A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES.
The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and
health issues. The opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the Digest
are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily
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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:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000010069822.
Check out their Perfect Fit Finder for running shoes.

4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon, 2008
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/

5. 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

6. Training Peaks
Training Peaks, LLC is dedicated to the endurance athlete and coach. With our
industry leading software products, we're committed to
help you monitor, analyze and plan your training. We encourage you to draw on
our passion for excellence to help you reach your
athletic dreams. Trusted by thousands. Dedicated to you.
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/


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RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS

ACTIVE.COM
RunnersWeb.com has teamed up with Active Trainer coaches to offer training
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Sign up at: www.RunnersWebCoach.com OR
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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:
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:
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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. All Athletes: Base AeT Training
2. Sportsmedicine: Ankle Injuries, Ankle Pain and Sprained Ankle Treatment
3. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
4. Small GPS Devices Gain Popularity Among Runners, Cyclists, Hikers
5. When the Marathon Becomes a Race Against Death
6. Genetically engineered 'mighty mouse' is the rodent Lance Armstrong
7. Marathon moms raise the post-natal bar
8. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Home Runs 2: The Wedding
9. Marathon Winner Ran Throughout Her Pregnancy. Should You?
10. This Week in Running
11. Best Performance in a Supporting Role
Full support sports bras take center stage.
12. Foam Rolling for Runners
Try these exercises to help prevent injury and improve performance.
13. Running Performance and the Weekly Big Picture
14. Are women runners catching up?
15. Antioxidants for Athletes
16. Raising the Bar
With so many energy bars around, it's tough to know which are best. Till now.
17. Dieting hardest for emotional eaters: study
18. Vibrations appear to give mice better bones, less fat
19. How do I Select the Correct Running Shoe?
20. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which of the following sports drinks have you tried?
Accelerade
All Sports
Cytomax
Endurox
Gatorade
GU
Powerade
Powerbar
Ultima
Other"

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:
"Which of the following factors have played a significant role in your success
(or lack thereof) as an athlete?"
Answers Percent
1. Coaching 22%
2. Family 16%
3. Friends 10%
4. Finances 11%
5. Genetics 18%
6. Opportunity 12%
7. Other (email:polls2007@...) 11%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: Hansons-Brooks Distance Project
About the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project
The standards these athletes had to meet to be eligible for the Olympic
Development program are 29:00/33:45 for the 10k, 14:00/16:15
for the 5k, and 2:20/2:42 for the marathon. These standards are the basis for
the selection process although they are not set in
stone. Other factors such as the athletes willingness to relocate to the
Rochester area, the meets where they ran their times at,
and also the size of the college that they attended come into play when the
athletes are selected.
This opportunity provided by the Hansons is the best out there for runners
coming out of college who have demonstrated the ability
and wish to continue running, but haven't quite advanced to the next level. The
Olympics are the ultimate focus of the runners but
more importantly all the runners here are taking part in this program to see how
fast they can become. Everything here focuses
around time to train. Our lifestyle is most accurately described as being like
college only we don't have classes or homework.
The approach realized in the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project incorporates the
following four principles:
~ Create an opportunity for successful college athletes to continue training
beyond their college years.
~ Provide an environment in which training can be the focus of those
post-collegiate athletes (without the financial necessity of
working full time or chasing after money in road races).
~ Develop a center for those athletes to train together as a team.
~ Incorporate the team members in local community activities to foster an
excitement in the sport of distance running, and motivate
future distance runners.
Visit the website at:
http://www.hansons-running.com/odp/about_us.htm


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


BOOK/VIDEO OF THE MONTH: In Pursuit of Excellence-4th Edition
About the Product
Reach your potential! Whether you are an athlete, a coach, or a promising high
achiever in another walk of life, In Pursuit of
Excellence provides the expert advice and proven techniques to help you fulfill
your aspirations.
Author Terry Orlick, an internationally acclaimed sport psychologist, has helped
hundreds of Olympic and professional athletes
maximize their performances and achieve their goals. In this fourth edition,
Orlick provides new insights and a powerful
step-by-step plan for you to develop your own personal path to excellence.
You'll learn to focus for excellence and high-quality living. You'll gain a more
positive outlook, a more focused commitment, better
ways of dealing with distractions, and strategies for overcoming obstacles.
You'll also achieve greater personal and professional
satisfaction and discover better ways to work with teammates, respond more
effectively to coaching, and become more self-directed in
your thoughts and actions.
Both practical and inspirational, In Pursuit of Excellence is a guide to daily
living and motivation as well as a road map to
long-term achievement. Read it, use it, and win with it-on and off the field.
About the Author
Terry Orlick, PhD, is a world-renowned leader in the applied field of sport
psychology, mental training, and excellence. A former
gymnastics champion and coach, Orlick has served as a high-performance coach for
over 34 years to thousands of Olympic and
professional athletes in more than 30 sports. He has served as a
performance-enhancement consultant and mental skills coach in
several Summer and Winter Olympic Games, as well as a consultant for various
professional teams and leading business corporations.
Former president of the International Society for Mental Training and
Excellence, Orlick has authored more than 20 highly acclaimed
books. He has created innovative programs and books for children and youth to
develop humanistic perspectives and positive mental
skills for living, including Cooperative Games and Sports (2006, Human Kinetics)
and Feeling Great: Teaching Children to Excel at
Living (2004, Creative Bound).
Orlick, a graduate of Syracuse University, the College of William & Mary, and
the University of Alberta, is a professor in the
School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and founder of the
innovative Journal of Excellence. He holds
distinguished service awards from numerous Olympic and education associations,
as well as certificates of merit from governments,
universities, sport organizations, and schools for distinguished service to the
community. He has given lectures on the pursuit of
excellence in virtually every corner of the world. Orlick lives with his family
at Meech Lake, Quebec.
Buy the book from Human Kinetics at:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=0736067\
574

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. All Athletes: Base AeT Training:
In some ways the initial Base period of the year is the most important in the
athlete’s season. It’s during this time when great
gains can be made in three of the most important abilities in the athlete’s
fitness arsenal—endurance, force and speed skills. In no
other period of the season is the athlete willing and able to devote large
chunks of time to the key systems for these abilities:
aerobic, muscular and nervous. Once into the Build, Peak and Race periods, the
athlete is totally focused on race-specific fitness,
which is as it should be.
Unfortunately, many endurance athletes short-change their Base period by jumping
ahead and making it sort of a mini-Build period by
doing anaerobic intervals, fast group workouts and generally race-type workouts.
What a shame. Most never realize what they are
missing in their seasonal preparation and could be so much more fit if they took
advantage of the gains that could be made by
developing endurance, force and speed skills.
Aerobic system fitness is perhaps the single best determiner of performance for
an endurance athlete. That seems obvious since
aerobic system development has a great deal to do with the heart’s stroke
volume, muscle enzymes that use oxygen to convert fat to
energy, blood volume and oxygen transport capabilities, and more. Bypassing the
full development of this critical system in order to
become more anaerobically fit, which is all too common for the Base period,
means that the most important system for endurance
sports is underdeveloped. This is like having lots of icing but very little
cake, or building a big house on a small and flimsy
foundation. Neither is very good.
Over the years my approach to building aerobic fitness has changed. I used to
believe that long, slow distance (LSD) was the most
important type of training for aerobic system development. But in the last few
years, experimentation with the athletes I coach has
led me to believe this is not enough. By itself LSD will not fully develop the
aerobic system. A bit higher intensity is needed.
Rather than just noodling along at a relaxed, 1-zone effort, I believe that one
must challenge the aerobic threshold in training to
see complete aerobic development.
The optimal way to train any physiological system is to frequently repeat a
stress that precisely targets the system. When it comes
to the aerobic system that target is the aerobic threshold (AeT). When training
at the aerobic threshold, all of the key aerobic
systems are stressed and the stress can be maintained for relatively long
periods of time just as one must be able to do in an
endurance race.
So how do you know the level of intensity that targets the AeT? There are
several ways depending on what technology you have
available. Perhaps the most common these days and the easiest to use is heart
rate. Your pulse during exercise has always been a
good indicator of how the body is relating to the stress being applied by
running, cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing or
whatever it is you do. Most athletes wear a heart rate monitor (HRM) for this
reason. Most also know the heart rate that represents
their anaerobic threshold (AnT), also sometimes called the lactate threshold
(LT).
I’ve found that there is a pretty good correlation between AeT and AnT, meaning
that if you know one you can predict the other
fairly closely. They are about 20-30 bpm apart. So, for example, if a generally
fit endurance-trained athlete knows his or her AnT
to be 160 for a given sport, then the AeT for that same sport is approximately
130-140. (Realize that AeT and AnT vary by sport
within the same athlete.) This makes training at AeT a rather simple matter—just
wear a HRM and exercise steadily for long periods
at 20-30 bpm less than AnT. (If you don’t know AnT you can get a good
approximation by conducting an all-out, race-effort, 30-minute
time trial and using your HRM split function to find your average heart rate for
the last 20 minutes of the effort.)
That sounds easy enough. But how long should the workout effort be? I make this
decision based on the type of events for which the
athlete trains, but for cycling I use two to four hours of steady AeT exercise
as the common range regardless of the event. If your
race duration typically falls into the two- to four-hour range, simply train for
that duration at AeT. For example, if you do the
bike portion of a half-iron-distance triathlon or bike road race with a typical
time of around 2.5 hours, then do 2.5-hour AeT bike
rides (not including warm-up). Should your race times be less than two hours
(criterium bike racing or Olympic-distance triathlon
bike portions) then your AeT bike workout will be two hours. If your event takes
longer than four hours (ironman-distance bike and
long road races) your AeT bike workout will be four hours duration. AeT workouts
of this duration are done once or twice weekly per
sport in the Base period. That’s all there is to it.
Actually, there’s a bit more. As with any training you need to know if you’re
making progress and when you’ve done enough of such
training to consider moving on to the Build period. This can be done by
comparing heart rate to another metric (power and pace are
the best) and measuring cardiac drift relative to that metric. In an aerobically
fit athlete, cardiac drift will be minimal. Here’s
how I do this.
On a bike with a powermeter I have an athlete complete an AeT ride and after the
ride upload the powermeter’s heart rate and power
file to Cycling Peaks, an excellent analysis software available through
www.TrainingPeaks.com. The AeT portion of the ride is then
separated into its two halves. For each half the average power is divided by the
average heart rate. The results are then compared
by subtracting the first half quotient from the second half quotient and
dividing by the first half quotient. This creates a Pw:HR
ratio percentage of change—a measure of cardiac drift (actually, a measure of
power changes relative to a steady heart rate that is
wanting to rise). When the athlete’s Pw:HR shift is less than 5% I consider AeT
fully developed and the aerobic endurance goal of
the Base period accomplished.
With the development of GPS and accelerometers, this same procedure may be used
for pace-based sports such as running and
cross-country skiing. Simply substitute pace (Pa) for Pw in the procedure above.
For runners I use AeT workout durations that are
one to two hours long.
Essentially, when an athlete is in good aerobic condition, his or her heart rate
and power or pace will stay closely coupled at
aerobic efforts as described above. If power or pace drops off relative to heart
rate, or if heart rate rises relative to steady
power (65% of CP30 power is a good approximation of AeT power) or pace the
athlete is said to be aerobically decoupling. If this is
greater than a 5% shift, then more aerobic training is necessary. In fact, these
AeT “tests” are the perfect workout for developing
aerobic fitness—just do one or two of these workouts weekly by sport.
Even if you don’t have a powermeter, GPS or accelerometer you can still do the
workouts using your trusty HRM. In this situation you
will have to base decisions about your aerobic endurance fitness strictly on
perceived exertion: Over time do you seem to be going
faster at AeT?
I have found AeT workouts to be one of the most effective ways of training for
endurance athletes in the Base period. Give it a try
and let me know what you think.
Joe Friel is the author of the Training Bible book series and the founder of
Training Bible Coaching, Ultrafit and Training Peaks.
He may be reached through the Training Bible website at www.trainingbible.com.


2. Sportsmedicine: Ankle Injuries, Ankle Pain and Sprained Ankle Treatment:
A guide for the prevention and treatment of ankle injuries
Part 1
Ankle Injuries are one of the most common injuries faced by anyone who
participates in sport or exercise. As a matter of fact, you
don't even have to be engaged in any exercise to suffer from a sprained ankle.
It seems that even while minding your own business,
an ankle injury can occur.
Ankle injuries are commonly associated with sports that require a lot of
running, jumping and change of direction. Excessive
twisting or turning of the ankle joint results in a rupture of the ligaments
that hold the ankle in place.
I've had many requests for an article on sprained ankles, so to follow is the
most comprehensive information I could put together.
In fact, I found it hard to fit it all into one issue, so I've decided to split
it into two parts.
In the first part, we're going to have a look at exactly what a sprained ankle
is. I'll go over the structures that make up the
ankle joint; we'll have a look at what happens when an ankle injury occurs;
we'll check out the symptoms associated with an ankle
injury; and then we'll finish off with a look at the major causes and risk
factors that contribute to ankle injury.
In the second part you'll find the most complete treatment, rehabilitation and
prevention information available anywhere. I'm going
to outline a detailed, step-by-step process of firstly treating the initial
injury and then making sure you never have to worry
about ankle injuries again.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20071108_TSH_Ankle1.html


3. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Exercise Prevents Diabetes
Exercise is even more important than weight loss for prevention or control of
diabetes, according to a report from the Australian
National University in Canberra (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
September 2007). Dr. Richard Telford concludes that
obesity is associated with, but does not cause, diabetes, heart disease and
premature death. The health benefits of exercise include
increasing cells' ability to respond to insulin, lowering blood sugar levels,
and preventing all the side effects of diabetes.
Weight loss is not necessary for a person to gain these benefits from an
exercise program.
Most cases of Type II diabetes are caused by the body's inability to respond to
insulin. Strengthening muscles makes cells more
responsive to insulin (Diabetes Care, September 2007). Your ability to respond
to insulin depends on the ability of muscles to burn
oxygen without producing excessive free radicals (called oxidative capacity).
When your body converts food to energy, it produces
free radicals that can damage the DNA in your cells to shorten life. Exercise
causes cells to burn food for energy more efficiently,
without producing large amounts of free radicals.
Thirty-five percent of Americans today can expect to become diabetic. To help
prevent diabetes or heart disease, most people should
exercise for about an hour a day, alternating vigorous and easy days. If they
still have high blood sugar levels, they probably need
to exercise more and may also need to take medications.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Is it true that weight loss during exercise is due only to
loss of fluid?
If you weigh yourself before and after an hour or two of exercise, the
difference is likely to be fluid loss. However, in events
lasting several hours or even several days, measurable fat loss can occur. At a
competitive 12-hour indoor stationary bicycle
marathon, one athlete took fluids and food throughout the entire competition,
and still lost 2.64 pounds (Schweizerische Rundschau
für Medizin Praxis, July 2007). Of this weight loss, 1.98 pounds was due to loss
of fat. His calculated muscle weight increased by
1.46 pounds due to damage to the muscle cells, which results in fluid retention
in the cells.
During vigorous cycling, an athlete can burn between 600 and 1000 calories per
hour, so this cyclist probably used more than 9000
calories in his 12-hour event. That is equal to the amount of energy needed to
form almost three pounds of fat. He lost only two
pounds of fat because of the prodigious amount of food and drink he took in
during the marathon. You can lose fat during a single
exercise session, but you have to be in extremely good shape and exercise for a
very long time to accomplish this. For most
exercisers, true weight loss will be measured over weeks or months.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Are hot tubs and saunas helpful or harmful for exercisers?
For many years I have believed that heating muscles in a whirlpool or sauna
after exercise interferes with muscle contractions and
hampers muscular endurance. However, a study from the University of Otago in New
Zealand shows that taking a sauna after workouts
for three weeks helped athletes to exercise longer to exhaustion (Journal of
Science and Medicine in Sport / Sports Medicine
Australia, August 2007).
Trained runners sat in a humid sauna for 30 minutes at 89.9 degrees centigrade
immediately after exercising, 12 times in three
weeks. They then ran as hard as they could on a treadmill for about 15 minutes,
to exhaustion. Sauna use increased run time to
exhaustion by 32 percent, which would equal an improvement of approximately two
percent in a full-length endurance time trial. Their
blood volumes increased by more than seven percent, and higher blood volume
increases endurance. If further research confirms these
findings, athletes will be advised to use saunas after their workouts for
several weeks before competition.
* Exercise-Induced Muscle Cramps: Causes and Prevention
Exercisers are often told that muscle cramps are caused by lack of salt (sodium)
or low potassium. However, recent studies show that
athletes in endurance events who suffer cramps usually have normal sodium and
potassium levels. A review of the current literature
from Buenos Aires, Argentina shows that doctors don't know very much about
exercise-induced muscle cramps (Journal of the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, July 2007). The most common cause appears to
be muscle damage. Athletes may be able to prevent
cramps by slowing down when they feel the muscle pulling and tightening, and
picking up the pace only when the muscle feels good
again.
Cramps may occur as a side effect of drugs used for high cholesterol, high blood
pressure or diabetes. Oral contraceptives, various
other drugs or alcohol can also cause muscle cramps. If you suffer from
recurrent muscle cramps that cannot be explained, check
with your doctor. Possible causes include pinched nerves, Parkinson's disease,
hypothyroidism, diabetes, narrowed arteries, low
blood mineral levels, or metabolic diseases that cause muscle damage. However,
most exercisers who experience exercise-
associated muscle cramps do not suffer from disease and can usually prevent
cramps by slowing down when their muscle start to feel
tight. Athletes are usually not willing to do this during competition, so they
will continue to suffer from occasional cramps and
work them out as they occur.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Will orthotics from a podiatrist get rid of foot pain when I
run?
People with high arches are at increased risk for foot pain and stress fractures
of their bones of their feet because their feet are
usually very poor shock absorbers. A report in
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (October 2007) shows that custom
orthotics can help. When you run rapidly, your foot hits
the ground with a force equal to about three times body weight. This force can
break bones and damage muscles, nerves, and
tendons. So most people land on the outside bottom of their feet and roll
inward. This is called pronation which helps absorb some
of the shock of the foot striking the ground. However, pronation can cause pain
from stretched ligaments (plantar fasciitis),
pulled tendons (tendinitis), or pinched nerves (neuromas). Some people are at
high risk for injury because they have very stiff
ankles that prevent their feet from rolling in normally. These people usually
have normally- formed arches and only appear to have
high arches.
Orthotics are special custom arch supports that help to absorb shock and prevent
foot pain. To see if orthotics are likely to help
you, ask your podiatrist to strap your foot with a special taping procedure
called a low-dye strap. If this reduces the pain, you
probably will benefit from custom orthotics. If orthotics do not cure your
problem, pick another sport with limited foot impact
such as cycling, swimming or rowing.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Are salty drinks better for exercisers than plain water?
A study from New Zealand shows that women who drank a salty solution before
exercising in hot weather retained more fluid and were
able to exercise longer in hot weather (Journal of Applied Physiology, August
2007). Almost two hours before exercising, trained
female cyclists started to drink a salty solution and continued to take this
solution six more times over an hour. They took no
fluid during their endurance trial. The salty drink caused their bodies to
retain extra fluid before exercising and helped them to
exercise much longer and harder than when they took no pre-exercise salty drink.
The female hormone, estrogen, causes salt
retention, but their performances were not affected by taking birth control
pills, a source of estrogen, or at specific times during
their menstrual cycles.
Most people object to the taste of salty drinks, so it may be more practical to
drink water or the beverage that tastes best to you,
and eat salted foods such as peanuts, chips or crackers.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at: http://www.drmirkin.com


4. Small GPS Devices Gain Popularity Among Runners, Cyclists, Hikers:
After a race through 15 miles of rock-laden, hilly trails in Wyandotte County
Lake Park, Byron Rieper went online to discuss the
competition with other runners.
Many already were sharing their experiences online. Some blamed heat and
humidity for their slow times, others recalled unforgiving
hills. Rieper, a seasoned marathoner and cyclist who lives in Overland Park,
used his watch to offer them a detailed look at the
course.
Millions of athletes are using watches like Rieper's Garmin Forerunner 305,
which maps his path and records his distance, speed,
pace and heart rate. Other devices that use the Global Positioning System are
geared at athletes competing in long-distance events,
including cyclists, triathletes and hikers.
The popularity of these devices has spiked as more people discover the Web sites
where all this information is being uploaded and
compared, including SportsTrack, Garmin Ltd.'s MotionBased.com and Nike Inc.'s
Nikeplus.com.
More...from COX.net at:
http://neworleans.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&\
view=article&id=D8SLAH900&_action=validatearticle
[Long URL]


5. When the Marathon Becomes a Race Against Death:
The New York City marathon this Sunday comes on the heels of a dramatic Chicago
Marathon, in which two people died and the course
was shut down because of record heat.
The number of people running marathons has quadrupled since the year 2000, and,
if statistics bear out, an average of eight people
will die from cardiac arrest while running a marathon in the United States this
year.
So why are all these people signing up, and who should be running them to begin
with? Malissa Wood, a cardiac specialist and
marathon runner, talks about the marathon phenomenon and the toll it takes on a
runner's body.
On our blog, an open thread: Are too many people attempting the marathon?
More...from NPR at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15875589


6. Genetically engineered 'mighty mouse' is the rodent Lance Armstrong:
Scientists have created a "mighty mouse" that is capable of trotting along at
three quarters of a mile per hour (20 metres per
minute) for three miles at a time, and that appears healthier, trimmer and
longer lived than its peers.
Mighty, maybe; clever, no. Watch the mice in action
These remarkable mice will underline fears that genetic engineering could one
day be abused by athletes, though this kind of
approach could equally well be put to good use in hospitals to help keep muscles
strong and steady in old age, and reverse the
effects of muscle wasting disease.
By boosting levels of an enzyme the mice became "metabolically similar to Lance
Armstrong biking up the Pyrenees," said Prof Richard
Hanson at Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, the senior author of a paper in the
Journal of Biological Chemistry describing the
rodents turbocharged with the enzyme, called phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase
(PEPCK-C).
These genetically engineered mice, "PEPCK-C muscle mice" eat 60 percent more
food than normal mice but remain fitter, trimmer -
weighing half as much - and lived up to three years of age, longer than wild
mice. Some female mighty mice had pups at 2.5 years of
age, an amazing feat considering that most mice do not reproduce after they are
one year old.
More...from the Telegraph at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2007/1\
1/01/scimice101.xml


7. Marathon moms raise the post-natal bar:
For new mothers struggling to get back into shape after having a baby, Paula
Radcliffe may be a source of inspiration - or
incredulity.
Moments after winning the New York City Marathon on the weekend, the beaming
British runner cradled her cherubic 10-month-old
daughter Isla to her rock-hard abs. She wasn't the only marathon mom - actress
Katie Holmes was greeted at the finish line by
husband Tom Cruise and 18-month-old daughter Suri.
"People thought having a baby would be the end of my career - I never thought it
would be," Ms. Radcliffe told the BBC. As her legs
grew weary in the final stretch, she said, "I just kept repeating to myself 'I
love you Isla' to keep my rhythm going."
While Ms. Radcliffe belongs to a very elite group of athletes, running during
pregnancy and after childbirth is not off-limits for
most women, provided they follow some precautions, experts say.
As the cultural preoccupation with shedding baby weight grows ever stronger,
women are looking for new postpartum fitness options.
But don't expect marathons to replace mommy-and-me yoga - they're not for
everyone.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071106.wlmarathon06/BNStory\
/lifeMain/


8. Joe Henderson's Running Commentary - Home Runs 2: The Wedding:
COIN, IOWA, April 1940. Elton and Mabel King couldn't say so this day, but they
were relieved that a child of theirs didn't wait as
long as they had to marry. Both had felt ancient for their era when their
wedding day finally arrived.
Elton was into his 30s when they met, and looking older than that because he had
balded early. He'd seemed to be easing into
permanent bachelorhood when Mabel Kent came into his life.
He had come here himself, following service in Cuba during the Spanish-American
war, to work as a carpenter. But he was better known
in Coin for his musical skills. He led a group, Snyder King's Band, under his
nickname.
Mabel arrived in Coin to teach in the elementary school. She appeared about to
take the dreaded title "old maid schoolteacher," as
she was already on the dark side of her 20s when she and Elton began courting.
At their ages they felt raced into marriage and children. Nine live births would
follow, all but one coming after Mabel's 30th
birthday and the last two after her 40th.
Eight of these Kings grew to school age and beyond. Six were girls, and none had
married -- until this day.
Elton's carpentry continued to support the family. The two surviving sons, Kent
and Bob, build homes and barns in an around Coin
when their schooling allowed. Mabel had always insisted that school come first,
and both boys had graduated from the University of
Iowa.
Mabel, now 60, had kept a diary since she was a girl -- an only child living
away from home while attending high school. The diary
had grown into a weekly newsletter as her and husband Elton's children scattered
to college and jobs.
Never had an entry been more important than today's. This was the wedding day of
her daughter Virginia, only the fourth-eldest of
the girls at 22.
Mother King wrote in the perfect script of a former schoolteacher, "The wedding
took place in our living room, with members of both
families present. Virginia was a beautiful bride and James a handsome groom."
More...from Joe Henderson at:
http://www.joehenderson.com/archive/home.php?article=2135


9. Marathon Winner Ran Throughout Her Pregnancy. Should You?
After the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Paula Radcliffe, the fastest woman,
did what a lot of parents do: She hugged her
daughter. What's remarkable, though, is that little Isla was born only in
January. Radcliffe trained until the day before she went
into labor and started up again less than two weeks after giving birth. The
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
recommends that after getting their OB's OK, pregnant women without medical or
obstetric complications (like badly controlled high
blood pressure or bleeding during the last two trimesters) should exercise
moderately to achieve exercise's proven health benefits
and stave off things like backaches, swelling, and even gestational diabetes.
For women who don't have any complications and already
run, that means you can keep going. We asked Jim Pivarnik, a kinesiologist who
has studied exercise in pregnant women and is
director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health at Michigan State
University, how women inspired by Radcliffe can safely
follow her example.
More...from US News at:
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/11/06/marathon-winner-ran-througho\
ut-her-pregnancy-should-you.html


10. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- John Kagwe (KEN) won the New York City (NY/USA) Marathon in
2:08:12 to win
$90,000. Joseph Chebet (KEN) was 2nd in 2:09:27 and Stefano
Baldini (ITA) was
3rd in 2:09:31. In the 2007 race, Baldini was 4th in 2:11:58.
The women's
race went to Franziska Moser (SUI) in 2:28:43. Colleen deReuck
(RSA) was
next with a 2:29:11 while Franca Fiacconi (ITA) was 3rd in
2:30:15.
20 Years Ago- Ibrahim Hussein (KEN) won the New York City (NY/USA) Marathon in
2:11:01 to
win $27,500. Gianni DeMadonna (ITA) was 2nd in 2:11:53 while
Peter Pfitzinger
(USA) was 3rd in 2:11:54. Forty-two year old Priscilla Welch won
the women's
race in 2:30:17, followed by Francoise Bonnet (FRA) in 2:31:22
and Jocelyne
Villeton (FRA) in 2:32:03.
30 Years Ago- Sarolta Monspart (HUN) won a women-only 10K in Guyanilla PUR with
a 35:44.4.
Michiko Gorman (USA) placed 2nd in 36:00.0 and Manuela
Angenvoorth (GER) was
3rd in 36:03.
40 Years Ago- Antonio Ambu won the Italian marathon championships with a time
of 2:27:04.
50 Years Ago- Pavel Kantorek (CZE) won a two hour run in Stara Boleslav CZE
with a distance of 36.427 km.
Prize money continues to set records, considerably enhanced by the US$1 million
awarded for the first cycle of the World Marathon
Majors. The 2007 tally is more than US$17 million; no other full calendar year
has surpassed US$15 million. The November tally
broke the November record, in just the first weekend.
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.


11. Best Performance in a Supporting Role:
Full support sports bras take center stage.
Plato, and then a couple of thousand years later, Frank Zappa, posited that
necessity is the mother of invention. By 1977 the
growing number of female athletes created the need for a new kind of bra. Enter
that legendary mother and her two running daughters,
Hinda Miller and Lisa Lindahl. That year they created the first sports bra by
sewing a couple of jockstraps together, marketing
their creation as the Jogbra. This invention revolutionized the women’s sports
apparel industry. However, while this over-the-head,
nonadjustable type of compression bra is perfect for most runners who wear an A
or B cup, it is practically useless for
larger-breasted athletes during high impact activity.
At every race, on every road there are women runners who wear a C cup or larger.
Some of them will be wearing two bras in order to
get sufficient support and control. On the hottest summer days, many
full-figured runners are hiding the bra equivalent of
granny-panties, large, unflattering corset-like brassieres, under T-shirts while
their smaller sisters gambol in colorful,
fashionable bras and shimmels. For larger breasted runners, a well-constructed,
supportive and adjustable running bra is as
important a piece of running equipment as a good pair of shoes. Is wishing for a
sports bra that is also great looking too much to
ask?
Many full-figured runners spend hundreds of dollars in pursuit of “The Bra,” the
perfect foundation garment that will support and
control without crushing ribs or smashing breasts flat. While they dream of the
kind of selection smaller-breasted runners take for
granted, coveting choices in color, pattern, and styles, they live with the
reality of their limited black and white standbys.
Runners with larger breasts have benefited from advances in bra technology and
construction, but they also embrace elegant design
and sportive styling in the more advanced gear.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=12146


12. Foam Rolling for Runners:
Try these exercises to help prevent injury and improve performance.
Using a foam roller can provide similar benefits as deep-tissue massage. By
increasing flexibility and decreasing muscle tension, it
can help prevent injury and improve performance. Make the following foam-roller
exercises part of your regular running routine--run,
roll, then stretch. Place your body on the roller and slowly roll up and down
(for about 10-15 seconds) along the muscle group you
are targeting. If you find a particularly tight area, pause on that spot.
Putting pressure on a tight area can help release the
tissue.
Gluteal Muscles, Piriformis
Lie on your right side with the foam roller under your right gluteal area and
your right leg extended straight out. Bend your left
knee and rest your left foot behind your right. Place both hands on the floor
for support. Roll your right gluteal muscles, then
repeat on the other side.
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285--11556-0,00.html?cm_mmc=tr\
aining-_-2007_11_06-_-training-_-INJURY%20PREVENTION
%3a%20Foam%20Rolling%20for%20Runners
[Multi-line URL]


13. Running Performance and the Weekly Big Picture:
To improve as a runner or indeed to maintain good fitness through running
requires a lot more than just hitting the pavement and the
hills. You need to look at the big picture of performance. There is more to
performance than training. Your Health and Fitness are
affected by other factors which you need to take into account when planning your
training programme as recovery, life stress and
more play an important role.
If running is not your full time job then you do need to ensure balance in your
training to ensure that you recover well. Therefore
for the great majority of semi serious recreational club runners I would
recommend that you look at the following key recovery
strategies:
(i)Be efficient in terms of weekly training. If you run long on a Sunday, think
seriously about not running on a Monday, you may
recover faster (and therefore perform better in your goal event) especially if
you do not have a lot of running mileage behind you
or are over 45. If you do feel like doing some training on the day after a big
run think about cross training - cycling, swimming or
kayaking would all be good aerobic alternatives.
(ii)Your weekly structure can also impact on the quality of certain sessions,
see the following suggested weekly structures. If you
run long run on a Sunday it would be advisable to have at least a day between
this session and any speed session i.e. Sunday Long
Run, Wednesday Speed Session (see option 2 below).
More...from TriFuel.com at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/run/running-performance-and-the-weekly-big-pictu\
re


14. Are women runners catching up?
Are women better long-distance runners than men? Health24’s Fitness expert, Dr
Ross Tucker, looked into this particular battle of
the sexes.
Analysing the entire distance range
To test the theory that women are better long-distance runners than men, we
looked at the performance differences between men and
women across the entire range of distances, from 100m to ultra-marathon. There
are flaws in this method: far fewer women run the
long-distance events in particular (which reduces the depth of ability
available), and also women have only been running
competitively for perhaps 40 years, compared to almost 100 for men.
The analysis showed that, rather than catching up to men as the distance
increases, women (at the world’s best times, anyway) are in
fact always about 10% slower than men. The reason for this at the shorter
distances is the testosterone advantage enjoyed by men
(called the "hormone gap" by one scientist).
(One interesting observation regarding this is that in the last 10 years, as
drug testing has become tighter, women are in fact
falling even further behind the men than they were in the 1980s, when women were
arguably pumped full of steroids.)
More...from Health 24 at:
http://www.health24.com/fitness/Science_of_Sport/16-3901-3903-3918,42870.asp


15. Antioxidants for Athletes:
Reviewed by Patricia B. Rosen, MD, MPH
Introduction
Every athlete probably knows of antioxidants for their health benefits, but can
antioxidants make an athlete faster? How do
antioxidants fit into an athlete's regimen for performance and recovery? What
exactly is an antioxidant? Tending to look first at
products for performance and then at recovery systems, athletes often overlook
antioxidants. Crucial not only for the health of the
cardiovascular system, they can also aid in performance and recovery. For many
years scientists as well as consumers have known of
the antioxidant powers of vitamins E & C and selenium. Today, this category has
expanded to include oligomeric proanthocyanidins
(OPCs), Alpha Lipoic Acid, grape skin, grape seed, beta-carotene, lutein,
tocopherols, tocoretinols and various other compounds. It
can certainly be confusing since so many supplements, both traditional and newly
introduced, can be classified as antioxidants.
What is an antioxidant?
An antioxidant slows or prevents oxidation of other molecules. Injury may occur
when a substance with an incomplete electron shell
(a free radical) attaches to another molecule such as a cell wall or the
mitochondria. An antioxidant provides that missing electron
to prevent this damage to cells.
What is oxidative stress and how does it affect me? Oxidative stress is the sum
of all chemical reactions giving rise to free
radicals or "reactive oxygen species" (ROS) in the body. ROS are generated when
the body is exposed to a variety of different
conditions and environments (see table 1 for examples). But it's not all bad
news.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/newsletter_antioxidants_vol5_11.html


16. Raising the Bar:
With so many energy bars around, it's tough to know which are best. Till now.
Fewer choices make for easier decisions, I always say. If you believe this too,
then we're both out of luck when it comes to
choosing the right energy bar.
Talk about choices! The energy/snack bar market now totals $1.5 billion a year,
with options ranging from basic workout snacks to
meal replacements, weight-loss aids to muscle builders, even bars designed
specifically for women. And while energy bars were once
relegated to the dark corners of running shops and health-food stores, you can
now find them in just about any grocery store, often
right next to the candy bars.
But which bar is right for you? That depends on your needs. So to prep you for
your very own bar exam, here's a rundown of the major
energy bar categories, plus my recommendations on the best bar for you.
High-Carbohydrate Bars
In the mid-1980s, PowerBar made a big splash in the energy-bar market, as it was
specifically designed with runners'
high-carbohydrate needs in mind. Since then, many other bars have followed suit.
High-carbohydrate bars generally supply about 200 to 260 calories, with over 70
percent of those calories coming from carbohydrates.
They are also moderate in protein (usually 10 grams or less) and low in fat
(check the label to make sure), because both can slow
digestion during exercise. Main ingredients include sugars, such as corn syrup
and brown rice syrup, and grains such as oats and
rice. Some bars also contain dried fruit, which is another source of easily
digestible carbohydrates for your working muscles.
Most bars in this category come fortified with an array of vitamins and minerals
as well. This extra boost of nutrients may be
important if you tend to skip meals or avoid nutritious fruits, vegetables, and
whole grains. But if you eat fortified breakfast
cereals and other fortified foods, or take a daily multivitamin, these extra
vitamins and minerals are not essential.
So how do these high-carbohydrate energy bars stack up against other
high-carbohydrate foods such as Fig Newtons, bananas, or bagels
when eaten before or during exercise? Only a few studies have been done, but so
far the science suggests that energy bars work as
well as whole foods in fueling endurance workouts.
More...from Runner's World at:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--1786-0,00.html?cm_mmc=nut\
rition-_-2007_11_08-_-nutrition-_-Which%20Bar%20Is%2
0Best%3f
[Long URL]


17. Dieting hardest for emotional eaters: study:
Emotional eaters -- people who eat when they are lonely or blue -- tend to lose
the least amount of weight and have the hardest time
keeping it off, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
They said the study may explain why so many people who lose weight gain it all
back.
"We found that the more people report eating in response to thoughts and
feelings, the less weight they lost," Heather Niemeier, an
obesity researcher at The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School
of Brown University, said in a statement.
"Amongst successful weight losers, those who report emotional eating are more
likely to regain," said Niemeier, whose study appears
in the journal Obesity.
The study included 286 overweight men and women who were participating in a
behavioral weight loss program.
A second group consisted of more than 3,300 adults who have lost at least 30
pounds and kept it off for at least one year.
Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to an eating inventory questionnaire.
They focused on people who ate because of external influences, such as people
who eat too much at parties, and people who ate
because of internal influences, such as feeling lonely or as a reward.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN0829204320071109


18. Vibrations appear to give mice better bones, less fat:
Clinton Rubin knows full well that his recent results are surprising - that no
one has been more taken aback than he. And he
cautions that it is far too soon to leap to conclusions about humans. But still,
he says, what if?
And no wonder, other scientists say. Rubin, director of the Center for
Biotechnology at the State University of New York at Stony
Brook, is reporting that in mice, a simple treatment that does not involve drugs
appears to be directing cells to turn into bone
instead of fat.
All he does is put mice on a platform that buzzes at such a low frequency that
some people cannot even feel it. The mice stand there
for 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Afterward, they have 27 percent less fat
than mice that did not stand on the platform - and
correspondingly more bone.
"I was the biggest skeptic in the world," Rubin said. "And I sit here and say,
'This can't possibly be happening.' I feel like the
credibility of my scientific career is sitting on a razor's edge between 'Wow,
this is really cool,' and 'These people are nuts.' "
More...from IHT at:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/30/healthscience/snbone.php


19. How do I Select the Correct Running Shoe?
By Jeffrey Rocco, M.D.
Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Surgeon
One of the most important pieces of equipment for endurance athletes is their
running shoes. While the correct shoes can’t do your
workout for you, they can support you and protect you from injury in your quest
for a PR. The wrong running shoe in can be an
impediment to your training, and in some cases may even be the source of injury.
Ongoing biomechanical stresses perpetuated by the
wrong running shoe may also prevent an injury from ever healing.
In addition to proper sizing, the correct running shoe should match an athlete’s
foot morphology (shape). With regards to sizing,
the shoe should fit snugly in the heel and should have plenty of room to wiggle
the toes. Feet tend to swell when running, and if
your toes are touching the end of the shoe, you will probably end up losing
toenails. To check the length of the shoe simply stand
up and place your thumbnail at the end of the longest toe. There should be about
half of a thumbnails length between the tip of the
toe and the end of the shoe. In general most people end up with a running shoe
that is sized one size larger than their street shoe.

Foot morphology covers a spectrum from Cavus (high-arched), to Neutral, to
Planus (flat or low-arched). Running shoe manufacturers
produce shoes to fit these three categories of feet. How do you know what type
of foot you have? One way of checking foot type is
the wet footprint test where the foot is dipped into a pan of water and then
placed onto paper where the foot shape is examined. I
find this test messy, and the results can vary according to how much water is on
the foot, how absorbent the paper is, or how much
pressure is applied to the paper. I propose a simpler test that requires the
help of a friend or a mirror. Simply stand with both
feet pointing straight ahead with a comfortable 6”-12” between the feet. Using a
mirror or your friend, look at your feet. If your
heels can be seen to the medial (inside) side when viewed from the front, you
have a cavus foot. If your heels line up directly
under your legs, and cannot be seen from the front, you have neutral feet. If
the heels line up to the lateral (outside) side you
have planus feet.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/coaches_runningshoes.html


20 Digest Briefs:
* Run away to Bermuda for a marathon fitness session
Fitness enthusiasts can spend a weekend in Bermuda with marathon runner Kathrine
Switzer, courtesy of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
The event takes place Jan. 18 to 20 during Bermuda Race Weekend, the island's
marathon. Guests can get fitness tips from Switzer,
who in 1967 became the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston
Marathon, and author of Marathon Woman.
The "Run Away to Bermuda" package includes three nights at the Fairmont Hamilton
Princess or the Fairmont Southampton, breakfast,
transportation to marathon festivities and motivational fitness clinics led by
Switzer. The package costs from $519 (U.S.) per
person, double occupancy.
The Fairmont Southampton is also offering a four-night "Walk Bermuda" package,
which includes daily walking tours, island dining and
entertainment.
Available Jan. 17 to 20, rates start at $849 (U.S.) per person. For details,
visit www.marathontours.com or call 1-800-444-4097.
* Tip of the month
Winter Cycling Safety and Comfort
Logging miles in the winter can be made comfortable with proper preparation.
Cycling in the winter can be fun if you are dressed
appropriately and your bike is prepared for wet and cooler temperatures.
Commuting by bicycle can be a time efficient way of getting in some extra miles.
Commuting to work daily not only is good for
increasing your aerobic fitness but also is good for the environment, saves
money and can be more enjoyable than being stuck in
traffic.
Here are a few tips to make your winter riding/commuting more comfortable
Protect your noggin. Buy a helmet.
Be visible- choose effective lighting- you'll be safer with a headlight and
rear flashers. A helmet light and reflective vest could
be good additions.
Choose durable tires to reduce risk of punctures and wider tread for better
traction for wet or slippery roads.
Wear bright clothing with reflective materials-chose technical moisture wicking
lightweight and water resistant fabrics.
Carry a lightweight tool kit with extra tube, tire leavers, patch kit, working
pump or CO2 canisters, money and an emergency food.
(eg a gel or a bar)
Have a horn or bell on your bike to warn pedestrians.
Remember to ride smart and be safe!
This month's tip was written by LifeSport Coach Charlene Waldner. Visit
LifeSport at:
http://www.lifesport.ca
* Impractical sportswear has persisted in many sports. "As late as 1876,
Marshall Brooks was high jumping in a top hat."
* Why are performance-enhancing substances in sports nothing new? "In ancient
Egypt, athletes consumed the rear hoof of an ass,
ground up and boiled in oil. In the late 19th century, performance drugs were
still legal and cyclists would have cocaine flakes
dropped on their tongues."
* Quick Tip
By Neal Henderson MS, CSCS
When to lose weight during training. Ideally, true emphasis on weight loss
should be done in the off-season or early in base
training. For most of us, it's much more of a challenge to do so because of
lower training volume, holidays, etc. that occur at
those times of the year. The rationale behind doing it early in training rather
than later is related to recovery.
First, you should have some objective determination of whether you actually need
to lose weight by having your body composition
measured. With this information, you can set reasonable and long term weight
loss goals - such as .5 lbs per week - that will be
easier to follow through with.
You should enter the competition phase of your season within a couple of pounds
of your ideal race weight. This way, during the
important part of your season, you can focus on training and recovering properly
- not focusing on trying to lose weight. In the
peak phase of training, weight loss typically occurs without trying too hard if
you've prepared yourself properly.
From First Endurance at: http://www.firstendurance.com



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.

November 10, 2007:
Ford Ironman World Championship 70.3 - Clearwater, Florida

SunTrust Richmond Marathon - Richmond, VA

November 11, 2007:
Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay - Monterey, CA

Florida Hospital Celebration Health 5K / 10K, Celebration, FL

OBX Marathon - Kitty Hawk, NC

Paul Reese Memorial Clarksburg Country Runs - CA

SIlverman Triathlon - Henderson, NV

TTTS Race for Hope 5K - Denver, CO


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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SportsShoes in the UK
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TrainingPeaks.com by Wes Hobson.
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