A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES.
***NOTE: There will be no Digest on Friday, June 29th as I will be travelling***

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:
Paula Githuka of Hamilton held off a closing Nicole Stevenson of Toronto to win
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K in
Ottawa this morning. Githuka held a nine second lead at 3K which Stevenson
whittled down to two by the finish line. Githuka won in
16:37 to Stevenson's 16:39. Last year - in the RunnersWeb5K Race for Women -
Stevenson won in 16:28 over Emily Tallen of Kingston
who placed third this year in 16:55.
45 women ran under 20:00. For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com.
Join Emilie's Run Community 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 on May 25 to 27 saw almost 30,000 runners participate.
Watch the ING Ottawa Marathon on CBC TV on Saturday,
June 2nd from 2:00 to 3:30 P.M.
For more information on the race weekend visit the website at: 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

9. KineSys - Performance Sunscreen.
Did you know that it is estimated that approximately 1 out of 5 people in North
America will develop some form of SKIN CANCER during
their life time???
These statistics keep on rising due to the fact that it only takes ONE serious
sun burn to increase the risk of getting skin cancer
by 50%. This means that 1.0 million North Americans will develop skin cancer
this year from being exposed to the sun's harmful rays.
These are scary statistics but there is something you can do to keep from being
one of them.
Wear Sunscreen! We at KINeSYS want to remind you of the importance of protecting
your skin from harmful UV rays, which are
responsible for more than 90% of all skin cancers. By protecting your skin with
sunscreen on a regular basis, you can reduce the
chances of being harmed by these rays while still being able to enjoy all of
your favourite outdoor activities.
Visit KineSys at: http://www.kinesys.com/suncare/


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. You can now sign up for free Gmail at
Google WITHOUT AN INVITATION at:
www.gmail.com

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:
***NOTE: There was no Digest on Friday, June 29th as I was travelling***

We are considering dropping three features from the website due to an apparent
lack of interest:
1) the weekly poll
2) the Book/DVD of the Month
3) the Five Star Site of the Month
4) Monthly Trivia Quiz
5) Monthly Pegasus Quiz
We would appreciate any feedback, pro or con, on these features.

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 2,353 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 NO personal postings this week.


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
2. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - The Pod Squad
3. Jason Karp's VO2 Max Newsletter
4. How Your Stride Rate and Breathing Rhythm Affect Your Running
5. How should I modify my race now that I'm over 50?
6. Better Breathing For Runners
7. Dialing Down Your Power
8. Should you be eating organic?
9. All Athletes: Intervals 101...
10. Science of Sport: Ironman Training - Tapering for an Ironman Triathlon
11. Hydration Advice and Science
12. The sweet side of dark chocolate
13. Training tips for running a marathon
14. Organic food 'better' for heart
15. The Salt Mines
16. All Child-Play and No Workouts Make Dad an Unfit Boy
17. Who needs fancy feathers when you've got muscles
18. Nutrition tips for women with amenorrhea
19. Give Some Space on Race Week
20. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which sport(s) has the highest prevalence of drug use?"

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:
"What is the highest entry fee you have paid to enter an event?"
Answers Percent
1. <$30 7%
2. $30 - $49 2%
3. $50 - $69 13%
4. $70 - $89 7%
5. $90 - $99 9%
6. $100 - $149 27%
7. $150 - $199 7%
8. $200 - $299 2%
9. $300 - $399 4%
10. $400 or higher! 23%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: Athletics Canada - Leadership, development and
competition ensuring podium performance.
*Note: Our Five Star Site of the Week has been changed to the Five Star Site of
the Month*
As the national sport governing body for track and field, including
cross-country running and road running, Athletics Canada
supports high performance athletics excellence at the world level and provides
leadership in developmental athletics.
Our Mission:
The pursuit of LEADERSHIP, DEVELOPMENT and COMPETITION that ensures world-level
performance in athletics.
Visit the completely redesigned site at:
http://www.athletics.ca


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

BOOK/VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour
de France
By Floyd Landis
Book Description
The series of events surrounding Floyd Landis's 2006 Tour de France was as
improbable as anything in the history of sports: He
showed up nine seconds late for the race's opening prologue, donned the leader's
yellow jersey twelve days later, and lost his lead
only to regain it in remarkable fashion just before the Tour's final stage into
Paris. Winning the Tour should have been the
culmination of a life's dream, but a mere three days later, Landis was accused
of using banned performance-enhancing drugs. Released
by his team and threatened with the removal of his Tour title, Landis went from
winning the most prestigious race of his career to
being unfairly labeled as a cheater, a liar, and a doper.
Positively False is at once a memoir and a powerful indictment of the unchecked
governing bodies of cycling that have compromised
the integrity of the sport as a whole. From leaving the Mennonite community of
his youth in order to pursue his passion for cycling,
to riding alongside Lance Armstrong for three years -- with whom he shared the
same work ethic and competitive desire -- Floyd
Landis details the highs and lows of his career with unabashed honesty. It is
this same honesty with which he will clear his name
once and for all, as he lays bare the inner workings of the cycling world -- a
place where athletes are subject to the antiquated
science, flawed interpretive protocols, and draconian legal processes of the
anti-doping agencies -- and finally lays to rest the
scandal that threatened to destroy everything he's worked so hard to achieve....
Find out more: Read an excerpt at:
http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=535485&agid=2
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416950230/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

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. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Recovery Times Do Not Decrease with Age:
Many older athletes notice that their muscles weaken with aging, even though
their recovery times from hard workouts are the same as
when they were younger. A study from Griffith University in Queensland,
Australia confirms this (Journal of Sports Medicine and
Physical Fitness, September 2006). Two groups of experienced cyclists raced in
30-minute time trials on three consecutive days. The
first group had an average age of 24 while the second group's average age was
45.
Both groups maintained their average power during the three trials. They had the
same amount of muscle damage, measured by the
release of a muscle enzyme called CPK. Both groups had a drop in their maximal
heart rate of three beats per minute during their
third time trial. The maximal voluntary isometric contractions of the quadriceps
muscle were the same for both groups. The authors
concluded that "high-intensity endurance performance is maintained in both
well-trained young cyclists and veteran cyclists
following three consecutive days of maximal 30-minute time trials."
Every muscle is made up of millions of individual fibers, as a rope is made of
many threads. Each muscle fiber is enervated by a
single nerve fiber. The non-preventable result of aging is loss of nerve fibers.
With the loss of each nerve fiber during aging, you
lose its associated muscle fiber. So aging causes you to have increasingly fewer
muscle fibers, which makes you weaker. However, the
remaining muscle fibers function as well as those of a younger person.
* How To Run Faster:
If you don't run very fast in practice, you won't be able to run very fast in
races.
At the University of Copenhagen, Danish scientists studied experienced runners
who had been running 60 miles a week at a fast pace.
One group was told to cut their mileage in half to only 30 miles a week, but to
run a series of around 50 to 100 yard dashes as fast
as they could. The other group continued running 60 miles a week at a fast pace.
Runners who ran fewer miles at a faster pace had a
7 percent improvement in their body's maximal ability to take in and use oxygen.
Runners who did not increase their speed in practice did not improve, even
though they ran twice as many miles. Jogging slowly
reduces your chance of injury, but it won't help you to run fast. You can race
only as fast as you run in practice, but don't try to
run fast every day. Intense exercise damages muscles. Try to run fast once or
twice a week, never on consecutive days and don't run
fast when your legs feel heavy or hurt.
When I trained seriously for marathon running, I thought that the runner who ran
the most miles would be the best. I didn't become a
great runner, but I did become an expert on injuries. My patients seldom come to
me with a running injury that I haven't had.
Many top runners run more than 100 miles a week because their bodies have the
genetic ability to withstand such abuse, but the vast
majority of runners will never be able to run 100 miles a week without being
injured frequently. Furthermore, running a lot of miles
slowly will slow you in races. The ability to run fast in races depends more on
how fast you run in practice than on how many miles
you run each week. However, every time you run fast, your muscles are damaged
and feel sore on the next day, and it takes at least
48 hours for your muscles to heal enough to allow you to run comfortably again
at a very-fast pace. After every workout in which you
run very fast, take the next day off or run at a much slower pace. Most top
athletes plan their workouts so they run very fast only
two days a week. The same principles apply to any endurance sport.
Twelfth European Track Coaches Congress Acoteias, Portugal pp10-16. RRN January,
1991
* Preserve Cell Mitochondria to Age Well
An exciting report from the University of Washington in Seattle shows how
exercise prolongs lives (Exercise and Sport Sciences
Reviews, April, 2007). The leading theory for aging is that mitochondria
produce oxidants that damage the DNA in cells to shorten
life. Mitochondria are parts of cells that convert food to energy. They
function by stripping off electrons and protons from food
to produce energy. When they do this, they end up with free electrons that
eventually attach to oxygen, which produces free
radicals that stick to genetic material in cells to cause permanent damage.
As you age, your muscles lose mitochondria and those that remain become smaller
so that they produce far more free radicals.
Anything that increases the size or number of
mitochondria makes them function more efficiently so they produce fewer free
radicals. This recent review shows that exercising as
you age actually prevents loss of mitochondria and can even make them larger so
they produce fewer oxidants.
This report is particularly significant because a recent survey of the world's
literature in the Journal of the American Medial
Association (February 28, 2007) showed that there is little
evidence that taking antioxidant supplements prolongs life, and they may even
shorten life. Apparently it is necessary to avoid
production of oxidants, not just to take antioxidants as a corrective measure.
On the basis of these studies, if you do not already
have a regular exercise program, check with your doctor for approval and get
started.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: How long do muscles benefit from carbohydrate loading?
A: An important part of your energy for vigorous exercise comes from the sugar
stored inside muscle cells. When you run out of
stored muscle sugar, your muscles may hurt and be more difficult to coordinate.
Carbohydrate loading is a technique athletes use to
increase the stored sugar in their muscles. Four days before a competition, they
exercise vigorously and then for the next three
days, they eat their normal diet plus large amounts of extra carbohydrates in
foods such as bread, spaghetti and potatoes. A
recent study shows that after carbohydrate loading, the muscles will be full of
extra sugar for up to five days (European Journal of
Applied Physiology, February 2007).
At three, five and seven days of limited activity after the loading process,
the researchers cut out pieces of muscle and analyzed
the sugar content. Only at seven days post-loading did muscle sugar
concentrations drop significantly. This means that if your
competition is delayed, you can expect the effects of carbohydrate loading to
last up to five days.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at: http://www.drmirkin.com


2. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - The Pod Squad:
USATF has picked a fight that is probably unwinnable as well as unnecessary. The
sport's rulers want to take away runners' iPods and
other music-players. If we don't surrender them voluntarily, we can be
disqualified.
Good luck with that. I see confrontations coming, both physical and legal.
This ruling reminds me of how USATF's ancestor, the AAU, used to act. It once
barred woman from long-distance races, and
occasionally tried to remove them physically or penalize them legally for
defying this edict.
The rationale was safety. Women were delicate and needed "protecting" from
efforts this extreme. Women fought back and finally won.
The iPod ruling also is safety-based. But raceday, when traffic is controlled,
might be the safest time to run with plugged ears.
The worst time to wear one is alone on a busy street.
This anti-iPod action doesn't sink to the level of sex discrimination. But it
does make rule-breakers of runners who don't need to
be.
As with the women of 40 years ago, runners will find ways around this ruling.
They'll conceal their iPods from the enforcers and
find a race that ignores the rule. They won't stop the music, except maybe
voluntarily.
Forcibly removing someone's iPod strikes me as wrong-headed. But giving a runner
good, positive reasons to leave it behind by choice
on raceday is worthwhile.
A young runner on my Marathon Team wasn't aware that his iPod wasn't allowed in
the race (which wouldn't have enforced the rule
anyway). Tim Cole always trained to music, but on Eugene Marathon day he chose
to go without -- and won his age group.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/home.php?article=2117


3. Jason Karp's VO2 Max Newsletter:
* Stride Length and Stride Rate
In simple terms, your running speed equals stride length times stride rate. If
you want to get faster, you have to increase either
or both of these stride components. I often hear coaches tell their athletes to
do specific workouts to increase their stride
rates. However, research has shown that stride length increases preferentially
over stride rate with increasing distance running
speed. Stride rate changes only slightly, hovering between 80 to 90 steps per
minute with each leg. The stability in stride rate
has also been found as speed decreases due to fatigue. My own dissertation
research, in which I've examined the coordination
between breathing and stride rate, showed that average stride rate increased
from 79 steps per minute at a very easy speed (70% of
ventilatory threshold) to 87 steps per minute at near 5-K race pace. The faster
runners didn't necessarily take more steps than
slower runners, as there was only a modest correlation (r = 0.62) between stride
rate and 5-K speed, which explained only 38% of the
variance in speed among runners. Stride length is thus explaining a much
greater amount of variance in speed. Past research has
suggested that the unconscious manipulation of stride length and stride rate at
different speeds may be governed by what is most
economical for the runner, such that there is a most economical stride length at
a given speed and a most economical stride rate at
all distance running speeds. So, if you want to get faster, focus on increasing
your stride length (by increasing hip extension at
push-off and by increasing the amount of force produced against the ground at
push-off) rather than try to take quicker steps.
* Fat vs. Carbohydrates
There seems to be much confusion about which fuel--fat or carbohydrates--is
being used at different running speeds. It has been
known since the 1960s that carbohydrate is the body's preferred fuel during
exercise. To use mostly fat, you'd have to run at a
very slow speed. Even at moderate speeds you're using mostly carbohydrates. We
see this all the time in the laboratory in an
interesting variable called the respiratory exchange ratio (RER), which is the
ratio of the volume of expired carbon dioxide to the
volume of inspired oxygen. At rest, RER equals 0.7, when fat is used
exclusively. As running speed increases, you rely more on
carbohydrates and less on fat. At VO2max, when a lot of carbon dioxide is
produced from carbohydrate metabolism, RER typically
exceeds 1.1. As a matter of biochemistry, the breakdown of carbohydrates yields
an RER of 1.0, which
corresponds to your lactate threshold pace. When running faster than lactate
threshold pace, you're using exclusively
carbohydrates. At an RER of 0.85 (halfway between 0.7 and 1.0), you're using
50% fat and 50% carbohydrates. So once RER exceeds
0.85, which occurs at a moderate intensity, you're relying more on carbohydrates
than on fat. Exercise is
largely a carbohydrate activity.
One of the more elegant adaptations to endurance training is the greater
reliance on fat and less on carbohydrates at the same
absolute speed. Say 8:00 pace corresponds to 75% VO2max and at that pace you
use 40% fat and 60% carbohydrates. With endurance
training, that may change to 50% fat and 50% carbohydrates. But as your fitness
improves, 8:00 pace will no longer correspond to
75% VO2max (it may now correspond to 70% VO2max), so in order to provide the
same training stimulus, you'd have to run faster (maybe
7:45 pace) to keep the pace at 75% VO2max. Fuel use will then go back to 40% fat
and 60% carbohydrates, albeit at a faster speed.
Relative intensity (% VO2max)
dictates fuel selection.
Fuel use is also a confusing issue in the marathon. Many coaches and runners
tend to think that the goal of marathon training is to
teach your muscles to rely more on fat and
conserve carbohydrates. But this is incorrect, or at least incomplete, since 1)
how much of each fuel you rely on depends almost
exclusively on intensity and since running
the marathon the best it can be run means running 15 to 20 seconds per mile
slower than your lactate threshold pace, you will be
relying mostly on carbohydrates the entire way, and 2) you want to use
carbohydrates in the marathon because you can regenerate ATP
for muscle contraction a lot faster by breaking down carbohydrates than you can
by
breaking down fat. Using carbohydrates allows you to run faster than if you
were to use fat. The goal of marathon training, as it
pertains to fuel use, is to stimulate the
molecular events that lead to synthesizing and storing as much glycogen in your
muscles as you can so you have the fuel that you
need to maintain the pace to the finish.
Once you run out of glycogen, you have no choice but to rely on fat, and the
pace will slow down.
* To view past newsletters go to: http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter
Copyright Jason Karp All Rights Reserved - http://www.runcoachjason.com


4. How Your Stride Rate and Breathing Rhythm Affect Your Running:
by Jack Daniels - "NCAA Coach of the Century"
During the many years that I've taught activity classes, coached runners and
conducted research with runners of a wide variety of
ability levels, three things have fascinated me a great deal: the stride rate,
stride length and breathing rate that runners use
when running at competitive speeds. In general, runners don't think about these
things and, when I bring it to their attention, most
admit to never having given it any thought. Still, there is a good deal you can
learn just from observing how elite runners perform
these three functions.
STRIDE RATE, STRIDE LENGTH & THE 1984 OLYMPICS
Let's first examine stride rate & length, because in most cases breathing
rhythms are closely linked with stride frequency. Whenever
I meet a new group of students for a beginners running class, the first thing I
have them do is count their steps while running
around the track. When a minute has gone by, I have them stop and report the
number of steps they took - this gives me their stride
rate per minute. In all my years, none of my beginner students ever reported
taking up to 180 steps per minute. However, at the 1984
Olympics
in Los Angeles, my wife and I sacrificed some enjoyable race-watching moments to
time and count stride rates among elite male and
female runners in their important Olympic events. We found that only one, of
about 47 athletes observed, took less than 180 steps
per minute. We were able to study some of these "subjects" for several days, as
they
were involved in preliminary and final rounds in their event, so the
observations involved more than 47 incidents.
Subscribe to Peak Running Performance at:
http://www.clixGalore.com/Sale.aspx?BID=37234&AfID=103794&AdID=5075&LP=www.peakr\
unningperformance.com
where you can also listen to this article in MP3 format.


5. How should I modify my race now that I'm over 50?
P.B.Rosen, MD, MPH
Is there really a difference between the abilities of a 50 year old versus a 30
year old when it comes to sports? It used to be that
the answer was simply, yes, but we can say now.. it depends. With advancing
years there are some changes that occur but a lot of the
changes that have been thought to be inevitable turn out to be due to changes in
lifestyle. If we continue an exercise program with
just a few minor tweaks, we can maintain our performance and increase our
endurance to a level similar to or better than what we
could do in our younger years.
The physiologic changes that occur include:
~ An increase in free radicals and potential oxidative damage
~ Decrease in the maximum heart rate by 6 beats per decade
~ A decrease in stroke volume by 3 to 4% every 10 years
~ Decreased tolerance to heat
~ Decreased elasticity in muscles, vessels and lungs
~ A decrease in the fast twitch muscles and decreased muscle mass
These changes mean that we are not the same as we were at the age of 30 but we
can perform as well if not better by taking into
consideration this information.
The increase in free radicals occurs in all athletes involved in endurance
sports but in the older athlete we have the added stress
of the cumulative changes that occur with aging. As a 50 year old it is
important to consider this in our diet. Incorporate a lot of
fruits and vegetables in your diet. Supplements containing anti-oxidants have
been shown to be beneficial. Acetyl-L-carnitine and
alpha lipoic acid have been found to decrease oxidative damage and should be
considered especially to support mitochondrial health.
Mitochondrial health improves power in the younger athlete, and in the older
athlete helps to prevent changes that are noted to
occur with aging.
The use of Coenzyme Q10 should be considered not only for its anti-oxidant
affect but its ability to combat calcium build up in the
arteries. This is more important in the older athlete than in the younger
populations who can usually make adequate Coenzyme Q10.
The use of omega-3 fatty acids should also be considered. Some studies have
shown a decrease cardiovascular mortality due to a
reduction in arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms). The other option is to
include fish and oils rich in Omega-3 oils in the diet
(flax seed, canola oil). Caution should be exercised if the athlete is also
taking a blood thinner due to increased risk of bleeding
associated with Omega-3 oils.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/racing_over_50.html


6. Better Breathing For Runners:
Like other aspects of our health, breathing is seldom considered...unless it is
compromised. This is certainly the case while
running.
by Sean Coster
Since breathing is the means we use to transfer oxygen to all of our body's
systems, saying it's "important" is quite an
understatement. Improving your breathing mechanics while running is a skill that
should be valued by beginners and experienced
runners alike.
The concept of proper breathing while running is straightforward, but requires
practice on a daily basis to become second nature.
The best breathing technique during running is to breath from the diaphragm.
Some call this yoga breathing or belly breathing. By
breathing from the diaphragm, a runner will take deeper breaths, preventing the
shallow breathing in the chest that can lead to side
stitches (see "Side Stitches and Running" for details on the suspected causes
and solutions for this).
In addition to preventing side stitches, breathing from the diaphragm is likely
to improve performance through a variety of factors.
The most obvious advantage to this breathing strategy is the greater volume of
oxygen taken in with each respiration, in comparison
to shallow chest breathing. Other benefits may include the postural advantages
gained by breathing from the belly that will likely
improve the stabilization of the spine by engaging its support muscles.
More...from Competitor Magazine at:
http://www.competitorsocal.com/article/?Guid=6f53a817-0ca5-4728-8c90-6a7fb29717b\
9


7. Dialing Down Your Power:
It never fails. The first thing a person does when they buy a power meter, is to
go out and ride as hard as they can, and then they
rush home to look at their power file. After all, everyone knows that Floyd
Landis can sit on 450 W for almost an hour, so everyone
wants to know how they stack up. This is a fun exercise for sure, but it
actually has very little to do with triathlon or with
successful racing.
Instead of focusing on these higher end numbers, triathletes are better served
by mastering their limitations with power, especially
when it comes to race day. In other words, anyone can go out and start hammering
on the pedals. It takes a special type of athlete
to know the most appropriate time to work for the maximum results. Here's a look
at a few places where the judicious application of
effort can radically change your race day results.
Hill Climbing
Hills represent the biggest conundrum for triathletes. Everyone else slows down,
so it's tempting to hammer to make up ground. Yet
the hammering up the hill requires a great deal of energy that could result in a
muscular or nutritional setback later in the day.
Using a power meter, triathletes can sit on a specific number of Watts instead
of focusing on the competition or their average
speed. Make no mistake about it, riding your hill climbing Watts, in your
aerobars, at 8 miles an hour, turning the pedals at 47
RPMs, is a skill. Remember that everyone else starts out climbing a hill as hard
as they can, only settling down when the work
becomes too much. By letting everyone go at the beginning of the hill and
sitting on a steady number you can sustain for the full
climb, you can ensure that you will pass these other folks by the top of the
hill. Use your power meter to work less and do more.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/bike/dialing-down-your-power


8. Should you be eating organic?
By Charlene Waldner
June 7, 2007 -- "You are what you eat" says it all, especially for those with
active lifestyles and athletes in training. Our food
choices greatly affect our health, body composition, performance and recovery.
Having a healthy, well balanced diet is critical to
an athlete's performance. The same question is always asked: "Is eating organic
food better for you than non-organic food?"
Nowadays you can purchase just about anything organic - from soup to nuts,
shampoo to dental floss. Most natural supermarkets carry
an array of organic groceries that now can be found in most local and big chain
supermarkets. Stores like Whole Foods, Wild Oats and
Trader Joe's are a couple of organic super stores in the US that have just about
every kind of organic food you could possibly need.
When discussing the option of buying organic vs. non-organic produce, Sue
Boegman, registered dietician and nutritional consultant
with Pacific Sport in Victoria, B.C., advised that it was better to buy locally
grown if possible or from farmers' markets. When
choosing meats, you should limit canned tuna because of high mercury content,
especially for women who are considering starting a
family. A better choice would be to purchase smaller quantities of meats labeled
"grass fed" or" range free" meats. Remember to
always read the labels before you buy.
More...from Triathlete Magazine at:
http://www.triathletemag.com/Departments/Features/2007/Should_you_be_eating_orga\
nic_.htm


9. All Athletes: Intervals 101...
Interval training for endurance athletes dates from the turn of the century, but
since the 1960s has been considered the most
important workout for high-performance training. Some very successful athletes
in a number of different sports have used it almost
exclusively in their programs. But other equally-as-successful athletes seldom
do intervals.
Among even the most experienced athletes there is some confusion as to what an
interval workout is. For some, "intervals" simply
means short, repeated efforts that are so hard you feel like tossing your
cookies. This is usually the kind in which you are trying
to keep up with faster athletes who set the pace. For others, intervals are very
controlled efforts throughout and highly structured
to the individual's needs. Let's take a look at the latter since I suspect
throwing up is not high on your list of workout
objectives.
Interval Language
First, let's clarify two terms used in these workouts: work interval (WI) and
recovery interval (RI). As you might suspect, the WI
is the part of the workout when you're going hard, and the RI is when you're
resting. The RI may be active, meaning you continue to
run, ride, or swim at a low intensity; or passive, meaning essentially that you
stop moving altogether, coast, or walk. Some
workouts are so highly structured that the pace, power, or heart rate of the RI
is also pre-determined.
Interval Types
Intervals generally fall into three categories based on the energy system they
rely on-creatine phosphate, lactic acid, and aerobic.
The first is the creatine phosphate (CP) system. CP is a form of energy stored
in the muscles that can be accessed quickly and
easily, but it lasts only a few seconds. CP intervals are excellent for building
muscular power. The WI for such a workout is in the
neighborhood of six to 12 seconds, or short enough that acidosis is not a
problem, and done at maximal intensity. The RI is quite
long, on the order of five minutes, and may be a combination of passive and
active.
On the other end of the interval scale are workouts done to stress and improve
the aerobic system. The WI for these are long, six
to 12 minutes or more, and the intensity is right at or a few beats below
lactate threshold heart rate. The RI is generally only
about a fourth of the WI. For example, a 12-minute WI would be followed by a
three-minute RI. I refer to these as "cruise
intervals," and they are excellent for developing lactate threshold fitness and
muscular endurance. Acid accumulates in the muscles
and blood in these workouts, but in rather moderate quantities.
Between the CP and aerobic intervals is the type that most athletes think of
when they talk of doing an "interval workout." The
system challenged by this workout is the anaerobic system. When doing this type
of workout, which is also sometimes called
"speed-endurance" or "anaerobic-endurance" intervals, the intensity is high
enough that great amounts of acid accumulate since much
of the energy comes from glycogen-a form of stored carbohydrate. This
effectively limits how long the WI can last.
Within the category of anaerobic intervals are two subtypes. The first is
effective for developing your aerobic capacity or
VO2max-the capacity to use oxygen at a maximum rate in the production of work.
The major determiner of VO2max is the amount of blood
pumped with each beat to the muscles by the heart's left ventricle. It takes a
high heart rate to challenge the heart's pumping
capacity.
When doing aerobic capacity intervals the WI is three to six minutes and done at
a heart rate four to 10 beats per minute above the
lactate threshold heart rate. For runners, pace is often a better gauge, with
the standard being 15 to 20 seconds per mile faster
than 5km-race pace. For cycling the appropriate power is CP5 or CP6. The RI is
active and is equal to the duration of the preceding
WI. So following a three-minute WI, recover for three minutes. A single workout
session may include three to seven of these WI, and
many athletes can handle two such workouts a week as long as they are separated
by 48 hours or more.
The other types of anaerobic system intervals are especially good for improving
acid tolerance. I'm sure you know what I'm talking
about. Whenever you've pushed yourself to the extreme of your limits for just a
couple of minutes, probably in a race, and quite
likely on a hill, you've experienced the feeling that you're "blowing up." It's
usually accompanied by a burning sensation in the
muscles, extremely labored breathing, perhaps a queasy stomach, and a fear that
you may have to slow down significantly or even stop
to recover. By improving acid tolerance with intervals you can last longer on
such efforts. Here's how.
When doing acid tolerance intervals, include six to 12 minutes of WI that are
one or two minutes long. Do these at maximum effort,
perhaps on a hill. Recover after each one for 2.5 times as long as the WI was.
For example, do 6 x 2-minute WI with 5-minute RI. One
of these in a week is adequate, and 72 hours may be needed before the next hard
workout.
Combined Interval Workouts
It's also possible to do combined-interval workouts by pairing two of these
systems into one session. For example, after a good
warm-up do several six- to15-second CP intervals followed by aerobic capacity
intervals. Or, in a type of workout more effective for
Olympic-distance and longer races, combine aerobic capacity intervals with
cruise intervals. It's best to do the higher power, more
intense interval portion of the workout first.
Realize that it only takes about six to eight continuous weeks of aerobic
capacity intervals to be effective, and four to six weeks
of acid tolerance intervals. Going beyond these limits means diminished returns
and greatly increased risks of injury, overtraining
and burnout. So the bottom line is that you should only schedule these workouts
to precede your two or three most important races of
the year. That means, at most, doing 24 weeks of aerobic capacity intervals in a
year, which is probably too much for most athletes.
The purpose of all training, including intervals, is to prepare the body to
race. With this in mind, your interval workouts should
become increasingly race-like as you approach the A-priority races. The way that
is done is by making the WI increasingly longer and
the RI relatively shorter.
By following an interval plan such as this, you can peak your fitness at just
the right times and not even have to throw up in
workouts.
Joe Friel is the author of The Training Bible book series. He may be reached at
mailto:jfriel@....
Subscribe to e-Tips at:
www.Ultrafit.com.


10. Science of Sport: Ironman Training - Tapering for an Ironman Triathlon:
I'll get straight to the point: If you want to race well in an Ironman, you need
to taper correctly!
The taper is the period of reduced training VOLUME before a major race. This
period allows the body to fully recover (without losing
fitness), so that maximum performance can be achieved on race day. I emphasize
volume due to the fact that the intensity of your
regime should still remain high.
Too many athletes do it the other way around - continuing to perform long/slow
distance work - whilst removing all sessions of a
moderate to high intensity. BIG MISTAKE! Research has proven time and again,
that for a taper to be effective, volume should be
gradually reduced whilst keeping the intensity at pre-taper levels.
During a taper, you may feel sluggish/lethargic etc, but take note: THIS IS
NORMAL. Your body is adjusting to the changes. Don't be
tempted to go out and test yourself or push harder than your program indicates -
you need to save your efforts for race day. Due to
large reduction in volume during this period, higher intensity efforts will be
short in length, and performed less often.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20070703_TSO_Ironman_Taper.html


11. Hydration Advice and Science:
You're probably used to carrying a water bottle around with you everywhere you
go and drinking so much that you run to the bathroom
more often than a toddler getting weaned off diapers. Meanwhile, sport drink
companies sprout faster than tech companies, each
touting itself as the magical elixir. So just how much do you need to drink and
what should you be chugging? .
This article was originally published during the depths of the big European heat
wave in 2003 that was indirectly linked to over
30,000 (not a typo) deaths. That was also the Tour where Lance got completely
dehydrated and lost the first big TT to Ullrich. We're
reprinting it here with some give and take between practical advice from Josh
Horowitz of Liquid Fitness and my scientific feedback.
The "Dry" Facts.
Camelbak's got the most scientifically accurate slogan in all of corporate
history when it came up with the "Hydrate or Die" motif.
The proper mix of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals in your
diet is important, but water trumps them all as THE
essential nutrient. IRA hunger strikers in the late 1970's lasted 60-80 days
without food. However, if they had tried that without
drinking water, they probably wouldn't have lasted a week! And that's just lying
about shouting anti-English slogans. Add exercise
and the heat of summer and the threat of dehydration becomes even more severe.
The world record sweat-meister? Try 3.7 kg/h by the
runner Alberto Salazar (1) during training prior to the 1984 Olympics in LA.
That's over 5% of his body weight every hour!
Make no mistake about it, short of sickness or injury, NOTHING will affect your
daily performance more than your hydration status.
Study after study has demonstrated that even a very slight amount of fluid loss
(1% body weight) results in significantly decreased
performance in both endurance and power sports. In fact, my own Ph.D. research
(2) found that proper hydration prior to exercise
(i.e., making sure you're not dehydrated to begin with) is more important than
either fitness or heat acclimation in determining
your tolerance to exercise in the heat.
More...from Pez Cycling at:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=5043


12. The sweet side of dark chocolate:
You're already dutifully limiting your sodium and eating a produce-packed diet
in an effort to reduce your blood pressure.
Now, it turns out, you can add a square of chocolate to that heart-healthy
regimen - guilt-free.
According to a study published in today's issue of the Journal of the American
Medical Association, eating a small portion of dark
chocolate each day can lower your blood pressure without packing on the pounds.
That's good news for the 15 per cent of Canadians
who have high blood pressure.
This isn't the first study to demonstrate the benefits of eating chocolate.
In 2005, Italian researchers reported that eating 100 grams of dark chocolate
every day for two weeks lowered blood pressure,
reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol and improved how the body used insulin (the
hormone that clears sugar from the bloodstream) in 20 men
and women with high blood pressure.
But the new findings suggest that a reduction in blood pressure can be achieved
without eating such a large portion of chocolate
each day (100 grams contains 470 calories and 30 grams of fat).
In the new study, 6.3 grams of dark chocolate a day - only 30 calories' worth -
was sufficient to lower blood pressure.
Dark chocolate's heart-healthy effects are thought to come from flavonoids,
natural compounds in cocoa beans that give dark
chocolate its bittersweet taste.
Flavonoids, which exist only in small amounts in milk chocolate and not at all
in white chocolate, have been shown to inhibit blood
clot formation, help blood vessels widen and relax and slow the oxidation of LDL
cholesterol.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070704.wxlbeck04/BNStory/sp\
ecialScienceandHealth/home


13. Training tips for running a marathon:
Cologne, Germany - Your legs ache, you can hardly breathe calmly - and you are
tremendously happy. This is how many marathon runners
describe what they feel on reaching the finish line. "The few minutes after the
race are the best," remarked Jens Gauger, a sports
physiotherapist and running coach from Hamburg.
The marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres is a tough challenge for many casual
joggers. Solid preparation involves more than just
regular leisure-time running.
"A lot of people want to get outdoors into the fresh air. That's not enough,
though," noted Billy Sperlich, a sports training
specialist at the German Sport University in Cologne. "Weight training, in
conjunction with running, is a necessary part of the
preparation."
More...from Earth Times at:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/79475.html


14. Organic food 'better' for heart:
Organic fruit and vegetables may be better for you than conventionally grown
crops, US research suggests.
A ten-year study comparing organic tomatoes with standard produce found almost
double the level of flavonoids - a type of
antioxidant.
Flavonoids have been shown to reduce high blood pressure, lowering the risk of
heart disease and stroke.
Writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the team said
nitrogen in the soil may be the key.
Dr Alyson Mitchell, a food chemist at the University of California, and
colleagues measured the amount of two flavonoids - quercetin
and kaempferol - in dried tomato samples that had been collected as part of a
long-term study on agricultural methods.
They found that on average they were 79% and 97% higher respectively in the
organic tomatoes than in the conventionally grown fruit.

New Scientist magazine reported that the different levels of flavonoids in
tomatoes are probably due to the absence of fertilisers
in organic farming.
Flavonoids are produced as a defence mechanism that can be triggered by nutrient
deficiency, such as a lack of nitrogen in the soil.

More...from the BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6272634.stm


15. The Salt Mines:
By Ryan Kohler, CTS Coach and Sports Nutritionist
Watch Where You Get Your Sodium
Sodium comes in many types of food and drink, and athletes have numerous choices
for sodium replenishment during exercise beyond the
usual sports drinks, gels, and bars. But one stand-by that keeps coming up is
the use of salt tablets, especially among the
ultra-endurance set (ultramarathoners, Ironman triathletes, etc.) Before we go
into what works best at keeping you well-salted,
let's look at why sodium is a critical component in your day-to-day performance.
The main roles played by sodium in the body include fluid balance, nerve
transmission, and muscle contraction. Basically, without
salt your body can't rehydrate quickly and its functions slow. (Think about how
lethargic you sometimes feel after a long workout.
Part of the feeling comes from lack of sodium.) Since endurance athletes are
almost always working to minimize fluid loss during
exercise, one can see how this mineral can be important to a sound
training/race-day nutrition plan. We also know that as little as
a 2% decrease in body weight from dehydration can impair performance, so
consuming adequate amounts of sodium during exercise will
help your body retain the liquids you drink and prolong your best performance.
According to The Institute of Medicine, the Adequate Intake (AI) for sodium is
roughly 1.5g/day for people up to 50 years of age,
and experts believe this amount should be sufficient for physically active
people. But there's "active" in terms of the general
population, and then there's "active" in terms of CTS. For those athletes
engaged in higher intensity and/or longer duration events
in hot or humid conditions, you may need substantially more sodium during and
right after your training.
Moreover, there are many factors that go into figuring out the right amount of
sodium intake during exercise. Among those factors,
here are the big ones:
Sodium intake in the overall diet. If you chow through bags of chips, canned
soups, and French fries, you probably have plenty of
salt in your diet. But if you make fresh fruits and vegetables a staple at every
meal, you might need to pay more attention to
sodium intake during exercise by adding small -- the key word being small --
amounts of salt to foods throughout the day.
Personal sweat rate. Some people perspire more than others. The more you
perspire, the more salt you can lose through your skin.
Find out yours by weighing yourself naked before and after a workout. Each pound
of weight loss is equal to 16 ounces of fluids.
Hydration status. If you're topped up on sports beverages such as PowerBar's
Endurance, you're probably in good shape salt-wise. If
you haven't had to urinate in the last hour or your urine is yellow, you're
dehydrated. To fill up, you'll need some sodium during
exercise since sodium helps to increase our drive to drink; otherwise, your body
will work to shed that water until it reaches its
optimal water/sodium balance.
Degree of acclimatization. It takes about 10 days for the body to acclimate to
hot and humid temperatures. Until then, it sheds
moisture (and salt) like a faucet to keep cool. If you jump from a relatively
cool clime to a hot one like the cool mountains to the
steamy flats of Florida, you're going to need more salt to keep things
functioning until you acclimatize.
Equipment or clothing. A study found that football players lost more fluids
during a three-hour practice than a marathon runner
running for the same amount of time. While the runner was undoubtedly doing more
exercise, the football players' equipment, plus the
fact that they were standing around most of the time with no self-created breeze
to evaporate their sweat (which would cool them
down), caused them to lose buckets of fluids from their bodies.
Best Ways to Stay Salted
The research available on sodium supplementation appears to support the
additional intake of sodium in general for athletes in
heavier training, but it is best consumed in a sports drink or gel with adequate
fluids and a balance of other nutrients.
The one supplement that is not recommended is the salt tablet. Using salt
tablets may actually lead to over-consumption of sodium
and subsequent gastrointestinal distress. The few studies that have examined
supplementation with salt tables do not support their
use and do not show improvements beyond the usual consumption of a balanced
sports drink or gel.
Ingesting adequate sodium (not usually a problem in the typical Western diet)
and consuming between 0.5-0.7g of sodium per liter of
fluids for exercise lasting greater than 1 hour is a great place to start, but
always keep in mind the factors that can affect
sodium loss and be prepared to adjust your intake accordingly. Done right,
you'll not only keep your central nervous system firing
your muscles in tune, you'll also ensure that your hydration status is set to
Thrive, not simply Survive.
From Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=2483


16. All Child-Play and No Workouts Make Dad an Unfit Boy:
THEY count among their ranks former marathoners and Ironmen, beached surfers and
scuba divers. They lay off red meat and trans fats.
They stay current on annual physicals and take their medications as prescribed.
And yet, this group of the once-fit finds itself at risk of becoming unhealthy
and stacking on the pounds, because of one threat to
their physical fitness: children.
Parents have long griped that having children sidetracks their best-laid
exercise plans. Now they have evidence.
A first-of-its-kind study released in May by the University of Pittsburgh
concluded that parenthood demonstrably reduces physical
activity, while marriage has only a negligible effect.
Just how big a hit do active parents take?
Roughly 525 participants were tracked for two years, as part of a 17-year study
called the University of Pittsburgh Physical
Activity Study.
Those who remained childless lost only a half hour of physical activity per
week, while those who had children lost about three and
a half hours.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/fashion/05Fitness.html?_r=1&ref=fitnessandnutr\
ition&oref=slogin


17. Who needs fancy feathers when you've got muscles:
Hot off the psychology presses: Men work out at gyms because women are sexually
attracted to muscular men. That's the conclusion,
after a careful four-year study, of two UCLA researchers.
The finding, by PhD student David Frederick and associate professor Martie
Haselton, stemmed in part from a study of 99 UCLA
undergraduates of varying brawniness. As described in a news release about the
paper (entitled "Lift more weights, find more
mates"), the undergrads were photographed and then rated for muscularity on a
9-point scale, where nine was the most muscular and
one was the least.
The men were also quizzed about their sexual histories - and the muscular ones,
it transpired, were twice as likely as the less
muscular to have had more than three sexual partners in their life.
Other studies by the UCLA duo (published together in the latest issue of the
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) found that
men who rated themselves as being above-average muscular also were more
promiscuous and more likely to have had short-term flings,
including ones with women who had boyfriends.
To evolutionary psychologists Frederick and Haselton, this all adds up to a
pattern: Muscularity is a sexual attention-getter akin
to that show-off peacock's tail. But both peacock tail and muscles have their
downside, and in the latter case, Frederick says, it's
that the muscle-building hormone testosterone is associated with suppression of
the immune system.
More...from The LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-hew-booster5jul05,1,4846512.story?coll\
=la-headlines-health


18. Nutrition tips for women with amenorrhea:
"I've been training so hard, I've stopped getting my menstrual period. Is that
normal?"
"Should I take the birth control pill so I start menstruating again?"
"Is it OK to not have a period for several months?"
If you among the estimated 20 percent of active women who has missed three or
more consecutive menstrual periods, you are
experiencing amenorrhea.
Although some women see amenorrhea as desirable because they no longer have to
deal with the hassles and possible discomfort of
monthly menstrual periods, others recognize absence of periods is linked with
serious health problems: loss of calcium from the
bones, almost a three times higher incidence of stress fractures and long-term
More...from Active.com at:
http://a2.active.com/nutrition/Articles/Nutrition_tips_for_women_with_amenorrhea\
.htm


19. Give Some Space on Race Week:
I recently received an email from an athlete asking if it was "normal" to break
up with her boyfriend during her race weeks.
Although this is not indicative of a particularly strong relationship, race week
stress levels do run very high. It is important not
only for the athlete to recognize this, but their spouse or significant other as
well.
Racing is the culmination of many, many hours of hard work. But, beyond the time
invested in training, it also validates training
effectiveness. There can be anxiety as to whether the athlete is adequately
prepared, or prepared to the level of performance or
placement they desire. The open water swim is often a major source of pre-race
anxiety in triathlon. Race week may involve travel,
which in itself is stressful, and getting equipment organized and prepared for a
race can sometimes be a logistical nightmare. Life
still goes on the week of a race and the stress from work or family
responsibilities only compounds an already stressful situation.
Sleeplessness is not at all uncommon during a race week. The athlete is also
tapering which means their level of activity is reduced
significantly at precisely the same time as when they have an excess of stress
and mental energy. This may lead to a feeling of
being "flat" or under-prepared for the race.
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com/site/trainingnews/Give_Some_Space_on_Race_Week.shtml


20. Digest Briefs:
* Quick Tip
By Bob Seebohar MS RD CSSD CSCS, US Olympic Training Center
Q: Do I need to take a multivitamin?
Most athletes swear by taking a multivitamin and most sport dietitians believe
that the nutrients can be obtained through a
well-planned eating program. Who should you believe? Well, both actually.
It is important to understand that athletes who are engaging in strenuous
(interval like) or long duration training and racing have
increased needs of nutrients versus a non-athlete, of particular note are
antioxidants due to the higher level of oxidative stress
that is incurred with training and competition. While it is true that you can
obtain vitamins and minerals from foods in your diet,
specifically fruits and vegetables, it is very rare for an athlete to eat enough
of these foods to gain the required nutrients. We
all try but the fact of the matter is that most of us struggle to get enough
color (fruits and veggies) in our diet and with that
comes inadequate levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Therefore,
during times of high training load throughout the year,
it is beneficial to choose a multivitamin that includes powerful antioxidants
that you require as an athlete.
From First Endurance at: http://www.firstendurance.com
* Fitness with Chris Carmichael;
Q: Can beer be considered a valuable source of carbs for post- training
refueling? - Marc Montreal, Quebec
A: Marc,
Nice try, but no. The dehydrating impact of alcohol trumps the benefits from the
carbohydrate, and it's also important to realize
that alcohol itself is primarily metabolized to fatty acids rather than to
usable carbohydrate energy. Yes, it originated as
carbohydrate-grains, grapes, corn, whatever-but now it's alcohol and your body
treats it differently. There's actually not much
usable carbohydrate energy in beer or wine.
Now, that doesn't mean that athletes have to avoid alcohol at all times. A beer
or glass of wine with dinner or while watching the
game isn't going to set your training back. Alcohol right after a big workout
isn't going to help you recover for tomorrow's
training, however. Immediately post-workout, you should go for a carbohydrate-
rich recovery drink that contains electrolytes then,
consume a full meal within about an hour to take full advantage of the "glycogen
window" that enables you to replenish your
carbohydrate stores rapidly. If you want to have a beer later that evening, be
my guest, but wash it down with a full pint glass of
water.
Subscribe to Outside and get a free gift at:
https://w1.buysub.com/pubs/MD/OUM/subscribe_landingpg.jsp?cds_page_id=34945&cds_\
mag_code=OUM&id=1183456866176&lsid=71840501061045494
&vid=1&cds_response_key=INB0704&cds_mag_code=OUM
[Multi-line URL]


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.

July 7, 2007:
Meech Lake Triathlon - Gatineau, QC

Television - CBC
2 P.M. Track and Field - Golden League Paris

July 7 - 29, 2007:
Tour de France
OLN TV Schedule for Canada
More TDF Links

July 8, 2007:
Perth Marathon - Australia

The Boilermaker - Utica, NY

Virginia Mason Team Medicine Seafair Mara / HM - Bellevue, WA

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...***