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. RunnersWeb5K.com Race for Women
The first RunnersWeb5K.com Race for Women was held on June 24th at Ottawa's
Aviation Museum. Canada's #2 ranked marathoner, Nicole
Stevenson, won the race in 16:28.
Thirty-five women ran under 20 minutes. For a race report and photos go to:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060624_RunnersWeb5K.html.
Stay tuned for an announcement regarding next year's race.
More....
http://www.runnersweb5k.com

2. 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. The new Garmin 305 is now available with FREE shipping.
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Through a partnership with HDO Training, the Runner's And Triathlete's Web now
offers Interactive Training.
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4. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
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5. Toronto Waterfront Marathon. September 24, 2006.
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/

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


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THIS WEEK:

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RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS

* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey.
Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport athletes and a member of the OAC Racing
Team and X-C Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public
Health and works in the field of nutritional epidemiology as a Research
Associate with the University of California, San Diego. Her
column index is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/SK_index.html

* Carmichael Training Systems
Carmichael Training Systems was founded in 1999 by Chris Carmichael.
From the beginning, the mission of the company has been to improve the lives of
individuals we work with through the application of
proper and effective fitness and competitive training techniques. Whether your
focus is recreational, advanced, or you are a
professional racer, the coaching methodology employed by CTS will make you a
better athlete. Check the latest monthly column from
CTS at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html.

* 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
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* Peak Running Performance
Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running Newsletter. Rated as the #1
Running Publication by Road Runner Sports (Worlds
Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the serious / dedicated runner.
Delivering world class running advice are some of
running's most recognizable athletes including Dr. Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach),
Scott Tinley (2 Time Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3 Time Olympian) and many more.
This bi-monthly newsletter has been around for over
13 years, and in the past two it has been awarded the "Golden Shoe Award" in
recognition of it's outstanding achievements.
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unningperformance.com
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* WatsonLifeSport
Lance Watson is "Just The Winningest Coach in Triathlon". He has been coaching
triathlon and distance running since 1987. Over the
years, Lance has coached some of the most successful athletes in the sport of
triathlon and duathlon.
Check out the Lance Watson Online Article Index at:
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Running Research News:
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THIS WEEK'S PERSONAL POSTINGS/RELEASES:
We have ONE personal posting this week.

ONE:
Hey everyone!
The folks at BOB Strollers donated one of their amazing Ironman Edition Sports
Utility Strollers for me to auction off to benefit
the Challenged Athletes Foundation; a not-for-profit organization that provides
funding for adaptive sports equipment and training
to people with physical disabilities. I have been raising money for the CAF
since 1999 and have brought in over $375,000 on their
behalf.
On Saturday, July 29th, I will be raffling off the BOB Stroller. If you'd like
to purchase a raffle ticket, I will be selling
tickets through my website (www.ponyexpressrun.com). 1 entry is $1, 7 entries
are $5, 15 entries are $10, 40 entries are $20, and
150 entries are $50. The stroller is brand new (in the factory sealed box) and
can be viewed on my website. To enter, simply
visit www.ponyexpressrun.com and click on the BOB Ironman Stroller Giveaway link
on the bottom of the page.
I appreciate your support!
Good luck!
Bobby Bostic
mailto:bobby@...


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Athletics: Go Vertical for Running Power:
2. Triathlon: What to do AFTER Your Big Race
3. Multisport from NYC Triathlon Consulting Services: The Skinny on Fat Loading
4. Interval Training on the Bicycle
5. The Amazing Power of Aerobic Training
Why you don't need speed work to train for the half-marathon.
6. A Sweetener With a Bad Rap
7. Negative-split strategies
8. Eat these foods at the first sign of a niggle
9. RoadID testimonial
10. The Athlete’s Kitchen: Sports Nutrition News
Here’s some of the research presented by exercise physiologists, nutritionists
and other health professionals at the American
College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting (Denver, May, 2006)
11. Men take note: osteoporosis is not just a disease for women
12. What You Drink May be Ruining Your Diet
13. The correct bike position for triathlon
14. First Endurance Ultragen: Storming the Glycogen Window
15. Sleepless in the sack: Missing amino acid may be the reason
Psychiatrist believes pumpkin-seed extract is the answer, but others aren't so
sure.
16. Dieting may fight ageing in muscles, study finds
17. The new rules of hydration
18. Adjust Your Diet Daily For Weight Maintenance
19: Multisport: Endurance Recovery
20. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
21. Elliptical Trainers Give Your Joints a Break
22. Once an Athletic Star, Now an Unheavenly Body
23. Ask The Experts:
Do you still get butterflies before a race? Use mental imagery to harness your
competitive side and gain a performance edge. Also,
Learn how to distinguish "good" pain from "bad" pain and how to push through.
And try these tips to stay motivated when you find
yourself struggling to get out the door.
24. The Diet Detective: Bicycling -- the road to Thinsville
25. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which is the most challenging endurance event
Adventure Race
Decathlon/Heptathlon
Ironman Triathlon
Marathon
Tour de France
Ultra-Marathon?"

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:
"Are you following the Tour de France?"
Answers Votes Percent
1. Yes 39 78%
2. No 11 22%
Total Votes: 50


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: Athletics Weekly - from Descartes Publishing
Descartes Publishing are a leading publishing company specialising in the area
of athletics. Our dedicated team of reporters and
contributors are responsible for bringing the best in depth coverage of the
sport from the UK and the rest of the world.
Athletics Weekly
- the world's only devoted weekly track and field magazine
Athletics Weekly is the world's only devoted weekly track and field magazine
designed to keep you informed about all the best news,
reports and results from Britain and around the world.
The magazine, affectionately known as 'AW', has been an institution within the
sport since the 1940s and is still the No.1 choice
for the true athletics fan.
In the summer it offers the very best in-depth coverage of the track and field
season focusing on not only the major championships,
such as the Olympic Games and World Championships, but also the best in schools
and grass-roots athletics.
The spring and autumn seasons concentrate on the big road races, including the
BUPA Great North Run and Flora London Marathon, while
the long winter campaign looks toward the cross country season and the exciting
indoor campaign.
Besides our unrivalled coverage of all the top events, the magazine also offers
a sharp and detailed news service focusing on the
top athletes and issues which rage within the sport.
We provide all the important fixtures as well as the most comprehensive service
of results from around Britain and the rest of the
world.
The magazine also contains detailed features focusing on the top names in the
sport as well as regular coaching advice, product
reviews and plenty of debate and opinions via our popular letters column.
Make sure you buy Athletics Weekly to keep up to up to date with the best the
sport has to offer.
Visit their web site at:
http://www.athletics-weekly.com/aboutusB.htm


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


BOOK OF THE WEEK: Running : Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology in Practice
By Frans Bosch, Ronald Klomp
This richly illustrated work presents innovative training concepts based on
recent scientific research and extensive knowledge of
the real-world training. It provides running trainers, physiotherapists and
physical exercise teachers with the latest insights into
the training runners. The methods presented here are based on biomechanical
principles. Scientific material is translated into
practical techniques in the discussion of topics such as running technique,
energy supply processes and adaptation through training.

Unique approach to the material makes this book an excellent resource for a
beginners introduction or an advanced trainers review.
Coverage features the most up-to-date information available.
Logical organization of information makes the text easy to use.
About the Author
Frans Bosch, HBO, BSc, Trainer and Coach, Royal Netherlands Track and Field
Association (KNAU), The Netherlands; and Ronald Klomp,
DRS. MSC
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0443074410/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books


THIS WEEK'S FEATURES:

1. Athletics: Go Vertical for Running Power:
By Coach Brendon, EnduranceCoach.com
The Secrets to Strength and Power Training for Running
Ever marveled at the sheer power that some runners can produce? Being a strong
powerful runner requires more than huge mileage and a
lean frame.
Arthur Lydiard discovered a great method for developing strong fast runners in
the 1950s and 1960s. Lydiard discovered that lots of
running made you fast, he then discovered that lots of hill running made you
faster and finally he discovered that hard hill running
and intervals on the track made you faster still. This basic strategy has not
been improved markedly since. Coaches have refined the
amounts and the timing of these types of training but the basic principle is
still the same. Muscular Strength and Muscular
Endurance are more important for ½ Marathons and Marathons due to the muscle
fatiguing nature of the distance, and compared to
shorter events, they do not max out oxygen transport.
Why do hills work?
Hills work in two ways, firstly they work by increasing the cardiovascular load
on the body. That is, you are forced to transport
more oxygen than you would normally. When running uphill you don't jar your body
as much so the risk of impact injury is less. The
second way that hills work is through improving muscular strength and muscular
endurance. Hills allow you to overload your running
muscles in a very specific manner. Steeper hills or higher speeds are like
heavier weights in the gym, just very specific. Thus you
make your legs bullet proof for running.
· The shorter the event the more important steeper and shorter harder hill
efforts become
· The longer the event the more important longer steady hill efforts become
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060704_ECoach_Hills.html


2. Triathlon: What to do AFTER Your Big Race:
From: Jason Gootman, MS, CSCS & Will Kirousis, BS, CSCS
Racing presents a tremendous challenge to you—your body and mind. What you do
after your race has a tremendous impact on how well
you recover from your race. Here’s a sequential list of what to do after your
race and why…
1. Cool down & hydrate. As your race finishes, do some nice and easy walking
around. No need to overdo it with the cool-down. Riding
or jogging are not necessary and can add additional fatigue. While walking
around, find some water or sports drink and begin the
hydration process. Easy walking and hydrating are the first priority after your
race. This helps you to replenish the water your
lost through sweating during the race. Sports drinks have a slight advantage in
this role. Their electrolyte content and optimal
carbohydrate content are designed to increase the rate at which water is
delivered to your tissues.
2. Recovery drink. The next thing to do is to consume a recovery drink. The main
purpose of this is to replenish your spent glycogen
stores as rapidly and efficiently as possible. The ideal for this situation is
an over the counter sports supplement. One example of
a product on the market is Endurox R4. These formulas combine carbohydrates and
protein in the optimal ratio for glycogen
re-synthesis and uptake speeding recovery. Typically 3-8 hundred calories worth
is right depending on body size. A good rule of
thumb is 1 gram of carbohydrate and 0.3-0.4 grams of protein per kilogram of
body weight. Other good options include yogurt,
Yoo-Hoo, and non-fat chocolate milk—all of which contain good ratios of
carbohydrates to protein for recovery. Consuming a recovery
drink takes advantage of the very responsive hormonal state you are in after
hard efforts and aids in glycogen (muscle and liver
sugar) replenishment and protein resynthesis. This practice has also been shown
to decrease the circulation of inflammatory,
catabolic hormones like cortisol, and increase the function and amount of the
anabolic hormones insulin, growth hormone, and insulin
like growth factor.
3. Hydrate some more. Now you should just hang out, relax, and socialize
enjoying the post-race activities. But while doing so, it
is a good idea to keep a water bottle with water or sports drink near by to
continue to replenish lost fluids.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060703_THS_After_the_Race.html


3. Multisport from NYC Triathlon Consulting Services: The Skinny on Fat Loading:
By Marcus A. Garand, RD
During each triathlon season there is always one nutrition topic that really
grips me. This year has been no exception and it hit me
early: Fat loading. Yes, that’s right, fat loading. A couple of weeks ago, a
client of mine was getting ready for a very long
cycling session and he asked me to develop a pre-race nutrition plan for him to
trial. We dialed in his hydration and fuel regimen
and I detailed a carbohydrate loading schedule for him to follow to the gram.
Later that day he emailed me the following question:
What about fat loading?
In the past, I had approached fat loading with a high degree of skepticism. This
time I took a different angle. Could fat loading
actually work? Could it somehow improve performance? Under what circumstances
would it make sense to fat load? With fervor, I began
a quest to review the current research on record to see if I could find even
partial answers to these questions.
Could fat loading actually work?
Trained muscles have higher levels of enzymes that promote the potential use of
fat as a part of the energy mix during exercise than
do untrained muscles. This enzymatic difference is particularly enhanced in the
endurance athlete. Intramuscular triacylglycerol
(IMTG), or stored fat, in working muscle is a critical energy supply during
endurance exercise lasting greater than 90 minutes at a
sustained intensity of 70% V02 max or less. Trained muscles of the endurance
athlete have more stored fat. This is an adaptive
mechanism in order to conserve the limited supply of carbohydrate stores.
Perhaps increasing dietary fat could promote a greater
carbohydrate sparing effect! It could actually work if there was a “fat
adaptation” to the fat loading diet regimen.
In the initial studies on this topic, researchers compared a high fat diet to a
high carbohydrate diet. Both diets were equal in
calories and the subjects consumed the respective diets for 5 days. On Day 6,
subjects consumed a high carbohydrate diet and fasted
overnight. The next day, the subjects cycled for two hours at 70% V02 max and
then completed an exhaustive 30-minute time trial.
Only water was consumed during the exercise session. The researchers found that
the fat loading diet had a glycogen sparing effect.
Although there was not a statistically significant difference in the time trial
performances between the two diets, there was a
trend toward improved performance on the fat loading diet.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060703_NYTCS_Fat_Loading.html


4. Interval Training on the Bicycle:
When training for the bike leg, consistent stressing of the body's lactate
production mechanism is the key to achieving a faster
race pace on the bike and a smoother transition from the bicycle to the run. If
you don't know too much about the lactate threshold,
click here for a previous article on the topic. Unfortunately, it can be
difficult to train at lactate threshold for long periods of
time, such as the time required for completion of a 40K Olympic distance cycling
time trial. This is because the body buffers lactic
acid by combining lactic acid's hydrogen ions with carbon dioxide (for
subsequent transport in the bloodstream and removal as carbon
dioxide at the lungs). To blow off this CO2 and retain a physiologically normal
blood pH, you must maintain a level of ventilation
that can be quite difficult. In addition, that acidic burn just *hurts*!
A good approach to this paradox is to spend small amounts of time at lactate
threshold. By pushing at the proper intensity for 2-5
minutes, you can gradually increase the body's tolerance to lactic acid and the
body's ability to utilize lactic acid as a fuel,
while training the body to work at higher levels of energy output while
producing less lactic acid.
As your lactate tolerance rises, the goal is to eventually "string together"
these short lactic acid threshold intervals to produce
one long race pace intensity effort. Here's a sample interval training workout
series that will allow you to achieve this
adaptation:
1. Find a trail, route, or road that is relatively flat (occasional rolling
hills are OK). Warm-up spin for 10 minutes.
2. At the first mile marker after completing the warm-up, increase by 2-3 gears
and stand to sprint as hard as possible for 30 pedal
strokes. This will initiate production of lactic acid.
3. After the standing sprint, sit and reduce the gearing so that 90RPM or more
is possible. Maintain the "burn" in your legs,
pushing at 85-95% all the way to the next mile marker. 4. Depending on how fast
you're riding, this will be a 1.5 to 4 minute
interval.
5. As you reach the next mile marker, gear down and maintain the same cadence,
working at about 55-65% effort. This is your rest
interval, and it will last all the way to the next mile marker.
6. Repeat the standing sprint to seated time trial effort for the next mile.
Perform 4-10 intervals, switching back and forth from
lactate threshold to easy pedaling every mile.
7. Do this workout once per week for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, choose one of the
intervals and perform a 2:1 work rest interval,
meaning that you will push hard for 2 miles instead of just 1 mile (on only
*one* of your intervals) and rest for the normal 1 mile.
So, if you've been performing 8 intervals, with eight 1 mile sprints and eight 1
mile rests, you'll now be performing one 2 mile
sprint and six 1 mile sprints, with seven 1 mile rests.
7. The next week, reduce the interval count, again linking two 1 mile segments
together. Continue to keep your rest intervals at
just 1 mile.
8. Continue to "string together" your lactate threshold efforts every week. By
the end of 2-3 months, you'll be able to maintain a
much higher race pace intensity, without burning out before the end of the time
trial.
Remember to allow adequate rest and recovery after intense interval training,
and you'll see great performance results! If you want
more workouts, or want your entire season's workouts for every single day of the
entire year to be designed based on your personal
schedule, limitations, or goals visit www.pacificfit.net, and check out the
triathlon coaching options, or contact
mailto:elite@... for more information.
From Pacific Elite Fitness


5. The Amazing Power of Aerobic Training:
Why you don't need speed work to train for the half-marathon.
Here’s a scenario you might recognize: You’re a marathoner, one of those
dedicated types who crank out a quality performance every
spring and fall. It is what you do; it is who you are. This spring, however,
just as you were getting ready to start the quality
portion of your training, you got sick, or injured, and missed six to eight
weeks of training. You now only have eight weeks left
before your goal race, and you are sorely out of condition. Or, maybe you (or
your wife) had a baby this year, or you got a
promotion, or maybe endured a record cold, icy winter and you just didn’t get
out and get in the miles you needed to start serious
marathon training in time.
What do you do? First, you downgrade to the half marathon, as you know you can’t
get ready for the marathon and you want to keep
aiming toward a goal you feel you can run reasonably well. Then you find a
training program, such as the one we published in our
June 2004 issue, now available on www.runningtimes.com. But, you notice quickly
that not only is it 12 weeks long, it also begins
with the assumption of eight to 10 weeks of base, and launches right into speed
workouts in the middle of a 45-mile week. You know
you shouldn’t do that in your current condition, even if you could manage to
approximate the schedule.
Or, maybe you’re a new racer, and you’ve done some good solid aerobic weeks, run
a few 10K’s and set your sights on a half in a
couple of months. But you’ve never done speed work and a program that calls for
days with 10 X 800m @ 5K pace and 20 X 200m @ 3K
pace not only looks like a page of undecipherable calculus formulas to you, but
scares the bejeebers out of you as well. What to do?
Let me start by saying, "Take heart." Indulge me by letting me tell you a story.
Last fall, right in the middle of cross country season and shortly after he had
run a 15:35 to win a big high school invitational
5K, one of my high school runners suffered a devastating case of mono. He got so
sick that he wound up missing 30 days of school.
Early in the illness, he lost six pounds of lean body mass because his glands
were so swollen that he couldn’t swallow solid food
for several days. By the time he was back in school, we had only a couple of
months to get ready for his last outdoor track season.
This was not the time to rush his re-conditioning. He was simply too weak and
puny to do anything but spend the entire 10 weeks
building back his endurance. I prepared a plan to hit between 450 and 500 miles
with a gradual buildup to the last weeks of 60, 54,
70, 60 and 80 miles. Every single one of these miles was to be easy, aerobic
running. Here I’m using the word "running" rather
loosely, but the word "easy" very strongly. He finished off all of his runs with
several 100-yard strides in an effort to also
balance all the "bad" bio-mechanical side effects of that short, choppy,
long-slow-distance range of motion. I wanted his legs, but
not his lungs, ready for the transition to some threshold training that would
build up his stamina and help prepare him to race
himself into shape during the track season.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=8284


6. A Sweetener With a Bad Rap:
EVERY time Marie Cabrera goes shopping, she brings along her mental checklist of
things to avoid. It includes products with
artery-clogging trans fats, cholesterol-inducing saturated fats, MSG and the
bogeyman du jour, high-fructose corn syrup. That last
one, she says, is the hardest to avoid unless she happens to be shopping in the
small natural-foods section of her supermarket.
As she pushed her shopping cart down an aisle of the Super Stop & Shop near her
hometown of Warren, R.I., recently, Ms. Cabrera, a
retired schoolteacher, offered her thoughts on why she steers clear of
high-fructose corn syrup: "It's been linked to obesity, and
it's just not something that's natural or good for you."
This is the perception that many consumers have of the syrup, a synthetic
sweetener that has replaced plain old sugar and become a
ubiquitous ingredient in American processed foods. High-fructose corn syrup
provides the sweet zing in everything from Coke, Pepsi
and Snapple iced tea to Dannon yogurt and Chips Ahoy cookies. It also lurks in
unexpected places, like Ritz crackers, Wonder bread,
Wishbone ranch dressing and Campbell's tomato soup.
In the news media and on myriad Web sites, high-fructose corn syrup has been
labeled "the Devil's candy," a "sinister invention,"
"the crack of sweeteners" and "crud." Many scientific articles and news reports
have noted that since 1980, obesity rates have
climbed at a rate remarkably similar to that of high-fructose corn syrup
consumption. A distant derivative of corn, the highly
processed syrup was created in the late 1960's and has become a hard-to-avoid
staple of the American diet over the last 25 years. It
spooks foodies, parents and nutritionists alike. But is it really that bad?
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/business/yourmoney/02syrup.html


7. Negative-split strategies:
By Gale Bernhardt
Many world records, in various sports and at all distances, are accomplished
with a negative-split performance. This means to
execute the first half of the event at a slower pace than the second half of the
event.
Perhaps in your own experience, you've found that a negative-split performance
helped you achieve a faster average time in swimming,
cycling or running than did a bust-your-gut from the get-go strategy. Why does
it work this way?
Those of you that watch old "I Love Lucy" reruns on cable or perhaps were around
in at a time to watch when it was a new show might
remember a story of Lucy and Ethel working in a chocolate factory. Lucy and
Ethel did a fine job of boxing chocolates when the
production line was at a manageable speed.
As the production line increased to speeds beyond what Lucy and Ethel were able
to manage, Lucy tried to manage the abundance of
chocolates by stuffing them into her mouth and everywhere else. This strategy
worked for only a short time before chocolates ended
up strewn around the room. The pace was too fast and the whole place ended up in
a mess.
Our bodies work similar to Lucy's production line in that we can maintain a
given pace for a certain length of time, whether the
speed is anaerobic or aerobic. Pace, or speed, and heart rate are non-invasive
tools to estimate when our bodies are producing
greater amounts of energy anaerobically and when energy is produced primarily by
aerobic means.
Metabolic acidosis
Anaerobic efforts, or very high speeds, are maintained for short periods of time
for several reasons; including the main source of
fuel for this type of effort is carbohydrate instead of oxygen, fat and
carbohydrate (aerobic effort.) In our case when the speed of
the production line (our pace), becomes excessive, lactic acid, a byproduct of
anaerobic metabolism, begins to build up in the
tissues. This is called metabolic acidosis.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13212


8. Eat these foods at the first sign of a niggle:
As I write this, I'm in a wheelchair. It's the latest result of numerous knee
surgeries to repair my cartilage.
I wish I could say that I injured my knee doing something athletic and
impressive, such as running a killer speed workout, squatting
six times my body weight at the gym, or even winning the three-legged race at a
summer picnic.
But I did it in my kitchen. I slipped on a phantom slick spot that mysteriously
evaporated within seconds. I landed on my
knee--hard. I didn't know it at the time, but that quick, hard fall punched a
hole in my cartilage.
Ever since, I've been researching every conventional (and unconventional) way to
heal my knee. I've had state-of-the-art surgery.
I've taken supplements that I used to scoff at. I've changed my eating habits.
(No, I didn't give up chocolate.) In the process,
I've made some startling discoveries about nutritional remedies that can help
heal injuries and even prevent them in the first
place. Here's what's been working for me.
Eating for Injury Prevention
There's no doubt that smart training helps prevent injuries. But so will a
wholesome diet, filled with foods that will enable your
body to mount a strong defense against muscle strains and tears. Here are three
nutritional strategies to prevent injuries:
More...from Runner's World South Africa at:
http://www.runnersworld.co.za/nutrition/archive/aug_04.php


9. RoadID Testimonial:
Road ID made a difference in my life!
"I was at approx. 7.5 miles of the 10 mile race...when the cramp (side stitch)
that I had started to nauseate me ...all of a sudden,
I could not breath as my throat was closing off. My running partner could hear
the sound of my wheezing - then, no breathing at all.
The next thing I remember are people hosing me down and rubbing ice all over me
- their faces all in my face...questions that I
couldn't answer....then my body started shaking all over ...they all thought I
was dehydrated (but, I was drinking water and
carrying a water bottle).
The EMTs quickly found my Road ID and took my info. Then, I was put into an
ambulance and taken, lights and sirens, to the hospital
- it seemed to take forever. I was shaking and cramping all the way and my head
hurt so badly. I will never know for sure what
happened to me that day, but I am very thankful that I had my Road ID tag on.
Those that were around to see the tag used in such a
way have since asked me about it and plan on ordering for themselves and friends
of theirs. I wanted to be sure that you knew your
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knew my emergency and medical info but ME. I couldn't really speak for
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Audubon, PA
Check out RoadID at:
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


10. The Athlete’s Kitchen: Sports Nutrition News:
Here’s some of the research presented by exercise physiologists, nutritionists
and other health professionals at the American
College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting (Denver, May, 2006)
The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS, RD June 2006
Sports Nutrition News from The American College of Sports Medicine
Want to fuel smarter, train better and improve your sports nutrition knowledge?
Then keep reading! Here’s some of the research
presented by exercise physiologists, nutritionists and other health
professionals at the American College of Sports Medicine’s
annual meeting (Denver, May, 2006).
Childhood obesity
The rapid increase in childhood obesity is worrisome because so many obese kids
are developing diabetes and heart disease—conditions
associated with old age. One solution is to add exercise back into daily life. A
safe and socially accepted way to do this is to
organize a Walking School Bus in your neighborhood; a parent or hired college
student chaperones the group of children.
Exercise can also be added into the school curriculum, but many schools are
reluctant to do so. The assumption is less class time
will contribute to lower test scores. Not the case. When students ate a free
school breakfast, participated in 15 minutes of
teacher-led activity each morning, and had mid-day recess before lunch, their
test scores improved plus the teachers had 58% fewer
discipline referrals.
More...from Beginner Triathlete at:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=905


11. Men take note: osteoporosis is not just a disease for women:
Although many people think of osteoporosis as a woman's disease, it is also a
serious health problem for men. Losing height or
breaking a bone may be the first sign of osteoporosis.
According to Mandy G. Armentor, an assistant extension agent with the Vermilion
Parish LSU AgCenter Office, 2 million American men
have osteoporosis, and another 12 million are at risk for this disease. Experts
estimate that one-fifth to one-third of all hip
fractures occur in men and that symptomatic vertebral (spine) fractures occur
about half as often in men as in women.
Men have larger, stronger bones than women - a major reason why osteoporosis
affects fewer men than women. But after age 50, 6
percent of all men will suffer a hip fracture as a result of osteoporosis.
Despite the large number of men affected, osteoporosis in
men often is overlooked and not diagnosed.
Bone is living, changing tissue. Throughout life, bone is being removed and
rebuilt. During youth, bones grow in length and density.
Maximum height is reached during the teen years, but bones continue to become
denser until about age 30 when peak bone density is
attained. Then bones slowly start to lose density or strength.
More...from the Advertiser at:


12. What You Drink May be Ruining Your Diet:
Think you’ve got your diet under control? You may be gulping down hundreds of
unwanted calories without even knowing it.
“Believe it or not, more than 20 percent of our daily calories come from the
things that we drink,” says Susan Aaronson, M.S., R.D.,
wellness coordinator for the M-Fit Health Promotion Division at the University
of Michigan Health System. “In fact, the World Health
Organization recommends that people consume only about 10 percent of their
calories from liquids. So those extra calories from
liquid beverages are adding to American’s obesity epidemic, making it more
difficult for people to lose weight.”
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, about 136.5
million Americans are overweight. Of these people,
about 64 million are obese.
And for the millions of Americans who are trying to lose that extra weight, the
solution may not be in what you eat, but what you
drink, says Aaronson. To help you make healthier beverage choices – from soda
and sports drinks to fruit juice and milk – and cut
back on calories, Aaronson offers the following tips.
Soda
“Soda is full of sugar and empty calories, making it a major contributor to the
obesity problem in the United States,” says
Aaronson. ”If you chose to eliminate one can of soda each day, which contains
about nine teaspoons of sugar, you can lose about a
pound in one month; and over the course of a year, you can lose up to 15 lbs.”
And since it has no nutritional value, filling up on soda also prevents you from
getting calories from sources that do contain
essential vitamin and minerals. But if you absolutely can’t live without a soda,
Aaronson instead recommends drinking diet soda, or
reserving it only for special occasions.
Fruit and vegetable juices
Are you drinking ‘fruit juice’ or some beverage labeled ‘fruit drink’? The
difference can mean extra calories and few nutrients,
says Aaronson.
“Read the label carefully,” cautions Aaronson. “If a juice label says that it’s
‘made with real fruit juice’, it may actually
contain less than 10 percent of ‘real’ juice and about seven teaspoons of sugar.
The best juice drinks to pick are those that say
they contain ‘100 percent juice.’”
More...from Newswise at:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/521545/


13. The correct bike position for triathlon:
Without a doubt, the incorrect position on the bike influences your output in a
race and in training. You may be placing too much
strain on the hamstrings, knees, lower back, your aero position may not be as
efficient as possible-these are some of the problems
you could experience.
Dan Empfield is considered an expert in the triathlon world on issues ranging
from training right through to bike set up. These are
some of the questions he feels one needs to ask when setting up your bike for a
triathlon:
· Do you intend to spend a lot of time in the aero position or only
occasionally?
· How important is speed to you?
· Entry level or beginner triathletes.
· At this level, it is advisable to purchase a road bike where you can always
fit a clip on set of tri-bars. A complete time-trial
bike is expensive and not always practical as they can’t be used in bike races
nor in sprint distance triathlons.
· Saddle height
· This is so crucial to not only faster and more efficient riding but also from
an injury prevention perspective. All to often I see
novice cyclists riding with a saddle that is either too high or too low. In both
instances, they ask for trouble!
More...from Cycling News ZA at:
http://www.cyclingnews.co.za/Pages/Default.asp?More=The%20correct%20bike%20posit\
ion%20for%20triathlon&FeatureID=1989&SectionID=40


14. First Endurance Ultragen: Storming the Glycogen Window:
The hard training we do on the bike is only the stress that we impose, and is
only half of the training equation. To get the most
out of that hard training, we need to recover and let our body adapt and come
back even stronger. Ultragen recovery drink by First
Endurance can be a critical component of your recovery plan.
The Importance of Recovery
When I was younger, my ideal weekend consisted of pounding out hours and hours
on the bike each morning and then trying to do the
same the next day. I rather enjoyed that feeling of utter exhaustion in between
and at the start of following rides, and looked at
it as a sign of good training. It was only a few years and degrees later that I
put the training-recovery spiral together and
realized the importance of proper recovery, both physical and dietary, as an
important component of overall training.
Think of a rubber band analogy. If you want to have the hardest snap of the band
(training), you also need to pull the band back
(recovery) as much as you can. One does not exist in a vacuum without the other.
Dietary Recovery
You have probably heard of the following two terms bandied about before, but
let’s define two of the most important concepts in
dietary recovery:
1. Glycogen Window: Glycogen is the prime storage form for carbohydrates in your
body, and is the preferred fuel for high intensity
exercise. Unfortunately, it exists in only small amounts in your muscles and
liver. When you run low, you rely almost solely on oral
glucose (e.g., from a sports drink) to sustain high intensity exercise or else
you bonk. Therefore, the key consideration is
maximizing the rate at which your body resynthesizes glycogen after an
exhaustive workout. Research has demonstrated that your
body’s rate of resynthesis is at its highest during the first ~30 min or so,
hence the term “glycogen window” for this limited
opportunity to maximize your glycogen recovery.
More...from Pez Cycling at:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/default.asp?pg=fullstory&id=4066


15. Sleepless in the sack: Missing amino acid may be the reason:
Psychiatrist believes pumpkin-seed extract is the answer, but others aren't so
sure.
A Toronto psychiatrist believes he has the answer for people who can't get to
sleep at night -- a naturally occurring amino acid
that he has extracted from pumpkin seeds and turned into a drink mix.
Craig Hudson says the mix does not have any risk of dependency or addiction.
"You can get the same results with milk and honey, you
just have to drink about 20 glasses," he said jokingly.
By removing the amino acid called tryptophan, 20 milligrams per gram of protein
in pumpkin seeds, squeezing out the seeds' fatty
oil, and then mixing in just the right amount of dextrose (a sugar), Dr. Hudson
said, he has developed the natural sleep aid that he
hopes will become as common as multivitamins are today.
Tryptophan, discovered more than a century ago by Sir Frederick Hopkins, has
long been known as one of the body's fundamental
building blocks for stress management and a good night's sleep. The link between
tryptophan and sleeping soundly is that the amino
acid is only two metabolic steps away from melatonin, which our brains release
to help put us to sleep. During the day, tryptophan
is converted into serotonin, the chemical that is associated with an elevated
sense of calm, happiness and confidence.
When a Japanese pharmaceutical company broke into the U.S. market with a
synthesized version of tryptophan made from a genetically
altered bacterial culture, an outbreak of a disabling and, in some cases, deadly
autoimmune illness called eosinophilia-myalgia
syndrome was traced back to the contaminated drug. Canada, the United States and
most European countries pulled all pharmaceutical
grade versions of the medication off the shelves in 1989. It has been available
by prescription only sparingly since.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060704.wxhsleep04/BNStory/s\
pecialScienceandHealth/home


16. Dieting may fight ageing in muscles, study finds:
A successful diet may do more than just trim the waistline.
University of Calgary scientists say old-fashioned calorie counting could also
be the key to maintaining young muscles as we age.
In a study to be published this month in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological
Sciences, the researchers found that elderly rats on
a calorie-restricted diet had the muscle mass and function of much younger rats.
"It's the equivalent of an 80-year-old rat with the muscles of a 20-year-old
rat," said Russ Hepple, a University of Calgary
physiologist.
The study examined rats bred at the U.S.-based National Institute of Aging. From
a young age, the rats ate about 40% fewer calories
than normal, although their diet was nutritionally-rich.
Dr. Hepple's study -- the second in a series examining the effects of calorie
restriction -- found elderly rodents on the strict
diet experienced only a 20% drop in muscle mass and no loss of muscle function.
By contrast, rats eating a normal diet lost 50% of their muscle mass and 50% of
their muscle function at old age.
"We know [calorie restriction] extends life span. What we've shown is it also
maintains muscle function," said David Barker, a
post-doctoral student who worked on the research.
Indeed, scientists have known for years that reduced calorie diets extend the
life expectancy of rats by as much as 35%.
Dr. Hepple is still trying to understand why restricting calories helps ageing
muscles.
The study suggests restricted calorie diets preserve the function of
mitochondria -- which provide the body's cells with energy --
as the animals grow old.
The diets appear to help the aging rats rebuild and replace muscle.
Although cutting calories had a profound impact on rat muscles, Dr. Hepple said
he would not advocate the average person reduce
their food intake by 40%.
"The restriction of calories is so severe it's impractical," he said.
Instead, he said humans need to eat a healthy diet, refrain from overindulging
and remain active to maintain their muscles.
In the meantime, his research team will embark on further studies with
antioxidants, exercise and gene therapy to see if factors
other than fewer calories can lead to younger muscles in old age.
From the National Post at:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost


17. The new rules of hydration:
Remember when the only guideline for staying hydrated during exercise was to
drink -- and drink often? And plain water took the
podium as the perfect sports drink? Thanks to new insights on how our bodies
process fluids and other nutrients while we're working
up a sweat, the conventional wisdom on when and what to drink is evolving. And
although the rules may have changed, the objective
remains the same: improved performance and optimal health. Here's a look at the
old and new views on hydration.
Old: Drink ahead of your thirst.
New: Drink according to your thirst.
For years, sports nutrition experts advised athletes to drink "ahead of thirst,"
that is, to drink before getting thirsty and more
frequently than what thirst dictated during exercise. Experts warned that by the
time you feel thirsty, you've already become
dehydrated. However, recent studies show that being in this state of slight
dehydration has no negative impact on performance or
health.
For example, in a study from the Sports Science Institute of South Africa,
runners did three two-hour workouts while drinking a
sports drink at three different rates: by thirst (roughly 13 ounces per hour),
at a moderate rate (about four ounces every 15 to 20
minutes), and at a high rate (about 10 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes).
The study found no significant differences in core body temperature (rising body
temperature hastens dehydration) or finishing times
among the three trials. However, during the high-rate trial two of the eight
runners suffered severe stomach distress and couldn't
finish the workout, suggesting that drinking too much too often can cause
problems.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13225


18. Adjust Your Diet Daily For Weight Maintenance:
By Matt Russ & Ilana Katz
We are all creatures of routine and our diets are no exception. Time-strapped
athletes tend to gravitate towards the same foods and
supplements that allow them to fuel their bodies quickly and effectively. But a
proper training plan requires changes in training
intensities and durations throughout the day, week, and season. This means
variance correspondingly in energy expenditure daily,
weekly, and seasonally. Nutrition periodization is a hot topic right now. The
essence of this plan is to match your diet to the
specific requirements of the training phase you are in on the macro level. It
is equally important to make small modifications to
your diet on a daily basis to compensate for variances in activity factor and
caloric expenditure / use. The difference in energy
expenditure between a rest or recovery day and a heavy training day can be
enormous, and it may be necessary to cut calories on days
of reduced training. These small modifications to your daily diet add up and
are helpful in maintaining your proper race weight and
energy balance.
Less energy density
On rest days, your caloric expenditure is reduced, perhaps extensively, when
compared to a training day. As little as 100 unused
calories per day can add up big over time -- a weight increase of 10 pounds per
year. Body fat is ballast for an athlete and excess
body fat reduces performance and optimal power-to-weight ratio. To prevent
storing unused energy as body fat, replace dense
carbohydrate foods such as pasta, bagels, bread, and potatoes with lower calorie
carbohydrate snacks such as yogurt, cottage cheese,
fruits, and vegetables.
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://www.thesportfactory.com/adjustdaily.shtml


19. Endurance Recovery:
Intro: Talk to ten endurance athletes and you'll get ten different post-workout
recovery concoctions. Should you focus on protein,
vitamins, carbohydrates or simply purchase one of the many recovery products
that line store shelves and appear in magazine ads?
Most supplement ads tout 'maximum recovery,' but it's important to maintain
awareness of some key principles with solid clinical
research supporting their effects. Keep in mind that no supplement will allow
you to go from a sedentary lifestyle, or one with
limited training, to a 20 hour per week training schedule overnight. Gradually
increasing the volume and intensity of your training
will allow physical and physiological changes on the structural and cellular
level, which support strong performance increases. The
following recommendations can help you stay fueled during your scheduled
training program and during periods of high mileage and
intense training.
Recover from what?
Before getting into the importance of additional nutrients in recovery, we need
to ask the question, recover from what? Since
endurance athletes are involved with such varied workouts, there is no single
product or magic food that can supply what is needed
for all these workouts. Workouts and races come in many different lengths and
intensities, and two types of workouts in particular
are of utmost importance to recover from: glycogen depleting or maximum lactate.
A glycogen depleting workout is one during which
you have put in enough hours to deplete the glycogen stores in your working
muscles and are on the brink of bonking. A century ride
or a two and a half hour run at moderate intensity are good examples of glycogen
depleting workouts. During training sessions when
you exceed your lactate threshold (AKA anaerobic threshold), you are in the
realm of maximum lactate workouts. Characterized by
considerable lactate buildup in the working muscles, these workouts involve
repeat intervals nearing your maximum heart-rate
combined with a period of rest. You can see why it's important to know what you
are recovering from before you decide what to use
for recovery. Most other workouts do not need special recovery strategies as
long as duration and intensity are lower than the
workouts just described. Be wary of general recommendations that are entirely
too broad to be effective.
The following are the most important nutritional strategies to focus on for
optimal recovery. Remember that these focus entirely on
post-workout recovery. True nutrition recovery begins before a workout since you
want to make sure your fuel and fluid stores are
full prior to exercise (this helps to speed the post-workout recovery process).
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060706_ERB_Recovery.html


20. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Exercise Won't Hurt a Healthy Heart
In 1924, famous cardiologist Paul Dudley White claimed that "exercise can't hurt
a healthy heart". Over the years, several
poorly-controlled studies have shown that ultra-endurance
events, such a running a marathon, might impair heart function. Now a study
from Northwestern University shows that Dr. White is
still correct (Journal of the American Society of
Echocardiography, February 2006). The authors tested 45 patients before they ran
the Chicago Marathon and re-tested them one month
after the race. They demonstrated that the race had not caused any
abnormalities in heart function.
This does not mean that everyone can go out and run a marathon. People who have
damaged hearts can die from over-exertion. If you
are a middle-aged person who is thinking about starting a vigorous exercise
program, you should get a stress test, an
electrocardiogram done while you are exercising vigorously. Tests done while a
person is at rest often do not pick up blockages in
the arteries leading to the heart. If your stress test shows warning signs, you
may need further tests. If you pass your stress
test, the odds are strong that you can start your exercise program safely. Once
you have your doctor's approval, begin your
exercise program gradually to build up the strength of your skeletal muscles and
your heart over several months. Then you will be
ready to start serious training for your marathon or other endurance event.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Can dehydration be prevented by drinking sports drinks
instead of water?
No. Sports drinks contain a small amount of salt, but not enough to meet your
needs. A study in the British Journal of Sports
Medicine showed that you cannot replace salt lost through exercise exclusively
by taking salty fluids (April 2006). If you are
exercising for a long time in warm weather, you need to replace fluid, salt and
calories. Salty drinks taste awful, so none of the
popular sports drinks contain much salt. You need to eat salty foods along with
the beverage of your choice. Since thirst is a
very late sign of dehydration and lack of fluids during endurance exercise can
kill, all exercisers are encouraged never to wait for
thirst to tell them when to drink. By the time an athlete becomes thirsty during
a competition, it is too late to drink enough to
replenish the fluid loss without stopping to rest.
Many people fear hyponatremia (collapse or even death from too much water during
exercise), but sports drinks offer no advantage
over any other beverage. Hyponatremia is caused by excess fluid from any
source, not by lack of salt or calories. During intense
competition, athletes concentrate so hard on maintaining their pace that they
are unlikely to take in too much fluid. However,
novice athletes often run so slowly that they spend more time drinking than
pushing the pace. How much fluid should you drink? The
American College of Sports Medicine recommends about a quart an hour during
vigorous exercise. For a person who is not exercising
near his maximum, this could be too much. The person who is exhausted and
exercising significantly below his capacity probably
should take in only about a pint per hour.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Will the nonsteroidal pain medicines help me recover from a
workout?
Lots of athletes and exercisers take ibuprofen, an over-the-counter medication,
and other nonsteroidals to ease pain in their joints
and muscles. A study from the University of Florida (Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, May 2006) shows that nonsteroidal
drugs inhibit exercise-induced muscle growth and strength.
Athletes train by taking a hard workout and damaging their muscles. They feel
sore on the next day and exercise at reduced intensity
until their muscles are healed. When they feel
no soreness, they take a hard workout again. When muscles heal from the stress
of a hard workout, they are larger and stronger.
Damaged muscles release a healing prostaglandin called Cox-2, that causes muscle
growth and increased strength. Ibuprofen blocks
Cox-2 and therefore will delay or inhibit muscle growth. Pain medicines may
make you feel better, but at the cost of interfering
with the strength gains you are working to achieve.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


21. Elliptical Trainers Give Your Joints a Break:
I’ve been running for 32 years now, and I can’t imagine life without it. Just
this morning I was out with Max, my Australian
Shepard. We were jogging through long leaf pine forests in North Carolina. It
is an incredible way to start the day, and it puts
you into the right frame of mind.
But as the years go by and the miles of running accumulate, strains and pains
become more common. At times my back may be a bit
stiff, my knees or ankles may suffer from minor aches or my heel is a bit
bruised. It goes with the territory. Should I give up
running? I don’t think so! Although I am smart enough to know I need to make
some adjustments in my exercise routine.
I’ve started alternating my daily exercise (Actually I take Sundays off.), and
run 3 days a week and workout on a low-impact
elliptical trainer the other days. I’m sure most of you have probably tried an
elliptical trainer. They’ve become very popular,
particularly with aging baby boomers. Treadmills are still the #1 selling
fitness equipment, but elliptical trainers are gaining
with increased sales each year.
Low-Impact Workout
Why are elliptical trainers so popular? They offer two unique features, a
low-impact exercise, with an upper and lower body
workout. The low-impact exercise is appealing to both an aging population and
to individuals with injuries. Elliptical trainers
move in an elliptical motion. Consequently the impact to your legs, back, knees
and joints is greatly reduced.
When you’re running the impact of your stride can be as much as 2.5 times your
body weight. When you run on asphalt or concrete you
compound the problem. Treadmills help to some extent, by absorbing some of the
impact, but there is still that constant jolt to your
joints.
With an elliptical trainer there is no reverse, jolting motion. The shape of the
elliptical movement mimics the natural path of the
ankle, knee and hip joints during walking, jogging or running. Unlike a
treadmill, in which the foot of the user is continuously
lifted off of the running surface and then impacts that surface upon the return,
the foot and foot pedal of an elliptical machine
are in constant contact.
When you combine the elliptical motion with articulating foot pedals, pedals
that conform to your stride, you further reduce the
strain to your joints.
Upper Body Workout
The other feature of an elliptical trainer that make it so attractive, is the
ability to get both an upper and lower body workout
simultaneously. You not only workout more muscle groups, but when you exercise
on an elliptical you involve more muscle mass in
this aerobic activity. The upper and lower body workout of an elliptical
trainer utilizes the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes,
chest, back, triceps and biceps. By exercising more muscle mass you get the
following benefits:
* Improved fat mobilization
* Burn more calories in less time
* Build muscle endurance
* Reduced perceived rate of exertion
As a runner I am not suggesting you stop running. Max the dog would not be very
happy with me if I did. But for those baby
boomers, like myself, you may want to consider alternative forms of exercising.
This could help to guarantee your ability to run
and jog for years to come. And if you are currently suffering from strains or
injuries, you should consider exercising on an
elliptical trainer. The low-impact exercise will reduce the chances of further
aggravating your problem, and could accelerate you
recovery.
Fred Waters is author of the Elliptical Trainer Review site, where you will find
articles, a buyer's guide and helpful buying tips.
More...at:
http://www.fitness-equipment-source.com


22. Once an Athletic Star, Now an Unheavenly Body:
THESE days the thought of running makes Howie Zebersky cringe. As an all-state
runner from Long Island and a college competitor, he
used to stop at nothing to outperform his rivals. But Mr. Zebersky, who hasn't
laced up his sneakers in about a decade, knows that
he'll never run as fast as he once did, so what's the point?
John Deodato, 41, who played baseball every day as a thin high schooler, reached
265 pounds and decided to do something about it.
His new life includes 40 minutes of daily basketball drills.
"When you run at such a competitive level and come back to do it at a
recreational level, that is a hard transition to make," said
Mr. Zebersky, 32, who raced for the State University at Albany almost every
weekend of college. "With no goal, I find it hard to get
out there. There's nothing to shoot for."
Karen Potenziano, who was an all-American lacrosse player at Ithaca College in
upstate New York, feels the same. Without a reason to
train and no teammates to push her, Ms. Potenziano, 39, a mother of three from
North Yarmouth, Me., said, "I just can't seem to make
it happen."
The dirty secret among former high school and college jocks is that many don't
remain active as adults. In their glory days they
were the fittest among their peers. But as adults many are overtaken by nonjocks
who embrace fitness as a commitment to health,
forget the varsity letter.
Onetime elite athletes often languish once organized competition is over and a
coach isn't hounding them, sports scientists and
exercise physiologists say. Many are burned out. Others become discouraged when
their lackluster fitness can't compare to their
highlight reels. Running on a treadmill in a sea of anonymous gym-goers doesn't
compare to the thrill of being an m.v.p. on campus.
"Basically, they've been to the mountaintop and now they're on these little
hills, and that is difficult to deal with," said Dan
Gould, the director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan
State University in Lansing.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/fashion/06Fitness.html


23. Ask The Experts:
Do you still get butterflies before a race? Use mental imagery to harness your
competitive side and gain a performance edge. Also,
Learn how to distinguish "good" pain from "bad" pain and how to push through.
And try these tips to stay motivated when you find
yourself struggling to get out the door.
I've heard that using mental imagery and visualization can give you a
performance edge. I'd like to give it a try, but how do I
decide what to imagine?
Athletes of all levels can benefit from incorporating mental imagery into their
training. By using all your senses--sight, sound,
smell, touch, even taste--you can create or re-create a specific situation.
Although "visualization" and "mental imagery" are
sometimes used interchangeably, visualization is only one part of mental imagery
and technically, refers only to seeing yourself
doing something.
Your experience level determines what you should imagine. If you're a veteran
racer, you may want to re-create a "peak-performance"
experience. Think of a race that really went well, one in which you maintained
your focus, pushed yourself, felt strong, and were
happy with the result. Use this experience as a blueprint for your mental
imagery.
Remember how you felt physically, psychologically and emotionally during the
race, and try to re-create that experience as closely
as possible in your mind. Repeat the same words that helped you focus and
perform well in your ideal race. Athletes often use terms
such as "fluid," "smooth," "effortless," and "floating" to describe how they
felt during a great race.
If you haven't had a peak-performance race yet, then imagine the race you hope
to have. Feel yourself performing at peak level, and
try to " hear" the sounds around you--the roar of the crowd, the rhythm of your
breathing, the slap of your feet hitting the road,
the purr of your bike, the splash of the ocean.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13245

24. The Diet Detective: Bicycling -- the road to Thinsville:
By Charles Stuart Platkin
With gas prices and bellies both swelling, why not solve two problems with one
simple tool -- a bike? Biking is one of most
efficient calorie burners around.
Riding at a leisurely 10 to 12 mph, you can burn 423 calories in an hour. Up
that to 14 to 15.9 mph, and you'll burn about 700
calories.
Biking is fun, builds muscle, and is a great way to get some exercise while
you're running errands -- and it's also environmentally
sound. Here are a few tips to get started.
Getting a bike
"People have lots of ideas about what they're going to do with their bikes, and
as a result they can get stuck with the wrong bike,"
says Bill Strickland, executive editor of Bicycling magazine.
He suggests making an honest assessment with your past behavior in mind. Think
of the one thing that you're sure you will do with
your bike and buy it based on that. Commuting? Racing? Bike paths? Touring? (See
also: Find the right bike)
"There are many categories and many components for bikes. What's your budget?
The most expensive and elaborate bikes are unnecessary
for the vast majority of cyclists," says Richard First, president of POMG Bike
Tours of Vermont. Also, consider the climate and
terrain where you live, because people often bike where it's convenient. Also,
make sure you get a color you like, adds Strickland.
You can spend anywhere from $200 to $10,000. Place more value on a good frame
and wheels, and don't worry so much about the
components.
More...from Active.com at:
http://active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13172


25. Digest Briefs:
* Racing in the Heat
Dealing when the temperatures rise by D3 Head Coach Mike Ricci
Across North America, racing in July, August and early September can be
challenging due to the temperature. Racing during these
months usually means you are performing in hot and humid conditions. If you
train in this type of environment, that is optimal for
conditioning your system to the stress. For those of us coming from a milder
climate there are a few things we can do to prepare to
race our best to race well.
The most important thing you can do is learn your sweat rate. Before you run,
weigh yourself without any clothes. Then go run for
one hour, take in whatever water you need, and then come back and re-weigh
yourself. Your difference in weight, plus the addition of
the water or fluid you drank will give you how many pounds you lost during your
run. Divide that number by your starting weight and
you will know your fluid loss per hour. If you start a log, figuring out
percentage lost at what temperature will help you monitor
your fluid intake much better. By doing this test regularly in different temps,
you will start to see how your body reacts with
varying temperatures. Knowing that on a hot day you lose 2% of your body weight
would be a big advantage over others who don’t keep
track. You will know you need to take in ‘x’ ounces of water, which will
eliminate your chance of dehydration. Of course don’t drink
too much as that can cause hypnotremia – and that can be deadly.
Another idea is to hit the sauna – after your swim practice or weights is good
time. Just get in there two-three times per week and
get used to the heat. I know athletes that ride their trainers in the sauna but
I don’t think that is necessary. One more option is
to train indoors, with a long sleeve shirt on, no fan and with the doors/windows
closed. If you want to take it to the next level,
throw some wet clothes in the dryer and viola you have humidity too. Training
with the long sleeves is something I have done with
success for a number of years.
Lastly, in order to prepare yourself to race in a hot and humid environment,
make sure you are properly hydrated and even add a
little salt to your meals to help you retain more water. You can train with salt
tablets or electrolyte pills too – these have been
used successfully for years by many athletes in longer, hotter races. Whatever
you do, try it in training before you try it in a
race.
Just like preparing for a hilly course, we train in the hills. So, to race well
in a hot environment, we need to simulate those same
conditions. Don’t get caught unprepared. Use the tips listed here to help you
overcome the more extreme conditions you may be faced
with racing in this season.
Michael Ricci is a USAT Level III certified coach. He can be reached for
personal coaching at mailto:mike@....

* On the Scales: Weighted Building Blocks for Healthy Bodies
It is never too early to feel the burn.
Children who were given weighted blocks to play with used more calories and had
higher heart and respiration rates than they did
when they used ordinary blocks, researchers have found.
The researchers, from Indiana State University, suggested that their findings
might be significant with rising obesity rates.
"The benefits of physical activity to children are substantial," they wrote,
"but the amount of time spent in physical activity
decreases as children age."
One solution, they said, may be to make some tasks more physically demanding. "A
subtle way to do so," they said, "would be to
slightly change the task requirements of already common activities performed
either during play or instructional situations."
The researchers, Prof. John C. Ozmun and Lee W. Robbins, a graduate student,
presented their findings at recent conferences of the
American College of Sports Medicine and the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
For the study, five boys and five girls, ages 7 and 8, took part in sessions in
which they were asked to carry blocks across a room
and stack them no more than two high for more than 10 minutes. At one session,
the blocks were simply hollow cardboard. At the
other, the blocks had small steel blocks glued inside that brought their weight
to three pounds.
As the researchers encouraged the children to keep moving the blocks, equipment
measured their heart and breathing rates.
In addition to helping healthy children keep a bit fitter, the researchers said,
weighted toys may also be useful for children with
disabilities in which muscle weakness is a problem.

* Strengthen Your Medius For Injury Prevention
by Steve Elton
One of the most neglected muscles in a runner or triathletes training program is
the gluteus medius. This fan shaped muscle is
located just behind the hip joint and just in front of it's bigger brother the
gluteus maximus. Even though the main action of this
muscle is to move the leg away from the midline, its primary functional role is
to stabilize the pelvis while standing on one leg.
The hip joint tries to maintain constant forces from all the muscles that cross
its borders. During repetitive stresses, such as
running, the gluteus medius can fatigue and other muscles have to contract to
maintain the proper forces about the hip joint. These
compensations often are the main culprits of iliotibial band problems,
piriformis syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries.
A simple way to strengthen the gluteus medius is through an exercise I call
'kicks'. Stand sideways, an arms length away from a wall
and place your hand on the wall to balance. Now lift the opposite leg parallel
to the floor with the knee bent at 90 degrees. At a
moderate pace, alternately bend and straighten the knee 10-15 times keeping the
leg parallel to the ground. Repeat to the opposite
side, and do 3 repeats to each side.
This can be a challenging exercise and can also be used as part of your dynamic
warm-up prior to running. Alternately, you can do
the 'kicks' in between other exercises to really stress endurance strengthening
of the gluteus medius. Doing this exercise, and
incorporating lateral movements into your strength training regularly, will help
to prevent some of the overuse injuries mentioned
above.
Steve Elton is a physical therapist for Body Pros, strength and conditioning
specialist, coach, and triathlete. He received his MS
from the University of South Carolina and holds certifications through the NSCA,
NASM. Steve is a former elite triathlete with
racing experience from sprint to Ironman distance.
From the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com/

* From Runner's World:
- Editor's Advice
Knowledge is power. "Before a race, get to know the course if you don't
already. Run part of it as a warm-up, drive it in your car,
or ask a few race veterans to describe it for you in detail. Knowing what's in
store can help calm your nerves." -Katie Neitz, RW
senior editor
- Training Talk
"The home crowd roared for Liquori, who grew up just an hour away. Waiting for
Ryun's breath on his shoulder, Liquori accelerated,
but Ryun stuck with him and they ran like that to the finish, dueling, with
nothing but a lifetime's reputation at stake." -From Run
with the Champions by Marc Bloom



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

July 1 - 23, 2006:
Tour De France
http://www.letour.fr
EuroSport.com
http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2006
Outdoor Life Network
http://www.olntv.com/cyclysm
More Links...
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_tdf2006.html



July 8, 2006:
Belmar Five-Mile Run, Belmar, NJ
http://www.belmar5.com/

Meech Lake Triathlon - Gatineau Park, PQ
http://www.meechlaketri.ca

Red Dress Run for Women 5K, Hartford, CT
http://www.hartfordmarathon.com/Races/Events/Womens.cfm

July 9, 2006:
Boilermaker 15K - Utica, NY
http://www.boilermaker.com

Copperman Marathon, Copper Mountain, CO
http://www.delicatelaser.com/

Edmonton ITU World Cup - Edmonton, AB
http://www.triedmonton.com
ITU
http://www.triathlon.org

RYKA Iron Girl Boston 10K/5K, Boston, MA
http://www.irongirl.com/

Virginia Mason Team Medicine Seafair Marathon / HM - Bellevue, WA
http://www.seafairmarathon.com

July 11, 2006:
Athletissima Track Meet - Lausanne, CH
http://www.athletissima.ch/index_en.aspx


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

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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
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A running and triathlon resource portal
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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

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SportsShoes in the UK
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Triathlon Meetup
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