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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4. National Capital Race Weekend - Ottawa, ON May 26 - 28, 2006
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5. Toronto Waterfront Marathon. September 24, 2006.
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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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% Increase 54% 59% 53% 54% 33% 34%

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THIS WEEK:
TV ALERT:
Tonight, Friday, January 27, 2006, don't miss The National on CBC/Newsworld for
an important and revealing segment about the "See
You In" Canadian Athletes Fund. It will be on at 9:00pm on Newsworld and
10:00pm on the main CBC network.
The broadcast will bring viewers up to date as the Winter Games in Torino, Italy
approach and shed a light on the journey of
Canada's athletes striving at great cost for a spot on the world's most famous
medal podium.
Please watch the documentary and then if you have any questions, want to learn
more about how you can help with the See You In
Canadian Athletes Fund or make a donation, please contact the See You In... Fund
at:
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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.

* 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 article archive 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

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:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html


THIS WEEK'S PERSONAL POSTINGS/RELEASES:
We have NO personal postings this week:


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Multisport: What Does 'Periodization' Mean and How Does It Work?
2. Multisport: Developing a Triathletes Annual Training Plan for Peak
Performance
3. Multisport: AeT Training by Joe Friel
4. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Long-Winded
5. No Time To Exercise? Try This!
6. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
7. Low-Cal Diets: For the Young at Heart
Nutritious, calorie-reduced eating slows cardiac aging, study finds.
8. From Runner's World
9. A pair of popular but unproven dietary supplements
10. One bout of exercise can boost mood, study says
11. 10K Race Strategy By Bob Glover
12. Chicken soup, herbs nothing to sneeze at in common-cold fight
13. Sports psychology attracts broader audience
14. The Feed Zone with Monique Ryan: The art of timing- Part II
15. Cross-training marathon plan
16. Story of a Marathon Rookie
17. Cycling: Group Riding in the Winter
18. Multisport: Winter Treadmill Workouts for Runners and Triathletes
19. Calif. Says Secondhand Smoke a Pollutant
20. The World B.C. (Before Cooper, That Is) - Running Before the Boom
21. Choosing a Treadmill
22. Smart Training For Older Adults
23. The Weekly Training Mix - What We All Need
24. Reducing ACL injury in women
25. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"What is your favourite post-race activity?"

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:
"Do you listen to an MP3 player (or equivalent) when working out?"

Answers Votes Percent
1. In the gym 19 13%
2. On the treadmill 28 20%
3. Cycling indoors 26 18%
4. Running outdoors 31 22%
5. Cycling outdoors 9 6%
6. None of the above 29 20%
Total Votes: 142

FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: Gillian Kornell, Triathlete.
"Gillian's hometown is Kelowna, BC where she did the background work for her
triathlon career. She ran with the Kelowna Track and
Field club and swam with the Kelowna Aqua-Jets. After high school Gillian moved
on to study Earth and Ocean Science at UVIC, run
with the UVIC Varsity x-country running team and train with the UVIC tri-club.
Upon successful completion of her BSc in 2000,
Gillian decided to pursue the sport of triathlon further and began training at
the National Triathlon Training Center (NTTC) in
Victoria.
Gillian has steadily improved over the last five years. In 2000 she was ranked
212th, 6th on the Canadian development ranking and a
bronze athlete at the NTTC. In 2001 she moved up to 83rd, came in 3rd on the
Canadian development ranking and became a silver
athlete at the NTTC. 2002 saw Gillian as a gold athlete at the NTTC, 48th in the
World, and a Canadian National Team member for
2003. Gillian's continued success in 2003 earned her another National Team spot
for 2004 as well as top ten World Cup Finishes and a
spot on the Pan American Games Team. She has now based herself in Kelowna, BC
surrounded by family and support. Gillian enters the
2005 season on the National Team again and with continued success Gillian will
edge closer to obtaining her Olympic dream for 2008."
Check out Gillian's website at:
http://www.gilliankornell.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: "My Story So Far" by Paula Radcliffe
"I tied my laces with hands that were shaking." The injury and illness that had
threatened to dash her Olympic dreams struck Paula
Radcliffe devastatingly on race day in Athens.
Paula Radcliffe has managed to be both very successful in her field and
incredibly popular with the Great British Public. She was
the underdog for so long -- narrowly missing out on medals in the 1999 World
Championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics -- that fans
longed to see her win. Paula's rosy manner hides a tough resolve to succeed and
in 2002 her luck began to turn. She won gold medals
at both the Commonwealth and European championships and started to grab the
headlines, bringing Britain's focus back to athletics.
Paula's bravery is not limited to the track, however. She has become a
passionate spokesperson against drug cheats and, inspired by
her own battle with the condition, she is widely admired for her patronage of
asthma charities. And even though Athens in 2004
proved to be more Greek tragedy than triumph, her popularity remains undimmed.
Her remarkable life story of highs and lows is fully
chronicled in this fascinating and inspiring autobiography.
Buy the book from Amazon UK at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/074325242X/runnersweb-21


THIS WEEK'S NEWS:

1. Multisport: What Does 'Periodization' Mean and How Does It Work?
By Coach Mike Ricci
If you have ever wondered how the Russians were kicking our butts for three
decades in sports, here is the answer. Yes, there were
some Eastern Block women that looked like they could play for the Pittsburgh
Steelers, 'Steel Curtain', and maybe that wasn't
natural, but the answer is something called 'periodization'. Tudor Bompa, who is
considered the 'Father of Periodization' refined
the ideas of Russian sports scientists in the early 1960s. During the 1940s the
Russian scientists tried dividing the training year
into different training periods. Previously, the training was to maintain the
same constant stresses year round. Could you imagine
doing the same workouts week in and week out? The new method was to create some
periods of training that were easier then the others
to promote rest and to let the body grow stronger. Most training programs today
are rooted off of Bompa's theory, and its how the
successful athletes of today train. Periodization involves many variables
including frequency (how 'often' you train), duration
(how 'long' you train for one session), volume (how 'much' you train in a given
week or cycle) and intensity (how 'hard' you train
at any given time). From these variables a recipe is created that will hopefully
help you reach your peak for the key race(s) you
are targeting. There are four to five phases in a given annual training plan,
with the variables changing within each phase
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060127_D3_Periodization.html


2. Multisport: Developing a Triathletes Annual Training Plan for Peak
Performance:
Now that the leaves are turning colors and fall has set in, it is time for the
triathlete to get some well-deserved and needed rest.
It is a great time to reflect back on your past training/race season, set new
goals, spend quality time with your family, and begin
to formulate your next annual training plan during this break in training. Dr.
Tudor Bompa, a exercise pioneer, introduced a new
concept in training in 1963. Periodization, as he refer to it, is a systematic
way of outlining your training program by arranging
days and weeks of training into an organized, goal-orientated plan to peak for a
specific event, like a major ironman triathlon. The
training goal of one phase builds on the fitness and development from the
previous phase, which contributes to achieving that
training goal. The art of periodization uses the progressive overload, the
general adaptation, and recovery principles bringing in
an element of science and planning into exercise variation. It consists of four
training phases- Preparation, Foundation, Build, and
Competition.
The new season begins with the Preparation Phase. This phase helps re-educate
and condition your muscles, helps the triathlete
develop a training strategy for the upcoming season, and begins to condition the
triathletes cardio-respiratory system. Workouts are
unstructured allowing plenty of flexibility to prevent early burnout. This is an
excellent time to add cross training and sport
specific skills to spice up your old training routine, improve economy, and
prevent boredom. Volume slowly builds focusing primarily
on frequency rather than intensity. After 4 weeks of conditioning, you can add
sport specific aerobic testing to help determine
training zones for the start of your annual training plan. The length of this
phase depends on the aerobic conditioning of the
triathlete entering the phase and the athletes designated "A" races.
The next phase is the Foundation training phase. It is designed to improve your
central nervous system's ability to recruit slow
twitch muscle fibers to develop an efficient aerobic engine. It is the most
important phase for the ironman triathlete focusing on
overall body conditioning, strength, mental and physical performance, and
endurance necessary to achieve your race goals. Workouts
are performed at or slightly below your prescribed aerobic threshold, determined
by sport specific testing, with occasional muscular
endurance workouts late in the phase to help develop your race pace. The length
of this phase depends on the athlete's fitness level
lasting anywhere from 8 to 14 weeks. Most first time IM triathletes will benefit
from an extended period in this phase to help
develop a solid aerobic base.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060123_PCG_Training_Plan.html


3. Multisport: AeT Training by Joe Friel:
e-Tips is published 12 times annually and posted online at www.UlttraFit.com.
e-Tips is a free publication. The goal of e-Tips is to
present Ultrafit's views on training, racing, and nutrition for endurance
athletes. The contents are not intended as personal
recommendations for individual athletes, and are only suggestions. For medical
advice, and before starting a strenuous training
program, consult with your physician.
In some ways the initial Base period of the year is the most important in the
athlete's season. It's during this time of the year
when great gains can be made in three of the most important abilities in the
athlete's fitness arsenal-endurance, force and speed
skills. In no other period of the season is the athlete willing to devote large
chunks of time to the key systems for these
abilities: aerobic, muscular and nervous. Once into the Build, Peak and Race
periods the athlete is totally focused on race-specific
fitness, which is as it should be.
Unfortunately, many endurance athletes short change their Base period by jumping
ahead and making it sort of a mini-Build period by
doing anaerobic intervals, fast group workouts and generally race-type workouts.
What a shame. Most never realize what they are
missing in their seasonal preparation and could be so much more fit if they took
advantage of the gains that could be made by
developing endurance, force and speed skills.
In the November e-Tips issue I examined force training in the weight room for
endurance athletes. Next month I will look at speed
skills. In this issue I want to discuss endurance training for the Base period.
Aerobic system fitness is perhaps the single best determiner of performance for
an endurance athlete. That seems obvious since
aerobic system development has a great deal to do with the heart's stroke
volume, muscle enzymes that use oxygen to convert fat to
energy, blood volume and oxygen transport capabilities, and more. Bypassing the
full development of this critical system in order to
become more anaerobically fit, which is all too common for the Base period,
means that the most important system for endurance
sports is underdeveloped. This is like having lots of icing but very little cake
or building a big house on a small and flimsy
foundation. Neither is very good.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060125_UltraFit_AeT.html


4. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Long-Winded:
A certain new reader of this page said of his first visit, "I found it a little
long-winded. I likened it to watching you do long
intervals by yourself."
He didn't mean this as a compliment, but I choose to take it as one. In writing,
as well as running, I keep going and going like the
Energizer Bunny on Red Bull.
Of all the traits that make up a runner, the most valued and honored is the
ability to last. Longevity in the sport is the highest
form of endurance.
Whenever two runners meet for the first time, one is likely to ask the other,
"When did you start running?" This is a conversation
opener, and much more than that. Asking your starting point is a way of testing
your staying power.
There are several possible answers to the "start" question. Only one of them
really counts.
You could say we began running when we first stood upright, since toddlers run
before they walk to keep from falling. Or you ran in
school, either as punishment meted out by a gym teacher. Or you trained hard and
raced harder for your school's track or
cross-country teams.
But the real question is, "When did you start doing what you do now?" When did
you first become the runner you are?
I date my beginning from my first race, in 1958. The running hasn't really
stopped since then, only paused more than a few times for
injuries. I guess that shows some endurance.
Runners often phrase their conversation-opening question differently to me. They
ask, "When did you start writing?"
Like the running question, this one has many answers. Only one counts.
I could tell about learning to string together letters, then words, then
sentences together in grade school... or starting a running
diary in high school... or first writing for publication in 1960... or going to
work in journalism a few years later.
But that was all an apprenticeship for what I do now -- which is to write
columns for Runner's World magazine. This began in 1967--
and 15 years later led to RC.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/556.html


5. No Time To Exercise? Try This!
Fitness is an elusive term covering a vast array of attributes: flexibility,
cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, strength,
power, balance, coordination, body-fat percentage and more. While it's generally
accepted that multiple 30-60 minute sessions per
week are optimal for producing results, the truth is that it's possible to do a
great amount in far less time.
EVERYONE has five minutes a day... the only question is, can anything really
useful be done in just 300 seconds?
The answer is a resounding; YES, but we need choose our exercises carefully. If
there is such a limited amount of time, the best
choice is to pick the most important muscle group. Chest? Back? Shoulders? Legs?
All wrong. The abdominals are the most important
muscles in the body. In no particular order, they:
...protect the low back.
...are vital to sports performance, transferring power from the lower to upper
body.
...aid digestion, and massage the internal organs.
...are important for proper, healthy sexual function.
...are the "window of health." We judge fitness and health more rapidly with a
glimpse at the waistline than any other single
indication.
...are vital for posture, which increases physical energy and mood.
...are the linchpin of your entire fitness program. You've never seen someone
with toned abdominal muscles and flabby arms and legs,
have you? The reverse is not true.
...are the most important muscle group for physical attractiveness in men or
women. No matter the wonderful definition of arms or
legs, if your gut is sagging, you have a problem!
There are other reasons, but one of the best is the fact that of all body parts,
the abs tend to be the least favorite body part to
work. They're hard! That reason alone should be enough to motivate you: anything
other people don't like working is a golden
opportunity for you!
But how can you do anything useful in just five minutes? One daily approach is
to perform five minutes of the toughest ab exercises
you can find, and a fantastic tool for this is a "Roller Wheel" available for
five dollars at any sporting goods store. Not the
fancy ones, just the simple get-on-your-knees variety. Try this: perform one
rep, and take a breath. Then do two reps, and take two
breaths. Then three, and take three breaths... and so on until you can't go any
higher. Then, drop back to one rep, and start
climbing again. When that gets easy, take one breath for every two reps.
An even better method is to break up your exercise into multiple daily sessions.
The roller wheel is useful here as well, but you
might want to investigate some of the powerful "Vacuum" exercises from yoga, or
the dynamic-tension style "stomach flattening"
exercises. In these, you exhale all air, and flex the abdominal muscles for
several seconds. Believe me, if you do these properly,
even without aerobic exercise your waistline will decrease!
While there is no serious disagreement that longer sessions produce better, and
more balanced results, the busiest man or woman on
earth can find five minutes a day... and sometimes, that toehold is what it
takes to get you started on a new, healthier lifestyle.
About the Author: Steven Barnes CST is a NY Times bestselling author, dual black
belt, yogi and Circular Strength Training
instructor.
He created the Five Minute Miracle exercise program.
Learn more at http://www.lifewrite.com


6. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Why Exercise Is Essential for Diabetics and Pre-Diabetics Thirty-five percent
of all Americans will develop diabetes, which can
cause heart attacks, strokes, blindness, deafness,
impotence, amputations, kidney failure and sudden death. Three studies show why
virtually all diabetics should exercise. The first
study shows that exercising before a meal markedly reduces the rise in blood
sugar that usually peaks 20 minutes after you eat
(Lipids in Health & Disease, October 2005). The second shows that exercise
lowers HBA1C in diabetics (Journal of Obesity, October
2002), while the third shows that exercise lowers high blood pressure (Medicine
& Science in Sports & Exercise, August 2005)
When you eat, your blood sugar level rises. In diabetics, most of the damage is
done within 20 minutes after you eat because that's
the time that blood sugar levels are at their
highest. The higher blood sugar rises, the more sugar sticks on cells. Once
sugar is stuck on a cell, it can never get off. It is
eventually converted to a poison called sorbitol that destroys the cell. This
cell destruction causes all of the horrible side
effects of diabetes.
Doctors measure the amount of sugar stuck on cells with a blood test called
HBA1C. The first goal in treating diabetes is to use
drugs and diet to get HBA1C below 6. Since blood sugar levels are highest 20
minutes after you eat, you should do everything
possible to prevent the high rise in blood sugar that follows meals. The only
places that your body can store sugar are in your
muscles and your liver. After you eat, sugar goes from your intestines into
your bloodstream. Then if your muscles are empty from
exercise, the sugar can pass into your muscles. However, if your muscles are
full because you do not exercise, the sugar has no
place to go and blood sugar rises to very high levels to stick to cells and
destroy your body.
Exercise is also vital for diabetics because it helps to control blood pressure.
Eighty percent of diabetics die of heart disease,
and anything that increases risk for heart attacks puts
diabetics in danger. High blood pressure is a major risk for heart attacks and
strokes. Since exercise lowers high blood pressure,
it helps to prevent heart attacks and thus to keep diabetics alive.
From: www.DrMirkin.com


7. Low-Cal Diets: For the Young at Heart:
Nutritious, calorie-reduced eating slows cardiac aging, study finds.
Feeling younger in middle age may be as easy as eating a low-calorie,
nutritionally balanced diet, U.S. researchers report.
These types of diets help slow cardiac aging, according to researchers at the
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Their study included 25 people, aged 41 to 65, who'd consumed a low-calorie diet
(about 1,400 to 2,000 calories a day) an average of
six years.
Using ultrasound imaging, the team found the hearts of the people on the
low-calorie diets appeared more elastic than those of other
people the same age who ate a typical Western diet (about 2,000 to 3,000
calories per day).
The hearts of the people on the low-calorie diet were also able to relax between
beats in a way similar to the hearts of people 15
years younger. The study appears in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology.
"This is the first study to demonstrate that long-term calorie restriction with
optimal nutrition has cardiac-specific effects that
ameliorate age-associated declines in heart function," principal investigator
Dr. Luigi Fontana, an assistant professor of medicine,
said in a prepared statement.
More...from Health Scout at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/530375/main.html


8. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
Trust your instincts. "If you want to run tomorrow, and the next day, and as
many days into the future as you can imagine, keep
grabbing hold of--and holding on to--what you like best about the sport." -Joe
Henderson
* Injury Prevention
Back Extensions: Back extensions strengthen the muscles of the back. Strong back
muscles ensure upright, efficient posture and limit
unnecessary rocking of the torso.
On a back-extension device, lie face-down, with your hips over the support pad
and your feet tucked underneath the foot rollers.
With arms folded across your chest, slowly lift your torso above horizontal (so
your back arches slightly), then lower your torso to
well below horizontal. With this strength exercise, you can do 15 to 20 repeats
initially, and work up to 30 or more reps as your
back strength improves.
* Performance Nutrition
Scrambled Whites with Greens: This low-fat, scrambled-egg alternative provides
54 grams of high-quality dietary protein in just 255
calories. First, spray your frying pan with fat-free Pam. Then pour the
equivalent of four servings of egg whites (such as Egg
Beaters egg whites) in a bowl and blend with 1/2-cup spinach and 1/2-cup
mushrooms. Heat the pan until the Pam starts to bubble,
pour in the eggs, and fry until the eggs are nearly dry. You'll Save: 40
calories, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, and 13 grams of
fat compared with two normal scrambled eggs.


9. A pair of popular but unproven dietary supplements:
Health-food stores, vitamins, herbs and alternative medicine are gaining
popularity. In spite of the lack of scientific support,
government approval or widespread acceptance in the medical community, many
people are interested in trying any product that may
have even the slightest chance of improving quality of life or longevity.
Glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are two examples of nutritional
supplements that have received great media attention in
the past few years.
Glucosamine is a substance naturally made in the body. It contributes to the
repair and maintenance of articular cartilage.
GS and CS are artificially made from glucosamine, and both are commonly used for
the treatment of osteoarthritis - a form of
arthritis that affects the cartilage at the end of the bone in the joint.
This cartilage, which normally provides a cushion separating the joint surfaces,
wears down, often leading to joint pain, stiffness,
swelling and deformity in the joint.
Over the past 20 years, only a small number of studies have suggested that GS
and CS may control osteoarthritis pain symptoms and
may retard the progression of articular cartilage damage.
However, these studies were few, short-term and inconclusive.
More...from the Times-Tribune at:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15980780&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=4182\
18&rfi=6


10. One bout of exercise can boost mood, study says:
Just 30 minutes of brisk walking can immediately boost the mood of depressed
patients, giving them the same quick pick-me-up they
may be seeking from cigarettes, caffeine or binge eating, a small study found.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that people suffering
from depression who walked on a treadmill for 30
minutes reported feeling more vigorous and had a greater sense of psychological
well-being for up to an hour after completing the
workout.
Those patients and another group that sat quietly for 30 minutes both reported
reductions in negative feelings such as tension,
depression, anger and fatigue.
But only the group that exercised said they felt good after the session,
according to the study, published in the December issue of
the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Lead researcher John Bartholomew said the study reinforces past research that
has found consistent exercise, along with medication
and counselling, can help people overcome depression.
However, Bartholomew's is among the first to show that exercise can have a
positive effect right away.
"It's not something you have to do for 10 weeks and it's not something you have
to do at a high intensity," said Bartholomew, an
associate professor of kinesiology and health education.
More...from CTV at:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060124/depression_exercise\
_060124/20060124?hub=Health


11. 10K Race Strategy By Bob Glover:
The following text is adapted from The Competitive Runner's Handbook
(http://www.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/nyrrc/merchandise/index.html) by Bob
and Shelly Glover. Refer to it for more detailed info
10K training and racing.
The 10K (6.2 miles) is the yardstick of performance: the ideal distance to
compare 5K specialists from one end of the road racing
spectrum and marathoners at the other. You can fairly accurately predict 5K,
half-marathon, and marathon performances from 10K
results.
This is the perfect racing distance for most runners. It's long enough to
challenge the endurance of beginner and casual racers, and
short enough to challenge the speed of experienced competitors. If you don't
want to suffer too intensely or for too long, the 10K
offers a middle ground-combining the speed of the 5K with the endurance of the
marathon.
NOTE: The following guidelines are primarily for those RACING the 10K. For those
first-time competitors or casual participants whose
only goal is to finish in reasonable comfort, the guidelines are much simpler:
line up well back in the pack, start slowly to warm
up, ease into your normal training pace at which you can converse, and keep that
pace all the way, taking brief walk breaks if
necessary.
Logistics
Warm up properly to allow for a quick start. Don't overdress; the intensity of
10K racing heats you quickly. Many experienced
competitors wear racing shoes for the 10K; lightweight trainers may be the best
choice for most runners. Hydrate before the race and
for the first 5K to 4 miles, but not after that. Taking fluids late in the race
wastes seconds. It takes about 20 minutes for the
fluids to absorb. After 5K, I'll just rinse my mouth and pour the fluids over my
head for a quick mental boost. "Hitting the Wall"
due to glycogen depletion isn't a factor in 10Ks since you will probably finish
within an hour. But you do need some fuel in the
morning to counteract brain drain and low blood sugar. Avoid a sluggish race and
poor concentration with prerace fueling. Fueling up
during a 10K, however, won't help performance and wastes time.
More....from the New York Road Runners at:
http://www.nyrr.org/divisions/training/10kstrat.htm


12. Chicken soup, herbs nothing to sneeze at in common-cold fight:
It's that time of year again. Perhaps you're already fighting a cold. If you are
lucky, you'll make it through the rest of winter
without catching one. But more likely you'll get one or two, and if you have
children in school, a few more.
Even if you've had your annual flu shot and practice frequent and thorough hand
washing, certain nutrition strategies can help keep
those winter bugs at bay. And if you do get sick, the right foods -- and
supplements -- could help lessen your misery.
Colds and flu are caused by viruses, which means they can't be treated with
antibiotics. A cold usually begins slowly with symptoms
such as a scratchy sore throat, congestion and runny nose, and possibly a mild
fever. Cold viruses (there are more than 200 of them)
are spread from person to person, object to person, and by touching or rubbing
your nose, mouth and eyes. (Cold viruses can live for
hours, and in some cases weeks, on surfaces such as door handles, keyboards and
phones.) Flu symptoms often appear suddenly and may
include moderate to high fever, body aches, headache, sweating, chills, fatigue,
loss of appetite, sore throat and cough. The flu
(influenza) is easily spread through breathing, coughing and sneezing.
Although the body's immune system can usually fight off colds or flu on its own,
here's a look at a few natural remedies that might
hasten your recovery:
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20060125/HBECK25/\
TPHealth/?query=leslie+beck


13. Sports psychology attracts broader audience:
In a few weeks, millions of us will be glued to our television sets, watching
the best athletes in the world ski, skate and slide
their way into Olympic history in Turin.
We will certainly be dazzled, as always, by the sheer physical skill of these
folks who have pushed their bodies so hard for so many
hours a day, year after year.
But just as important as physical training is the mental training that goes into
a peak performance. If two athletes are equally
fit, the edge often goes to the one with the better emotional skills - not a
do-or-die focus on winning but a set of habits that all
of us can learn, including positive ''self talk,'' maintaining an energy level
that is neither too excited nor too relaxed, and,
perhaps most important, a Buddhist-like ability to focus totally on the moment
at hand - on this particular breath, stroke, turn.
So useful are these techniques that sports psychologists say their coaching is
increasingly being sought by surgeons, trial lawyers,
musicians, public speakers, business people and others who need to perform at
their best in high-stress situations. Partly because
of this increasing demand, the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport
Psychology, the major U.S. professional organization
in the field, has grown from a few hundred 20 years ago to 1,300 today, said the
group's president, Craig Wrisberg, a sport
psychology professor and mental training consultant at the University of
Tennessee.
Nowhere has the teaching of mental skills become a finer art than at the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, New York, where Nate
Zinsser, director of the performance enhancement program, runs a lab that is the
envy of sports teams. He's building better athletes
and also better soldiers, who have imagined every possible thing that might go
wrong with a military operation.
Among other things, Zinsser has what he described as ''very cool'' ergonomic
chairs in which cadets sit and, through biofeedback
techniques like monitoring heart rate, learn to relax and ignore distractions -
such as crowd noise - piped in through speakers.
More...from the IHT at:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/25/news/snmental.php


14. The Feed Zone with Monique Ryan: The art of timing- Part II:
Early morning training ride
By Monique Ryan, MS, RD
This report filed January 25, 2006
In my last column (http://velonews.com/train/articles/9369.0.html) we discussed
proper meal timing around evening training. Many
cyclists also train in the early morning hours with little time to eat and drink
before heading out on the road.
Let's take a look at some nutritional strategies that address the food and fluid
challenges of early morning training.
One of the biggest dilemmas confronting morning training is that you wake up in
the morning with low liver glycogen stores. A major
function of your liver is to maintain a steady level of glucose in the blood.
Your liver releases glucose into your bloodstream
during exercise and between meals. It also performs this function at night after
your last meal or snack and well into the night
while you are sleeping. After an overnight fast of 8 to 12 hours without food,
your liver glycogen stores may be as much as 50 to
80-percent depleted.
You have likely had the experience of eating a good meal or snack before a ride
and noting an improvement in your energy levels and
mental focus when training. A pre-ride snack can also take the edge off of any
hunger that you could experience during a longer
ride. This pre-ride meal also helps to maintain blood glucose levels, staving
off a performance impairing bonk.
Of course early morning training usually makes a hefty pre-exercise breakfast or
snack a tricky endeavor. You simply may not have
time to eat before training, or cannot tolerate food that close to exercise. So
what are your options?
Chances are that you will have a better quality workout if you can consume some
small serving of carbohydrate in the 30 to 60
minutes before training. Training on an empty stomach and with low blood glucose
levels does little in the way of training your body
to do a better job of burning fat for fuel, and in fact this practice can
decrease the quality of your workouts.
Before early morning rides, aim for a snack that provides 50 to 75 grams of
carbohydrate. Of course, you would want to choose foods
and fluids that are easy on your stomach and tolerated so close to training.
Keep your fat intake low, and have only small amounts
of very lean protein, if any. This might also be a good time to keep some of
your choices lower in fiber, with whole grains rounding
out your carbohydrate choices later in the day. Some carbohydrate choices
include juice, with 8 to 12 ounces providing 30 to 45
grams of carbohydrate, yogurt, with 8 ounces providing from 25 to 40 grams of
carbohydrate, and a medium to large serving of fruit
containing 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrate. Some other carbohydrate choices
include a wide variety of easily digested cereals,
bread/toast, bagels, energy bars, and even gels. Check labels and try to push up
the total carbohydrate amount as much as possible
within your tolerances. If only liquid carbohydrates are appealing early in the
morning, aim for a light smoothie recipe, or even a
high carbohydrate sports nutrition supplement.
More...from VeloPress at:
http://www.velonews.com/train/articles/9420.0.html


15. Cross-training marathon plan:
Here's your conundrum: You want to run a personal best marathon, but every time
you build up to the running mileage you believe is
required to achieve this goal, you get injured. Should you just give up and find
another goal to pursue?
Not at all! By taking a cross-training-based approach to training, you can run a
lifetime-best marathon on just three or four runs a
week. Incorporating non-impact cardio workouts and functional strength workouts
into your program will reduce your chances of
getting injured not only by limiting your running mileage, but also by
increasing the stability of your joints (as joint instability
is the primary cause of most running injuries).
Your cross-training workouts will also enhance your running performance, more
than making up for the running miles that are cut from
your program to make room for cross-training.
The following 24-week plan provides an example of how to cross-train your way to
a personal best marathon. It's appropriate for
runners who are currently able to run three or four times a week, up to one hour
per run. In addition to three weekly runs, the
schedule includes an optional fourth run, an alternative cardio workout and two
strength workouts a week.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12701


16. Story of a Marathon Rookie:
I received a wonderful email last week from a gentleman who had just completed
his first marathon. I would like to share his message
with you as I feel it embodies what the marathon experience should be:
"I am 41 years old and I just ran my first Marathon in Houston last Sunday. I
finished in just over 6 hours. I hurt all over, made
all of the rookie mistakes that could be made even after being warned and
reading about them and it was still one of the greatest
experiences of my life. I got to share the moment with my wife who is starting
to think that maybe she could run a 5K and my 7 year
old son that got to run the last 50 yards with me. I just hope that I can
inspire him to maintain good health if he sees me run
these events. I started running to lose weight and get fit. Now I run to
maintain my fitness and achieve new goals."
- James Shults (Mission, TX)
First of all, finishing a marathon should be one of the most memorable and
rewarding experiences of one's life. As James stated,
even with lots of pain, it was still one of the greatest experiences of his
life. As you train for a marathon or half marathon,
always think about what it will feel like to cross the finish line. Think about
it every day. Especially when you need to run
through pain, bad weather, or whatever obstacles may (and will!) come your way.
Something else I found touching in his story is how James is using his
experience to inspire his family into better health and as a
launching pad to new successes in his life. When you cross the finish line, you
will be physically and mentally exhausted, aching
all over, but most importantly, you will feel incredibly confident about
yourself and you will feel unstoppable as to what you can
now accomplish. Keep charging! Use this experience to propel every aspect of
your life. Then share your experience with others and
help inspire them so they too can enjoy the sensational high and the benefits
that come along with finishing a marathon.
Action Items:
. As you train, always think about the feeling you will have when you cross the
finish line. Do this and you will create a burning
desire within yourself that will allow nothing to stop you from achieving your
goal.
. Once you cross the finish line, use your newfound self-confidence and great
health to elevate every area of your life.
. Share your experience with aspiring marathon and half marathon rookies!
From www.MarathonRookie.com


17. Cycling: Group Riding in the Winter:
By Marlon Familton, Familton, CSCS, USA Cycling Expert Coach
Riding in the winter time requires attention to new details. The obvious one is
generally less traction, but since many group rides
fill up in the winter with people look to share the misery of long wet miles,
group ride etiquette and skills become critical. The
comments below are "mandatory suggestions" for you to consider and take action
on in order to prepare for winter rides.
Rain Bikes & Winter Equipment
In the Northwest we typically spend 50% of our riding year in wet conditions.
Having a bike that you can ride, enjoy and rely on is
important. You must spend time maintaining it properly if you want to avoid
trouble out on the road. Here are some things to
consider:
Chain replaced every 2,000 miles
Brake pads checked for wear
Rims cleaned and glass picked out of tires from the last wet ride
Make certain you pack a spare tube, CO2 cartridge or bring a pump, have basic
tools and anything else you might need. Don't rely on
someone else's preparedness for help, though you'll often find it. And consider
carrying a pair of the rubber mechanics gloves. They
take up no space, but make changing a grimy wet flat a much more pleasant
experience.
Fenders & mud flaps
A pain in the rear, but a requirement. The front fender is for you. If you don't
care about getting your feet wet, don't bother. The
rear fender is for your teammates. Get one that drops around the back (not a
"back scratcher" that only keeps water off your own
butt), and includes a mud flap that is about 2-3" off the ground. If your mud
flap is more than 2-3" off the ground, then it is
useless and will allow water and road grime to spray on the person behind you.
Tires
It is winter riding now. We're loaded with clothing, food, fender bikes and are
riding easy, so that means slower speeds. Slower
speeds necessitate that we ride further onto the shoulder and into the bike
lanes over a lot of debris, often glass and worse.
Riding light summer tires is asking for trouble. If you're out on your own, it
doesn't matter. But if you're out with the group and
get a lot of flats, you're making a bunch of people who took the time to be
prepared wait for you, getting cold and often wet in the
process. Invest in some heavier tires and add some liners.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060127_DT_Group_Winter.html


18. Multisport: Winter Treadmill Workouts for Runners and Triathletes:
By: Dennis Newell, CTS Resident Coach
With shorter days and lower temperatures, winter is the time when many runners
get reacquainted with their old friend, the
treadmill. You may have used it as a clothes rack for the summer, or said
goodbye to the treadmills in the gym last spring, but
there's no reason to be sad about stepping back onto the rotating belt; this
winter treadmill training can be fun and productive.
One way to break the monotony on a treadmill is listening to your favorite music
and using it to direct your session. Start your run
at a very easy pace for 10-15 minutes, and then every time the song changes,
pick-up the pace a little. Over the span of your run,
you will be picking-up the pace every three to seven minutes, until the end of
the compact disc (you may not want to try this with a
full IPod!). After the duration of your desired run has been completed,
cool-down for 10-15 minutes. This is a great way to do a
progressive pick-up run while listening to your favorite music.
Another way to break up your treadmill running is to run a fartlek run
(speedplay), to your favorite radio station. Listen to your
favorite radio station during your workout. Start your run with an easy warm-up
for 10-15 minutes. Then, run at an aerobic pace when
the first song starts to play. You will shift your pace to Lactate Threshold
Pace every time an advertisement or commercial plays;
maintain this new pace until the commercials are over. This works equally well
if you're watching television while on the treadmill.
After you complete your workout, cool-down for 10-15 minutes. This will give you
an opportunity to run at varied paces for any
duration of time you desire. This is an effective way to get in a fartlek run
while being entertained.
Hills or VO2 workouts can be worked into the winter months as well by
incorporating hill repetitions or VO2 workouts on the
treadmill. Turn on the television to your favorite television sitcom. Begin with
an easy 10-15 minutes of warm-up running. Then run
at an aerobic pace that can be maintained for the duration of your workout.
Every time that a commercial comes on, increase the
incline of elevation on the treadmill to the desired hill gradient or increase
the speed of the treadmill to the desired pace. When
the television sitcom comes back on, resume your original gradient at the
original aerobic pace you started with. You can do this
until the duration of your run is completed, or the completion of the sitcom.
This is a creative way to incorporate hill training or
VO2 workouts into your winter treadmill-training program, while enjoying your
favorite television shows.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_CTS_20060125_Winter_Treadmill.html


19. Calif. Says Secondhand Smoke a Pollutant:
California became the first state to declare secondhand smoke a toxic air
pollutant Thursday, putting tobacco fumes in the same
category as diesel exhaust, arsenic and benzene because of its link to breast
cancer.
The unanimous decision by the state Air Resources Board relied on a September
report that found a sharply increased risk of breast
cancer in young women exposed to secondhand smoke. It also links drifting smoke
to premature births, asthma and heart disease, as
well as other cancers and numerous health problems in children.
"If people are serious about breast cancer, they have to deal with secondhand
smoke. That's what this is all about," said Dr.
Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control, Research and
Education at the University of California, San Francisco.
"This is a seminal, international document," Glantz said. "It's impossible to
underestimate what a big deal this is."
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/ats-ap_health12jan26,1,31461\
08.story?coll=sns-ap-tophealth


20. The World B.C. (Before Cooper, That Is) - Running Before the Boom:
by Mike Tymn
Whenever someone asks me about my race times back during the 1950's and '60's,
what I call the B.C. (Before Cooper) years, I plead
ignorance.
The truth is I don't remember them. But it's also true that if I did remember
them, I wouldn't tell. They were so much slower than
times I ran during the late 70's, after I had turned 40, that I would be
embarrassed to mention them.
As I look back to those years before Dr. Kenneth Cooper's 1968 bestseller
Aerobics kicked off what came to be known as the "running
boom," I marvel at how so many things have changed, not only in participation
numbers but in training, attitude, logistics and
philosophy.
Before Cooper, distance running was strictly an unpopular sport involving a
small number of young, wiry, seemingly masochistic
males. Cooper's book stressed the physical fitness aspects of running, or
"jogging," as it was called, and appealed to a nation that
had apparently reached an all-time low in fitness. As hundreds of thousands of
couch potatoes took Cooper's advice, they slowly
adapted to running. Many decided to test themselves in the sporting arena. The
merger between fitness and sport was slow at first,
primarily because jogging/fitness is a no-risk activity while running/sport
calls for risk taking (i.e., the risk of injury and
unfitness). By the mid- and late 70's, the merger was fully materializing and
participation was mushrooming.
More...from Running Times Magazine at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/02mar/bc.htm


21. Choosing a Treadmill:
By Kay Cross, MEd, CSCS
You have just decided a good electric treadmill is exactly what you need to
maintain your commitment to regular aerobic exercise.
But you find there are dozens of different treadmills, ranging in price from
$399 to over $3,000. What accounts for the huge
difference in price? What do you look for when buying?
Don't Leave Home . . .
First, before going anywhere, decide where you will put your new treadmill--and
measure the space. You'll need some free space
around the machine itself--and some head room if you're going to get a machine
that inclines.
Second, dress in loose, comfortable clothing and workout shoes. You'll want to
try out several machines before you buy. Finally,
head off to a specialty fitness retail store.
Construction
The deciding factor in the life of a treadmill is the motor. If you want your
treadmill to last, look for the larger, heavier
motors.
More...from InfoSports at:
http://www.infosports.com/hf/article_treadmill.htm


22. Smart Training For Older Adults:
The older athlete is taking a prominent place among the ranks of the
recreational athlete. In fact, participation in master's sports
is growing steadily at the rate of 10% to 15% per year, says Al Sheahen,
publisher and editor of National Masters News. Many are
aging members from the late-70's fitness boom, yet more and more sedentary older
Americans are taking to the gyms and sweating for
better health.
Benefits of regular exercise
How much better? A study in Running & Fitness, the official publication of the
American Running and Fitness Association, found that
people who keep exercising in later life are in dramatically better shape than
others their age - even those who used to exercise
but stopped when they reached 50. Exercise dropouts lost 41% of their fitness
level, gained weight, increased blood pressure. The
older athletes, however, stayed fit and maintained a healthy blood pressure. In
fact, the exercisers not only lost weight but they
lowered their resting heart rate - and low heart rate is a sign of a more
efficient heart, and improved fitness.
Special considerations
Age, should be considered as athletes begin or continue to exercise. Older
athletes must be aware of physical changes that occur
with age. The athlete over 40 should have a maximal exercise stress test to
determine how intensely he or she can train and to
uncover any underlying heart disease that could be made worse by exercise. An
athlete can be fit but still have heart disease.
More...from 24 Hour Fitness at:
http://www.24hourfitness.com/html/fitness/articles/oldertrain/


23. The Weekly Training Mix - What We All Need:
by Rodney Cedaro (M.App.Sc.),
Consultant Sports Physiologist.
What are the essential elements of an endurance training program that will allow
you to get the biggest "bang for your buck" as a
multi-sport athlete given the constraints of available time that most of us are
ruled by in our modern day society?
Unlike training for a specialist sport, training for multi-sports such as
triathlon and duathlon offer various challenges in
addition to benefits for the aspiring triathlete/duathlete.
Firstly the effects of multi-sport training are "cumulative". In other words the
preparation that you complete for one sport will
have some "cross-over" benefits for your other activities. The downside of this
"cross-training" is that the training volume that
can be completed is far greater than what individual sport athletes can absorb,
consequently the potential for chronic fatigue from
overtraining becomes a very real threat for multi-sport participants. However,
by following a basic outline or training schedule
such as detailed herein you should be able to compete safely and close to your
potential. Those of you with ambitions higher than
simply participating (i.e. Those of you that want to race head to head with the
best around) will require a little more work,
refinement and individualisation of your training regimen, but the basics are
here. So let's get started!
More...from Tri Training with Rod Cedaro at:
http://www.tri-training.com/ftraining.htm


24. Reducing ACL injury in women:
Of the four ligaments critical to the stability of the knee joint, the anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most injury-prone.
Situated behind the kneecap and overlapping its posterior counterpart the PCL,
the ACL limits excessive forward motion of the tibia,
or shin bone. This role makes it vulnerable to tears (partial pulling away from
the bones in the leg) and ruptures (complete
separation from the bones) in regular sprinters, skiers, and soccer and
basketball players.
Women are four to six times as likely to suffer from an ACL injury as men. This
is thought to be due to several factors. A wider
pelvis makes for a sharper angle where the femur (thigh bone) meets the knee in
women. Estrogen receptors on the ACL may cause the
ligament to become more lax (and therefore more injury-prone) during
menstruation.
Perhaps most importantly, women simply don't achieve the same neuromuscular
spurt in puberty as do men; this is seen by many
researchers as a key to the body's adaptation to the growth and development that
occurs then -- and of particular importance for
athletes.
This neuromuscular change is defined as an increase in power, strength and
coordination to accompany an increase in height and
weight. Without such increases, the joints bear more of the stress from ground
reaction forces, and the muscles bear less. Notably,
there is no documented difference in rates of ACL injury between genders in
prepubescence.
More...from Active.com at:
http://active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12703


25. Digest Briefs:
* Carbon monoxide poisoning kills years later: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) - People who survive a toxic encounter with carbon monoxide,
one of the most common types of accidental poisoning
in the United States, run a risk of death years later because of damaged heart
muscle, according to a study published on Tuesday.
The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation said a look at 230 patients treated
for moderate to severe poisoning from the colorless,
odorless gas found that 37 percent suffered heart muscle injury. Of that group
nearly a quarter died within the next seven years.
"Most of us believed that since this was a one-time exposure to carbon monoxide,
that if you were going to have problems you'd have
them right away," said Timothy Henry, a physician involved in the study.
"I think the key result of this finding is that the effect of carbon monoxide
poisoning has effects not only today, but consequences
down the line," he added. "The fact that almost 40 percent of patients had heart
damage related to the carbon monoxide poisoning ...
was much higher than we expected."
Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen with abnormal exposure to gases from any
type of combustion, including furnaces and
automobiles. About 40,000 people in the United States are treated in emergency
rooms for it every year.
The report, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical
Association, recommended that victims be screened for heart
damage and that more study be done on the risks they face.

* The Claim: Exercising at Night Can Disrupt Your Sleep
THE FACTS Americans have long been encouraged to hit the gym or squeeze in a run
around the block whenever possible, even at the end
of a long workday. But can a late-evening workout ever be too late?
As a general rule, most fitness and sleep experts recommend avoiding intense
physical activity in the immediate hours before
bedtime, arguing that it takes at least three hours for adrenaline and other
hormones that typically surge during a workout to
return to normal levels.
But most studies have not found that to be the case. One study published in the
journal Physiology and Behavior in 1998, for
example, had a group of college students exercise moderately for about an hour
on two separate nights, in one case 90 minutes before
bedtime and in the other 30 minutes before bedtime.
The activity, the researchers found, had no significant effects on the amount of
time the subjects needed to fall asleep. Nor did it
affect any other factors indicating how well they slept, including duration of
sleep and their number of "waking episodes" during
the night. Other studies have had similar findings.
One researcher who has published widely on the subject, Dr. Shawn D. Youngstedt
at the University of South Carolina, says he
believes that exercise before bed can actually promote sleep, easing anxiety and
raising body temperature. But the effects vary from
person to person, he said.
THE BOTTOM LINE While experts generally recommend not exercising immediately
before bedtime, most studies have found that it has no
negative effects on sleep.
www.nytimes.com

* Athlete's Foot Prevention
Athlete's foot, the dreaded "fungus among us," is a common bane of warm locker
rooms at schools and fitness centers. UAB
dermatologist Sarah M. Boyce, M.D., warns that the condition also occurs in cold
weather, when feet may be swaddled in boots and
heavy socks for longer hours.
"The treatment is straightforward, and over-the-counter or prescription
anti-fungals usually are effective," she said.
"But prevention is better: keep your feet dry and cool, and sprinkle shoes and
shocks with anti-fungal powder. Change socks
regularly. Some socks are made with materials such as wool blends that wick
moisture away. If possible, use a hot blow dryer on your
feet after showering, but be careful of burns."
University of Alabama at Birmingham
701 20th St. S., AB 1320
Birmingham, AL 35294-0113
United States
http://www.uab.edu/news




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

January 27, 2006:
Trinidad & Tobago Marathon & 5K - Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago
http://www.clico.com/marathon

January 28, 2006:
Boston Indoor Games - Boston, MA
http://www.BostonIndoorGames.com

Television
2005 Ford Ironman World Championship on Outdoor Life Network (OLN)
4-5:30 p.m. EST

January 29, 2006:
CLICO Marathon - Trinidad and Tobago
http://www.clico.com/marathon

ING Miami Marathon / Half Marathon - Miami, FL
http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com

Marathon de Marrakech & Half Marathon - Marrakech, Morocco
http://www.marathon-marrakech.com

Osaka International Ladies Marathon - Japan
http://www.ktv.co.jp/marathon/english/

Standard Chartered Lahore Marathon - Lahore, Pakistan
http://www.lahoremarathon.com


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:
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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
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Forward the Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
mailto:webmaster@...
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
A running and triathlon resource portal
Runner's Web Online Store
http://store.runnersweb.com
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
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id=0

Axill
Sony vs Panasonic:
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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\
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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...**