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
The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin boards and more. General
questions should be posted to one of our forums available
from our FrontPage.
SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS:
All of the revenue from our advertisers and affiliates goes to support clubs,
athletes and clinics related to multisport and
Canadian Olympians.
1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women:
Win your entry into Emilie's Run. Take Emilie's Quiz at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com.
Nicole Stevenson of Toronto, the winner of last year's RunnersWeb5K.com Race for
Women will return this year to defend her title.
The top 7 women from last year gave entered. It is shaping up to be a great
race.
The RunnersWeb5K.com Race for Women has been renamed in memory of Canadian
Olympian Emilie Mondor who died in a car crash September
9th on her way to her high-school reunion. Emilie had just completed a 2 hour
plus run along the Ottawa River during which she
talked with her coach about the upcoming Philadelphia Half-Marathon (September
17th) and the New York City Marathon in November.
For a story on Emilie read Emilie Mondor: Life Cut Too Short at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060913_LB_Mondor.html
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. A children's (12 and under) 1K run will also be held.
More information at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com and at
http://www.somersault.ca
Online race registration is now available through Events Online at:
http://www.eventsonline.ca/events/somersault_rweb/
We have added a Google Group for Emilie's Run. Join and the group and contribute
at:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/emiliesrun?hl=en
3. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000010069822.
Check out their Perfect Fit Finder for running shoes.
4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon. September 30, 2007.
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/
5. The Toronto Marathon, October 14, 2007
http://www.torontomarathon.com
6. Carmichael Training Systems
http://www.trainright.com/promos.asp?code=DSBYBFCSP
7. The ING Ottawa Marathon.
Ottawa's Race Weekend returns next May 25 to 27 with a new course for the
marathon and new (earlier) start time for the
Half-Marathon.
For more information and online entry visit:
http://www.ncm.ca
8. 26.2 with Donna:
The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer
"The only U.S. marathon dedicated solely to raising funds to end breast cancer."
February 17, 2008 8 a.m.
Location: Near Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, Florida
Beneficiaries: Donna Hicken Foundation and Mayo Clinic
Proceeds from the race will go directly to The Donna Hicken Foundation, a
charitable organization dedicated to helping women with
breast cancer. While a portion of the proceeds will be used by the Donna Hicken
Foundation for the critical care of breast cancer
survivors in need, the foundation has pledged to donate the majority of funds
raised to Mayo Clinic for research and its
Multidisciplinary Breast Clinic, which specializes in the detection and
treatment of breast cancer.
Visit the website at:
http://www.breastcancermarathon.com
ASSOCIATIONS:
The Runner's Web is a member of Running USA, The National Professional
Organization for the Running Industry.
http://www.runningusa.org/
NEW SUBSCRIBERS:
Check the "New Subscribers' note at the bottom of the newsletter
Check out our RSS auto-feeds page for automated news updates:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_auto_feeds.html
Webmasters:
Get our Syndicated headlines for your site.
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_getRSS.html
Add the Runner's Web News feed to your site through a simple JavaScript.
Check out OnTri.com's implementation at:
http://www.ontri.com/runnersweb.html
The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is now available through an RSS feed
for myYahoo at:
http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/cstore?.opt=content&.url=http%3a//rss.groups.yahoo.\
com/group/RunnersWeb/rss
[Long URL]
The Digest is also available through other RSS Readers on request.
Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
the link on our FrontPage at:
http://www.runnersweb.com . We have added a button for Lauren Groves,
Triathlete.
If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
Google's GMail. Currently you can get GMail by invitation
only from a current user. My stock of "invites" has been replenished. If you are
interested in getting FREE GMail account, contact
me at: mailto:
kparker@... .
Race Directors:
Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
For more information:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_advertising.html
You can also list your events for free in our Interactive Calendars and on our
Marathons, Races and Triathlons pages.
THIS WEEK:
Nike Special Offer:
Get 20% off your entire purchase of $125 or more. Enter 2PLKBKEM7 at checkout.
Expires 5/31.
Click Thru URL:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000015315135&pubid=2100000000\
0028567
Customize to fit your style with Nike iD. (US residents only)
Click Thru URL:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000015315194&pubid=2100000000\
0028567
Women runners: Join Emilie's Run Google Group, an information source for women
runners and Emilie's Run - the Emilie Mondor Memorial
5K Race for Women. Visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/emiliesrun?hl=en
If you feel you have something to say (related to triathlon or running) that is
worthy of a Guest Column on the Runner's Web, email
us at: mailto:
webmaster@... or leave your comments in one of our
Forums at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/forum.html
or from our FrontPage.
We have 2,315 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the Runner's Web
Digest to a friend and suggest
that they subscribe
at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join .
RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS
ACTIVE.COM
RunnersWeb.com has teamed up with Active Trainer coaches to offer training
programs that are a balance of aerobic, anaerobic and
cross-training workouts. These training programs are built to get people of all
levels across the finish line. From the first timer
to the seasoned veteran you will find the right training plan for you. Good luck
with your training and we will see you at the
finish line.
Training Log and Analysis:
Log your daily workouts and monitor your progress along the way.
Getting Started:
Set a realistic goal for training. Review the list of training programs
developed by Active Trainer Coaches. Select the program that
best matches your current training schedule. If you have been inactive, select a
conservative schedule to assure success and
decrease the risk of injury. Plug in the start date or the date of your target
race and go! The schedule will automatically be
entered into your log. It is as simple as that...
Training:
Select the daily email to receive your training by the day or log on to your
account and review the entire schedule. Use the
interactive log to enter in valuable training information. The more information
you enter in your personal log, the better. You will
be able to use this information in the future to evaluate performance, keep
track of what works and what doesn't and stay motivated
to see just how far you've come.
Sign up at: www.RunnersWebCoach.com OR
http://training.active.com/ActiveTrainer/listing.do?listing=51
* 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.
Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/promos.asp?code=DSBYBFCSP
* 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
Visit the PPO site at:
Peak Performance Online:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/cmd.php?af=517509
* Peak Running Performance
Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running Newsletter. Rated as the #1
Running Publication by Road Runner Sports (Worlds
Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the serious / dedicated runner.
Delivering world class running advice are some of
running's most recognizable athletes including Dr. Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach),
Scott Tinley (2 Time Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3 Time Olympian) and many more.
This bi-monthly newsletter has been around for over
13 years, and in the past two it has been awarded the "Golden Shoe Award" in
recognition of it's outstanding achievements.
http://www.clixGalore.com/Sale.aspx?BID=37234&AfID=103794&AdID=5075&LP=www.peakr\
unningperformance.com
Check out the Peak Running article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html .
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 will only post notes here regarding running and triathlon topics of interest
to the community.
We have ONE personal posting this week.
ONE:
Good Morning,
I'm looking for software or Web sites that are related to training and coaching
Triathlons ( or other endurance sports). Things
like training schedule design or workout logging or scheduling, even
diet/nutrition software or team management. In other words, any
software or web site that might be useful for an endurance Coach or athlete.
I'm trying to get a list of as many as possible.
I'm doing this both for personal and professional reasons.
As in, I Coach endurance events ( Track, Cross country, Triathlon, AR, etc. )and
am a personal trainer and want to find the best
software and web sites to help me with my work. But also to see what's out
there. See if there's a need for something better and
newer. Once a software engineer/Entrepreneur always a software
engineer/Entrepreneur... like I really have time for another project
but at least maybe I can find something good and useful.
Now..it's time for a run in the sun...
To your health!
Thanks,
Craig
What we think, we become.
Buddha
Coach Benson ( me :-) )
http://www.innerathlete.com/CoachBenson
THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:
1. The Complete Electrolyte Story
2. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
3. Limitations on Physiological Predictors
4. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Falling Short
5. Internet exercise motivation programs effective: study
6. Probing Question: Are sports drinks better than water for athletes?
7. Simple Workout Urged for Pregnant Women on Bed Rest
8. Lactic Acid
9. Perfect Intervals Take Perfect Recovery
10. Safety In Numbers
11. Mind-set Matters: Why Thinking You Got A Work Out May Actually Make You
Healthier
12. Variety is the spice of....running
13. Stress & Overtraining : Strategies to ward off overtraining by dealing with
stress from all sources
14. Study: Even 10 minutes can help the heart
15. Strange but True: Helmets Attract Cars to Cyclists
16. Increase your riding efficiency
17. Java Jolt
A study raises concerns about caffeine and exercise. What's a coffee lover to
do?
18. This Week in Running
19. 6 Steps to Successful Habits
20. Digest Briefs
RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"What is the longest period you have been unable to run as a result of an injury
or illness?"
You can access the poll from our FrontPage (
http://www.runnersweb.com) as well
as checking the results of previous polls.
LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS:
"Do you keep a training diary?"
Answers Percent
1. Yes, training notebook 23%
2. Yes, notebook 37%
3. Yes, calendar 9%
4. Yes, online log 9%
5. No 21%
FIVE STAR SITE OF THE WEEK: Canadian Athletes Now Fund.
Since 1997, our signature "See You In Fund" has raised more than $3 million and
has assisted hundreds of athletes in their dreams of
competing for Canada in international winter and summer games.
The See You In Sydney Fund was the first of its kind set up that financially
assisted 78 of the 311 Canadian athletes who
represented our country in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. Without this fund, a
quarter of the Canadian athletes competing in Sydney
would not have had adequate financial resources to train and compete.
In 2001 and early 2002, the See You In Salt Lake Fund continued by assisting
athletes training for the Games including Jeff Pain as
he became the first Canadian to represent our country in the new event of
Skeleton.
The See You In Athens Fund received hundreds of applications for funding. As a
result of our application review process and with the
generous help of our sponsors, the See You In Athens Fund was able to distribute
funds to 244 out of the 266 Canadian athletes
representing our country in Athens(comprising of individuals, pairs and teams;
both able-bodied and Paralympians).
Due to the success of See You In Sydney, See You In Salt Lake, See You In
Athens, and See You In Torino we're proud to continue the
tradition with the Canadian Athletes Now Fund.
Editor's Note: Because of legal action by the Canadian Olympic Committee, the
fund's name was changed to the Canadian Athletes Now
Fund. The COC lost their court case and are liable for the legal expenses
incurred by the Canadian Athletes Now Fund. The COC is
considering appealing the decision. See a related story in the Toronto Star at:
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/215329
Visit the site and support Canada's Olympic athletes at:
http://www.canadianathletesnow.ca
PHOTO SLIDESHOW:
Our Photo Slideshow is updated on a random basis. Check it out from our
FrontPage.
BOOK/VIDEO OF THE MONTH: The Perfect Distance: Training for Long-Course
Triathlon
Author: Tom Rodgers
Packed with technique and drills built on the proven Ultrafit platform, The
Perfect Distance is the first book to equip triathletes
of all levels for the long course. Every facet of effective preparation for a
long-course event is thoroughly outlined, and
extensive appendixes with workouts for swim, bike, run, key training sessions,
and indoor training make this book the ultimate
resource. Along with the sport-specific chapters, Tom Rodgers provides
instruction on:
* Selection of equipment
* Making smart nutrition decisions
* Strength training
* Overcoming common injuries caused by long-distance training \
Buy the book from VeloPress at:
http://www.velogear.com/prodinfo.asp?number=VP+PER
For more publications on running and triathlon visit:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/human_kinetics.html and
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/amazon.html
THIS WEEK'S FEATURES:
1. The Complete Electrolyte Story :
Reviewed and updated by ERB member Sally Warner, PhD: Assoc. Medical Director of
Musculoskeletal Imaging for Perceptive Informatics,
Waltham, MA
Introduction: Electrolytes, the mineral salts that conduct the electrical energy
of the body, perform a cellular balancing act by
allowing nutrients into the cell, while helping to remove waste products.
Certain elements, sodium, chloride, magnesium, calcium and
potassium, play a primary role in cellular respiration -- that of muscle
contraction and nerve impulse transmission. It is at the
cell membrane where these electrolytes conduct electrical currents similar to
nerve impulses. Hydration is the medium which aids
electrolyte transport and is crucial for both the health and performance of
every cell in your body. Your hydration state is mostly
dependent upon water intake or loss thru sweat but is also heavily influenced by
electrolyte status. The endurance athlete regularly
challenges their bodies' ability to maintain optimal hydration.
Sweat: Loss of >2% of body mass can decrease aerobic and mental performance.
Endurance performance is compromised more by warmer
temperatures than by cooler temperatures. Here & why: to control an excessive
rise in body temperature, the blood flow to the skin
increases in order to dissipate heat to the environment. This shift of blood to
the skin will result in a lesser proportion of
blood, and hence oxygen, being delivered to the working muscle. In some
individuals the circulatory adjustments may not be adequate
and the body temperature will rise rapidly, leading to hyperthermia (excessive
body heat). Individual sweat rates vary, but those
that sweat early, heavily, and cake with salt tend to be more prone to muscle
cramps during exercise (Burke, 2001). Evaporation of
sweat in a hot environment can purge as much as 3 liters an hour. Alberto
Salazar reportedly lost an average of 3.7 liters per hour
of sweat during the hot and humid 1984 Olympic Marathon in LA (Armstrong et al.
1986). About 99% of sweat is water, with a number of
major electrolytes found in varying amounts. Since sweat is derived from the
extracellular fluid (fluid outside the cell) the major
electrolytes found are sodium and chloride. The concentration of salt in sweat
is variable, but averages about 2.6 grams per liter
of sweat loss. Potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, amino acids
and some of the water-soluble vitamins can also be
found in sweat.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/newsletter_electrolytes2.html
2. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Lactic Acid Increases Endurance
Lactic acid buildup in muscles does not make muscles tired and may even make
muscle contract more efficiently, which may increase
your endurance. This concept contradicts what most instructors teach in their
exercise classes. When you exercise, your muscles burn
sugar, fat or protein in the presence of oxygen to produce energy. If you
exercise so intensely that you become very short of breath
and your muscles can't get enough oxygen, lactic acid accumulates in your
muscles.
The old theory was that lactic acid makes the muscles more acidic which causes
them to hurt and burn and interferes with their
ability to contract, so you feel tired. Now researchers
have shown that muscles contact more efficiently when lactic acid accumulates in
them. Electric currents cause muscles to contract.
This electricity is generated by cell membranes causing potassium to move inside
cells and chloride ions to stay outside. With
vigorous exercise, potassium ions accumulate outside cells. As large amounts of
potassium ions accumulate outside cells, electricity
is not generated and the cells cannot contract. Another ion called chloride
accumulates outside cells and prevents potassium from
getting back inside cells. Lactic acid removes the chloride, so it is easier for
potassium to get back inside cells. Therefore
lactic acid increases the ratio of potassium inside cells to the amount outside,
and this helps the muscle contract with more
efficiency.
While this concept of how muscles use lactic acid for energy is reasonable, it
is not likely to change the way athletes train or the
way exercisers become more fit. Healthy people are
supposed to exercise vigorously and feel a burn in their muscles during
exercise, which signifies buildup of lactic acid in muscles.
They feel sore on the next day, go easy for as many days as it takes for muscles
to feel fresh again, and then exercise intensely
again.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: How can I tell if I am pedaling my bicycle too fast?
A: Since fatigue during cycling comes from how much pressure you put on the
pedals, not how fast you spin the pedals, you would
think that the faster you spin the pedals, the longer you can ride and the
greater your endurance. However, all cyclists learn
sooner or later that they will reach a point when they spin too fast and the
slow down and tire earlier.
A study from Purdue University in Indiana shows why you slow down when you pedal
faster than your brain can coordinate your muscles
(Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, April 2007). You get your maximal
force during pedaling when the force of your foot is
directed downward. When you pedal faster than is comfortable for you, the
downward maximal force is applied later in the pedaling
cycle so you never reach your maximum downward force of your feet on the pedals.
Since you don't go down on your pedals with as much
force, you lose force that starts you in your upward motion and have a weaker up
stroke.
The key to pedaling efficiency is to pedal as fast as you can and still retain
your maximum sustainable force on your pedals. Most
people can tell when they are pedaling too fast
because they start to feel uncoordinated when they raise their feet in the up
stroke. Optimal cadence for competitive racers is
between 90 and 105. Optimal cadence for most experienced riders is 80-85.
Anyone pedaling at fewer than 70 revolutions per minute
needs instruction and more practice.
* Antioxidant Supplements Harmful? How to Interpret the News
In 1956, Denham Harman at the University of Nebraska proposed that antioxidants
would prolong life. He explained that the human body
converts food to energy by stripping off electrons and protons from food in a
series of chemical reactions that leaves extra
electrons to attach to oxygen. Most of the charged oxygen combines with hydrogen
to form water, but some sticks to the DNA in cells
to damage them and shorten life. He proposed that antioxidants would prevent
this and thus prolong life. A recent review of the
world's scientific literature shows that he may be wrong. Researchers from
Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark analyzed 68
studies involving 230,000 participants taking antioxidant supplements and found
that beta carotene and vitamins A and E, given
singly or combined with other antioxidants, shortened the lives of those who
took them (JAMA , February 2007).
Current research shows only four possible ways to extend maximum lifespan:
exercise, calorie restriction with adequate nutrition,
and two chemicals: resveratrol and dichloroacetate (in experimental use only).
All these enhance the mitochondria in cells so that
they produce far fewer oxidants. None have been shown to extend life by
increasing antioxidant production. Mitochondria are the
furnaces in cells that turn food into energy. By increasing the size and number
of mitochondria, these four factors make the engines
far more efficient so that they burn fuel cleaner to produce far less reactive
oxygen species. None have been shown to increase
antioxidant production.
Taking large doses of antioxidants, such as the vitamins; beta carotene and
vitamins A, C and E, produces high tissue levels of
these vitamins that the body couldn't possibly be exposed to from food. This
could interfere with normal chemical reactions and
shorten your life. At this time nobody really knows whether taking antioxidant
supplements prolongs or shortens life.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com/
3. Limitations on Physiological Predictors:
Recently, a promising young distance runner named Ben did a fitness test at a
local gym to determine his VO2 max. The gym didn't
explain that his VO2 max was not actually being measured, but just predicted
from a formula. Ben's predicted VO2 max was 57
ml/kg/min. He was crushed, as he knew that other top young runners typically
have VO2 max values in the high 60s or even the 70s.
Ben left the gym dejectedly, thinking he was destined for mediocrity. A few
weeks later, Ben reluctantly underwent a VO2 max test in
our lab. Much to his surprise, he reached 74 ml/kg/min, which indicates
outstanding potential.
Marathoner and former RT Editor Gordon Bakoulis was tested at the U. S. Olympic
Training Center in Colorado Springs in 1990. Based
on her VO2 max test, lactate threshold test and marathon race times, Gordon was
advised to do her 800 meter repetitions on the track
in 2:28. This was useful advice from some of the best exercise physiologists in
the country, with the only hitch being that her
personal best for 800 meters was 2:26.
Why did these predictions not work particularly well for these runners? There
are several possible reasons, including genetics,
training history, mental approach, and misinterpretation of statistics. Let's
take a look at each of these factors.
Genetic make-up
Why were the 800 meter times recommended for Gordon too fast for her? Well,
Gordon is what you could call a "marathoner's
marathoner." Although the percent of slow twitch muscle fibers in Gordon's
muscles was not measured, it is a fairly safe assumption
that she lives far out in the slow twitch galaxy. Using data from the lab and
race times to determine the most effective pace for
800 meter intervals works very well for a typical national class women's
distance runner. But Gordon isn't typical-her high
proportion of slow twitch muscle fibers helps make her ideally suited for the
marathon, and not so well-suited to shorter distances.
So, try as she might, Gordon cannot do repeat 800s in 2:28, and the quality of
her 5K time will never be equivalent to her marathon
time.
More...from Pete Pfitzinger at:
http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/predictions.shtml
4. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Falling Short:
Every Marathon Team of mine has one runner even more memorable than the others.
With the first five teams is for a triumph -- a
finish against the odds, a big PR, a Boston qualifier, a selfless act.
(The last came when a doctor named Tod stopped at 22 miles to assist a fallen
runner. Tod figures again in the story that follows.)
On the latest team I remember someone who fell a mile short of finishing. She
didn't fail. She ran harder than anyone on my teams
ever has, and for as long as she could. If anyone failed, it was I for not
coaching her quite well enough.
Whitney is a college student, a graduate of my University of Oregon running
classes. When word went out that Eugene would have a
marathon this spring, she and a dozen other students signed on for the race and
with my training group.
Before taking on the teaching of college-age runners, I shared the prejudices
that the old have about them: more interested in
sitdown entertainment than the gritty realities of long running.
Not true, I quickly learned. Not true with those who volunteer for my classes,
anyway. Especially not true for those who don't want
to stop when the class offerings run out at 10K training.
These runners run for the same reasons that their elders do. If something
inspires them and someone advises them, they keep going.
Like a proud papa (or grandpa), I waited at the finish line for these runners
complete this graduation exercise. My clipboard held a
predicted time range for each of our 61 runners, and Whitney was overdue.
Then I was told, "I saw one of your runners on a stretcher at the 25-mile mark."
I asked for a description, which didn't match
Whitney's.
But the more names I checked off the list, the more likely the fallen runner had
to be her. One of her sorority-sister teammates
finally confirmed it.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/home.php?article=2110
5. Internet exercise motivation programs effective: study:
Web-based exercise motivation program helps couch potatoes to get moving as well
as traditional, print-based programs, a new study
suggests.
In Monday's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers in the U.S.
compared tailored direct mail programs aimed at
changing sedentary behaviour to standard and tailored internet approaches.
Nearly 250 healthy, sedentary adults with an average age of 45 were randomly
assigned to one of the three groups.
Those in the tailored internet group were asked to log on to a website designed
by the researchers that included educational
materials, tips for adopting and maintaining physical activity, and goal-setting
functions.
They were also e-mailed monthly questionnaires and received immediate feedback
to their responses.
The tailored print group received the same information but the material and
feedback was sent in the mail.
More...from the CBC at:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/05/14/exercise-web.html
6. Probing Question: Are sports drinks better than water for athletes?
After finishing a long run in the heat of a July afternoon, you're thirsty, your
muscles are weak, you feel generally fatigued, and
you may have a minor headache. Your body is telling you that it needs to be
rehydrated, so you grab a bottle of water from the
refrigerator. It's cold and refreshing, but how well is that H2O replenishing
the nutrients you lost during your workout? According
to W. Larry Kenney, Penn State professor of physiology and kinesiology, a bottle
of a sports drink like Gatorade may be a better
choice.
"Sports drinks have extra ingredients that are not found in water," Kenney
explained. "Electrolytes such as sodium and potassium are
the most important additives, and carbohydrates are a close second."
Electrolytes are physiologically important substances that regulate the body's
hydration, and nerve and muscle function, he added.
During exercise, the body sweats to limit the rise in body temperature. This
process keeps the body cool, but results in loss of
fluid. "Sports drinks are designed to replenish electrolytes lost while
sweating," he said.
The amount of fluid lost varies tremendously between individuals, Kenney noted,
and is dependent upon exercise intensity and
duration, temperature and humidity, and the type of clothing one wears. "Heavy
sweaters can lose up to three pounds per hour," he
said, and advised weighing oneself both before and after exercise. "The goal is
to maintain your baseline body weight."
"There is another reason for adding electrolytes like sodium," Kenney said.
"Think of a bartender who offers free pretzels and
peanuts -- he wants you to drink more. The salt in sports drinks helps to
maintain thirst." He continued, "If you drink plain water
until you no longer feel thirsty, you've most likely not replenished all lost
fluids."
More...from PhysOrg.com at:
http://www.physorg.com/news98111475.html
7. Simple Workout Urged for Pregnant Women on Bed Rest:
Pregnant women restricted to bed rest can and should do safe, specially-designed
physical activity, say experts at the American
Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
Each year in the United States, an estimated 700,000 women with high-risk
pregnancies (including nearly all those carrying triplets
or more) are put on bed rest, the APTA said. But, in many cases, the
incapacitating effects of total bed rest are not being
addressed, leaving some expectant mothers ill-prepared for pre- and post-partum
physical and psychological challenges.
"As a result of prolonged bed rest, pregnant women experience an array of
symptoms ranging from cardiovascular deconditioning,
musculoskeletal discomforts, stressful postures and positions, skin breakdown,
muscle weakness, as well as psychological issues such
as guilt, stress, and depression," Jean Irion, a professor of physical therapy
at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, said in
a prepared statement.
Irion teaches physical therapists across the United States to develop safe
physical activity programs for pregnant women on bed
rest.
More...from Yahoo at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070512/hl_hsn/simpleworkouturgedforpregnantwomenon\
bedrest
8. Lactic Acid:
Introduction
The expression "lactic acid" is used most commonly by athletes to describe the
intense pain felt during exhaustive exercise,
especially in events like the 400 metres and 800 metres. When energy is required
to perform exercise it is supplied from the
breakdown of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). The body has a limited store of about
85 grms of ATP and would use it up very quickly if
we did not have ways of resynthesising it. There are three systems that produce
energy to resynthesise ATP: ATP-PC, lactic acid and
aerobic.
The lactic acid system is capable of releasing energy to resynthesise ATP
without the involvement of oxygen and is called anaerobic
glycolysis. Glycolysis (breakdown of carbohydrates) results in the formation of
pyruvic acid and hydrogens ions (H+). A build up of
H+ will make the muscle cells acidic and interfere with their operation so
carrier molecules, called nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide (NAD+), remove the H+. The NAD+ is reduced to NADH which deposit
the H+ at the electron transport gate (ETC) in the
mitrochondria to be combined with oxygen to form water (H2O).
If there is insufficient oxygen then NADH cannot release the H+ and they build
up in the cell. To prevent the rise in acidity
pyruvic acid accepts H+ forming lactic acid which then dissociates into lactate
and H+. Some of the lactate diffuses into the blood
stream and takes some H+ with it as a way of reducing the H+ concentration in
the muscle cell. The normal pH of the muscle cell is
7.1 but if the build up of H+ continues and pH is reduced to around 6.5 then
muscle contraction may be impaired and the low pH will
stimulate the free nerve endings in the muscle resulting in the perception of
pain (the burn). This point is often measured as the
lactic threshold or anaerobic threshold or onset of blood lactate accumulation
(OBLA).
More...from Pure Endurance at:
http://www.pureendurance.net/lactic_acid
9. Perfect Intervals Take Perfect Recovery:
You're ready for your workout. You've packed a few POWEBARR Sport bars and
POWERBARR Gel packets in your jersey, your carbon-fiber
Specialized Roubaix is gleaming in the warm sun with a bottle of water and
bottle of sports drink, and your Suunto heart rate
monitor is quietly recording every beat of your heart. Great job, you have all
the right gear, but what about your workout timing -
specifically the amount of recovery you're getting between intervals?
Just as intervals of different lengths lead to unique physiological adaptations,
manipulating the recovery time you give yourself
between intervals can also change the physical demands - and hence the physical
results - of your workouts.
Scenario 1: Super-Short Intensity - Long Recovery
Intervals that only last 5-15 seconds are almost always done at a person's
maximum intensity (most commonly sprints). To get the
most out of each effort, you have to be able to produce maximum power, which
means the recovery period between efforts has to be
long enough to allow your muscles to fully recharge. Such short and intense
intervals call upon the body's ATP-CP system, which is
more simply known as the "immediate energy system." To completely oversimplify
what's going on in your muscles, during a sprint you
burn through your available ATP in a handful of seconds and the CP recharges
those muscles' ATP stores to make this important energy
source available again. This is why you need to take 5-8 minutes of easy
recovery walking/jogging/spinning between sprints.
More...from Powerbar at:
http://www.powerbar.com/ca/NutritionResource/TrainingTipsDetail.aspx?ArticleId=2\
9DD80F0-6894-4BC7-B2DA-E4F5B28D0BDF
[Long URL]
10. Safety In Numbers:
By Matt Russ
Cycling in a group may increase your safety or detract from it. This largely is
predicated on the behavior and experience of the
group members. If you are leading a group ride you have a direct impact on your
group member's safety and security; a responsibility
that should be taken seriously. The risks are compounded if you are riding in an
area that has heavy traffic. As a sport, cycling
has the second highest incidence of injury. Many of these are serious or even
catastrophic. The good news is with a little
awareness, practice, and plain old common sense you can greatly reduce the risk
to yourself and those you ride with.
There are some steps you should take before the rubber meets the road. Start by
making sure everyone's bicycle is in proper working
order. Usually there is one person in the group that is mechanically inclined
and apt. to help others with their equipment.
Designate this person your "team mechanic" and have them give a quick visual
inspection to the groups bicycle. Tires especially
should be checked for wear, cracks, cuts, and road debris. Make sure everyone
has a flat kit and inflation system, cell phone, food
and water, helmet and eye protection, and that their tires are properly
inflated. At least one person should carry a small first aid
kit. Hopefully everyone in group can change a tube but that is usually not the
case. At least one person should be proficient at
changing flats. Discuss the route you will take, the traffic patterns, areas of
danger, and rules of the road. If the route is
complex a map is a great idea. Designate one member the group leader that will
lead the ride.
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com/site/trainingnews/Safety_In_Numbers.shtml
11. Mind-set Matters: Why Thinking You Got A Work Out May Actually Make You
Healthier:
As the commitment to our New Year's resolutions wanes and the trips to the gym
become more infrequent, new findings appearing in the
February issue of Psychological Science may offer us one more chance to reap the
benefits of exercise through our daily routine.
Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer and her student Alia Crum found
that many of the beneficial results of exercise are due
to the placebo effect.
The surgeon general recommends 30 minutes of daily exercise to maintain a
healthy lifestyle. While this may be harder for those who
are required to sit behind a desk for eight hours, other jobs are inherently
physical, like a hotel housekeeper. On average, they
clean 15 rooms per day, each taking 20 to 30 minutes to complete. According to
the study, the housekeepers might not perceive their
job as exercise, but if their mind-set is shifted so that they become aware of
the exercise they are getting, then health
improvements would be expected to follow.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070207091003.htm
12. Variety is the spice of....running:
American Running Association
Sometimes runners get hooked on the same running routine -- route, time of day,
pace -- and what was once a routine becomes a rut.
Motivation and joy can languish. Perhaps even more important -- you can miss the
opportunity to make fitness gains since working out
at the same intensity, frequency and duration week after week will preserve, but
not improve, your current level of fitness.
If your workouts have a distinct sameness about them and the thrill is gone, you
need a dose of variety to get it back. Stepping out
of your rut will banish the blahs and can give you the added benefit of
improvements in strength, stamina and speed. Try these
suggestions to spice it up.
~ Find a new route. If you've been running the roads, find a trail. Check out a
new neighborhood. Drive to a nearby scenic area and
plot a course, park and run. Set yourself the goal of one new route a week until
you find a few you really enjoy. Commit to trying a
new route once a month.
~ Get a running partner. Check out a local running publication for listings of
runners in search of running buddies. Running stores
often have bulletin boards to match up runners of similar ability.
~ Join a running club. If you've had trouble finding the motivation to complete
a weekly long run, a running club can keep you
moving.
~ Set a new goal. If you have been running the same pace for years, challenge
yourself to shave a little time off over the next few
months. Set a new goal when the first is achieved.
~ Sign up for a race. Try a 10K if you've been running 5Ks or vice versa. Half
marathons are gaining in popularity and can be a
great next step for a 10K runner.
~ Volunteer at a marathon. Nothing is quite as motivating as the exhilaration of
accomplishment written all over the face of each
participant.
~ Add some cross-training such as cycling, swimming, elliptical trainers, yoga
or strength training. Each can challenge muscles in a
different way and increase overall fitness without increasing the risk of
running injury.
~ Keep a journal, but don't stop at recording just the specifics of your
workout. Jot down notes on mood, ideas that occurred to you
on your run, observations and enlightenment. You might discover poetry you
didn't know you had.
~ Add a quality workout to your week. Try hills or repetitions. After a warm up,
time yourself for a mile. The next week try it a
little faster.
~ Fartlek. If you make no other change in your routine, at least give fartleks a
try. Head out at your usual warm-up speed, then on
a random basis pick a landmark and run a fast pace until you pass it. Jog to the
next landmark. Take a longer, slower segment. Take
a hill faster than usual. Break up each speed segment with an easy jog or a walk
to recover. Continue randomly spicing it up
throughout your usual route. Or better yet, fartlek over uncharted territory.
More...from Active Running at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13926&sidebar=13&category=running
13. Stress & Overtraining : Strategies to ward off overtraining by dealing with
stress from all sources"
The simple physiological equation employed by most coaches is this:
training-plus-recovery equals-adaptation. But while there are
literally hundreds of ways of measuring training (eg sets, reps, load, volume,
time and intensity) and a similar number for
measuring adaptation (game performance, lactate threshold, heart rate, speed,
power etc), how many coaches measure or prescribe a
recovery programme, asks James Marshall.
The evidence is that recovery is hugely important for athletes. Of 298 US
athletes who participated in a survey after competing in
the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, 35 (12%) said that the number one coaching
decision that affected their performance was
'overtraining/not getting enough rest' (1). In fact, it has been reported that
athletes are often fitter on the plane home than en
route to a competition, simply because of the rest days they have enjoyed after
the event!
Recovery is not just the absence of activity; it can also mean an enhancement of
activity, such as stretching, or a change of
activity, such as swimming instead of running. A coach may assume that if an
athlete is not training he or she is recovering, but
this may not be the case, and athletes may need a specific programme to help
accelerate the recovery process.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/stress-overtraining.htm
14. Study: Even 10 minutes can help the heart:
Even small amounts of exercise -- as few as 72 minutes a week -- can improve
overall cardiovascular fitness in overweight,
sedentary, postmenopausal women who, prior to participation in an unusual study
reported Tuesday, had rarely broken a sweat.
In addition to flying in the face of earlier government recommendations that
call for a far greater expenditure of energy, Dr.
Timothy Church, who authored the study in today's Journal of the American
Medical Association, said divvying the exercise into
10-minute routines improves health almost immediately.
"For those who are super-sedentary, they start getting benefits right away,"
said Church, director of preventive medicine research
at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton
Rouge.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which designs the food pyramid, has added
exercise to the government's prescriptions for healthy
living. USDA guidelines suggest that 60 minutes to 90 minutes of vigorous daily
exercise is what is required to manage body weight
and prevent gradual weight gain in adulthood.
At the very least, according to the government, 30 minutes of moderate-intensity
physical activity, above your usual activity, is
required on most days of the week to reduce the risk of chronic disease in
adulthood. Greater health benefits, according to the
guidelines, can be reaped with an exercise program involving more intensity.
More...from Newsday at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsfit0516,0,7393890.story?coll=ny-leadheal\
thnews-headlines
15. Strange but True: Helmets Attract Cars to Cyclists:
Although you might not want to leave your protective gear at home, just know
that if you do, drivers will be a lot more scared of
hitting you.
Spring is in full swing now, and a number of the straphangers (read: subway
riders) in New York City, as well as citizens in other
locales, are getting new tubes and tires and dragging their bikes out of
storage. Bicycle riding is the skill you reportedly never
forget, but there's a raging debate about whether or not you should forget your
helmet when you hop on your two-wheeler.
Last September a plucky psychologist at the University of Bath in England
announced the results of a study in which he played both
researcher and guinea pig. An avid cyclist, Ian Walker had heard several
complaints from fellow riders that wearing a helmet seemed
to result in bike riders receiving far less room to maneuver-effectively
increasing the chances of an accident. So, Walker attached
ultrasonic sensors to his bike and rode around Bath, allowing 2,300 vehicles to
overtake him while he was either helmeted or
naked-headed. In the process, he was actually contacted by a truck and a bus,
both while helmeted-though, miraculously, he did not
fall off his bike either time.
More...from the Scientific American at:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleId=778EF0AB-E7F2-99DF-3594A60E4D9A76B2&c\
hanId=sa013&modsrc=most_popular
[Long URL]
16. Increase your riding efficiency:
Every cyclist has a finite amount of energy to expend during the course of a
day, and how you allot that energy can make a huge
difference in the success of your cycling exploits. This is the macro aspect of
efficiency and economics as applied to cycling, and
how you choose to play out your deck of cards (i.e., watts) will have a big
influence on your ultimate success.
Efficiency in the pack
Most cyclists know that they save energy by riding behind another rider, but
very few understand the nuances of drafting and the
subtleties of positioning when riding in the pack. One of the reasons that, even
after years and years, many cyclists never pick up
on these things is because it's not always essential for a recreational rider to
conserve a watt here and a heartbeat there to get
to the end of their rides.
However, pro riders quickly learn that something as simple as hitting the brakes
for a fraction of a second too long once or twice
in a hard criterium can mean the difference between taking home some money and
going off the back. Take a tip from the pros and
practice these minute adjustments to save energy on your next ride.
More...from Active.com at:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=14040
17. Java Jolt:
A study raises concerns about caffeine and exercise. What's a coffee lover to
do?
Wake up, make a beeline for the coffeepot. it's a routine most of us can relate
to. In fact, nearly 60 percent of Americans drink
coffee every day. And why not? A cup of joe has long been credited with
stimulating the nervous system, helping us feel more alert,
better able to concentrate--not to mention more energized for a five-miler. On
top of that, coffee's high antioxidant content has
been attributed to reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease, and caffeine
has been linked to aiding fat metabolism and easing
postworkout pain.
Then last year a new study came out that struck fear in the hearts of java
junkies everywhere. The study seemed to suggest that
caffeine could actually hinder performance, and one of its authors was widely
quoted as saying, "Do not drink coffee before doing
physical activity." What, no joe? "Caffeine may not be as harmless as we
thought," says Philipp Kaufmann, M.D., a professor of
cardiology in Switzerland and one author of the study. Here's what all this
means for those of us who can't get out the door without
a caffeine connection.
CAFFEINE JITTERS
Working at the University Hospital Zurich, Kaufmann and his colleagues found
that 200 milligrams of caffeine (about two cups of
coffee) decreased blood flow to the heart during exercise by 22 percent. That
percentage increased to 39 for people exercising in a
high-altitude chamber, which the researchers used to simulate the way coronary
artery disease (CAD, or hardening of the arteries)
limits the amount of oxygen that gets to the heart. No such effect occurred at
rest. "When energy is used, a substance called
adenosine opens the arteries to facilitate increased blood flow," says Kaufmann.
"Caffeine partly blocks the effects of adenosine."
Scientists have known about this relationship for a long time, but the Zurich
team was the first to find that the effect was strong
enough to measure, and it published the findings in the January 2006 issue of
Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-300--11798-0,00.html?cm_mmc=Ex\
tra%20NL-_-2007_05_10-_-nutrition-_-Java%20Jolt
[Long URL]
18. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- John Kagwe (KEN) won the Old Kent River Bank (MI/USA) 25K in
1:15:21, followed by
Joseph Kariuki (KEN) in 1:15:47 and US champ John Sence in
1:15:58. Kim Jones
won both the women's race and the USA title with her time of
1:26:54. She was
followed by Alina Ivanova (RUS) in 1;27:15 and Lorraine Masuoka
(USA) in 1:29:35.
This race is now known as the Fifth Third River Bank 25K.
20 Years Ago- Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) ran 2:09:50 to win the Mars London (ENG)
Marathon, earning
$35,000. El Mostafa Nechchadi (MAR) was 2nd in 2:10:09 ($27,500)
and Hugh Jones
was 3rd as the AAA (ENG) champ at 2:10:11 ($22,500). Gianni Poli
(ITA, 2:10:15)
and Geir Kvernmo (NOR, 2:10:17) rounded out the top five. Ingrid
Kristiansen (NOR)
came close to her WR with a 2:22:48 for $40,000. 43 year old
Priscilla Welch ran
2nd in 2:26:51 for the AAA title with Veronique Marot (ENG,
2:30:15), Paula Fudge
(ENG, 2:32:28), and Karolina Szabo (HUN, 2:32:48) rounding out
the top five women.
30 Years Ago- Viktor Zubov (RUS) won a marathon in Klaipeda (now LTU) in
2:14:35.1, leading 26
others under 2:20. Danis Fatachov was 2nd in 2:15:39 and Valeriy
Solovyev was
3rd in 2:15:46.
40 Years Ago- Alastair Wood (SCO) won the Shettleston Harriers Marathon held in
Glasgow SCO
with a time of 2:23:02. Famed ultramarathoner Don Ritchie (SCO)
was 3rd in 2:29:59.
50 Years Ago- Max Truex (USA) won a 5000m in Fresno CA/USA with a time of
14:14.5.
From The Analytical Distance Runner, the newsletter for the Association of Road
Racing Statisticians with a focus on races, 3000m
and longer, including road, track, and cross-country events.
The ARRS has a website at
http://www.arrs.net.
19. 6 Steps to Successful Habits:
By Fred Dearborn
Personal habits control and create our actions at work, at home and in every
other area of our lives. Powerful and effective people
know this, and they take full advantage of it by consciously choosing their
habits. They also know how to form habits which is the
topic of this article.
Habit Forming
Creating a habit, whether it's adding a good one or releasing a bad one, means
being vigilant in order to overcome a lot of inertia.
As anyone who's gone on a diet knows those first couple of days are hard. But if
you approach a habit with a sensible step-by-step
plan (the secret of those powerful and effective people), your chances of
success improve dramatically. Over the years, I've
narrowed down this process to six steps. In fact, in my experience, it's a
process that will work every time if you use it.
Be specific about what habit you want to create or eliminate. The more detailed
and concrete you are the more likely you are to
succeed. One manager I know, named Kevin, was getting feedback that he was
intimidating his co-workers. He decided to be friendlier
at work. I asked him to get more specific. He did. He made the decision to smile
at five people a day and to compliment five people
a day. That kind of specificity provides two things: first, it closes the
loopholes, and second, it makes it easy to track your
success.
More...from Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=2032&p=2031
20. Digest Briefs:
* Graduated compression stockings: physiological and perceptual responses during
and after exercise.
Ali A, Caine MP, Snow BG.
Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Auckland, New
Zealand.
a.ali@...
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of wearing graduated compression
stockings on physiological and perceptual variables
during and after intermittent (Experiment 1) and continuous (Experiment 2)
running exercise. Fourteen recreational runners performed
two multi-stage intermittent shuttle running tests with 1 h recovery between
tests (Experiment 1). A further 14 participants
performed a fast-paced continuous 10-km road run (Experiment 2). Participants
wore commercially available knee-length graduated
compression stockings (pressure at ankle 18 - 22 mmHg) beneath ankle-length
sports socks (experimental trials) or just the latter
(control trials) in a randomized counterbalanced design (for both experiments).
No performance or physiological differences were
observed between conditions during intermittent shuttle running. During the
10-km trials, there was a reduction in delayed-onset
muscle soreness 24 h after exercise when wearing graduated compression stockings
(P < 0.05). There was a marked difference in the
frequency and location of soreness: two participants in the stockings trial but
13 participants in the control trial indicated
soreness in the lower legs. Wearing graduated compression stockings during a
10-km road run appears to reduce delayed-onset muscle
soreness after exercise in recreationally active men.
* The Marathon's Effects on the Immune System
Microscopic damage to the muscles from running a marathon can cause more than
soreness. The muscle damage incurred from running a
marathon can divert some immune cells for muscle repair and weaken others,
leaving the immune system less able to protect against
upper respiratory tract infections.
While there is no direct evidence that those runners with the most weakened
immune system are those who develop upper respiratory
tract infections there is evidence of a higher rate of it in marathon runners
compared with nonrunners. There is research suggesting
that running a marathon depresses the immune system for three to 72 hours and
thus increases the susceptibility to upper respiratory
tract infections. Free radicals, byproducts of aerobic metabolism, also appear
to play a role in promoting the muscle-damage induced
inflammatory response. There is evidence that antioxidants like vitamin C combat
free radicals and may help prevent a postmarathon
weakening of the immune system.
Running a marathon temporarily suppresses the immune system, but is the
suppression great enough to increase the risk for developing
upper respiratory tract infections? Provided below are guidelines for marathon
runners that will improve your immune system:
1. Keep other life stresses to a minimum.
2. Eat a well-balanced diet.
3. Obtain adequate sleep.
4. Avoid putting hands to eyes and nose.
5. Avoid sick people and large crowds.
6. Avoid overtraining and rapid weight loss.
7. Use carbohydrates beverages before, during and after marathon races and long
training runs.
THIS WEEK'S FEATURED EVENTS:
*Please verify event dates with the event websites*
Check the Runner's Web FrontPage for links to the race sites.
May 19, 2007:
Fargo Marathon - Fargo, ND
Palos Verdes Marathon - San Pedro, CA
May 20, 2007:
Bluenose Marathon - Halifax, NS
BUPA Great Manchester Run - UK
Cellcom Green Bay Marathon, Green Bay, WI
Florida Ironman 70.3 - Lake Buena Vista, FL
Glitnir Copenhagen Marathon - Denmark
Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon - Denver, CO
USATF National Club Marathon Relay Championship
Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K - Cleveland, OH
Sydney Morning Herald Half-Marathon - Sydney, Australia
June 23, 2007:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON
http://www.emiliesrun.com
For more complete race listings check out our Upcoming Races, and Calendars.
Check the Runner's Web on Sunday and Monday for race reports on these events at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/
For Triathlon Coverage check out The Sports Network at:
http://www2.sportsnet.ca/tvschedule/tvsked_sport.php?region=ONTARIO&schedule_id=\
25
Send this to a Friend:
Forward the Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join
YOUR FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS:
Comments, contributions and feedback are always welcome via this list at:
mailto:
runnersweb@yahoogroups.com and in our Runner's Web Forum, available off
our FrontPage. If you post to the mailing list and
get your email returned, please contact the Runner's Web at
mailto:
webmaster@... to notify us of the problem. To update your
Runner's Web eGroups subscriber's profile, go to the web
site at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join , sign in and update your
changes.
Forward the Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join
Have a good week of training and/or racing.
Ken Parker
Runner's Web
mailto:
webmaster@...
http://www.runnersweb.com/running.html
A running and triathlon resource portal
Runner's Web Online Store
http://store.runnersweb.com
RunnersWebCoach
http://www.runnerswebcoach.com
*********************************************
RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
*********************************************
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.
Nike
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000015009821
Free Ground Shipping on Orders of $175 or More at Patagonia.com
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000012303508&pubid=2100000000\
0028567
Peak Performance Online:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/cmd.php?af=517509
Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/promos.asp?code=DSBYBFCSP
Reebok
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=h1QosBYBFXw&offerid=117802&type=3&su\
bid=0
Your very own personal trainer at a fraction of the cost
http://www.cartville.com/app/?af=473063
Check out TotalWellness's mp3 Personal Training Program - only 5% the Cost of
Regular Personal Training!
http://www.totalwellnessconsulting.ca/fitter_u_totalwellness.htm
Geezer Jock Magazine, The Masters Sports & Fitness Magazine
http://www.geezerjock.com/index.cfm?affID=runnersweb
Athletes, Coaches, Trainers and Physio's
...new software designs unlimited stretching routines with ease!
Design unlimited stretching routines today, starting from scratch, in under 60
seconds!
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cmd.php?af=245575&u=http://www.thestretchin\
ghandbook.com/products/instantstretch.htm
Mental Strength Training Center:
http://www.memberstar.com/redir_a.php?LFAId=1027
National Bike Registry
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=21387&type=3&sub\
id=0
Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/074325242X/runnersweb-21
Endurance Films
Triathlon Training DVDs
https://endurancefilms.hivelocity.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_C\
ode=EF&Affiliate=runnersweb
Instant Stretching Routines
Design unlimited stretching routines today, starting from scratch, in under 60
seconds!
http://www.instantstretchingroutines.com/cgi-bin/a.cgi?a=runnersweb
ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
medical information at all times. Basically, anyone
who is out on the roads or trails needs a convenient place to carry this vital
information.
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?joggerscompanion+pXgxpm+index.html+
SportsShoes in the UK
http://www.sportsshoes.com/index.php?id=149
Visit on AssociatesShop.com Online Bookstore for running and triathlon books:
http://associatesshop.filzhut.de/shop/index.php?ID=90c9f271c1a519abc4a69299be707\
5a9
TrainingPeaks.com by Wes Hobson.
Find the training program that fits you at:
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/rw
TriSwim Coach - The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming
http://hop.clickbank.net/?rhianyth/triswim1
Adidas
http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-2141789-10440258
If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment?
If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
http://www.roadid.com/?referrer=50
The Stretching Handbook:
** You can get the new 3rd Edition of The Stretching Handbook at the old version
price of only US$19.97. But only until the 1st of
May!
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cmd.php?af=245575&u=http://www.thestretchin\
ghandbook.com/specials.php#stretch_book
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.
Buy the DVD at:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cgi-bin/at.pl?a=286905&e=products/video-dvd\
.htm
NEW SUBSCRIBERS:
This newsletter has been composed using Outlook set to "Text" format. The Digest
is sent via an email list at
http://groups.yahoo.com.
If you experience any delays in receiving your copy of the Digest, please advise
us at:
mailto:
webmaster@...
You can receive the digest in three ways:
1. Immediately, via email,
2. Daily, in an email summary, and
3. By accessing the YahooGroups.com web site on demand.
The mail list has been set to not allow attachments out of concerns for viruses.
Also, all messages must be approved by the monitor (me) prior to being released
to the group. If you have any questions regarding
the options available for receiving this digest,
please do NOT email the list, rather email me directly at
mailto:
Webmaster@...
*NOTE*
**[ Some e-mail clients may split the URL address into two lines. If you have
trouble connecting to a link, be sure that you paste
the entire address into your browser, so that it ends in ".html" or another
appropriate suffix ].
Note: An increasing number of media sites require free registration. If you wish
to sign up for free access to sources for our
articles without using your main email address we suggest the use of a mail
alias program such as
http://www.emailias.com.
*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***