A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES.
The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and
health issues. The opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the Digest
are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily
those of the Runner's Web. Visit the Runner's Web at http://www.runnersweb.com
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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
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. 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:
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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
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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.

9. Watch over 50 IAAF Events Live and On-Demand.
World Championship Sports Network
ABOUT WCSN
World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) is the premier destination for fans of
Olympic and lifestyle sports, delivering an
immersive experience via exclusive live and on demand coverage of world class
competitions, interaction with top athletes and in
depth access to sports news and information year round.
WCSN offers comprehensive coverage of over 60 sports disciplines, through
exclusive long term programming agreements across a number
of key International Federations and National Governing Bodies. Major
championship events in sports ranging from Athletics (Track &
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Taekwondo are featured online at
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television program, World Championship Sports, available in
more than 45 million US households. WCSN also markets Olympic sports in
partnership with International Federations, National
Governing Bodies, local organizations, clubs, sponsors, and through related
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WCSN is dedicated to providing year round, in depth coverage of these important
and exciting sports to reach millions of fans around
the world for whom they represent a way of life. WCSN is committed to expanding
the audience by delivering programming that
exemplifies the best of the human spirit. WCSN enables fans to interact with
world class champions as well as get to know the up and
coming athletes through blogs, interviews and their broadcast commentary.
Consistent with the world class caliber of the sports it celebrates, WCSN
delivers high quality production values, leveraging
state-of-the-art-technology and next generation distribution platforms to
provide an immersive, interactive experience available
anytime, anywhere.
Visit WCSN at:
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10. Canadian Running Magazine:
Subscribe at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/CanadianRunner.html

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NEW THIS WEEK:
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I've created a Runner's Web Group on Facebook.
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RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS

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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey.
Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport athletes and a member of the OAC Racing
Team and X-C Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public
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Associate with the University of California, San Diego. Her
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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
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* Peak Running Performance
Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running Newsletter. Rated as the #1
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* Running Research News:
RRN's free, weekly, training update provides subscribers with the most-current,
practical, scientifically based information about
training, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and injury rehabilitation. The
purpose of this weekly e-zine is to improve
subscribers' training quality and to help them train in an injury-free manner.
Running Research News also publishes a complete, 12-page, electronic newsletter
10 times a year (one-year subscriptions are $35); to
learn more about Running Research News, please see the Online Article Index and
"About Running Research News" sections below or go
to RRNews.com.
Check out the article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html

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

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. The Static Stretching Renaissance
2. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
3. Above-Threshold Training Enhances GH Levels, Promotes Leanness
4. Science of Sport: Understand the body's use of oxygen during exercise
5. Altered Cardiovascular Responses During Exercise Recovery In Undiagnosed OSA
Patients
6. Probiotic Enhances Immune System Of Elite Athletes
7. Cold sufferers mindlessly reach for vitamin C
8. Taking Play Seriously
9. Elevate your energy!
Nutrition ideas to tap into more oomph.
10. The Tools for Success... and getting home in one piece
11. Running Times Newsletter
12. Gentlemen, 5 Easy Steps to Living Long and Well
13. Drugs in Sport
14. Probiotic Cuts Respiratory Illness Rates In Endurance Athletes, Study
Suggests
15. Your knees and quads hurt more after running than walking because you are
only human
16. With These Nutrition Bars, Every Order Is Special
17. The coitus conundrum
Could engaging in copulation throw you off your game?
18. This Week in Running
19. The pros weigh in:
Expert advice to get the most out of any workout.
20. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"How long should the ban be for a first-time drug offense in athletics?"

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 do you plan to follow the Olympic Games in Beijing, China?"
Answers Percent
1. In person 2%
2. Television 37%
3. Internet 34%
4. Print Media 27%


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 Static Stretching Renaissance:
In the field of strength and conditioning the pendulum always swings.
Performance enhancement expert Alwyn Cosgrove is fond of
saying we over-react in the short term and under-react in the long term. A
classic example is the use of, or current disdain for,
static stretching. Static stretching has gone from the best way to warm-up to
something that no one should ever do again. This
illustrates Cosgrove's short-term overreaction and long term under-reaction
concept.
Research in the eighties demonstrated that static stretching prior to exercise
could decrease power outputs. This led to a huge
overreaction; the elimination of static stretching and the birth of dynamic
warm-up. This was both a plus and a minus. Dynamic
flexibility work has been a huge plus in the performance world as a warm-up
technique. The reality is that static stretching was a
poor way to warm-up for exercise and that dynamic flexibility or active warm-up
is superior. However, the net effect was a total
disdain for static stretching at any time, for any purpose. The truth lies
somewhere in the middle.
One side of the truth is that an active warm-up prior to high intensity exercise
is the best way to prevent acute injury. In other
words, if you want to decrease hamstring and groin pulls, you need to perform
dynamic flexibility exercises prior to practice, games
or lifting sessions.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2008/rw_news_20080219_TSH_Renaissance.htm\
l


2. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
* Muscle Fatigue May Be Caused by Calcium Loss
New research from Columbia University in New York shows that muscle fatigue
during and after exercise may be caused by loss of
calcium from muscle cells and that drugs that
block the release of calcium from muscle cells may prolong endurance
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 11,
2008).
When you exercise, your cells use food to generate electricity that causes
nerves to send messages and muscles to contract. The
energy from food generates electricity by driving
minerals inside and outside of the cells, creating an imbalance of the minerals
between the outside and inside of cells that causes
electrons (electricity) to flow. A major source of this flow of electrons is
from muscle cells pushing calcium outside their cell
walls. This paper shows that muscles lose calcium continuously during exercise,
and eventually do not have enough calcium to
continue pumping calcium outside of cells, and therefore cannot generate as much
electricity. This causes the muscles to weaken,
hurt, lose coordination and feel tired.
The authors timed mice exercising to the point of exhaustion. Then they gave
the mice an experimental drug that blocks the loss of
calcium from muscle cells, and they were able
to exercise longer. The researchers demonstrated the same process of calcium
loss in the muscles of trained cyclists. However,
they have not taken the next step of testing the drug to see if it improved
endurance, because the drug has not been approved for
use in humans.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Should I exercise less intensely when air pollution is high?
Researchers at University of Dublin asked whether a person would absorb more
pollutants while walking or cycling slowly, or while
covering the same distance at a faster rate. You would think that the faster
you move, the harder you breathe, causing you to
absorb more pollutants through your lungs. However, the opposite is true.
Cycling and walking at a
faster speed causes you to breath at a higher rate over a shorter duration of
exposure. This results in lower total absorption of
pollutants than cycling or walking the same distance at a slower speed (Journal
of Environmental Science and Health, November
2007). The reduction was greater at lower concentrations of pollutants than at
high concentrations, and was more marked in walkers
than in cyclists. They found that fast walking decreased absorption of
pollutants by 26 percent compared to walking slowly, while
cycling fast decreased absorption by 17 percent over slow cycling .
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Do artificial sweeteners cause weight gain?
A study of 9514 middle-aged Americans from the University of Minnesota showed
that those that drank diet sodas regularly were at
high risk for developing diabetes in later life
(Circulation, February 2008). How can this be? Diet drinks do not contain
sugar, and it is a high rise in blood sugar after meals
that markedly increases a person's chances of developing diabetes. But who is
most likely to drink diet sodas? A person who is
overweight and trying to lose weight. So the study does not show that diet
sodas cause diabetes. It shows that people who try the
hardest to lose weight (and often fail) are the ones most likely to drink diet
soda.
However, researchers at Purdue University showed that mice fed artificial
sweeteners ate more and put on weight. They believe that
a sweet taste causes the brain to seek out more food (Behavioral Neuroscience,
February, 2008). The authors propose that: "a sweet
taste in the mouth helps prime the metabolism for the arrival of a
calorie-heavy, sweet meal into the digestive system." This study
needs to be repeated with humans to see if the sweet taste from artificial
sweeteners actually causes people to eat more.
* Correction:
In last week's report on maximum heart rate, the phrase "nerves inside the
heart" should have been "nerves to the heart". Thus the
last sentence of the second paragraph has been corrected to read "If nerves to
the heart regulated heart rate, the heart would not
be able to control its rate of beating since the nerves are cut during the
transplant."
http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine021708.html
Thanks to many of our readers for catching this mistake.
Several of you also questioned the new maximum heart rate formulae for athletes,
but they are correct, as reported by the
researchers. Remember that all formulae for maximum heart rates are based on
averages. They can be used to help you plan and
monitor your exercise program, but should not be interpreted as absolute limits
or goals. Your maximum heart rate may differ from
these averages.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at: http://www.drmirkin.com

3. Above-Threshold Training Enhances GH Levels, Promotes Leanness:
There's no doubt about it: High-intensity training sharpens your speed and
improves your running economy. Unfortunately,
conventional wisdom says that upbeat running also increases your risk of injury,
overtraining, and "burn-out." Fast running also
enhances the breakdown of carbohydrate - not fat - for fuel, and high-velocity
workouts are of shorter duration than long, slow
runs, leading to less calorie burning. For those reasons, speedy running isn't
supposed to be as good as long, slow ambling at
trimming excess corpulence from the body.
Those knocks on upscale training seem logical enough, but hold on! Recent
research demonstrates that fast training is far better
than inchmeal pacing at boosting blood levels of an important chemical called
human growth hormone (GH). Produced by the pituitary
gland, GH also helps break down fat and heightens body leanness. Since swift
training sessions amplify GH levels, it may be time to
bring on the speed!!
In recent growth-hormone research carried out at the University of Virginia, 16
healthy female runners gradually expanded their
training mileage from five to 40 weekly miles over a 12-month time span. Nine of
the woman ran six times per week and completed all
of their training at or below their lactate threshold running speed (LTRS), the
velocity above which large amounts of lactic acids
begin to accumulate in the blood. Generally, LTRS corresponds with a heart rate
of 80-88 percent of maximum and a running pace which
is 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace.
More...from Running Research News at:
http://runningresearchnews.com/News_And_Events.php?cid=1&iid=111


4. Science of Sport: Understand the body's use of oxygen during exercise
Oxygen kinetics – start smart for a mean finish!
The way your body transports and uses oxygen during the initial stages of
vigorous exercise might not sound very exciting, but new
research suggests that understanding this process and adjusting your pre-race
preparation accordingly can result in truly remarkable
performance gains. Professor Andy Jones explains
Endurance sports rely primarily on oxidative (aerobic) metabolism for energy
supply. It’s not surprising therefore that factors
related to oxygen (O2) transport and consumption such as the maximal oxygen
uptake (VO2max), economy of movement, and the fraction
of the VO2max that can be sustained without a significant accumulation of
lactate in the blood (the lactate threshold, LT) are
important determinants of endurance exercise performance.
These parameters of aerobic fitness are typically measured during an
incremental-type exercise test in which the exercise intensity
is very low to begin with but then increases progressively until the athlete is
unable to continue, and they can provide invaluable
information on various aspects of physiological function and the responses to
training. However, the manner in which the work rate
is imposed during these tests does not accurately reflect the metabolic loading
that an athlete will experience at the start of an
endurance competition. That’s because at the beginning of a race, an athlete
will be required to accelerate up to race pace within
just a few seconds. The energetic consequences of this abrupt increase in energy
turnover in the working muscles can be profound.
More...from peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/understand-the-bodys-use-of-oxygen-during-exerci\
se-36326


5. Altered Cardiovascular Responses During Exercise Recovery In Undiagnosed OSA
Patients:
A study published in the January 1 issue of the journal SLEEP finds that people
with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have
altered cardiovascular responses during recovery from maximal exercise. These
results suggest an imbalance in the autonomic control
of heart rate during recovery, and may be an early clinical sign of the
progression of OSA.
The study, authored by Trent A. Hargens, PhD, of Virginia Tech, focused on 44
individuals: 14 overweight with OSA (OSA), 16
overweight without OSA (No-OSA) and 14 normal weight without OSA (Control). All
were between the ages of 18 and 26. The subjects
performed maximal ramping exercise testing on a cycle ergometer with five
minutes of active recovery. Exercise measurements included
heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory exchange ratio and oxygen consumption.
According to the results, in OSA patients, heart rate recovery was significantly
weakened compared to the No-OSA and control groups
throughout recovery. No differences were noted in the heart rate or blood
pressure response to exercise in any group.
More...from Medical News Today at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/92865.php


6. Probiotic Enhances Immune System Of Elite Athletes:
According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,
professional long distance runners who ingested the
probiotic Lactobacillus had shorter and less severe spells of respiratory
illness than those who ingested a placebo.
The Australian researchers first note that "some endurance athletes undergoing
strenuous training have an increased susceptibility
to upper respiratory tract infection (URTI)." Exercise can subdue normal immune
response, leaving athletes more vulnerable to
respiratory viruses, such as colds and flu.
The study participants consisted of 20 elite, endurance athletes who were
undergoing four months of intensive winter training. The
athletes ingested either three freeze-dried capsules twice daily of the
probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum or a dummy capsule
(placebo).
A probiotic is a dietary supplement containing potentially beneficial bacteria
or yeasts. Lactobacillus is a type of lactic acid
bacteria, a class of bacteria that has been shown to be successful in treating
infections of the gut.
More...from Medical News Today at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/97370.php


7. Cold sufferers mindlessly reach for vitamin C:
It may not be as beneficial as most Americans think.
AMERICANS spend more money on vitamin C, roughly $330 million a year, than on
any other purportedly immune-boosting supplement,
according to the Nutrition Business Journal. Perhaps because it's been around so
long.
"People take vitamin C during cold and flu season because since the 1950s,
that's pretty much what we've all been told to do," said
Daniel Fabricant, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the
Natural Products Assn., a Washington, D.C.-based trade
association. "It's just in our subconscious mind-set."
But for just as long, scientists have been going back and forth on whether the
vitamin is effective at preventing or treating the
common cold.
Vitamin C was first isolated in the 1930s, and studies investigating its
potential to prevent colds got underway in the 1940s. In
1970, two-time Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling touted the powers of C
in his best-selling book, "Vitamin C and the Common
Cold." He was particularly inspired by a 1961 study at a ski school in the Alps.
Kids in the study who took one gram of vitamin C
per day (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's daily reference value is 60
milligrams a day) had 45% fewer colds than their
untreated classmates. They also recovered from colds in two-thirds the time it
took their peers to get better.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-vitaminc18feb18,1,7784073.story


8. Taking Play Seriously:
On a drizzly Tuesday night in late January, 200 people came out to hear a
psychiatrist talk rhapsodically about play — not just the
intense, joyous play of children, but play for all people, at all ages, at all
times. (All species too; the lecture featured
touching photos of a polar bear and a husky engaging playfully at a snowy
outpost in northern Canada.) Stuart Brown, president of
the National Institute for Play, was speaking at the New York Public Library’s
main branch on 42nd Street. He created the institute
in 1996, after more than 20 years of psychiatric practice and research persuaded
him of the dangerous long-term consequences of play
deprivation. In a sold-out talk at the library, he and Krista Tippett, host of
the public-radio program ‘‘Speaking of Faith,’’
discussed the biological and spiritual underpinnings of play. Brown called play
part of the ‘‘developmental sequencing of becoming a
human primate. If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being,
play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life,
including sleep and dreams.’’
The message seemed to resonate with audience members, who asked anxious
questions about what seemed to be the loss of play in their
children’s lives. Their concern came, no doubt, from the recent deluge of
eulogies to play . Educators fret that school officials
are hacking away at recess to make room for an increasingly crammed curriculum.
Psychologists complain that overscheduled kids have
no time left for the real business of childhood: idle, creative, unstructured
free play. Public health officials link insufficient
playtime to a rise in childhood obesity. Parents bemoan the fact that kids don’t
play the way they themselves did — or think they
did. And everyone seems to worry that without the chance to play stickball or
hopscotch out on the street, to play with dolls on the
kitchen floor or climb trees in the woods, today’s children are missing out on
something essential.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17play.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slog\
in


9. Elevate your energy!
Nutrition ideas to tap into more oomph.
What would YOU do with more energy? What would change in your work or personal
life if you had more get-up-and-go? You may be like
many people that inherently know that what you eat influences how you feel. So
why then is it so hard to make healthy choices?
Despite the willingness to make healthful changes in their diet, half of
Canadians find it difficult to do so. Forty-one percent of
Canadians agree that their "life is so hectic they find it hard to include
healthier food options on a daily basis."
Maybe you can relate to me… I often feel like I am juggling a big ball of fire
between work, family commitments and trying to
squeeze in time to eat well, keep active, relax and get enough sleep. Often the
first thing to go when you get busy or stressed may
be exercise and balanced nutrition. Ironically these are the things that help
you manage all the chaos and pressures that life hands
you.
Consider the following… you may have got used to running on 60, 70 or 80 per
cent of your maximum energy and likely have forgotten
what peak energy feels like. Chances are you may never have actually experienced
what 100 per cent energy feels like and don't even
know what you are missing. The good news is there are simple nutrition
strategies you can start implementing today that can impact
your energy substantially despite a busy schedule.
More...from the CBC at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/weekly-checkup/elevate-energy.html


10. The Tools for Success... and getting home in one piece:
By Chris Carmichael
In a bike race, you can tell a lot by looking at a rider’s jersey pockets. Team
leaders might have some food with them, but nothing
else. If you spot someone carrying a jacket, vest, or arm warmers, you’re
looking at a support rider. While you might aspire to
climb or sprint like your favorite star, take your jersey-packing cues from the
workers.
When you spend your life on a bike, you learn to minimize the number and weight
of the things you carry while maximizing their
usefulness. You don’t have to look like a pack mule, but the right clothing and
tools can mean the difference between riding home
and hitch-hiking. So, what’re you packing?
Tools of the Trade
One of the unavoidable laws of cycling is that if you ride a bicycle, something
on it will eventually break. As an added insult, it
will most likely happen in a downpour or 20 minutes before sunset. To get going
again fast, carry the following:
More...from CTS at:
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=3279


11. Running Times Newsletter:
* Training Tip of the Month - Running is my Boyfriend
Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Spouse, Significant Other, there are so many words for
it.
Running plays a huge part in our lives. We might have a close human associate as
well, but running is definitely up there. Think
about it: on any given day, how much Quality Time do you spend alone with
Running - actually running, stretching, hydrating,
thinking about it, logging it - and how much do you spend with your chosen human
counterpart? Do you define yourself more by your
running, or more by your better half?
Some of us are in a situation where our male or female companion shares our love
for this sport. For others, the intense feelings we
have for the pursuit of locomotion is incomprehensible or inaccessible to our
spouse or friend. In either case, the sport plays a
role in our relationship that needs to be acknowledged and respected.
Faced with a decision between hitting that round and enticing mileage goal you
set for yourself this week or using the extra hour to
cook dinner together, what would you do? How can you make that early morning
road race event enticing enough to convince your
partner to come along? If you both share the running bug, can you manage to
maintain a well-rounded relationship in other parts of
your life?
On either side of the fence, figuring out the role running can, should and will
play in your life is paramount to effective
training. Determining with your spouse the extent to which he or she is
comfortable and willing to share you with your other love
will factor into how many hours you can spend training, how many miles you can
spend traveling to races and how you divide
responsibilities such as caring for kids or cooking and cleaning.
Amidst all this talk of numbers, times and goals, don't forget this important
aspect of your training. Stress in a relationship
causes similar hormonal changes as a hard workout, so butting heads with your
partner actually leaves you more susceptible to injury
and illness. When all is well and good in your personal life, you'll usually
find the trials and tribulations of daily training much
easier to deal with. A bad day on the track will remain just that and a
satisfying long run can be celebrated publicly with a
sympathetic audience.
* Q & A - Medical Corner: Piriformis Syndrome
Q: I have self diagnosed Piriformis problems in my lower back/butt/hamstring. I
have had deep tissue massage, back x-rays, and some
physical therapy.
What can I do to rid myself of this painful condition? My doctor says my right
IT band is tight but the piriformis problems are
worse on my left side. I've taken a month off from running and when I started
back up ... it's still there.
It has already changed my range of motion and stride from a heel striker to a
mid foot striker. If anything I under-pronate.
Thanks, TH
A: Piriformis syndrome is due to inflammation of one of the gluteal muscles. The
inflammation may be due to a direct blow, a sudden
twist of the hip or overuse.
There will be pain in one buttock that may be aggravated by sitting or certain
activities. It may cause sciatica, with pain and
tingling or numbness radiating into the leg. Not all pain in the buttocks is due
to Piriformis syndrome, so it is important to be
evaluated by a sports medicine professional to rule out other causes and to
assess your alignment.
Various combinations of flexibility and strength deficits in the trunk and
pelvis contribute to the development of this problem and
must be corrected; a good course of physical therapy would be extremely
beneficial (find a therapist who is a runner). There is an
article on Piriformis Syndrome in Running Times that discusses some of the
exercises (full article here:
http://runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=4220).
Your tight IT band on the right side may be due to weak gluteal muscles, which
in turn places excess stress on the left. Stretching
your gluteal muscles will involve various degrees of hip rotation and pulling
one knee towards the opposite shoulder. Hamstring, hip
flexor, hip adductor and IT band stretches are also important. Make sure that
your trunk (core) and hip muscles are strong. You
should work with a physical therapist or knowledgeable personal trainer to
develop a good program.
You need to take more time off from running because your gait has changed
significantly. The last thing that you need is a stress
fracture or other injury in addition to the Piriformis Syndrome.
--Dr. Cathy Fieseler
Do you have a question for our coaches? Ask it HERE! -
http://runningtimes.com/pages/askquestion.asp
Subscribe to the Running Times Newsletter at:
http://lists.runningtimes.com/mailman/listinfo/running-announce


12. Gentlemen, 5 Easy Steps to Living Long and Well:
Living past 90, and living well, may be more than a matter of good genes and
good luck. Five behaviors in elderly men are associated
not only with living into extreme old age, a new study has found, but also with
good health and independent functioning.
The behaviors are abstaining from smoking, weight management, blood pressure
control, regular exercise and avoiding diabetes. The
study reports that all are significantly correlated with healthy survival after
90.
While it is hardly astonishing that choices like not smoking are associated with
longer life, it is significant that these behaviors
in the early elderly years — all of them modifiable — so strongly predict
survival into extreme old age.
“The take-home message,” said Dr. Laurel B. Yates, a geriatric specialist at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who was the lead
author of the study, “is that an individual does have some control over his
destiny in terms of what he can do to improve the
probability that not only might he live a long time, but also have good health
and good function in those older years.”
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/health/19agin.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin


13. Drugs in Sport:
Drugs in sport: From EPO to gene doping: Ron Maughan on the ceaseless quest for
the undetectable magic bullet and the sterling
efforts of the 'good guys' to stay ahead of the game.
In 1990, Ron Maughan was engaged primarily in physiological research and
postgraduate training at the University of Aberdeen. A keen
sportsman, he had made a conscious decision to avoid any professional
involvement in sport. In 1992, however, he accepted an
invitation to chair the Nutrition Steering Group of the British Olympic
Association, and he subsequently became involved as a
consultant to various bodies, including UK Athletics and the national Olympic
committees of various countries. In 2002, he was asked
to chair the IOC Medical Commission’s newly-established nutrition working group.
At about the same time, he took up the chair of
sports science at Loughborough University, where he is still based.
If anyone had told me in 1990 that I would find myself a decade or so later
defending British athletes who had failed drugs tests, I
would have laughed at the idea. However, that is just what happened. There is
good evidence that some of the positives – for
nandrolone and other drugs – are the result of innocent ingestion in
contaminated dietary supplements.
Having been appointed chair of the recently established nutrition working group
of the International Olympic Committee Medical
Commission, this whole problem has greatly exercised me over the last couple of
years.
One of the earliest issues of PP featured an article on the emerging threat of a
new drug that promised to change the face of sport.
The drug in question was erythropoietin (EPO). There were two reasons why this
was seen as more of a threat than any of the other
drugs then in use in sport: first, it was reported to be extremely effective in
enhancing performance in endurance events; secondly,
the fact that it was essentially undetectable by means of the conventional urine
testing methods in use at the time suggested it
could be used with impunity.
EPO is produced naturally in the body and has several physiological roles, the
most important of which is to switch on the
production of new red blood cells. The end result is an increase in the blood
content of haemoglobin, the ironcontaining pigment
that gives blood its red colour and transports oxygen from the lungs to the
tissues. Boosting blood haemoglobin increases aerobic
capacity and improves endurance performance, hence the appeal of blood doping
procedures in the 1970s and 1980s.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/drugs-in-sport.html


14. Probiotic Cuts Respiratory Illness Rates In Endurance Athletes, Study
Suggests:
The probiotic Lactobacillus substantially cuts the rate and length of
respiratory illness in professional long distance runners,
reveals a small study. Intensive exercise can subdue the normal immune response,
and as a result, some athletes are vulnerable to
respiratory viruses, such as colds and flu.
During four months of intensive winter training, 20 elite, endurance athletes
were given either three freeze dried capsules twice
daily of the probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum or a dummy capsule (placebo).
The treatments lasted 28 days each, interspersed by a month of nothing (“washout
period”) so that by the end of the period all the
athletes had each had the probiotic and the dummy formulation.
Lactobacillus is a lactic acid bacteria that has been used in the treatment of
gut infections.
The researchers assessed treadmill performance, immune response, and the length
and severity of respiratory tract infections. There
was no difference in running performance between those taking the probiotic and
those taking the placebo.
But athletes taking the probiotic had less than half the number of days of
symptoms of their colleagues taking the placebo.
Respiratory symptoms while taking Lactobacillus lasted 30 days compared with 72
days while taking the placebo. Symptoms also tended
to be less severe. The probiotic treatment doubled levels of interferon gamma,
an important component of the body’s immune response.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217221959.htm


15. Your knees and quads hurt more after running than walking because you are
only human:
Your knees take the brunt of the increased demands on your lower body in terms
of the amount of muscle mass used and joint flexion
when you compare walking to running. By a lot. Why? Because you're human.
Though humans share a lot of qualities with other mammals, we are unique in
terms of posture, locomotion and gait. (In fact, we're
among the only two-legged mammals who walk and run.) For instance, horses
consume about the same amount of energy to cover a mile
when running or walking, while humans consume substantially more energy when
they run than when they walk.
But with our unique patterns of limb kinematics, a group of scientists wanted to
study exactly how that affects how we use our
muscles while walking and running, and to better understand why it's more
"efficient" to walk than to run.
Harvard research finds five-fold increase in knee torque, muscle force
The researchers, most of whom at one time were graduate students of the late C.
Richard Taylor at Harvard University, filmed four
healthy males walking and running at six self-selected speeds. They measured
vertical force on the ground and velocity as the
subjects chose "slow," "preferred" and "fast" speeds for both running and
walking.
More...from Medical News Today at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/12424.php


16. With These Nutrition Bars, Every Order Is Special:
AVA BISE and Anthony Flynn share more than a typical mother and son: a birthday,
a love of healthy food and a devotion to athletics.
Ms. Bise, who teaches belly dancing and practices yoga, taught Mr. Flynn how to
snowboard after she learned at age 44.
Both mother and son faced a challenge common to many active, health-conscious
people: how to eat well during a busy day. In theory,
a nutrition bar could be eaten between more substantial meals, but the dozens of
bars on the market did not appeal to either of
them.
“They disguise it as healthy,” said Mr. Flynn, 24. “It’s like, how is that
healthy? It’s sugar, low-quality sugar, even.”
Ten years ago, Ms. Bise started making her own nutrition bars at home, using
pure, mostly organic ingredients like soy-nut butters,
nuts, granolas and dried fruits. Her son began making his own when he was around
18, and the two would swap recipes. Friends had
asked them to customize the bars to individual tastes, and Mr. Flynn and Ms.
Bise complied, sealing their creations in wax paper.
One night two years ago, they decided to start a business making bars to order
for a wider market. Mr. Flynn was weeks from
graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in business
administration.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20bars.html?_r=1&ref\
=fitnessandnutrition&oref=slogin


17. The coitus conundrum:
Could engaging in copulation throw you off your game?
When it comes to love, athletes are just as romantic as the next guy. That is,
as long as they don't have a big game the next day.
An energetic romp between the sheets the night before a competition, some
athletes and coaches say, can lead to poor performance the
following day.
Muhammad Ali is one of those athletes. He reportedly practised abstinence
starting several weeks before a big fight, claiming no sex
made him meaner, tougher and harder to beat.
Jim Popp, the former coach of the Montreal Alouettes, is one of those coaches.
In an interview before the 2006 Grey Cup game between
the Alouettes and the BC Lions, Popp said he planned to ask his players to
abstain the night before the big game.
Are Popp's and Ali's beliefs born of science? Or, is the no nookie rule simply a
myth that has become part of sporting lore?
In an October, 2000, editorial published in the Clinical Journal of Sport
Medicine, Montrealers Ian Shrier and Samantha McGlone
attempted to answer both questions.
"Of the 31 articles we retrieved, only three were scientific studies (all
physiological). All of these studies suggested sex the
night before competition does not alter physiological testing results."
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/life/health/story.html?id=304049


18. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- Dieter Baumann won the German Indoor Championships 3000m held in
Sindelfingen GER,
outdistancing runner-up Carsten Schütz by more than 5 seconds,
7:53.90 to 7:59.07.
Jirka Arndt was 3rd in 8:00.41. Luminita Zaituc took the women's
title with a
9:19.54. She was followed by Melanie Kraus in 9:24.17 and Jana
Franke in 9:32.00.
20 Years Ago- Marcos Luis Barreto (MEX) won the Gasparilla Distance Classic
(FL/USA) 15K in 42:37.
Compatriot Mauricio Gonzalez was 2nd in 42:56 and Markus Ryffel
(SUI) was 3rd in 43:04.
Ed Eyestone was the first USA in 4th (43:06). Liz McColgan (SCO)
won the women's race
in 47:43, WAY ahead of Nancy Tinari (CAN) who ran a fine 49:16.
Wendy Sly (ENG)
was 3rd in 49:24 and Lisa Weidenbach-Rainsberger was first USA in
4th (49:37).
30 Years Ago- The two big Japanese 30K races were held on the same day. The
Kumanichi 30K was won
by Hiroshi Yuge (JPN) in 1:31:45.9 while the Ome-Hochi 30K was
won by Mitsuo Suzuki (JPN)
in 1:33:40.2. Both races are still being held and often are held
on the same date.
40 Years Ago- Patrick McMahon (IRL) won an obscure marathon held in Artesia
NM/USA with a world-class
time of 2:19:49.7. American Mike Mittelstaedt was 2nd in
2:28:05.7 while Web Loudat
(USA) was 3rd in 2:33:09.
50 Years Ago- Ran Bahadur (IND) won a marathon in Kerala IND with a time of
2:31:31.
From The Analytical Distance Runner, the newsletter for the Association of Road
Racing Statisticians with a
focus on races, 3000m and longer, including road, track, and cross-country
events.
The ARRS has a website at http://www.arrs.net.


19. The pros weigh in:
Expert advice to get the most out of any workout.
Sure, mom gives great advice. But when it comes to exercise, sometimes you need
words of wisdom from someone other than the woman
who reminds you to wash behind your ears. With that in mind, I consulted with
some of the greatest minds in the business to come up
with advice every fitness fanatic and fitness fanatic wannabe can live by.
DON'T EXERCISE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
Combine protein and carbohydrates to create the perfect pre-exercise snack. The
carbs provide energy and the protein keeps hunger at
bay until your workout is over. Include 500 mL of liquid with your snack and
consume it a minimum of 60 minutes before your workout.
Examples of good snacks include a bowl of hot or cold cereal and milk, a boiled
egg and fruit, cheese and crackers or peanut butter
on half a bagel. If food doesn't sit well before exercise, try a liquid snack.
Combine milk and frozen orange juice in a blender or
sip on chocolate milk or a flavoured soy beverage. Eating before exercise is a
winning habit for athletes of all ages and abilities.
Marielle Ledoux, PhD, department of nutrition, Universite de Montreal, author of
Nutrition sport et performance
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/life/story.html?id=319805


20. Digest Briefs:
* Regimens: Diet Supplement Seen as Risky for Some Users
Probiotics, the potentially beneficial bacteria and yeasts available as diet
supplements and in some foods, may not be as helpful as
widely believed. A new study suggests that under certain circumstances, they can
be deadly.
Researchers studied 296 patients at risk for severe pancreatitis, a potentially
lethal inflammation of the pancreas. Each was
randomly assigned to receive either a commercially available probiotic or an
identical-looking placebo. All patients were otherwise
given conventional treatment.
There was no significant difference between the two groups in severity of
illness at the start of the trial. But while 31 percent of
the probiotics group required intensive care, only 24 percent of the placebo
group needed it. Eighteen percent of those who took
probiotics, but only 10 percent of the others, required surgical intervention.
In the probiotics group 24 people died, a death rate
more than twice that of those given the placebo.
Several smaller studies have associated probiotics with a reduction of
infections. But this study, published online Thursday in The
Lancet, was the largest randomized, double-blinded trial of its kind, and the
authors found no other reason for the harmful effects.

* Training Tip: Committing to What Works for You
With endurance sport exploding in popularity, the number of training options
available to today's endurance athlete is rather
overwhelming. Endurance athletes can belong to any number of
clubs/groups/classes: Masters swim class, stroke improvement class,
indoor bike training groups, run groups, triathlon/running clinics, Pilates/Yoga
groups, one-on-one personal trainer sessions…the
list goes on.
If you're relatively new to endurance sport, it's easy to get caught up in the
energy and enthusiasm of our sport and sign up for
any and every training group that's out there!
Don't!
Stop, evaluate, and decide what's right for you before you take on yet another
training commitment.
You have very unique, very specific needs as an endurance athlete. Identify
what those needs are...and plan your training
accordingly. Some athletes are into this sport solely for the social component
and healthy lifestyle it offers. And it's fine for
these athletes to sign up and take part in as many group/clinic/club
environments as they so choose.
The competitive athlete (ie, competitive with themselves, or with their mates,
or in their age group) has different needs than the
social/fitness-motivated athlete mentioned above. The competitive athlete is
working towards a specific goal race(s). Identify what
needs to be done for optimal performance at your goal event(s), and plan your
training accordingly. Choose the training
environment(s) that addresses these needs…that makes you a stronger athlete for
the event(s) you're training for. And let the rest
of the various and numerous training opportunities slide for now. (You can
always try them out next year.)
It's not uncommon to see top-performing athletes utilize group training
environments selectively. Only for when the group meets
their own individual training needs. Rarely (if ever) will you see a
top-performing athlete taking part in any and every group
training opportunity that's available. And by "top-performing", that does not
only mean elite/professional...it refers to age group
athletes like you, too!
From the Endurance Lab Newsletter.
Subscribe at: http://www.endurancelab.ca/maillist.asp
* Gebrselassie Shares his Secrets
To break the world marathon record requires many years of training, great
genetics, a proper diet and an excellent race day
nutrition plan. PowerBar is excited to share the PowerBar nutrition plan of
Haile Gebrselassie that helped him set a world record
September 30th, 2007 at the Berlin Marathon, covering the 26.2 miles a mind
boggling 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 26 seconds.
Pre-Race
3 Hours Prior to Race Start:
Wake Up. Have breakfast including a bottle of Performance Sports Drink
(Orange).
1 Hour Prior to Race Start:
Have a PowerBar Sport Bar. Drink one bottle Performance Sports Drink up until
the race.
15-5 minutes Prior to Race Start:
Have one PowerBar Gel.
During the Race...
5km Performance Sports Drink (250ml)
10km Performance Sports Drink (250ml)
15km Performance Sports Drink (250ml)
20km Performance Sports Drink (250ml) and 1 PowerBar Gel
25km Performance Sports Drink (250ml) and 1 PowerBar Gel
30km 1 PowerBar Gel with 250 ml of water
35km 1 PowerBar Gel with 250 ml of water
40km 1 PowerBar Gel with 250 ml of water
Post Race:
Have a PowerBar Recovery Drink
This Race day nutrition plan speaks to the research behind PowerBar C2 Max. To
find out more about on how to push your own personal
limits click here:
http://www.powerbar.com/ca/Products/C2Max.aspx
* Breathing Lessons:
U.S. Olympic Committee scientists developed a cloth mask with a carbon
filtration system designed to filter out pollutants for U.S.
athletes to wear in Beijing when they are not competing. USOC officials say they
will recommend that athletes arrive in Beijing, one
of the world's most polluted cities, as late as possible and remain indoors
during days when the air quality is very poor.
They will also urge them to consider wearing the masks, which fit over the nose
and mouth and resemble common surgical masks, when
they are out and about in the city. The masks have been tested at a number of
events in Beijing, though some athletes have been
reluctant to wear them, officials said.
"What we are doing is clearly working with all of our teams and athletes and
managing their expectations," USOC chief executive Jim
Scherr said. "One of those expectations is that the air quality might not be
what they are used to for international competitions."



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

February 23-24, 2008:
2008 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships - Boston, MA

February 24, 2008:
Five Points of Life Marathon - Gainesville, FL

Flanders Indoor Gent - Belgium

Malta Marathon and Half-Marathon

Mardi Gras Marathon - New Orleans, LA

World's Best 10K - San Juan, PUR


Saturday, June 21, 2008
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K race for Women
http://www.emiliesrun.com
Over $7,000 in prize money for top individual and teams
In 2007 45 women broke 20:00!


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.

Ken Parker
Runner's Web
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