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 Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running Newsletter. Rated as the #1
Running Publication by Road Runner Sports (Worlds
Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the serious / dedicated runner.
Delivering world class running advice are some of
running's most recognizable athletes including Dr. Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach),
Scott Tinley (2 Time Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3
Time Olympian) and many more. This bi-monthly newsletter has been around for
over 13 years, and in the past two it has been awarded
the "Golden Shoe Award" in recognition of it's outstanding achievements.
http://www.clixGalore.com/EmailSale.aspx?BID=37234&AfID=103794&AdID=5075&LP=www.\
peakrunningperformance.com
Check out the Peak Running 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 NO personal postings this week.

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Sports Medicine: New Theories on the cause of Muscle Cramps and Side Stitches
2. Multisport: Using Pain to your Advantage
3. Science of Sport: Your Future As An Athlete
4. Carbohydrate Loading
5. Off-Season Priorities - Strength, Technique, Cadence and Stride
Smart athletes are taking a significant break from training to recharge for next
year. What else can an athlete do during the next
few months to improve next year's performance?
6. Marathon Training Program
Evaluating Your Race Performance.
7. An Apple a Day for Health? Mars Recommends Two Bars of Chocolate
8. Nutrient Sinks: Scenarios Leading to Reduced Nutrient Absorption
9. From Runner's World
10. But Will It Stop Cancer?
11. Strong bones are a key part of a healthy body
12. Stress Fractures
Explanation, Treatment and Prevention.
13. Leaner is better
14. Off Season Training Canadian Style
15. Health checkup: Medicines and exercise
16. Cycling Cadence
17. Nutrition for Training: Refueling on the Bike
18. Energy bars, drinks and gels
19. Scientists look to DNA for nutrition advice
20. Electrolytes 101
21. Iron deficiency in runners
22. Waist-Hip Ratio a Better Heart Measure Than BMI?
International study finds ratio spots three times more of those at risk.
23. Science of Sport: Any Limits To Running World Records?
24. New treatments for old injuries
25. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Olympic team selection in athletics and the triathlon should be based on:
- One competition (Trials),
- Best result over multiple competitions,
- Average result over multiple competitions,
- Ranking over the previous year."

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 preference for race "goodies"?"

The results at publication time were:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Long sleeve shirt 17 22%
2. T-shirt 5 6%
3. Gloves 1 1%
4. Cap 2 3%
5. Finisher medal 19 24%
6. Lower entry fee 34 44%
Total Votes: 78


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: Ironman China.


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.


DVD OF THE WEEK: THE NEXT LEVEL: STRENGTH TRAINING FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES
Get into the best shape of your life
Reviewed by Lonna Ramirez of Active.com:
"We've all heard of core training and flexibility for improving athletic
performance, but where do you go to understand how this
applies to endurance training and fitness?
Endurofit's new DVD, The Next Level: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes
answers the question with an easy-to-follow,
three-phase program that will truly take your training to the next level. Jeb
Stewart and Reece Haettich claim they'll whip you into
the best shape of your life.
As a fair warning, this isn't the next Jane Fonda exercise flavor-of-the-month,
nor is it for the faint of heart. It's a program for
those serious about getting into the best shape of their lives and motivated to
do what it takes.
User friendly
Great thing about this program is that exercises are not equipment-intensive.
Many of the exercises can be done using free weights,
a stability ball and resistance bands. Reece and Jeb also take you outside for a
series of exercises such as running high steps,
power skipping, squats and sprints. They even incorporate two ball-tossing
exercises for strengthening your back and shoulders --
these guys come up with some great moves that work multiple muscles and really
pack a punch.
They perform all the exercises while giving you important tips to ensure you
have proper form. You'll know exactly what muscles
you're working and the specific things to focus on so you'll perform the
exercises correctly. As you watch the DVD, you'll feel like
they're your personal coaches walking you through the program.
There's an information card for each of the phases, listing the exercises and
the number of sets and reps, intensity, frequency and
holds for each of them. Although there are numerous exercises, the combination
of the easy-to-follow DVD and information cards help
keep you on track. In addition, you'll see several of the exercises in all three
phases, and they'll quickly become old favorites.
It only takes a few repetitions of these stretches and exercises to realize why
they were chosen. You really feel the affected
muscles -- whether the great feeling of a deep stretch or sweet burn in a
working muscle, they've selected intense moves. And
because you aren't depending on a machine, these exercises require you to
develop balance and stability using core muscles --
crucial in all sports.
exercises such as the supine leg curl, arm curls and frog kicks all use the
stability ball so you're working multiple muscles and
developing balance in order to complete the moves properly."
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12250
More on the DVD from Endurofit.com at:
http://www.endurofit.com/


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. Sports Medicine: New Theories on the cause of Muscle Cramps and Side
Stitches:
Fighting Muscle Cramps
Researchers from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, are leading the
assault into understanding the erratic, painful and
involuntary muscle contractions they refer to as exercise associated muscle
cramps. Research has shown that up to 67% of endurance
athletes experience muscle cramps at some time.(1)
Muscle cramps have been attributed to electrolyte abnormalities (particularly
sodium and potassium), metabolic abnormalities,
dehydration and even environmental factors such as exposure to heat and cold. In
a recent analysis of each of these theories,
however, the evidence against each was questioned.(2) For example, it has been
demonstrated that muscle cramps are not related to
abnormal concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium or any
electrolyte in the blood.(3) Furthermore, heat or cold
exposure are more likely to be secondary, not primary, causes of cramps.
This has led researchers to develop a new theory to explain cramps. An
understanding of this new theory, however, requires a crash
course in basic muscle physiology. Within the muscle there are two structures
that assist in muscle control. When activated, the
first structure - called the muscle spindle - causes the muscle to contract when
being overstretched to avoid damage.
The second structure - the golgi tendon organ - when activated, causes the
muscle to relax when being put under too much tension.
When the muscle is fatigued it seems the activity of the structure which
contracts the muscle increases, causing the muscle to
contract more forcefully, while the activity of the structure which causes the
muscle to relax decreases, allowing the more forceful
contraction to occur. The net effect is that the muscle is overstimulated, which
leads to an erratic involuntary contraction - a
cramp. In addition, muscles which span two joints, like the calves, are
particularly susceptible to cramps. Apparently, since they
can be placed in a very shortened state (relaxed) but still contract, the
relaxing sensors can easily become overwhelmed by the
contracting sensors.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051103_PRP_Side_Stitches.html


2. Multisport: Using Pain to your Advantage:
If bike racing is all about who can suffer the most then certainly asking your
body to work beyond the point of comfort in order to
stay with a lead group becomes a requirement. Like inanimate pistons of a car
motor your legs must continue moving up and down
pushing the pedals while your mind ignores the cry of your muscles to stop.
Despite your heart pounding and moving up into your
throat, your mind has to ignore its pleas and continue sending signals to keep
working at that same level of effort. The mind is the
key component to this and critical to any success you'll achieve. You can follow
a training plan perfectly and prepare your body
well, but if your mind hasn't been trained to manage the pain, failure is too
much a possibility. This is simply about mental
toughness. If you too easily give in to the pain and stop or want some
strategies to use when you need to refuse to quit, read on.
As cyclists we all know the feelings that occur inside our bodies as the pace
goes from moderate to more intense. When the workload
becomes painful and the body wants to stop, we start searching within ourselves
for the moment when we will give in. Some days we
can stick it out a little longer than others, but eventually we reach the point
where we make the decision to pull off and slow
down. It feels good physically, but inside we know we need to be stronger and
somehow should be able to hold on longer before easing
up.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051102_PCG_Using_Pain.html


3. Science of Sport: Your Future As An Athlete:
By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. (Copyright C 2004-2005)
For an athlete, it is important to be able to peer into the future in a
perceptive way. A bit of foreknowing can help with
goal-setting, the creation of an optimal long-term training plan, and even the
selection of an appropriate coach.
As a young man, I "dropped out" of the first college I attended, "dropping in"
to a life of driving taxis, painting houses, working
on construction, and playing drums in a blues band.
When my group dissolved after an Earth-Day concert at the University of Rhode
Island, I suddenly found myself unable to go through a
round of rehearsals with a new band and unwilling to return to a life of servile
sweating with a shovel in my hands. Impulsively, I
applied to the University of Rhode Island. Impulsively, the university accepted
me.
A meeting was set up with the Dean of Men, at which I was to declare a major and
plan two-and-one-half years of study at the lovely
Kingston campus. On the morning of our get-together, I nervously rode the bus
down from Providence, aware that I was as likely to
blurt out "Astronomy" or "Zoology" as my new-found major - or anything in
between. I had no idea what I really wanted to study - and
no logical framework with which to make such a fateful decision.
Fortunately, the Dean had been called away for an emergency, and I was told to
return in two hours. The administrative building in
which the Dean's office was housed stood at the edge of campus, next to a
forest, and I impetuously walked into the woods, noting
within myself a strange feeling that it would not be such a bad thing to get
totally lost.
I thrashed through the scrub for about 30 minutes and suddenly found myself in a
small clearing, at the center of which was a tiny,
temporary pond, the kind of puddle which holds water for just a few days after
the first warm days of early spring.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051030_RRN_Future.html


4. Carbohydrate Loading:
'Carbohydrate loading' is probably one of the most misunderstood terms in sports
nutrition. People commonly think anyone involved in
sport needs to 'carb up' and the way to do this is to eat 'flat out' in the days
leading up to an event. Read on to get the facts on
carbohydrate loading.
What is carbohydrate loading?
Carbohydrate loading is a strategy involving changes to training and nutrition
that can maximise muscle glycogen (carbohydrate)
stores prior to endurance competition. The technique was originally developed in
the late 1960's and typically involved a 3-4 day
'depletion phase' and a 3-4 day 'loading phase'. Ongoing research has allowed
the method to be refined so that modern day
carbohydrate loading is now more manageable for athletes.
Does carbohydrate loading improve performance?
Muscle glycogen levels are normally in the range of 100-120 mmol/kg ww (wet
weight). Carbohydrate loading enables muscle glycogen
levels to be increased to around 150-200 mmol/kg ww. This extra supply of
carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance
exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer
time. It is estimated that carbohydrate loading can
improve performance over a set distance by 2-3%.
More...from Training Smart Online at:
http://www.trainingsmartonline.com/carbohydrate_loading.php


5. Off-Season Priorities - Strength, Technique, Cadence and Stride:
Smart athletes are taking a significant break from training to recharge for next
year. What else can an athlete do during the next
few months to improve next year's performance?
This time of year, most triathletes are winding their seasons down. For the most
part, racing has ended, and the smart athletes are
taking a significant break from training to recharge for next year. What else
can an athlete do during the next few months to
improve next year's performance?
After the transition period (two to four weeks of very light, completely
unstructured training), our top priorities should be
increasing muscular strength, improving technique in all three sports, and
maintaining basic endurance.
Strength Training
Developing greater muscular strength during the off-season should be a priority
for almost every triathlete. Incorporating strength
training will improve efficiency in all three sports, improve workout recovery,
and reduce the frequency and severity of injuries.
Improve Technique
To perform better next year, most athletes need to make a significant change in
technique. Despite what many athletes believe,
simply training more than you did this year isn't really the key to success next
year. Many athletes, even advanced ones, should
significantly alter technique to perform more efficiently. Right now, early in
the off-season, is the optimal time to undertake
changes to technique.
More...from Beginner Triathlete at:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=626


6. Marathon Training Program:
Evaluating Your Race Performance.
The marathon is an intriguing event because so many factors come into play in
determining how well you will do and how much
discomfort you might experience. Did you come face to face with the infamous
"wall"? In the days and weeks when the marathon is
finally behind you, you may wish to consider the things you did correctly along
with errors you may have made in your training and
racing.
Below is a list of evaluation questions to reflect upon when contemplating what
you may do differently the next time you train for,
and run a marathon. If necessary, modify and adjust your program to address
these issues. Also included below are sections of this
site where related information appears. Good luck with your upcoming marathons!
Did you train intelligently and make it to the starting line rested and healthy?
Did you avoid injury throughout your training?
Did you listen to the feedback your body was communicating to you and make minor
adjustments to your training schedule to avoid
fatigue or injury, thus becoming stronger?
More...from Marathon Training at:
http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_eval.html


7. An Apple a Day for Health? Mars Recommends Two Bars of Chocolate:
Treat, or trick?
After more than a decade of effort and a year of anticipation, Mars Inc. is
finally rolling into stores with what it says is a
healthy new sweet: a line of chocolate bars and chocolate-covered almonds.
In the Magazine: Eat Chocolate, Live Longer? (October 10, 2004) The new
confections, called CocoaVia, are produced at a factory here
and serve as the centerpiece of a corporate quest to transform chocolate into a
healthy indulgence. Here, chocolate is everywhere: a
sweet and full aroma wafts from the conveyer belt; a machine drizzles milk
chocolate onto dark-coated clusters in zigzag fashion;
bars wade through a shallow river of liquid chocolate.
But it is the glob of granola, rice and flavanol-filled cocoa powder at the
heart of the bar made here - injected with a burst of
liquid-canola plant sterols - that distinguishes CocoaVia from the company's
M&M's, Snickers and Dove bars. Flavanols are naturally
occurring chemicals in cocoa that have antioxidant qualities; sterols are
plant-based chemicals found in a variety of foods.
Flavanols are what set Mars on a scientific search: if it could show that they
helped improve blood flow and lower blood pressure,
then foods with them could potentially help prevent heart disease.
In developing CocoaVia, Mars decided to add another major additive, plant
sterols, which ultimately allowed it to make the claim
that CocoaVia is good for hearts and arteries. And that is one reason Mars is
placing them in the health food aisles - near
nutrition bars rather than candy - of retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.
Indeed, CocoaVia packages even encourage consumers to eat two servings a day to
achieve the "maximum benefit."
Only time will tell whether consumers will fall for CocoaVia; early signs
suggest it may take a while.
But the tale of how Mars endeavored for years to find the right formula
illustrates the trials and tribulations of a company that
set out with good intentions but now feels itself under siege as competitors
swarm to take advantage of its discoveries.
"Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the world, and chocolate is the No. 1
favorite ingredient in the world," said Jim Cass, Mars's
vice president of marketing. "When you put those two giant macro trends
together, we know this is a big idea."
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/31/business/31choco.html


8. Nutrient Sinks: Scenarios Leading to Reduced Nutrient Absorption:
People tend to look at nutrients independently when they consider their
nutrition needs. We're concerned about our bones, so we look
at how much calcium we're consuming. We're worried about anemia, so we find
sources of iron. What we rarely consider, however, is
how different minerals and other micronutrients interact with each other when
they're present in the same meal, and how that can
impact what compounds make it into our bodies.
Many different minerals and other nutrients interact in ways that affect their
availability or absorption in the body. Some
minerals even compete with each other. Calcium and iron are two minerals that
are very important to the active individual. Since
the absorption of these minerals is affected by the other foods we eat and drink
on a regular basis, it is important to take a look
at some of these complex interrelationships.
Calcium
We have been hearing for years how ingesting more calcium may help to prevent
osteoporosis or fragile bones as we age. Active
individuals need to be aware of their calcium intake since we lose more in sweat
and use more for muscle contractions than the
average adult. There is new evidence that suggests the key it is not only the
availability of calcium in our bodies, but also the
interaction between calcium and phosphorus. The amount of calcium in our bones
is very carefully regulated by hormones and
increasing calcium intake does not fool these hormones into building more bone
any more than delivering an extra load of bricks will
make a construction crew build a larger building.
The high intake of phosphorus found in protein-rich foods such as meat, poultry,
fish, eggs, nuts, and legumes as well as carbonated
beverages, may be contributing to much of our bone loss. Although its exact role
is far from clear, scientists believe that diets in
which phosphorus and calcium intake are roughly equal (1:1 ratio) help keep
calcium in the body, while diets in which the two are
unbalanced are thought to harm calcium balance. Unfortunately, the typical
Western diet is imbalanced in these two minerals. Most
people consume roughly two to four times more phosphorus than calcium. For
example, meat and poultry contain 10 to 20 times as much
phosphorus as calcium, and carbonated sodas have as much as 500 mg of
phosphorus, and no calcium, per serving.
More...from Road Cycling at:
http://www.roadcycling.com/news/article1384.shtml


9. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
Head for the track. Running against the clock and attempting to match present
goals forces you to concentrate. Learning to adjust to
the track's rhythm--running turns, for example--also helps, as do fartlek
sessions and other forms of speedwork done elsewhere. -Hal
Higdon
* Injury Prevention
"Stress can increase fatigue and muscle tension. You don't breathe as deeply
when you're stressed, which increases the effort of
running. Athletes under stress, according to studies, get sick and injured at a
higher rate than lower-stressed athletes." -Jeffrey
Martin, Ph.D., Wayne State University (MI) sports psychology professor and
former World Cup marathoner
* Performance Nutrition
Choose the right popcorn. Low-fat microwave popcorn has two-thirds fewer
calories than the regular variety. Best-tasting in our book
is Pop-Secret 94% Fat Free. Half a bag gives you just 110 calories and 2 grams
of fat.
* Expert's Advice:
During a marathon pin your race number on your shorts so you can fiddle all you
want with your upper-body apparel. When you put your
number on your shorts, you can add or subtract layers as needed to adjust to
changing conditions.
--Greg Crowther, a 2:22-marathoner with a Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics
* Marathon Menu:
Before, during and after the race, your task should be to eat and drink
liberally. The marathon is a long race, and you need
sustenance to get through it. The right amount and balance of carbohydrates and
fluids will be vital to your performance and
recovery.


10. But Will It Stop Cancer?
Bernyce Edwards's daughter was 42 in 1997 when she died of breast cancer. It
was just 69 days from diagnosis to death. And through
her shock and grief, Ms. Edwards had a terrible worry: what if she got breast
cancer, too?
"That's my biggest fear," she said.
So, to protect herself, she has taken up exercise.
And not just any exercise. This 73-year-old woman has turned into an exercise
zealot.
She walks, she runs, she leaves her house in Bellingham, Wash., as early as 5
a.m. and spends an hour every day, rain or shine,
putting in the miles on the trails and around a lake.
But will her efforts help? Medical researchers agree that, at the very least,
regular exercise can make people feel better and feel
better about themselves.
There is less agreement on whether it can also prevent cancer. But for two
types, the evidence is promising: breast cancer and
cancer of the colon. Other cancers have not been studied, or the studies that
have been done have yielded little evidence that
exercise can help.
Even for breast and colon cancer, further confirmation is needed.
Researchers who are enthusiastic about a cancer-exercise connection also caution
against too much enthusiasm.
Exercise is like a seat belt, says Dr. Anne McTiernan of the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center in Seattle, a co-author of
"Breast Fitness: An Optimal Exercise and Health Plan for Reducing Your Risk of
Breast Cancer."
"It's not a guarantee, but it can reduce your risk," Dr. McTiernan said. "The
negative side is when a person says, 'The reason I got
cancer is that I didn't exercise.' That's the problem."
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/science/01canc.html


11. Strong bones are a key part of a healthy body:
Taking care of your body's bones is a little like maintaining a vehicle. While
it's imperative to keep the engine tuned and running
smoothly, if the fenders are rusted out and the chassis is shot, you might as
well just park it. Without a sturdy frame - your
body's or your car's - you're probably not going anywhere very far or very fast.
"Osteoporosis and thinning bones is a major but underappreciated public health
problem," says Miriam Nelson, professor of nutrition
at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science at Boston's Tufts University and
author of "Strong Women, Strong Bones." "One in two
women and one in five men will be affected by osteoporosis as they go into old
age. We need to take this seriously because bones
crumble, people fall apart."
According to the U.S. Surgeon General's osteoporosis report last year, our
skeletons begin to deteriorate long before they break.
Some 34 million Americans are living with a condition called osteopenia or
thinning bones as calcium slowly but steadily drains from
their bones. It's short of osteoporosis, but it still puts bones at risk of
fracture.
More...from the Union-Tribune at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20051101-9999-lz1c01bone.html


12. Stress Fractures:
Explanation, Treatment and Prevention.
Broken bones or traumatic fractures, while often suffered by football players or
downhill skiers, are rare among runners. Many
runners, however, may suffer stress fractures as their training changes and
intensifies.
Like the vast majority of running maladies-tendinitis, fasciitis, and shin
splints-stress fractures are overuse injuries. Like
muscle, bone breaks down and builds up in response to the stresses of running.
Stress fractures are caused by an increase in
training that occurs more quickly than the body's ability to build up, or
remodel the bone. Keeping to the widely accepted 10
percent per week rule when increasing mileage may help prevent many stress
fractures.
Factors
Some runners, however, are predisposed to develop this injury. Sixty percent of
athletes who sustain a stress fracture have had one
previously. Some factors that cause predisposition to stress fractures can not
be changed: low bone remodeling rate, extremes of
body type, skeletal alignment, and being female. Women sustain the majority of
stress fractures in athletics. Nutritional deficits,
low estrogen levels, and inadequate calorie intake increase the risks. The well
documented "female triad" of disordered eating,
amenorrhea, and osteoporosis can occur in athletes as young as high school age.
It is imperative to identify these athletes because
this bone density loss may be irreversible. Nutritional and, in some cases,
psychological consultation is required.
Some factors are extrinsic and readily changeable, including improper training,
inappropriate footwear, and running on irregular
surfaces. Some factors, such as leg length variations, muscle strength and
flexibility imbalances, and lower extremity biomechanical
faults, may require correction by a physician, physical therapist, or sports
medicine professional.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/05sep/stressfractures.htm


13. Leaner is better:
According to the National Institutes for Health, more than a third of American
women and nearly a quarter of men are on some kind of
weight-loss diet at any given time. Among runners the figure is perhaps a little
lower, but probably not by much.
The most popular means of pursuing weight loss are branded diet programs such as
the South Beach diet and Weight Watchers. The
various popular diets seem quite different on the surface, each claiming its own
special reason for being more effective than the
others, but beneath the surface they are all essentially the same thing:
low-calories diets.
I believe that weight loss is not a worthy goal for most runners to pursue. Nor
is dieting (severe calorie restriction) the best way
to pursue the proper substitute for the goal of weight loss, which is optimizing
body composition. Research has shown that our
health is affected not so much by how much we weigh, but rather by how lean we
are -- that is, by the ratio of fat-free mass to fat
mass in our bodies (commonly measured as body fat percentage).
Men and women who have a high body fat percentage tend to be unhealthy,
regardless of whether they're heavy or light. By contrast,
individuals who have a low body fat percentage tend to be healthy, again
regardless of whether they are heavy or light.
The healthiest men and women have good muscle tone and just enough body fat to
perform the functions that body fat is responsible
for (e.g. supplying energy).
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12437&sidebar=13&category=running


14. Off Season Training Canadian Style:
Canadian triathletes have a history of success in triathlon. From Olympic
distance to Ironman and Xterra, Canadians can be found on
the podium at races around the world. Observers have often wondered how a
country with long cold and dark winters could produce such
successful athletes. While there is probably something to be said for the
uniqueness of athletes such as Olympic Champion Simon
Whitfield and double Ironman Champion Tom Evans, having a significant
off-season, with forced changes of focus due to the weather,
can have a positive affect on an athlete's progression year to year. While many
top athletes do travel to training camps in warmer
locations for part of the winter, there are some proven off season training
patterns that they share including cross training,
prehabilitation strength training and sport focus phases.
Original Cross Trainers
In many ways triathletes are the original cross trainers. Spreading the training
load over three sports is one of the most appealing
aspects of triathlon, and has a number of positive effects such as reducing the
occurrence of overuse injuries as compared to single
sport athletes, increasing enjoyment of exercise by reducing boredom and
providing a change from in-season training routine, and
also promoting a more balanced whole body fitness.
Canadian winters present an excellent opportunity to try some different forms of
endurance training, and laying the foundation for a
successful, injury free racing season. When the snow arrives in Penticton BC,
Ironman Canada Champion Tom Evans hits the slopes. A
significant part of Evans' winter training includes cross-country skiing and
snow shoe running. The benefits of cross country
skiing, skate-style in particular, include a tremendous cardiovascular workout,
working similar muscular groups to cycling as well
as incorporating the upper body into the workout. In addition, Evans' enjoys
snow-shoe running as a way to build endurance in a low
impact and fun format. With a winter of building endurance on the snow, when
times comes to hit the roads again Evans' feels
refreshed and fit and ready to tackle the season.
More...from Competition Zone at:
http://www.competitionzone.com/articles/off_season_training.htm


15. Health checkup: Medicines and exercise:
(November 2, 2005) - Almost everyone who is recovering from an injury or surgery
or is fighting a disease will take some form of
medication. These may be prescription drugs or nonprescription drugs. Because
part of the recovery may include physical therapy or
independent exercise, it's important for you to know the effects of the
medicines you are taking.
Medication can influence your participation in physical activities. If you are
undergoing rehabilitation from an injury or surgery,
you should tell your physical therapist which medications you are taking. The
types of drugs that can affect you may include those
to control pain and inflammation, heart disease, blood pressure and cholesterol.
Some pain medications can cause you to become groggy or confused, have
difficulty breathing and even lose your balance. The same
could occur with cardiac or blood pressure medications.
Pills that reduce inflammation may have effects on your blood pressure and blood
clotting. Fairly recently, a few anti-inflammatory
medications were taken off the market because they caused heart attacks and
strokes in some people. Decreased blood flow or
increased clotting caused by some drugs could lead to more injuries and even
heart attacks.
More...from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle at:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051102/LIVING/5\
11020311/1032


16. Cycling Cadence:
There is a great deal of confusion out there, especially among new triathletes,
about the role cycling cadence plays in training and
racing. What's the difference between high and low cadence? What cadence should
I train at and why? What cadence is best for racing,
to set up the run? Here is a simple and comprehensive explanation for
triathletes of the physics, physiology, training and racing
implications of cadence selection.
Physics
The work required to move a bike down the road is measured in watts. To define
it very simply, Watts = Force x Cadence, or how hard
you press on the pedals multiplied by the number of times per minute you apply
this force. Two cyclists, Bob and Bill, weigh the
same, have identical bikes, identical aerodynamics and are riding next to each
other at the same speed on a flat road. Because they
are riding the same speed and we've controlled all the other variables, they are
performing the same work, ie, riding at the same
watts. However, Bob is mashing at 70rpm while Bill spins at 110 rpms. Bob's
pedaling style dictates that he presses hard on the
pedals with each stroke. But he does so less frequently than Bill, who is
pushing lightly on the pedals but much more frequently.
Physiology
Low cadence cycling requires us to push harder on the pedals, but what does this
mean at the level of our leg muscles? To generate
that higher force contraction, your leg muscles must recruit more fast-twitch
muscle fibers vs slow-twitch fibers.
Slow-twitch fibers:
. Primarily burn fat for fuel, an almost limitless supply of fuel for even the
leanest athlete.
. Very resistant to fatigue: they are built to go and go, all day.
. Recover quickly when allowed to rest.
Fast-twitch fibers:
. Burn glycogen for fuel. This glycogen is stored within the muscles and is in
relative short supply, about 2000 calories for a
well-trained, well-fueled athlete.
. Fatigue quickly, are NOT built to go all day.
. Take a long time to recover before they can be used again.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/bike/cycling-cadence-001111.php


17. Nutrition for Training: Refueling on the Bike:
Most athletes would agree that proper eating habits are important for their
training and overall performance, as well as for keeping
off extra pounds. However, many athletes, including cyclists, fail to realize
just how crucial eating and drinking is during workout
sessions. According to leading sport nutritionists, adequate refueling during a
workout lasting for more than 60 minutes can
significantly increase a cyclist's performance. It can prolong the duration of
high quality training sessions, and importantly, it
can prevent "bonking" and "hitting the wall."
Glycogen (which is a storage form of carbohydrates in the liver and muscles) and
fat serve as the primary sources of energy for
virtually all endurance workouts. However, the body uses a varying proportion of
either glycogen or fat, depending on the training
intensity. For example, longer rides of moderate intensity require the body to
use both carbohydrates and fat as sources of energy,
with a greater proportion of energy being supplied by fat stores (i. e., "fat
burning" workout). When the intensity of the workout
increases, the body becomes less efficient in breaking down fat and the body is
forced to switch back to utilizing a greater
proportion of muscle glycogen for energy. While the human body contains fat
stores that are capable of supplying as many as 80,000
calories (a practically endless source of energy), muscle glycogen stores are
capable of supplying significantly less energy (i. e.,
approximately 1,400-1,800 calories). Therefore, regardless the intensity of the
workout, every cyclist will eventually deplete his
or her muscle glycogen unless refueling takes place.
More...from Tulsa Wheelmen at:
http://www.tulsawheelmen.com/article_archive/refueling.shtm


18. Energy bars, drinks and gels:
The market is saturated with highly priced sports drinks and bars but, when it
comes down to it, there really are only a few that
meet the needs of triathletes. I'm carefully going to sidestep the issues of
supplements as this will form part of a piece written
by someone far more expert than me -- this is just about basic nutrition.
In order to compete effectively we need to be both fuelled and watered. Our fuel
comes from two primary sources; carbohydrates and
fats. Your body can only hold enough carbohydrate fuel (in the form of glycogen)
to keep you going for about 90 minutes but even the
leanest athlete has enough fat stored to run several back-to-back marathons. The
lesson to be learned here is two-fold:
* for longer events you need to take on extra carbohydrate during the event
* you should train your body to use fat as fuel
In basic terms we get 4kcalories per gram of carbohydrate (or protein) but we
can get 7kcal from alcohol and a whopping 9kcal from
fat. It would seem that we would be better off eating a high-fat diet if we get
more energy from it but the snag is that it is
harder to burn off the fat because the body prefers to burn carbohydrates. There
are many variations on the way that athletes should
balance up their diets but the consensus seems to be 50-60% should be
carbohydrate, 25-35% should be fats and 10-15% proteins. Oh,
and despite the fact that alcohol seems a good energy source do remember that it
has other, less beneficial effects!
Protein is a very necessary part of our overall diet but can be ignored so far
as getting energy out of it -- you don't start to
break down proteins until everything else has gone and if you're that far into
energy-debt you're probably dead anyway!
More...from Triathletes-UK at:
http://www.triathletes-uk.org/info/energy.html


19. Scientists look to DNA for nutrition advice:
As a registered dietitian, Ruth DeBusk has eaten a healthy diet for a long time.
As a geneticist, she wondered if she could do
better.
So earlier this year, she had her DNA tested by a company that gives
personalized nutrition advice based on genetics. The results
indicated she needed more folate.
So DeBusk doubled her minimum amount of folate, a B vitamin found in leafy
greens and citrus.
"I'm more diligent about being sure that I get it every day if possible, because
it really matters," said DeBusk, who has a private
practice in Tallahassee, Florida, and has written a book on nutrition and
genetics.
"I'll actually make an effort to drink a glass of orange juice or eat an extra
big salad in the evening, being aware it hasn't been
one of my better folate days."
That's the way it's supposed to work in a field called nutritional genomics or
nutrigenomics. The basic idea is this: There are
genes that affect the risk of getting illnesses like heart disease, cancer,
osteoporosis and diabetes, and the impact of those genes
can be modified by what you eat. Everybody carries one version or another of
each of those genes. So why not find out what gene
versions you have and base dietary advice on that?
"Every time we go to the supermarket we're using educated guesses about what we
should eat and what we shouldn't eat," says Raymond
Rodriguez, director of the National Center of Excellence for Nutritional
Genomics at the University of California, Davis.
In the future, more of that guesswork may be replaced with accurate, personal
DNA-based dietary advice, which Rodriguez says is
"rapidly emerging on the horizon."
But that time isn't here yet, most experts say. Nutrigenomics is still in its
infancy, with plenty to be learned, and it's not yet
clear what role it may play in standard medical practice.
Most of the research targets heart disease and cancer, and scientists may be
ready to deliver personalized diet recommendations in
those areas within five years, said Jose Ordovas, director of the nutrition and
genomics laboratory at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston.
"We have scientific evidence that the concept is right, that we can provide
something along those lines in the future," Ordovas
said. "We are not there yet."
More...from CNN at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/10/20/genetic.diet.ap/index.html


20. Electrolytes 101:
So you're gearing up for another race. You've planned your workouts in minute
detail, and you're sticking to your program like your
life depends on it. All you need now is a performance-boosting nutrition
strategy.
Thankfully, it's not all mysterious. You already know you won't get far without
replenishing the triumvirate of endurance nutrition:
calories, fluids and electrolytes. The calorie part is easy -- fuel equals
energy and energy equals performance.
The same goes for fluids -- dehydration won't just slow you down, it's also
dangerous. But what about electrolytes? You've been told
you need them, and you may even know they help keep body chemistry in balance.
But how critical are they to performance?
Very. Electrolytes aren't just essential for optimal performance; they're
critical for any kind of performance. The truth is, you
should be just as concerned about replenishing them as you are with replacing
lost fluid.
What they are
Electrolytes are minerals that, when dissolved in water, break into small,
electrically charged particles called ions. Present
wherever there's water in your body (think blood, cells and cell surroundings),
electrolytes regulate your body's fluids, helping to
maintain a healthy blood pH balance, and creating the electrical impulses
essential to all aspects of physical activity -- from
basic cell function to complex neuromuscular interactions needed for athletic
performance.
More...from Active Women at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12483&sidebar=630&category=activewomen


21. Iron deficiency in runners:
Heart rates and lactate thresholds are two factors that govern many training
regimes. Training schedules will have specific phases
dedicated to building aerobic bases. However, the primary determinant of each of
these factors is often overlooked - the red blood
cell.
Aerobic events are, by definition, dependent upon oxygen. During respiration,
oxygen seeps through the thin walls of the alveoli in
the lungs and into the blood. The oxygen binds to an iron compound called
haemoglobin, which is contained within the red blood
cells. It is released to another iron-containing protein compound, called
myoglobin. This enables available fuel sources (such as
glucose, glycogen or fat) to be broken down within the muscle and energy to be
released.
This is a system that works beautifully for as long as there is sufficient
oxygen available in the blood. If there is not enough
oxygen getting to the muscles, energy is released anaerobically (without
oxygen). One of the by-products of this system of
energy-release is the formation of lactic acid. The accumulation of lactic acid
will eventually limit performance.
For an athlete, the red blood cell count, the haemoglobin concentration and
haematocrit (the percentage of red blood cells) are
all-important. Many researchers have documented the high correlation between
increased red cell count, with its consequent increased
haemoglobin concentration and aerobic performance. It is important to note that
the opposite of this is also true. Low red-cell
counts and low haemoglobin concentrations have been correlated with poor
performance.
OK ... here comes the science.
More...from Time Outdoors at:
http://running.timeoutdoors.com/subscriber/4RUNBXM01061501E.htm
Part II:
http://running.timeoutdoors.com/subscriber/4RUNBXM01083001E.htm
Dealing with iron Deficiency:
http://running.timeoutdoors.com/subscriber/4RUNBXM01080601E.htm
[Free registration required]


22. Waist-Hip Ratio a Better Heart Measure Than BMI?
International study finds ratio spots three times more of those at risk.
Checking a person's hip-to-waist ratio, not their body mass index (BMI), is the
best obesity measure for assessing heart attack
risk, according to an international study in this week's issue of The Lancet
medical journal.
Canadian researchers studied more than 27,000 people in 52 countries and
concluded that using waist-to-hip ratio instead of BMI to
measure obesity increases by three-fold the number of people considered to have
a risk of heart attack.
The researchers looked at BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and hip measure in the study
participants. Half of them had previously had a
heart attack and the other half were age and gender-matched controls who had not
had heart attacks.
BMI, a ratio of weight to height, was only slightly higher in the heart attack
patients, compared to those in the control group.
However, heart attack patients had significantly higher waist-to-hip ratios than
the controls, irrespective of other cardiovascular
risk factors. This finding was consistent in women and men, in all age groups,
and in all regions of the world.
The study authors concluded that compared with BMI, waist-to-hip ratio is three
times more effective in predicting heart attack
risk.
More...from Health Scout at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/528932/main.html


23. Science of Sport: Any Limits To Running World Records?
By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. (Copyright C 2004-2005)
As you know, there has been a reduction in the frequency of
world-record-breaking running performances in recent years. This
drop-off has caused many exercise scientists to ask a basic question: "Are there
limits to running world records?"
Expressed in this manner, the query is of course silly. After all, it is obvious
that there are limits to running world records. No
one will ever run a mile in faster than 3:20, a marathon in less than 1:58. A
better question would be: "What are the specific
performance limits beyond which human runners can not possibly progress?"
A number of different researchers have tackled this problem. A now-infamous
study carried out by B. J. Whipp and S. A. Ward in the
early 1990s looked at trends in world records over time and predicted that women
marathon runners would run as fast as men in the
year 1998, with a convergent time of 2:01.59. A key problem with this research
was that it employed a simple linear regression model
to forecast performances. Once a straight line is "fit" to the existing data
(world-record running speeds as a function of time),
there is of course a slope to the line and thus a continuous, upward movement in
performances. In effect, there is no upper limit -
runners will simply get faster and faster as the years roll by, according to the
model.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20051104_RRN_Limits.html


24. New treatments for old injuries:
You know the routine. You're mid workout when suddenly you get that twinge on
the outside of your knee or back of your thigh. Your
gut says "stop" but your determination says "run through it." Moments later you
find yourself at a dead halt. The pain has
localized, your muscles have cramped, and bam, you're on the injured list.
Athletes find themselves injured for a number of reasons -- overuse being chief
among them, with approximately 50 percent of sports
injuries stemming from overuse. And while it's best to prevent injury before it
occurs, we all know it doesn't always happen that
way.
The good news is there are alternative treatments that, in many cases, are
proving markedly more effective than traditional
therapies.
Beyond anti-inflammatory drugs
What's changed? For decades, overuse injuries have been treated with
anti-inflammatory methods. These include non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs such as Advil and Motrin), electric stimulation,
steroid injections and ice therapy. However,
research, including a 2000 study in The Physician and Sportsmedicine and a 2003
study in Clinics in Sports Medicine, indicates that
most overuse conditions are not inflammatory in nature and that treating them as
such may delay or prevent full recovery.
More...from Active Women at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12482&sidebar=630&category=activewomen


25. Digest Briefs:
* Good at Many; Great at One
At the end of each season I have my athletes start working on a race calendar
for the next. This means setting goals and
prioritizing races into three categories; A, B, or C. The A races are the races
we structure our training for. These goal races
coincide with the ??peaks ?? of our training, which slowly ramp in intensity as
we approach these events. B races are training
events that we rest for, but do not taper. These events can be similar to A
events, but our training is not directed towards them;
they are like a hard work out. C races are fun events that can occur any time in
the season. We do not set any goals for C events
and they can be very different than our A races.
My most successful athletes choose one type of A event. Almost all our efforts
are directed towards achieving results in these A
races, so it is no mystery that they excel in their chosen sport. I have other
athletes that enjoy racing several types of events
throughout the season, or they enjoy trying new ones. This keeps their training
interesting, new, and helps keep them motivated. It
is also a way to find out what type of racing they enjoy the most. We try to
structure their season so that the training we do for
the first event type will compliment the next, but this is not always possible.
Sometimes it requires a major shifting in gears and
the sport we were previously training hard for must atrophy as we pursue a new
goal.
There is not right or wrong answer here, it is a personal decision. You have to
consider why you train and compete and what your
ultimate goal is. If you consider yourself a competitive athlete you may only
have a window of so many years to achieve your best
results. If this is the case it is best to focus on a single A event type and
doggedly pursue it. It would be a mistake to try to be
great at several different event types in a season. If you simply enjoy
competition, camaraderie, and training then it is best to
pursue what interests you and what you enjoy doing the most.
By Matt Russ at the Sport Factory:
http://thesportfactory.iuplog.com/default.asp?item=109211

* Running Times Shoe Guide:
http://www.runningtimes.com/shoes/index.htm

* How it Feels
The Day After ...
Running A Marathon
DEENA KASTOR Long distance runner
The 2004 Olympic bronze medalist won the Oct. 9 Chicago marathon, but her body
shut down in the final miles, slowing her to a
shuffle. "I went to bed at 11, got up at 5 a.m., and the walk to the bathroom
was as ugly as the last miles. My glutes and hips were
incredibly tender and tight, to the touch. My lower back and the balls of my
feet were sore. It felt like all the muscles were still
contracting, as if I were still running. I thought I'd feel better as the day
went on, but it got worse. Sitting down, standing up.
Each time felt like getting out of bed for the first time that morning."
The New York City marathon begins on Sunday at 9:35 a.m.

* Outdoor vs Treadmill Running
The Aerobic demand for outdoor running at 5 m/s is 5% to 7% higher than that for
treadmill running.
From: Jones AM, Doust JH. A (1996). 1% treadmill grade most accurately reflects
the energetic cost of outdoor running. J Sports Sci.
14; 321-327

* Fat Metabolism & Aerobic Intensity
The total rate of fat oxidation during exercise is greatest at higher
intensities that are below lactate threshold. For example,
during exercise at 20% of VO2 max, approximately 60% of the energy would come
from fat. By comparison, exercise at 50% of VO2 max,
only about 40% of the energy would come from fat. Nonetheless, the absolute
amount of fat metabolism is 33% higher during exercise
at 50% VO2 max since the total energy expenditure is 250% greater than
exercising at only 20% of VO2 max. The greatest absolute fat
metabolism during exercise occurs at 50% of VO2 max in untrained subjects (body
weight: 89 kg; VO2 max: 4.0 L/min; lactate
threshold: 60% of VO2 max).

* How to improve your VO2 max?
Intensity: What is the optimal workout to make the largest gains in your VO2
max? There are two schools of thought. Some coaches
believe that doing speedwork substantially faster than VO2 max pace jolts the
body to increase maximal aerobic capacity. The other
school of thought (to which I adhere) is that the greatest stimulus to improve
your VO2 max is provided by running at an intensity
that requires about 95 to 100 percent of your current VO2 max. For serious
runners, the running speed at this intensity equates to
about 3,000m to 5,000m race pace.
Duration of intervals: You will improve VO2 max most rapidly by running
repetitions of two to six minutes in duration (typically
about 600m to 1600m), which can be done on the track, roads, trails or uphill.
Shorter intervals are not as effective in providing
this stimulus because you do not maintain the optimal intensity range long
enough. The total amount of time accumulated at very
close to your current maximal aerobic capacity is the key.
Length of workout: Aim to do 4,000m to 8,000m of intervals per workout. If you
run less than 4,000m of intervals, you will still
provide a training stimulus, but your rate of improvement will be slower. If you
try to run more than 8,000m of intervals at this
intensity (good luck), you will likely be unable to maintain the appropriate
pace for the entire workout and will require several
days of recovery.
Two-time Olympian Pete Pfitzinger is an exercise physiologist.

* Glycogen and Performance
Increased storage can double duration of exhaustive work
Low or depleted glycogen stores
limits exercise intensity
decreases time to exhaustion
increases rating of perceived exhaustion during physical activity (Nieman, et
al., 1987)
The average person stores enough glycogen to last them 12 to 14 hours or over 2
hours with sustained moderate intensity.
Mean ingested daily is 400 grams
To maintain an adequate supply a minimum of 100 grams of carbohydrates should be
ingested daily (Sources)
Glycogen synthesis after exercise
Approximately 50% more glycogen can be stored if carbohydrates are consumed
immediately following strenuous exercise as opposed to
waiting 2 hours after exercise
Suggested amount
100 g of carbohydrates (400 Kcal) for the average 175 lb man (Friedman et al
1991).
10 - 20% of total daily caloric intake of carbohydrates and quality proteins in
approximately a 4:1 ratio
Muscle glycogen synthesis is greater within 2 hours proceeding exercise
(Friedman et al 1991) and greatest 45 minute post workout
(Ivy JL 1988, Leven hagen DK 2001)
Exercise increases the muscle's sensitivity to insulin, predominately, during
the 4 to 6 hours after exercise
During this time, muscle glycogen synthesis has been shown to be greater with
ingestion of simple as compared with complex
carbohydrates
After which, muscle glycogen can be resynthesized near pre-exercise levels
within 24 hours, equivalently with either carbohydrates
form
After 24 hours, muscle glycogen can increase very gradually, succeeding normal
levels over the next few days (Ivy 1991).
Super glycogen saturation technique can increase amount of work by 19%
Old method involved glycogen depletion through an initial low carbohydrate diet
followed by a high carbohydrate diet
Newer method suggests glycogen depletion can be obtained by repeated prolonged
intense exercise with similar results
Repeated muscle glycogen supercompensation is not possible, however performance
enhancement is maintained (McInerney 2004)
Carbo-loading should not be done more than 3x/year
Preadolescent and adolescent individuals should not carbo-load.
From www.Fitness.com




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

November 5, 2005:
Continental Airlines International Friendship Run - New York, NY
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/ifr.php

Ironman Florida - Panama City Beach, FLA
http://www.ironmanflorida.com

Food World Senior Bowl Charity Run 10K - Mobile, AL
http://www.seniorbowl.com/2005/run.htm
USA Men's Championship / USARC Finale

Iron Girl 5K & 10K Run/Walk - Tampa, FL
http://www.irongirl.com/tampa/index-tampa.html

November 6, 2005:
American National 24 Hour Championships - San Diego, CA
http://www.americanultra.org/

The Half Marathon on Monterey Bay - Monterey, CA
http://www.bigsurhalfmarathon.org

New York City Marathon - New York, NY
http://www.nyrrc.org/nyrrc/marathon/home/index.php
Runner's World Coverage
http://www.runnersworld.com/events/nycm05
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/sports/sportsspecial/index.html

Noosa Triathlon - Australia
http://www.usmevents.com.au/series/NTMSF/home.cfm?serID=5d1ea00b-0114-4b49-9383-\
49572c843120

Santa Clarita Marathon - Santa Clarita, CA
http://www.scmarathon.org

U.S. Half-Marathon - San Francisco, CA
http://www.runsf.com

November 12, 2005:
Television - NBC 4:30 PM EST
2005 Ford Ironman World Championship


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:
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YOUR FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS:
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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
mailto:webmaster@...
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
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**END...OF DIGEST...**