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
November 10, 2007: Prize Money Announced for Teams
RunnersWeb.com Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of $2,250 in prize money
for the top teams for the 2008 Emilie's Run. This
prize money is in addition to the previously announced $5,500 in individual
prize money for the top open and masters runners and the
primes for the leaders at 1 through 4K.
The team prize money will be allocated as follows:
1st (Open): $1,000,
2nd:$750,
3rd: $500
A maximum of 5 entrants per team, top 3 to score.
The 2008 edition of Emilie's Run will take place on Saturday, June 21st at the
Aviation Museum in Ottawa with $5,500 in cash prizes
for the top open and masters and merchandise prizes for the top teams and
age-groupers.
There will also be a 1K run for children.
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
January 4, 2008: Goodlife Fitness has come on board as a sponsor of Emilie's Run
GoodLife Fitness - Coed or Women's Only
Visit www.GoodLifeFitness.com today to receive 3 FREE Visits!
Your 3 FREE visits include:
. A Visual Fitness Planner Consultation
. Fit Fix Orientation to learn how to exercise safely and effectively
. Access to all cardio and strength-training equipment
. Access to all of our world-class Group EXercise classes
. A copy of Living the Good Life audio CD
Get started today! Visit www.GoodLifeFitness.com Limited time offer.

3. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000010069822.
New Arrivals from Nike With Web Exclusive Apparel and More!

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

5. Mississauga Marathon
The 5th anniversary edition of the Mississauga Marathon will be run on May 11,
2008 with the 10K the evening before on May 10th.
Register before February 6th to beat the price increase.
For more visit the race site at:
http://www.mississaugamarathon.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/

7. Running Free
Running Free is a complete online running store with everything for the casual
to serious runner.
They also have retail stores in the GTA (Toronto) and Markham.
Check them out at:
http://www.runningfree.com

8. January 4, 2008: Goodlife Fitness has come on board as a sponsor of Emilie's
Run
GoodLife Fitness - Coed or Women's Only
Visit www.GoodLifeFitness.com today to receive 3 FREE Visits!
Your 3 FREE visits include:
. A Visual Fitness Planner Consultation
. Fit Fix Orientation to learn how to exercise safely and effectively
. Access to all cardio and strength-training equipment
. Access to all of our world-class Group EXercise classes
. A copy of Living the Good Life audio CD
Get started today! Visit www.GoodLifeFitness.com Limited time offer.

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Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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NEW THIS WEEK:

Our February Trivia and Pegasus Quiz have been posted on our FrontPage.

I've created a Runner's Web Group on Facebook.
To join the Runner's Web Facebook group, if you are not a member of Facebook,
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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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Training Log and Analysis:
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Sign up at: www.RunnersWebCoach.com OR
http://training.active.com/ActiveTrainer/listing.do?listing=51

* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey.
Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport athletes and a member of the OAC Racing
Team and X-C Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public
Health and works in the field of nutritional epidemiology as a Research
Associate with the University of California, San Diego. Her
column index is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/SK_index.html

* Carmichael Training Systems
Carmichael Training Systems was founded in 1999 by Chris Carmichael.
From the beginning, the mission of the company has been to improve the lives of
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Carmichael Training Systems 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
13 years, and in the past two it has been awarded the "Golden Shoe Award" in
recognition of it's outstanding achievements.
http://www.clixGalore.com/Sale.aspx?BID=37234&AfID=103794&AdID=5075&LP=www.peakr\
unningperformance.com
Check out the Peak Running article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html .

* Running Research News:
RRN's free, weekly, training update provides subscribers with the most-current,
practical, scientifically based information about
training, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and injury rehabilitation. The
purpose of this weekly e-zine is to improve
subscribers' training quality and to help them train in an injury-free manner.
Running Research News also publishes a complete, 12-page, electronic newsletter
10 times a year (one-year subscriptions are $35); to
learn more about Running Research News, please see the Online Article Index and
"About Running Research News" sections below or go
to RRNews.com.
Check out the article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html

THIS WEEK'S PERSONAL POSTINGS/RELEASES:
We will only post notes here regarding running and triathlon topics of interest
to the community.
We have NO personal postings this week.

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. The Risks of Overtraining
2. Staying a Step Ahead of Aging
3. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine:
4. Survival of the fittest
5. Scientific training: How one former couch potato found a talent and then
called on the appliance of science to become an elite
performer
6. Exercise capacity benefits lifespan
7. Tips for boosting your immune system
8. Sedentary life 'speeds up ageing'
9. Bad air causing cardiac disease, experts say
10. Dealing with Injuries
Kara Goucher is one of the most decorated distance runners in American history.
11. How Long Does It Take To Recover?
12. This Week in Running
13. Sports is a strain on fans' hearts
14. Eating to Recover …
15. The Glass Ceiling
What happens when your hard work as an athlete stops paying off…
16. Stress fractures: an invisible enemy
UCLA researchers seek risk factors for the micro-injuries that can undermine a
runner's career.
17. Yoga for Runners
18. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Should the Boston Marathon have qualifying times at distances other than the
marathon, for example, 30K?"

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:
"How would you label yourself as an athlete?
Answers Percent
1. Runner 55%
2. Duathlete 3%
3. Triathlete 14%
4. Multi-sport athlete 17%
5. Cyclist 10%
6. Other 0%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: Runnerville.com.
"Runnerville.com is a collection of voices and pens (err, keyboards) brought
together to discuss the sport of running. It’s a
conversation intended to engage, inspire, and prod the running community. It’s a
dialog intended to encourage change. Running has
reached the proverbial fork in the road. One path leads us into deeper
obscurity, the other into the collective conscious of sports
fans. We’re pushing for the latter."
The site was founded by a group including Matt Taylor, Tony Reavis, Mary
Wittenberg, Amby Burfoot, Chris Lear, and Lauren Fleshman.
Check it out at: http://runnerville.com



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

BOOK/VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Championship Triathlon Training
About the Product
Dedication, passion, obsession—for serious endurance athletes, coaches,
duathletes, and triathletes, the quest for improvement never
ends. Knowing they can shave time from the previous performance, they seek out
the latest in research and training techniques.
In Championship Triathlon Training, renowned experts George Dallam and Steven
Jonas provide you with the same advanced conditioning
concepts and programming used by today’s elite triathletes.
By understanding the science behind the principles, you will incorporate
physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and injury prevention
into your regimen to address your specific needs and the demands of competition.
Specifically, you’ll learn these techniques:
~ Use weight training, plyometrics, and core development to accelerate skill
development in all phases of swimming, running, and
cycling.
~ Apply metabolic training to improve endurance and race speed.
~ Combine sport-specific skills, such as mounting and dismounting, with
metabolic training to improve transition times between
phases.
~ Develop more efficient movement patterns for increased performance potential
and reduced injury.
~ Assess health and physical status to avoid overtraining.
Complete with sample programs for each triathlon distance, technique analysis,
training- and race-specific fueling strategies, and
tips for motivation, focus, and goal setting, Championship Triathlon Training
will optimize your training and maximize your results.

About the Authors
George Dallam, PhD, is the longtime coach of Hunter Kemper, the No. 1-ranked
triathlete in the ITU World Cup during 2005 and most of
2006. He is the founding member of the National Coaching Commission of USA
Triathlon, the sport’s national governing body, and was
USA Triathlon’s first national team coach. In 2004 he was a finalist for the Doc
Counsilman Award for Science in Coaching category
of the United States Olympic Committee’s Coach of the Year Award. In 2005 he was
USA Triathlon’s Elite Coach of the Year.
Dallam is an associate professor of exercise science and health promotion at
Colorado State University at Pueblo. As a sport
scientist he has authored and coauthored numerous scientific papers relating to
triathlon. During his career at CSU-Pueblo, he has
received each of the university-wide awards for teaching, scholarship, and
service, becoming the only faculty member in the history
of the institution to receive all three awards.
During his 16-year triathlon coaching career, Dallam has served as a personal
coach to several elite triathletes, including Amanda
Stevens, Marcel Vifian, Callahan Hatfield, Michael Smedley, and Ryan
Bickerstaff. As the USA Triathlon national team coach, he also
served as the Olympic Training Center resident and collegiate programs coach for
Olympians Nick Radkewich and Susan Williams as well
as perennial international stars Laura Reback, Becky Lavelle, and Doug Friman.
Before focusing on triathlon, he coached at various
levels in swimming, water polo, and cross country. He resides in Colorado
Springs.
Steven Jonas, MD, MPH, MS, FNYAS, has been a regular columnist and contributor
to The East Coast Triathlete, Triathlon Today,
Triathlon Times, and American TRI. Since 2006, he has written a column titled
“Ordinary Mortals: Talking Triathlon with Steve Jonas”
for USA Triathlon Life. He is the author of Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals
and The Essential Triathlete. He also currently serves
as editor in chief for American Medical Athletic Association Journal and has
been a member of the editorial board of ACSM’s Health &
Fitness Journal since 1999.
Jonas is a professor of preventive medicine in the School of Medicine at Stony
Brook University in New York. As author, coauthor,
editor, and coeditor, he has published more than 25 books and 135 academic
papers on health policy, health promotion, disease
prevention, and fitness and exercise.
The year 2007 marked Jonas’ 25th season as a recreational triathlete. He has
competed in over 185 multisport races, including 115
triathlons, at distances up to the Ironman. He is also a certified professional
ski instructor. Jonas resides in Port Jefferson, New
York.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Essential Training Elements and Guidelines
Chapter 2. Training the Mind
Chapter 3. Assessing and Improving Technique
Chapter 4. Advanced Training for Strength and Muscle Balance
Chapter 5. Complex Speed and Endurance Training
Chapter 6. Race-Specific Training and Strategy
Chapter 7. Creating a Long-Term Training Plan
Chapter 8. Training Programs
Chapter 9. Health and Fueling Strategies for Maximum
Words of Praise
"In Championship Triathlon Training, George Dallam and Steven Jonas combine the
latest research and cutting-edge programming to
create the definitive training resource for serious triathletes."
Siri Lindley
Two-Time Triathlon World Champion
Winner of 13 World Cup Races
Coach of Olympic Medalists
Buy the book from Human Kinetics at:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=0736069\
194

For more publications on running and triathlon visit:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/human_kinetics.html and
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/amazon.html

THIS WEEK'S FEATURES:


1. The Risks of Overtraining:
Intense training - can you have too much of a good thing?
The serious athlete could be forgiven for thinking that he or she is training
too hard, given the universal endorsement of moderate
activity and the much publicised deaths of Jim Fixx, Marc-Vivien Foe, Reggie
Lewis and other famous athletes (possibly linked to
overtraining). Gary O’Donovan reviews the latest evidence and considers whether,
in the interests of health, the serious athlete
should give up high-intensity exercise in favour of brisk walking.
Diseases of inactivity are the leading cause of death in the UK(1). In England
and Wales, rising levels of obesity and type-2
diabetes are thought to have caused around 5,000 additional deaths between 1981
and 2000(2). More alarmingly, coronary heart disease
(CHD) is thought to have caused over 40,000 premature deaths in the UK in
2002(3). There is no genetic explanation for the increased
prevalence of these diseases, as the genetic make-up of man has changed little
during the past 10,000 years(4). Rather, obesity,
type-2 diabetes and CHD are ‘lifestyle diseases’ that can be prevented.Why is
moderate activity recommended for health?
Traditionally, it was recommended that 20 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise be
performed three or more times per week at 60 to 90%
of maximum capacity(5,6). Although these recommendations were designed to
improve aerobic fitness, it is likely that most
individuals did not distinguish between the health benefits of physical activity
and physical fitness(7). More recently, the
American College of Sports Medicine has published separate guidelines on
physical activity(8) and physical fitness(9). ‘Exercise for
fitness’ and ‘physical activity for health’ concepts were distinguished in the
belief that ‘the amount of activity is more important
than the specific manner in which the activity is performed’(8).
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/the-risks-of-overtraining-35870


2. Staying a Step Ahead of Aging :
YOU know what is supposed to happen when you grow old. You will slow down, you
will grow weak, your steps will become short and
mincing, and you will lose your sense of balance. That’s what aging researchers
consistently find, and it’s no surprise to most of
us.
But it is worth remembering that the people in those studies were sedentary,
said Dr. Vonda Wright, a professor of orthopedics at
the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Wright, a 40-year-old runner, decided to study people who kept training as
they got older or began competing in middle age. She
wanted to know what happens to them and at what age does performance start to
decline.
Their results are surprising, even to many of the researchers themselves. The
investigators find that while you will slow down as
you age, you may be able to stave off more of the deterioration than you
thought. Researchers also report that people can start
later in life — one man took up running at 62 and ran his first marathon, a year
later, in 3 hours 25 minutes.
It’s a testament to how adaptable the human body is, researchers said, that
people can start serious training at an older age and
become highly competitive. It also is testament to their findings that some
physiological factors needed for a good performance are
not much affected by age.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/health/nutrition/31BEST.html?_r=1&ref=health&o\
ref=slogin.


3. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine:
* Benefits from Lifestyle Change at Any Age
Richard Rivlin of Cornell University Medical School states that: "Age isn't a
factor when it comes to improving your health and
leading a healthier lifestyle. A better diet and exercise
program is all that's needed to live better, even if you've had an unhealthy
lifestyle in the past." His study placed older people
on a low-calorie and low-fat diet that was high in vegetables and fruits, and a
regular exercise plan (American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, December 2007). The participants lowered high blood pressure,
reduced body fat and increased muscle size. They had
lower cancer rates and less osteoporosis.
Another report from Université de Bourgogne followed men over 70 who spent three
hours a week in a moderately intensive combined
exercise training for one year (Aging Clinical
and Experimental Research, August 2007). One year later, their oxygen uptake
was significantly increased and their maximal leg
muscle strength improved more than 15 percent. They could walk 10 percent
further in six minutes and seven percent faster for 200
meters,. This shows that a relatively modest program of exercise will improve
endurance, strength and quality of life at any age.

* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Are HGH injections harmful?
Many top athletes in virtually every sport that requires strength take Human
Growth Hormone, or HGH. Since HGH is taken "under the
table", virtually no studies have been done to
track the consequences of its use in athletes. However, a study from Johns
Hopkins shows that children who are growth hormone
deficient and are given growth hormone for one year develop a progressive
thickening of their heart muscle and of the blood vessels
leading to their brains. They are 52 times more likely to have an
atherosclerotic carotid plaque after one year. (The Journal of
Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 92, 2007)
A very famous athlete died suddenly for no apparent reason. The autopsy showed
that she had a huge heart that had outgrown its blood
supply. HGH enlarges the heart without
proportionately enlarging blood vessels that nourish it. HGH can make you a
better athlete, but at a price. Athletes are so guided
by their desire to win that they often are willing to ignore the consequences of
the drugs that they take.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at: http://www.drmirkin.com


4. Survival of the fittest:
SOME exercise is good, but more is better -- at least when it comes to cutting
risk of death in the immediate future. That's the
conclusion of a study of 15,660 Caucasian and African American men (average age
59) who were given treadmill tests to determine
their level of fitness. The men, tested in Washington, D.C., and Palo Alto, were
followed for about seven years. Those who were in
the "very highly fit" category had a 70% lower death risk during that time
period than those in the "low fit" category. Those
considered moderately fit had about a 50% lower death risk compared with the
low-fit group.
Moderate fitness isn't that difficult to achieve, says Peter Kokkinos, director
of an exercise testing lab at the Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and lead author of the study published last
week online in Circulation: Journal of the American
Heart Assn. "You need to take a brisk walk for 30 minutes four to six times a
week. It's not as easy as taking a pill, but let's be
reasonable here."
But upping that activity into a fitter zone, which ultimately yields more
benefits, doesn't take much more: "Add a little jogging,
push yourself a little bit," he says.
From the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-capsule28jan28,1,4485407.story


5. Scientific training: How one former couch potato found a talent and then
called on the appliance of science to become an elite
performer:
This is a personal account of my life as a runner. At the age of 30 I was just
an average bloke. I was stuck in a rut with a
stressful job that had long, unsociable hours. I was overweight, taking no
exercise and enjoying a smoke and a drink. Then something
happened: whatever it was – an early mid-life crisis or a sudden awakening of an
inner competitive spirit – it eventually changed me
into an international athlete. It is an unlikely tale but this is exactly what
happened.
Not all of this story may seem relevant, but I believe it highlights a number of
factors which athletes of all standards should
consider in their pursuit of peak, or at least improved, performance. It shows
why there is a need for careful planning, patience
and progression in your lifestyle, training and racing. How vital the
relationship is with your coach. How both athlete and coach
have to have total belief in what they are doing and total respect for each
other. Each has to have a full understanding of, and
commitment to, the plan. Your coach has to understand you as a person. Yes,
there are coaches who can motivate and inspire groups of
athletes but to really coach an athlete takes time, energy, commitment and
knowledge. I hope this article also demonstrates the need
for the athlete to have personal responsibility for, and understanding of, their
own training. After all it is the runner who does
the running so, to my way of thinking, there had better be some good reasons why
I am doing it! An athlete and a good coach should
also be open-minded enough to evaluate and experiment with new and different
training methods.
This journey would never have happened were it not for the support of my wife or
the guidance, generosity and knowledge from
physiologist and coach Dr Tony Trowbridge. I must also thank Bruce Tulloh and
his wife, and the willingness of a group of world
class Kenyan athletes, who allowed an unknown old guy to be part of their group
and share in their training methods for two months.
More...From peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/scientific-training-marathon-training-882


6. Exercise capacity benefits lifespan:
A person's exercise capacity can have a substantial impact on how long they
live, according to a new study.
The study involved veterans - 8,911 white men and 6,749 black men - who
underwent treadmill testing to determine their oxygen
consumption during exercise.
They were classified as either low-fit, moderate fit, highly fit or very highly
fit based on the level of peak metabolic
equivalents, or METs, they achieved. METs measure how much oxygen a person uses.
One MET is the amount used at rest.
The men were followed for an average of 7.5 years.
Highly fit men had 50% less risk of dying than the low-fit men. Very highly fit
men had 70% lower risk.
The fitness benefit was about the same in black and white men.
"It takes relatively moderate levels of physical activity like brisk walking to
attain the associated health benefits," Peter
Kokkinos, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "Certainly one does not
need to be a marathon runner."
The study was published in the journal Circulation.
From the Journal-Sentinel at:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=711262


7. Tips for boosting your immune system:
Sneezing, coughing, chills and aches. Like it or not, cold and flu season is
here, and will be making its presence known to many
Canadians until it fizzles out in March or April.
The common cold, characterized by sneezing, runny nose and congestion is quite
different from the flu, which includes a sudden onset
of fever, headache, muscle aches and exhaustion.
Regardless, they'll both leave you feeling lousy and probably mean missed days
at work or school. Healthy Ontario estimates that
Canadian adults get an average of four colds a year, while Health Canada says up
to 25 per cent of Canadians (that's eight million
people) will come down with the flu each year.
Many Canadians reach for vitamin C, echinacea and ginseng to prevent them from
getting a cold or the flu, or quicken their recovery
if they've already caught a bug. But with little research to support many of
these common remedies, the question remains — do they
actually work?
Vitamin C
All you have to do is take a look at the shelves of your local pharmacy to see
the range of vitamin C products and supplements to
know this vitamin is one of the most popular for fighting colds.
Vitamin C has long been believed to play a role in preventing the common cold,
however conflicting evidence has brought these claims
into question.
The largest study to date, a 2004 Cochrane review of 29 trials involving more
than 11,000 participants, found that vitamin C
supplements did not actually reduce the number of colds in the general
population. However, researchers from the Australian National
University who conducted the study found that vitamin C could slightly reduce
the duration and severity of colds in people exposed
to cold temperatures or extreme physical stress.
More...from the CBC at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/flu/immune.html


8. Sedentary life 'speeds up ageing' :
Leading a sedentary lifestyle may make us genetically old before our time, a
study suggests.
A study of twins found those who were physically active during their leisure
time appeared biologically younger than their sedentary
peers.
The researchers found key pieces of DNA called telomeres shortened more quickly
in inactive people. It is thought that could signify
faster cellular ageing.
The King's College London study appears in Archives of Internal Medicine.
An active lifestyle has been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease,
type 2 diabetes and cancer.
However, the latest research suggests that inactivity not only makes people more
vulnerable to disease, but may actually speed up
the ageing process itself.
The King's team studied 2,401 white twins, asking them to fill out
questionnaires on their level of physical activity, and taking a
blood sample from which DNA was extracted.
More...from the BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7212698.stm


9. Bad air causing cardiac disease, experts say:
Persistent exposure may be causing cardiac diseases in those with no other risk
factors.
There is growing evidence that chronic exposure to air pollution levels common
in places such as Toronto may be causing heart
disease in otherwise healthy people, a top cardiac researcher said yesterday.
While the harmful effects of air pollution on people with pre-existing heart
conditions has been well documented, persistent
exposure to bad air may be causing cardiac diseases in those with no other risk
factors, University of Michigan cardiologist Robert
Brook says.
Brook, one of the first researchers to link air pollution with cardiac deaths,
was speaking after a Canadian Heart and Stroke
Foundation news conference in Toronto, during which the group gave Ontario a
failing grade in a new report card on pollution and
heart health.
Ontario joined Quebec and parts of the British Columbia interior as the three
areas in Canada where fine particle pollution
periodically exceeded acceptable air quality levels over a three-year period.
Air pollution, especially fine particulate exhaust from factories and cars, is
believed to cause some 6,000 deaths in Canada each
year, with about 70 per cent of those linked to existing cardiovascular
diseases.
But Brook, who spoke as a pollution expert at the conference, said there is
growing evidence dirty air may be having long-term heart
effects on young, fit people.
"There are studies ... that show that there may be a cumulative long-term effect
of being exposed over a lifetime or over many
years," he said in an interview.
Indeed, one major study of women in several American cities published last year
showed pollution may increase the risk of heart
disease in healthy people by as much as 76 per cent, Brook says.
He says animal studies have also shown that exposure to pollution can cause
hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure and
diabetes, all of which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
More...from the Toronto Star at:
http://www.thestar.com/living/Health/article/298259


10. Dealing with Injuries:
Kara Goucher is one of the most decorated distance runners in American history.
Kara won a bronze medal in Osaka in 2007 to become
the first American female to medal in 15 years. Her 2007 was filled with PRs in
the 1500m, 3k, 2-mile, 5k and 10k. She also ran an
American Record in her first half marathon and is currently readying for a
stellar 2008 campaign! Each week on insidenikerunning,
we’ll be holding a Q&A with Kara.
If you have a question you want to ask, email us at mailto:askkara@..., and
we’ll pick a handful of questions for her to answer
each week!
More...from Inside Nike Running at:
http://insidenikerunning.nike.com/2008/01/25/dealing-with-injuries/


11. How Long Does It Take To Recover?
By Coach Matt Russ
A common assumption is that a day or two allows full recovery from training or
racing. For the most part this amount of recovery may
allow you to resume training, but it takes up to 10 DAYS or more to fully
recover from a tough work out or race. Fatigue
accumulates and recovery is like a bank, you make a withdrawal (training) you
must make a deposit (recovery) to get your balance
back up. The bigger the withdrawal the greater the deposit you have to make.
Part of the training process is to add some level of training stress while the
body is not fully recovered. This allows super
compensation and builds fitness, but it is a slippery slope. You have to
carefully balance the stress recovery and schedule regular
intervals to allow your body to catch up and replenish your balance. Daily these
are sleep / rest periods, weekly- off days or
recovery days, monthly- recovery weeks, and annually transition phases. All of
these allow the body to fully repair itself and
resume training at a high level.
If a schedule aerobic base ride turns into a 2 hour hammer fest it may double
your recovery time before you are able to resume
normal training. It may also degrade the quality of your work outs later in the
week. Remember, every bit of training stress has
implications so choose yours wisely then allow your body to recover from it.
Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and
internationally for over ten years. He currently holds
expert licenses from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling (Elite), and is a licensed USA
Track and Field Coach. Matt is head coach and owner
of The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time. He is a
free lance author and his articles are regularly
featured in a variety of magazines such as Inside Triathlon, and Triathlete.
Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information or
email him at mailto:coachmatt@...


12. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- Khalid Skah (MAR) won the Cross Auchan Lille Metropole (FRA) 9.7K
by two seconds over
Laban Chege (KEN). Mustapha El Ahmadi (MAR) was a distant 3rd,
another 13 seconds back.
Blandine Bitzner (FRA) won the women's 5.3K in a tight three
woman finish. She edged
Susan Chepkemei (KEN) and Paula Radcliffe (ENG) by a mere one
second. Colleen deReuck
(RSA) was 4th, 13 seconds back.
20 Years Ago- Lisa Ondieki (AUS) won the Osaka Women's (JPN) Marathon in
2:23:51, more than five
minutes ahead of Misako Miyahara (JPN) who was 2nd in 2:29:37.
Kumi Araki and Eriko
Asai from Japan followed in 2:31:40 and 2:32:13 respectively.
Then came Renata
Kokowska (POL,2:33:38) and Emma Scaunich (ITA,2:34:17).
30 Years Ago- Ron Hill (ENG) won the Bermuda (BER) Marathon in 2:26:13 with
Kyriakis Lazaridis (GRE)
2nd in 2:26:37. Deborah Butterfield (USA) won the women's race
in 3:00:16.
40 Years Ago- Patrick McMahon (IRL) won the World Masters (NV/USA) Marathon in
2:21:14 with Americans
Stephen Matthews (2:23:31) and Eugene Comroe (2:23:33) following.
Joyce Voelker (USA)
was the only woman to finish (5:32:). This race is now known as
the Las Vegas Marathon.
50 Years Ago- Nothing of note in the ARRS database.
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.


13. Sports is a strain on fans' hearts:
In Germany, a study finds a spike in heart attacks on soccer game days. Super
Bowl viewers, take heed.
Talk about heart-stopping games.
Studying medical records from the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament in Germany,
researchers reported Wednesday that they found the
rate of heart attacks for Munich-area residents more than doubled on days that
the German national team played.
During the two most nerve-racking games for Germany -- a match against Argentina
that was won on penalty kicks and one against Italy
that knocked Germany out of the final -- the heart problems spiked to four to
five times the normal rate, said Dr. Gerhard
Steinbeck, professor of internal medicine and cardiology at the University of
Munich and the senior author of the study.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is a clear warning
for Super Bowl fans Sunday, said Dr. Riyaz Sumar, an
intervention cardiologist affiliated with Maryvale Hospital Medical Center in
Phoenix, a few miles from the site of the big game.
Sumar will be one of several cardiologists and extra nurses on call all weekend.
"Once it gets too exciting, I'll be standing in the
ER, waiting for them to come in," he said.
The study confirms what sports fans have long known: It's heart-pounding to
watch your team in a tough spot.
Science, however, has not been so certain. Previous studies looking at the
relationship between sporting events and cardiac
emergencies have found contradictory results.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-sportsattack31jan31,1,7004614.stor\
y


14. Eating to Recover …
What should I eat and drink and how much should I consume to ensure my body
recovers quickly and efficiently after exercise? This is
an important question for anyone who takes part in regular exercise. As we grow
older we need to ensure we give our bodies the best
opportunity to fully recover from the strain of physical activity.
Everyone, from the well-drilled and talented professional athletes to the
majority of us who play sport simply for fun, can benefit
from a good nutritional recovery plan.
Regardless of the amount of planning or fluid intake during exercise some
dehydration from sweat loss and depletion of the body's
energy stores will occur.
Whether you're keen to get back into training as quickly as possible, have to
compete the next day or even later the same day, or
just don't want to fall asleep at the desk, there are a number of steps you can
take that will speed up your body’s recovery post
exercise.
When:
Perhaps the most important part of nutritional recovery is knowing exactly when
to eat and drink after exercise. It is recommended
that eating and drinking after exercise and competition should be done as
quickly as possible. Research suggests that carbohydrates
consumed within two hours of the completion of exercise restores energy levels
more quickly and more thoroughly.
More...from the 2009 World Masters Games at:
http://www.2009worldmasters.com/Eating-to-Recover-/default.aspx


15. The Glass Ceiling:
By Matt Russ
What happens when your hard work as an athlete stops paying off…
Each and every athlete has a limited peak performance potential and amount of
time to achieve it. That is an unfortunate and often
misunderstood fact. If this were not the case, the endurance athlete that worked
the hardest, longest, and trained the smartest
would win every championship. There are a wide variety of factors that will
determine your lifetime PR, many of which are in your
control, many of which are not. Understanding this may work to your advantage.
What separates an Elite athlete from an age grouper? What separates a National
Champion from other Elites? What does a World
Champion have that the rest of us do not? To begin; (literally) genetics. Just
as your DNA determines your height, eye color, and
physical features is also determines to a very large extent how far you will go
in a particular endurance sport. There are many,
many complex physical factors and processes that genetics determine in regards
to athletic performance. To name a few…
· Size and stroke volume of the heart
· Size / surface area of the lungs
· Muscle fiber type, orientation, and cross section
· Capillary and mitochondrial density
· Tendon thickness, length, and muscle origin / insertion
· Bone length
· Response to training / recovery
According to Noakes, “VO2 max is ultimately limited by hereditary factors, and
even with the most intensive training it can be
increased by only 5%-15% in the average runner (Elites… by 25% or more with
intensive training).” That means one of the primary
factors affecting your performance is only moderately trainable.
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com/site/trainingnews/The_Glass_Ceiling.shtml


16. Stress fractures: an invisible enemy:
UCLA researchers seek risk factors for the micro-injuries that can undermine a
runner's career.
THE adage "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" doesn't always apply to
distance runners.
Promising running careers can be interrupted or cut short -- and training goals
derailed -- by overuse injuries known as stress
fractures. Repeated pounding causes these tiny breaks in bones in the feet, legs
and hips.
Even casual runners aren't immune. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance
Armstrong suffered through a stress fracture when he ran
the New York Marathon for the first time after retiring from cycling
competition.
Runners, coaches and sports medicine experts alike are trying to figure out how
athletes can train hard without risking these
painful injuries. At UCLA, researchers are attempting to establish what
predisposes runners to stress fractures in order to prevent
them.
"Normally, running is good for bones, but more is not always better," says Dr.
Aurelia Nattiv, a professor at the David Geffen
School of Medicine at UCLA and a physician for the UCLA track and field team.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/la-he-fractures14jan14,1,3093798.story


17. Yoga for Runners:
A DVD is now available to help you discover the benefits of yoga, especially
tailored to the needs of runners! Christine Felstead’s
Yoga for Runners™: the essentials includes segments on:
• Foundations
• Lower Back
• Hamstrings
• Hips
The yoga program can be tailored to the time you have available – either the
entire 45 minute program or any of the 12 minute
segments. While the yoga sequences are designed for those new to yoga, it is
also beneficial for those with yoga experience,
providing an ideal post-run yoga practice. Improve your running, reduce your
risk of injury and feel better with yoga! Order your
copy at www.yogaforrunners.ca


18. Digest Briefs:
* Super Oxygenated Water
Is It Any Better Than Tap Water?
Super oxygenated waters manufacturers claim it provides more energy, greater
mental awareness and concentration than regular tap
water. Although they contain ten times the oxygen content of normal tap water
there is no evidence that the body absorbs more
oxygen. Research on the products didn't find any benefit to resting heart rate,
blood pressure or blood lactate values. According to
the resear, the are only two ways to carry oxygen in the blood is when it is
bound to hemoglobin or dissolved in the plasma. In most
people hemoglobin is already 97 to 98 percent saturated with oxygen.
The bottom line is that there is no scientific evidence to support that drinking
super oxygenated water increases the amount of
oxygen in the blood stream.
For exercisers the important thing is to maintain proper hydration because
dehydration leads to muscle fatigue and loss of
coordination. To prevent dehydration drink moderately before, during and after a
workout.



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

February 2, 2008:
East Beach Norfolk Half Marathon - Norfolk, VA

Winter National Capital Invitational - Ottawa, ON

Winterlude Triathlon - Ottawa, ON

February 3, 2008:
Surf City USA Marathon - Huntington Beach, CA

Saturday, 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/


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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

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