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
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and
health issues. The opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the Digest
are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily
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6. The Toronto Marathon, October 15, 2006
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7. LifeSport by Lance Watson - Professional Coaching
Lance Watson 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. A Human Kinetics
graduate (sport psychology minor), Lance has had the
opportunity to work with and be mentored by numerous world-class swim, bike, run
and triathlon coaches and liaise with many top
sport professionals (scientists, psychologists, nutritionists, therapists, etc.)
Lance has coached at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 Commonwealth Games and 2003 Pan
American Games. He has been head coach at several
national-team events and coached at various Ironman, ITU World Cup and world
championship events. As well, he was an award recipient
as "Triathlon Canada Elite Coach Of The Year" four consecutive years from
2000-2003. He was the 2004 Olympic Team Head Coach
(Triathlon).
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/LifeSport.html


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TRAFFIC CONTINUES TO GROW
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% Increase 54% 59% 53% 54% 33% 34%

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THIS WEEK:

Runner's Web returns as the title sponsor of Ottawa's Dave Scott Clinic.
Triathlon Ottawa announced today the opening of online registration for the 2006
Dave Scott Iron Distance Triathlon Training Clinic
in Ottawa, Canada. From Jan. 20-22, the Ironman legend will be working with a
group of 25 local and visiting triathletes. The clinic
will focus on using the off-season to build a better foundation for the 2006
race season. Dave will work closely with the athletes
through a series of discussions and active sessions, covering a range of the
most critical topics for the iron-distance athlete.
For the second year running the Ottawa event has been made possible in part by
title sponsor RunnersWeb.com, a top-rated,
Ottawa-based website which provides worldwide running and triathlon news updated
daily.
Full clinic details are available at www.TriathlonOttawa.com.


Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/074325242X/runnersweb-21

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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:
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* 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
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* 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
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recognition of it's outstanding achievements.
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Check out the Peak Running article index at:
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* 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

Running Research News:
RRN's free, weekly, training update provides subscribers with the most-current,
practical, scientifically based information about
training, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and injury rehabilitation. The
purpose of this weekly e-zine is to improve
subscribers' training quality and to help them train in an injury-free manner.
Running Research News also publishes a complete, 12-page, electronic newsletter
10 times a year (one-year subscriptions are $35); to
learn more about Running Research News, please see the Online Article Index and
"About Running Research News" sections below or go
to RRNews.com.
Check out the article index at:
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THIS WEEK'S PERSONAL POSTINGS/RELEASES:
We have NO personal postings this week:


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Science of Sport: Have You Peaked?
Have you reached your lifetime performance best?
2. Exercise-induced asthma more clearly linked to high-salt diet
IU professor uncovers possible mechanisms
3. Good Stretch? Bad Stretch?
How to decide for yourself.
4. Bike Fitting Tips
5. Little Energy Patches Creating Big Buzz
Olympic Athlete Finds Benefits With LifeWave Patch.
6. Joe Henderon's Running Commentary - Truth in Racing
7. 10 ways to improve your health in 2006
8. Ain't no mountain high enough
9. Endurance is the Best Insurance
10. The Treadmill - Friend or Foe
11. Don't blame slow metabolism for weight gain
Experts: Genetics plays small role in ability to burn calories.
12. The Four Corners of Marathon Training
13. How much, how soon?
To shorten the recovery from sports injuries, we may have to speed up the body's
healing process.
14. Change Your Ways
Take a close look at your training. You may be running too much, too little, too
hard, or too easy, but chances are, you're making
some common mistakes. Now picture yourself a fitter, faster, slimmer, smarter,
and more stylish runner.
15. Put some muscle behind meals:
For serious athletes, nutrition is an important part of training. The right mix
of carbs and protein can help boost performance.
16. Energy bars and runners
17. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
18. From Runner's World
19. How To Get Fat!
20. Decreasing aerodynamic drag
In any cycling discipline where speed is important for winning, aerodynamic drag
has a major impact.
21. Do Kids Need Sports-performance Drinks?
22. Study: Low-Calorie Diet Keeps Heart Young
23. Human study confirms low-calorie benefits
24. iPod Generation Hearing Sounds Of Silence Sooner
MP3 Levels May Be Dangerous To Your Ears.
25. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"How much money did you spend on your sport in 2005, including gear, entry fees,
travel, memberships, etc.?"

You can access the poll from our FrontPage (http://www.runnersweb.com) 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:
"Does prize money enhance a race?"
Answers Votes Percent
1. Yes 40 53%
2. No 36 47%
Total Votes: 76

FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: James McIlroy.
"Welcome to the official site of James McIlroy. James has been one of Britain's
most prominent and talented middle distance runners
for the last decade. James is currently ranked in the IAAF World's Top 20 and
has represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at
every major indoor and outdoor championship in athletics."
Check out the website at:
http://www.jamesmcilroy.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: Lore of Running
Now revised, expanded and updated, Lore of Running gives you incomparable detail
on physiology, training, racing, injuries,
world-class athletes, and races.
Author Tim Noakes blends the expertise of a physician and research scientist
with the passion of a dedicated runner to answer the
most pressing questions for those who are serious about the sport:
. How your body systems respond to training, the effects of different training
methods, how to detect and avoid overtraining, and
genetic versus trainable potential
. How to train for the 10K up through ultramarathon with detailed programs from
Noakes and several leading running experts
. How to prevent and treat injuries, increase your strength and flexibility, and
use proper nutrition for weight control and maximum
performance.
Buy the book from Human Kinetics at:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=0873229\
592


THIS WEEK'S NEWS:

1. Science of Sport: Have You Peaked?
Have you reached your lifetime performance best?
Has your running peaked? Can you ever exceed your past personal best times, or,
in the stirring parlance of the sport, PR? How do
you know? If so, what's next?
Everyone who has ever raced, from 5Ks to marathons, has a tale to tell. Although
an inaugural competition can be a very gratifying
experience, there are often negative side effects - abdominal maladies,
blisters, etc., etc., etc. Newcomers in the sport often
blithely overlook these irritating nuisances and are primed to enter another
race as quickly as they consume the finish line party
beer. Running oftentimes is a quick addiction.
The good news is that everybody's first race results in a PR. And everybody's
first attempt at a new distance produces a PR. And the
best news yet is that PRs will most likely continue to flow on a frequent basis
if you're dedicated, motivated and remain healthy.
Let's say you've been running competitively for a few years now, maybe more. And
you have become experienced at a variety of
distances and believe you have found your niche event, be it the 5K, 10K, half
marathon or marathon. And you have been improving
your time until recently, when you've remained stagnant. You start to accumulate
miles on those once-fresh legs. Plantar fasciitis,
sciatica and iliotibial band syndrome suddenly have become part of your
vocabulary and you begin to refer to acetaminophen as "the
fifth food group." You wonder if you hit the proverbial PR wall.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060111_PRP_Peak.html


2. Exercise-induced asthma more clearly linked to high-salt diet
IU professor uncovers possible mechanisms
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An Indiana University professor may have uncovered the
mechanisms by which high-salt diets can trigger
exercise-induced asthma, offering the most complete picture to date of how
dietary factors can both aggravate and alleviate the
symptoms of this common condition.
The study by exercise physiologist Timothy Mickleborough and his research team
in IU Bloomington's Department of Kinesiology
demonstrated for the first time that modifying salt intake for two weeks alters
airway inflammation and the flow of oxygen into the
bloodstream, termed the diffusion capacity of the lungs.
"These findings show that modifying your diet has the potential to modify a
disease state," Mickleborough said. The findings appear
in the June issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, and Mickleborough
presented them on June 3 at the annual conference of
the American College of Sports Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.
Exercise-induced asthma, also called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, is a
condition in which vigorous physical activity
triggers an acute narrowing of the airway afterward, making breathing difficult.
Up to 90 percent of people with asthma have EIA, in
addition to as much as 10 percent of the general population without asthma and
more than 10 percent of elite athletes. EIA typically
is treated with medications, some of which are banned in international
competition.
The randomized, double-blind, crossover study involved 24 people with
physician-diagnosed asthma and EIA. Study participants on the
low-salt diet consumed 1,446 milligrams of sodium per day. Participants on the
high-salt diet consumed 9,873 milligrams of sodium
per day, an amount Mickleborough described as typical for many adults.
Participants on the high-salt diet showed a dramatic decline in lung function
after physical activity. Twenty minutes after
exercising, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) -- a measure of lung
function -- of participants on the high-salt diet
had dropped by 27.4 percent compared to just 7.9 percent for participants on the
low-salt diet. Mickleborough attributed this to a
combination of factors caused by the high-salt diet, including high blood
pressure and increased blood volume. These factors can
cause pulmonary edema, which can lead to airway obstruction. Mickleborough said
a drop of 10 percent or more in post-exercise FEV1
is considered abnormal (EIA positive), so the participants with the low-salt
diet essentially eliminated their EIA symptoms.
Mickleborough and his team also found a higher percentage of airway cells, which
have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma
and EIA, in the sputum of study participants on the high-salt diet, along with
more proinflammatory mediators, which can cause
constriction of the airways.
Mickleborough has been studying the impact of diet on exercise-induced asthma
for eight years. His earlier research found that
increased consumption of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, commonly found in
fish oil, also could reduce EIA symptoms in
asthmatics after just three weeks.
Mickleborough is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, which
is in the School of Health, Physical Education and
Recreation. He can be reached at 812-855-0753 and mailto:tmickleb@....


3. Good Stretch? Bad Stretch?
How to decide for yourself.
Over the last few months my inbox has been flooded with concerns about which
stretches are good and which stretches are bad. In all
cases someone has told the inquirer that they shouldn't do this stretch or that
stretch, or that this is a good stretch and this is
a bad stretch.
Some people have even seen stretches on our web site and emailed me to say (out
of genuine concern) that this is a bad stretch
because their coach, trainer or friend told them so.
So, are there only good stretches and bad stretches? Is there no middle ground?
And if there are only good and bad stretches, how do
you decide which ones are good and which ones are bad?
Let's put an end to the confusion once and for all...
There is no such thing as a good or bad stretch!
Just as there are no good or bad exercises, there are no good or bad stretches;
only what is appropriate for the specific
requirements of the individual. So a stretch that is perfectly okay for me, may
not be okay for you or someone else.
More...from the Stretching Handbook at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060109_TSH_Good_Stretch.html


4. Bike Fitting Tips:
A proper bike fit will make a world of difference in both your riding comfort
and speed. From a general viewpoint, you should break
your bike fit down into three categories: seat height, handlebar height, and
seat fore-aft positioning.
Let's first look at seat height. Start by setting your seat at the highest
possible level, while still allowing for a smooth spin,
which means that your hips shouldn't be "rocking" from side to side to reach the
bottom of the pedal stroke. The toes should not
have to point excessively to reach a full extension in the pedal stroke. The
best way to get the seat height correct is to sit on
the seat and extend your leg as far down as the crank allows (make sure you're
clicked in if wearing bike cleats). Fully extend the
leg by locking the knee back. Make sure your foot is parallel to the ground. If
your toes have to point down with the leg fully
extended, then your seat is too high. If your heel has to point down with leg
full extended, your seat is too low. Of course, when
actually pedaling, your toes *will* be slightly extended, but your knee will
also be slightly bent, not locked out like it is when
you are testing your bike in a stationary position. Remember, while a seat that
is too high will simply affect your ability to
produce optimal power, a seat that is too low will put excessive force upon and
eventually injure the knee joint.
Moving on to handlebar height: a general recommendation is 1-3 inches below the
height of the saddle. Of course, this value will
vary as a function of back flexibility. You should be able to maintain
"softness" or a slight bend in the elbows, without feeling
too much pressure on the palms of your hand. Of all bike measurements, handlebar
height is the most subjective - it really does
depend how much bend you can maintain in your low back joint while staying
comfortable throughout the ride. As flexibility improves
during your training, you should be able to gradually lower handlebar height,
ideally in small increments. If using aerobars, follow
these 3 recommendations: 1) your forearms should be level when viewed from the
side, with your "ears above your elbows"; 2) the
elbow angle should be 90-110 degrees. Over 110 is too large an angle that can
cause back problems, and under 90 degrees is not
aerodynamic enough; 3) the width of the elbows depends on your flexibility.
There is no perfect measurement - just like handlebar
height, you should experiment with various angles until you find the most
comfortable position that offers the greatest speed.
Finally, the seat fore-aft position is another important measurement. Basically,
with the crank at 90 degrees, a straight line from
the front of the knee should drop into center of the pedal axle. Your seat tube
angle is the adjustment that will affect fore-aft
position. Ranges fall from 72 to 78 degrees, with triathletes usually riding at
a higher angle. The higher the angle, the more the
hamstrings are involved in the pedal stroke, and the easier a high cadence
becomes. A greater amount of hamstring involvement will
leave your hamstrings warm and your quadriceps fresh for the run. However, the
an excessively steep seat tube angle can cause speed
decreases due to less assistance from the more powerful quadriceps group, and
from gravity, which can offset the gains of using the
hamstrings. Furthermore, it becomes less biomechanically efficient as the seat
position moves farther forward to push over the top
of the pedal stroke, due to an excessive lower leg angle relative to the crank
arm. You should take your bike out and test both
speed and comfort level at varying seat tube angles. Remember, if you have low
back pain or tightness, a more forward seat position
can be more comfortable. However, if you find that you continuously deal with a
tight low back on the bike, try bringing your seat
position more forward, as it opens the angle between your torso and thigh, thus
reducing stress on the low back.
As you may have sensed from this article, the best way to determine your optimum
bicycle fit is to hit the road and put the miles on
your bike. Especially early in the season, constantly analyze how your body
feels - your back, your hands, your neck, your knees -
while at the same time glancing at your cyclecomputer to see how changes in your
bike set-up affect your speed and wattage. Another
good strategy is to use an indoor spinner with your racing bike, so that you can
constantly mount and dismount your bike as you make
small changes in the set-up.
Until next time, train smart!
Ben Greenfield, M.S. PE - NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Pacific Elite Fitness Triathletes: www.pacificfit.net/triathletes.html


5. Little Energy Patches Creating Big Buzz:
Olympic Athlete Finds Benefits With LifeWave Patch.
Imagine if you could get more energy without putting caffeine or other
substances in your body. Patches called LifeWave promise to
do that with natural ingredients.
The makers of the LifeWave patch claim it can boost your energy and your
stamina.
But not everyone is convinced they live up to their promises, reported KMGH-TV
in Denver.
Courtney Zablocki is on the U.S. National Luge Team.
"I've been competing for about 13 years. There is training every day to get to
the Olympics or the World Cup races every winter,"
she said.
Her vigorous training schedule never stops and she was looking for a way to do
it all.
"By the end of the day, I'm exhausted," she said. "I don't have tons of energy."
But she said LifeWave Energy Enhancer patches are helping.
The makers of the small patches claim that they open up your pathways --
allowing energy to flow through -- without putting
chemicals in your body.
Zablocki said she was a skeptic at first. After all, the patches contain just
water, amino acids, sugar and oxygen. But she said
it's made a big difference.
"I was like, 'How in the world can this work?' Everyone who tries it is like,
'Yeah right,'" Zablocki said. "I definitely wouldn't
have believed it unless I tried it."
More...from NBC13 at:
http://www.nbc13.com/health/4743640/detail.html


6. Joe Henderon's Running Commentary - Truth in Racing:
I have one of the world's great jobs. On most weekdays I write about runners. On
some weekends I see them at races.
My work takes me to many races each year. Once finished with the pre-race talk
that brought me there, the choice is mine -- run in
the race or stand by and cheer for other runners. Either way is equally
satisfying, involving either receiving shouts of
encouragement or giving them.
While watching a race, my strategy is not to stand right at the finish line. You
don't see the truth of the race there. Instead, if
you see anything through the crowd, it's a victory prance as runners celebrate
the last steps of their day's work.
If you want to know what a race is really all about, then move a kilometer to a
mile up the course. The view is closer there than at
the finish line, the voices are quieter, and the views are more realistic.
First you see yourself in the other runners, and sometimes it isn't a pretty
sight. You notice how long the wait is from the time
the leaders pass until people of your ability appear. Then you think, They look
so much slower than I picture myself running at that
pace.
Mostly, though, you see honest, concentrated, sometimes painful effort written
on the faces and in the strides of the passing
runners. Something in the way they look at this point makes bystanders shout
verbal support to strangers.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/552.html


7. 10 ways to improve your health in 2006:
Robert McKeague's top tip for better health is simple: Get some exercise. We're
not surprised. The sprightly 80-year-old from Villa
Park became the oldest man to complete the Hawaii Ironman triathlon last year, a
grueling odyssey that involves a 2.4-mile swim, a
112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run.
McKeague, a retired accountant with enviable calves and stamina, has one other
familiar piece of advice: Watch what you eat. His own
strategy is to limit red meat and junk food and push away from the table at the
appropriate time. "I don't particularly focus on
health," he said. "It comes with the package" of training for an endurance
event.
Although an Ironman is extreme, preparing for a race or event is one way to
embrace a healthy lifestyle. We've listed 10 other ideas
to guide you down the right path in 2006. Just try one of our Q tips. We bet
you'll have a healthier year.
More...from the Chicago Tribune at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0601080448jan08,1,4411328.column?co\
ll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true


8. Ain't no mountain high enough:
David Walsh profiles Annabelle Bond, who overcame life's lows by embarking on a
relentless quest to scale the peaks in a journey of
self-discovery that covered seven continents
ALMOST a year and a half has passed since Annabelle Bond reached the summit of
Mount Everest.
Enough time for the exhilaration of the moment to have dulled, for the emotion
to have subsided and the woman to have settled down?
She is now sitting in a hotel in London, touching keys on her laptop, calling up
images of her summit day on Everest and
resurrecting feelings that still move her.
Tears fill her eyes because these pictures bring it back. The seven weeks she
spent on the mountain preparing for one day, the
hostility of the environment, the training of her body, the acceptance of
hardship, the nurturing of a dream, the sheer beauty of
the mountain, the joy of being part of a team, the almost overwhelming fear, and
then, that one day, the last climb to the summit.
Actually, it was a night and day. The South American team of which she was a
part left their camp on the South Col at 10pm, four
Chilean men, one Englishwoman and five Sherpas. The South Col is just below
8000m, the summit is 8850m, and it is a long trek.
Arrive by 1pm the next day and there is enough time to make the descent in
daylight; anything later increases the risk.
At first Bond felt terrible, low on energy and wanting to turn back. Fearful of
what lay before her, afraid to tell her team-mates
she didn't want to go on. Fear passes. Night turned to day and she believed she
would get there. More than that, she started to feel
strong and on the summit ridge she was propelled by the certainty she would get
there.
More...from The Australian at:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17763180%255E2722,\
00.html


9. Endurance is the Best Insurance:
By ROY BENSON/Running Journal/February 2005
We just lost another one of our giants. At least Coach Arthur Lydiard died with
his boots on, so to speak, since he was in Texas at
the time of his death a week ago. More accurately, I suppose he passed away
wearing his running shoes since he had been dashing all
around the USA on yet another whirlwind speaking tour. At 87 years old, he
suffered a fatal heart attack while still promoting his
training philosophies that had hit the track world with such force in the early
1960s. As a young half miler in my freshman year of
college 1960, I was as surprised and puzzled as the rest of the world by the
success of his stable of runners at the Rome Olympics.
Who were these guys from far off New Zealand wearing all-black uniforms with the
little silver fern emblem? Turned out that they
were Peter Snell, Murray Halberg, and Barry Magee and between them they won two
Golds and a Bronze that summer in Rome.
"How did they do that?" us hard core track nuts asked each other. "Imagine
firsts in 800 and 5,000 meters and a third in the
marathon being won by guys from one little club in a nation with no recent
history of distance running success." That's what we were
dying to know. How they had come out of nowhere to such stunning
accomplishments? We would soon find out, as their coach proved only
too ready to share his beliefs and confidence in his training methods. But
before I could attend one of Arthur Lydiard's clinics, I
got to hear it directly from the "horse's mouth," Peter Snell, the Olympic 800
meter champion.
In the summer of 1962, I was in the U.S. Coast Guard in Alameda, CA, defending
my country as a PE Instructor at their boot camp on
Government Island. I had dropped out of Dartmouth in order to avoid permanently
being on the bad side of Dean Seymour. I was
obediently following his advice about military service to see if it would help
me find myself before I tried an academic comeback.
Luckily, as a Coast Guard sailor, I was avoiding a life at sea by getting
recruits into shape and by serving as the coach of our
base's track team. Each spring we would compete against teams from the 7th Naval
district in the San Francisco Bay area. Since it
was a short season with just four warm up meets and then the district
championship, I would continue racing in the AAU All-comers
summer track meets held at Stanford University every Saturday afternoon.
More...from the Running Journal at:
http://www.running.net/features/benson2-05.html


10. The Treadmill - Friend or Foe :
Understandably, many of my fair-weather running friends opt out of the cruel
winter and wet spring weather when it comes to their
training. When I was younger (i.e. stupid!), I ran in every kind of weather. I
didn(1)t belong to a gym, so no matter what the time
or climate, I was out the door for my run. I thought indoor treadmill running
(and walkmans for that matter) was for the weak, and I
was certainly not weak. However, as I have aged, I have gradually awakened to
the many benefits of warm, dry, cozy indoor running.
I do believe that there are many advantages to treadmill training, and of course
a few things to watch out for. The first obvious
advantage to the treadmill is that you are running in a controlled environment.
You are dry, and you know the temperature, the
terrain and water is readily available. You are safe from the traffic, ice, and
overwhelming heat or cold. If you are in a city on
business, most hotels have a decent gym and there is no chance of getting lost
on the streets. If you finish work after dark and
live in an unsafe neighborhood, it is unlikely you will get robbed on the
treadmill. When I moved to NYC, I often finished late at
night and my running career would have come to a halt was it not for the
almighty treadmill!
More...from Run Ohio at:
http://www.runohio.com/features/03-05-medical_Julie_Bishop.html


11. Don't blame slow metabolism for weight gain:
Experts: Genetics plays small role in ability to burn calories.
The excuse is a common one: I was born with a slow metabolism, so it's hard to
lose weight.
Well, that's one excuse that just doesn't fly.
"The studies are very clear on this," said Jeffrey E. Edwards, professor and
acting physical education department chairman at
Indiana State University. "The majority of people in the United States do not
have slow metabolisms, including people who are
overweight."
The genes handed down to you, say medical and exercise science experts, play a
small role in determining how easily you burn
calories. So, you can't blame Grandpa or Aunt Betty for that expanding
waistline.
Basal or resting metabolism rates -- measured by the calories your body burns if
you're just sitting on the couch all day -- vary
based on your age, sex, height and weight. But for similar people, experts say
differences are small, except for those with over- or
underactive thyroids.
More important to revving up your calorie-burning ability are increasing muscle
mass, meal frequency, physical activity and
hydration levels and improving food choices.
Doing weight or resistance training to build muscle mass will help raise your
resting metabolic rate, which accounts for 60 percent
to 65 percent of the total calories your body burns. The remainder of your
metabolism is impacted by your daily movement, physical
activity and just by eating and digesting food.
"The best way to increase your metabolism is to build up that muscle mass,"
said, Tara DelloIacono-Thies, a nutritionist and
registered dietitian with Clif Bar & Co. in Berkeley, Calif. "The more lean body
mass you have, the more calories you will be able
to burn."
More...from the South Bend Tribune at:
http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060108/News01/60108\
0369/-1/NEWS01/CAT=News01


12. The Four Corners of Marathon Training:
By Lee Zohlman
Most everyone has run at some time or another. Maybe it was when you were a kid
and you were chasing the ice cream man or perhaps
you ran cross country in high school. Running is a great pastime, activity or
sport depending on how you look at it. Now, marathon
running is another story. 26.2 miles of blood, sweat and tears peppered with
moments of elation and punctuated with periods of self
doubt. But, endorphins and the finish line bring joy and happiness few will ever
know or fathom feeling. You have to get to the
finish line first. As an endurance sports coach I believe preparing for a
marathon is much like building a house which has four
walls. Each of these walls is held up at the corner. Thus, the four corners of
marathon training. The four corners are: running,
sport specific strength training, nutrition/hydration and flexibility. If you're
ready to learn about the four corners then read on.

Corner 1: Yes, the obvious one is running but how much, how long, do you walk?
There are so many questions even for the experienced.
There are two main ways to prepare for the race, either by time or distance.
Whichever you choose there are so many fundamentals
that should be followed based on your level of experience? First, if you are a
beginner you should intersperse walking breaks on
your medium and long runs. These could be 1-5:00 in length and could be every
mile or 10-15:00. Aim to keep a conversational pace as
heart rate monitor training might not be realistic for you. One of the best ways
to avoid injuries is never increase more then
10-15% in time or distance per week, no matter how good, strong or confident you
feel. If you're an intermediate level runner or
have run marathons before then do your best to run the whole length of time
prescribed. If you are using a HRM to gauge your runs
then it is best to find someone to calculate proper training zones for you. The
old formula of 220 or 226 minus your age to predict
your max HR is just not good enough so professional advice should be sought. On
your long runs it is a good idea to walk 2-3 times
for a minute or two to give the legs a bit of rest and it will also give your
mind a mental break as well. If you're an elite level
marathoner then you might want to have two longer runs per week and use one of
them to run some mile repeats at tempo pace or
faster. A good workout is one mile @ 75% and one mile easy for 12-16 miles.
More...from BodyZen at:
http://www.bodyzen.com/htmlsite/marathontraining.html


13. How much, how soon?
To shorten the recovery from sports injuries, we may have to speed up the body's
healing process.
WHEN Alicia Di Rado Dingsdale tore her hip flexor muscle in a soccer game in
2004, she was determined not to let it hold her back.
A week later she ran a 5-kilometer race in Arcadia. "By the time I finished I
was crawling," she says. She did physical therapy for
a few months and eased back into running - but not slowly enough.
"I had missed running so much I started doing too much," says the 36-year-old.
Last summer, her doctor told her she'd aggravated the
original muscle tear and probably compounded it with tendinitis.
The second time around, Dingsdale took a different approach to rehabilitation
that included more cross-training and more gradual
increases in the miles she ran. Now she says she's 100% pain-free and back to
her usual 30 miles a week, running faster than before.

For many dedicated athletes, finding the fortitude to swim a few extra laps or
play an overtime period is easier than finding the
patience to sit on the sidelines. In recent years, their eagerness to return to
play has been supported by a shift in medical
opinion toward more aggressive rehab: Gone are the days when athletes were
banned from working an injured limb for many weeks. But
today, many sports medicine specialists think the pendulum has swung too far in
some cases, raising the risk of further damage.
Playing injured, they add, is almost always a bad idea.
Compounding the confusion is the fact that even today, nobody really knows the
right amount of activity. Each injury is unique, and
there's surprisingly little rigorous research on sports injury rehabilitation.
Many experts think that fine-tuning rehab has gone
about as far as it can - and that the biggest obstacle today to faster recovery
is the biological healing process.
More... From the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/fitness/la-he-sportsinjuries9jan09,1,4128\
097.story?coll=la-health-fitness-news


14. Change Your Ways:
Take a close look at your training. You may be running too much, too little, too
hard, or too easy, but chances are, you're making
some common mistakes. Now picture yourself a fitter, faster, slimmer, smarter,
and more stylish runner.
Running is about as simple as it gets: Just put one foot in front of the other,
and keep repeating. Too bad training for peak
fitness and performance isn't as easy.
As a competitive runner, exercise physiologist, and USATF-certified coach for 15
years, I've worked with hundreds of runners in
person and through my Web site (www.mcmillanrunning.com). Some are elites,
others beginners, and lots fall somewhere in between. But
no matter how much or how little experience runners have, they almost all make
the same training mistakes--which hinder their
performance and increase their injury risk. Whether you've been running for 20
days or 20 years, you're likely tripping yourself up
with at least one of these most common training errors. Here's how to identify
your problem areas, and the fast fixes you need to
get back on the road to reaching your full potential.
Mistake: You think "easy" is a four-letter word.
Well, "easy" is a four-letter word, it just isn't a bad one. Some runners are
afraid to ever slow down and allow their bodies to
recover from a hard workout, long run, or race. They push the pace on every run.
Many coaches list this as the most common training
mistake they see. Why? Because runners assume that the harder they train, the
faster they'll run. Of course, that's not exactly how
it works.
Distance running is not like some explosive sports where a consistent program of
very short-duration, high-intensity training is the
key to success. Endurance runners must provide stress to the body in a
controlled way--not all-out, all the time. After subjecting
the body to the stress of a hard run, you need to let your body recover, for it
is during this recovery time that the body rebuilds
itself and gets stronger. If you stress the body again with another hard run
before you have fully recovered, you dramatically
increase your risk of injury and burnout. Going out hard on every run also
shortchanges your ability to perform at your peak during
the key workouts that will ultimately make you a stronger runner and faster
racer. As a general rule, you need at least one easy
recovery run after every hard workout you do.
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-51-0-0-9216,00.html


15. Put some muscle behind meals:
For serious athletes, nutrition is an important part of training. The right mix
of carbs and protein can help boost performance.
SINCE the days when ancient Olympians ate honey and dried figs, food has been an
important part of the elite athlete's regimen.
These days, the link between diet and athletics is a major industry, spawning
hype, hucksterism and an explosion of drinks, bars and
shakes. But so too has come research - and some solid advice on how best to fuel
athletic performance.
Elite athletes have teams of nutritionists to help them. But amateur athletes
who run, bike and swim for the joy of it must sift
through conflicting tips on carbs and protein, power bars and drinks, and
supplements, supplements, supplements.
Turn up your iPod when the guy who hands out gym towels starts to hand out
advice. Flee from those websites touting "natural"
performance-enhancing compounds. The new science of sports nutrition has just a
few points to take to the track.
The truth is, eating for optimal athletic performance is pretty close to the
government's dietary guidelines for non-athletes. If
you're a weekend peddler, or jog a mile or two every day, the tips at
http://www.MyPyramid.gov (fruits, vegetables, healthy fats) is
all you need to know, nutritionists say. (Make sure to drink lots of water.)
The rules are different for athletes seeking to climb to another level, who want
to boost endurance, muscle, agility or explosive
power. They can reap benefits with three dietary manipulations: slightly
shifting the mix of carbohydrates, protein and fat;
carefully timing their eating; and considering a few well-researched
supplements.
"I try to convey to our athletes that nutrition has to be thought of as part of
their training . that can help make them optimal in
their sport," says Felice Kurtzman, a registered dietitian at UCLA's School of
Medicine.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nutrition9jan09,1,6900007.story?col\
l=la-headlines-health


16. Energy bars and runners:
A plethora of energy bars awaits you at every convenience store, each bar
boasting about its ability to enhance performance. You can
find a bar for every diet style (kosher, low carb, high protein, vegan, organic)
--and for every exercise need- (-pre-exercise fuel,
recovery, muscle growth). You can spend a small fortune on these prewrapped
bundles of energy, thinking they offer magic
ingredients. Not true: "Energy" simply means "provides calories", not "will make
you feel more energetic". No research, to date,
proves that a specific brand of energy bar contributes to performance
enhancements beyond that found in the energy from oranges,
whole grain foods, and even chocolate bars (the original energy bar, right?).
Granted, the wholesome bars made from real oats, nuts
and fruits are nutritionally preferable to chocolate bars, but do you really
believe that some of them are any more than glorified
candy...?
Energy bars are big business. Major food companies know that today's consumers
want convenience at any cost, and indeed, energy bars
are convenient and costly!
The following information on the pros and cons of energy bars can help you
decide how much (if any) of your food budget you want to
dedicate to these popular snacks.
More...from Run the Planet at:
http://www.runtheplanet.com/pages/refer/articles/energybars.php


17. Spinning Classes Make Vigorous Exercise Fun"
* Spinning Classes Make Vigorous Exercise Fun.
Whether you're out of shape or very fit, spinning classes can help you keep
your New Year's resolutions. You ride a stationary
bicycle in a group, with a leader who tells you what to
do and plays lively music to set the tempo. Many health clubs and gyms offer
these classes, and I recommend them to all of my
patients. Spinning is relatively safe because it is done with a smooth rotary
motion that does not involve the muscle damaging road
shock of running.
The pedals drive a chain that is attached to a heavy flywheel that spins
smoothly as you pedal. The amount of work you do is
determined by the resistance on your pedals, not by
how fast you spin. You perform a lot of work when you spin slowly against great
resistance, and do not do much work when you spin
very fast against very little resistance. A brake is attached to the flywheel
and you regulate the resistance on the pedals by
turning the brake clockwise to increase the resistance, and counter-clockwise to
decrease resistance.
Before you start real training, you need to do some background work. Start out
by pedaling at a very slow rate with no resistance.
Stop when your legs start to feel heavy or hurt.
You may be able to go ten minutes on the first day, five on the second, and
perhaps not be able to exercise on the third. Persist
and eventually every healthy person should be able to work up be able to work up
to a full 45-minute class.
Your instructor will have you warm up by spinning without any resistance until
you start to break a sweat. Then you will turn up
the resistance a little and spin the pedals until your
thigh muscles start to burn. Then pedal easily with little or no resistance
until you have recovered, usually about a minute or two.
You will continue to alternate "into the burn" and "out of the burn" until your
leg muscles start to stiffen, which is a signal that
you are through for the day.
You need to experiment to learn how high you have to turn up the resistance. If
you turn it up too high, you will burn out your
muscles and not be able to finish the class. If you don't turn it up high
enough, you will not achieve a high level of fitness, not
feel sore the next day, and not gain the benefits of being in a high level of
fitness. If you have worked out correctly, your
thigh muscles will be sore on the next day. Then you have to pedal easily with
little or no resistance for as many days as it takes
for your muscles to feel fresh again. For most people, this will be one or two
days. Then when your muscles are fresh again, you're
ready for another hard workout.


18. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
Run in snow with a short, relaxed stride, so that if you slip you can catch
yourself. Short steps tend to increase leg turnover (a
good thing), even though your pace may be slower than normal due to slick
footing and extra clothing. -Jerry Smith, longtime coach
of the Syracuse Track Club
* Injury Prevention
Blister Aid: If a blister is large enough that you can see the fluid inside,
it's better to drain it. Otherwise, you risk a painful
pop midrun. Podiatrist Steven Chatlin, D.P.M, explains how to safely drain a
doozy.
1. Sterilize a needle by rinsing it in rubbing alcohol or putting the point in a
flame until it's red-hot.
2. Wash the blistered area with soap and water. Make a small hole in the blister
and squeeze out the clear fluid.
3. Do not remove the skin over a broken blister; the new skin underneath needs
this protective cover.
4. Apply hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection and wrap the area with
antibiotic ointment and a sterile bandage.
If the blister swells, reddens, or discharges thick yellow/green fluid, it may
be infected; see your doctor.
* Performance Nutrition
Soy foods, such as edamame, make a perfect complement to cardio training.
Research that tracked 65,000 Chinese women with no history
of heart disease found that those with the highest soy intake had the lowest
risk of developing the disease, while those who
consumed the least had the highest risk. Edamame is also a good source of iron,
a structural component of blood that carries oxygen
to the cells. Low iron can lead to poor oxygen delivery, causing anemia,
fatigue, and poor work performance.
* Words That Inspire
"Don't listen to negative influences. Believe in yourself, and show others what
you can do. Only "you" can find your potential."
-Marla Runyan
* Editor's Advice
"To stay comfortable in frigid weather, wear a microfiber shirt as a first
layer, followed by a breathable windbreaker, gloves or
mittens, and a hat. Begin by running into the wind, not with it, which will keep
you from sweating too much." -Matthew Linde, RW
senior web producer
* Training Talk
"To be a successful adventure athlete and to become a well-rounded competitor,
you need to develop and maintain each of the four
basic elements of fitness: speed, strength, endurance, and skills." -Runner's
World Guide to Adventure Racing by Ian Adamson


19. How To Get Fat!
So much emphasis these days is placed on the best way to boost the metabolism,
gain lean muscle, and avoid fat storage. But what if
you wanted the opposite? I'd like to give you some key rules to follow for
expanding your waistline. Of course, if you actually want
to lose weight, burn fat, and increase the amount of calories that you burn
every day, you'll want to break every single one of
these rules!
Rule 1: Don't Strength Train
Unlike cardio, which can actually cause your body to burn up muscle, strength
training builds lean muscle. For every fiber of lean
muscle that you put into your body, you burn a few extra calories. Furthermore,
a metabolism boosting weight training workout keeps
you burning extra calories for hours afterwards. So if you want to decrease your
body's ability to replace fat with calorie-burning
lean muscle, stay away from the weights and do long and slow cardio sessions
only!
Rule 2: Exercise 3x A Week
There are 7 days in a week. If you do at least a little bit every one of these
days, your exercise frequency and consistency will go
up. You'll actually lose weight quicker by working out every day - even if it
just means 20 minutes of morning calisthenics - than
if you do a long workout 3x a week, and rest on your off days. So avoid working
out every day if you really want to gain weight and
build fat stores.
Rule 3: Don't Eat
Eating is one of the best ways to lose weight. But a severely restricted caloric
intake actually slows the metabolism, resulting in
a rapid weight gain, and an especially rapid fat storage. On the other hand,
eating small and frequent meals every 2-4 hours speeds
up to the metabolism and keeps you burning fat all day long. So if you want to
gain weight, restrict calories and put yourself on a
diet that constantly keeps you hungry.
Rule 4: Keep It Sweet
Sugar is a great trigger for fat storage. Not only do sugary foods and quick
digesting carbohydrates (white flour and bread,
Powerbars, Gatorade, etc.) cause release of fat storage hormones, but they also
make you hungry for even more! Healthy fats and lean
proteins have the opposite effect - stabilizing blood sugar and keeping you
satisfied for a longer period of time. So make sure to
keep it sweet if you want to gain weight!
Rule 5: Skip Breakfast
To expand your waistline, run out the door to work or school with half a bagel
or a cup of coffee. You'll be able to watch the fat
pile on from the increased stress levels and body starvation fat-storage mode.
People who eat a healthy, complex, and wholesome
breakfast stay skinny, kick-start their metabolism at the beginning of the day,
and have higher energy and productivity levels. You
don't want that, do you?
Rule 6: Never Eat Spicy Foods
The hot peppers in spicy foods have been suggested as metabolism boosters, while
the type of ethnic foods that contain hot
ingredients include Thai, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine, much of which can be
low in fat and high in fruit, vegetable, or lean
protein content. Blander foods often require excess levels of butter, creamy
dressing, or gravy - all great ways to gain weight!
Rule 7: Stay Away From Tea
Look at all those skinny tea drinkers. Green tea can stimulate the metabolism,
and actually keeps you wide awake and alert even more
than coffee, with fewer dependency side effects. On the other side, a can or two
of Diet Coke a day will increase your appetite and
keep you hungry - a great way to put on fat.
Rule 8: Don't Drink Water
Your body uses water to burn fat. If you let yourself become even slightly
dehydrated, you can depress your metabolism, and gain up
to a few pounds a month. Ice cold water has even been suggested as a way to make
your body burn a few extra calories to maintain a
warm temperature. Lean-body water-drinkers should decrease body weight in half,
then try to drink that many ounces of water per day.
But if you want to get fat, try to drink just a couple glasses day.
Rule 9: Don't Ask Advice
A certified fitness professional constantly reviews the latest exercise
research, nutritional products, and fitness tools to
determine the best way to achieve and maintain fitness. Practical, hands-on
advice is invaluable - and can be as customized as
possible. However, for a barely adequate program that isn't personalized to your
body, just search for "fast ways to lose weight" on
the internet. That should work.
Rule 10: Stay Up Late and Get Up Early
Research has shown that lack of sleep not only increases stress hormone
production, but also leads to weight gain. Recovery and
building of lean muscle actually occurs while you sleep, whereas too little
sleep causes production of cortisol, a
metabolism-slowing hormone! So for a lack of lean muscle and a fat-storage prone
body, make sure to burn the candle at both ends.
You now have all the information you need if your goal is to gain weight and
increase fat stores. You also know what it takes to do
the opposite. A personal trainer is a great way to get exactly what you need for
a fitness program, including motivation and
encouragement. Set-up your own customized personal training program today by
shopping for fitness at www.pacificfit.net!
Until next time, train smart!
Ben Greenfield
M.S. PE, NSCA-CPT, CSCS


20. Decreasing aerodynamic drag:
In any cycling discipline where speed is important for winning, aerodynamic drag
has a major impact.
Air is considered a liquid, which has viscosity. When we pass through it, we
create drag from the friction between ourselves and the
air flowing around us. We also create pressure drag much like a wake from a boat
called eddying currents.
The combined frictional and pressure drags give the total air resistance of an
object. The goal with our bodies and bikes is to
bring pressure drag and frictional drag down to a minimum.
Pressure drag
For reducing pressure drag, consider:
* Keeping a bottle in the cage as it's more aero than without.
* Shoe covers.
* Shaving your legs.
* Filling the front tire gap at the rim.
* A snug-fitting Lycra top.
* A more aero helmet.
* Gloves with Lycra backs.
* A deep-section front rim.
* Bladed spokes on the front wheel.
* Sitting on someone's wheel for as long as possible since they've created a
frictional and pressure hole for you to sit in. You've
also filled in their eddying current, making them faster.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12681


21. Do Kids Need Sports-performance Drinks?
Young athletes represent a growing target audience for sports drink
manufacturers. But despite glowing testimonials from parents and
their kids, many of these products contain stimulants such as caffeine that most
experts agree kids should avoid.
AdvoCare, which markets a drink called KickStart Spark, says its product can
help a child "develop fully as a high-performance
athlete." Designed for children four to 11 years old, Spark contains the
stimulant taurine (a key ingredient in Red Bull energy
drinks) and 60 milligrams of caffeine, approximately the equivalent of two
12-ounce cans of cola.
Pharmaceutical drugs containing caffeine are required to have warnings saying,
"Do not give to children under 12 years of age."
However, dietary supplements, which are considered foods under federal law, are
not required to post such warnings. And while
research on the effects of caffeine on children is limited, it has been shown
that high doses can poorly affect a child's sleep
patterns and make them hyperactive, irritable and less attentive in school. Not
surprisingly, the American Academy of Pediatrics
discourages caffeine use by children.
Beyond the health risks, some experts are concerned about the message these
products send to children, particularly at a time when
many professional athletes are being scrutinized for their use of artificial
performance enhancers.
"I am concerned that they are gateway substances," Frank Uryasz, president of
the National Center for Drug Free Sport, recently told
The New York Times. "I think it develops a mind-set especially among young
athletes that they have to take something-a powder, a
pill, a liquid-to improve their performance, when actually study after study
shows that almost all of these products add no value to
a young person's athletic performance."
"Children absolutely do not need an artificially induced energy boost," says Dr.
Cedric X. Bryant, ACE's chief exercise physiologist
and father of four active sons. "What they really need is to more regularly
participate in enjoyable forms of physical activity and
experience the energy boost and mood upswing that are natural by-products of
moving and playing and just being a kid."
From ACE FitnessMatters, ACE's official magazine
Subscribe at:
http://www.acefitness.org/acestore/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=W_FIT-MAT&Catal\
og=ACE%20Catalog


22. Study: Low-Calorie Diet Keeps Heart Young:
ST. LOUIS -- A very low calorie diet can help the heart age more slowly,
according to researchers who released what they call the
first-ever human study on the subject.
The findings confirmed earlier studies on mice and rats that demonstrate the
cardiac benefits of a restricted calorie diet.
The study looked at the heart function of 25 members of the Caloric Restriction
Society, ages 41 to 64, who consume 1,400 to 2,000
nutritionally balanced calories per day. They were compared to 25 people who eat
a typical Western diet, consuming 2,000 to 3,000
daily calories on average.
The result: Those limiting caloric intake had the heart functions of much
younger people -- typically about 15 years younger than
their age. Ultrasound exams showed group members had hearts that appeared more
elastic than most people their age; their hearts were
also able to relax between beats in a way similar to hearts in younger people.
"This is the first study to demonstrate that long-term calorie restriction with
optimal nutrition has cardiac-specific effects that
(delay or reverse) age-associated declines in heart function," said Luigi
Fontana, lead author and assistant professor of medicine
at Washington University in St. Louis.
The study will be published Tuesday in the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/ats-ap_health12jan13,1,28184\
24.story?coll=sns-ap-tophealth


23. Human study confirms low-calorie benefits:
St. Louis - A very-low-calorie diet can help the heart age more slowly, say
researchers who released the what they call the first
human study on the subject.
The findings confirmed earlier studies on mice and rats that demonstrate the
cardiac benefits of a restricted calorie diet.
The study looked at the heart function of 25 members of the Caloric Restriction
Society, ages 41 to 64, who consume 1,400 to 2,000
nutritionally balanced calories per day. They were compared with 25 people who
eat a typical Western diet, consuming 2,000 to 3,000
daily calories on average.
The result: Those limiting caloric intake had the heart functions of much
younger people - typically about 15 years younger than
their age. Ultrasound exams showed that group members had hearts that appeared
more elastic than most people their age; their hearts
were also able to relax between beats in a way similar to hearts in younger
people.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060113.wdiet0113/BNStory/sp\
ecialScienceandHealth/


24. iPod Generation Hearing Sounds Of Silence Sooner:
MP3 Levels May Be Dangerous To Your Ears.
Rock music helped define the Baby Boomer generation, but years of loud concerts
have also caused many Boomers to lose their hearing
at an early age.
Boston television station WCVB reported that some experts say the iPod
generation may be hearing the sounds of silence even earlier
than their parents.
When the members of the Lexington, Mass., band Tracy Strangelove aren't rocking
out on their instruments, they're listening to rock
music on their digital music players.
"I listen to it on the bus ride home, when I'm walking around, sometimes between
classes," band member Lucas Levy said.
The enormous popularity of digital music players has Boston Children's Hospital
audiologist Dr. Brian Fligor concerned.
"More people have these systems. Now, given that there will be a larger number
of people who choose to listen at high levels for
long enough periods of time (this) can cause a problem," Fligor said.
What makes digital music players so popular also makes them more dangerous to
your ears -- digital sound that doesn't distort when
you turn it up, the station reported.
"I guess I'm listening to it like eight or nine-tenths of the way up, which
probably isn't great, but that's what I like to do,"
band member Dan Garmon said.
With a digital music player, thousands of songs are right at your fingertips,
which means there's no break for your ears. Over time,
that can damage the delicate hair cells in the inner ear that transmit sound to
the brain. But the damage isn't seen and won't
really be felt for years.
More...from NBC13 at:
http://www.nbc13.com/technology/5517017/detail.html



25. Digest Briefs:
* Ten Tips for Running Safely at Night
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety last year alone, over
122,000 runners, walkers, and cyclists were hit by
cars. Unless you can workout during your lunch time, if you walk, run, bike, or
skate, you are likely to spend at least some of your
exercise time in darkness.
Collisions with cars and bikes happen on a much more regular basis then we would
like them to. Almost half of fatal crashes
involving runners occur between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight. The reality is
that for people who work it is hard to exercise
during the daylight hours only. Here are a few safety tips:
1. At night always make sure you are wearing reflective clothing. The ability of
others to see you at night is directly related to
the amount of reflective and light color material you wear.
2. Carry a reliable flashlight not only to see your way but to be seen by
others.
3. If walking or running, stay on the sidewalk and always use the crosswalk.
Avoid areas without sidewalks and crosswalks.
4. On a road always walk facing the traffic; if you're riding a bike, always
ride with traffic.
5. Prior to crossing the street make eye contact with the driver.
6. If possible don't run alone.
7. Don't wear headsets. Use your ears to be more aware of your surroundings.
8. Stay alert. The more aware you are the less vulnerable you become.
9. Bring a cell phone or whistle in case you fall and need help.
10. Carry identification or write your name, telephone number and blood type on
the inside of your shoe.
Remember that safety precautions should be used at all times. If something
should happen to you use your head, stay calm and take
care of yourself.
Provided courtesy of www.night-gear.com.

* Expert: Exercise Smart for Protection During Cold, Flu Season
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Jan. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Exercise during the cold and
flu season can strengthen the immune system,
provided you don't overdo it, says a Purdue University professor who studies
exercise and the immune system.
"Exercising during the cold and flu season will help people stay in shape, and
most likely fight off colds or reduce the number of
days a person is ill," says Michael Flynn, professor of health and kinesiology.
"The cold season should not be an excuse for the
average person to refrain from exercising - working out at the gym, a brisk walk
in the park or a jog through the neighborhood."
While moderate exercise is known to be very beneficial, exceptionally strenuous
exercise presents special challenges.
"There is still a lot to learn about how exercise affects the immune system,
because it's difficult for researchers to assess the
many layers of protection within the system," Flynn says. "Strenuous or
prolonged exercise seems to suppress the immune system,
leaving athletes more susceptible to illness for one to six hours following a
hard workout - the so-called open window."
Serious athletes, such as those who run 40 miles a week, have a higher rate of
upper-respiratory tract infection than recreational
joggers, Flynn says.
For serious athletes to get the most from their training routine, and to be able
to fight off illness, it is essential for them to
take some time off between hard workouts, he says.
"Rest days are as important as training days, and it's important for endurance
athletes to speak with their personal physicians
about their routine," Flynn says. "Athletes also should be aware of this
post-exercise window of opportunity, continue to eat right
and take precautions around others who are sick."

* Injury to watch out for...soleus
The soleus is located in your calf and when it is strained can mimic an achilles
pain or a calf strain. It normally is a sign that
you have not warmed up well or you are dehydrated. Make sure that you warm up
extra long in morning quality work, and that you are
hydrating yourself, otherwise, you will know the power of the soleus muscle.
From: http://www.atf-athlete.com



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

Saturday, January 14:

Museum of Aviation Foundation Marathon - Macon, GA
http://robinspacers.org/museum

St. Pete Beach Classic 10K/5K, St. Pete Beach, Florida
http://www.stpetebeachclassic.com

Sunday, January 15:

Bermuda Marathon - Hamilton, Bermuda
http://www.bermudatracknfield.com/btfa.htm

Carlsbad Marathon & Half, Carlsbad, California
http://www.carlsbadmarathon.com

Chevron Houston Marathon & Aramco Half Marathon - Houston, TX
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com
USA Men's Half-Marathon Championship

COOLMAN Wintertriathlon - Freudenstadt, Germany
http://www.coolman-wintertriathlon.de

Maui Surf & Sand Half Marathon - Kapalua, HI
http://www.mauisurfsandhalf.com

P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona
http://www.rnraz.com

Richmond Road Races - Richmond, ON
http://www.ncra-ottawa.com/hm/inside.php?id=244

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon - Mumbai, India
http://mumbaimarathon.indiatimes.com/

January 20, 2006
Dave Scott Clinic - Ottawa, ON
http://home.cogeco.ca/~geordiem/triathlonottawa/dave_scott/2006/home.htm



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/

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

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

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

Have a good week of training and/or racing.

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


********************************************
RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
*********************************************

Mental Strength Training Center:
http://www.memberstar.com/redir_a.php?LFAId=1027

National Bike Registry
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=21387&type=3&sub\
id=0

Axill
Sony vs Panasonic:
http://www.axill.com/trackingcode.aspx?affid=8001&pid=1762&bid=4677&c=8001

Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/074325242X/runnersweb-21

Endurance Films
Triathlon Training DVDs
https://endurancefilms.hivelocity.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_C\
ode=EF&Affiliate=runnersweb

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

adidas' running apparel at 15% off! All running shorts, pants, and
shirts at reduced prices .
http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=20812557&siteid=39999062&bfpage=15745\
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment?
If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
http://www.roadid.com/?referrer=50

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

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

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