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 The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS: All of the revenue from our advertisers and affiliates
goes to support clubs, athletes and clinics related
to multisport and Canadian Olympians.

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run online entries close at midnight on Sunday, June 15th.
In person registration is available on Friday, June 20th at the Aviation Museum
from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and
On Saturday, June 21st (Race Day) from :00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
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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New Arrivals from Nike With Web Exclusive Apparel and More!

4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 28, 2008
http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/

5. Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon - October 19, 2008
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6. Training Peaks Training Peaks, LLC is dedicated to the endurance athlete and
coach. With our industry leading software products,
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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 & Field), Skiing, Swimming, Gymnastics and Cycling to
Volleyball, Karate and 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
websites and publications. 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
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Visit WCSN at: http://tinyurl.com/ysnvnh

10. Canadian Running Magazine: Subscribe at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/CanadianRunner.html

11. BeatRunning Music for runners: Music to start running, for experienced
runners and for interval training.
Check it out at: http://www.beatrunning.com

12. Mi-Sport - The Ultimate Sports MP3 Player Introducing the world's first and
only waterproof and wireless sports mp3 player.
These Mi-SPORT mp3 headphones have a 1GB memory built into a cool neckband
design. At last no wire tangle and no earbuds to fall
out. The patented design makes this waterproof/sweatproof mp3 player great for
running, cycling and gym work. The player however is
more than splash proof! It can be completely submerged with no harm to it making
it perfect for swimming, kayaking, and water
skiing. Now incorporating the latest 3D music quality with it's adapted
waterproof speaker. Relax to music in the bath, or push out
that training session with no fear of losing your player or tangling the wires.
Circuit training is so much easier with your own
music. Enjoy the waves wire-free. This is the only waterproof pair of classic
headphones with a built in mp3 player in the world.
The stylish looking headphones play the usual MP3, WMA and WAV formats and are
compatible with Windows98/98SE/2000/XP and Apple MAC.
Depending on track length, the headphones hold well over 14 hours worth of music
and the rechargeable battery life is about 8 hours.
Nick Matthew, the 2006 British Open squash champion now uses the player to train
with and Mi-SPORT are endeavouring to encourage
more athletes to enjoy the benefits of training to wire-free music, podcasts or
coaching aids. Inspiration and freedom at last, for
athletes and exercise enthusiasts everywhere.
Check it out at: http://www.mi-sportmp3.com/

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Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
the link on our FrontPage at:
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Triathlete.

If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
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You can also list your events for free in our Interactive Calendars and on our
Marathons, Races and Triathlons pages.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Also, Under Armour® is pleased to announce the launch of their outlet page where
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Watch the on-demand webcast of the Boston Marathon FREE on WCSN.
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artnerId=hptRunWebLNAV1A021208

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After carefully reviewing the science behind the product
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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, you
must first create a free Facebook account at www.facebook.com. Once you have
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At the Runner's Web site, click "Join this group". Once I have approved your
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If you feel you have something to say (related to triathlon or running) that is
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We have 2,361 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the Runner's Web
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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
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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey. Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport
athletes and a member of the OAC Racing Team and X-C
Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public Health and works in the field of nutritional
epidemiology as a Research Associate with the
University of California, San Diego. Her column index is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/SK_index.html

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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
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Check out our article archive from Peak Performance Online at:
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Visit the PPO site at: Peak Performance Online:
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* 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
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Check out the Peak Running article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html .

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

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

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
2. The Skinny on Low-Calorie, Electrolyte-Only Sports Drinks
3. Pulled Muscles, Scar Tissue and Re-Injury
How does scar tissue affect recovery and re-injury of pulled muscles and sports
injury?
4. Physiology of Running - Are women better runners?
5. Real Thought for Food for Long Workouts
6. Sport Science Research - Can It Improve Your Marathon Time?
7. Nine Tips To Take The 'DIS' Out Of Discomfort When You're Cycling!
8. Big hearts 'have genetic problem'
9. Intense training - can you have too much of a good thing?
10. Certain antibiotics, statins can cause problems
11. Four Lessons I Have Learned From Physiology
And how they can make you a faster runner.
12. A Common Symptom of Heat Illness: Denial
13. Massive Volume Does Not Equal Massive Performance
14. Extra sleep boosts athletic performance: study
15. This Week in Running
16. Summer 2008 Running Shoe Guide
Twenty-one new running shoes that have been tested and reviewed to help you find
the perfect fit.
17. Chronobiology and the Internal Clock
18. Sunshine may be nature's disease fighter
19. Pro and Amateur Pre-Race meals
20. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Should Olympic team athletes be selected on the basis of one "trials"
competition or on overall performance over the year leading
up to the Games?"

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:
"Do you agree with the IAAF's decision to allow Oscar Pistorius ("The Blade
Runner") to compete in IAAF competitions against
able-bodied athletes?"
Answers Percent
1. Yes 40%
2. No 48%
3. No opinion, don't care 12%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: IronDistance.com.
There is only one short cut on your way to the finish line. We are here to help
you find the race that is right for you.
An iron distance triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a
26.2 mile run. It is considered by many to be the
ultimate endurance test.
The Top Ten elements to look for in an iron distance race.
You put endless hours of training into preparation for your race. Make sure the
event you enter puts in the same effort to make
your day a memorable one.
The site has recently added a race rating system.
More...from www.IronDistance.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
Train less to race faster
Triathlon expert offers tips for multisport conditioning
Windsor, ON-- George Dallam, PhD, USA Triathlon's first national team coach,
leads the way in triathlon coaching. As the longtime
coach of Hunter Kemper, the top-ranked triathlete in the ITU World Cup during
2005 and most of 2006, Dallam shares many of his
coaching insights for serious triathlon participants in an upcoming book.
In Championship Triathlon Training (Human Kinetics, May 2008), Dallam and
coauthor Steven Jonas, MD, address essential components
for effective triathlon training:
· Make transitions a competitive advantage rather than a drain.
· Use Dallam's novel method of projecting target training velocities in
swimming, cycling, and running.
· Employ simple technologies to maximize the adaptive process and get more
enjoyment out of training.
· Alter breathing patterns to improve ventilatory efficiency, reduce heart rate
and blood pressure, and improve training
consistency and performance.
· Develop the psychological skills to improve performance and enjoy the process
more.
· Build movement-specific strength to improve basic speed and endurance-related
speed in swimming, cycling, and running.
According to Dallam, by implementing particular training components, athletes
can train less to race faster. "These are
specific methods that any athlete can use to develop more effective technique in
swimming, cycling, and running to become faster,
more efficient, and less likely to be injured," says Dallam.
Championship Triathlon Training offers advice on complex speed and endurance
training, race-specific training and
strategy, and training for strength. For more information on Championship
Triathlon Training, contact Human Kinetics at 800-465-7301
or visit
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=978-0-7\
360-6919-9
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
George Dallam, PhD, is the longtime coach of Hunter Kemper, the top-ranked
triathlete in the ITU World Cup during 2005 and most of
2006. Dallam 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 the 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 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 BickerstaffAt the
Olympic Training Center, he served as 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.
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 serves as editor
in chief of 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 more than 185 multisport races, including
115 triathlons, at distances up to the Ironman. He is also a certified
professional ski instructor.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Essential Training Elements and Guidelines
Chapter 2 Training the Mind
Chapter 3 Assessing and Improving Technique
Chapter 4 Training for Strength and Muscular Balance
Chapter 5 Complex Speed and Endurance Training
Chapter 6 Race-Specific Training and Strategy
Chapter 7 Creating a Long-Term Training Program
Chapter 8 Race-Specific Training Programs
Chapter 9 Health and Fueling Strategies for Optimal Performance
Buy the book from Human Kinetics at:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=978-0-7\
360-6919-9

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

THIS WEEK'S FEATURES:


1. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine:
* Update on Vitamin D
The hottest subject in medicine today is the amazing number of diseases
associated with low vitamin D levels. People with low
levels of vitamin D are at double the risk for blocked
arteries in their legs, called peripheral artery disease (Arteriosclerosis,
Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, June 2008); markedly
increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, angina, and heart failure
(Circulation, January and April 2008, Archives of Internal
Medicine June 2008); increased rate of aging of their tissues (The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2007); cancers
of the breast, lung and colon (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November
2007); diabetes (Epidemiology, May 20, 2008).
Other recent articles show that Vitamin D helps pain control (Pain Medicine,
April 2008); and vitamin D reduces the risk of falls
(Archives of Internal Medicine, March 2008).
Next winter, ask your doctor to draw blood tests called vitamin D3 and D2. If
your D3 level is below 40 ng/ml, you are at
increased risk for a host of diseases. You can take pills
containing D2 or D3. D2 is the plant pre-vitamin D that is so weak that it
usually will not help raise your blood level. On the
other hand, D3 is the animal pre-vitamin D that appears to be quite effective.
Scientists do not agree on the optimum dose for
people with blood levels of D3 below 40 ng/ml. It used to be 200
international units per day. Today, many doctors think that it
should be at least 2000 international units. You can also meet your needs for
vitamin D from sunlight by exposing a few inches of
skin for 15 minutes every other day in the summer. However, during the winter in
northern climates, the sun's rays come in at an
angle and are therefore markedly reduced by the increased areas of atmosphere
through which the sun's rays must pass. You can solve
this problem with a tropical vacation.
I have found that tanning beds provide almost no vitamin D. Ultraviolet light
is classified into UVA and UVB. UVB are the rays
that cause skin cancer. They are also the rays that cause the skin to
manufacture vitamin D. Since manufacturers of tanning bulbs
are concerned about skin cancer, they reduce the percentage of UVB emitted from
tanning lamps. This also markedly reduces the rays
that provide vitamin D.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: When competing during very hot weather, is there a good way
to recover between events?
Researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia showed that you can recover
faster and compete at a higher level by soaking your
legs in cold water (14 degrees C) for five minutes during rest periods between
events (British Journal of Sports Medicine, June
2008). The cooling session dropped body temperature a half degree centigrade
and the athletes were able to cycle faster with
greater power output.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Are heart attacks more common in summer or winter?
Breathing cold air turns on your immunity. Your immunity is supposed to attack
and kill germs, but as soon as the invading germ is
gone, your immunity is supposed to shut down until the next attack. If it
remains active, it causes inflammation, a condition in
which your immunity attacks your own body to damage your blood vessels, joints
and other tissues. Researchers at the German
Research Center for Environmental Health in Neuherberg showed that exposing men,
who had previously had heart attacks, for five
consecutive days to colder weather increased blood levels of three markers of
inflammation: C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and
fibrinogen (Epidemiology, May 2008). This could explain why heart attacks occur
more commonly in the winter. Cold temperatures
also increase blood pressure.
* Pirirformis Syndrome
If it hurts to touch a point that's in the middle of one side of your buttocks,
you probably have piriformis syndrome. This chronic
condition is very difficult to diagnose, because other injuries may produce
exactly the same symptoms. Similar pain may be the
result of an injury to bones, muscles, tendons, bursae (pads between the tendons
and bones), the hip joint, or the sciatic nerve,
but there are ways to determine from which condition you might be suffering.
If you feel most pain when you land after hopping on one leg, you might have an
injured hip joint or a stress fracture in your
pelvis or upper leg bones. An x-ray will usually reveal a joint injury, but only
a bone scan will reveal a stress fracture.
If you feel pain in your buttocks, particularly when you touch your toes while
keeping your knees straight, you might have a tear in
the large muscles or tendons that run down the back of your hips.
If you feel pain when you touch a spot that's either on the lowest point of your
pelvis (the part that touches a chair when you sit)
or at the top of your femur (thigh), you might have injured your bursae
(bursitis) or torn the tendons that are attached to bones at
these sites.
If your back hurts, particularly when you bend backwards, and the pain goes down
the back of your leg to below your knees, your
sciatic nerve is probably being pinched in your back.
Cause: The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It starts on the
lower part of your spine, [passes through a hole
between the piriformis muscle above it and several other muscles beneath it, and
goes down the back of your leg to below the knee.
When you run, the piriformis muscle contracts and squeezes the sciatic nerve
underneath it. Repeatedly squeezing and relaxing the
piriformis muscle can damage the sciatic nerve and cause pain. This injury is
thought to be caused by an innate tightness of the
piriformis muscle or a structural abnormality in the path of the sciatic nerve.
It can't be attributed to a specific error in
training.
Treatment: Piriformis syndrome won't ease until you stop running. Don't run
again until you can run without feeling pain in your
buttocks. If it hurts to touch, it hasn't healed.
In most cases, pedaling a bicycle will also be painful. You probably shouldn't
do any exercise that causes you to bend at the hip
while keeping your knees straight, because this will stretch the sciatic nerve.
You might be able to swim, if it isn't painful.
Medication doesn't usually alleviate the pain, and even if it does, the pain
will return as soon as you stop taking it.
Sometimes, the pain will disappear after a rest of a few days to several months;
frequently it does not. In this case your doctor
will be able to make an accurate diagnosis by injecting a mixture of xylocaine
and corticosteroid drugs directly into the piriformis
muscle where it passes over the sciatic nerve. If the pain disappears, you may
resume running only after a few weeks, but remember
that this injury tends to recur. If you feel pain in that area, stop running
immediately, and don't attempt to run again until you
can do so without pain.
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


2. The Skinny on Low-Calorie, Electrolyte-Only Sports Drinks:
By Alicia Kendig, RD, CSSD; and Jim Rutberg
We’ve all seen the commercials touting new and improved sport drinks… with only
a fraction of the calories! Low-calorie sports
drinks like PowerBar’s new Electrolytes are designed to provide the electrolytes
your body needs without providing much – if any –
carbohydrate. For athletes, this means a new choice for during- and
between-workout hydration, but when are these drinks the right
choice?
Electrolytes and hydration science
The need to stay hydrated during the hazy, hot, humid days of summer is a no
brainer, but still represents a challenge to most
athletes. As little as 2% loss of overall bodyweight from sweat can greatly
hinder performance, and athletes often carry hydration
deficiencies from one workout to the next. Just rehydrating with water isn’t
always the best treatment, especially when hot weather
and high sweat rates have caused significant sodium losses.
Sodium plays a crucial role in normalizing fluid balance in the space around
cells and also contributes to normal nerve and muscle
function, but it’s also lost in large amounts as you sweat. In extreme cases,
when losses are not replenished athletes can develop
hyponatremia. This potentially life-threatening condition is caused by a severe
dilution of bodily fluids, but you don’t need to be
anywhere near hyponatremia to begin experiencing diminished performance,
cramping, dizziness, confusion, and slowed reaction times
due to excessive sodium losses.
More...from CTS at:
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=3444


3. Pulled Muscles, Scar Tissue and Re-Injury:
How does scar tissue affect recovery and re-injury of pulled muscles and sports
injury?
Have you ever had an injury that just won't heal? And then when you think it has
healed, you go and re-injure it again. You may have
a problem with scar tissue.
So you've pulled a muscle? Over-stretched it, torn it, strained it, sprained it.
Call it what you want. From an injury point of
view, the initial healing process is all the same.
Sprains (ligament) and strains (muscle or tendon) are the most common type of
soft tissue sports injury and are often caused by
activities that require the muscles to stretch and contract at the same time. A
lack of conditioning, flexibility and warm up can
also contribute.
While most people are well aware of the importance of applying the R.I.C.E.
regime to a sprain or strain in the first 48 to 72
hours, it's after this that most people get stuck. Let's start by having a look
at what happens during those first 72 hours and then
move onto what's needed for a full recovery.
The First 72 Hours
Without a doubt, the most effective, initial treatment for soft tissue injury is
the R.I.C.E.R. regime. This involves the
application of (R) rest, (I) ice, (C) compression, (E) elevation and obtaining a
(R) referral for appropriate medical treatment.
More...from The Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2008/rw_news_20080610_TSH_Scar_Tissue.htm\
l


4. Physiology of Running - Are women better runners?
Haile Gebrselassie recently knocked 29 seconds off the four-year old marathon
world record with a time of 2:04:26.
As tends to happen after these performances, everyone began questioning what the
limits to human performance might be. Is it
possible to break two hours? Geb himself spoke of his own feeling that he would
run 2:03 at Berlin someday.
Depending on what he meant by 2:03 (that is, 2:03:59 or 2:03:00), I’m sceptical
of that ambition, since it requires some
extraordinary performances to knock 86 seconds off a time that's becoming more
and more difficult to crack. We wrote about this
possibility in a post a few days ago.
But another way to approach this "limits-of-performance" issue is to consider
whether women might ever outperform men.
We recently saw a debate around the men’s world record – well, when Paula
Radcliffe ran 2:15:25 in London in 2003, the discussion
was deafening. Suddenly, everyone was convinced that the marathon was the event
where women would one day catch up to, and then
pass, men.
More...from Health24 at:
http://www.health24.com/fitness/Science_of_Sport/16-3901-3903-3918,42605.asp


5. Real Thought for Food for Long Workouts:
DR. MARK TARNOPOLSKY, a muscle physiology researcher at McMaster University in
Canada and a physician, knows all about the
exhortations by supplement makers and many nutritionists on what to eat and when
to eat it for optimal performance.
The idea is that you are supposed to consume carbohydrates and proteins in a
magical four-to-one ratio during endurance events like
a long run or bike ride, and right after. The belief is that such nutritional
diligence will improve your performance and speed your
recovery.
Dr. Tarnopolsky, a 45-year-old trail runner and adventure racer, might be
expected to seize upon the nutritional advice. (He won the
Ontario trail running series in 2004, 2005 and 2006.)
So might his colleague, Stuart Phillips, a 41-year-old associate professor of
kinesiology at McMaster who played rugby for Canada’s
national team and now plays it for fun. He also runs, lifts weights and studies
nutrition and performance.
In fact, neither researcher regularly uses energy drinks or energy bars. They
just drink water, and eat real food. Dr. Tarnopolsky
drinks fruit juice; Dr. Phillips eats fruit. And neither one feels a need to
ingest a special combination of protein and
carbohydrates within a short window of time, a few hours after exercising.
There are grains of truth to the nutrition advice, they and other experts say.
But, as so often happens in sports, those grains of
truth have been expanded into dictums and have formed the basis for an entire
industry in “recovery” products.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/health/nutrition/05Best.html?ref=health


6. Sport Science Research - Can It Improve Your Marathon Time?
The human body is beautifully designed to run.
Over the eons, the human body developed energy systems to run very fast for
short distances, a necessity when sprinting to safety
from the impending attack of some saber-toothed creature. The human body also
developed energy systems to run long, a necessity in
tracking and catching prehistoric mammals as a food source. As civilization
progressed with diminished necessity to run fast for
safety or to run long for sustenance, various types of organized play eventually
evolved into high-caliber international sport to
serve as an outlet to demonstrate one’s ability to run fast or run long.
Running is the purest form of athletic competition, and just as the 100-meter
dash became the criterion for the world’s fastest
sprinter, so too has the marathon evolved as the principal marker for the
world’s greatest endurance runner.
Although the first marathon was organized primarily for international-class
athletes competing in the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens,
other marathons soon blossomed for the masses, such as the Boston Marathon in
1897. During the past century of marathon competition,
about an hour has been shaved from the original world men’s record, and similar
improvements have occurred during the shorter
history of women’s marathon competition. During the early years of marathon
competition, runners used various “scientific”
techniques in attempts to enhance performance, but these “scientific” techniques
were based primarily on theory and anecdotal
evidence, trial and error, or inappropriate research. As an example of the
latter, scientists in the 1890s were involved in the
field of work physiology and were primarily interested in means whereby
industrial work productivity could be enhanced. In one such
study, alcohol was found to decrease fatigue in the small group of muscles that
move the thumb. Such information was subsequently,
albeit improperly, applied to sport, and marathon runners reportedly consumed
champagne, cognac, or rum before and during
competition; wine was served at the fluid replacement stations in the 1924 Paris
Olympic marathon.
Distance running has always been popular, but it became increasingly so during
the years following World War II as Olympic and other
international sport competitions were commercialized. In particular, the
popularity of running in the United States surged in the
late 1960s, partly in response to the publication of Aerobics, by Dr. Ken
Cooper. Several years later, Frank Shorter won the
marathon at the 1972 Munich Olympics, an event that seemed to serve as the
catalyst for the popularity of the marathon as a major
sporting event in the mid-1970s and beyond. Thousands of runners took to the
marathon, and most wanted to improve their time for one
reason or another, particularly to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
More...from Marathon and Beyond at:
http://www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/williams.htm


7. Nine Tips To Take The 'DIS' Out Of Discomfort When You're Cycling!
If you are a relatively new rider, you may not know how to prevent the most
common mistakes that can lead to physical discomfort
during a ride. Even if you have been riding for a long time you can slip into
bad habits, and end up hurting more than is necessary.
Here are a few tips to help make every ride more comfortable:
1. Warm up/Cool down: Allowing your body to gradually come up to 'operating
temperature' at the beginning of a ride, and then
pedaling a few extra minutes at a very easy intensity at the end of your ride,
can both go a long way toward minimizing muscle
soreness and increasing both recovery from riding, and adaptation to training.
Make sure to allow adequate warm up and cool down
time in every ride.
2. Eye Wear: When you squint due to the sun or wind or even bugs, you use a lot
of energy and the facial muscles can become
fatigued. This can lead to headaches and strain. To reduce the risks of this
occurring, try wearing sunglasses during every ride. I
am a particular fan of Rudy Project Glasses, as they make many different styles
and lenses that allow you to choose the appropriate
lens for a particular sunlight condition.
3. Pain in the neck: Try to avoid riding in the same position all of the time.
This especially includes your head position. Try
tilting your head from side to side, or stretching it out by sitting or standing
'tall.' Always remember though, safety FIRST, so
don't take your eyes off the road.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/bike/9-tips-to-take-the-dis-out-of-discomfort-wh\
en-youre-cycling


8. Big hearts 'have genetic problem':
Scientists claim to have found a new genetic basis for why some people develop
an enlarged heart, a condition which can result in a
heart attack.
Irregular heart growth can be brought on by strenuous exercise, high blood
pressure and obesity, but the role played by genes is
largely unknown.
Now an international team say they have for the first time linked enlarged
hearts with a gene, osteoglycin (Ogn).
Writing in Nature Genetics, they say the findings could mean new treatments.
Work carried out on rodents and some 30 humans indicated that Ogn - which has
never before been linked with heart function -
regulated the growth of the heart's main pumping chamber, its left ventricle.
When this gene behaves abnormally the heart can become enlarged, putting the
person at an increased risk of common heart diseases
and heart attacks.
Enlarged hearts are found often, but not exclusively, in those who are obese,
have diabetes or high blood pressure. People with none
of these underlying problems can be affected, as can elite athletes.
A post-mortem diagnosed the problem in Cameroon football midfielder Marc-Vivien
Foe, who died in 2003 after collapsing during an
international match in France.
More...from the BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7371213.stm


9. 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


10. Certain antibiotics, statins can cause problems:
Tendons are smooth, white bands that attach our muscles to our skeleton. They
are like ropes that allow our muscles to move our
bones.
With too much use or stress or injury, a tendon may become inflamed. This is
called tendonitis.
If the stress or injury is too great, the tendon may even be pulled in two. This
called a ruptured tendon.
It makes perfect sense to me that overuse (too frequent, too much tension, not
enough rest between uses) might bring on episodes of
tendonitis. However, there are other causes of tendonitis that do not seem like
they would be related to the tendons at all.
For many years, it has been well known that one of the most commonly used types
of antibiotics, called fluoroquinolones, has been
associated with tendonitis and tendon rupture. This is even more likely when one
of these drugs is prescribed for patients taking
corticosteroids (like prednisone) or having kidney disease.
This group of antibiotics includes Levofloxacin (Levaquin), ciprofloxacin
(Cipro), enoxacin (Penetrex), gatifloxacin (Tequin),
lomefloxacin (Maxaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin
(Floxin), sparfloxacin (Zagam), and trovafloxacin
mesylate/alatrofloxacin mesylate (Trovan).
More...from FWDailyNews at:
http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2008/06/08/features/columnists/terry_gaff/doc484\
c2430d3f2c019945999.txt


11. Four Lessons I Have Learned From Physiology:
And how they can make you a faster runner.
By Jason Karp
One of the things I love most about the sport of distance running is that, in
spite of its simplicity of putting one foot in front
of the other, it is also extremely complex. When done correctly, it is a
scientific endeavor to maximize one's speed and endurance.
Unfortunately, nearly all scientists spend their careers in academia without
venturing out into the arena that got many of them
interested in physiology in the first place -- competitive sport. As a result,
few scientists are coaches. The opposite is also true
-- few coaches are scientists. Being both, I have learned that each can learn
from the other, as my experience has given me a unique
view of the sport and of the training process. Here are four lessons I have
learned from physiology and how they can make you a
faster runner.
Physiology lesson 1.0
Lactate threshold and running economy are more important than VO2 max. What It
Means For You: Threshold training (tempo runs), high
mileage, and power workouts are more important than long intervals, especially
once your VO2 max has plateaued.
While VO2 max (the maximum volume of oxygen your muscles can consume per minute)
has received most of the attention among runners
and coaches, a high VO2 max alone is not enough to attain elite-level
performances; it simply gains one access into the club, since
a runner cannot attain a high level of performance without a high VO2 max. But,
while you can improve your VO2 max, it is largely
genetically determined. The other two major physiological players of distance
running performance -- lactate threshold (LT) and
running economy (RE) -- exert a greater influence on your performance and are
more responsive to training. I have tested many
athletes with an elite-level VO2 max in the laboratory but few of them were
capable of running at the elite or even sub-elite level
because they did not have a high LT or were not very economical.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=13397


12. A Common Symptom of Heat Illness: Denial
Years ago as a high school student, I attended a summer running camp in
Pennsylvania. During a routine six-mile run, I stumbled, and
a coach stopped me and asked me if I was okay. “I’m fine,'’ I assured him, and
kept running.
But I wasn’t fine. By the end of the run I had collapsed with heatstroke and had
fallen unconscious. The athletic trainers quickly
submerged me in a tub of ice to lower my body temperature, and I spent the next
week in a hospital, lucky to be alive. Later my
coach visited me, angry at himself for letting me continue my run. But I had no
memory of our earlier exchange. “You were so
convincing,'’ he told me.
Athletic researchers say one of the most frustrating aspects of heat illness is
that the sufferer is often completely unaware of his
or her own symptoms.
“Your cognitive ability and your capacity to make a rational decision is indeed
compromised,'’ said Michael F. Bergeron, director of
the environmental physiology laboratory at the Medical College of Georgia. “You
hear all the time that the athletes themselves
didn’t know enough to stop and didn’t want to stop and have no memory of what
happened.'’
While preparing for a study last year, Dr. Bergeron put himself on a treadmill
in a heated room. But knowing the tendency for the
heat to distort judgment, he gave his assistant specific instructions before
getting started. “I told her that when I got to a
certain point, no matter what I say, you stop me,'’ he said. “I told her that
however adamant I was about wanting to keep going,
don’t let it happen.'’
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/a-common-symptom-of-heat-illness-denial\
/


13. Massive Volume Does Not Equal Massive Performance:
By Coach Matt Russ
Training volume is a component of three things; frequency, duration, and
intensity. The right mix of the big three at the right time
is the key to athletic success. It is a rare athlete that can absorb massive
amounts of volume. Full time professional athletes that
are able to sleep, eat, train, and repeat have a tremendous leg up on the rest
of us that must to incorporate full time jobs into
this mix. An afternoon power nap in and of itself is an incredible training
tool. Many athletes (and some coaches) insist on
throwing massive amounts of training volume at themselves with the idea that
more volume equals more speed. As one of my athletes
pointed out several years ago "...this is the only area of my life in which
working harder can actually work against me." There may
initially be good adaptation to large training volume, but the athlete will
begin to unravel if they can not absorb (recover from)
the volume prescribed, both physically and mentally.
Duration is the most common component to be over-introduced; especially for
athletes competing in shorter distance races. It is
logical to think that more miles will equal more speed but that is not
necessarily the case. I have worked with ultra distance
runners training for distances up to the 100 mile mark. Time on the feet is
essential for these athletes but all those miles did not
equal top end speed. Long slow distance training has a specific adaptation- it
trains you to cover long distances slowly. Why do
athletes insist on endless base miles even for shorter distance events? I think
it is the easiest of the big three to add to the
training plan. It is relatively complex to time lactate threshold training,
incorporate aerobic capacity work, and design a
progressive strength endurance plan. For an athlete that is new to a sport
adding the miles will create good adoption up to a point;
then performance plateaus. In order to break through this plateau other
substrates must be addressed beyond endurance
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com/site/qt/Massive_Volume_Does_Not_Equal_Massive_Perform\
ance.shtml


14. Extra sleep boosts athletic performance: study:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Athletes who get extra shut-eye over an extended
period of time could see significant improvement in
their athletic performance, mood, and alertness, research shows.
"Our results begin to elucidate the importance of sleep on athletic performance
and more specifically, how sleep is a significant
factor to peak athletic performance," Cheri Mah of the Stanford Sleep Disorders
Clinic and Research Laboratory told Reuters Health.
In an ongoing study, Mah and colleagues are testing the impact of extra sleep on
five healthy students on the Stanford University
men's and women's swimming teams. For the first two weeks of the study, the
swimmers maintained their usual sleep-wake pattern. The
athletes then extended their sleep to 10 hours per day for 6 to 7 weeks.
Athletic performance, assessed after each regularly scheduled swim practice,
showed marked improvement with the extra sleep, Mah
reported Monday at SLEEP 2008, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional
Sleep Societies.
"Various drills including reaction time off the block, 15-meter sprint, and turn
time improved while kick strokes increased with
extra sleep," she said.
Specifically, after obtaining extra sleep, athletes swam a 15-meter sprint 0.51
seconds faster, reacted 0.15 second quicker off the
blocks, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds and increased kick strokes by 5
kicks.
"Athletes also experienced decreased fatigue and increased energy as well as
decreased daytime sleepiness," according to Mah.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2008/06/09/eline/links/20080609elin014.html


15. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- Ahmed Salah (DJI) won the Twente Marathon in Enschede NED with a
2:13:25. Simon Bor
(KEN) was four seconds back in 2:13:29 and Dmitriy Kapitonov
(RUS) was 3rd in 2:13:37.
Wiolette Kryza (POL) won the women's race in 2:38:51, well ahead
of Irina Sklyarenko (UKR)
in 2:44:39 and Luminita Talpos (ROM) in 2:53:37.
20 Years Ago- Suleiman Nyambui (TAN) won the Stockholm (SWE) Marathon in
2:14:26. Jose Carlos daSilva
(BRA) was next in 2:15:00 while Sören Hellmark won the Swedish
title with his 3rd place
2:16:41. Grete Waitz (NOR) won the women's race in 2:28:24,
about two miles ahead of
Jutta Pedersen (SWE) in 2nd who won the Swedish title with a
2:42:11. Rumyana Panovska
(BUL) was 3rd in 2:44:09 while Agnes Sipka (HUN) ran 2:45:57 for
4th.
30 Years Ago- Hans Jonsson won the Swedish marathon championships, held in
Umeå, with a 2:18:33.
Per-Ove Malmqvist was 2nd in 2:19:01 while Göran Högberg was 3rd
in 2:19:36.
40 Years Ago- Jim McDonagh (USA) won the Holyoke (MA/USA) Marathon in 2:46:51
while Robert Scharf (USA)
placed 2nd in 2:48:54. Olympian Ted Corbitt (USA) was 10th in
3:02:54 while 8-time USA
marathon champion John J Kelley was 27th in 3:37:56. The weather
was HOT.
50 Years Ago- Paavo Kotila won the Finnish marathon championships, held in
Vassa, with a 2:22:34. Paavo
Pystynen was 2nd in 2:23:11.
60 Years Ago- Vaino Koskela (FIN) won a 5000m in Turku FIN with a 14:28.0.
From The Analytical Distance Runner, the newsletter for the Association of Road
Racing Statisticians with a
focus on races, 3000m and longer, including road, track, and cross-country
events.
The ARRS has a website at http://www.arrs.net.


16. Summer 2008 Running Shoe Guide:
Twenty-one new running shoes that have been tested and reviewed to help you find
the perfect fit.
Running shoes are made to take a beating so your feet won't have to. On average,
your feet hit the ground 160 times a minute during
a run. Over the course of a 50-minute 10-K, that amounts to 8,000 footfalls. And
these aren't easy footfalls, either. Each one lands
with a force equal to 2.5 times your body weight. It falls on your running shoes
to bear the brunt of this repeated pounding, while
comfortably cradling your feet.
Even if a shoe completely protects your body from impact, you won't wear it if
it doesn't feel comfortable. This is why shoemakers
are always striving to produce more accommodating shoes. It all starts with the
last (the form around which a shoe is constructed),
which manufacturers are constantly refining to create an interior that fits a
larger group of runners. From here, most shoemakers
use a sockliner to make up the minor differences in fit and to supply a softer
feel.
Even with these enhancements, each new shoe isn't going to be an ideal fit for
every runner. That's why we go to such lengths to
test running shoes, not only in the RW Shoe Lab, but also on the feet of
hundreds of real runners just like you. Our goal is simple:
to help you find your perfect pair.
Knowing your foot type is the first step toward finding your ideal running shoe,
since it can help you determine how much you
pronate (the inward roll of your foot at footstrike) and, consequently, whether
you need a shoe that controls overpronation. The
easiest way to determine your foot type is by taking the "wet test," in which
you dip the bottom of your foot in water and step on a
brown paper bag. If the wet impression shows your entire foot, you have a flat
arch, which means you're probably an overpronator and
should wear motion-control or stability shoes. If the impression shows only half
of your arch, you are likely a normal pronator and
should wear stability, neutral-cushioned, or performance-training shoes,
depending on your weight. If you see just your heel, the
ball of your foot, and a thin line on the outside of your foot, you have a high
arch and are best suited to neutral-cushioned shoes.
Once you locate your shoe type among the categories below, use the results of
the cushioning, flexibility, and responsiveness tests
conducted at the RW Shoe Lab--along with the reviews and wear-tester comments on
the following pages--to find the best shoe for you.

More...from Runner's World at:
http://tinyurl.com/3tjaad


17. Chronobiology and the Internal Clock:
Chronobiology – how timing could give you the edge
We may live in a high-technology 24/7 world, but the daily or circadian rhythm
remains deeply ingrained in our physiological
make-up. According to Andrew Hamilton, there’s plenty of recent research to
suggest that athletes ignore this rhythm at their peril
when conducting aerobic and anaerobic exercises.
Humans have evolved in and are surrounded by a world full of rhythms, and it
would be incredible if these rhythms didn’t exert a
significant effect on our physiological function and performance potential. In
recent years, the field of chronobiology has
confirmed that this is indeed the case.
Everybody is aware of the powerful circadian (daily) rhythm; it is after all
what regulates your sleeping and waking patterns.
However, other rhythms can also affect physiological function, although the
magnitudes of their effects tend to be somewhat weaker,
which can make some of them rather difficult to detect against the background of
environmentally induced physiological variations.
Circadian rhythm
The circadian rhythm is the most powerful rhythm affecting humans; as well as
the sleep/waking cycle, it affects hormone secretions,
body temperature, mental alertness and physical performance capacity.
Due to these rhythmic fluctuations, many people experience maximum mental
alertness, fastest reaction times and highest core
temperature in the late afternoon/early evening period, while the peak in
melatonin concentrations in the middle of the night period
leads to maximum fatigue/sleepiness and lowest alertness.
More...from peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/chronobiology-and-the-internal-clock-35845


18. Sunshine may be nature's disease fighter:
Men lacking in vitamin D have more than double the normal risk of a heart
attack, a study says, one of many suggesting the vitamin
is crucial to good health.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Medical researchers are homing in on a wonder drug that may significantly reduce
the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and
many other diseases -- sunshine.
A study released today found that men who are deficient in the so-called
sunshine vitamin -- vitamin D -- have more than double the
normal risk of suffering a heart attack.
Just last week, another study found that low levels of vitamin D increased the
risk of diabetes, and a study last month linked
deficiencies to an increased risk of dying from breast cancer.
The findings join a growing body of evidence indicating that an adequate level
of the vitamin, which many people can get from 20
minutes in the sun, is crucial to maintaining good health.
Not every scientist agrees that vitamin D is so crucial to well-being, and there
is controversy about what should be considered an
adequate level of the compound in the blood. But sentiment is gradually shifting
toward a higher intake.
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-vitamin10-2008jun10,0,7874808.stor\
y


19. Pro and Amateur Pre-Race meals:
1. Jon Baker - Elite Cyclocross Racer
Early meal 2-3 hours before race: 1 cup oatmeal (old fashioned oats). Mixed with
a handful of almonds, and a handful of raisins. Add
brown sugar, cinnamon, and soymilk after cooking. Bigger meal (If 4 hours prior
to race): add to the above oatmeal serving (usually
a larger portion) 2 fried eggs, glass of OJ , 2 pieces toast + jelly
2. Nathan Schultz - Elite Cross Country Skier
Pre-race meal is finished 3 hours before any race less than 1:30, 2-2.5 hours
before if longer. Oatmeal (not instant) cooked fully.
Depending on the day, I add any, none or all of the following: raisins, 1 egg,
honey, brown sugar, milk. The added protein of the
egg seems to help with staying power. I usually complement that with a banana,
1-2 pieces of toast with peanut butter, and orange
juice. Leading up to the race I will sometimes snack on a bagel, sports bar,
banana or gels.
3. Josiah Middaugh - Professional Triathlete
Oatmeal and yogurt. Its pretty simple, but it works for me. I usually just use
a packet or two of instant oatmeal along with a
single serving of yogurt. Its easy because it is portable and all you need to
do is find a way to boil water (microwave, coffee
maker, etc).
More...from First Endurance at:
http://blog.firstendurance.com/2008/05/pro-and-amateur-pre-race-meals/


20.Digest Briefs:
* Don't Panic! Workouts, Life, and the Chaos, by Brian Keast
You have your week's training plan in hand, reviewed it, checked the details,
arranged your schedule and eagerly anticipate the
upcoming workouts with sunny optimism. Then a meeting runs late, your kid's
soccer practice is rescheduled, and the car has a flat
tire. Today's workout is now in jeopardy, your entire week's schedule is in
disarray and the big race is only a month away.
In the immortal words of Douglas Adams..."Don't Panic". Expect the unexpected
and accept that this is part of life. Acknowledge this
and be prepared to adapt and excel through these challenges. Speaking from
experience, there may only be one or two weeks in the
entire year where I manage to complete all my planned workouts. I call these
'perfect weeks' simply because they are so rare.
So how do you deal with the inevitable challenges of fitting workouts into
everyday life? Here are a few tips:
Be creative - do a conference call from home while on your indoor trainer (don't
forget the mute button!). Run laps around the field
during your kid's soccer practice. Get in a short swim while the car is being
repaired.
Time management - consider your daily routine and identify the areas where you
can be more efficient. Can you bike to work and use
the commuting time to your advantage? Run on the treadmill while watching your
favourite sitcom?
Identify and prioritize the week's key sessions. If you only have limited time,
focus on completing these important workouts.
Don't try to make up for missed workouts. Attempting to squeeze yesterday's
session into today's schedule is counterproductive.
There is a logic to your training plan that is disrupted when try to make up for
lost time. Consider it an unscheduled rest day and
move on.
Better a good workout now than a great workout later. If you are contemplating
doing a workout now or later in the day, don't delay.
Things have a habit of cropping up, the longer you wait.
Better a short workout than no workout at all. If you cannot fit in the planned
3hr bike but can manage 1hr then do it. Consistency
is important!
Use the alarm clock - early mornings offer fewer disruptions. Get in a workout
before the day becomes too hectic.
Be confident in your training plan - your coach has a job and family too and
knows that stuff happens. As such, your training plan
is designed for the real world.
Most importantly, remember why you got into this sport. Workouts should not
become another contributor to an already stressful life.
These activities should be enjoyable, an escape from the demands of the daily
grind, and an opportunity for you to have fun.
From The Endurance Lab at Toronto SEMI Newsletter Volume 4, Issue 6 June, 2008
www.EnduranceLab.ca
* Monthly Training Tips from TrainingBible Coaching
This month’s training tip comes from our coach Trevor Glavin in Northern
California:
Mental Training During Your Peak Phase
The goal of peak workouts is to closely mimic race day intensity, physically and
mentally, teaching yourself, “this is how I will
feel on race day.” Come to embrace this feeling of discomfort and know you have
felt this way in training, and mentally able to
conquer it. Develop coping mechanisms to use while racing, such as repeating a
motivational statement. Ultimately, you want to
have a true understanding of exactly how you will feel on race day, and need to
have a mental plan to overcome the discomfort of
high intensity racing.
To contact Trevor with questions, please email mailto:tglavin@...




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

June 14, 2008:
Bellin Run - Green Bay, WI

DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay - Lake Tahoe, CA

Mercedes Benz Classic Mile - Cambridge, ON

35th Steamboat Classic - Peoria, IL

Televsion - CBC-TV, CBCSports.ca
ITU World Triathlon Championships from Vancouver, BC - 4 P.M. EDT

June 14-15, 2008:
Muskoka Triathlon - Huntsville, ON

June 15, 2008:
Alterna Do it for Dad! Run and Family Walk - Ottawa, ON

Children's Museum 14th Annual 5 Mile Road Race - Easton, MA
Also 2 Mile Fun Walk

Comrades Marathon - Durban to Pietermaritzburg, SA

GBMC Father's Day 5K - Towson, MD

Kajaks International Track Classic - Richmond, BC

Manitoba Marathon - Winnipeg, MAN

June 17, 2008:
Lafarge Abbotsford International Track Classic - Abbotsford, BC

June 19, 2008:
Victoria International Track Classic - Victoria, BC


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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