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
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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.
The 2007 race date will be Saturday, June 23, 2007.
The prize money will be increased from $3,000 to $5,000 for open and masters
runners. The team competition will be expanded to
include Open, Club and University Teams.
More information will be posted at:
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.
http://store.runnersweb.com

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

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

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

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

7. Triple Your Endurance
The Ultimate Triathlete Training, Time-Shaving, Injury Healing, Mind Focusing,
Endurance Boosting System Perfect for the Beginner
Triathlete up to Advanced.
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THIS WEEK:

New affiliates:

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Check out TotalWellness's mp3 Personal Training Program - only 5% the Cost of
Regular Personal Training!
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Your chance to win free shoes for life!
Contest rules:
For US residents with US address only. No purchase necessary.
One winner will be selected in a random drawing on August 31st, 2006 from all
entries received by August 27, 2006. (Pearl Izumi
reserves the right to extend the entry deadline to a later date. The deadline
extension date will be posted in this section of the
contest rules no later than August 15, 2006.)
One Pearl Izumi® prize package will be awarded consisting of: 4 pairs of running
shoe, per year, for the life of the winner. Prizes
will be redeemed through the Pearl Izumi's web-site www.pearlizumi.com. The
winner will be given a custom Pearl Izumi on-line
account with USD credit towards 4 pairs annually of Pearl Izumi® running shoes
that they can select solely through the web-site.
Prize is non-transferable.
Sign up at: http://www.pearlizumiactive.com

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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.
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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 posting this week.

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Looking After Yourself!
2. Sheila's Nutrition Digest Vol 12 - Grabbing a Healthy Byte on the Internet: A
Guide to Finding Nutritious Recipes
3. Health and Fitness: Age-Related Muscle Changes
4. In the heat, treat your feet right
5. Twice as Strong
In Southern California, Western medicine teams up with acupuncture, yoga and
herbs to fight both disease and pain. Finally, this
hybrid is going mainstream.
6. A Water Tale For All Seasons: When It Comes To Hydration And Exercise, The
System Works
7. Real foods for race day: Supplement the supplements
8. Cyclists Warm Up: Which warm-up for cyclists?
9. Sports drinks or water : what is the best choice for sports performers?
10. The Go Slow(er) Approach to the Run
11. Desert journey teaches lessons on healthy living
12. Does Testosterone Build a Better Athlete?
13. Tall Tales in HR Training
14. VO2 Max and How to Increase It
15. Nausea and distance running
16. First Steps by Gordon Bakoulis
A Handful of Female Marathon Pioneers Inspired a Generation of Women Runners.
17. “Concrete vs. Asphalt” - Which is the Better Running Surface?
18. Want to beat the heat? Cool off first
Going against the conventional wisdom of warm-up.
19. Start Your Engine - by Liz Applegate Ph.D.
20. From Running Times
21. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Winning Ways
22. From Runner's World
23. All Athletes: Peaking and Heart Rate by Dirk Friel
24. Extreme Exercise Can Slow the Heart
Finding may have implications for cardiac research, experts say.
25. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Has the threat of terrorism caused you to reconsider flying to competition
sites?"

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:
"Should television be able to dictate the timing of finals in the Beijing
Olympics?
Answers Percent
1. Yes, the North American TV audience is important 34%
2. No, the athletes needs should come first 55%
3. No opinion, don't care 11%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: UltraRunning Online
The Voice of Ultra Running since 1981.
UltraRunning is devoted to covering the sport of long distance running, also
known as ultramarathoning, or, as we prefer,
ultrarunning. How far is "a long distance"? The standard definition is anything
past the marathon, or 26.2 miles. However, the
shortest standard distance that is considered an ultra is the 50 kilometer
distance, or 31.07 miles. Other standard distances are
the 50 mile, 100 mile, 100 km, and a series of events that last for specified
time periods such as 6 hour, 12 hour, 24 hour, 48
hour, and 6 days.
Occasionally, we extend our editorial coverage to include shorter distances if
they merit the tag of "something different;" such
races might involve considerable difficulty involving severe terrain, or perhaps
a route requiring some navigational abilities.
Our calendar lists races as much as one year in advance of race date.
Our editorial coverage includes:
* complete results of all ultra races in North America
* condensed coverage of international races, too.
* articles dealing with how to train physically and mentally
* articles dealing with nutrition before and during the race
* profiles of ultrarunners
* Unsolicited material is welcome, and will be used as space permits.
The magazine appears ten times per year and costs $30.
Visit the site at:
http://www.ultrarunning.com


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


BOOK OF THE WEEK: Your First Triathlon
By Joe Friel
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 answers a recent boom in the number of
sprint triathlons across the nation.
Your First Triathlon has the training plans, workouts, checklists, and
instruction that first-timers are clamoring to know.
“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
Buy the book from Velo Press at:
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?velogear+FQUy3p+yofitr.html


THIS WEEK'S FEATURES:

1. Looking After Yourself!
By Coach Wendy
It sounds like something your mother, partner or best friend would say, but
often it is in a shortened request form - "Look after
self!" Often when it is said to you, it feels more like a safety message than a
request of care or an expression of concern. Looking
after yourself is about developing lifestyle habits that enable you to manage
your life so that you can have the style with the life
you deserve!
Regardless of how the phrase is used, it still begs the question of what does it
actually mean. To me as a facilitator, coach, a
daughter, a sister and as friend, it means keeping an eye on yourself so that
you can get the best out of every day. It's far more
than eating well, getting some daily exercise, ensuring you get enough sleep, or
being aware of how much alcohol you drink, or
avoiding second hand cigarette smoke or even dealing with challenges when they
crosses your path.
It is in fact it is the combination of all the above but with some additional
components. Your work needs, creating and working
towards a yearly plan, weekly checking of your goal status, your financial
situation, your overall safety and for some of you it may
be your spiritual health. Most of all, critical to looking after yourself is
your own view of your self worth.
It is a juggle of many components that creates the balance of being able to look
after your self. Juggling three balls is pretty
skillful, but for so many people the components of their lives at times must
feel like they are being asked to juggle 20 balls into
a head wind with one hand tied behind their back!
So what are some of the key skills of looking after your self? With over 23
years of experience in working in the fitness industry
and as a facilitator of corporate training, I have found that the clients that
do a good job of looking after them selves practice
the following habits.
Smoking Tires & Burst Bubbles: Looking after your self is about taking the time
to recognize and understand what excites you. What
spins your wheels? Conversely, it is under standing the environments that
challenge you in a negative sense. Situations that
threaten and cause your to under perform, that cause you to feel like someone
has just burst your bubble. It goes with out saying
that the smart trick is to maximize and surround your self with people and
situations that support you and limit your exposure to
the negative areas.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060809_ECoach_Looking_After_You\
rself.html


2. Sheila's Nutrition Digest Vol 12 - Grabbing a Healthy Byte on the Internet: A
Guide to Finding Nutritious Recipes:
Sheila's Nutrition Digest
In this new series, XC Ottawa (and OAC Racing Team) member Sheila Kealey will
help athletes choose the best foods for performance
and overall health. Sheila 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.
Whether you're an athlete who throws together 2-minute meals or someone who
likes to spend more time putting food on the table, the
Internet can be a great resource for recipes. If you're not careful though, you
can spend so much time looking up recipes that you
have no time left to cook! A general "google" search is not recommended, and
targeting some good websites is often a better
strategy.
Since part of my work involves encouraging people eat nutritious foods for
better health, I've spent plenty of time perusing
websites for recipes, but it doesn't take long to figure out if I'm onto
something good . . . and there are many great sites
featuring nutritious recipes that are quick and delicious.
I suggest you start a search at one of the following websites. I've noted
recipes that can fit into an athlete's busy lifestyle and
satisfy an active body's need for optimal nutrition.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060810_SK_Web.html


3. Health and Fitness: Age-Related Muscle Changes:
One of the hallmark features of aging is the loss of muscular mass and strength.
Much of this loss can be explained by changes to
the neuromuscular system such as decreased number of motor neurons, decreased
number of muscle fibers, and decrease muscle fiber
size. But it is important to ask whether these changes are a consequence of
aging or simply a result of an inactive lifestyle.
Age-Related Changes to Muscle
The age related decline in muscle mass appears to occur in 2 phases. The first
or “slow” phase of muscle loss, in which 10% of
muscle mass is lost, occurs between the ages of 25 and 50. The majority of
muscle loss occurs thereafter where an additional 40% is
lost from the ages of 50 to 85. Overall, the human body loses 50% of its muscle
mass by the age of 80. This muscle atrophy can be
explained by significant decreases in both the total number of muscle fibers, as
well as in muscle fiber size.
It has been shown that aging results in a loss of the power and speed producing
fast twitch fibers (particularly IIb) and an
increase in the more aerobic slow twitch fibers. This seems to make sense since
movements that demand a high velocity of contraction
(such as jumping and sprinting) tend to be less in the older years.
Mechanisms of Strength Loss
The problems with decreasing strength can be seen in its contribution to
osteoporotic decline in bone density, arthritic joint pain,
and an overall reduced functional capacity.
With the loss in muscle mass evidently comes a decrease in muscular strength.
However, as with muscle loss, most strength losses are
not significant until the sixth decade. As briefly mentioned, this loss in
strength can be attributed to a decrease in the number of
motor units (nerve-muscle fiber complex), the decreased number of muscle fibers
and the reduction in muscle fiber size. It is also
known that a decline in leg strength precedes upper extremity strength loss in
the elderly. This is important due to the fact that
strength, rather than cardiovascular function, is considered to be the most
physically limiting factor in the elderly. This is
apparent when considering strength-limiting activities faced by many seniors
such as getting up from a seated position or walking up
stairs.
Encouraging is the finding that aging does not seem to effect eccentric
strength. This phase of contraction is an important
consideration for the elderly due to the possible linkage between poor eccentric
strength and the incidence of falls in the elderly.

More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060810_TWC_Aging.html


4. In the heat, treat your feet right:
When the weather feels like a furnace, it may be hard to contemplate wearing
sensible footwear instead of your favorite, flimsiest
pair of flip-flops.
But podiatrists warn that feet need to be properly supported and kept dry for
optimal foot health -- even in hot weather.
"The best thing to do in the summer is to frequently change socks and to use
drying powders that take away moisture from the foot,"
said Dr. Fred DeLucia, a podiatrist at North Shore University Hospital in
Manhasset. "Basically, you want to try to prevent fungal
infection from starting, and fungus like to thrive where it's dark, hot and
moist, and the summertime is prime for that. And you
want to restrict the use of sandals," which offer little, if any, support.
More...from Newsday at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsfeet0810,0,7602038.story?coll=ny-leadhea\
lthnews-headlines


5. Twice as Strong:
In Southern California, Western medicine teams up with acupuncture, yoga and
herbs to fight both disease and pain. Finally, this
hybrid is going mainstream.
WHEN a medical crisis hits, people want to know that someone smart in a white
coat can prescribe Prozac to boost their mood, perform
heart surgery to open their clogged arteries, or administer chemotherapy,
radiation or surgery to cure them of cancer.
But growing numbers of Americans are also eager to experiment with alternative
therapies. They take herbs to boost their immunity,
meditate to calm frayed nerves and seek acupuncture to combat nausea and pain.
Two 1998 studies reported that 42% of Americans use
alternative medical therapies to treat their conditions — and that, in 1997,
Americans made an estimated 629 million office visits
to complementary therapy providers. A 2002 government survey found that 36% of
adults use some form of complementary and alternative
medicine, and if megavitamin therapy and prayers for health are included in the
list, the number rises to 62%.
A natural tension has long existed between these two kinds of medicine. Western
medical practitioners have been wary of the
sometimes wacky-sounding, often-untested therapies in alternative medicine's
toolkit. Alternative medicine practitioners have
typically operated outside the conventional system, with consumers paying out of
pocket.
But over the last 10 years this wall has started, partially, to erode. Aided by
federal funds, an increasing number of alternative
therapies have been put to Western-style clinical tests, separating ones that
seem beneficial, such as acupuncture for relief of
pain, meditation to reduce hypertension, or ginger to relieve nausea — from the
chaff that appears ineffective. And conventional
practitioners have come to appreciate the effect of the mind on chronic pain,
heart disease, autoimmune conditions, anxiety and
depression — even the progress of disease.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-integrate7aug07,1,360169.story?coll\
=la-headlines-health


6. A Water Tale For All Seasons: When It Comes To Hydration And Exercise, The
System Works:
For over 20 years, the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine
has studied the effect of temperature and the
environment on physical performance. According to Michael Sawka, chief of
USARIEM's Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division, "we're
filling in the data gaps regarding the interaction of temperature and hydration
on physical performance so we can set guidelines to
optimize results relevant not just to soldiers or navy divers, but to athletes,
firefighters and hunters -- anyone who's in extreme
environments without access to food or water for long periods."
Several recent USARIEM studies in the Journal of Applied Physiology describe
experiments in both warm and cold temperatures. One
report showed that dehydration reduces physical performance, in this case
cycling, 8% in temperate/cool air (68 degrees Fahrenheit),
but only 3% in a cold 36 degrees F. Furthermore it found that cold weather
itself had an insignificant impact on physical
performance, irrespective of hydration level.
A second USARIEM-generated study found that ingesting glycerol, sweetish syrup,
was an effective hyperhydration agent, causing
"nearly twice as much fluid" to be retained after four hours of cold-air
exposure (CAE) compared with water ingestion alone. "This
study also demonstrates that hyperhydration doesn't modify cardiovascular or
thermoregulatory responses during resting CAE," the
reported added.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050904225947.htm


7. Real foods for race day: Supplement the supplements:
In 1926, Johnny Miles, a previously unknown runner from Nova Scotia, Canada, sat
on the curb an hour and a half before the Boston
Marathon and ate a steak wrapped in toast (his dad thought this would be an
excellent source of energy) -- then went on to win the
26.2-mile race in a then-world-record time of 2:26.
While Miles' pre-race meal may not have been ideal, at least according to
contemporary standards, his unconventional approach
underscored the ongoing importance of low-tech nutrition to athletic
performance.
Without a doubt, advances in sports nutrition have enabled athletes to make
tremendous performance gains, and high-tech,
scientifically-derived products (such as bars, gels and sports drinks) are
crucial to top race-day results; however, consider that,
during long-course events, triathletes race from the early morning until, in
many instances, well into the night. During this time,
athletes will miss four to six regular meals and snacks -- all while the body
churns through up to 500 calories per hour.
Thus, balanced, well-planned nutrition is required to make up for these missed
meals and provide the fuel needed for a race-day
effort. To supplement their intake of bars, gels and sports drinks (which
typically constitute the core of most athletes'
race-nutrition plans) and provide some culinary variety, many athletes turn to
low-tech solutions.
More...from Active.com at:
http://active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13116&sidebar=26&category=triathlon


8. Cyclists Warm Up: Which warm-up for cyclists?
A new UK study has shown that cycling performance is boosted by prior moderate
and heavy exercise, but not by sprint exercise.
The researchers set out to determine the effects of three different warm-up
regimes on cycling work output during a seven- minute
performance trial. Although it is widely accepted that prior warm-up exercise
should be performed before the main bout of sporting
or exercise activity, previous studies have tended to focus on the physiological
effects of warm-up rather than on its potential
performance benefit.
Twelve well-trained cyclists completed four seven-minute performance trials 10
minutes after each of the following, in random order:
* No prior exercise (the ‘control’ condition);
* A six-minute bout of heavy exercise;
* A 10-12 minute bout of moderate exercise, in which the participants completed
the same amount of work as during heavy exercise;
* A 30-second all-out sprint.
Previous research had suggested that the effects of warm-up on performance were
related to levels of blood lactate induced by the
warm-up exercise. The different warm-up regimes used in this study were intended
to result in marked differences in baseline blood
lactate after a 10-minute recovery period. And the researchers had hypothesised
that prior heavy exercise, inducing a mild ‘lactic
acidosis’ would improve power output during the performance trial, while
moderate exercise, with little or no impact on lactate
levels, would have no effect, and the sprint, inducing severe acidosis, would
result in reduced power output.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/cyclists-warm-up.htm


9. Sports drinks or water : what is the best choice for sports performers?
What does the term sports nutrition conjure up in your mind? Carbohydrate and
protein? Vitamins and minerals? Or maybe the more
exotic ergogenic aids like creatine? Whatever springs to mind, I bet it isn’t
water. Yet water is of supreme, overriding importance
to both your health and performance.
Your body might appear solid, but it’s actually much more like a bag of salty
water, containing a few bones to maintain its shape.
Water accounts for around 70% of your body weight – that’s eight stone of water
in an 11-stone adult! However, the loss of even a
tiny fraction of this water can significantly reduce your performance, which is
why maintaining good hydration is vital for all
serious athletes.
Water is the medium in which the biochemistry of the body takes place. Every one
of our trillions of cells both contains and is
bathed in a watery medium. It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that we have
developed mechanisms for keeping the water content of the
body pretty constant. Because some water is continually being lost in urine (in
the process of excreting waste products), a constant
throughput of water is required to maintain fluid balance. This balance is
controlled principally by the kidneys and the thirst
mechanism. When total body water drops, hormonal messages are sent to the brain
to create thirst. Excessive water intake, on the
other hand, stimulates an increase in urine production.
As well as providing the perfect chemical environment for our bodies, water has
another extraordinary property – the ability to stop
our bodies overheating by evaporating via the skin in the form of sweat. This is
particularly important during exercise, when heat
output rises dramatically.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/sports-drinks.htm


10. The Go Slow(er) Approach to the Run:
came into the triathlon world from a base in single-sport competitions,
specifically cycling. And while some people in the
triathlete scene may see that as a weakness, I believe it to be an advantage. I
approach triathlon as a single sport requiring
multiple skills, not three sports crammed into one competition. You're a
triathlete, not an endurance athlete trying to excel in
three separate activities.
As a unified sport, triathlon is unique in that maximizing performance in one
leg of the race may not be worth the effort. (It
sounds strange, I know, but stick with me here.) If you spend a tremendous
amount of training time focusing on your cycling and dig
really deep on the bike in competition, you'll reach T2 faster, but most likely
you'll only gain a handful of minutes. The same idea
holds true with racking up monster hours in the pool and then red-lining your
body in the swim leg of a race. However, no matter how
much faster you go in the water or on the bike, you can lose every bit of that
advantage - and more - if you crack on the run. So,
when I worked with top triathlon coaches to develop a system for coaching
triathletes, getting our athletes to the run faster and
fresher emerged as our top priority of training.
Finish with a Kick and a Smile
In cycling, it's often been said there are two races within each competition.
There's the race to get to the final 10 kilometers,
and then there's the race for the finish line. If you neglect preparing for the
first one, it doesn't matter how fast you can sprint
because you won't have the opportunity to use it. In triathlon, you could say
there's the race to get to the run, and then there's
the run itself. By focusing on energy management in the water and on the bike,
during both training and competition, you can excel
in the race to the run and then hold a faster pace to the finish while everyone
else slows to a walk or crawl. The run is hard for
everyone, and the classic mistake is to assume that quick times in the swim and
bike legs will compensate for a slow run.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/run/the-go-slower-approach-to-the-run-001542.ph\
p


11. Desert journey teaches lessons on healthy living:
I have just returned from a magical week in the desert where I spent much of my
time running up and down mountains with elite
Kenyan marathoners.
Throughout history, people have gone out into the desert and up mountains
seeking to find something profound — an earth-shattering
spiritual truth, a secret panacea, a sure-fire weight-loss plan, the cure for
all that ails us, a fix for our crumbling health care
system.
I was at Camp Marafiki, a running camp in Santa Fe, N.M., with runners such as
Mbarak Hussein, winner of last year's U.S. Marathon
championships, and Jonathan Ndambuki, a three-time winner of the Big Sur
marathon.
I breathed the mountain air and drank a lot of Kenyan tea. I ran harder than
I've run in a long time.
Running, I know, isn't for everybody. However, I'm convinced that we shouldn't
sit around and stare at computers and television
screens all day.
I believe that even more strongly after some of the things that I learned at
camp.
Here, in what we like to think is the greatest country on Earth, life expectancy
is going down, said Jon Woo, the director of the
camp and a family physician. It's a combination of our sedentary lifestyles and
our approach to health care, he said.
More...from the News-Leader at:
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/COLUMNISTS13/6080\
90323


12. Does Testosterone Build a Better Athlete?
TESTOSTERONE injections can make male rats more aggressive in marking their
territories, cause castrated red deer to grow antlers,
and induce female rhesus monkeys to screech like males. In studies on humans,
testosterone injections have increased and
strengthened muscles.
But does taking testosterone — a controlled substance whose possession is
illegal unless prescribed for medical reasons —
automatically improve athletic performance?
In sports, testosterone shots or creams are supposed to be magic bullets that
spur athletes to train harder, run or bicycle more
quickly, jump higher, swim faster, hit a baseball farther, recover sooner, and,
let’s not forget, increased sex drive and
combativeness. Certainly, the idea that taking doses of the hormone gives
competitors an unfair advantage is behind the brouhaha
over Floyd Landis, the 2006 Tour de France winner who French officials say
tested positive for elevated testosterone on the day of
his remarkable comeback during Stage 17. Mr. Landis has denied taking any
performance-enhancing substances.
But some leading experts who study testosterone are not convinced that
supplementing the hormone improves endurance or overall
athletic performance. Unlike a hyper-caffeinated sports drink, the synthetic
hormone does not provide an instant jolt, but works
over time to bulk and fortify muscles.
What other effects taking testosterone may have on athletes is the subject of
heated debate.
More...from the New York Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/fashion/10Fitness.html?_r=1&ref=othersports&or\
ef=slogin


13. Tall Tales in HR Training:
Over the course of time, it has been demonstrated that that if one repeats an
idea or concept frequently enough, it can become an
accepted notion regardless of its basis in truth. People that accept these
mantras are often ignorant of the facts, while the
purveyors of these concepts often point to happy believers as evidence of their
truth.
In the world of endurance and cardio-vascular training, one such example is that
of using baseless heart rate training concepts as a
method for training.
Many of you will recall the exercise charts that appeared on gym walls or on the
panels of pieces of exercise equipment which showed
a formula of 220 minus your age as a method for determining your various
training zones. While the appearance of HR as a training
tool signaled the beginning of more scientific approaches to training, it
naturally took some time before valid heart rate based
training methods supplanted demonstrably false formulas.
Thankfully for training purists, the 220 minus your age formula has been
thoroughly discredited but for the most antiquated of
trainers and the general gym world which loves to put up fancy looking charts in
spin rooms. Yet, amazingly, the random and patently
false 220 method has been reborn in some dubious training quarters, where an
equally random 180 is used as a subtraction point for
determining HR training zones.
Indeed, these days there are several widely advertised training programs that
use HR based training calculations which have no basis
in science or reality.
HR should be one of the fundamental training tools in any substantive program.
However, like any tool, heart rate training methods
are only useful if properly applied.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that methods which use arbitrary
HR calculations such as the concept of 180 minus your
age to determine performance training zones are fundamentally flawed. A training
program based on sound training principles cannot
have at its core a formula that is demonstrably false.
It is not difficult to demonstrate why a one size fits all pie in the sky isn’t
this convenient phoney-baloney burn fat too numeric
calculation (whose acronym is BS) does not work. The BS-180 method runs into
serious difficulty when one considers the following:
Age is irrelevant to HR training zones
Heart rate zones are clearly sport specific
Heart rate zones are unique to the individual
Age is entirely irrelevant in determining training zones.
More...from Michael McCormack at:
http://www.triathloncoach.com/articles/hrtales.html


14. VO2 Max and How to Increase It:
Fitness can be measured by the volume of oxygen you can consume while exercising
at your maximum capacity. VO2 max is the maximum
amount of oxygen in milliliters, one can use in one minute per kilogram of body
weight.
Those who are more fit have higher VO2 max values and can exercise more
intensely than those who are not as well conditioned.
Numerous studies show that you can increase your VO2 max by working out at an
intensity that raises your heart rate to between 65
and 85% of its maximum for at least 20 minutes three to five times a week. A
mean value of VO2 max for male athletes is about 3.5
litres/minute and for female athletes it is about 2.7 litres/minute.
Factors affecting VO2 max
The physical limitations that restrict the rate at which energy can be released
aerobically are dependent upon:
the chemical ability of the muscular cellular tissue system to use oxygen in
breaking down fuels
the combined ability of cardiovascular and pulmonary systems to transport the
oxygen to the muscular tissue system
More...from MarathonPal.com at:
http://www.marathon-training-program.com/vo2max.html


15. Nausea and distance running:
Dr Lindsay Weight
The three things that appear to wreck ultra runners days are nausea, cramp and
gastrointestinal disturbances, appropriately termed
'the trots'. Let's consider the common problem of nausea, identifying causes and
possible solutions.
Nausea
There cannot be a distance runner who has not had this unpleasant experience at
some stage in their running career.
However, because nausea is a symptom of so many conditions it is difficult to
pinpoint a precise and single cause. For example,
nausea can be the result of too little blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and too much
(hyperglycaemia), a drop in blood volume
(dehydration) or water retention (overhydration), salt loss and too much salt...
Lets consider each option more carefully.
Too little glucose: a decrease in the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood
stream is the most commonly ascribed cause of nausea.
Hypoglycaemia is bound to occur in any sports event of longer than 2 hours
duration if the athlete has not ingested any carbohydrate
during the event. You can only store sufficient carbohydrate (from whence comes
your glucose) for about 2 hours of running at race
pace. Once your stores are depleted your glucose levels will decline and as
glucose is the only nutrient the brain can use as fuel,
it is not going to work so well as the supply dwindles. Hence the feeling of
lightheadedness and inability to concentrate as well as
a rapid, almost instantaneous decline in running speed (hitting the so called
'wall') - and nausea.
More...from HealthiAfrica.com at:
http://health.iafrica.com/fitness/running/nauseaandrunning.htm


16. First Steps"
by Gordon Bakoulis
A Handful of Female Marathon Pioneers Inspired a Generation of Women Runners.
Can you imagine being stopped by police during a marathon-training run simply
because you're a solitary female? Being tackled,
threatened, and cursed at by a race director while running your first marathon?
Setting a marathon world best at age 38, winning the
New York City Marathon, yet still being ashamed of your body? Entering your
first marathon because women weren't allowed to run more
than 1,500 meters in international track competition, and setting a world record
by more than two minutes? Winning the first women's
Olympic marathon, then running an American marathon in a record time that still
stands after 16 years?
I can't imagine doing any of these things.
Every time I contemplate the obstacles women marathoners have faced and what
they have done in spite of them, I'm overwhelmed by
their athleticism, courage, and vision. I consider it a privilege to know
personally several of the women who pioneered the
marathon. It is the great fortune of us all that they are accessible,
articulate, personable, and possess tremendous insight into
the sport of marathoning.
When asked to name those women whose achievements as marathon pioneers mean the
most to me, my choices were surprisingly easy. I
must emphasize, however, that the athletes profiled here are not an
all-inclusive—nor even representative—group. The women whose
stories follow are simply those whom I've grown to most admire, respect, and
just plain like. A list of female marathon pioneers is
incomplete without Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb, Sara Mae Berman, Beth Bonner,
Jacqueline Hansen, Gayle Baron, and Ingrid Kristiansen.
My Webster's defines "pioneer" as "a person or group that originates or helps
open up a new line of thought or activity." The five
women profiled here exemplify the bravery and originality implicit in that
definition.
Nina Kuscsik: Doing What She Wanted to Do
Nina Kuscsik loves to tell stories. She devotes 25 minutes to answering the
question, "How did you get started running?" It's a
wonderful, rambling tale of idolizing Roger Bannister as an adolescent; falling
in love with basketball and freestyle skating but
giving up both due to a dislocated shoulder; reading Bill Bowerman and Ken
Cooper and having an I-can-do-that moment; buying her
first shoes from the back of an old warehouse; and nearly getting arrested for
running along a parkway while wearing a cast and a
shirt with red lettering that had been mistaken for blood.
But Kuscsik doesn't really like to talk about herself. Hers are more often "we"
stories than "I" stories. In describing her first
marathon (1969 Boston, after the pioneering runs of Roberta Gibb and Kathrine
Switzer but still before women were allowed in
officially), she stresses the training she did with her husband and two male
training partners. Although she's widely credited with
paving the way for the inclusion of the first women's Olympic marathon, she
unfailingly refers to "all our hard work." When asked,
"What would you like to be remembered for in running?" Kuscsik is
uncharacteristically at a loss for words. Finally she says slowly,
thoughtfully, "I guess for my love of running." After a pause, she adds, almost
hesitantly, "And that my pioneering work created
opportunities for other women."
More...from Marathon and Beyond at:
http://www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/bakoulis.htm


17. “Concrete vs. Asphalt” - Which is the Better Running Surface?
Concrete is a much harder surface than asphalt or macadam. It’s the worst
commonly encountered surface that you can run on and
should be avoided like the plague. To compare the “hardness” of concrete and
asphalt, hit each surface with a hammer and see how it
feels to your hand and arm. You will find quite a difference. You will leave a
dent in the asphalt, but not in the concrete.
When running, your feet strike the surface with a force of up to 6 times your
body weight. And unless you land dead midfoot all that
force is concentrated on a very small landing surface. For a typical heel
striker, it’s maybe a square inch or two. Let’s assume
that a person who weighs 120 pounds lands at 5 times body weight with a heel
strike that covers two square inches. That’s equivalent
to an initial strike force of 300 pounds/sq in (equivalent to 3600 pounds/sq ft)
upon contact. If asphalt is really 10 times
“softer” than concrete, as the study that Bill mentioned said, that would make a
big difference in initial energy dissipation vs
that which shoes, normal pronation and body structure have to absorb. (BTW,
that’s also the problem with a non-overpronator using
stability or motion control shoes. They unnecessarily restrict normal pronation,
which is a natural shock absorption biomechanic,
and result in an increase in the force that the body’s skeleton and joints have
to dissipate.)
More...from The Final Sprint at:
http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2006/07/concrete-vs-asphalt-which-is-the-better-ru\
nning-surface/#more-171


18. Want to beat the heat? Cool off first:
Going against the conventional wisdom of warm-up.
Olympic athletes wear them to boost endurance. U.S. soldiers wear them to stave
off heatstroke. With recent temperatures making
Dante's Inferno look like a spa vacation, cooling exercise garments may be an
idea whose time has come.
Researchers have known that wearing cooling garments — such as gel-filled vests
— to lower overall body temperature before endurance
events enables athletes to delay overheating and thus operate at peak
performance longer.
"There seems to be a temperature — some call it a safety brake — at which people
poop out," says Dr. William Roberts, past president
of the American College of Sports Medicine.
But conventional wisdom and research have supported the notion that limbs
benefit from being warmed up before exercise, not cooled
down. The effect of cooling limbs — such as legs before a cycling event — hadn't
been extensively investigated.
Now, however, researchers have found that cooling legs before cycling in
controlled warm-weather conditions also reduces heat strain
— without impeding performance.
Hein Daanen, an investigator at TNO, a private research institute in the
Netherlands, and colleagues outfitted eight male cyclists
with water-perfused tops and trousers. The garments, which contained tubes
through which water circulated at a constant warm or cool
temperature, were worn for 45 minutes before exercising, then removed. Then the
cyclists pedaled for 40 minutes at a constant 100
rpm.
More...from the Daily Camera at:
http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/health_and_fitness/article/0,1713,BDC_2431_490059\
4,00.html


19. Start Your Engine - by Liz Applegate Ph.D.
Seems like every time you see the guy, he's devouring something. And the most
baffling part? He's as thin as a rail.
Everyone knows a Phil - someone who has a metabolism that's constantly in
overdrive. The Phils of the world burn calories as quickly
as SUVs burn gas. The rest of us, unfortunately, are more like Volkswagen
Beetles: slow, steady burners.
Thankfully, there are ways to jump-start a sluggish metabolism. Ten, to be
exact. Each of these strategies will boost your
metabolism by up to 30 calories an hour. That may not sound like much, but when
you consider there are 24 hours in a day, and 10
tips, you'll be doing some serious calorie burning. Result: The pounds will melt
away. So get ready to start your engine.
THE FIRE WITHIN
Your body burns calories in three ways:
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is the number of calories your body needs
just to keep your brain, heart, and cell functions
going. Your RMR accounts for 60 percent of your metabolism.
Can you boost your RMR? Yes and no. Many of the factors that affect your RMR,
such as your genes or your gender, are beyond your
control. We've already talked about the "Phil factor" here, which you're either
born with or not. And because women have less muscle
than men, even at the same weight, women burn about 10 percent fewer calories
each day.
Your age also affects your RMR. As you age, your RMR inevitably slows. But some
of that slowdown is because people become more
inactive as they get older, and, therefore, they lose muscle. But if you take
steps to preserve your muscle mass as you age, you can
at least maintain, and perhaps even boost, your RMR.
Thermic effect of food. You burn somewhere between 50 to 200 calories a day
simply by digesting and processing the food you eat.
This accounts for roughly 5 percent of your total caloric burn.
Activity. We're not just talking about your running and cross-training workouts
here. Activity includes every body movement you make
- whether you're walking to the mailbox or typing on your keyboard - and it
accounts for about 35 percent of your total caloric
burn.
More...from Runner's World South Africa at:
http://www.runnersworld.co.za/wheres/


20. From Running Times:
* Training Tip of the Month - Coping with the Heat
Every runner talks about the weather, but besides not doing anything about it,
most don't do much about running in it, either. For
example, most runners know that during a heat wave, like the one that has
blanketed most of the country for much of this summer, you
need to slow down. The question is, how much?
If you run with a heart rate monitor, try to stick to your usual HR range.
You'll find that the pace is slower, but you're putting
in the same effort to overcome the effects of higher temperatures and humidity.
An alternative is to use the conversion factors
developed by Jack Daniels, long-time coach and exercise physiologist and author
of the two successful Running Formula books. The
second edition features tables that show how much temperature affects your pace.
Those who want instant feedback can go to
http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html to find a plug-and-play calculator that
produces the same results, as well as the effect of
altitude, incline, and windspeed. So, even if you're not happy slowing down in
the heat, at least you'll know there's a scientific
basis for it.
--Jim Gerweck, Managing Editor
* Medical Corner - Patellar Tendinitis
Q: I have not been able to run for the last four months due to injury. My right
patellar tendon/knee seems to be the source of the
problem. When running I don't get any severe pain or discomfort, just an aching
and tightness in the front of the knee. I have been
doing lots of quad strengthening exercises, which seem to reduce the symptoms,
but not alleviate them entirely.
A: Your symptoms are consistent with either runner's knee or patellar
tendinitis. Typically with patellar tendinitis, there is
significant tenderness to touch at the bottom of the patella (kneecap). Both
problems will cause discomfort in the front of the
knee. There may be stiffness when standing following prolonged sitting. The fact
that symptoms improve with exercise is re-assuring.
Work on flexibility (especially hamstrings and IT band) in addition to
strengthening. Apply ice to your knee following activities.
You may benefit from a patellar strap (band worn just below the patella during
activities). Use of electric stimulation and
cortisone by a physical therapist (iontophoresis) can help relieve pain from
patellar tendinitis.
Tendinosis refers to degenerative changes in the tendon without the presence of
inflammation. Symptoms may improve with the
treatments already discussed. If pain is severe and persistent, the area of
tendinosis can be removed surgically. Don't forget to
check for the common causes of running injuries - abnormal mechanics (such as
overpronation) and increasing training too quickly.
--Dr. Cathy Fieseler
* Q and A
Q: I am a 37-year-old male who has been running for about three years now. My
friends all race frequently in shorter races during
marathon training, while I stop racing completely during this time in order to
focus solely on the marathon. I was wondering, did
you continue to race through marathon training? Did the races affect the quality
of your long runs? Or is it better to race little
or not at all during marathon training?
A: I always raced pretty heavily as a part of my buildup for marathons. However,
most of my races were 5 milers, 10K's, 15K's, 10
Milers, etc. That is, I did a lot of longer races, whereas it seems perhaps your
training partner friends may be doing 5K's. Is
either method of buildup "better"? I believe in doing what you feel works best
for you. I would usually race twice a month (when I
marathoned). Post-race long runs may be difficult in the hot, humid summer,
though at your youthful 37, it won't be as much of a
difficulty as for an older runner. Perhaps your post-race long runs can be of
the shorter variety. Say 10 to 15 miles, with 15 to 22
coming on non-race weekends.
Best Wishes,
--Bill Rodgers
* Resurrected Runners
A Recovery and Training Plan for Biomechanically Burned-Out Boomers
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.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=5868&c=97


21. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Winning Ways:
Runners have fought a winning battle against poisonous attitudes that infect
most sports. This is the view that a race, game or
match can have but one winner, that second place is the first loser, that
athletes or teams don't win anything unless they win
everything -- an Olympic gold medal, a Super Bowl, a World Series.
My college coach, Bob Karnes, was a knowledgeable and thoughtful mentor, one who
let me find my own way as an athlete even when it
diverged from his. But he also was a product of his times.
Coach Karnes told his teams, only half in jest, "Second place ain't worth a
damn." My college racing style results disappointed him.
I started races slowly, ignoring the leaders, and ran for time instead of place.
The coach once took me aside and said, "Your problem is that it doesn't bother
you to lose [by his definition, which prevailed
then]. This will keep you going for a long time as a runner, but it also will
keep you from being as good a runner as you could have
been."
He was right on both counts. I never led any college race of note. But I'm still
running more than 40 years after graduation.
If the only-one-winner thinking had persisted, running never would have become
the sport it is. Almost everyone who didn't win the
single prize or challenge for it would have quit too soon.
Attitudes toward winning changed. Runners realized that there's much more to
winning than finishing first.
Anyone who runs can win -- which isn't the same as saying that everyone always
wins. You risk losing whenever you race, but the
scoring is personal. No one can beat you but you.
Winning is running up to your own standard of success. Improving your distance
or time. Running better in this race than your last
one. Racing farther or faster than you would alone. Or simply being in the
running and finishing what you started.
I'd like to think I had something to do with the attitude adjustment toward
winning. I've pounded away at this theme from the time I
learned to type.
Yet my lines pale beside those of George Sheehan. Looking to the right of my
computer now, I see a framed piece of calligraphy as
the only running saying on my office wall. It's George's line, "Winning is doing
your best with what you're given."
Behind me hangs only one medal. It's from the first George Sheehan Memorial Run,
engraved with another of his lines: "Winning is
never having to say I quit."
This is a recasting of the old "Winners never quit" sign from my first coach
Dean Roe's locker room of the 1950s. As long as you're
winning, you don't want to quit. The only way you can lose is to stop trying.
From Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com


22. From Runner's World:
* Coach's Corner
"At most, jog easily for 15 minutes before a race. Then stretch your hamstrings,
quadriceps, calves, and lower back. With about 15
minutes to go, maybe do a few strides. But no more-you'll warm up plenty in the
early going." -Mark Plaatjes, 1993 World
Championships marathon winner
* Injury Prevention
Any exercises that help improve your flexibility, strength, and coordination
will also help prevent muscle cramps. Simple activities
such as leaping, hopping, and skipping are all effective ways to strengthen your
lower-body muscles and keep them loose at the same
time.
* Performance Nutrition
Blackberries are loaded with anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants. How
powerful? Research suggests that they not only help
lower cholesterol and blood pressure, but may also play a role in keeping
diabetes, heart disease, and cancer at bay.
* Dear Race Director,
Runner's World is looking for your help! For a story that will run in the
December issue of the magazine, we are trying to collect
information from "everyday runners" about their running and running preferences.
We are looking for things such as their favorite
day for a long run, their favorite running partner, and their favorite post-race
activity. The information is for editorial purposes
only -- it won't be used in a marketing fashion.
We are looking to get as many runners as possible to take our survey. That's
where you come in. As a member of our race sponsorship
program, would you please help us distribute our survey? We are hoping you would
be willing to send the following survey link to
members of your race participants, race organization team, running club members,
etc. and ask them if they would please take 10
minutes to complete the survey.
http://survey1.rodale.com/rodale-2way-v56/2wT5B3/Link.html
Please note: This survey is not Mac compatible; it will only work on a PC. Our
apologies to Mac users.
* Editor's Advice
"Trail running isn't just for the hard-core and it can be a lot of fun. Just be
sure to watch your step, especially if the terrain
is rocky. Look ahead so you can react to the footing in front of you."
* Training Talk
"Dedication sometimes means doing what you don't want to do. I hear people talk
about discipline. Some think that I'm a very
disciplined person because I lost so much weight and have trained for so many
marathons. Nonsense. I think I'm about the least
disciplined person I've ever known. I've always had an irrepressible spirit that
doesn't respond well to discipline. A rigid
environment is like a prison to me. Discipline is not my strong suit. But I'd go
so far as to suggest that many of the elite runners
I've met aren't disciplined either." -From No Need For Speed, by John Bingham


23. All Athletes: Peaking and Heart Rate by Dirk Friel:
An issue that most athletes find mysterious is coming into competitive “form” at
the times in the season when their most important
events are scheduled. Form is a vague concept used by athletes in some sports to
describe when they are ready to compete. The word
has its roots in 18th-century horse racing when sheets, or “forms,” would be
provided for race track bettors showing the past
performances of each horse.
Exercise scientist Andrew Coggan, Ph.D., defines form as the timely combination
of fitness and freshness. Fitness has to do with how
well the body’s many systems function at a given point in time. A fit endurance
athlete has optimized the cardiovascular, metabolic,
respiratory, muscular and nervous systems. A fresh athlete is one who is rested
and ready to go. It’s possible to be fit but not
fresh due to lots of heavy training but not much resting leading into an event.
You’re tired. It’s also possible to be fresh but not
fit. You’ve been taking it easy for too long and are undertrained. Bringing
fitness and freshness together at the same time is
called “peaking” and is the underlying purpose of training for the competitive
athlete in the last few days and weeks before a race.

To increase freshness as you get closer in time to the competition you cut back
on the training workload by reducing the duration
and frequency of workouts. You include more easy, recovery workouts or days off
each week. As a result you become fresher. To
maintain the fitness created over the previous weeks and months of training you
do a few key workouts at race intensity and
otherwise train easily between them. Getting the intensity of your workouts
right is why your heart rate monitor, powermeter and/or
pacing device is so critical to peaking.
How Peaking Works
Actually, sports scientists don’t fully understand the physiology of why
tapering the training load by increasing the amount of rest
over a few days or weeks before a race results in increased fitness. But they do
know of several changes that occur in the body with
such training. The most notable is an increase in strength and power. Others are
reduced blood acidity, increased blood volume,
greater red blood cell concentration for oxygen transport, increased
carbohydrate storage in the muscles and sharper mental skills.
Although tapering the training load before important competitions is widely
practiced by top athletes, many are afraid that cutting
back on training will cause a loss of fitness. They are wrong. There are
numerous research studies that support reduced training.
Several using athletes in many sports have found that reducing training by more
than half of what was normal for two to three weeks
produced no losses of fitness or performance. Others have shown improvements in
performance when the taper was done in a certain
way.
In a classic study conducted at the University of Illinois a group of runners
and cyclists who greatly cut back on their training by
reducing the frequency and duration of workouts while keeping their intensities
the same improved their aerobic capacities, an
important measure of fitness, and endurance performance significantly. Those who
reduced intensity but kept frequency and duration
the same lost fitness. Do not decrease the intensity of training as you approach
your most important races.
Take special note here of the ingredients for a successful taper according to
this and similar research studies—reduced weekly
volume (freshness) and an emphasis on intensity (fitness). So the key to
tapering is keeping workout intensity—heart rate, power,
pace effort—at high levels while resting more.
The tapering of duration and frequency occurs during the final two periods
before the competition—the Peak and Race mesocycles.
The Peak Mesocycle
The Peak mesocycle typically begins about two or three weeks prior to the
competition. The length of this mesocycle varies by sport,
fitness level and nature of the targeted event. Sports that are orthopedically
stressful, such as running, require a long period of
tapering. Reducing frequency and duration starting three weeks or even more
before an important competition is common for runners. A
sport such as swimming that does not have any hard surface pounding associated
with it can benefit from a shorter taper period. For
swimmers seven to 14 days of tapering is common. Other sports, such as rowing
and cycling, will fall between these two extremes. A
triathlete will taper each of the three sports at different rates.
The greater your fitness, the longer the taper should be. Another way of looking
at this is that if your fitness is poor due to,
perhaps, getting started late in preparing for your event, you need all of the
time you can get to build fitness. So in this
situation the Peak period is shortened in favor of a longer Build period. The
taper may only be for 10 days.
The longer the event you are training for the longer the taper should last. For
example, a runner may taper for three weeks for a
marathon but only taper 10 days for a 5km race. Longer races usually mean
greater training loads with an emphasis on long-duration
workouts. Long workouts take a greater toll on the body than short workouts and
so more time is necessary to recover and rebuild
reserves.
During the Peak mesocycle reduce training volume by 20 to 30 percent every three
to four days. The shorter the taper length is, the
greater the reduction should be. Again, do not decrease the intensity (heart
rate, power, pace, effort) of your workouts, only the
duration.
The frequency of your workouts, how often you train, may also be slightly
decreased while tapering so long as you have been doing at
least five or six workouts in a sport in a normal week during the preceding
Build mesocycle. A triathlete, for example, who has been
doing three swims, three bike rides and three runs weekly should not decrease
the frequency of these sessions as it is already
marginal. When the frequency of training gets too low you may experience a loss
of economy—how efficiently you move. Essentially,
your movements may become sloppy as the muscles forget how to move economically.
Swimmers call this losing their “feel” for the
water.
The basis of the training structure for the Peak period is to simulate the
intensity of a portion of the targeted race every 72 to
96 hours until seven days before the event. To do a simulation workout you
select a segment of the event that is critical to your
success and practice exactly how you will gauge output (power or pace) and input
(effort and heart rate) for that segment. For
example, there may be a hill on the course that is critical to how well you
perform on the day. Find a similar hill, warm up and
then simulate the intensity you plan to use in the race. Or it may be that the
course is flat and you need to maintain a specific
intensity to reach your goal. Rehearse that intensity in each of the simulation
workouts. That intensity could be based on heart
rate or on pace, power or perceived exertion as compared with heart rate.
Whatever you decide is the portion of the race that is critical make the
simulation a dress rehearsal in as many ways as possible.
This may be clothing, equipment, mental approach, refueling or anything else
that is a part of your race-day strategy. One or two of
the simulation workouts in the Peak period may be a C-priority race done as a
tune-up.
Note that while the intensity of your simulation is critical to the success of
your Peak period, going beyond the targeted race
intensity is not beneficial and may even be counterproductive. For example, a
marathoner who sets a goal of running a seven-minute
pace in Zone 3 should do simulations only at this intensity—not at six-minute
pace in Zone 5.
So if you do a race simulation every 72 to 96 hours in the Peak period what is
done in the two or three days between these workouts?
You do short, easy, recovery workouts or take a day off. The idea is to be fully
recovered and ready to go again for the next
simulation.
Joe Friel is the founder and president of Ultrafit and the author of numerous
books on training. He may be reached at
mailto:jfriel@...


24. Extreme Exercise Can Slow the Heart:
Finding may have implications for cardiac research, experts say.
Doctors studying what is probably the most intensive physical effort on earth
have found that if the body is pushed hard enough, the
heart will slow down.
The finding came as a bit of a surprise, because until recently, the
conventional wisdom was that the heart never slowed down,
according to lead investigator Dr. Euan A. Ashley, an assistant professor of
cardiology at Stanford University.
"Your heart is going to beat two or three billion times in your lifetime,"
Ashley said. "It was believed that in the absence of
disease, it would not slow down. What we showed was that if you exercise for 19
or 20 hours at a time, your heart will tire a bit,
about 10 percent."
And the slowdown is greater in people who carry what's been called the "fitness
gene," Ashley's team reported in the August issue of
the Journal of the American Cardiology. The gene is called "ACE" because it is
linked to the angiotensin-converting enzyme, the
target of ACE inhibitor heart medications.
For the study, Ashley and his colleagues set up shop at the finishing line of an
ultra-endurance race called the "Adrenalin Rush,"
held in the Scottish Highlands. The annual event is grueling even by "iron man"
standards, with one or two competitors usually
requiring hospitalization after every race.
More...from Health Scout at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/534038/main.html


25. Digest Briefs:
* Soft Surface Running
by Coach Matt Russ
Of the three sports of triathlon, running takes the hardest toll on your body.
The impact forces and eccentric contractions
associated with running stress muscles, ligaments, and tendons to a point that
requires greater recovery than the other sports. The
surface you run on also contributes to this body break down.
We work with athletes of all age categories and abilities, some of whom come to
us with chronic injuries. We are often able to
resolve these injuries with a sound training plan, increased rest and recovery,
and more creative coaching methods. One of these is
soft surface running. It is no secret that a forgiving surface removes impact
forces placed on the body. One of our athletes
recently observed how much better she felt after a trail half marathon versus a
road race.
An added bonus is that soft surface running can strengthen the lower leg and
help prevent injuries such as shin splints and ankle
sprains. This additional strength creates more power at takeoff. Trail running
can also be a welcome variety to your plan and it
also improves coordination and timing. You may want to purchase a trail running
shoe that has added traction and support.
Concrete is by far the hardest surface to run on followed by asphalt. In my
opinion "soft" surfaces start with trails, grass, gravel
or crushed gravel, rubberized surfaces, and sand. If you choose a very uneven or
varied surface such as a nature trail, it is
important to acclimate slowly to the new surface. Your lower leg muscles may be
weak and doing too much too soon can cause an
overuse injury. Incorporate 1-2 runs per week at about 1/3 of your long run
distance to start off with and build progressively each
week. Of the surfaces mentioned above, the crushed gravel found on many park
trail systems is one of the best to run on, and does
not require acclimation if it is even and smooth.
If your race entails running on a hard surface you will want to continue using
hard surface runs to ensure your body is used to the
impact forces. But soft surface runs scheduled in-between hard surface runs will
help increase strength and decrease the amount of
recovery time between work outs.
* Morning Hydration
By Coach Matt Russ
I enjoy training with one of my athletes in particular, since we are closely
paced. This allows us to both stay in our heart rate
zones without having to modify our work outs or wait on each other. We recently
met on a warm and humid morning and began a tough
brick work out. Right off the bat her heart rate was significantly higher than
our normal discrepancy which is about 10 beats, and
her pace was slower. Our disparity only increased as we continued our work out
and her performance continued to decline.
After about a half hour I began to question her regarding recovery, sleep,
soreness, stress, antihistamines, etc. ?" anything
criteria would affect heart rate. When I got to the hydration question; bingo,
it turns out she had not had any fluids to speak of
that morning.
The longest period we go without hydration is when we sleep. It is not unusual
for the average individual to go 10 hours or more to
the next fluid intake; which may be a cup of coffee. We may wake up in a
dehydrated state and begin our work outs with a strike
against us. Dehydration means low blood volume. Your heart has less fluid to
work with and it has to pump faster to supply working
muscles. A higher heart rate with lower muscular output (speed or power), is not
something an athlete desires from their work out.
The good news is this can easily be prevented. On a hot and humid day start your
hydration as soon as you wake up with 16-20 ounces
of fluids. Fruit juices and other fluids can count towards this. If you work out
is not for several hours consume another 16-20
ounces pre work out. Clear urine output is a good sign, but vitamins, especially
B vitamins can affect this. One of the easiest
strategies to ensure hydration habits is to keep a case of water in your
vehicle.
Training is not just about getting the work out done; it is about getting the
best quality work done. If you are not fueled or
hydrated properly, this quality can not occur. In the case of my partner after
45 minutes on consistent hydration her heart rate
began to fall. By the end of our work out her pace had increased by over a
minute, her heart rate was about 10 beats lower. She was
able to train hard once again.
*** Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and
internationally for over ten years. He currently
holds expert licenses from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and is a licensed USA
Track and Field Coach. Matt is head coach and owner of
The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time. He is a free
lance author and his articles are regularly
featured in a variety of magazines such as Inside Triathlon, and Triathlete.
Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information or
email him at mailto:coachmatt@...
* How to Start a Running Program
If you think you would enjoy jogging or running, here's how to get started.
First, check with your doctor and get a good pair of
running shoes. Start out by jogging slowly until your legs
feel heavy or hurt or you feel tired. Then stop for the day, even if you have
taken only a few steps. Do this every day or every
other day. You should be able to work up to the point where you can jog slowly
for at least 20 minutes. If you're happy with this
program, you don't have to go any further. However, if you want to improve,
follow the training methods that competitive runners
use.
On one day, start out slowly and gradually pick up the pace. When you start to
feel uncomfortable, slow down. When you recover, pick
the pace up again. On the next day, if your legs
feel stiff, don't try to run. If your legs feel fresh, run very slowly. Try to
do these gradual pickup workouts every other day.
Never do them when your legs are stiff or tired.
After a few months of alternating days of pickups and slow runs, you are ready
to take the next step: intervals and longer runs. On
Tuesdays and Thursdays, run faster. On Tuesday, try to run 220 yards fast (half
a track length), rest and then repeat the 220-yard
runs until your legs start to feel stiff. On Thursday, try to run two to five
miles fairly fast, and on Sunday,
try to increase your distance so you can run for at least one hour. On the other
days, either run slowly, or if your legs feel
stiff, take the day off.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com



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

August 6 - 13, 2006:
European Athletics Championships - Göteborg, SWE
http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&I\
temid=50
BBC Live
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/5251620.stm
EuroSport Live
http://www.eurosport.com/athletics/european-championships-gothenberg/2006/liveco\
mments.shtml

August 9 - 13, 2006:
African Championships - Mauritius
http://www.africathle.com/perso/events/MRI_2006.html
Live Results
http://maaa.intnet.mu/cocam2006

August 12, 2006:
Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon - Georgetown, CO
http://www.bkbltd.com/

Television - CBC 3:30 PM
Canadian National Track and Field Championships from Ottawa

August 13, 2006:
5430 Long Course Triathlon - Boulder, CO
http://www.5430sports.com/5430long.htm

Capricorn Half Ironman - Yeppoon, Central Queensland, AUS
http://www.capricornhalf.com

Chicago Distance Classic Half-Marathon - Chicago, IL
http://www.chicagodistanceclassic.com

Falmouth Road Race - Falmouth, MA
http://www.falmouthroadrace.com

Great Raisin River Footrace - Williamstown, ON
http://www.williamstownfair.com

ING Edmonton Marathon and Half - Edmonton, AB
http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=1898&contentId=9491&vrindex=0

Marathon By The Sea - Saint John, NB
http://www.marathonbythesea.com

Maski Courons - St. Gabriel, QC
http://www.maskicourons.co

Swyft Triathlon - Parry Sound, ON
http://www.triathlon.swyft.ca

August 15, 2006:
Xerox 10K - Ottawa, ON
http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=2470

August 15 - 20, 2006:
IAAF World Junior Championships - Beijing, CHN
http://www.iaaf.org/WJC06/index.html

August 16, 2006:
Le 5km Endurance - Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC
http://www.geocities.com/enducircuit/race5k.html

August 18, 2006:
Weltklasse - Zurwich, CH
http://www.weltklasse.c

2007 RACE PREVIEW
June 23, 2007:
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

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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
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Triathlon Meetup
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