A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES.
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sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and
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1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
The 2008 race will be held on Saturday, June 21.
In this year's race Paula Githuka of Hamilton held off a closing Nicole
Stevenson of Toronto to win Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor
Memorial 5K in Ottawa. 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. in 2006 - in the RunnersWeb5K Race for Women -
Stevenson won in 16:28 over Emily Tallen of Kingston
who placed third this year in 16:55. This year 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:
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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. 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

7. Sportera.Net
Sport massage has become an integral part of the new athletic regimen from after
school athletics to high performance training.
With an athlete in mind SporteraT Sport preparations were developed. SporteraT
Sport Lotions are designed to give an extra edge to
physically active persons and athletes at every level of training.
Complete workout routine includes not only the exercise itself, but also caring
for the wear and tear and minor injuries that
naturally occur with strenuous movement. The nature of SporteraT Sport Lotions
makes it ideal complement to a total training.
Anyone who routinely performs physical activities such as running, hiking,
strength training, playing soccer, hockey, basketball,
and tennis will ultimately benefit from SporteraT Sport lotions.
SporteraT Lotions are designed to help the body prepare itself and recover from
the stresses of all sports therefore improving
physical condition.
Visit their web site at:
http://www.sportera.net/intro.html

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Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS

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* 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:
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* 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
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Check out the Peak Running article index at:
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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. Triathlon: Stepping it Up—Long Triathlon Do’s & Don'ts
2. Triathlon: Training Missteps
3. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
4. Caffeine and Endurance
5. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Last Supper
6. Fast and Injury Free – Secrets from the World’s Best Runners
7. Winter Training
8. To Tune-up or Not to Tune-up--That is the question
9. Fueling the Runner: Good Nutrition
Against the Odds.
10. Finishing strong
Competitive swimming at 50? Running at 70? When it comes to sports that require
endurance, age can actually be an asset.
11. Running Economy 1: Here are some of the things your mum forgot to tell you
about putting one foot in front of the other
12. How To Train Smarter and Run Faster
13. Hurting? Take a step back and review your exercise routine
14. Iron Manoeuvres
When it comes to lifting weights, quality beats quantity. Here now, a few tips
on how to make the most of your workout.
15. Bone Structure 'Vastly Different' Than Previously Believed
16. Rigorous Exercise And Extreme Dieting Can Predispose Females To Osteoporosis
17. This Week in Running
18. Stretching Out Does Not Prevent Soreness After Exercise
19. Should I lift weights during race season?
20. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Should the US Olympic Marathon Trials be held as part of an existing marathon
or as separate events?"

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:
"Should organizers have cancelled the Chicago Marathon BEFORE it started?""
Answers Percent
1. Yes 41%
2. No 59%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: SanyaRichards.net
Sanya Richards, The Fastest 400m Woman in U.S. History
She's fast, professional, beautiful and ready to have you watch her run with her
website.
View Sanya Richards like you've never seen her before, enter her website.
Renowned for her ability to challenge a speeding bullet, Sanya Richards is the
youngest woman ever to break the elusive 49-second
barrier at 400 meters. Her remarkable achievements include:
- 2006 World Female Athlete of the Year
- 400m American Record Holder - 48.70
- 3-time US Outdoor National Champion at 400m
- Olympic Gold Medalist (4x400m)
- Ranked #1 in the world in 2006 by the IAAF at 200 and 400m
- Undefeated at 400m in 2006
Check back regularly to see where Sanya is going to be next, view her most
recent accomplishments, read her latest diary entries and
much, much more
Visit her web site at:
http://www.sanyarichards.net/

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

BOOK/VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Brain Training For Runners: A Revolutionary New
Training System to Improve Endurance, Speed, Health, and
Results
By Matt Fitzgerald
Book Description
Based on new research in exercise physiology, author and running expert Matt
Fitzgerald introduces a first-of-its-kind training
strategy that he's named "Brain Training." Runners of all ages, backgrounds, and
skill levels can learn to maximize their
performance by supplying the brain with the right feedback. Based on
Fitzgerald's eight-point brain training system, this book will
help runners:
- Resist running fatigue
- Use cross-training as brain training
- Master the art of pacing
- Learn to run "in the zone"
- Outsmart injuries
- Fuel the brain for maximum performance
- And more
Packed with cutting-edge research, real-world examples, and the wisdom of the
world's top distance runners, Brain Training for
Runners offers easily applied advice and delivers practical results for a better
overall running experience.
About the Author
Matt Fitzgerald coaches online through TrainingPeaks.com and serves as a
communications consultant to sports nutrition companies. A
former editor at several top fitness magazines, he is the author of numerous
articles and books. He lives in Northern California
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451222326/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. Triathlon: Stepping it Up—Long Triathlon Do’s & Don'ts:
Long triathlons (1/2 Ironmans, Ironmans, and similar-distance races) pose some
specific challenges and take a bit of a different
mindset from shorter races. Pacing, nutrition, and mental abilities play an
increasing role in the outcome of your race. As you
tackle your first or your next long triathlon, keep these 10 keys to your best
race in mind (five do’s and five don'ts). Have a
great race!
Long-Triathlon Do’s
1. DO have a plan for pacing and stick to it. In every endurance-sports race, of
any distance, you will get your best time with even
pacing or a negative split (your time over the second half of the course is
faster than your time over the first half). The longer a
race becomes, the more important pacing becomes—because the negative impact of
pacing errors is magnified! In a sprint-distance
triathlon, if you go 10 percent too fast/hard in the swim, it may cost you a
minute or two in the run. In a ½ Ironman or Ironman,
this same pacing error could result in you walking quite a bit on the run
(losing lots of time) or even a DNF. Going into your long
race, have a plan for pacing based on what you’ve been able to do in your long
workouts. Be realistic in setting your plan and on
race day, stick with it!
Long-Triathlon Don'ts
1. DON’T let the excitement of the day or your ego get you swimming, riding, and
running at speeds/paces that you cannot maintain.
The thrill of your family there watching you, the energy from hundreds of other
racers, the cowbells—they can all make you feel like
superman or superwoman! That’s good—use it—but stay within yourself. Just
because you are excited does not mean you’ll be able to
ride 23 miles per hour (MPH) for a distance that you’ve never held more than 20
MPH for. Similarly, even though you just can’t stand
losing to that guy or girl in your age group, if at a given time in the race
they are pulling away from you and going at a pace that
is not right for you, let them and your ego go. If you are fast enough to beat
them, you will. You will catch them later because you
will sustain your pace and they will fade later. The fastest way form the start
line to the finish line is to go consistently at
speeds/paces that you are well-trained to go at. Drastic fluctuations in
intensity into intensities that are too hard for a race
this long will come back to haunt you.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20071019_THS_Long_Triathlon.html


2. Triathlon: Training Missteps:
As coaches, triathletes often come to us when their training is not going well
for them, looking for a fix. Let’s take a look at a
few of the most common mistakes, and how you can avoid them by training smart!
Mistake: Cramming for your race.
You turn over the page on your calendar and there it is—the Olympic-distance
triathlon you signed up for back in the winter. It’s
only four weeks away! You haven’t been doing much training, so you know that you
need to get after it right away and get after it
hard. So, like that final exam that you left all the studying for to the last
two days before, you jump right into lots of hard
training and go at it hard for a few weeks, attempting to make up for lost time.
There are major problems with this approach. In the
best case scenario, you will race at a performance level that is a fraction of
your potential. In the worst case scenario, you will
get injured, develop the overtraining syndrome (tremendous fatigue and poor
performance associated with too great a workload from
the combination of your workouts and other life responsibilities or an
inadequate health foundation), and/or get burnt out on
triathlon altogether. Doing well in triathlon is a lot like investing for
retirement. Steady, consistent workouts, done over time,
will create the best performances with the lowest risk. Being inconsistent with
your workouts and/or saving all or most of your
training for the last few weeks before your race is risky—you are building your
ability to perform well on a very shaky platform.
Solution: Give yourself time to train properly.
To reach your potential and avoid ill health, you need to give yourself adequate
time to prepare for your race. Frequency,
intensity, duration, workout volume, workout load—these are common variables
manipulated in a training plan to build your abilities.
What you cannot forget is the total duration of consistent weeks of training
leading up to a race. This is one of the key factors to
your success. Give yourself at least 12 weeks to prepare for your race. To
maximize your potential, divide your training up over an
entire year using the concept of periodization. Using periodization, your
training will be divided into periods, each designed to
develop your ability in a certain way and build your ability in a logical manner
as you work towards your race.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20071015_THS_Missteps.html


3. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine:
* Interval Training Can Be Done on Consecutive Days
The faster an athlete moves in training, the faster he or she will be able to
move during competition. So athletes use a training
technique called interval training in which they run, cycle, skate, ski or swim
very fast for a short time. When they become
severely short of breath, they slow down until they recover, and then move very
fast again. Researchers at Ithaca College showed
that athletes can gain as much by doing this type of intense interval training
on consecutive days as on alternate days (Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, September 2007).
Interval training causes considerable muscle damage, so it usually leaves
athletes sore the next day. Most trainers recommend
exercising at a slower pace until the soreness disappears. That is why athletes
usually follow each intense day with one or more
easy days. However, many competitions require an athlete to exercise flat out
for several consecutive days. He may have to compete
in multiple preliminary heats over several consecutive days to reach the finals.
In this study, the researchers asked cyclists to perform intense interval on
either consecutive days or alternate days. Their
improvement in time trials was the same. However, this study did not measure
injury rates or risk of overtraining. Most athletes
will suffer fewer injuries if they take a hard workout on one day and then go
more slowly for as many days as it takes for muscle
soreness to go away.
* Sugar Helps You Exercise Longer
Bicycle racers in long events such as the Tour de France take sugar supplements
while they ride to increase their endurance. If you
plan to exercise for more than two hours, you
can help yourself last longer by taking a source of sugar after 30 minutes and
several times more throughout your event.
When you exercise, you convert food to energy for your muscles by stripping off
electrons and hydrogen from the foodstuffs. This
process manufactures a chemical called ATP that
provides energy that does not require oxygen. A study from the University of
Waterloo in Ontario, Canada shows that taking sugar
during prolonged exercise raises levels of ATP (American Journal of Physiology.
Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology,
July 2007). At exhaustion, ATP levels were at the same low levels in both the
group taking sugar and those taking artificial
sweeteners. However, prior to exhaustion, those taking sugar had higher levels
to help them exercise longer.
You do not get this benefit from sugar eaten before you exercise because high
blood sugar levels that result will cause your
pancreas to release large amounts of insulin. The extra
insulin will deplete the sugar stored in your muscles faster and tire you
earlier. Thus if you want to exercise intensely for more
than a couple of hours, you need to eat or drink a source of carbohydrates at
frequent intervals during your activity.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: How can I tell if my resting heart rate is too high?
If your resting heart rate is greater than 70, check with your doctor to see if
your thyroid is overactive, you are anemic, or you
have an infection, hidden tumor, a weak heart or other cause of a rapid heart
rate. Having a resting heart rate greater than 70
increases your chances of suffering a heart attack (Journal of the American
College of Cardiology, August 2007).
At this time, there is not enough solid data to show that taking drugs to slow
heart rate, by itself, will help to prevent heart
disease when no cause is found. However, those with chest pain during exercise
or blocked blood flow to the heart do benefit from
drugs to slow heart rate. Several ongoing studies are trying to determine if
all people with heart rates over 80 should take drugs
to slow heart rate. Drugs that can be used to slow heart rate and prevent heart
attacks include beta blockers, ACE inhibitors,
angiotensin receptor blockers, statins or aspirin.
More at http://www.drmirkin.com/heart/2562.html
* Exercise For Osteoarthritis
When you complain that your knees hurt, your doctor tries to find a cause. If he
finds nothing, he tells you that you have
osteoarthritis.
We don't have the foggiest idea what causes osteoarthritis and no effective
treatment except pain medicines. A study from the
Medical College of Georgia shows that strengthening leg muscles helps to control
pain in osteoarthritic knees. Isometric and
range-of-motion strength programs help to control pain and increase range of
motion in people who have osteoarthritis. The patients
had less pain on moving their knees and were able to perform motor tasks faster.
The knee is two bones held together by four bands called ligaments. The ends of
bones are protected by thick gristle called
cartilage. Osteoarthritis damages cartilage so it does not fit properly, making
the knees unstable. Strengthening the muscles around
the joint stabilizes the knee to allow less movement at the joint, increasing
function and decreasing pain.
The effect of dynamic versus isometric resistance training on pain and
functioning among adults with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2002, Vol 83, Iss 9, pp
1187-1195. R Topp, S Woolley, J Hornyak, S Khuder, B
Kahaleh. Topp R, Med Coll Georgia, Sch Nursing, 977 St Sebastian Way, Augusta,GA
30912 USA.
* Prepubertal Training and Growth
Hard exercise before puberty does not interfere with growth, according to
studies in the journal of the American College of Sports
Medicine. There is no data to show that hard exercise damages growth centers in
bones, and there is no evidence that growing larger
muscles stunts growth or interferes with coordination. One study in the same
journal showed that just four weeks of hard exercise in
growing animals increases bone mass. That suggests that children who start
training while they are still growing will have an
advantage over athletes who start training after puberty.
In most sports, the strongest athlete wins. Weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu of
Turkey, who won three Olympic gold medals and is
probably the greatest weightlifter ever, started lifting weights when he was
eight years old. Muscles can only grow to be as strong
as the strength of the bones on which they attach, so people with the biggest
bones are the ones who can grow the biggest muscles.
As far as their bodies are concerned, young children can start training at a
very young age for athletic competition, but as far as
their minds are concerned, they should not train before they are ready to accept
the regimented lifestyle required for athletic
competition.
There is great concern that some children will be subjected to abusive coaches
and inconsiderate parents who place athletic training
above the child's own wishes and desires. In one study from Southern California,
90 percent of female cross country runners under
age nine stopped running before they reached high school. The concern about
serious athletic training for young children is more
mental than physical. Children should not begin serious athletic training unless
they want to do it, that they take days off from
training regularly and when they want to, and that their coaches and parents
allow them to be children. People who start lifting
weights when they are young will have bigger bones and therefore the capability
to grow the largest muscles, but they should be
supervised and not lift weights that are heavier than they can lift 10 times in
a row.
Med Sci Sports and Ex October, 2000
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at: http://www.drmirkin.com


4. Caffeine and Endurance:
Reviewed by Jeffrey Rocco, M.D.
Introduction Caffeine continues to be one of the most studied and consumed
ergogenic ingredients. Researchers are constantly
re-designing studies to get a clear indication of how caffeine improves
performance. Each year new studies are published on the
effects of caffeine on endurance activity. Some of the more recent studies will
be reviewed in this newsletter.
For years athletes have been using caffeine in various doses to improve their
performance. Everyone knows that a strong cup of Java
gives you that alertness and sense of extra energy. Drink three cups of leaded
Starbucks coffee and you'll feel like you want to run
a marathon! So…does the caffeine simply make you want to run that marathon or
does the caffeine actually help you finish it faster?
Many professional endurance athletes use caffeine to enhance their performance.
Prior to 2004, caffeine was banned by the US Olympic
Committee, World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) and US Anti-doping association.
The level at which caffeine was banned was 12mcg/ml
in urine, which requires about 1,200 mg of pure caffeine or 8 cups of strong
coffee. However, this decision was reversed in 2004,
allowing the use of caffeine in elite level sports. Based on the literature, the
dose required to elicit an ergogenic effect is much
less than the level banned (3 - 9 mg·kg-1 body mass which is approximately
210-630 mg for a 70 kg athlete). There is some
controversy surrounding the lifted ban since caffeine does have some ergogenic
properties but it can also be dangerous if abused.
Back to running the marathon: caffeine can help you run it faster, but only if
done correctly, so let's talk about who can benefit
from caffeine and how it can be properly used.
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system (CNS), increases the release of
adrenaline, increases the use of body fat as fuel and
spares glycogen. Adrenaline release is accomplished through caffeine's effect on
epinephrine and nor-epinephrine. Many athletes seek
this CNS excitatory response to increase alertness and to give them the extra
'energy' needed for their workouts. More importantly,
caffeine mobilizes free fatty acids (FFA) in the blood. Increased FFA in the
blood allows the body to use fat as a fuel source. The
use of fat as fuel allows the body to spare glycogen (carbohydrates) for later
use in exercise.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/newsletter_caffeine_vol5_10.html


5. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Last Supper:
You don't get many chances to have first experiences, especially not at my age.
But I've had two firsts in as many years at Canmore,
Alberta.
This was home to the cross-country ski events at the 1988 Winter Olympics. The
town now hosts the Canadian Rockies Marathon.
In 1996, I ran last in a race for the first time. While tiptoeing through the
downhill start, I glanced backward and saw only two
bicyclists -- the course sweepers -- behind me.
The time spent in this position was brief but not unpleasant and not without
redeeming features. The experience led to a theme for
my talk on returning to Canmore a year later.
I spoke at the marathon's pre-race dinner. George Sheehan called such meals
"last suppers." He said we attend them more for the
communion than for the carbos.
The term last supper never fit better than here. This race is organized by and
benefits CAUSE -- Christian Aid for Under-Assisted
Societies Everywhere. For the first time I spoke in a church, St. Michael's
Anglican.
This almost inspired me to say something Sheehanesque. But I'm less steeped in
religion than George was and couldn't think of any
lines from him to parrot.
The church looked out on the race finish line, so I pointed to it as "tomorrow's
promised land." Beyond were the Rockies, where the
race would start 500 feet higher than the finish.
Then I recounted running down the mountain in last place last year. This did
lead to a Sheehan story.
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/home.php?article=2132


6. Fast and Injury Free – Secrets from the World’s Best Runners:
Part I
By Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico are one of the few tribes in the world that
live well into their hundreds. Another amazing feature
of this tribe is that they are well known to be incredible distance runners. In
fact, they are able to run more than 100 miles at a
time, even in the 60s! In the 1993 Leadville ultramarathon, the winner was a 55
year old man from the Tarahumara tribe.
What’s even more amazing is that they don’t even wear shoes. They simply run in
sandals that are attached to the feet by a few
simple pieces of leather. And the best part – the runners in this tribe are
almost all injury free! So what’s their secret? How can
they run so long, in such heat, while only wearing sandals and being?
Here are 2 secrets of the Tarahumara running legends:
Get Rid of the Overprotective Shoes
According to Gerard Hartmann, Ph.D, an exercise physiologist who works with the
world’s greatest marathoners and is a consultant to
Nike, most running injuries are a result of too much foam-injected pampering in
today’s shoes. Running shoes have become so
elaborately over cushioned and motion controlling that they cause the foot
muscles to atrophy while shortening and stiffening our
foot’s tendons. This is similar to core muscle atrophying that occurs with
weightlifters that consistently employ waist belts.
The key is to choose shoes that are neutral, low-heeled, and comfortable. They
should ideally allow your foot to do what it’s
supposed to do. In fact, the optimal running condition is barefoot on grass.
When your foot is allowed to move through its natural
mechanics its intrinsic muscles will become stronger which will help pull the
foot’s arches up into their optimal position. Barefoot
training (or free running shoes) also improves proprioceptive (balance and
spatial awareness) outcomes.
Land on the Balls of Your Feet
Contrary to traditional heel-to-toe running, the Tarahumara are well known for
their forefoot striking tendencies. Many elite
running coaches are now supporting the view that poor running form and landing
mechanics are significant causes of chronic running
injuries. When you land on the heel of your foot you are in essence applying the
brakes - slowing down your running stride - and
transmitting greater amounts of force through your body’s passive structures
(ie. bones, cartilage). After running this way for
hundreds or thousands of miles, it can become quite damaging to your body. Think
about – if you were to jump from a high elevation
and land on your heels your body’s bones would be crushed by the force. However,
if you’re like most human beings, you would
logically land on the balls of your feet to absorb the shock! The same thing
occurs with running.
The forefoot strike of the Tarahumara allows the leg act like a piston-like
shock absorber. When you land on the balls of your feet,
your leg is never really fully stretched. Therefore, the ground reaction forces
are allowed to be absorbed by the active muscles
(especially those in the calves).
If you decide to give this running technique a go, there a few things to keep in
mind. First, keep your hips dead under your
shoulders and dead above your feet to ensure proper form. Second, relax your leg
muscles and engage your core so that the momentum
is coming not from your quads but rather from your core muscles and glutes.
Third, anticipate soreness in your calves after your
first few runs. Because you’ll be landing on the balls of your feet, your calves
will be eccentrically loaded (contracting while
lengthening) during each foot strike. This is what causes muscle soreness –
similar to the “negative” when lifting weights. Be sure
to stretch them out after each run and to incorporate this forefoot striking
technique as much or as little as you see fit during
your runs.
Read Part II here:
http://www.totalwellnessconsulting.ca/running-better.htm


7. Winter Training:
By Coach Barbara
Off goes the alarm at 5.30am - which way do you roll? Do you ignore the alarm
and roll inwards or hit the alarm and fall out of bed
to make that 6am swim squad, cycling session or run group. It's the time of the
year where you need to be more motivated and focused
then ever, to get up for your training.
Exercising in cold weather but staying warm
The most important thing to remember about cold weather and exercising outdoors
is to keep dry. If you're going to keep your
exercise program going through the winter, what clothing option is the best way
to keep warm?
The key is wearing material made from polyesters because it moves the moisture
away from your skin. If you are a runner, walker or
cyclist, you also want to think about the amount of time you will be outside.
The shorter period of time you're out there, the more
clothing you need because the body takes longer to warm up.
Aside from choosing the right material to wear, you should consider what type of
body you have and how you can regulate temperature.
To stay warm during your winter outdoor exercises, remember to stick with
wearing layers and materials made with polyester to help
keep moisture off your body and maintain body warmth.
You have no excuse for not getting out there to train! With technology in sport,
little things like clothing make the morning
training easy.
More...from Endurance Coach at:
http://www.endurancecoach.com/Winter_Training.htm


8. To Tune-up or Not to Tune-up--That is the question:
Top trials contenders continue to take different training approaches even in the
final weeks of preparation.
With just a month to go before the USA Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in New
York, many of the top competitors find themselves facing
a familiar question: To tune up or not to tune up? The language comes straight
from the auto shop, where a tune-up presumably leaves
your car running smoother and more efficiently. Except for when it doesn't.
Sometimes, after a tune-up, you find yourself hearing
new burps and wheezes from your supposedly supercharged engine.
The same thing can happen with a tune-up before a major race--THE major race,
the one that you've been building toward for four
years. It can add the final sharpening touch to your training. Or it can push
you over the top, stress-wise. Or put a cramp or
muscle strain in your stride.
That's one reason the 13 Marathon Trials qualifiers from the Hansons Brooks team
aren't running a tune-up race. Instead, they're
doing a 26.2 K (about 16.3 miles) "simulator" in Central Park this morning
(Monday, Oct. 1). I plan to be there, and to bring you a
brief report tomorrow.
"A bunch of our guys ran the Philly half marathon two years ago, and then when
we had races at the Chicago Marathon, they weren't as
good as our other marathons," Kevin Hanson told me last week. "We think that if
you focus too much on a tune-up race, it takes away
from your big marathon goal. For us, the simulator is more realistic to marathon
race day. You don't go out and try to run a 1:01:30
half marathon, which you can't possibly do in the marathon. Instead, you run a
hard effort that you actually can maintain in the
marathon, when you're fully tapered for it."
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-399--12147-0,00.html?cm_mmc=me\
nstrials-_-2007_10_15-_-menstrials-_-Tuning%20Up%20(
or%20Not)%20for%20Trials
[Long URL]


9. Fueling the Runner: Good Nutrition:
Against the Odds.
By Jackie Dikos, R.D.
Does this day sound familiar? You wake up at 5:30 am to do your morning run, get
in a quick stretch, shower, and grab your coffee
and granola bar while running out the door. The day continues in a similar,
hurried fashion. You eat a lunch but feel shorted,
because you were left with a limited supply of office leftovers. By mid
afternoon your stomach is rumbling. Although you may be good
at having a “healthy” afternoon snack on hand, by the time you get home you find
yourself ravenously reaching for any food in site.

It is very easy for good nutrition to take the back burner to the reality of
life. Life has a way of throwing the occasional curve
ball. However, not preparing for the curve ball of life can lead to hindered
training, poor recovery, and a disappointing race. So
what are you to do about it? The key is proper planning and maximizing nutrient
potential.
Planning and Maximizing
Many people end a meal feeling as though something is missing. When this occurs,
it is often from a lack of balance. A very
important aspect of good nutrition is to have balance at every meal or snack.
You can achieve balance by consuming a good source of
lean protein, a low to moderate amount of healthy fat, and quality carbohydrates
with fiber. By sticking with this type of regimen
you will maximize the micro-nutrients consumed, sustain an increased energy
level, and effectively manage your weight with a greater
sense of fullness.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=12054


10. Finishing strong:
Competitive swimming at 50? Running at 70? When it comes to sports that require
endurance, age can actually be an asset.
SWIMMER Leianne Crittenden has recently racked up a national championship, world
championship and world record, but she's not some
promising college athlete.
"For an old lady I do OK," the 51-year-old attorney and masters swimmer says
with a laugh. "When I go against 20-year-olds,
sometimes I beat them. I think they're sort of surprised -- they say, 'Who is
that woman with the wrinkles?' "
Crittenden isn't an anomaly. The notion that age offers only diminishing returns
when it comes to fitness is being blown to bits --
particularly in endurance sports. Events that require pacing, strategy and
mental fortitude are where many older athletes,
especially women, excel.
Suzanna Bon, 43, was the top female finisher at this year's Angeles Crest 100
Mile Endurance Run, also setting a new course record.
Forty-year-old swimmer Dara Torres may make history in the 2008 Olympics as the
first swimmer older than 40 to compete in the Games.
And Valmir Nunes, 43, won the Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon this year, a
notoriously grueling 135-mile run from Death Valley to Mt.
Whitney.
Exercise and sports psychology experts think there could be more to this success
than physiology and good genes.
"I think there are a number of things that people do better as they get older,"
says Miriam Nelson, director of the John Hancock
Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.
"They're more disciplined, they train smarter,
they're consistent with their training. Whatever sport you're in, you can be
smarter from a competitive edge in terms of knowing
yourself, how to pace yourself."
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-agingfitness15oct15,1,7188629.story\
?coll=la-headlines-health&ctrack=4&cset=true


11. Running Economy 1: Here are some of the things your mum forgot to tell you
about putting one foot in front of the other:
Some things about running are pretty obvious. By now, nearly everyone knows that
running 1200- and 1600-metre intervals at 95%
VO2max (5K speed) is a good way to improve maximal aerobic capacity. Almost all
runners know that completing two-mile intervals at
10K velocity is great for lactate-threshold boosting. Just about everyone
realizes that hill training is excellent for economy. And
everyone, including even the most dedicated sofa slug, has accepted the idea
that running is a pretty effective way to lose weight.
However, some things about running aren't so obvious. For example, you may not
be aware that if you test short-distance (800- and
1500-metre), middle distance (3K, 5K, and 10K), and long-distance (marathon)
runners for running economy, the short-distance
competitors will almost always have the best economy at speeds of marathon race
pace and faster (eg, they will use the least oxygen
to run at marathon, 10K, 5K, 3K, 1500m, and 800m race velocities). This is true
for both male and female runners, and it contradicts
what many coaches and runners have traditionally believed - that marathon
runners tend to be the individuals who develop the most
efficient running style. The truth is that the speediest athletes are the most
economical - even when you slow them down to
marathon-type velocity ('Running Economy of Elite Male and Elite Female
Runners,' Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol.
24(4), pp. 483-489, 1992).
So, we can forget about those foolish recommendations to develop a 'marathon
shuffle' in order to save energy for the 42K long haul,
since you run more efficiently if you mimic the 1500m competitor. Why didn't mum
tell us that! And we are free to chastise her for
not telling us that up-tempo training (800- and 1500m style) seems to be best
for building economy, not those longer runs at more
middling paces. We should also tell her that she should have required us to read
Frank Horwill's fine book, An Obsession for
Running, which outlines the merits of training at 5K, 3K, 1500m and 800m paces,
even if you are a long-distance runner.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0187.htm


12. How To Train Smarter and Run Faster:
By Ben Wisbey
When you set yourself a goal to complete a particular event or do a particular
time for a given distance, it is not just about
getting yourself to peak physical fitness to compete in the event. There is
another side to completing your goal.
Have you ever watched somebody doing a race? I have seen so many people miss
their time goal because of poor pacing; aiming to break
25 minutes for 5km for example, by doing the first kilometer in 4:30, and then
quickly fading because they spend their energy too
early.
Then there are injuries. Injuries don't just happen. They are generally a result
of poor training technique or lack of recovery,
stability and flexibility.
This article will hopefully give a head start to all beginning runners, and even
answer some of those mysteries for the so called
experienced runner.
Basic Training Principles
General coaching or training principles are divided into 5 basic rules. While
these rules do not provide all the answers, they do
provide a solid base
knowledge that will help all runners when applied correctly.
~ Principle of Overload - for any training adaptation to occur, the body must be
stressed in some way. If you are just starting out
running, then obviously you will need to overload your body by running in order
to get better. If you are an experienced runner, you
will need to do training periods that overload you by manipulating volume or
intensity, if you are to improve. As a beginner runner
you do not want to have excessive overload. As a general rule of thumb, don't
increase weekly training volume by more than 10% from
one week to the next. The best method is to gradually apply overload by
increasing training volume by 5-10% per week.
~ Principle of Reversibility - this is plain and simple. If you stop
training, then detraining (a decrease in fitness) will occur. This means that
during a training period overload is required to
improve fitness; maintenance training is required to hold current fitness
levels; and a lack of training will result in a decreased
performance. This does not mean that rest periods aren't important - they are.
You still need to allocate periods to have a break
from training- this is important to allow both psychological and physical
recovery. It is recommended that you have a full break
from training for 2-4 weeks after a major competition or a long period of
training. The good thing is that after your break you will
get back to your previous fitness levels faster than it took you to get there
originally.
More...from VAAM at:
http://www.vaam-energy.com/howto_train.html


13. Hurting? Take a step back and review your exercise routine:
Q: I'm 63 and have exercised for the last 30 years for six days a week. As I get
older, it's harder to bend (using my knees) and get
up again. Are there any exercises for the knees that can help, or should I just
try to keep my exercises so they are gentle on my
knees?
A: The stiffness you are experiencing is most likely caused by inflammation in
the joint, says Dr. Andrew Yun, an orthopedic surgeon
and hip and knee specialist at the Diagnostic and Interventional Spinal and
Sports Care in Marina del Rey.
This could be the result of any number of things, including an inflamed tendon,
a muscle strain, arthritis or the normal wear and
tear of aging.
For starters, Yun suggests, review your workout routine. Are you doing something
differently in your exercise routine that could
account for the soreness? Did you go from a recreational to competitive
activity? Did you otherwise change the way you exercise? "It
could be that his body is simply telling him to stop what he's doing, ease up
from his new activity and return to his former workout
routine," Yun says.
If that's not the case and your stiffness has developed slowly over time, Yun
recommends that you adjust your activities in a way
that places less stress in the knee.
For example, if you're performing high-impact activities, especially those that
involve twisting and turning such as tennis or
basketball or even running, you may want to switch to walking or biking or using
an elliptical trainer to give your body a chance to
heal itself.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-hew-ask15oct15,1,4186375.story?coll=la\
-utilities-health&ctrack=6&cset=true


14. Iron Manoeuvres:
When it comes to lifting weights, quality beats quantity. Here now, a few tips
on how to make the most of your workout.
WARM-UP
Weight rooms everywhere contain two kinds of exercisers; those who work out
right and those who work out wrong. Unfortunately, the
exercisers who get it wrong often outnumber the ones who get it right.
Admittedly, most weight room errors are small ones resulting in no greater
consequence then a failure to achieve the best possible
results. Other errors, however, are so glaring and so fundamental that not only
will ill-advised lifters fail to reap the benefits
of their hard work, chances are they will end up nursing an injury.
To help rid your routine of exercise error, here are some tips born of weight
room blunders seen in gyms across the country.
You've seen the guys who walk into the gym, pick up the biggest weight in the
place and start pumping. Little do they know that a
few minutes spent lifting lighter loads will result in better performance and
lessen the chance of injury. Warming up the muscles
and surrounding tissues makes your joints more pliable and better able to lift
the heavy stuff. Stiff joints make it not only
difficult to lift, but without the increase in body temperature and blood flow
that a good warm-up provides, injury-plagued joints
such as shoulders and knees are more likely to give you trouble early in the
workout.
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=7c7f6978-4a91-47f\
6-a099-e4ebf29ae214


15. Bone Structure 'Vastly Different' Than Previously Believed:
Researchers have discovered that the structure of human bones is vastly
different than previously believed -- findings which will
have implications for how some debilitating bone disorders are treated.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the Animal Health Trust in
Newmarket, and the BAM Federal Institute of Materials
Research and Testing, Berlin, have discovered that the characteristic toughness
and stiffness of bone is predominantly due to the
presence of specialized sugars, not proteins, as had been previous believed.
Their findings could have sweeping impacts on
treatments for osteoporosis and other bone disorders.
Scientists have long held the view that collagen and other proteins were the key
molecules responsible for stabilizing normal bone
structure. That belief has been the basis for some existing medications for bone
disorders and bone replacement materials. At the
same time, researchers paid little attention to the roles of sugars
(carbohydrates) in the complex process of bone growth.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071016131514.htm


16. Rigorous Exercise And Extreme Dieting Can Predispose Females To
Osteoporosis:
Women who follow strict exercise and diet regimens may harm their body's ability
to form new bone, which can lead to osteoporosis
later in life. Researchers recommend that the more women exercise, the more they
need to eat to stay healthy.
"Thousands of women severely restrict their diet and practice rigorous exercise
programs for fitness and weight control," said Anne
Loucks, professor of biological sciences at Ohio University and lead author on
the new study. "Because some don't see obvious signs
of undernutrition, such as a disrupted menstrual cycle, they may think they're
eating enough. If their diet does not supply enough
energy to fuel their exercise level, though, they may be harming themselves.
They need to replenish those calories."
Earlier studies showed that too few calories (low energy availability) disrupts
the reproductive system and impairs bone formation
in teens and college-age females. If a young woman's menstrual cycle stopped, it
was considered a warning sign of bone loss.
More...from Medical News Today at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/73075.php


17. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- Moges Taye (ETH) won the Istanbul Eurasia (TUR) Marathon in
2:13:37. Stephen Langat
(KEN) was next with 2:14:48 and Aleksandrs Prokopcuks (LAT) took
3rd in 2:17:50.
Adriana Barbu (ROM) took the women's race in 2:34:39 with Natalia
Galushko (BLR)
following in 2:35:58 and Nadezhda Ilyina (RUS, now Wijenberg of
NED) 3rd in 2:36:15.
20 Years Ago- Martin Froelick won the Twin Cities (MN/USA) Marathon in 2:10:59,
leading a USA 1-2-3
sweep. Paul Gompers and Mark Curp completed the sweep with
2:11:39 and 2:11:45
respectively. Daniel Boltz (AUS) was 4th in 2:13:24. Sylvie
Bornet (FRA) won the
women's race by a mile with 2:30:11. Well back in 2nd was Kim
Jones (USA) with a
2:35:41 and Gail Kingma (USA) collected 3rd with a 2:36:02.
30 Years Ago- Don Ritchie (SCO) ran 11:30:51 for 100 miles, a world track
record.
40 Years Ago- Armando Gonzalez (URU) won the South American Marathon
Championship with a 2:35:43.
50 Years Ago- Gordon Dickson (CAN) won the Saint Hyacinthe (CAN) Marathon in
2:32:47.
60 Years Ago- Emil Zatopek (CZE) won a 5000m in Katovice CZE in 14:20.0.
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.


18. Stretching Out Does Not Prevent Soreness After Exercise:
Studies show that stretching before or after exercise has little or no effect on
muscle soreness between half a day and three days
later, a team of Cochrane Researchers has found.
Many people stretch before starting to exercise, and some stretch again at the
end of a period of exertion. The aim may be to
prevent injury, to promote higher performance, or to limit the chances of
feeling stiff in the days after the exercise.
Two researchers set out to assess whether stretching could reduce stiffness.
They identified 10 relevant trials, each of which
involved between 10 and 30 people. Nine of the studies had been carried out in
laboratory situations and stretching varied from
between 40 seconds and 10 minutes.
The researchers used a 100-point scale to assess stiffness after exercise. They
concluded that the estimated effects of stretching
were extremely small, with most estimates showing that stretching reduced
soreness by less than 1 point on the 100-point scale. The
size of the effect was similar if stretching was performed before or after
activity.
"The data were remarkably consistent," says lead researcher Robert Herbert from
the School of Physiotherapy at the University of
Sydney, Australia, "The available evidence suggests that stretching before or
after exercise does not prevent muscle soreness in
young healthy adults."
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071016195932.htm


19. Should I lift weights during race season?
By Neal Henderson MS, CSCS- Boulder Center for Sports Nutrition
The answer is that it depends, but increasing strength doesn't necessarily
require weight lifting. For endurance athletes, the goal
of strength training is to make you faster over the long run. To do this, weight
training for endurance athletes should be both
specific and functional. A properly designed training program should involve
strength training exercises that are specific to the
movements that you perform in your sport. To increase strength, you can use a
combination of things such as lifting weights, running
and cycling uphill, swimming with hand paddles, or doing plyometric exercises.
Regardless of how you increase the resistance, you
should also use proper technique. Especially for weight training, you should
seek the advice of an experienced Strength and
Conditioning Specialist or other certified professional who is also familiar
with endurance sports. The research regarding the
effects of strength training on endurance performance are variable. Most results
show that concurrent endurance and strength
training impair strength gains, but most do not show any negative effects on
endurance and some have shown increase endurance
performance. One of the more accepted reasons to include strength training is to
help you avoid injuries by increasing the strength
of not just the muscles but also the tendons and bones.
Ideally, the off-season and early base-training phases are the best times of the
year to spend significant time with resistance
training using weights. As you enter the more intense training cycles and your
actual race season, it is typically recommended to
enter into a strength maintenance phase. Maintenance of strength during the race
season is best done by spending one to two days per
week performing 1-2 sets of each exercise (typically, 8-12 different exercises
in one session) using relatively light weight and
performing 12-20 repetitions per exercise. I often recommend athletes also
perform additional core training exercises in these
maintenance sessions and to spend an additional 10-15 minutes in a stretching
routine to maintain or increase flexibility. Yoga and
Pilates exercises are also popular forms of functional core, stability, and
flexibility exercise. Another option to maintaining
strength during the season would be to do sport specific movements with added
resistance such as using hand paddles while swimming,
doing intervals by pushing a larger gear while cycling, or doing short uphill
running sprints or even plyometric exercises.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/coaches_weightlifting.html


20 Digest Briefs:
* Should I drink my coffee race morning? Much research has been done on
caffeine and its effects on performance in endurance
sports, with many studies showing that caffeine is a safe and effective
performance enhancer. Studies show no negative effects on
hydration status with chronic or acute caffeine consumption. Bottom line is yes,
for a performance boost, you should drink your
coffee on race morning.
* Endurance Research Study
A combined team from Spain, Norway and Wisconsin has concluded that a training
diet that includes a greater proportion of
sub-threshold training significantly improved (28-percent greater reduction in
running times) performance in experienced distance
runners compared to those who had a greater proportion of what you and I would
call tempo (70-90 percent HR Max) training.
High-intensity training (above tempo pace) was the same in both groups. Only the
proportions of low and tempo intensity training
differed.
While in itself the study speaks to the value of building a large endurance
base, the conclusions that the researchers offered to
account for the difference in training results is telling. They conclude that
when higher proportions of tempo training are included
in the mix at the expense of lower-intensity training, it may just be too hard
on the athletes and interferes with proper adaptation
and responses to training.
Their “endurance” athletes were 5K track and 10K cross-country runners. If their
observation is true for folks running at that
distance, do you think it might hold true at longer ultra-distances?
The take-homes are: The vast bulk of your training should be in Z1 and Z2. You
do need some very intense training (Z5), but not too
much. The body adapts quite quickly to intense training. Tempo work should be at
the same relative volume as intense training. This
is great news for masters athletes as we tend to train more in Z1 and Z2 anyway,
but we do need some tempo and intense work to
maintain strength and power—just not too much.
Anthony C. “Woofie” Humpage is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
and USA Triathlon Certified Coach who specializes in
the training of masters athletes for endurance and ultra-endurance sports. His
focus blends performance enhancement with athletic
longevity. E-mail: mailto:woofie@....
From UltraFit e-Tips: http://www.ultrafit.com
* Compression Garments...
Many athletes complain of sore and swollen lower limbs during long drives or
flights, especially when remaining in a seated position
for extended periods of time. Over the last several years, athletes of all
disciplines have discovered compression garments,
specifically socks or tights, to combat this issue. These garments work very
well.
I recently did an experiment during a long, 17-hour drive (each way). On one leg
of the trip I used compression socks (knee high)
and on the other I did not. I knew the socks worked well, but this head-to-head
comparison really accentuated the extent to which
they help alleviate lower leg, ankle and foot swelling and thus allow for a
better “feeling” when exercising after a long trip.
There are many brands and types of these garments available, from inexpensive
socks (about $6) on up to full tights made
specifically for the purpose that cost around $150.
Before your next long distance trip, whether it is for competition, training or
even business or pleasure, give some of these
products a try.
Andy Applegate is an elite road, mountain and cyclo-cross racer. He co-owns
VeloSports Performance Center in Asheville, N.C., and is
a USA Cycling and Ultrafit-certified coach. He may be reached at
mailto:aapplegate@.... For more information check out
www.a2coaching.com.
* Modeling in Physiology
A metabolic limit on the ability to make up for lost time in endurance events
Yoshiyuki Fukuba and Brian J. Whipp
Department of Physiology, St. George's Hospital Medical School, University of
London, London SW17 0RE, United Kingdom
It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the tolerable duration (t) of
high-intensity cycling is well characterized as a hyperbolic
function of power (P) with an asymptote that has been termed the "fatigue
threshold" and with a curvature constant. This hyperbolic
P-t relationship has also been confirmed in running and swimming, when speed (V)
is used instead of P; that is, (V VF) · t = D',
where VF is the V at the fatigue threshold, and D' is the curvature constant.
Therefore, we theoretically analyzed herein the
consequences of an athlete performing the initial part of an endurance event at
a V different from the constant rate that would
allow the performance time to be determined by the hyperbolic V-t relationship.
We considered not only the V-t constraints that
limit the athlete's ability to make up the time lost by too slow an early pace
but also the consequences of a more rapid early pace.
Our analysis demonstrates that both the VF and D' parameters of the athlete's
V-t curve play an important role in the pace
allocation strategy of the athlete. That is, 1) when the running V during any
part of the whole running distance is below VF, the
athlete can never attain the goal of achieving the time equivalent to that of
running the entire race at constant maximal V (i.e.,
that determined by one's own best V-t curve); and 2) the "endurance parameter
ratio" D'/VF is especially important in determining
the flexibility of the race pace that the athlete was able to choose
intentionally.
So much for the run/walk theory of achieving PB times
* Effects of warm-up and precooling on endurance performance in the heat
Sandra Ückert1, Winfried Joch2
1 Institute of Sports Science, University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
2 Institute of Sports Science, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
Objective: To examine the effects of different thermoregulatory preparation
procedures (warm-up (WU), precooling (PC), control (C))
on endurance performance in the heat.
Methods: 20 male subjects completed three treadmill runs to exhaustion (5 days
apart). In each session, all subjects performed an
incremental running test after WU (20 min at 70% maximum heart rate (HR)), after
PC (wearing a cooling vest (0°C–5°C) for 20 min at
rest) or without particular preparation (C). After a 5-min break, the exercise
protocol commenced at a workload of 9 km/h and was
increased by 1 km/h every 5 min until the point of volitional fatigue. Running
performance, HR, blood lactate concentration,
tympanic temperature and skin temperature were measured in each trial.
Results: In the PC condition, the running performance (32.5 (5.1) min; mean
(SD)) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than in WU (26.9
(4.6) min) and in C conditions (30.3 (4.3) min). During the first 30 min of
testing, HR, tympanic temperature and skin temperature
were significantly (p<0.05) lower after PC than after WU. There were no
significant differences in lactate concentration; however,
there was a trend to lower values after WU.
Conclusions: The use of an ice-cooling vest for 20 min before exercising
improved running performance, whereas the 20 min WU
procedure had a distinctly detrimental effect. Cooling procedures including
additional parts of the body such as the head and the
neck might further enhance the effectiveness of PC measures.
* When you are very tired, run faster!
From Running Research News via the IAAF New Studies in Athletics:
"One of the key, defining moments in running is the instant during races when
you suddenly feel as though you can no longer continue
at your planned pace. Traditionally, this moment has been viewed as representing
a crisis point for either the heart or muscles, but
research reveals that it is often a protective MIRAGE thrown up by the nervous
system to keep runners from over-exercising...."



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.

October 21, 2007:

Beijing Marathon - China<

Columbus Marathon - Columbus, OH

Detroit Free Press / Flagstar Marathon - Detroit, MI

IMT Des Moines Marathon - Des Moines, IA

Nike Women's Marathon - San Francisco, CA

St. John's Santa Monica 5000 - Santa Monica, CA

The Other Half - Moab, UT

June 21, 2008
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K race for Women
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

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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

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National Bike Registry
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Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
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SportsShoes in the UK
http://www.sportsshoes.com/index.php?id=149

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TrainingPeaks.com by Wes Hobson.
Find the training program that fits you at:
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TriSwim Coach - The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
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If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
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The Stretching Handbook:
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