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
those of the Runner's Web. Visit the Runner's Web at http://www.runnersweb.com
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1. Scotiabank Bay Street Rat Race for United Way - 5k Run - Toronto, ON June 15,
2006
Join us for a 5km run through the streets of downtown Toronto. Fantastic
entertainment, food and prizes in celebration of United Way
of Greater Toronto's 50th anniversary
http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/volunteer/uw_events_calendar.html#Ratrace

2. Challenger World.
Using our unique Intelligent Sport™ concept, Challenger World has developed the
most advanced, fun and diverse corporate team
building challenges in the world with one aim in mind - to create great teams
for your business
http://www.challengerworld.com/

3. RunnersWeb5K.com Race for Women
Women's only racing returns to Ottawa June 24th with a 5K race along the
Rockcliffe Parkway from the Aviation Museum.
More....
http://www.runnersweb5k.com

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

5. RunnersWebCoach
Through a partnership with HDO Training, the Runner's And Triathlete's Web now
offers Interactive Training.
http://www.runnerswebcoach.com

6. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000009525499

7. Toronto Waterfront Marathon. September 24, 2006.
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/

9. The Toronto Marathon, October 15, 2006
http://www.torontomarathon.com

10. 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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If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
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Microsoft(r) Alerts on RunnersWeb.com Inc.
RunnersWeb.com Inc. now offers Microsoft(r) Alerts! This service lets you
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and when you receive these messages by specifying
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Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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THIS WEEK:
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Beginning April 30th and lasting through Mother's Day (5/11), adidas is offering
15% off women's products! Choose from a wide range
of both apparel and footwear for performance, plus adidas Originals for style!
Customers should use AFFILMD06 at check out.
http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=20812557&siteid=39999062&bfpage=17782\
49

The Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada's largest running event, announced its first
national charity partnership in 32 years with the
Canadian Athletes Now Fund.
The Canadian Athletes Now Fund is a not for profit organization that raises
direct financial support for Canadian athletes so they
can compete on the world stage. Since 1997, the Fund has raised over 4 million
dollars and supported over 500 able bodied and
paralympic athletes.
This is a fabulous opportunity to support our Canadian athletes when they need
the support the most. It takes tremendous dedication
and training to be the best in the world and it also takes financial support.
The Canadian Athletes Now Fund provides direct financial support to our Canadian
athletes. Athletes allocate the funds they receive
for equipment needs, coaching, training opportunities and proper nutrition.
The Canadian Athletes Now Fund is looking for 2008 passionate and proud
Canadians to run, walk or skate for our Canadian athletes
during the Ottawa Race Weekend. When you join the Canadian Athletes Now Fund
team you will find out which athlete your efforts will
be supporting plus donations of $25 or more will receive a tax receipt.
FREE Technical Running Shirt for all Canadian Athletes Now Fund Team members!
START TODAY! JOIN OUR TEAM: CLICK ON LINK BELOW:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/startup.aspx?eventid=5828
To Donate or for more information visit: www.canadianathletesnow.ca
or Call us at: 1-866-YES-2008 .

WIN a Trip for 2 to Scotiabank TORONTO WATERFRONT MARATHON
Flat, fast and festive!
Exciting, cosmopolitan, international, but right next door! "Experience middle
earth and marathon heaven all in one trip to
Toronto!" Join RW Hero Ed Whitlock, John "The Penguin" Bingham, and 10,000+
runners from 30 countries and 40+ states.
More...
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/rwcontest_us.htm

Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer at:
http://toolbar.google.com/buttons/add?url=http://www.runnersweb.com/running/runn\
ersweb_google.xml
This button will give you one-click access to the Runner's Web and the
down-arrow will list the most recent of our RSS feeds.
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We are running a weekly quiz - starting Monday, March 20th - with the weekly
winner getting FREE entry into the RunnersWeb5K.com
Race for Women which will be held in Ottawa on June 24, 2006. Check it out at:
http://www.runnersweb5K.com.
Sub 18:00 5K women runners should contact me for FREE entry into the race.

If you feel you have something to say (related to triathlon or running) that is
worthy of a Guest Column on the Runner's Web, email
us at:
mailto:webmaster@... or leave your comments in one of our Forums at:
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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/Sale.aspx?BID=37234&AfID=103794&AdID=5075&LP=www.peakr\
unningperformance.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. Sports Psychology: Exercise Addiction
2. Multisport: Recovery Nutrition - There is more work to do after your workout!
3. Multisport: Iliotibial Band Syndrome
4. The oxygen story
Oxygen is vital to life as we know it. It comprises 21 percent of the air we
breath at sea level. How is it used, and what is its
importance for exercise?
5. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Basic Training
6. Ask the Tri Doc: Avoiding race-day dehydration
7. The importance of shoelaces
8. Science of Sport - Training and muscle metabolism
9. Resurrected Runners
A Recovery and Training Plan for Biomechanically Burned-Out Boomers.
10. From Runner's World
11. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
12. Food for fitness - training for a marathon
13. Is inflammation holding you back?
14. Fluid loss in triathlon doesn't harm elite athletes
15. Fab bean or has-been?
The legume is healthful but, scientists say, it's no magic bean. Too much, some
add, might pose risks.
16. Dietary supplements: Who takes what and why?
17. Getting to the core of exercise
18. After The Marathon
19. Athletics: Time for a Break
20. RunnerGirl.com Nutrition
21. CORE: What is it good for?
22. From Running Times
23. Don't let fear-based training sabotage your next race
24. Cramp: every runner's nightmare
25. Digest Briefs



RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Should the use of altitude tents - which are used to boost an athlete's red
blood cell count - be banned?"

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:
"What attracts you to a road race or triathlon?" Results at publication time:
Answers Votes Percent
1. Prize money 17 8%
2. Size of field 27 12%
3. T-shirts 27 12%
4. Post event buffet 29 13%
5. Proximity to residence 40 18%
6. Vacation destination 18 8%
7. Race course 32 14%
8. Event distance 34 15%
Total Votes: 224

FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK:
"Nadine Faustin is Haiti's most successful female track and field athlete,
having competed in two Olympics and six World
Championships (indoor and out). This accolade is underlined by the fact that she
holds the national record in five different events,
with her primary event being the sprint hurdles.
After giving up her full-time teaching job in 2004, Nadine progressed steadily
throughout last year, competing in the European
circuit. She timed her peak perfectly, running a lifetime best of 12.74 at the
Athens Olympics. Unfortunately for Nadine, this time
came in the greatest-depth race of all time (never before had eight women
clocked under 12.75 in the same race) and missed out on
making the Olympic final. However, Nadine ended the year ranked within the top
20 in the world and now has her sights set on making
it to the very top."
Visit her site at:
http://www.nadinefaustin.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: "Your First Triathlon".
VeloPress is pleased to announce the release of Your First Triathlon, the latest
book from top triathlon and cycling coach, Joe
Friel. Your First Triathlon will prepare swimmers, cyclists, runners, and
aspiring triathletes to finish and enjoy their first
sprint-distance triathlon. The book's release this May answers a recent boom in
the number of sprint-distance triathlons across the
nation.
Experienced triathletes far and wide turn to Joe Friel for the most
comprehensive training information in the sport. His
best-selling book, The Triathlete's Training Bible, has sold over 80,000 copies.
Without diluting the fundamentals that every
triathlete should know, Your First Triathlon makes finishing a sprint-distance
triathlon accessible to anyone with just 5 hours of
training a week. Joe's 12-week plan will prepare aspiring triathletes to finish
and enjoy one of the world's greatest and most
popular athletic challenges.
Your First Triathlon has the training plans, workouts, checklists, and
instruction that first-timers are clamoring to know. Also
included are easy guidelines to achieve optimum weight, what to eat and when,
how to determine which gear is worth the money, and
two 8-step routines to build strength and flexibility and prevent injury.
Friel helps swimmers, runners, and cyclists build on their foundations while
increasing stamina in their weaker sports. Those
starting from scratch will find training plans tailored for them, too. All of
Joe's workouts are easy to understand and practical,
so readers can spend their time and energy on training.
"Joe takes the fear out of doing a first triathlon."-Barb Lindquist, 2004 USA
Olympic Team
"Joe Friel's wealth of knowledge in triathlon is astounding, and he has a
wonderful way of sharing that knowledge with all athletes:
beginners to elite professionals. If you are looking to get off to a great start
in this sport, you have come to the right
place!"-Siri Lindley, Triathlon World Champion
Your First Triathlon is available for pre-order now through VeloGear.com and
VeloPress.com and will ship to customers in mid-May.
The book will be available to the book trade through Publishers Group West.
Joe Friel has coached competitive and professional triathletes for more than 25
years. His previous books include the best-selling
Triathlete's Training Bible, and Going Long: Training for Ironman-Distance
Triathlons. Friel holds a master's degree in exercise
science and he is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach.
VeloPress is a sports fitness publisher and a trusted authority among
triathletes, cyclists, endurance athletes, and snow sport
athletes on the subjects of training, nutrition, equipment, and performance.
Buy the book from Velo Press at:
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?velogear+FQUy3p+yofitr.html


THIS WEEK'S NEWS:

1. Sports Psychology: Exercise Addiction:
By Michelle Cleere, Sports Psychology Consultant

Note:
Michelle is starting a sports psychology Q and A on the Runner's Web. Submit
your questions to Michelle at: SportsMindedMC@...
and we will post her answers on the Runner's Web.

Introduction

While so much of society right now is focused on obesity and the fact that
obesity is right up there around the #1 killer of
American’s, there is another portion of the population at the other end of the
spectrum addicted to exercise. Most of these addicts
are women, ages 35-60 that are “running on a treadmill for hours, spinning out
of control or climbing stairs that lead to nowhere”1
because they have lost their physical, emotional and spiritual balance. They are
unhappy in their lives wondering whether or not
they have accomplished anything significant and are unhappy with their
appearance.
This article is going to discuss positive versus negative exercise addiction,
addiction and the brain, the personality of an addict,
and how coaches and personal trainers might help offset exercise addiction.
Positive versus negative exercise addiction
Exercise addiction is a psychological and/or physiological dependence on a
regular exercise program that is characterized by
withdrawal symptoms after 24-36 hours of no exercise. These symptoms may
include: anxiety, irritability, nervousness, guilt, etc
which only occurs if a person is prevented from exercise due to circumstances
beyond their control.(2 )
Positive addictions to exercise promote psychological strength and increase life
satisfaction and can be used to help people become
stronger. These characteristics lead a person toward enhancement of their state
of being and functioning. This typically occurs when
a person continues to participate in regular physical activity. “With a positive
addiction to exercise, exercisers view their
involvement in regular physical activity as important to their lives, and they
can successfully integrate this activity with other
aspects of their lives, including work, family, and friends”.(2)
When exercise controls a person’s life, it is considered a negative addiction to
exercise. Life becomes structured in such a way
that home, work and relationships take a back seat to exercise and exercise,
rather than enhancing, deters psychological and
physiological functioning. Negative addiction to exercise, similar to other
addictive processes, is characterized by increasing dose
dependence and withdrawal symptoms under deprivation.(2)
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060509_SM_Exercise_Addiction.ht\
ml


2. Multisport: Recovery Nutrition - There is more work to do after your workout!
You may have finished your workout, but you are not done training! Recovery is
crucial to maximize the benefits of an intense
workout. Without proper recovery, athletes are more prone to injury, chronic
fatigue, soreness and illness. Optimal recovery
includes rest, stretching, sleep and good nutrition and hydration – this
discussion will focus on the nutritional aspects.
Your post-workout meal may very well be the most important meal of the day.
After a workout, your body is in a catabolic state –
your muscle glycogen is depleted and increased cortisol levels are beginning to
break down muscle tissue. To reverse this downward
spiral of degradation, eat a meal with quickly digestible carbohydrates and
amino acids to promote muscle repair and replenish
glycogen stores. Avoid fat in your immediate post-workout meal; fat will slow
nutrient absorption delaying the repair process.
Macronutrients: Carbohydrates and Protein
Your post-work out meal should consist of 300-500 calories within 1 hour of
completion of activity, depending on your size,
intensity of workout and your planned intake for the rest of the day. General
recommendations suggest a 3:1 carbohydrate to protein
ratio. More specific suggestions for endurance athletes indicate optimal
post-workout intake should be approximately 0.8 to 1.2
grams of carbohydrate per kilogram (2.2lbs/kg) body weight and 0.2 to 0.4 grams
of protein per kilogram body weight. This means a
154 lb man will need 56 to 84 grams of carbohydrate and 14 to 28 grams protein
immediately after a workout. Including protein in the
recovery diet may increase the insulin response to carbohydrate, thereby
increasing the rate of glycogen synthesis.
When selecting carbohydrates, choose moderate to high glycemic index (GI) foods.
The carbohydrates will be more readily available
than low GI foods. This means immediately after exercise you should select foods
like fruit, fruit juice, sports drinks, sports bars
or gels, bagel, baked potato, or granola bar and avoid very low glycemic index
foods like All Bran cereal, oatmeal, multigrain or
pumpernickel bread and legumes. The low GI foods are very nutritious, so be sure
to include them in your diet at other times
throughout the day.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060508_NYTCS_Recovery_Nutrition\
.html


3. Multisport: Iliotibial Band Syndrome:
By Jenn Turner, BPHE (hon), DC, ART®, CPTN- CPT, CCSS(C) (resident)
Introduction
A problem that long distance runners and triathlete's often complain about
involves the Iliotibial band. Often coined Runner’s Knee,
or iliotibial band syndrome, this injury can present as lateral hip or knee
pain. The most common symptoms of Iliotibial band
syndrome or ITBS, usually includes a burning pain on the outside of the knee or
hip about 20 minutes into a run. Often the pain
subsides after a run, but as the injury worsens, the pain can be constant. Many
runners get very frustrated with this injury
Mechanism Of Injury
When the knee is bent and straightened, the ITB moves back and forth over the
lateral condyle of the knee. With repeated bending and
straightening, as in walking, running or cycling, the ITB snaps over this
condyle (bony protuberance) and can become irritated. This
friction usually leads to inflammation and irritation of the surrounding tissues
and the bone as well, which is what causes the most
pain. The ITB is more likely to snap across and become irritated if it is too
tight. Tension on the ITB can be caused by muscles
that attach to it, or even from problems with the pelvis or lower leg and foot.
Specifically, triathletes can predispose themselves
to this injury by not replacing running shoes often enough, having an improper
bike fit, or even the use of certain fixed bike
cleats.
Treatment
There are various different approaches to the treatment of IT band syndrome.
Many practitioners will recommend stretching, massage,
ultrasound, and soft-tissue techniques, all with varied effectiveness. While
passive treatment will often clear up the symptoms of
iliotibial band syndrome, there is a great chance that the injury will recur if
training or activity is resumed.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060508_JT_ITB.html


4. The oxygen story:
Oxygen is vital to life as we know it. It comprises 21 percent of the air we
breath at sea level. How is it used, and what is its
importance for exercise?
How does oxygen reach the muscles?
In order for oxygen to be used by our muscles it must first be transported from
the air to the mitochondria. The oxygen in the air
we inhale is transported deep into the lungs where it is transferred into our
blood through fine blood vessels, or capillaries. The
red blood cells arriving in the lungs via these capillaries have no oxygen left,
but are loaded with carbon dioxide.
As the blood passes through the lungs, this carbon dioxide is released and
exhaled. At the same time, the oxygen we have inhaled
passes into the blood in the capillaries. A small proportion is dissolved
directly in the fluid portion of the blood, but most is
taken up by the haemoglobin molecule, which has a high affinity for oxygen, and
is the main form of oxygen transport in the body.
This oxygen-rich blood is then transported throughout the body via the blood
stream.
As we exercise the oxygen required by the active muscle can increase, almost
instantaneously, by as much as 20 times. The
requirements of inactive muscles remain unchanged. This is achieved through
dilatation of the blood vessel in the active muscles.
Simultaneously, the rate at which fuel enters the mitochondria increases. This
results in a selective increase in the energy and
oxygen supply to active muscles.
More...from iAfrica.com at:
http://health.iafrica.com/fitness/science/30651.htm


5. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Basic Training:
Tell someone from outside the sport that I teach running classes, and the
reaction goes something like this: "What's to teach? You
put one foot in front of the other, remembering to alternate feet, and running
takes care of itself."
That's true for the act or action of running. Most kids master it by the age of
three.
But we runners know that running is much more than an act of self-propulsion.
It's also an aerobic and athletic activity. We need to
study how to exercise, train and race well, and then we must put the lessons
into regular practice.
I teach activity classes for college-age students. These runners spend their
limited time training, not listening to me talk.
My role as a teacher isn't to lecture but to structure the training. As class
begins, I say little more than what the run is that
day and how it helps.
My challenge is not to overwhelm the runners -- with mileage, speed or
information. I take a low-key, low-tech approach to their
training. The ingredients are simple, and the amounts of running are modest.
Recently I wrote about teaching pace-setting to the road racing class ("Setting
the Pace," 4/23/06). The students saw only a few key
phrases of that advice.
They receive, by e-mail after each class, a one-paragraph mini-lesson on some
aspect of the sport. The earlier column told what I
teach about pacing. The four lessons below tell the student-runners how their
training plan comes together.
BIG DAYS
Most runs need to feel relatively easy. This is true whether you're a beginning
racer or an elite athlete. (Of course, the
definition of "easy" varies hugely for these groups; easy pace for the elite
would be impossible for the beginner.) Training for the
distance and pace of races and actually running these events is a prescription
item, taken in proper, well-spaced doses. New racers
are wise to limit themselves to one big day a week. On this day, run longer than
normal (as long as the longest race distance but at
a slower pace) or faster than normal on this day (as fast as the fastest race
pace but for a shorter distance), or go to the
starting line in a race (combining full distance at full pace). Experienced
racers can put a long run AND a fast run into the same
week, but don't want to squeeze both of these PLUS a race into one week.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/home.php?article=2055


6. Ask the Tri Doc: Avoiding race-day dehydration:
By Dr. Jeff Sankoff
Q: I tell friends that I have a glandular problem because I lose so much water
when I train and compete. I mean so much that it is
a severely limiting factor during my longer races. I have tired to keep my
nutrition during events to a science, but my last
half-Ironman this season destroyed me. I lost over 10 percent of my body weight,
cramped in places I didn’t think I could cramp and
got violently ill after the race. Needless to say, it was a bad day.
Yours truly,
“The Sweating Machine”
A: Dear “Sweating Machine”:
The short answer: Muscle cramping has many causes: dehydration, electrolyte
depletion and even temperature and level of exertion.
While there is no easy answer to your problem, a number of courses of action are
possible.
The long answer: Muscles provide for locomotion by contracting and shortening
the distance between two bones across a joint. Via a
complex intracellular process, protein fibers within muscle cells slide along
each other and shorten the overall length of the
muscle. This process is finely regulated and involves the flux of various
electrolytes across cell membranes, the consumption of
fuel and the disposal of waste. All of this happens continuously and very
rapidly.
Cramping occurs when a muscle contracts violently and does not relax. Any muscle
that spans a joint can cramp, but those that span
two joints are more susceptible. Cramps occur most commonly in certain muscle
groups: the calf, hamstring, quadriceps, hands, feet
and even in the ribcage. Cramps may be quite painful, difficult to correct and
can recur.
More...from Triathlete Magazine at:
http://www.triathletemag.com/story.cfm?story_id=12026&publicationID=92&pageID=17\
32


7. The importance of shoelaces:
People often underestimate the importance of shoelaces in footwear. Most people
reckon they learned all they need to know about
shoelaces in kindergarten. In fact, with today's many alternatives (such as
Velcro), it is possible to get by without shoelaces
altogether. However, if you want good shoes or boots for running, walking,
hiking, or in fact for pretty much anything other than
fashion, the overwhelming majority come with shoelaces. There are many reasons
behind this, chief of which is that lacing is both
cheap and simple, yet very effective. The shoelace runs through the eyelets,
which act as a series of "pulleys", ensuring relatively
even distribution of the tension that holds the sides of the shoe together. In
theory, shoelaces are an elegantly simple device
needing no further thought than pulling them tight and tying a shoelace knot. In
practice, there is a whole lot more to shoelaces,
especially for active people that depend heavily on their footwear. The type of
shoelaces, the way they are laced and the shoelace
knot technique all have a bearing on the resulting comfort and reliability.
Type of shoelace
The shoelaces supplied with most shoes may look great and really complement the
shoe, but they often have many shortcomings. The
biggest problem nowadays is synthetic shoelaces, which are far more slippery
than cotton shoelaces and are thus more prone to coming
undone. This is especially true for active sportspeople: a shoelace coming
untied during a race can destroy one's time; during
mountain climbing, it can be fatal!
More...from Run the Planet at:
http://www.runtheplanet.com/pages/refer/articles/shoelacesfieggen.php


8. Science of Sport - Training and muscle metabolism:
Dr Bridget Farham
What happens to muscles with training? There are four basic metabolic changes
which occur with training.
The VO2 max increases, suggesting an increased capacity for muscles to work and
so to increase the oxygen consumption of the
mitochondria. There is an increased ability to store muscle and liver glycogen.
The rate of fat use increases while the rate of
glycogen utilisation decreases during exercise at all work rates, and there is a
shift in the lactate turnpoint to a higher work
rate or percentage VO2 max.
Before we look at the anatomical and biochemical changes in trained muscle which
explain these changes, we must deal with the last
point, and the myths and facts surrounding lactate.
Lactate: myths and facts
In most of the sections covered so far, we have dealt with endurance training,
that is exercise at intensities less than 100 percent
of VO2 max. At these intensities nearly all energy comes from oxygen-dependent
mitochondrial metabolism.
However, supramaximal exercise, for example sprinting over 100m and 200m,
requires speeds which need a huge rate of energy
production. This cannot be achieved purely by oxygen-dependent (or oxidative)
metabolism. But people run these distances at speeds
of around 36km per hour, which would require oxygen to be used at a rate of 140
ml per kg, a level of oxygen consumption which has
never been measured in a human. So, there are obviously ways of producing energy
from oxygen-independent pathways in the cells.
ATP and phosphocreatine (Pcr) are stored in the muscles and can provide energy
for about 7 seconds of maximum exercise.
More...from iAfrica at:
http://health.iafrica.com/fitness/science/30652.htm


9. Resurrected Runners:
A Recovery and Training Plan for Biomechanically Burned-Out Boomers.
By Roy Benson
As a coach of many veteran runners, I often have to be a locker room lawyer.
Real lawyers label
what I have to do as "taking the jury down the primrose path." It means bringing
them to an inescapable conclusion. In my case, it
often means jogging those vets, with 20-30 years of wear and tear on their legs,
down the path to where they admit that they need to
change their training patterns. These changes are necessary for those runners
who no longer are setting PRs but want to stay
competitive. They are particularly necessary for those who have reached the
point of simply wanting to continue non-competitive
running. The inescapable conclusion at the end of the primrose path involves
changing either how often they run, or how hard they
run, or how long they run.
Step One: Acceptance
I know the way down that primrose path, because I had to follow it myself. I am
one of the Biomechanically Burned-Out Boomers
(BmBOBers), the walking wounded serving as textbook cases of every running
related injury ever diagnosed. It may have taken us vets
20-25 years or more of hammering away at workouts and races, but eventually the
mileage embedded in our legs reached a critical
total. At that point, maintaining consistent training became all but impossible.
Performances got embarrassingly slower than our PRs
from the old glory days. Our form started looking lousy with weak, tight, little
pitter-patter strides.
As Exhibit A of this syndrome, let me admit this: it ain’t easy to keep a heart
young while relying on old legs. If it sounds like
I’m exaggerating a bit too much, believe me I’m not. I had a fellow coach video
tape me as I ran my 100 meter strides a few years
ago, and, ouch, it was painful to watch. I was running repeat 100s in the low
20-second range and they felt just as fast as they did
40 years ago when I could do them in 12+ seconds. With one look at that tape, my
self- image aged 40 years. The runner in my mind’s
eye went from young, good looking and fast to old, ugly and, even worse, slow. I
kept asking myself, "How could anyone running 5:20
mile pace, look so slow? Who is that weak, tight, old geezer wobbling down the
track?"
More...from Running Times Magazine at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=5868


10. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
"Be prepared to tackle new training discomforts. A little discomfort will lead
to a life-changing journey."
-Chicago-based coach Jenny Hatfield
* Injury Prevention
The quadriceps muscles are arguably the most important muscles for running. Your
"quads" provide much of the power when you push off
with each step. Keep your quads in perfect working order by doing the following
stretch after every run.
Prop your left foot up on a chair or low bench placed behind you. Stand up
straight and keep your hips back by tightening your
abdominal muscles. Bend your right knee and slowly lower your body until you
feel a good stretch on the front of your left thigh.
Hold for 60 seconds then switch legs and repeat.
You may think that being a runner excuses you from doing any extra
leg-strengthening work. But if you're interested in faster finish
times and fewer injuries, you might want to reconsider now!
* Performance Nutrition
Rhubarb
A member of the buckwheat family, is a great source of fiber. Rhubarb stalks
contain approximately 2.5 grams of fiber in a 1-cup
serving. And it's 80 to 90 percent water so your body benefits from the extra
fluid
Try this rhubarb smoothie recipe: Mix 3 cups fresh, raw rhubarb stalks (be sure
to remove and discard the toxic leaves) with 1 cup
fresh or frozen strawberries, 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 cup honey. Put all the
ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Makes
about 4 servings; 134 calories per 2/3 cup.
* Editor's Advice
"Be a good parent--and run! Kids want to be like their parents and copy what
they do--that means parents need to set the example by
getting involved in physical activities. By concentrating on the positive
aspects of exercise, like family participation and fun,
exercising may lead to healthy lifestyles later in life."
-Carol Goodrow, RW kids running editor
* Training Talk
"As originally practiced, long, slow distance meant running slower miles between
difficult workouts. It fits perfectly into the
hard/easy training plan, and this remains its best use."
-From Amby Burfoot's Runner's World Complete Book of Running




11. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Why Sled Dogs Have Such Great Endurance
How can sled dogs run more than 100 miles a day for weeks on end, while humans
couldn’t possibly recover from such abuse of their
muscles? A study from Ohio State University shows why (Medicine & Science in
Sports & Exercise, August 2005). How long you can
exercise a muscle depends on how long you can keep stored sugar, called
glycogen, inside that muscle. Muscles burn carbohydrates,
fats and protein for energy during exercise. They get these sources from both
the bloodstream and from the muscles themselves.
However, when a muscle runs out of its stored sugar, it hurts, becomes more
difficult to coordinate and requires far more oxygen
than usual. So a limiting factor in how long you can exercise a muscle is how
much sugar you can store in a muscle, how quickly you
use it up, and how quickly you can restore sugar the sugar in your muscles.
Humans take a long time to restore muscle glycogen. Top marathon runners restore
muscle glycogen in anywhere from a day to several
days. This study shows that sled dogs can restore muscle glycogen almost as
quickly as they are fed. They were able to restore more
than 50 percent of their resting muscle glycogen after two consecutive 100-mile
runs even when fed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat
diet. Humans could never replace muscle glycogen that fast.
The only way that you can teach your muscles to store more glycogen and preserve
it better is to train by running (or cycling or
swimming) lots of miles and doing long depletion runs taking more than three
hours at least once a week. Doing too many depletion
runs will delay recovery of muscle glycogen so that you will not be able to do
the very fast short interval runs that teach your
brain and muscles how to run faster.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Will blood pressure drugs interfere with my running program?
A: The beta blocker drugs used to treat blood pressure and heart problems can
markedly impair your ability to exercise, according
to a study from Switzerland (European Journal of Applied Physiology, October
2005). How hard you can exercise is limited by the
ability of your heart to pump blood from your lungs to your exercising muscles.
Beta blockers markedly reduce blood flow and oxygen
supply to muscles. Beta blocker brand names include Toprol, Inderal, Blocadron,
Coreg, Inopran, Levatol, Pindolol, Sectral,
Tenormin, Timolol Trandate, Zebeta and Bisoprol.
Beta blockers are prescribed to treat people who have had heart attacks, heart
pain, heart failure, rapid heart beat and atria
fibrillation. However, even though many physicians prescribe beta blockers to
treat high blood pressure, there is no data show that
they prevent heart attacks in healthy people. If beta blockers interfere with
your ability to exercise, ask your doctor if you can
take other types of medications such ace inhibitors, angiotensin receptor
blockers or calcium channel blockers. Better yet, control
your blood pressure with diet (http://www.drmirkin.com/heart/8614.html)
From www.DrMirkin.com


12. Food for fitness - training for a marathon:
By Larissa Musgrave, LRD dietitian, Young People’s Healthy Heart Program, Mercy
Hospital
The right fuel and the right amount of it are as important as the training
schedule that is followed. Paying special attention to
the food you eat is needed for endurance training.
Requirements
Women in training: 2,000-3,500 calories
Men in training: 2,500-4,000 calories
Energy requirements may be substantially lower for those who are expending fewer
calories (sedentary). Everyone should consume a
proper ratio of nutrients:
* 55-60 percent carbohydrates from grains and grain products, fruits, and
vegetables
* 10-15 percent protein from meat, poultry, fish, legumes (beans), eggs, nuts,
seeds, and dairy foods
* 20-30 percent fat from added fat (oil, butter, margarine) or hidden fat (meat,
cheese, eggs, nuts, seeds, dessert/snacks)
More...from the Times-Online at:
http://www.times-online.com/articles/2006/05/09/news/06health.txt


13. Is inflammation holding you back?
The muscle soreness and joint pain you experience after workouts are more than
just a nuisance. They're symptoms of post-workout
tissue inflammation, which slows recovery, limits fitness gains and even causes
overuse injuries.
By better managing post-exercise inflammation, you can recover faster, enhance
your training adaptations, perform better in workouts
and competitions and possibly avoid injuries.
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is an immune system response to tissue damage. Its purpose is to
remove cellular debris from the site of damage and
initiate repair. There are three phases of the inflammation response.
First, blood accumulates at the site of damage, which causes the classic
symptoms of swelling, heat and stiffness that are
associated with inflammation. Next, specialized white blood cells called
neutrophils migrate to the injured area and absorb the
debris of damaged cells.
Finally, other cells known as macrophages accumulate at the site of damage to
complete the clean-up process and stimulate tissue
regeneration.
The good
Inflammation is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, when a significant
injury occurs, inflammation heals it and also
produces symptoms of pain and stiffness that discourage activity during the
healing process.
A much milder inflammation response occurs after normal workouts in which we
don't suffer any serious injuries. Every workout causes
microscopic damage to muscle fibers; the inflammation process repairs this
damage during the following recovery period, which begins
about two hours after a workout and typically resolves after 48 hours.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12914&sidebar=13


14. Fluid loss in triathlon doesn't harm elite athletes:
Athletes competing in an Ironman triathlon can experience some dehydration
without developing a dangerous increase in the body's
core temperature or impairing performance, a new study shows.
The report is the first in which Ironman athletes' temperatures have been
evaluated throughout a race, rather than after they have
completed competition.
Currently, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and other groups
recommend that athletes replace all fluid lost during
exercise to maintain performance and prevent dehydration and overheating, Dr.
P.B. Laursen of Edith Cowan University in Joondalup,
Western Australia and colleagues note in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
But recent studies have suggested that some
dehydration may not interfere with performance.
To investigate, Laursen and colleagues monitored core temperature and hydration
in 10 male triathletes competing in an Ironman event
in Western Australia. The average age was 34 and all of the athletes had
completed at least one previous Ironman competition in less
than 10 hours and 30 minutes. Each swallowed a device known as a core
temperature pill that allowed their temperature to be
monitored remotely throughout the race.
More...from Reuters at:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-05-1\
0T172239Z_01_COL062517_RTRUKOC_0_US-FLUID-LOSS.xml&a
rchived=False
[Multi-line URL]


15. Fab bean or has-been?
The legume is healthful but, scientists say, it's no magic bean. Too much, some
add, might pose risks.
WHEN soy burst onto the Western food scene in the early 1990s, the possibilities
for the bean seemed boundless. The protein-packed
legume had potential to prevent breast cancer, increase bone mass, alleviate hot
flashes. It seemed to lower cholesterol, and thus
to help prevent heart disease.
Millions of dollars were poured into research, and technologists plopped soy
into every food imaginable. They ground it into
burgers, hot dogs and sausages (Tofurky was born). They processed it into
cheese, milk and ice cream. Manufacturers added it to baby
formula, and baristas foamed it into lattes.
Purists consumed soy in its traditional Asian forms — as tofu, tempeh or edamame
— while hard-core health nuts sought out soy
protein powder or isoflavone-packed supplements.
But 15 years later, with ever more soy products available in the grocery store
and conspicuous soy consumption a cultural shorthand
for "Hey, I'm health-conscious!", the tides are turning against the Asian wonder
food.
Call it the "soy backlash."
A crop of books and articles are now warning about the dangers, not benefits, of
the bean.
Soy now has its very own tell-all, penned by a certified nutritionist: "The
Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite
Health Food."
It's being tracked by an international watchdog group, the Soy Online Service,
whose mission is to "uncover the truth about soy" and
inform consumers about "the plethora of criminal and dangerous lies that issue
from the soy industry."
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/nutrition/la-he-soy8may08,1,7325497.story\
?coll=la-health-nutrition-news


16. Dietary supplements: Who takes what and why?
By Stephen Cheung, Ph.D. - PezCycling News
We hear so much in the media about ergogenic aids and dietary supplements that
many misconceptions can arise. Through the grapevine,
we all think everybody is taking lots of supplements, but is that reality? A
Canadian study is one of the first to explore dietary
supplement use across a wide range of athletes.
Vast market and grey areas
One of the fastest growing segments of the athletic market in the past decades
has been the dietary supplements market. From simple
multivitamins to complex amino acids to sports drinks, the market has simply
exploded in variety. This has been fueled by both
marketing forces, such as the growth of nutritional retailers, and the increase
in recreational athletes wanting to get the most
from their training.
Unfortunately, the darker side of dietary supplements is the potential to morph
into illegal performance-enhancing products. As we
all know, there have been many high-profile cases of athletes testing positive
for a banned substance where it has been demonstrated
to be caused by supplement contamination. This has led to it being the
"automatic" defense of any athlete testing positive.
Where this truly becomes problematic is that athletes of all levels become leery
of dietary supplement use because of its link with
positive tests or doping scandals. My position has always been that athletes
should be informed about the risks and benefits of
supplements, and to use them as appropriate but with clear information.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=12971


17. Getting to the core of exercise:
A stability ball by any other name is still a stability ball. We've got Swiss
balls, physio balls, Resist-a-balls, exercise balls,
fit-balls, flexibility balls. And they've bounced around physical therapy
clinics for years. But these days, the inflatable orb has
become a hot ticket in fitness circles.
"Everybody loves the ball," says Melanie Brogan, fitness director for the
Downtown Athletic Club at One Bigelow Square. "It doesn't
really matter how young or old; how experienced or inexperienced. That's one of
the benefits of working out on the ball. It's very
versatile."
Stability ball work can help improve balance, strength, coordination and
flexibility, according to the American Council on Exercise,
a San Diego-based nonprofit that promotes safe and effective exercise.
The ball can replace a weight bench during strength training. It can raise one's
heart rate during cardio workouts. It can be used
to enhance the benefits of core-burning yoga and Pilates sessions
More...from the Tribune-Review at:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/living/family/s_450968.html


18. After The Marathon:
You made it. You finished a marathon.
Whether it's your first or your fiftieth, the feeling is still the same:
exhilaration, which, at some point, gives way to the tired,
achy feeling that inevitably comes from having logged more than 26 miles in a
single stretch.
Too often we try to ignore what our body is telling us and carry on with our
regular training. This inevitably leads to that flat,
''out-of-shape'' feeling, illness, or worse, an injury that sidelines you for
weeks or even months.
Take it easy
Rest — which many athletes consider a four-letter word — is one of the most
important components of a successful training program.
Endurance events such as a marathon pose special challenges in replenishing
hydration levels and fluid stores, repairing/remodeling
cellular disruption in skeletal muscle and regaining a sensible mental drive.
Other factors, such as environmental conditions (hot/cold, calm/windy,
humid/dry), terrain (hilly/flat), intensity, and your own
physical state (rested or fatigued, trained or untrained) also may affect the
recovery process.
More...from ACE Fitness at:
http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts_display.aspx?itemid=64


19. Athletics: Time for a Break:
By: Dave Holt
Baseball fans know more than most people that life often throws us a curveball.
Sometimes we have to adapt our goals for the year.
2,006 was a planned easy year for me, as I wanted to rest the body in readiness
for racing 50 year olds next year, I just hadn’t
envisioned such a long rest phase.
Noticing a groin pain 16 weeks ago, which became worse when attempting tempo
pace speed running, I took myself to an MD type to be
assessed for a groin strain verses hernia. The talented fellow said I had both,
and then the surgeon said that the Inguinal area was
so weak on the other side that I may as well get both sides done in one go to
avoid surgery in the relatively near future. Thinking
about the possibility of missing my 51 or 52 year old season, getting both
hernias done seemed like a good deal. One down time, one
sick leave, one recovery period.
To rest the adductor strain, I went immediately to gentle cross training on the
elliptical machine for 20 minutes most days and
weights twice a week while waiting 5 weeks for my other interests to allow me to
have the out-patient surgery. Thus I kept leg
strength, aerobic fitness and sanity pre-op.
Furthermore, though primarily for the adductor, I promised myself not to run for
an additional 4 weeks after the surgery. Hmm.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060511_Holt_Break.html


20. RunnerGirl.com Nutrition:
High-Protein Myth: You may lose some weight by eating a high-protein diet, but
don't count on having much energy for running.
High-protein diets don't supply your body with enough carbohydrates to fuel your
running. These diets often suggest cutting your
carbohydrate intake, which forces your body to use protein to make sugar for
brain fuel. As a result, you develop what's called
ketosis, a partial breakdown of body fats, which ultimately increases fluid
loss. Although you lose weight the first week of your
diet, it is mostly water weight. A better way to lose 10 to 15 pounds of fat is
by increasing your weekly mileage by 5 to 10 miles.
Combine that with protein control and cutting back on serving sizes and snacks
and you will burn an extra 500 to 1,000 calories a
week resulting in a loss of 1 to 2 pounds of body fat.
Chocolate: Dark chocolate contains high levels of catechin, a type of
antioxidant believed to prevent heart disease and cancer. A
recent study from the Netherlands found dark chocolate contains more of this
healthful substance than tea.
Watch Out for Salt: A diet high in sodium may double your risk of developing the
most serious type of cataract, say researchers from
Australia. Protect your eyes by choosing from the wide variety of
clearly-labeled "low sodium" and "no salt added" foods.
Weight Loss Tip: Jot it Down. Having trouble dropping those last few stubborn
pounds? Then start a food journal. Many have had a
great deal of weight loss success by simply documenting what they eat in a daily
food journal.
Benefits of Olive Oil: Research suggests that a diet that emphasizes cooked
vegetables and olive oil may reduce the chances of
developing rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease that results in inflammatory
changes to the joints, most often the hands, hips
and knees. The research was done among the population of southern Greece by a
team led from the University of Athens Medical School.

More...from Runner Girl at:
http://runnergirl.com/nutrition.shtml


21. CORE: What is it good for?
“Tighten your core”, “fire your core”, and “keep your core stable”. If you
workout at Body Mechanics, chances are that you’ve heard
these statements more than once. But do you really know what they mean?
The term “core” is rather trendy right now within the fitness industry, however
most of the focus still being on the “six-pack abs”.
But if you, or your trainer, believe that the core means the “abs” you are
missing the boat.
The term “core” can be defined in two ways, general and specific. The general
definition includes the muscles of the abdominals and
vertebral column. The muscles of the abdominals include: the rectus abdominis,
external obliques, internal obliques, and transverse
abdominis. The rectus abdominis are the most superficial layer, or the “six-pack
abs”. The next layer down is the external obliques.
Under these lie the internal obliques. Together these two muscles make-up the
“love-handle muscles”. The deepest layer in the
abdominals is the transverse abdominis. The muscles of the vertebral column that
are generally included in the “core” are: the
erector spinae, and the quadratus lumborum. The erector spinae are the large
“low-back muscles” that run along-side the spine. The
quadratus lumborum are the muscles that run deep next to the erector spinae.
While these muscles are indeed included in the ”core”, at Body Mechanics we have
taken it a step further and included several other
muscle groups in the “core”. These include: the multifidus, the adductor muscles
of the legs, the iliopsoas, the gluteal muscles,
and even the quadriceps and hamstrings. The multifidus muscles are the small
muscles that run from vertebrae to vertebrae in the
spine. Iliapsoas muscles are more commonly known as the hip flexor muscles and
attach from the thigh to the lower lumbar vertebrae.
The adductor muscles are on the inside of the thigh or “groin” muscles. The
gluteals include the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius,
and gluteus maximus. Collectively these are the “buns”. The quadriceps and
hamstrings include the muscles of the front and back of
the thighs respectively.
Great, now you know what muscles are included in the core, but why is the core
so important? Basically no human movement can occur
without the core being engaged. Try this: from a seated position, place a hand
on your abs. Now stand up. Notice that the abs
contract? That’s the core stabilizing the upper-body so that you don’t tip over.
More...from Body Mechanics at:
http://www.bmechanics.com/Content/953


22. From Running Times:
* Training Tip of the Month - Progression Runs Get You Ready to Race
In the May issue of Running Times, Lornah Kiplagat was quoted as saying,
regarding training, "Just keep fit. When you have a race,
do more speed—then: done." The question many runners have, however, is "What
type of speed?" While extensive research has been done
to answer that question, and a professional coach could advise you on specific
paces and distances for every phase of your training,
a good place to start is a type of workout done by many African runners nearly
every day: the progression run.
Essentially a progression run means speeding up as the workout goes on. Key to
the process is starting slowly -- very slowly. Kenyan
runners who can complete a marathon in sub-five-minute-mile pace are known to
start runs at eight-minute-plus pace. Depending on the
type of workout you want, you can either speed up gradually throughout the run
(one-third easy, one-third steady, one-third at tempo
pace, for example), or you can run easy for most of the run and finish very
fast, working different systems.
Progression runs provide a simple, fun way to introduce speed, keep the
proportion right between a majority of easy, aerobic work
and some faster work, and reinforce the practice of starting easy and finishing
strong; a strategy which will result in both more
enjoyable races, and your best times.
Details of the physiology and strategies of progressions runs are available on
Running Times Online at
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=4862
--Jonathan Beverly, Editor in Chief
* Medical Corner - Pain Behind Toes
Q: I had to stop running because of pain behind the second and third toe that
radiated to the ball of the foot. It had gotten to the
point that even standing and walking was painful. I have recently tried to begin
running again after a long hiatus, but I feel the
problem sneaking up on me again. Is there anything I can do? I wear a cushioned
sneaker with a decent toe box.
A: It sounds to me like you have a classic case of Morton’s neuroma, which is an
inflammation of the nerve tissue between the second
and third, or third and fourth toes. The pain from this inflammation can cause
burning and numbness in the toes and the ball of the
foot. More women than men develop Morton’s neuroma, probably from wearing high
heels and shoes with a narrow toe box. Extra weight
can also be a contributing factor.
As you’ve probably discovered, the symptoms can come and go, depending on the
kind of shoes you wear and your level of physical
activity. You seem to have taken all the right steps in helping to deal with
your symptoms: wearing cushioned shoes with an adequate
toe box and taking time off from running.
However, since you seem to be experiencing a recurrence of symptoms, it’s
probably time to go see a doctor about your problem. A
health care professional will work with you on selecting the best footwear,
perhaps adding a metatarsal pad or orthotics. He or she
may also recommend anti-inflammatory medication and perhaps even an injection of
cortisone to reduce inflammation and swelling. Most
Morton’s neuromas will respond to this type of treatment, but occasionally
surgery is required to resolve the problem. The
procedure, which is ordinarily done under local anesthesia, creates more space
for the nerve to occupy and will usually solve the
problem permanently.
--Candace Karu, Editorial Director
* Q & A
Q: I'm a 36-year-old who ran competitively in high school and college but then
stopped for several years and resumed running at 32.
My best marathon (3:10) came 3 years ago, on 3-4 days a week of training (30-35
miles). Since then I've gradually upped that to
45-55 in 5 to 6 days a week. I do long runs every other weekend (up to 22 miles)
and speed work once or twice a week. Since I ran
the 3:10 I've run five marathons, all 3:22 or worse, and dropped out of the last
two. My 5K to half marathon times have been
gradually improving each year but I can't seem to maintain pace beyond 20 miles
in the marathon.
A: I am wondering about the weather conditions of your recent marathons? Was it
over 65 degrees, or was it high humidity or windy in
any of these marathons?
In my first five marathons I had one with good weather conditions! Of course, we
live in a period with an overemphasis on Marathon
Records! This came about as the sport went professional. So we all feel this
kind of emphasis today unless one is a novice runner or
simply uninterested in competitive racing. Lie low. You are on track, and the
hard work you are doing is the right kind of training
for the marathon. Aim for low humidity races and only race if you feel rested
and "hungry" for the race. Lastly, it's my belief that
the best preparation for a marathon is racing, especially 10K and LONGER
distances. In the 3-month period before your Marathon, aim
for half a dozen races; four of them 15K to half marathons. It sounds like you
are succeeding in your training for these distances,
which means your marathon time will come!
If you do race, stick to one speed session per week. That is all I used to do.
Sometimes I would pick up my pace on steady pace days
too....especially closing the run over the last 2-3 miles. Lastly, are you
refueling with sports drinks as you marathon? And easing
into the pace? See you at the races. Nice going in your comeback!
--Bill Rodgers
* If you haven't seen it already, be sure to visit the newly redesigned Running
Times Online. We've kept all the articles and
information from the old site, but added a powerful search function, daily news
updates, national calendar, and much more. All at
www.runningtimes.com!


23. Don't let fear-based training sabotage your next race:
There are many different philosophies and strategies on how to train athletes
for a triathlon. My strategy for assembling a training
plan varies, depending on the individual athlete, and I consider the athlete's
race goals, current fitness and athletic history to
develop a plan.
For self-trained athletes, I believe it's critical to establish your training
strategy and map out a training plan so you'll have a
clear path to race day. If you don't have a plan, it's easy to succumb to
fear-based training.
Fear-based training takes different forms for different athletes. Let's take a
look at a few examples of how fear-driven training
can get you into trouble.
I've signed up for this event, now I really need to get in shape
Fear-based training puts you into panic mode and has you doubling or tripling,
at minimum, the aerobic training volume you've been
doing in the past few weeks.
Sometimes signing up for an event is just the kick in the pants you need to get
fit again. To get started on your training journey,
take a look at your training log to determine how much aerobic training you've
been doing in the past four to six weeks.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13016


24. Cramp: every runner's nightmare:
Dr Lindsay Weight
If there is one thing every runner dreads for its devastating potential to
reduce winners to also-rans and silver medals to bronze,
it's cramp. So everybody has their favourite cramp theory and their favoured
remedy but lets consider some facts first.
* Cramp is more common in males than in females
* Cramp is associated both with the duration and intensity of exercise: the
further and the faster the more likely cramp is to
occur.
* Onset of cramp is usually after 30km in a distance race, regardless of running
speed.
* Cramp during exercise is almost always in the large muscles that span two
joints: the hamstrings, quadriceps and calf
(gastrocnemius) muscles.
* Cramps are often initiated by a change in speed, gradient or running surface.
A classic example is cresting a hill and then
accelerating downhill or running on to grass after hours on the tar.
* Some people are simply more cramp-prone than others.
More...from iAfrica.com at:
http://health.iafrica.com/fitness/running/cramp.htm


25. Digest Briefs:
* Question:
For the most part, my workouts go pretty well, but I occasionally have trouble
reaching my desired exercise heart rates. I feel like
I am working as hard as I should be, but my heart rate won’t come up like it
normally does. Why does this happen and what should I
do about it?
Answer:
Fatigue is the most common cause I see contributing to depressed exercise heart
rates. When you are overly tired, your heart rate
will not rise as it normally does. Sometimes my athletes tell me they are having
difficulty keeping their heart rates elevated
during their intervals, or that the effort required to raise their heart rates
is way out of proportion with the target heart rate
itself. Their brains are asking for more power and their bodies are not able to
fill the order. Fatigue can contribute to getting
sick and is sometimes a symptom of being sick, but you can be fatigued and still
be healthy. I usually lighten the training load and
integrate more rest to keep them from overtraining or becoming ill.
Carefully planning your recovery activities between hard workouts is the best
way to prevent depressed exercise heart rates. As
workouts increase in intensity, you have to increase the amount of recovery time
you allow between them. As a general rule, I
recommend at least 48 hours between workouts that are done at or above lactate
threshold, including sprint workouts. Short,
high-intensity or maximal intervals cause big recovery problems because people
underestimate the amount of stress they put on their
systems. When you allow for more complete recovery between workouts, each
workout is much more effective.
In addition to allowing adequate time between hard efforts, you need to pay
careful attention to your nutrition. If you give
yourself time to recover, but fail to provide the tools your body needs for
recovery, you will continue to exhibit symptoms of
fatigue. In the course of a long endurance ride or a short, high-intensity
workout, you deplete your body’s stores of muscle
glycogen, the most accessible form of usable energy for exercise. You have to
replenish your glycogen stores after hard workouts in
order to complete the next one. You should also make sure to consume protein to
facilitate muscle development and repair, as well as
improved immune system function. Studies by Edmund Burke, Ph.D., indicate that
consuming carbohydrates and protein together in a 4:1
ratio provides the most effective means of replenishing glycogen and supplying
your body with the materials for muscle recovery.
What to do about it?
There are two typical reactions to a depressed exercise heart rate: Ignore it
and push on, or call it a day and go home to rest.
Endurance cyclists have a penchant for suffering, and many see it as a disgrace
to bail out of workout, regardless of the weather,
broken equipment, illness, or fractured bones. The inability to raise your heart
rate the way you normally can is a warning from
your body that something is not right. Heed the warning, call it a day, cruise
home and eat a nice meal while you relax on the
couch. Your fitness will not suffer because of a missed workout here and there,
but pushing through fatigue in training means you
will be worn out when you can least afford it, during competition.
From Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/CTS_transporter.html

* That Little “Twinge” Should Be Telling You Something
By Coach Matt Russ
Our bodies are amazingly adaptable and have an enormous capacity to recover.
The problem with athletes is that they often do not
listen to their bodies. We are trained to ignore pain and persevere; this is
the nature of endurance. But this ethic can easily
work against us. Orthopedists will tell you athletes often come to see them
only when they can no longer train. They may have been
training injured for weeks or months. This point is generally far beyond what
the average person succumbs to, and means the injury
has progressed that much further.
Your body usually gives you an indication it is being asked to do what it is not
ready for, especially in regards to overuse
injuries. You may feel a little “twinge” of pain that turns into a dull ache.
At first it may go away when you exercise, then the
area becomes stiff or sore post exercise. Next, you aware of the pain when
exercising- then all the time, even at night.
This process may often be avoided with a day or two off, some ice, a few
anti-inflamatories, and a reduced training load. Running
is the most injury prone sport of triathlon and simply changing the remainder of
your week to swim and bike work outs may give an
impact injury the space it needs to heal with little implication to your overall
goals.
An injury or potential injury really only has two directions to go in; it will
get better or worse. And the direction it progresses
may be largely up to you. Endurance athletes repeat movements over and over
thousands of times in a single work out. If there is a
small strain, sprain, or tear it is unlikely it will get better under this type
of stress. Your body is a machine like any other,
it will break down. Listen to it when it tells you it needs a break.
From the Sport Factory at:
http://www.thesportfactory.com/


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

May 13, 2006:
ACS Sole Burner 5K - Appleton, WI
http://www.soleburner.org

Fifth Third River Bank 25K - Grand Rapids, MI
http://www.53riverbankrun.com

Göteborg Half Marathon - SWE
http://www.goteborgsvarvet.com/goteborgsvarvet/sv/

Race In The Park 5K - New Britain, CT
http://www.hartfordmarathon.com

Remington 10K Race - Mississauga, ON
http://www.mississaugamarathon.com

May 14, 2006:
Forest City Marathon - London, ON
http://www.forestcityroadraces.com

Fredericton Marathon - NB
http://frederictonmarathon.ca

Honolulu Triathlon - HI
http://www.honolulutriathlon.com

International Peace Marathon of Kigali - Kigalai, Rwanda
http://www.kigalimarathon.com/showHTML.aspx?page=default.htm

iWelt Marathon Wuerzburg - GER
http://www.wuerzburg-marathon.de

Kirkland Half Marathon & 5K - Kirkland, WA
http://www.kirklandhalfmarathon.com

Mainz Marathon - Gutenberg, GER
http://www.marathon.mainz.de

Karstadt Marathon - Ruhr, GER
http://karstadt-ruhrmarathon.de

Mississauga Marathon - Toronto, ON
http://www.mississaugamarathon.com

Prague International Marathon - CZE
http://www.pim.cz/index.php?action=main&lang=en

June 24, 2006:
RunnersWeb5K.com Race for Women - Ottawa, ON
http://www.runnersweb5k.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:
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
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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


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