A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES.
The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
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THIS WEEK:

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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
Note: Owen Anderson has had to discontinue his weekly column on the Runner's Web
die to his increases commitments on his web site
which has recently been re-launched. He has agreed to carry on with his Question
and Answer feature and to allow us to publish his
weekly column from his Newsletter.

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 archive columns from Running Research News
at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html
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 WEEK'S PERSONAL POSTINGS/RELEASES:

We have TWO personal postings this week.

First Posting:
"I am new to this group and wanted to introduce myself.
My name is Dave and I live in the San Francisco Bay area. I began running after
I had a heart attack and by-pass surgery three years
ago....running has changed my life and I LOVE it!!! I hope to talk with or maybe
meet others who love running and maybe even find
someone else who is a running heart surgery survivor.
GOD bless and happy trails,
Dave
mailto:ldbartho@..."

Second Posting:
FROM: mailto:randykenepp@...
DATE: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 17:03:09 -0700 (PDT)
SUBJECT: marathon training
Hi everyone, I just completed my very first marathon and finished 4:58.11. I am
very proud of my 1st one. I would like some
information about increasing my pace time at a slow level. I would ultimately
like to finish with an 8 min mile pace. I am 40 yrs.
old.



THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Don't be a winter world champion
How to periodize training to build fitness.
2. Science of Sport: Stroke Your Way to a Faster 1500 Meter Swim
3. Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life
4. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Pure Sport
5. Sportsmedicine: Active Rehabilitation - The final hurdle to a complete
recovery
6. All Athletes: Time for a Transition by Dirk Friel
7. From Runner's World
8. Majority of Americans Becoming Overweight or Obese
Thirty-year survey showed nine out of 10 men packed on excess pounds.
9. Multisport: Flexibility - The Stepchild of Sports Training
10. Science of Sport: What I Learned About Training From Uncle Bud
11. Running Form: How Should You Run?
12. Sport spotlight: Trail running
13. Exercising with diabetes
14. The DNA Diet
Are you wasting valuable munch time on food you don't need? A cutting-edge gene
test may tell you exactly what your body requires to
stay healthy, grow stronger, and recover faster.
15. Bump in the Road
Learning to Live with Being Injured.
16. Success: It's all in your imagination
17. The enigma of phosphorus by Frank Horwill
"Warning: excessive consumption of this drink may damage your bones"
18. Resistance Training in Cold Weather
19. Gaining The Winter Running Edge
20. Are Heart Rate Monitors Worth The Bother?
21. Study results call athletes less moral
22. Sudden Death and Exercise
23. The Good Heart
Diet and exercise are not the whole secret to cardiovascular health. Mounting
evidence suggests that your psychological outlook is
just as important.
24. Aging and Exercise
25. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Should there be an age restriction for the marathon?"

You can access the poll from our FrontPage as well as 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 RESULTS:
Last week's poll was: "What is your favourite running workout?"

The results at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Drills 3 4%
2. Fartlek 2 3%
3. Hills 10 13%
4. Intervals 23 30%
5. Long run 27 36%
6. Tempo 8 11%
7. Time trial 3 4%
Total Votes: 76


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: SteepleChic.com.
This website provides a medium for a growing body of information, about
steeplechase for girls and women, that has become too large
for publication in the "Women's Steeplechase Report," an e-mailed newsletter
produced by James E. Fields.
The website, designed and administered by steeplechaser and 2004 University of
Nebraska graduate Ann Gaffigan, also provides an
archive for results and other steeple information previously published in the
Steeple Report.
The report and website audience includes athletes and their families, plus
coaches, fans, journalists, meet directors, officials,
and track statisticians. They currently reside in 52 nations.
Check out the site at:
http://www.steeplechics.com


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

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


BOOK OF THE WEEK: Advanced Sports Nutrition.
Athletes and coaches are continually seeking ways to maximize efforts in both
training and performance. Advanced Sports Nutrition
provides the best research- and results-based information and advice that
athletes need to gain an edge physically.
Far beyond the typical food pyramid formula, this comprehensive guide presents
cutting-edge nutritional concepts tailored for
application by athletes in any sport. World-renowned sports nutritionist Dr. Dan
Benardot breaks down the chemistry of improved
performance into winning principles that ensure an athlete’s key energy systems
are properly stocked at all times:
Time your meals, snacks, fluids, training, and performances to maintain that
crucial energy balance throughout each day.
Digest optimal ratios and quantities of energy nutrients, vitamins, and minerals
for any sport.
Consume the right amount of fluid and electrolytes to avoid dehydration and
hyperhydration.
Identify and maintain a body composition capable of maximal power output with
minimal excess weight for specific sports.
Understand the effects of travel, high altitude, and age on nutritional needs
and performance.
The best conditioning regimens and technical instruction are beneficial only if
the body’s engine is properly fueled and ready to
operate at peak efficiency. Use Advanced Sports Nutrition to ensure that your
body is running on the highest-grade fuel every time
you compete or train.
About the Author
Dan Benardot, PhD, RD, is an associate professor in the department of nutrition
and department of kinesiology and health at Georgia
State University and has been involved in sports nutrition research since 1981.
He codirects the Laboratory for Elite Athlete
Performance at GSU, which provides training and nutrition plans that help
athletes in their pursuit of excellence.
As the national team nutritionist and a founding member of the Athlete Wellness
Program for USA Gymnastics, Benardot worked with the
gold-medal-winning women’s gymnastics team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as
well as the medal-winning USA marathoners at the
2004 Olympics. He is a member of the USA Figure Skating Sports Medicine Society
and has had his research funded by several
organizations, including the United States Olympic Committee. Benardot has also
worked with top athletes from a variety of team and
individual sports.
Benardot is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a member of
the American Dietetic Association (ADA). He served
as editor in chief of Sports Nutrition: A Guide for Professionals Working With
Active People, Second Edition, and has earned
numerous awards for outstanding service from the ADA. Born in Greece, Benardot
gained his love for sport while growing up in the
Lake Placid region of northern New York State. He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia,
where he enjoys tennis, skiing, and photography.
Buy the book from Human Kinetics at:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=0736059\
415

Previous Books of the Week:
From Human Kinetics,
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/human_kinetics.html
From Amazon
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/amazon.html
More running and triathlon books from Associates Shop
http://associatesshop.filzhut.de/shop/index.php?ID=90c9f271c1a519abc4a69299be707\
5a9



THIS WEEK'S NEWS:


1. Don't be a winter world champion:
How to periodize training to build fitness.
Periodization
Consider the periodization of your training year like building a great race car.
Everyone wants the powerful engine, right? But the
powerful engine is worthless if the car has lousy tires, poor suspension and
unreliable brakes. Drive that and you're bound to
crash.
Similarly, building your aerobic foundation is like investing in the tires,
suspension and brakes: it's not as exciting as the
high-horsepower engine, but it's just as important. The foundation miles will
prepare your body for the intervals and speed work
that you will do later. Your body will be more resistant to injury and better
able to handle the "bumps and curves" that life gives
you throughout your season. The better your foundation, the quicker your fitness
will return after time off.
The key focus of your early season foundation is simply accumulating aerobic
miles. These long, slow, distance sessions stimulate
your slow-twitch muscle fibers. Slow-twitch fibers use less oxygen than
fast-twitch fibers, thus your economy improves since less
muscle activity and less oxygen are needed to maintain a given pace. The effort
for these foundation sessions should be easy; many
complain that they're too easy, but you're actually accumulating more strength
and aerobic capacity than you think. You should be
able to easily hold a conversation at your foundation pace, and your heart rate
should only be around 60 to 75 percent of maximum.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051007_LW_Winter_Training.html


2. Science of Sport: Stroke Your Way to a Faster 1500 Meter Swim:
By Anna Sablick, CTS Expert Coach
If I had a penny for every time I heard an aspiring triathlete say, “I’d do it,
but I just can’t swim”; or a competitive triathlete
say, “I’ll be fine if I can just get through the swim”, or “I hope it’s wetsuit
legal!”, I would probably be retired on a beach in a
Maui right now. Too many people are turned away from the sport of triathlon
simply because they feel they’re hopeless without water
wings. Others constantly struggle to “make up time” on the bike and run or a
race because of a slow swim. What most people don’t
realize is that swimming is probably the easiest of the three triathlon
disciplines to improve.
The central paradox of swimming is that the faster you get, the more difficult
it becomes, due to an increase in resistance. To be a
strong and efficient swimmer, you do not have to spend five hours in the pool at
a time, do speed intervals day in and day out, or
spend each paycheck on the next gear upgrade. Speed in the water largely comes
down to technique. Once you have the technique
nailed, it’s time to start working on endurance, pace, speed, and strategy.
Nailing the technique first is crucial, because if you
spend hours in the pool pushing yourself, but you’re swimming inefficiently (w/
poor form), it is unlikely that you will see
dramatic improvements.
Technique
It is important to note that many of the traditional techniques used in swimming
(even those used 10-20 years ago) have changed. For
instance, instead of using the traditionally taught S-Shape pull, a more simple
and powerful pull is now recommended. In addition,
sitting lower or deeper in the water with your head looking down at the bottom
of the pool has proven more effective than riding
high and looking forward. You may have heard this technique described as
“swimming downhill”. Finally, the trunk or core plays a
much larger role in generating power through the freestyle stroke than it once
did. Picture Tiger Woods’ famous golf swing and use
your hips to drive your body’s center from side to side. The biggest
misconception of freestyle is that it is done on your stomach,
hence the name: front crawl. Executed correctly, your body rotates from side to
side along an axis that runs the length of your
body.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_CTS_20051007_Swim_Faster.html


3. Serious Riders, Your Bicycle Seat May Affect Your Love Life :
raft of new studies suggest that cyclists, particularly men, should be careful
which bicycle seats they choose.
The studies add to earlier evidence that traditional bicycle saddles, the kind
with a narrow rear and pointy nose, play a role in
sexual impotence.
Some saddle designs are more damaging than others, scientists say. But even
so-called ergonomic seats, to protect the sex organs,
can be harmful, the research finds. The dozen or so studies, from peer-reviewed
journals, are summarized in three articles in
September's Journal of Sexual Medicine.
In a bluntly worded editorial with the articles, Dr. Steven Schrader, a
reproductive health expert who studies cycling at the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said he believed that it
was no longer a question of "whether or not bicycle
riding on a saddle causes erectile dysfunction."
Instead, he said in an interview, "The question is, What are we going to do
about it?"
The studies, by researchers at Boston University and in Italy, found that the
more a person rides, the greater the risk of impotence
or loss of libido. And researchers in Austria have found that many mountain
bikers experience saddle-related trauma that leads to
small calcified masses inside the scrotum.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/nutrition/04bike.html?oref=login


4. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Pure Sport:
You don't run cross-country for flat, fast courses accurate to the inch, or to
set PRs that mean anything except for repeating a
race on that same course. You don't run cross-country to have every step
watched, as in a track stadium, or to mix with the masses,
as on the roads. You don't run cross-country for the glory, since in U.S.
schools it shares a season with King Football.
You run cross-country for the purest of reasons. You run to test yourself
against other runners on whatever surface and terrain
nature provides -- on a course where no car can go and where your family and
fans can catch glimpses of you only by running from
point to point. You run with teammates in a race where everyone's result helps
or hurts the team score.
Cross-country tests your love of running and racing for their own sake, not for
PRs you might set or attention you might grab. Once
you've fallen for the fall sport, you never stop loving it.
Almost two-thirds of my autumns have passed since I last ran a full
cross-country season. My final race for Drake University was the
worst. In the snowbound NCAA meet I trailed all but 10 of the finishers.
The pain of that race, of failing the team and of ending a college career this
way, soon eased. The fond memories of those seasons
remain, and I eagerly refresh them each fall at my favorite running event of the
year. It isn't a big-city marathon or a
championship track meet in my hometown, but the Oregon State High School
Cross-Country Championships.
Marc Bloom wrote in his magazine, The Harrier, after an overcharged Olympics,
"At least we've got the warm and cuddly cross-country
season to make us feel better." He loves the running that high schoolers do in
this season, since he has coached as well as written
about them.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/530.html


5. Sportsmedicine: Active Rehabilitation - The final hurdle to a complete
recovery:
Last month, we reviewed an often over-looked component to successful soft tissue
injury rehabilitation; "Scar Tissue Removal" and
discussed its' effectiveness in speeding up the recovery process for soft tissue
injuries like muscle and tendon pulls, and ligament
strains. To review last month's issue, click here:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/scar-tissue.htm
If you were to follow the advice in last month's issue, your injury would have
healed to about 80% of its' original capacity. You
may even feel that your injury is fully recovered. Your treatment so far may
have stopped the swelling and bleeding, it may have
reduced the amount of scar tissue at the injury site and it may have even
started to heal the soft tissues that were injured. But
there is still one more important thing to do.
The last 20% can be the most crucial to your complete recovery. If you've ever
suffered from a sporting injury in the past, you'll
know how annoying it is to think you're recovered, and then out-of-the-blue,
you're injured again and back to where you started
from. It can be one of the most frustrating and heart-breaking cycles an
athlete, or anyone else for that matter, can go through.
Active Rehabilitation
Most people refer to this phase of the recovery process as the active
rehabilitation phase, because during this phase you will be
responsible for the rehabilitation process. You will be doing the exercises and
activities required to speed up your full recovery.
This phase of the injury rehabilitation process should only be implemented after
the initial healing process has been completed. For
more information, click here.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051003_TSH_Rehablitation.html


6. All Athletes: Time for a Transition by Dirk Friel
Autumn is the beginning of the transition phase of training for most endurance
athletes in North America. Although many tend to not
take a rest period after a season of racing, those who do are well rewarded.
A complete rest period is essential for proper development as an athlete as
fitness does not improve continuously. You must
introduce a period of rest that is at least three weeks in length if you are a
year-around endurance athlete. Losing fitness is a
necessary evil if your goal is to improve year to year.
The transition period can rejuvenate fatigued muscles and joints. Logging
hundreds of hours of training can only point an athlete in
the direction of overuse injuries. By introducing a transition period you may be
fending off an injury that is just around the
corner.
If you have been sick occasionally throughout your season your body may be
shouting out for a good rest period. Time away from
training can help hormone levels, rebalance blood chemistry and rejuvenate the
central nervous system. Your body's micronutrients
and blood chemistry may thank you after a month away from serious training with
a better immune system and faster recovery between
workouts.
Nutrition may be another great area to concentrate on during the transition
phase. Since intensity and training volume are
dramatically reduced this can be a good time to analyze your overall nutrition
and start new habits. Focus your diet around
nutrient-dense, low-glycemic, high quality, unprocessed foods. Save the starches
and grains (pasta, bread, rice) for later in the
training year when you need them for fast recovery fuel. Starches should be
viewed as your secret weapon to pull out for the times
when you need super-fast absorbing foods after intense training and races.
Choose high quality protein, such as free-range meat and
wild fish, during all training periods and especially so during the transition
phase when you are preparing your body for upcoming
strength training in the weight room.
If you need to lose weight, the transition and preparation phases are the safest
time of the training cycle to focus on a calorie
deficit regime. Remember you need to burn 3500 calories, or intake 3500 fewer
calories, to lose one pound of body weight. This can
be done safely with fewer consequences during the transition and preparation
phase, as compared to base, build and race phases.
Remember the closer you get to your race season the more important it is to
replace lost glycogen stores during and immediately
after training.
You may also be surprised, after a transition period, at how some things are
just obviously wrong with your equipment once you
resume training again. Certain issues just don't come to light until you take
time away and start over. Remember when you train day
after day, week after week, month after month your body adapts to good, or bad,
equipment. Many athletes adapt to a less than ideal
position that over time creates nagging issues—saddle sores, cramps, back pain,
neck pain, knee issues. All of these are unwelcome
to endurance athletes yet many learn to train with the pain, even though the
solution may be simple. Small adjustments to your
handlebars, saddle, cleats, shoes and more can relieve pain and increase
economy.
Your body is unbelievably adaptable, which isn't always welcome when the goal is
to go fast and be efficient. Adapting isn't always
the best solution. A misaligned knee, excessive movement or rocking may be
obvious after you take a break. The best thing is to fix
the source of the problem, rebuild and re-adapt.
Take your fitness to a new level by starting with a fresh mind and body. Total
fitness improvement is the overall goal, but
short-term fitness loss is a necessity.
Dirk Friel has raced as a professional cyclist on the roads of Europe, Asia and
the Americas since 1992. He is also an Ultrafit
Associates coach specializing in road and mountain bike events. Dirk is also a
co-founder of TrainingPeaks ( www.trainingpeaks.com).
Look for Dirk's new book this Christmas, Workouts in a Binder For Indoor
Cycling. Dirk may be reached by e-mail at
mailto:dfriel@... .


7. From Runner's World:
* Injury Prevention
Don't run in wet shoes, which can cause blisters and athlete's foot. If your
shoes are wet from the rain, immediately stuff them
with crumpled newspaper to keep their form and last longer. Later on, a
hairdryer on the lowest setting can be used to thoroughly
dry them before your next run.
* Coach's Corner
"One of the great beauties of racing is that everyone has an equal chance to
"win"--at least their own race. Unlike other sports,
there's no need to beat an arbitrary standard (such as "par" or an opponent's
score). You measure yourself against your personal
records. Your PRs give you an objective measure of success that doesn't depend
on defeating anyone else." -Joe Henderson
* Performance Nutrition
Eat More Marinara and Watermelon: Two to four servings of tomato sauce a week
can cut your risk for prostate cancer by 34 percent.
Like tomatoes, watermelon contains lycopene, a phytochemical that may reduce
your prostate-cancer risk by as much as 34 percent. A
single 1-inch slice of watermelon has as much lycopene as four tomatoes.
* Words That Inspire:
"Cross Country is like poker. You have to be holding five good cards all the
time." -Rollie Geiger, North Caroline State Coach
* Editor's Advice:
"Before you go to bed, plop your favorite smoothie ingredients into a blender,
and put it in the fridge. After your morning run, hit
the switch, and 8 seconds later you'll have breakfast." -Lori Adams, RW
assistant editor
* Training Talk:
"Determining your honest-to-goodness maximum heart rate involves a very
strenuous test. You've got to be willing and able to place
enough demand on your heart to get it to beat as fast as it can. I've done it.
It wasn't pretty." -From Marathoning for Mortals by
John Bingham



8. Majority of Americans Becoming Overweight or Obese
Thirty-year survey showed nine out of 10 men packed on excess pounds.
Over the three decades between 1971 and 2001, nine out of 10 American men and
seven out of 10 women were overweight or became
overweight, and more than a third were obese or became obese, according to a new
study.
The findings from the study of more than 4,000 white adults enrolled in the
ongoing Framingham Heart Study suggest the vast majority
of American adults are at risk of becoming overweight or obese.
"National surveys and other studies have told us that the United States has a
major weight problem, but this study suggests that we
could have an even more serious degree of overweight and obesity over the next
few decades. In addition, these results may
underestimate the risk for some ethnic groups," Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, director
of the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI), said in a prepared statement.
More...from Health Scout at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/528305/main.html


9. Multisport: Flexibility - The Stepchild of Sports Training:
By Jeb D. Stewart MS, CSCS, Coach
Flexibility is one of the most neglected aspects of physical fitness and sports
training. Quite often, when the subject is brought
up, the eyes roll in conjunction with a sigh of boredom and dismay. However,
when someone is offered stretching, the offer is almost
always received with a resounding and enthusiastic expression of gratitude and
acceptance. What this tells me is that everyone
enjoys and needs to be stretched, but no one enjoys doing it them selves. I am
with you on this one folks. However, flexibility is a
crucial component of any exercise or sports performance program and here are
some of the reasons why. First of all, a supple muscle
will be able to tolerate physical stress much better than an inflexible one and
will be much less prone to injury. Second, the
increased range of motion allows for greater speed and force production as well
as more freedom of movement. This will lead to
greater comfort when performing any movement or while exercising and will also
lead to improvements in athletic performance.
Finally, stretching helps increase total and specific range of motion and
enhances recovery from exercise by assisting in the
flushing of metabolic waste from the muscles. Tight muscles also lead to
musculoskeletal imbalances that can cause injury and lead
to pain. This is especially common in the lower back of individuals who run,
cycle, or just sit at a desk all day whose hamstrings
and hip flexors are tight. Like most people, I do not stretch as much as I
should but have stepped it up as a result of injuries I
have had in the past, which improved with flexibility work. I also have athletic
goals that will be more easily reached with a body
that is supple and pain free. Watch someone's attitude toward flexibility
quickly change once they are injured or experiencing pain.
Hopefully, many of us will see the importance of flexibility work and start to
stretch before we get to get this point. So, give
this step-child of the training world a little more attention, and maybe those
aches and pains will not be such a bother to you
anymore
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20050928_PCG_Flexibility.html


10. Science of Sport: What I Learned About Training From Uncle Bud:
By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. (Copyright © 2004-2005)
When you are young, it is not necessary to have an idol. Sometimes, though, it
helps.
At the age of 12, my cynosure was my uncle Bud. Technically, his name was
Raymond J. Anderson, but Bud was better, like new growth,
sprouting.
I loved him because of his approving smile, because he listened to me, asked me
what I really wanted to do. He was 20 years more
into the salad than my dad and stood in nicely for my uninterested brother.
He broke my heart at a baseball game when he said I had a slow swing, but I
figured it was just like the game - he got two more
strikes. When he asked if I would work on his farm during the summer, I changed
instantly from a useless kid into a happy hand.
Drenched daily by the Iowa sun, my skin turned the color of cork. I walked the
bean fields searching for errant corn, marched the
maize meadows for eloping soy. I drove the Farmall and John Deere, dug post
holes, cleaned out silos. I hand-milked the cows at
12-hour intervals, probed beneath surprisingly vicious chickens for warm brown
eggs, poured fresh milk into troughs for frenzied
pigs. Bud and I took 15-minute naps on the porch after ham-sandwich lunches and
checked the box on the gravel road each afternoon
for the Des Moines Register, our only - rather feeble - connection to the world
outside our viridescent parabola of grain.
I didn't learn about the loft in the barn until August, when the hay, goldening
in the field, became just crisp enough for Bud's
blades. Bud showed me how to climb the ladder built into the interior wall and
taught me to place my hands on the rim of the single,
square loft entry so that I could vault into the warm, hazy, dry-grass-scented
space, somehow avoiding what seemed to be an
inevitable 30-foot plummet right back to the bottom.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051006_RRN_Uncle_Bud.html


11. Running Form: How Should You Run?
A key component to successful distance running is efficiency or economy of
movement. It is common to focus on training the heart,
lungs and legs when preparing for an event but training form is less common.
Recently I was able watch some of the athletes I train complete the run portion
of a Half Ironman Triathlon event and between the
wind gusts, showers and hail, I had a chance to assess their run form. The
athletes have all had plenty of swim technique training,
in most cases bike technique training but only a handful had had any run
technique training. Those that had, really stood out and in
some cases their run times were very close to their run times in a straight Half
Marathon which they completed a few months earlier.
An increased level of fitness would account for some of this but also knowing
how to run efficiently made a huge difference. The
outcome of this observation was a Sunday afternoon technique and drill session
for some of the athletes down at the local park.
Good running form involves a mix of your body movements so that you move with
optimal mechanical efficiency. Good form can decrease
discomfort when you run, help prevent injury, increase speed as well as lower
the energy output at a given speed. Below are the main
points I look at when assessing an athletes form and the advice I give them.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/run/running-form-how-should-you-run-001087.php


12. Sport spotlight: Trail running:
By Leigh Brown Perkins, Her Sports Magazine
When she trained for her third Tour du Mont Blanc ultra marathon last summer,
Chloë Lanthier-Brandner never was spotted running the
roads near her home in Whistler, British Columbia. She was always deep in the
woods, blazing up and down old logging trails.
"All of my runs are on trails," Lanthier-Brandner says. "I forget I'm running."
Elite runners are not the only ones lured by trails. More than 5.7 million
Americans consider themselves avid trail runners, an
increase of 36 percent in the last five years, according to the Outdoor Industry
Association. Another 37 million runners hit the
trails a few times a year.
Nancy Hobbs, founder of the All-American Trail Running Association and co-author
of The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running, explains
the growing interest in trail running this way: "There's a real spiritual
component to being on the trail. It provides a great
physical challenge but in a serene, forgiving environment."
More...from Active Women at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12362&sidebar=630&category=activewomen


13. Exercising with diabetes:
By Lisa Liddane, The Orange County Register, Calif.
If you have diabetes, you already know that exercise is a staple for controlling
this common disease. But once peripheral neuropathy
sets in, being physically active can be a tricky issue.
Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage that affects the feet and, sometimes, the
hands. It affects about 15 percent of the 18 million
people in the United States who have diabetes.
It can lessen the ability to feel cold, heat and pain.
And it can be dangerous. If you have this complication, you may not feel
injuries in your feet. One of my co-workers who has
peripheral neuropathy had no idea he had stepped on a nail until he saw blood.
He also has had to give up his favorite way to stay
active: playing basketball.
Nerve damage can lead to foot ulcers. In the worst-case scenario, ulcers and
infections can spiral out of control, necessitating
foot amputation.
This shouldn't scare diabetes patients into becoming sedentary. So far, studies
show that there's a good reason to be physically
active. Exercise can increase blood flow to the affected areas and even slow
down neuropathy, according to a recent report in the
journal The Physician and Sportsmedicine.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12354&sidebar=17&category=activeusahome\
page


14. The DNA Diet:
Are you wasting valuable munch time on food you don't need? A cutting-edge gene
test may tell you exactly what your body requires to
stay healthy, grow stronger, and recover faster.
YOU EAT A BALANCED DIET and train like a madman. You've even given up beer. But
no matter how hard you try, you can't keep up with
the hammerheads on bike rides or the LeBron wannabes on the basketball court.
What's a genetically challenged striver to do? One
option may be nutrigenomics—a fast-emerging (and controversial) nutritional
science that can help you overcome your genetic
limitations with a diet tailored to your DNA.
Nutrigenomics spun out of the Human Genome Project, the effort begun in 1990 by
the U.S. Department of Energy and the National
Institutes of Health to identify the nearly 25,000 genes that make us who we
are. With the job complete, scientists have started
using this knowledge to uncover revelations in fields like evolution,
anthropology, molecular medicine, and forensics and to
research cutting-edge cures for dozens of genetic disorders like diabetes.
Over the past ten years, countless studies have looked at nutrigenomics and the
correlation between diet and genes. A 2002 study
published in BMJ (British Medical Journal) stated that specific nutritional
advice based on patients' DNA can help them avoid
diseases. But it's only recently that this technology has been connected to
sports performance.
"It stands to reason that this knowledge would positively affect athletic
results," says Mark Troxler, a team physician for USA
Track & Field. "Right now athletes take supplements they don't need, and need
supplements they don't take, but they don't know it.
Nutrigenomics can eliminate a lot of that misunderstanding."
More...from Outside Magazine at:
http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200510/dna-diet-1.html


15. Bump in the Road:
Learning to Live with Being Injured.
Being injured still goes against how I perceive myself. I’ve been having this
recurring dream that I am running across the street
because the light is about to turn red, and I actually make it across before it
does. I always wake up soon after the dream with
what still shocks me: knee pain.
I have loved running ever since I started, seven years ago. I consider myself a
recreational runner who is addicted enough to have
run six marathons in the past five years but who does it purely for its
therapeutic effect rather than competition. I attribute
running to enabling me to have the patience and perseverance to pass the bar
exam.
Running was the one escape I allowed myself the summer I was studying for the
bar; I would go for a run at lunch and let myself go
as far and as long as I wanted. Either it would give my mind a chance to go
blank and I would focus on the music and my heart
beating, or it would actually allow me to finally understand some legal
distinction that heretofore had eluded me. Running helped me
deal with a heart-wrenching break-up. Running gave me the courage and strength
to quit my first real job.
Monday, April 26, 2004 was my first day at a new job. Two days later, I figured
I’d go to the gym for a lunchtime spinning class. At
11 a.m., all of the new employees filed into a conference room for our benefits
training. My spinning class was to begin at 12:30.
Thankfully, I managed to bolt out of work by 12:15 and run the couple of blocks
to the gym. I swiped my ID card and then bounded up
the steep, two-story escalator. At the foot of the escalator, I checked my
watch, 12:26. "I have four minutes. But, I’ve cut it this
close before and still made it," I thought to myself, "I just hope the class
isn’t full yet."
Before the spinning room was in my sights, I fell up the escalator, my gym stuff
landing steps above me, my legs and arms splayed
out. Next thing I knew I was on the floor with an ice pack on my knee. A big
trainer, who seemed well over six feet tall, with
bulging arm muscles was looming far above me yelling, "What is your name, miss,
do you know your name?!" I was surrounded by people,
and the paramedics were there. They asked me who they should contact, and I told
them not to contact anyone because I was going back
to work. The trainer bellowed, "Well, can you stand?" When I tried, my knee
immediately gave out and the pain was astounding.
"You’re coming with us," the paramedic said.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/05janfeb/bump.htm


16. Success: It's all in your imagination:
It's a Sunday morning long run and you find yourself locked into an easy rhythm.
The miles are flowing by and your thoughts start to
drift. You imagine what it would be like to be the best runner in the world.
You sweep aside all challengers with ease. No, that's too easy; you heroically
clinch victory with the last stride of the race. You
blow kisses to the crowd. No, that's not your style, either. You modestly accept
their applause and politely field questions from
the admiring masses.
OK. Back to reality. "What's the point of dreaming?" you say to yourself. "I'll
never be that good!" You wipe your runny nose with
your shirt sleeve, tilt your head into the wind and try to concentrate on
finishing this run with a bit of self-respect.
Why not imagine what it would be like to be the best? Great astronomer and
scientist Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, "Imagination will
often carry us to worlds that may never exist, but without it we go nowhere."
This principle unquestionably applies to sport, and it has been well documented
that our thoughts and images create neuromuscular
impulses. The implications for athletes are clear: Since our bodies tend to do
what they're told, all we need to decide is what to
tell them.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12373&sidebar=26&category=triathlon


17. The enigma of phosphorus:
by Frank Horwill
"Warning: excessive consumption of this drink may damage your bones"
The average 70-kilogram man has 680,000 milligrams of phosphorus in his body. It
is an essential nutrient, and sufficient quantities
are necessary for calcium to do its job in the system, yet too much phosphate
can increase calcium needs, which, if not met, can
render the individual calcium- deficient. A junk-food diet is rich in phosphorus
and can produce a relative calcium deficiency and
all the problems that this entails. Ideally, the dietary calcium-phosphorus
ratio should be about 1 or 2:1.
The phosphorus RDA has recently been fixed at 900mg. In 1980, in the USA, it was
fixed at a trivial 100mg per day. In the UK, the
daily intake is about 1200-2000mg. Good food sources include milk and milk
products, nuts and wholegrain cereals, poultry, eggs,
fish, meats and legumes.
B vitamins are only effective when combined with phosphate in the body. A very
important use in the athlete is the
phosphorus-containing compound, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is involved
in all exercise, short or long. Its other activities
include: development of bones and teeth, multiplication of cells, activation of
some enzymes and vitamins, and maintenance of body
neutrality. It also participates in carbohydrate metabolism.
But are athletes getting too much?
Quite possibly athletes are ingesting three times the RDA. Dr Tim Noakes, the
eminent physiologist at Cape Town University and
author of 'The Lore of Running' (one of the greatest books ever written about
road running) and four other scientists decided to
carry out an investigation into the causes of shin-soreness. To do this, they
brought together 12 sufferers from different sports
(not just runners).
More...from the Serpentine Running Club at:
http://www.serpentine.org.uk/advice/coach/fh03.php


18. Resistance Training in Cold Weather:
Resistance training places high internal and external load demands on the human
body. It must be physically prepared to meet and
exceed these artificially designed stresses. To successfully adapt, conditions
within the body must be favourable. Temperature
variations, however, can sometimes overpower the metabolic responses of the
organism.
Weight training in an unheated building is the gold standard for hardcore
lifting. Anyone can go to an air-conditioned or heated
commercial gym to lift, but how many lifters actually look forward to exercising
in the ambience of a near freezing outbuilding gym.
It separates the serious true strength athlete from the wannabe's.
I am NOT saying a cold environment is a bed of roses, but it can be a strong
motivator to keep moving and stay in the correct
work-to-rest ratio. Resting is not an option when it is cold. Movement produces
heat and heat keeps the body ready for action. Under
certain conditions, however, it can be downright dangerous to be out in the
cold. If you develop any chest pains when you exercise
in the cold, but not when it's warm outside, see your doctor. The cold air
hitting your face constricts the blood vessels; this in
turn raises your blood pressure, which makes your heart work harder to pump
blood to the body. The heart rate also slows, so less
blood reaches the heart. If your heart is working harder, it needs more blood.
But the slower heart rate is bringing less blood
which results in decreased oxygen supply. Now your heart hurts.
More...from Brian Mackenzie at:
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/articles/scni16a3.htm


19. Gaining The Winter Running Edge:
When the days get shorter, snow and sleet are not far away. With the prospect of
poor footing and several months until spring, many
runners make winter running a low priority. If you are serious about your racing
in the warmer months, however, the winter is a
critical portion of your yearly running plan. Winter running can give you a
competitive advantage over your weaker-willed
competition. While they come up with excuses why not to run (too dark, too
slippery, too windy, too cold), you have the opportunity
to develop an edge that will serve you well when racing season arrives.
During the winter you lay a foundation of endurance that you can draw upon
during the rest of the year. World-class runners such as
Paula Radcliffe divide the training year into chunks each with a specific
purpose, and credit their summer successes to the many
miles of training they put in over the winter. Forty years ago, famed New
Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard demonstrated the importance
of developing a solid aerobic base during the winter. With a winter’s training
behind you, you can reduce your mileage during the
racing season to achieve your best performances.
Before you launch into serious winter training, however, you need a chance to
recover from a hard fall of racing. After a full year
of training and racing, the holiday season provides the perfect opportunity for
mental and physical recovery. This break allows you
to indulge in holiday festivities without having to be the awkward one who
cannot have any eggnog because you have to go do a set of
hill repeats.
Continuing hard training around the full annual cycle year-after-year is a sure
path to mediocre running. A break in discipline will
do you good, and the accompanying guilt will fuel your running through the
winter. For most runners, a break of 4 to 8 weeks is
enough to fully recharge the batteries. Your break may consist of no running or
simply cutting back your mileage by 20 to 30% and
keeping high intensity sessions to a minimum. The important thing is that your
muscles, tendons and ligaments have time to repair
fully and you are not expending mental energy on your running.
More...from Pete Pfitzinger at:
http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/winter.shtml


20. Are Heart Rate Monitors Worth The Bother?
Training techniques and programs have become increasingly more sophisticated in
recent years. Advanced technology regarding the
food, clothing, and equipment best suited to aid athletic performance have
seemingly transformed sport into as much a scientific
endeavor as a physical endeavor.
Among the instruments that have gained popularity for use by athletes is the
heart rate monitor. Many coaches, scientists, and
athletes feel strongly that training "by the numbers" (i.e., monitoring one's
heart rate) can significantly impact on physical
performance. On the other hand, there are those who question the validity of
measuring heart rate during exercise, and some experts
warn that an over reliance on target heart-rate zones can lead to erroneous
conclusions about the intensity of training.
The Gatorade Sports Science Institute polled four experts on their opinions
regarding this very practical and yet controversial
issue. Their answers to our questions follow.
More...from the GSSI at:
http://www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/55/d0000000200000047.cfm?pid=56&CFID=2458323&\
CFTOKEN=24657783


21. Study results call athletes less moral:
After a recent University of Idaho study reported that character growth is
negatively affected by involvement in sports, Boston
University athletes and administrators say the study's findings are visible in
athletes' behavior on and off the field.
Boston University Sports Psychology Director Dr. Len Zaichkowsky said the topic
of low moral judgment in athletes has been "bounced
around" in recent years.
"They are just so competitive that they'll do whatever it takes to win - within
the rules," he said. "But when you try to measure
what's right and wrong in life and then in sports, it depends on what
circumstance you're in."
The study, conducted over the past 17 years, evaluated 72,000 individuals from
1987 to 2004 and linked moral development with the
competitive nature of organized athletics, as opposed to recreational
activities.
"The environment of athletics has not been supportive of teaching and modeling
moral knowing, moral valuing and moral action," the
results stated.
The study reported that athletes' moral levels declined from the beginning of
the study and that athletes who compete in team sports
have a lower moral judgment than their peers who compete individually.
Women also have the same "low level" of moral action as their male counterparts,
according to the results.
More...from the Daily Free Press at:
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2005/10/06/News/Study.Results.C\
all.Athletes.Less.Moral-1012136.shtml


22. Sudden Death and Exercise:
Sudden death in athletes will always be an emotive topic, for it suggests that
athleticism may not prevent the development of heart
disease and may actually increase the likelihood that the athlete will die
suddenly during exercise. Persons who die suddenly during
exercise have advanced heart disease of which they are frequently unaware. The
commonest forms of heart disease associated with
sudden death during exercise are coronary artery disease and hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy. Less common cardiac conditions linked to
sudden death in athletes include anomalous origin of the coronary arteries,
aortic rupture associated with Marfan's syndrome,
myocarditis, mitral valve prolapse and various arrhythmias. The incidence of
these predisposing diseases in the athletic population
is extremely low, possibly of the order of 1 per 10,000 to 1 per 200,000
athletes. Detection of some of these conditions in
asymptomatic athletes may be difficult, if not impossible. Regular exercise
reduces the overall risk of sudden death in persons with
latent coronary artery disease, yet acutely increases the risk of sudden death
during exercise for those with heart disease that
predisposes to sudden death. In practical terms, only athletes with symptoms or
clinical signs of, or risk factors for coronary or
other forms of heart disease should undergo routine maximal exercise testing
when they commence an exercise training program.
However, once symptoms suggestive of cardiac disease are present in athletes,
detailed cardiological testing is mandatory.
More...from Sports Science at:
http://www.sportsci.org/jour/9804/tdn.html


23. The Good Heart:
Diet and exercise are not the whole secret to cardiovascular health. Mounting
evidence suggests that your psychological outlook is
just as important.
You can call it the Northridge Effect, after the powerful earthquake that struck
near Los Angeles at 4:30 on a January morning in
1994. Within an hour, and for the rest of the day, medics responding to people
crushed or trapped inside buildings faced a second
wave of deaths from heart attacks among people who had survived the tremor
unscathed. In the months that followed, researchers at
two universities examined coroners' records from Los Angeles County and found an
astonishing jump in cardiovascular deaths, from
15.6 on an average day to 51 on the day of the quake itself. Most of these
people turned out to have a history of coronary disease,
or risk factors such as high blood pressure. But those who died were not
involved in rescue efforts or trying to dig themselves out
of the rubble. Why did they die? In the understated language of The New England
Journal of Medicine, "emotional stress may
precipitate cardiac events in people who are predisposed to such events." To put
it simply, they were scared to death.
Folk medicine has always recognized that a sudden fright or bad news can be
fatal. And the same Greek word, meaning "constriction,"
is the root of both "anger" and "angina." But the Northridge study—and others
involving survivors of the 1981 Athens earthquake and
the 1991 Iraqi Scud-missile attacks on Israel—helped fuel new research in what
might be called psychocardiology, the profound
connections between emotions and the cardiovascular system. For a long time,
cardiologists resisted the idea that the heart, the
sturdy wellspring of life, can be fatally deranged by a mental event. But it's
not just sudden shocks like earthquakes that kill.
Mounting evidence suggests that chronic emotional states such as stress,
anxiety, hostility and depression take a far greater toll.
"Fifty percent of people who have heart attacks do not have high cholesterol,"
points out Edward Suarez, associate professor of
psychiatry and human behavior at Duke. The risk of psychological and social
factors are almost as great as obesity, smoking and
hypertension, the traditional medical markers for cardiovascular disease—which
afflicts 70 million Americans and is the nation's No.
1 killer. Researchers are now starting to learn why. And a growing number of
clinics are putting that insight to work in programs
that tackle heart disease.
More...from Newsweek at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9467735/site/newsweek/#storyContinued


24. Aging and Exercise:
The Phenomenon of Aging
Aging and ultimate death seem characteristic of all living organisms.
Atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis progressively decrease
the tissue oxygen supply, and in some organs such as the brain, cells that die
are not replaced. In other tissues, the cell
constituents change with aging; for example, cross-linkages develop between
adjacent collagen fibrils, decreasing their elasticity
and facilitating mechanical injury. In consequence, most biological functions
show a progressive, age-related deterioration (8).
The mechanisms underlying the aging process are not well understood. Possible
hypotheses (2, 8) include a "wear and tear" which
exceeds the reparative capacity of the tissues, a development of immunity to the
individual's own protein constituents, and errors
in cell division, associated with exposure to external radiation or endogenous
mitogens such as peroxidases. Some biologists have
even argued that aging has been "programmed" by evolution to avoid the hazard of
overpopulation.
Age Classification
Young adulthood typically covers the period from 20-35 years of age, when both
biological function and physical performance reach
their peak. During young middle-age (35-45 years), physical activity usually
wanes, with a 5-10 kg accumulation of body fat. Active
pursuits may be shared with a growing family, but it becomes less important to
impress either an employer or persons of the opposite
sex with physical appearance and performance. During later middle-age (45-65
years), women reach the menopause, and men also
substantially reduce their output of sex hormones. Career opportunities have
commonly peaked, and a larger disposable income often
allows energy demanding domestic tasks to be deputed to service contractors.
The decline in physical condition thus continues and
may accelerate.
In early old age (65-75 years), there may be a modest increase of physical
activity, in an attempt to fill free time resulting from
retirement (8). By middle old age (75-85 years), many people have developed
some physical disability, and in the final stage (very
old age, over 85 years) they become totally dependent. A typical expectation is
of 8-10 years of partial disability, and a year of
total dependency (5).
There are nevertheless wide inter-individual differences in functional status at
any given chronological age. In terms of maximal
oxygen intake, muscle strength and flexibility, the best preserved 65-year-old
may out-perform a sedentary 25-year-old. Whether
assessing fitness for continuing employment or recommending an exercise
prescription, decisions should thus be based upon biological
rather than chronological age. Unfortunately, there is no very satisfactory
method of determining a person's biological age,
because the different biological systems age at differing rates. Attempts to
combine such measurements as graying of the hair, loss
of skin elasticity, a decrease of vital capacity, and a decrease of reaction
time into a global index seem to provide no more than a
complicated and inaccurate method of assessing the individual's chronological
age.
More...from Sports Science at:
http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/agingex/agingex.html


25. Digest Briefs:
* Glucosamine/Chondroitin--They Work!:
Many runners decided this long ago, based on their own positive results with
glucosamine hydrochloride/chondroitin sulfate
supplements, particularly to decrease osteoarthritis knee pain. But most medical
experts were skeptical. They said they would have
to wait for the results from the GAIT study (Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis
Intervential Trial) conducted at 16 U.S. medical
centers. Those results have now been compiled, and will be presented at the
American College of Rheumatology meeting in San Diego in
mid-November. Here's what the researchers concluded: "Combination of G + CS is
effective in treating moderate to severe knee pain
due to OA." In another glucosamine study, European researchers tested
glucosamine sulfate vs. acetaminophen for pain relief.
Concluded the researchers: "Glucosamine sulfate ... might be the preferred
symptomatic medication in knee OA." Both studies agreed
that there are no serious side effects to use of glucosamine and chondroitin
products.
* The Golden Ratio
By Coach Matt Russ
If you are trying to loose weight, base period is the most efficient time of
year to do it. Once you are in later training periods
trying to drop pounds can impair your ability to train hard, and build muscle
and speed when it counts the most. Body fat loss
produces an instant increase in VO2 max.
If you are a cyclist, power to weight ratio is the golden ratio. If you have a
power meter you can gauge your optimal power to
weight ratio by these figures ??
An optimally fit recreational rider will be able to produce a mere 1.6 watts per
pound.
A world champion (Lance) will produce 2.7 watts per pound for 45 min.
This does not just count for cyclist. A runner will drop 2.5 seconds per mile
with each pound of body fat lost. Drop 10 pounds and
you just shaved 11 min. off your marathon.
Drop the ballast!
From the Sports Factory.

* Cardiac Deaths Are Decreasing In Marathons
Many marathon observers have worried that the increase in slower, less fit
runners who are flocking to marathons could lead to an
increase in cardiac events and deaths. Not so, apparently. In a Letter to the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Twin
Cities Marathon medical director Bill Roberts, M.D. has updated his data base of
cardiac events during the Twin Cities and Marine
Corps Marathons. In a comparison of pre-1995 to post-1995, Roberts found that
cardiac events (heart attacks) decreased from 1 in
44,000 marathon finishers to 1 in 55,000. Deaths decreased much more
substantially, from 1 per 55,000 runners to 1 per 220,000. This
was attributable to improved medical care at marathons, specifically the
availability of external defibrillators, say Roberts and
co-author Barry J. Maron.


THIS WEEK'S FEATURED EVENTS:
*Please verify event dates with the event websites*

October 6, 2005:
Television - ESPN2 7 PM EDT
Four Minutes

October 7-16, 2005:
Australian Masters Games - Adelaide, AUS
http://www.australianmastersgames.com

October 8, 2005:
Lake Tahoe Marathon - South Lake Tahoe, CA
http://www.laketahoemarathon.com

Television - TSN 11 AM EDT
Caledon's HSBC ITU Triathlon

October 8 - 9, 2005:
Rocky Mountain Festival of Races - Durango, CO
http://www.durangomarathon.com

October 9, 2005:
B.A.A. Half-Marathon - Boston, MA
http://www.baa.org

Disney Race for Taste 10K - Orlando, FL
USATF Club Co-Ed Team Challenge
http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/endurance/events/detail?name=E\
ndurance10kClassic2005EventInfoEventDetailPage&bhcp=
1&
[Long URL]

JAL Honolulu ITU Triathlon Age-Group World Championships - Hawaii
http://www.honolulu2005.com

Lasalle Chicago Marathon - Chicago, IL
http://www.chicagomarathon.com
Runner's World Coverage
http://www.runnersworld.com/events/chicago05

Mount Rushmore Marathon - Rapid City, SD
http://www.mtrushmoremarathon.com/new

Ottawa Fall Colours Marathon - Cumberland, ON
http://www.somersault.ca/3oct9.html

Portland Marathon - Portland, OR
http://www.portlandmarathon.org

Royal Victoria Marathon - Victoria, BC
http://www.royalvictoriamarathon.com

October 10, 2005:
Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women - Boston, MA
http://www.tufts-healthplan.com/tufts10k/thp10k.php

October 15, 2005:
OAC Corporate Relay & 5K - Ottawa, ON
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/corporate_relay.html


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
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YOUR FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS:
Comments, contributions and feedback are always welcome via this list at:
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our FrontPage. If you post to the mailing list and
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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
A running and triathlon resource portal
Runner's Web Online Store
http://store.runnersweb.com

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**END...OF DIGEST...**