease stride
length.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050602_PRP_Hills.html


3. Science of Sport: Can Endurance Runners Be Vegetarians?
By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. (copyright © 2003-2005)
Many meat-eating athletes wonder whether a switch to a vegetarian diet might
provide a performance boost, and there are logical
reasons for such thinking. First, vegetarian diets tend to be high-carbohydrate
regimens, which should lead to optimal glycogen
storage in muscles. At the lofty intensities required for high-level training
and serious competition, carbohydrate is the primary
source of energy; when muscle-carbohydrate (glycogen) levels are too low,
athletes experience fatigue and tend to perform poorly
(1). Thus, a vegetarian diet may function as an "insurance policy" against
insipid intramuscular carbohydrate storage and
underachievement in races.
In addition, it is possible that vegetarian eating might enhance the recovery
process following tough workouts and competitions. The
reasoning goes this way: High-intensity or prolonged effort generates increased
levels of "free radicals" within an athlete's body,
potentially enhancing the breakdown of cell membranes, including the membranes
which wrap around muscle cells (2). An athlete's own
physiological systems can synthesize antioxidant enzymes to stem this
free-radical onslaught, but an additional line of defense is
provided via the consumption of antioxidant nutrients. Vegetarian diets revolve
around fruits, vegetables, and whole grains - the
kinds of food which are high in antioxidants. Thus, vegetarian eating may do a
better job of protecting muscle cells during hard
training, compared with dietary plans which are more biased toward meats.
Of course, the "coup-de-grace" pro-vegetarian argument in the running community
relies on the fact that Kenyan distance runners, at
least when they are "coming up," are basically lactoovovegetarians, depending on
corn, beans, and the various fruits and vegetables
found in Kenya, along with dabbles in milk and eggs, to fuel their achievements.
Since the Kenyans perform better as a group than
any other runners in the world, it would seem that vegetarian diets, or at least
lactoovovegetarian ones, go hand-in-hand with top
performances.
While those are rational and reasonable points, it should be noted that a
meat-eating athlete's diet is not necessarily low in
carbohydrate. Evidence now strongly suggests that an athlete who trains between
60 and 90 minutes per day should ingest about eight
to 10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight daily (approximately 3.6
to 4.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per
day). Even an athlete who consumes a nightly T-bone steak is not prohibited from
attaining such lofty carbohydrate heights; while
the T-bone might take up room in the tummy which could be better filled with
carrots, brown rice, and passion fruit, there is
nothing about meat-eating per se which automatically produces a
carbohydrate-consumption failure (the needed carbs could be ingested
throughout the day, for example). Even an athlete whose diet is 70-percent
carbohydrate has to fill that other 30 percent with
something, after all. Take in a grandiose T-bone at every meal, and you've got a
problem; take in meat in prudent amounts, and it is
relatively easy to ingest adequate levels of carbs, too.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050528_RRN_Vegetarians.html


4. For asthmatics, laughter is no laughing matter:
More than half of people with asthma have symptoms that are triggered by
laughter, according to new study findings presented this
week.
Laughter is "one more trigger in a long list of triggers" for asthma, study
author Dr. Stuart Garay of the New York University
Medical Center in New York told Reuters Health.
However, among people with symptoms brought on by laughter, nearly half said
they could laugh attack-free when their asthma was
under better control. To Garay, this suggests that people who get asthma
symptoms from laughing should consider tweaking their
medicine to improve control of their condition.
Laughter-induced asthma "may be a sign that you need some adjustment in your
medication," Garay said in an interview.
For their study, he and his colleagues asked 235 people with asthma if laughter
affected their asthma.
They found that 56 percent of people developed symptoms after laughing, most
commonly cough and chest tightness. Most people said
they experienced symptoms within 2 minutes of laughing, with many saying their
symptoms kicked in almost immediately.
More...from Reuters at:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-05-2\
7T170823Z_01_B93467_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-ASTHMATICS-LAUG
HTER-DC.XML


5. Where is the next Pre?
"To give anything less than your best
is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine
January 25, 1951 - May 30, 1975
At the time of his passing, "Pre"—a rebel who happened to run—held the American
records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000
meters: a feat never accomplished before or since.
This month marks the 30-year anniversary of Pre's premature passing. We honor
his legacy, his records, his influence on professional
American athletics. And we revel in a philosophy of life that continues to
inspire.
Get to know the man who ran every race as if it were his last. Learn about
America's greatest running legend. Peek into the soul of
Nike—and maybe be inspired to push a few limits of your own.
More...from Nike.com at:
http://www.nike.com/nikerunning/usa/home.jhtml?promoID=em


6. Under attack - the no-time excuse:
A mere six minutes of intense, gut-busting exercise a week can do as much to
improve a person's fitness as a traditional
one-hour-a-day regime, according to startling new findings from Canadian
researchers.
If they are right, the approach will strip away the time-honoured excuse of the
inactive: "I don't have time to exercise."
The research, which will be published in the June edition of the Journal of
Applied Physiology, found that people who undertook
"modified interval training" that consisted of cycling at breakneck speed for
short bursts boosted their endurance just as much as
those who spent hours a week biking at a more moderate pace.
"Short bouts of intense exercise improved muscle and performance to the same
extent as traditional endurance training," said Dr.
Martin Gibala, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology of
McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050531.wxhfastfit31/BNStory\
/specialScienceandHealth/



7. A Commitment to Excellence:
The Long Run of Doris Brown Heritage.
As a young girl, Doris Severtson liked nothing better than to run freely along
the beach in front of her family home in Gig Harbor,
WA, or through the woods nearby. It wasn’t training or racing, just running for
the simple joy of movement and the love of her
surroundings. No one would question the need for a child to be active like that,
though soon enough Severtson came into contact with
doubters, and with more substantial barriers to her love of running.
When she first began competing in the summer of 1958, at the age of 15,
Severtson ran for the same reasons as before. But a year
later, as a member of Tacoma’s small Mic Mac club, she set a national 440-yard
dash record and her running career, and her life,
quickly changed.
Since that first record Doris Brown Heritage (née Severtson) has been on a
journey across incredibly varied terrain, one more
undulating than the toughest cross country course she ever ran. The journey
included national and world records, international
championships, coaching and administrative assignments all over the globe, and
opportunities to compete and work with people who
became her closest friends. There were also bitter disappointments, brought on
by injury and misfortune. And for a long while there
was the frustrating reality that women had scant opportunity to race at the
distances best suited to Brown Heritage. Some said women
should not run at all, but because of Brown Heritage and others from her era,
those voices have been silenced. Through it all Brown
Heritage has worked tirelessly, promoting the sport she loved long before she
even knew it was a sport.
Shortly after her 440-yard record, Brown Heritage became aware that a women’s
800 meter event was being added to the 1960 Rome
Olympics schedule. Back in the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, women had first competed
in five track & field events, but upon completion
of the 800, a debate ensued about whether women should perform what some doctors
labeled "feats of endurance." They warned that
women running the 800 would "become old too soon," and ultimately the
International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) banned women
from racing beyond 200 meters. For 32 years half a lap was the farthest women
could run in the Olympics.
Although a novice, Brown Heritage believed she could make the U.S. team in the
800, and as a high school senior she set out to do
just that. She was a legitimate contender, given her ability in the 440 and the
fact that few American women had experience at the
distance. At the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials, Brown Heritage finished third in the
800, an event won by another talented 17-year-old,
Billie Pat Daniels. Unfortunately none of the U.S. top three ran fast enough to
meet the automatic Olympic qualifying standard,
meaning that only Daniels could travel to Rome as the sole entrant each nation
was guaranteed.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/02nov/dbheritage.htm


8. Tips for the Travelling Athlete:
So, you’ve been training hard for a very special out of town race. It could be
an Ironman or bike race and you really want
everything to go superb. If you take special care in making your traveling
arrangements then you can relieve yourself of much undo
stress and improve your chances of having a great race. But, where do you start
in making your plans?
Information is Key
Begin by getting the most amount of information about the city you’re going to.
Find out how far the airport is from the race site,
your hotel and nearby bike or tri shops. Find out the exact route from the hotel
to the race site and commit it to memory so you’ll
feel more in control when you get there. With sites like MapQuest and Yahoo it
is very easy to gather this information. Find out the
water temperature to make sure if you need a wetsuit or not as well as the
terrain for the bike so you can figure out which gearing
to bring. Also, do some research on the average temperatures and forecast to
finalize your race and casual clothing. I’ve always
found it handy to have the following with me on every trip: light rain jacket,
jeans and white t shirt. The rain jacket can serve
many purposes as it could be chilly race morning or post race. The jeans and t
shirt, well, they always seem to work in a pinch if I
get invited out somewhere.
More...from Florida Sports at:
http://www.floridasports.com/story.cfm?story_id=9947&publicationID=203&pageID=47\
34


9. Can Too Much Exercise Make You Sick?
David C. Nieman, Dr. P.H.
A common perception exists that overtraining or participation in lengthy
endurance type events will cause athletes to become ill. In
fact, results from a survey conducted by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute
show that nearly 90 percent of 2,700 high school and
collegiate coaches and athletic trainers believe that overtraining can
compromise the immune system and make athletes sick.
But can too much exercise really make you ill? A study conducted at the Los
Angeles Marathon reveals that this may be the case.
Results show that:
One out of seven runners who participated in the event got sick after it was
over.
Runners training more than 60 miles a week during the two months before the
race, doubled their odds for sickness compared to those
training less than 20 miles a week.
But regular moderate training also appears to provide protection against colds.
Eighty percent of fitness enthusiasts, for instance,
reported in a recent survey that they have fewer colds than their inactive
peers.
So what's a coach to think?
Too Much Exercise Suppresses Immune Function
Although moderate exercise may help protect athletes from sickness, training for
too long at too high an intensity appears to make
athletes more susceptible to illness. Laboratory research shows that athletes
exercising at a high intensity for 90 minutes or more
experience a steep drop in immune function that can last up to 24 hours. The
drop in immune function appears to be caused by the
elevation of stress hormones released during and following heavy exertion. This
is what exercise immunologists believe allows
viruses already in the body to spread and gain a foothold.
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.iuplog.com/default.asp?item=89434


10. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
Plan to race: "If you live near a race course, do a slow run over the course
once or twice a month. As you run, tell yourself how
confident you feel and devise mental strategies that you'll use to overcome any
race-day problems. If you don't live near the
course, you can do the same mental rehearsal by running on terrain that
simulates some of the challenging parts of the race course
and talking yourself through the rough spots."
-Jeff Galloway
* Injury Prevention
Build upper-body flexibility. Tired runners tend to hunch over. Increasing the
flexibility of your chest muscles will improve your
form, enhance your breathing capacity, and help you stay upright. Try this
stretch: Stand in a doorway with your forearms against
the door frame, elbows at shoulder level. Step or lean forward until you feel a
stretch across your chest. Hold for at least 30
seconds.
* Performance Nutrition
Based on looks alone, the small, oval, hairy, dirt-brown kiwi is not much of a
treat. But don't be fooled: The skin offers plenty of
fiber and the emerald green flesh inside contains many of the same nutrients as
leafy green vegetables, such as disease-fighting
beta-carotene and vitamin C. One peeled kiwi has three grams of fiber (50
percent more than a slice of whole wheat bread) and only
55 calories. Eat one whole by rubbing off the outer fuzz with a clean dish
towel. Added bonus: Used as a marinade, kiwi can
tenderize tough meat in just 30 minutes.
* Editor's Advice
"Strike an agreement with your family. The rule: You get 1 hour to yourself
every day, provided that you use it for exercise (and
reciprocate the favor). Since it's for your health, it's a contract they can't
refuse. And that will allow you to exercise
guilt-free while acting as a role model for your children." -Carol Goodrow, RW
kids running editor
* Training Talk
"Take a deep breath. The best way to relax, focus your effort, and maintain your
form is through controlled, rhythmic breathing.
Controlling your breathing is crucial. It allows you to focus and concentrate
almost entirely on your form."
-From Runner's World Complete Book of Running by Amby Burfoot




11. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Watch It:
Return with me now to the not-too-distant past when watches still had hands.
Timing our runs was an inexact act as recently as the
1970s.
We would point the watch's hours and minutes to 12, wait for the second hand to
reach the top, then start running. Later we would
grab a finish time within a minute or so from accurate.
Sometimes a passerby would ask, "Can you tell me what time it is?" We'd shrug,
leaving the asker to wonder why anyone would wear a
watch but not know what time it was.
Only once did my race time come close to matching the time of day. That happened
at the Boston Marathon, which began at noon.
Even there, timing was an estimate. Did the hands read 2:48-something, 2:49-plus
or 2:50-and-change? I waited hours for the official
verdict.
Our old wristwatches weren't just inexact; they were unreliable. "Waterproof"
didn't mean sweatproof. The stem gummed up with salt
until it froze, leaving the watch to die from no rewinding.
Leaping ahead 25 years, we now wear five-function digital watches while running
-- and still fumble and shrug when asked the time of
day. This hasn't changed, but almost everything else in timekeeping has.
The digital wrist-stopwatch was one of running's greatest inventions. It gave
runners instant and precise race results. These
watches created the PR -- the precious personal record -- by tuning us in to our
own times.
These watches have reversed normal economic trends. As they've gotten better,
they've also grown cheaper.
My first digital watch cost about $200, came cased in heavy metal and had a
nasty habit of going blank at the worst times. Much
better watches now sell for as little as $5.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/509.html


12. Overreaching and Overtraining in Endurance Athletes:
Whilst another triathlon season here in New Zealand is over, for many others in
the northern hemisphere, it's just beginning.
Although it may have been a great season and most of you would have noticed some
improvements here and there, for some of you it was
your first experience of having a less than satisfactory race because of your
preparation.
I would like to reveal the issue of overreaching and overtraining in endurance
sport.
First of all let's start by getting one thing straight - overtraining is a
condition not an illness.
When the training load is too intense, or the volume of training exceeds the
body's ability to recover and adapt, the body
experiences more breakdown than build up. The symptoms of overtraining are
highly individualized and cannot be universally applied.
Sometimes, it can be very difficult for athletes, trainers and coaches to
recognize the early symptoms of the condition. The
underlying causes of overtraining syndrome are often a combination of emotional
and physiological reasons.
I want to emphasize more about the emotional and physiological aspects of the
syndrome. A person's stress tolerance can break down
as often from a sudden increase in anxiety as from an increase in physical
distress. The emotional demands of competition, the aim
to win, the fear of failure and unrealistic goals, can be sources of intolerable
emotional stress. Some studies have shown that
overtraining is associated with alteration in the neurological (the autonomic
nervous system), hormonal and immune systems.
In the autonomic nervous system, we are talking about the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems, to understand the process
you would need to know the difference between the two nervous systems. The
sympathetic nerves prepare the body for emergencies - the
fight or flight response, whereas stimulation of the parasympathetic nerves
generally slows the body down.
We have no control over the sympathetic system, so if you're experiencing
symptoms such as, increased heart rate and blood pressure,
no appetite, sleeping problems, emotional instability and decreased body mass,
you can not make them "go away". You need to confer
with your coach or trainer immediately and have some time off from your training
More...from Endurance Coach at:
http://www.endurancecoach.com/Overreaching_and_Overtraining_in_Endurance_Athlete\
s.htm


13. Give your nutrition skills a workout:
Dietary needs vary from sport to sport, but one fact remains constant: What you
feed your body is as important as how you train it.
If you're serious about exercise, you probably know that fuelling your body is
as important as training it. It's well established
that eating the right foods, at the right times, can enhance physical
performance during training and competition.
And you don't have to be a world class athlete to reap the benefits of
nutrition. Whether your fitness regime includes cycling to
and from work, 30 minutes on a treadmill or building up to marathon mileage, you
need to eat right if you want your body to perform
its best.
Though dietary needs vary from sport to sport, a certain formula holds true for
athletes at all levels. A fitness-friendly diet must
contain carbohydrates for fuel, protein to build and repair muscles, vitamins
and minerals to support muscle-building and energy
metabolism, and fluids to cool the body.
Carbohydrates are the body's preferred energy source for daily physical
activities and high-intensity exercise. Once digested,
carbohydrate-rich foods are absorbed into the bloodstream as glucose.
Glucose that's not used immediately for energy is stored in muscles as glycogen
-- the primary fuel for all types of exercise.
The more glycogen your muscles tuck away, the longer you'll be able to continue
exercising before feeling tired. That's why
carbohydrate loading, the practice of scarfing down large portions of pasta or
other starchy foods, is common among endurance
athletes.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050601/HBECK01/\
TPHealth/?query=beck


14. Science of Sport:
Plasma Expansion: If you're an endurance athlete, you need more blood than the
individual who sits around watching the telly.
After all, having a high blood volume reduces heart rate during exercise,
delivers more oxygen to hard-working muscles, sends more
red-hot blood to the skin for cooling, and furnishes a reserve supply of
internal fluid, so that sweat rates can remain pleasantly
high during exercise. Not surprisingly, an increase in blood volume is one of
the basic physiological adjustments which the human
body makes in response to endurance training.
The beneficial role of blood-volume expansion has caused some athletes to wonder
whether they can 'cheat' - ie, do rather unusual
things to increase blood volume to exceptionally high levels before important
competitions. There are basically two ways to do this:
you can adjust your training to promote higher blood reserves, or you can run a
solution containing a chemical called dextran into
your veins. Dextran hangs around in the blood for a while, drawing in water by a
process called osmosis.
In recent research at the University of Utah, the dextran gambit worked very
well - but not better than a training-induced blood
expansion. At Utah, 10 experienced, competitive cyclists slipped about 14 ounces
of an isotonic saline solution containing 6-per
cent dextran into their veins and then tried to complete a rigorous cycling
workout in as short a time period as possible. The
dextran concoction boosted blood volume by about 9 per cent.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050602_PPO_Plasma.html



15. Triathlon 101 with Coach Lance Watson - Pumping Up:
By Lance Watson
Question: Dear Coach Watson,
There seems to be much controversy regarding weight training for triathlon. In
your professional and personal opinion, is it
essential or unnecessary for the average participant to invest time weight
training, or can the time be better spent doing other
sorts of resistance training?
Also, would you say that weight training may be more important for certain
individuals due to muscular imbalances and injury
prevention?
Answer: Thanks for writing! These are great questions.
There are a number of factors every athlete must consider when deciding if (or
how) to integrate strength training into an already
busy triathlon-training schedule:
Age: As we get older, we tend to experience muscle breakdown plus loss of mass,
strength and flexibility. After the age of 35 it is
beneficial for everyone to do some strength and flexibility work, whether they
are a triathlete or not.
Injury rehabilitation or strength imbalance: Weight training can also help
develop strength and balance, which can aid in injury
prevention and rehabilitation (i.e. imbalances in your antagonistic muscles,
re-conditioning rotator cuffs, building back muscle
mass after a broken bone or preventive work for supporting musculature that
protects injury-prone areas.
Specific performance needs: Strength training can target specific areas of
strength or weakness to help you generate additional
power output on the bike, better pull in the water, etc.
More...from Triathlete Magazine at:
http://www.triathletemag.com/story.cfm?story_id=10021&publicationID=92&pageID=17\
05


16. Multisport: 12 Tips For Ironman Tapering:
by Lisa Bentley, www.LisaBentley.com
Over the past 6 years that I have been coached and mentored by Lance Watson, I
would say that we have fine-tuned and perfected the
taper portion of my training cycle. Magically, during every taper, the fatigue
that builds up during the Ironman build phase
vanishes. The “I’m never training for another Ironman – I want a life” mantra
gets replaced with “can I do 4 Ironman races this
year?” Once the taper begins, the drastic reduction in physical training
refreshes my body and mind. All of a sudden, Ironman pace
feels easy instead of labored and my little speedy race prep workouts feel
sharp. My mind wants to race. My spirit is renewed and I
feel ready to tackle the Ironman day! Here are 10 Ironman taper tips that can
make your next Ironman your best journey.
1. Before the official taper begins, say one month before your key Ironman race,
decide on one key run workout and one key bike
workout for each week and then, rest for them. Apply the same mental focus and
physical effort that you want to execute on race day.
During the normal Ironman build, the volume often gets very high and many of our
workout become “completion exercises” – you just
want to get them done. Well, these key run and bike workouts should be
“execution exercises” where your goal is to mimic you race
day attitude and effort. So essentially, your quality should improve and your
quantity will decrease slightly. Hence, the taper is
beginning unofficially.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050603_LW_Ironman_Taper.html


17. The Graceful Decline:
A funny thing happens in an athlete’s career when you have kids. You go from
caring more about your athletic goals to those of your
kids. As your children grow, their sports, school and social activities start
to consume your life. While you want to go to all
their games, practices, meetings, and events, you also feel your athletic goals
slipping away. Coming from someone who has
transitioned from being all consumed by bike racing, training, and going to
races every weekend from March through September, this
can be a hard pill to swallow. Even though you scale back your athletic
ambitions, it’s still in your system and you need to let it
out.
Compromise is the key along with flexibility. The first step is identifying
what races you like or are important to you. From
those, pick a handful, 2-5, that are your favorite races, or present a new
challenge. Mark those on your calendar and circle them
in red. Those are YOUR days. While missing certain other events may hurt a
little, knowing you have a race or event coming up
softens the blow.
Now, you may miss your son’s or daughter’s event or practice that day, but you
need to keep yourself in the game for yourself and
for them. Doing so not only fulfills your base competitive desires, but sets an
example for your children. While your kids may
know you used to run or bike competitively, having them see you do it is 100
times better. It shows them the joy of competition and
the fruit of all your hard work. They won’t care if you win or place in your
age group, they will be proud of you for being out
there trying your best, as you should be too. It doesn’t matter if you used to
be a pro or local hotshot, you need to step back and
enjoy it.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/general/the-graceful-decline-000845.php


18. Treadmill workout: Guaranteed speed!
How would you like to receive a gift of additional athletic speed? People
receive gifts of money, clothing, vacations -- why not
athletic ability?
I guarantee that at the end of just one of workout (shown below) you will run
faster with less effort -- free speed! Don't believe
me? I challenge you to give it a try. The workout is a session intended to
stimulate the neuromuscular system. It's a version of
formwork, similar to strides and accelerations, but packing more punch.
This is not a typical running workout; but trust me -- at least for one workout
-- so you can see the effect for yourself.
Instructions for the treadmill workout
Warm up
The total warm up is 10-20 minutes. Begin the warm up with a speed that keeps
you in Zone 1 (a very easy pace recovery-type speed)
for 5-10 minutes, at zero incline on the treadmill.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11734&sidebar=13&category=running


19. Carbohydrate Loading:
by Deborah Drewke
Carbohydrate loading is a safe, natural way to gain a competitive edge and
improve performance. Carbohydrate loading is done by
manipulating dietary carbohydrate intake and exercise duration the week before a
race. The regimen is only beneficial to endurance
athletes who are competing in activities lasting 90 minutes or longer.
The premise of carbohydrate loading is to supersaturate the muscle with glycogen
- the storage form of dietary carbohydrate for
later energy use. This concept is analogous to a bear feeding and storing up
food for a long winter's hibernation. The stored
glycogen is a reserve that is drawn upon and enables the athlete exercise for a
longer period of time at an optimal pace before
becoming exhausted. When the glycogen stores run out, the athlete runs out,
"bonks" or "hits-the-wall" and becomes too tried to
continue. Exercise must be stopped or the pace drastically reduced. Carbohydrate
loading does not improve racing speed.
Training effects the body's ability to utilize nutrients through cellular,
enzymatic, and metabolic adaptations ultimately
reflecting performance. Endurance training increases the activity of glycogen
synthetase, an enzyme responsible for glycogen
storage. The more active the synthetase the greater the amount of glycogen
stored. An untrained individual stores 80-90 mmoles/kg of
glycogen compared to 130-135mmoles/kg of glycogen in a trained individual.
Additionally, capillaries and mitochondria densities
increase, becoming more effective at fuel oxidation. In order for carbohydrate
loading to be effective, you must be trained and
deplete the muscle group that you plan to use during competition. It's sports
specific.
The fuel used during exercise is a combination of carbohydrate and fat. The
ratio depends upon the intensity of the exercise. At
higher intensities more carbohydrate is burned while at lower intensities more
fat is burned. Endurance activities are typically
performed at low intensities for a long duration so that there is a higher
proportion of fat to carbohydrate burned. We store enough
fat to run thousands of miles. However, carbohydrate stores limits us.
Therefore, training and dietary manipulation are critical to
endurance sport success.
More...from the Chicago Marathon at:
http://chicagomarathon.com/page_L2.aspx?Page_ID=719&SubMenu=&Nav_2_ID=


20. Does the World Know About Triathlon:
So, I'm reading Bauer Tri News the other day in between trips to the coffee pot
and the subsequent trips to the John when I see some
solid research on triathletes and dating. Finally, statistics put to good use. I
read on and to my dismay I find neither of the
online dating 'services' offers triathlon as an interest. Now I'm not terribly
naive and I don't expect much from other people
especially the 'non active population' (more on that later) but come on.
Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports in the
nation yet we're still fringe? Face it. We can't get our sport highlighted on a
dating website though I'm sure bull riding or bass
fishing is in there somewhere, giddy up.
This whole little fit of thought got me thinking a little about some things.
Most notably, does the world outside actually realize
we exist?
Triathletes seem to be some of the most beautiful people I've ever had the honor
to be around. I mean this on many different levels,
not only the superficial. Yes, many have lovely body's that are lean in the
healthy way and they often have great tan lines and all
that stuff. But many often have this wonderful vitality for life. They love
challenges and adventures. They have great self-esteems
and are usually quite optimistic. (Don't get me wrong. Some can still be
self-righteous jerks that think the sport owes them
something but these are few and far between.) Triathletes are downright fun to
be around and if you ever doubt this, head out to
Wildflower one year or go do an Xterra race (drink a beer for me when you go).
Really, I could go on for a while. I could give our
sport pages and pages of laurels but I'm sure there's some forum out there doing
that as I type.
More...from Bauer tri News at:
http://www.bauertrinews.com/storyRants.faces.35.id


21. Low zinc intake may sap exercisers' energy:
Active people who get too little zinc in their diets may run out of juice sooner
than they should, new research suggests.
The study found that when 14 active young men followed a 9-week diet low in
zinc, their cardiovascular fitness dipped in comparison
to their performance during 9 weeks on a zinc-fortified diet.
The reason appears to be related to an enzyme in the body called carbonic
anhydrase, which relies on zinc for proper functioning.
The carbonic anhydrase enzymes in red blood cells help the body expel carbon
dioxide, with the demand rising substantially during
exercise.
When men in the new study followed a low-zinc diet, these enzymes were less
active. The result was that, during exercise, their
bodies were less efficient at "getting rid of carbon dioxide," explained study
author Henry C. Lukaski, a researcher with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks,
North Dakota.
More...from Reuters at:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-06-0\
3T160237Z_01_B308791_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-ZINC-SAP-DC.XM
L
[Multi-line URL]


22. Here's to antioxidants:
It's getting harder and harder to be naughty.
It seems everything that was bad for you, even sinful, is now being
scientifically proven to be good for you —and I'm not just
talking about masturbation which, studies show, can reduce the risk of prostate
cancer.
All of a sudden chocolate, once a wicked indulgence savoured with guilt and all
the more delicious because of that, is being
marketed in the U.S. as healthy for your heart.
(Millions of women already knew chocolate could help heal a broken heart but
here we're referring to disease risk, not romantic
risk.)
In gold type over a deep chocolate background on a full page of a recent New
York Times Style magazine, Lindt exclaims, about its
Excellence line with 70 per cent and 85 per cent cocoa, "To die for is now to
live for ... chocolate contains heart-healthy
antioxidants and the darker it is, the more it has."
"We are promoting a pretty unique, high content of cocoa and, as everybody
knows, when you have a high content of cocoa, you have a
high content of antioxidant," explains Carsten Wehrmann, vice president,
marketing, Lindt and Sprüngli USA (http://www.lindt.com).
The ad appears only in the U.S., presumably because upscale American consumers
are so obsessed about health.
But even more disturbing is what's happening with wine.
More...from the Toronto Star at:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\
ype1&c=Article&cid=1117749017826&call_pageid=9705991
19419&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
[Multi-Line URL]


23. Baring their soles for the sake of a good run
Barefoot runners say they are less prone to injury. One shoemaker is taking a
closer look.
Running barefoot on the edge of the surf is a quintessential California
experience, but some people aren't content with the
occasional shoeless jaunt on the beach.
They happily doff their tennies to go for regular jogs, hikes, even marathons.
The practice, they say, is good for the body as well
as the mind.
Not only do some experts agree, a major shoe company is launching a shoe to
bridge both worlds.
If the world of barefoot running has a spokesman, it's Ken Bob Saxton. Saxton, a
49-year-old computer technician from Long Beach,
started running barefoot on the beach in 1980 and years later made the
transition to pavement. He did his first marathon barefoot in
1997. Now, he says, putting on running shoes seems foreign. "I can't feel the
ground, and I feel like I'm missing something," says
Saxton, whose website is http://www.runningbarefoot.org . "You lose that sense
of feel, like you're trying to do things with gloves
on."
Saxton also noticed that when running barefoot, his landing mechanics changed.
Instead of coming down hard on his heels, he set down
lightly on his heels and harder on the ball of his foot, which he sees as the
body's natural shock absorber. Running barefoot, he
thinks, has made him less prone to injury as he's strengthened his foot and
ankle muscles.
Curious shod runners often ask about the soles of his feet (tougher than most,
but not hobbit-like) and pain; Saxton says the worst
injury he's had happened while crossing a stream, and he cut his foot. "Comfort
is overrated," he says with a laugh. "If you're
comfortable all the time, then you can't appreciate it. If you get used to the
variety, then it's invigorating."
Sports such as soccer and football have never adapted to barefooting it, some
for obvious reasons such as the lack of foot
protection. Shoeless runners are still in the minority, although Saxton says
he's seen numbers increase over the years: The 2004
L.A. Marathon had four barefoot runners, and eight in 2005.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/fitness/la-he-bodywork30may30,1,7281732.s\
tory?coll=la-health-fitness-news
[Long URL]


24. Are my knees getting old?
American Running Association
Question:
I am 52 years old, in excellent health, and have been running for 22 years.
Although I'm not a competitive runner, I have completed
three marathons (four-hour, middle of the pack runner). I currently run 25 miles
per week at an easy pace of 9:45 to 10 minutes a
mile. I will be gearing up for another marathon later this year and will get my
weekly mileage up to around 40 to 50 miles a week.
I usually run six days a week with one long run. I try to stick to a hard-easy
schedule, either faster or longer on the hard days. I
keep within 10-percent increases for the long run as well as overall weekly
mileage. I'm conservative and do things gradually,
change my shoes every six months, and have recently added biking for "later
life" insurance.
Over the past few years I've noticed that my knee flexibility has diminished
substantially from what it was a decade ago. My knees
aren't hurting. It just isn't as easy to do certain things, like sitting on the
floor and getting up, as it used to be. Is this
stiffening up of the knees due to aging? Is it from the pounding of running? Is
there anything I can do to increase my knee
flexibility to regain some of my mobility, for example yoga? Does running help
or hinder the aging process?
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11744&sidebar=13&category=running



25. News Scan:
* Nutrition Tip: How to Read Food Package Labels
By Ken Mierke
They say you are what you eat, and you certainly eat what you buy, so buying the
right food is a huge part of bodyfat reduction. But
how does an athlete cut through all the marketing hype about certain foods and
get what's right? There are “low fat” peanut butter
brands that get about 70 percent of calories from fat and then there are
“healthy low-carb” foods made of bacon and cheese. We’re
supposed to get lean by eating more pig?
Remember that nutrition claims on packaging are about selling products, not
about educating the consumer as to what they are buying.
Ignore the nutrition hype on the packaging and check the FDA nutrition label.
This is the one area of the packaging where a
manufacturer will be held accountable.
Look for products that have at least half as much protein as carbohydrate.
Chose products that have more protein than fat.
Remember that “low fat” means 30 percent less fat than the regular product and
does not mean that the product isn’t loaded with fat.
Check serving sizes. A small package of terribly unhealthy food may have only 50
calories and 20 calories from fat, but still
contain 18 tiny servings.
Check fiber content. Products that are high in fiber will be much more filling
and less calorie-dense.
For every package of food you buy, purchase at least one fresh fruit or
vegetable and one lean meat.
The only way to know what you are buying is to read manufacturers’ nutrition
claims skeptically. Check the numbers.
Exercise Physiologist Ken Mierke, author of Training for Triathlon Running, is
head coach of Fitness Concepts and director of
training for Joe Friel’s Ultrafit. Ken can be reached at Fitness Concepts @
http://www.fitness-concepts.com/

* Weight loss without dietary restriction: efficacy of different forms of
aerobic exercise.
Gwinup G.
Since obese patients with orthopaedic disabilities are often advised to
undertake swimming as a part of a weight loss program, the
effect of swimming on body weight was systematically studied. Minimally to
moderately obese, otherwise healthy young women seeking
to lose weight through a program of exercise without dietary restrictions were
randomly assigned to one of three groups in which
only the type of daily exercise was different. The three types of exercise were
brisk walking, riding a stationary cycle, and
swimming laps in a pool. All women slowly but progressively increased the time
spent in daily exercise to 60 minutes. After 6 months
or slightly longer, the women assigned to walking lost 10% of initial weight,
the women who cycled lost 12%, but the women who swam
lost no weight. The thickness of the subcutaneous panniculus over the middle of
the extensor surface of the upper arm was measured
using a Lang skin-fold caliper (Graham Field Co, New York, NY) and showed
equivalent substantial reductions in the walkers and
cyclists, but no change in the swimmers. The results of this study show that
both walking and cycling are effective methods of
reducing body fat, but that swimming is not.
Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 3618879 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

* New Prize $$ Structure at Dallas White Rock: This December 11 Texas marathon
has announced a prize purse of $75,000 for its 36th
running--$25,000 more than in '04. Prize money will be awarded to the first 10
marathoners, the first Dallas resident and the first
wheelchair racer to finish in both the men and women's divisions.

* Low fat, low protein diet boosts longevity
The idea that animals live longer if they eat less has been shown to be not
entirely correct - at least in fruit flies. For these
insects, it is the type of food and not just the quantity that controls their
longevity.
It has been known for some time that “calorie restriction” significantly
lengthens the lifespan of many non-primate species -
everything from worms to fleas to mice. Linda Partridge at University College
London, UK, and colleagues wanted to see if the effect
was merely due to a reduction of total calories or of particular nutrients in
the diet.
So the researchers divided up their Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies into
four groups and put them on different diets. The
control group got the standard fruit fly lab meal of yeast, which contains
protein and fat, and sugar - a meal boasting about 1200
kilocalories per litre.
The second group was fed on a calorie-restricted diet, with equal amounts of
yeast and sugar - about 521 kilocalories per litre. The
third group was given more yeast than sugar, while the fourth group got more
sugar than yeast. The latter two diets had about 860
kilocalories per litre each.
Choice meal
The flies on the calorie restricted diet lived the longest - 82% longer compared
to the controls. But the flies on the higher
calorie diet with reduced yeast intake did very well too.
Lowering the amount of protein and fat in the flies’ diet helped increase
lifespan by nearly 65%. “It accounts for nearly all of the
effect,” says Partridge. “It cannot just be calories.” Eating less sugar
increased longevity only by about 9%.
Brian Kennedy, a researcher who works on calorie restriction and ageing at the
University of Washington in Seattle, US, says: “It's
these detailed studies that are going to unlock the secrets [of the effects of
calorie restriction].”
Journal reference: PLoS Biology (vol 3, p e223)


***End of Articles***


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

June 4, 2005:
Banff to Jasper Relay - AB
http://www.bjr.ca

Freihofer's Run for Women 5K - Albany, NY
http://www.freihofersrun.com

Hospital Hill Run - Kansas City, MO
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1194857

Television CBC News World
ING Ottawa Marathon Race Weekend 5:30 p.m. (EDT)

June 5, 2005:
Madrid ITU World Cup - ESP
http://www.triatlon.org/worldcup05/

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon - San Diego, CA
http://www.rnrmarathon.com

Steamboat Marathon - Steamboat Springs, CO
http://steamboatchamber.com/info/2005.steamboat.marathon.asp

Television CBC News World
ING Ottawa Marathon Race Weekend 12:30 p.m. (EDT)

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

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

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

Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
mailto:webmaster@...
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
A running and triathlon resource portal


Runner's Web Affiliate Programs:
************************************

Instant Stretching Routines
Design unlimited stretching routines today, starting from scratch, in under 60
seconds!
http://www.instantstretchingroutines.com/cgi-bin/a.cgi?a=runnersweb

ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
medical information at all times. Basically, anyone
who is out on the roads or trails needs a convenient place to carry this vital
information.
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?joggerscompanion+pXgxpm+index.html+

SportsShoes in the UK
http://www.sportsshoes.com/index.php?id=149

Visit on AssociatesShop.com Online Bookstore for running and triathlon books:
http://associatesshop.filzhut.de/shop/index.php?ID=90c9f271c1a519abc4a69299be707\
\5a9

LX Sport - Leading Edge Sports Products for Women.
"We strive hard to bring you the best fitness and sports products on the market
that we can find. Our product range is constantly
evolving"
http://www.lxsport.com/products.php?PARTNER=runnersweb. Use the promotion code
"RWEB".
This application was recently featured on National TV - please see the following
link:
http://easylink.playstream.com/networknewssource/hdo/onlinetrainer.wvx

TrainingPeaks.com by Wes Hobson.
Find the training program that fits you at:
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/rw

Puma
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000006585654

Fitsense Speed, Distance & Heart Rate Monitoring System for Runners and Walkers
http://buy.fitsense.com/processing2.asp?ID=28&Ad=101

Peak Performance Online
Free Copy of Peak Performance!
High-quality training newsletter worth £4 ($6) delivered straight to your door
http://www.pponline.co.uk/sendme/free.php?aff=runnersweb&sub=run


ITUtv.com
Live webcasts of triathlons and multi-sport events.
http://www.itutv.com/
Use promo code "RUNNERSWEB" to get a $5.00 discount.

Blockbuster
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005675551

Fairmont Hotels
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005674720

Triathlon Meetup
http://triathlon.meetup.com/r/d5n6/d5n6/0/http://triathlon.meetup.com/?a=d5n6/
Triathlon Meetups! Happening THIS month, find out when .

The Finish Line
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005637857

Patagonia
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005568199

Motorola
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005463364

AOL Broadband
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005348025

Get the GM Card, get 5% Earnings from every credit card purchase, and start
charging toward a new GM car, truck or SUV.
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000005347188

ING DIRECT makes $aving money simple! Open your account online today and start
earning 2.10% variable APY. No Fees and No Minimums!
http://www.qksrv.net/click-1452277-10124087

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

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

If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment? If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for
safety and peace of mind. Road ID has created 4
awesome ways for athletes to wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the
NECK. Get your RoadID at:
http://www.roadid.com/?referrer=50

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

The Stretching Handbook:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cmd.php?af=245575
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.
Buy the DVD at:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cgi-bin/at.pl?a=286905&e=products/video-dvd\
\.htm

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

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

END...OF DIGEST...