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.

**Important Notice From Yahoo**
RepDB Bug Affecting Big GroupsJuly 20, 2009 at 10:54 am · Filed under General
This blog post was originally titled “New members not showing up on the member
list”, but the problem is actually broader than that
and I wanted to take a moment to fully explain.
As background, for groups with 350 or more members, Yahoo! Groups uses a
“replicated database system“, which is a key component of
the backend systems that have allowed Yahoo! Groups to scale to the size it has
(100+ million users across more than 12 million
groups, with some groups having more than a million members)
Unfortunately, we have a bug at the moment that is causing our “RepDB system” to
back up and process incredibly slowly (most
affected groups have not had a RepDB update since late on the 7/17). The impact
on affected groups includes the following:
- The member list will be out of date with new members not yet appearing on the
list (though they will appear in the management
logs, which are fully up to date), making it impossible for moderators to change
the settings (or remove) these members.
- Members who are not showing up on the member list will also not receive
messages via email (although they can still read messages
on the web or post via email).
- Members who have recently unsubscribed (but who were set to receive individual
emails or digests) will continue to receive
messages from the group until the RepDB system is up to date.
Apologies for the hassles we know this is causing. Solving this problem is the
team’s top priority.
- Gordon Strause
Yahoo! Groups


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 is over for another year. Tara Quinn-Smith set a new course record
of 16:15.7 beating the 16:29 set by Nicole Stevenson
in 1996.
364 women completed the race with 33 women running under 20:00
The 2010 race will be run on June 19th..
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com.

2. Cruise To Run -2010, THE ULTIMATE RUNNERS VACATION
January 24-31 www.cruisetorun.com
Registration is open for Cruise To Run 2010. If you are interested in going on
THE ULTIMATE RUNNERS VACATION it would be wise to
book early as Cruise to Run sold out to in 2009.
As the organizers of Cruise to Run we have emphasized that we have put together
runs that we are sure everyone will enjoy. But what
makes Cruise To Run special is the runners who attend. Over 300 runners together
on a vacation doing what they love to do. How can
we go wrong?
The 2010 Cruise will leave San Juan Puerto Rico on the Caribbean Princess and
visit St. Thomas, Tortola , Antigua, St. Lucia and
Barbados. The cruise will have something for everyone, a 5k race, prediction
run, group runs, hash run and a challenging mountain
run. Also included are cocktail parties an organized swim guest speakers, meals,
and much more.
The Caribbean Princess boasts casinos, restaurants, 24 hour buffet, 4 swimming
pools, hot tubs, entertainment, fully equipped gym,
and movies under the stars all for your enjoyment.
The Cruise is meant for everyone to enjoy from the serious to recreational
runner. Runs are a variety of distances and each run is
optional. With Cruise to run you will still have time to the beaches,
snorkeling, shopping and everything else the Caribbean has to
offer.
Guest speakers include Runner's World CRO Bart Yasso, eleven time Ironman
champion Lisa Bentley and marathon great Dick Beardsley.
For more information or to register visit www.cruisetorun.com

3. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000010069822.

4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 27, 2009
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/STWM_Transporter.html

5. Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon - October 18, 2009
Register before the end of this month for the Marathon, Half Marathon, or 5k and
save $$. Fees increase March 1st!
http://www.torontomarathon.com/

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

7. 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.

8. iRun Magazine
More than a million Canadians are runners, making it this country's most popular
recreational and fitness activity. Canadians run
for exercise and we run to raise money for important causes. We run alone and in
groups. And every year, hundreds of thousands of us
participate in organized races, from fun runs to marathons, which are growing
steadily.
Until now, Canadian runners haven't had our own running magazine. But now,
there's iRun, providing a uniquely Canadian perspective
on the activity and the sport. Published six times a year, iRun educates,
informs and inspires Canadian runners.
The Team
Mark Sutcliffe, Publisher and Editor
Mark has more than 20 years of experience in the Canadian media business. An
avid runner, he has completed five marathons and 10
half-marathons. He writes a popular weekly column on running in the Ottawa
Citizen and co-hosts The Running Show every week on The
Team 1200 radio. Mark is the former Executive Editor of the Ottawa Citizen and
has also launched several publications, including the
Ottawa Business Journal, now in its second decade, and the Kitchissippi Times, a
successful community newspaper in Ottawa. His
writing has appeared across the country in daily newspapers, and magazines like
Macleans and Canadian Business.
Ray Zahab, Contributing Editor
Ray Zahab is Canada's most renowned ultramarathon runner. A former pack-a-day
smoker, Ray transformed his life by becoming a
successful long-distance runner, winning some of the world's most challenging
foot races. Beginning in November 2006, Ray and two
other runners ran across the Sahara Desert in 111 days, averaging 70 kilometres
per day without a single day's rest. Ray is an
accomplished public speaker, writes regularly about running and coaches athletes
striving to achieve their own goals.
Distribution
iRun is Canada's highest-circulation and most popular running magazine. With a
total distribution of 50,000 and more than 9,000
subscribers, iRun is leading the market in the rapidly growing and highly
desirable demographic of Canadian runners.
iRun Magazine is a sponsor of Emilie's Run
http://www.irun.ca/

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

10. 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/

11. Training Peaks
The Runner's Web has partnered with Training Peaks to provide online coaching
from experts such as Hal Higdon, Joel Friel and Matt
Fitzgerald.
Sign up at:
https://home.trainingpeaks.com/create-account-personal-edition.aspx?af=RunnersWe\
b

ASSOCIATIONS:
The Runner's Web is a member of Running USA, The National Professional
Organization for the Running Industry.
http://www.runningusa.org/

NEW SUBSCRIBERS: Check the "New Subscribers' note at the bottom of the
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Webmasters: Get our Syndicated headlines for your site.
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Add the Runner's Web News feed to your site through a simple JavaScript. Check
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[Long URL]
The Digest is also available through other RSS Readers on request.

Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
the link on our FrontPage at:
http://www.runnersweb.com . We have added a button for Lauren Groves,
Triathlete.

TWITTER
Follow us on Twitter at:
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FACEBOOK
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
your own space, search "Runner's Web" under "Groups".
At the Runner's Web site, click "Join this group". Once I have approved your
request to join, you'll be able to visit the site, post
race photos, discuss training tips, and share information about running, racing
and training.

If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
Google's GMail. You can now sign up for free Gmail at
Google WITHOUT AN INVITATION at: www.gmail.com

Race Directors: Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
For more information:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_advertising.html
You can also list your events for free in our Interactive Calendars and on our
Marathons, Races and Triathlons pages.

NEW THIS WEEK:
The Runner's Web has partnered with Training Peaks to provide online coaching
from experts such as Hal Higdon, Joel Friel and Matt
Fitzgerald.
Sign up at:
https://home.trainingpeaks.com/create-account-personal-edition.aspx?af=RunnersWe\
b

Event directors, add your event to our Event Calendar at:
http://runnersweb.mhsoftware.com/
Events must be approved before going live.

Watch live and webcast of Track and Field and Road races on Universal Sports
Sign up at:
http://www.universalsports.com//SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&KEY=&SPID=13055\
&SPSID=105551

If you feel you have something to say (related to triathlon or running) that is
worthy of a Guest Column on the Runner's Web, email
us at:
mailto:webmaster@... or leave your comments in one of our Forums at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/forum.html or from our FrontPage.

We have 2,563 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the Runner's Web
Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
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RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS

ROAD RUNNER SPORTS
We have partnered with Road Runner Sports, the world's largest online running
store, to provide a shopping portal. Check it out at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/Mobile_RRS.html

* BREAKSWEAT.TV
We have partnered with Breaksweat TV to provide us with video content.
Simply Sports Media is part of a large group called Simply Media, which operates
more than 25 digital TV channels, including 6 on
satellite and cable. Simply Media has developed and continues to expand on
premium content for TV, web, mobile, captive Audience
Networks, and IPTV.
Breaksweat.tv was recently launched to provide instant access to premium video
content covering outdoor sports. The innovative
online channel uses a system called, Brightcove to continually and seamlessly
deliver content to its users, whilst providing
easy-to-use navigation.
Breaksweat TV is not a user generated website, or a broadcasting channel; rather
it is a platform used to host Breaksweat.tv's
independently produced video content, and content it obtains from key
relationships in the outdoor sports industry. By applying this
strategy to supply content for its viewers, SnowZone.tv is able to showcase
video content that is unique, high-quality, and
continuous filled with updated material.
For more information and to visit other existing channels in the Simply Media
network, please visit:
http://www.simply.tv/

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

* Carmichael Training Systems Carmichael Training Systems was founded in 1999 by
Chris Carmichael. From the beginning, the mission
of the company has been to improve the lives of individuals we work with through
the application of proper and effective fitness and
competitive training techniques. Whether your focus is recreational, advanced,
or you are a professional racer, the coaching
methodology employed by CTS will make you a better athlete. Check the latest
monthly column from CTS at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/cts_columns.html.
Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/promos.asp?code=DSBYBFCSP

* Peak Performance Online Peak Performance is a subscription-only newsletter for
athletes, featuring the latest research from the
sports science world. We cover the whole range of sports, from running and
rowing to cycling and swimming, and each issue is packed
full of exclusive information for anyone who's serious about sport. It's
published 16 times a year, including four special reports,
by Electric Word plc. Peak Performance is not available in the shops - only our
subscribers are able to access the valuable
information we publish.
Check out our article archive from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PPO_index.html
Visit the PPO site at: Peak Performance Online:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/cmd.php?af=517509

* Peak Running Performance Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running
Newsletter. Rated as the #1 Running Publication by
Road Runner Sports (Worlds Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the
serious / dedicated runner. Delivering world class
running advice are some of running's most recognizable athletes including Dr.
Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach), Scott Tinley (2 Time
Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3 Time Olympian) and many more. This bi-monthly
newsletter has been around for over 13 years, and in the
past two it has been awarded the "Golden Shoe Award" in recognition of it's
outstanding achievements.
http://www.clixGalore.com/Sale.aspx?BID=37234&AfID=103794&AdID=5075&LP=www.peakr\
unningperformance.com
Check out the Peak Running article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html .

* Running Research News: RRN's free, weekly, training update provides
subscribers with the most-current, practical, scientifically
based information about training, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and
injury rehabilitation. The purpose of this weekly e-zine
is to improve subscribers' training quality and to help them train in an
injury-free manner. Running Research News also publishes a
complete, 12-page, electronic newsletter 10 times a year (one-year subscriptions
are $35); to learn more about Running Research
News, please see the Online Article Index and "About Running Research News"
sections below or go to RRNews.com. Check out the
article index at: 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. Why Winning Athletes Are Getting Bigger
2. Ghrelin, Leptin and You
The relationship between sleep and diet.
3. Can Your Brain Fight Fatigue?
4. Testosterone ups older men's muscle performance
5. Advances seen in treatment of knee ligament injury
6. Study To Assess Hip Exercises As Treatment For Osteoarthritis In The Knee
Joints
7. Asthma in sport: athletes should take heed of WADA guidelines
8. The calorie delusion: Why food labels are wrong
9. Improve your Climbing – Even if you Live in the Flats
10. How harmful is it to exercise outside on a polluted day?
Smog clouds the issue of exercising outdoors.
11. Atrial Fibrillation In Endurance Athletes Still Poses Problems For Sports
Cardiologists
12. Tabata Interval Training for Strength and Endurance
13. Are Indoor Pools Bad for Your Lungs?
14. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
15. Digest Briefs



RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
Summer
Fall
Winter
Spring
No opinion

You can access the poll from our FrontPage ( http://www.runnersweb.com) as well
as checking the results of previous polls.

LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS:
"Which of the following women played the greatest role in advancing women's
distance running globally?"
Joan Benoit (Samuelson)
Lynn Jennings
Nina Kuscsik
Kathrine Switzer
Joan Ullyot
Grete Waitz


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: We Are Triathlon
The dedicated triathlon website that gives you the inside track on the sport,
whether you're a seasoned Ironman or limbering up for
your first race. We've got top tips from the pros, the latest interviews, news,
blogs and forums, all within a supportive community
to get behind you in your next event.
Check it out at:
http://www.wearetriathlon.co.uk/

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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: On the Wings of Mercury: The Lorraine Moller
Story (Paperback)
By Lorraine Moller
LORRAINE MOLLER is one of New Zealand's greatest women distance runners. Four
times an Olympic contender, winner of three Avon
Women's Marathons, winner of the Boston Marathon, three times the winner of the
Osaka international Ladies' Marathon, and a
Commonwealth Games medallist, she is indeed a living legend of the running
world.
After a childhood plagued with illness, Lorraine, the teenager, began running
barefoot with her father near her home in Putaruru.
She went on to win a bronze medal in the marathon at the 1992 Barcelona Summer
Olympic Games at the age of 37. She traces her
development as a world-class competitor during a time when women's distance
running was just hitting its stride. A longtime battler
for equality and professionalism in distance running, Lorraine is upfront about
her battles with officialdom, her struggles with
relationships, and the inner demons she strove to conquer.
With the roman god Mercury as her guide, Lorraine's adventures in her pursuit of
Olympic gold underscores an intense inner journey
of self-examination and personal transformation. Here is a candid, personal
story of an extraordinary life: spirited, intelligent,
insightful, and highly entertaining.
From: www.onthewingsofmercury.com.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1877361992/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books
The book is also available at: http://www.lorrainemoller.com

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. Why Winning Athletes Are Getting Bigger:
While watching swimmers line up during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, former
Olympic swimmer and NBC Sports commentator Rowdy
Gaines quipped that swimmers keep getting bigger, with the shortest one in the
current race towering over the average spectator.
What may have been seen as an off-hand remark turns out to illustrate a trend in
human development -- elite athletes are getting
bigger and bigger.
What Gaines did not know was that a new theory by Duke University engineers has
indeed showed that not only have Olympic swimmers
and sprinters gotten bigger and faster over the past 100 years, but they have
grown at a much faster rate than the normal
population.
Futhermore, the researchers said, this pattern of growth can be predicted by the
constructal theory, a Duke-inspired theory of
design in nature that explains such diverse phenomena as river basin formation
and the capillary structure of tree branches and
roots.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090717090829.htm


2. Ghrelin, Leptin and You:
The relationship between sleep and diet.
The old Dunkin Donuts line inevitably appears in the back of my mind when I wake
for an early run. It’s hard not to think about the
weary employee and his slogan as he heads off to work when I’m making that slow
climb out of bed, yearning for just one more hour of
slumber.
Most running logs have a system to track hours of sleep, but it’s an easy part
of training to neglect. In all reality, sleep should
be considered at the center of good training. Sleep plays an important role in
rebuilding stressed or damaged muscles. Sleep
deprivation can not only hinder performance and recovery, but it can make weight
loss or control much more of a struggle.
There’s a relationship between the duration of sleep, weight, and metabolic
function. After a couple consecutive nights of poor
sleep you may find yourself with an appetite that could feed a whole track team.
This never-full feeling can lead to excessive
calorie intake, often in the form of snacking. The sensation is often
accompanied by poor decisions about what foods to eat, as well
a lack of self-discipline and little desire to prepare better alternatives.
There are two hormones associated with sleep that influence eating behaviors:
ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that lets
your body know you’re hungry. Leptin’s role is to send a message to stop eating
when your body has had enough. When you’re
sleep-deprived, your ghrelin level increases. At the same time leptin levels
decrease. So you crave additional food while
simultaneously not getting the proper message to stop eating. The extra calories
and poor self-control soon follow.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17072


3. Can Your Brain Fight Fatigue?
Recently, researchers in England discovered that simply rinsing your mouth with
a sports drink may fight fatigue. In the experiment,
which was published online in February in the Journal of Physiology, eight
well-trained cyclists completed a strenuous, all-out time
trial on stationary bicycles in a lab. The riders were hooked up to machines
that measured their heart rate and power output.
Throughout the ride, the cyclists swished various liquids in their mouths but
did not swallow. Some of the drinks contained
carbohydrates, the primary fuel used during exercise. The other drinks were just
flavored, sugar-free water.
By the end of the time trials, the cyclists who had rinsed with the carbohydrate
drinks — and spit them out — finished significantly
faster than the water group. Their heart rates and power output were also
higher. But when rating the difficulty of the ride, on a
numerical scale, their feelings about the effort involved matched those for the
water group.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/going-all-out/


4. Testosterone ups older men's muscle performance:
A testosterone patch, particularly in combination with a growth hormone
injection, improves body composition and muscle performance
in older men, according to a new study.
Elderly men often see a decline in the levels of such two hormones, and in
previous studies, when researchers boosted levels to
those found in men's youth, muscle strength and other characteristics improved.
However, it has been "unclear whether these benefits translate to enhanced
functional performance," Dr. Fred R. Sattler, of
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues note in their
report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism.
Sattler and colleagues studied 122 men with an average age of about 71 years.
They report their findings in the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56G50V20090717


5. Advances seen in treatment of knee ligament injury:
New surgical techniques are helping to improve treatment of a lesser-known type
of knee ligament injury, according to a research
review.
The ligament in question is called the posterior cruciate ligament, or PCL -- a
band of strong tissue that connects the shinbone to
the thighbone and prevents the shinbone from moving too far backward.
When it comes to knee injuries, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) gets most
of the attention, as ACL tears are far more common.
However, the PCL can be torn when a heavy force strikes the front of the knee --
if, for instance, the knee hits the dashboard in a
car accident, or an athlete falls hard onto a bent knee.
Partial tears to the PCL are generally treated with rest, physical therapy or
other non-invasive measures. When it is completely
torn, though, surgery may be recommended.
The new review, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic
Surgeons, charts the recent progress that has been
made in reconstructing damaged PCLs.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE56F5IO20090716


6. Study To Assess Hip Exercises As Treatment For Osteoarthritis In The Knee
Joints:
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are testing a novel regimen of
hip-muscle exercises to decrease the load on the knee
joints in patients with osteoarthritis. The goal is not only to relieve pain but
also, possibly, to halt progression of the disease.
"Each time you take a step, a load, or force, is placed on the knee joints. How
much load depends not just on your weight, but also
on the way you walk and the alignment of your leg," said Laura Thorp, PhD,
assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology at Rush
Medical College and principal investigator for the study. "If we can
appropriately alter the gait patterns of patients with
osteoarthritis, we can minimize the load and relieve pain.
"Ultimately, we're hoping we can prevent the disease from advancing. No
treatment currently exists that can stop osteoarthritis from
progressing in the knees, other than joint replacement surgery."
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090716094150.htm


7. Asthma in sport: athletes should take heed of WADA guidelines:
Athletes with asthma should check their drugs do not infringe WADA guidelines.
Exercise-induced asthma is a relatively common condition, which affects tens of
thousands of athletes worldwide. However, those
using asthma medication need to be aware of the new WADA guidelines that have
just come into force. Alison McConnell explains
On 1 January 2009, a new set of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines came
into force. For the majority of athletes this event
is of limited consequence, but for the 20% or so who have asthma and/or
exercise-induced asthma (EIA), it heralds a change to the
way that they seek approval to use their asthma medications.
The new 2009 guidelines contain a change to the mandatory International Standard
for Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), bringing
them into line with the standards established by the International Olympic
Committee prior to the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.
To quote WADA on the objective of this change, ‘The purpose of the International
Standard for TUEs is to ensure that the process of
granting therapeutic use exemptions is harmonised across sports and countries…
The Code permits athletes and their physicians to
apply for therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) i.e. permission to use, for
therapeutic purposes, substances or methods contained in the
List of Prohibited Substances or Methods whose use is otherwise prohibited’.
Since asthma medications remain on the list of
prohibited substances, athletes wishing to use them require a TUE.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/asthma-sport-athletes-should-take-heed-wada-guid\
elines-41103


8. The calorie delusion: Why food labels are wrong:
STANDING in line at the coffee shop you feel a little peckish. So what will you
choose to keep you going until lunchtime? Will it be
that scrumptious-looking chocolate brownie or perhaps a small, nut-based muesli
bar. You check the labels: the brownie contains
around 250 kilocalories (kcal), while the muesli bar contains more than 300.
Surprised at the higher calorie count of what looks
like the healthy option, you go for the brownie.
This is the kind of decision that people watching their weight - or even just
keeping a casual eye on it - make every day. As long
as we keep our calorie intake at around the recommended daily values of 2000 for
women and 2500 for men, and get a good mix of
nutrients, surely we can eat whatever we like?
This is broadly true; after all, maintaining a healthy weight is largely a
matter of balancing calories in and calories out. Yet
according to a small band of researchers, using the information on food labels
to estimate calorie intake could be a very bad idea.
They argue that calorie estimates on food labels are based on flawed and
outdated science, and provide misleading information on how
much energy your body will actually get from a food. Some food labels may over
or underestimate this figure by as much as 25 per
cent, enough to foil any diet, and over time even lead to obesity. As the
western world's waistlines expand at an alarming rate,
they argue, it is time consumers were told the true value of their food.
More...from New Scientist at:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327171.200-the-calorie-delusion-why-food\
-labels-are-wrong.html


9. Improve your Climbing – Even if you Live in the Flats:
By Kelly Wissolik
In order to become a better climber, you must first focus on muscular endurance.
You need to build sufficient force and strength
through Functional Sport Specific Training before you can effectively take your
climbing to the next level.
Hit the weight room or get some other tools for your home such as a bench, ball
and good workout shoes. A triathlon coach with
functional sport-specific knowledge can help develop an effective functional
strength training program to increase your leg strength
and reduce injury. Be sure you invest the time to build your strength prior to
hitting the open road.
The muscular endurance training needed to improve your climbing skills focuses
on strengthening your quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
In terms of your periodization schedule, these workouts are most effective in
the non-competitive season when you can spend 2-3 days
a week doing functional strength work. The workouts should specifically build
your quadriceps stability and power, glute stability
and strength and hamstring strength and control.
Strength building can be accomplished on your bike as well. Using a combination
of functional sport specific strength and strength
focused bike workouts will lead to increased performance in the climbs! The Base
2 phase of training is a great time to hone in on
your power and climbing strength on the bike.
More...from USAT at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6938


10. How harmful is it to exercise outside on a polluted day?
Smog clouds the issue of exercising outdoors.
The answer
There's no doubt that the air pollution in cities is bad for us. And exercise
makes it worse, since we breathe in a greater volume
of air and bypass the natural filtering of the nasal passages by inhaling
through the mouth.
Exercising indoors, where the air tends be better during smoggy periods, is much
healthier than slacking off for the summer.
But if you have to head outside anyway - to get to work, for example - the
choice is trickier. Depending on when you go and what
route you take, you may be better off running or biking to the office than
sitting in rush-hour traffic.
The basic problem is that sucking in a mix of gases and particles irritates our
airways, which can result in coughing fits and
difficulty breathing. While these are the most common and easily diagnosed
symptoms, doctors now recognize that they represent just
one part of the problem.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/how-harmful-is-it-to-exercise-outside\
-on-a-polluted-day/article1220505/


11. Atrial Fibrillation In Endurance Athletes Still Poses Problems For Sports
Cardiologists:
The fulfilment which so many people increasingly derive from competitive sports
and endurance training comes with a real – even if
rare – twist. Because, while most people will enjoy the benefits and pleasures
of exercise, there are a few for whom regular
athletic training will increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and even sudden
death, especially among those in middle-age or with
pre-existing cardiac diseases.
"It's for this reason that sports medicine has focused on pre-participation
screening," says Dr Luis Mont from the Hospital Clínic
de Barcelona, Spain, "in an attempt to detect any hidden heart disease." On the
other hand, disturbances in heart rhythm,
particularly atrial fibrillation, which represent one of the major
cardiovascular reasons for hospital admission, is more common
among cyclists, marathon runners and other athletes with a long history of
endurance training.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143221.htm


12. Tabata Interval Training for Strength and Endurance:
Time-efficient strength and endurance workout.
We may be living in an increasingly wealthy world, but the demands of
21st-century living mean that many of us are increasingly time
poor. But according to James Marshall, by adjusting volume and intensity, and
monitoring the sequence of training exercises,
athletes who have busy lives can still enhance their sporting performance with
workouts of just 30 minutes duration
Here’s a question for you. If you could only spare 30 minutes a day for your
training schedule, how could you best utilise that
time? Would the recommendations be different for beginners (less than 6 months’
training) and for more experienced athletes (more
than 2 years’ training)? And is it worth trying to combine strength and
conditioning workouts, or does that dilute the training
effect for both? This article will explain how to make the most of your time and
give examples of workouts that you can do.
Measuring effective workouts
If you are an Olympic weightlifter or a marathon runner, you can be pretty sure
about what energy system you will be using in your
sport and training accordingly. But most people use more than one energy system
to a greater or lesser degree in competition and in
training. Academic research that looks at one energy system and an objective
measure, such as maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) can
manipulate variables and find the best training method that improves that
measure. However, research that looks at training
different energy systems concurrently is more difficult, because defining the
best measurement of performance is not always
straightforward. This type of research is more limited (for example combining
strength and endurance sessions) and the design of the
study has to be looked at in detail before making conclusions from the data.
However, it is this type of study that has most
relevance for those coaches and athletes working in (most) sports where the
athlete has to be quick, powerful and have the ability
to repeat that throughout the match or rounds of a competition.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/tabata-interval-training-strength-and-endurance-\
39413


13. Are Indoor Pools Bad for Your Lungs?
A 2006 study of youth athletes in Quebec City turned up the provocative finding
that young, high-level swimmers wheezed and coughed
far more often than young, indoor soccer players. The swimmers, mostly 8-12
years old, reported in a questionnaire that they
frequently suffered from upper and lower respiratory symptoms, lung congestion,
breathing difficulties, and sneezing. More than 15
percent had asthma. To ensure that these self-reported symptoms were accurate,
the scientists monitored 72 of the young swimmers and
73 of the soccer players over the course of five practices. They found that the
swimmers definitely struggled with more breathing
problems than the soccer players. Notably, the young swimmers’ difficulties were
closely correlated to the levels of chlorine and
chlorine byproducts in their pools. More chemicals meant more symptoms.
Is swimming good or bad for the lungs? The question has particular relevance
now, with the swimming World Championships getting
underway this week in Rome, and the summertime, lazing-around-the-swimming-pool
season reaching its zenith. Many doctors consider
swimming an ideal sport for people with breathing problems. “The pool
environment is humid, and your oxygen delivery system improves
when you’re lying down,” says Dr. Jim Miller, one of the team physicians for USA
Swimming.
On the other hand, asthma and other severe breathing difficulties seem to be
almost epidemic among competitive swimmers, with most
of the problems developing after the athletes took up swimming, according to the
latest research. In a study of 50 elite athletes
published last year in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, almost all of the
swimmers had inflamed lung tissue, with those who
spent the most time at the pool showing the most changes. In another study,
published earlier this year in the European Respiratory
Journal, almost 70 percent of a group of 32 elite swimmers suffered from a
condition known as airway hyper-responsiveness, in which
the bronchial tubes twitch or spasm excessively in response to cold air and
other stimuli. Airway hyper-responsiveness can be a
precursor to asthma. Meanwhile, by some estimates, one-third of all elite
swimmers have full-blown asthma, 80 percent of which began
after they took up swimming. “The US National Team has a bunch of asthmatics on
it,” says Miller.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/are-indoor-pools-bad-for-your-lungs/#mo\
re-9825


14. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
** Sugar During Exercise Increases Power and Endurance
A study from Copenhagen, Denmark shows that taking sugar while you exercise
increases the amount of training you can do, and does
not lessen the benefits of your increased training (Journal of Applied
Physiology, June 2009). In this study, men trained one leg
while ingesting a 6 percent sugar drink and the other leg while taking an
artificially sweetened (sugarless) drink, two hours a day,
on alternate days, five days a week. The legs trained with sugar had 14 percent
more power and a 30 percent greater time to
exhaustion.
Athletes in sports requiring endurance need to train in their sport many hours
each day. They damage their muscles by taking a hard
workout on one day, feel sore on the next, and then take less intense workouts
for as many days as it takes for the muscles to heal
and the soreness to go away. The more intense the training workout without
injury, the more intensely they can compete. The longer
they can go on their less intense recovery days, the tougher their muscles
become to withstand the tremendous forces on them during
their hard workouts and during competition.
Anything that can increase the intensity of their hard days or amount of work
they can do on their recovery days will make them
better in competition. Running out of muscle sugar makes you feel tired. So
anything that preserves stored sugar in muscles during
a workout will help you exercise longer. This study shows that taking sugar
regularly during workouts allows you to extend the
amount of training without lessening the benefits that you receive from the
extra work.
The question had been asked whether restricting sugar during training could
enhance performance by teaching the muscles to get along
with less sugar. These authors showed that the enzymes used to convert sugar
and fat to energy function just as well when sugar is
taken continuously during exercise. The muscles trained on sugar had no loss in
the amount of stored sugar or the ability to
convert food to energy.
Another study showed that taking a drink containing both protein and sugar every
three miles and at the finish of a 36-mile bicycle
time trial was far more effective than a drink containing just sugar in 1)
riding faster at the end of the time trial, 2) preventing
next-day muscle soreness and 3) lessening muscle damage, as measured by a blood
test called CPk (International Journal of Sport
Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, April 2009).
A protein-sugar drink taken immediately after intense exercise also hastens
healing of the muscles damaged by hard exercise (Journal
of Applied Physiology, April 2009).
Taking refined carbohydrates (sugar or flour) when you are not exercising can
cause a high rise in blood sugar that increases risk
for diabetes and heart attacks. Contracting
muscles remove sugar so fast from the bloodstream that blood sugar usually does
not rise too high during exercise and for up to half
an hour after you finish exercising.
** Dear Dr. Mirkin: Is it more healthful to exercise before you eat or after?
Many studies show that exercising after you eat lowers high blood sugar levels
far more effectively than exercising before you eat.
A high rise in blood sugar after meals damages cells to increase risk for heart
attacks, strokes and nerve damage such as dementia,
blindness and deafness, even in people who are not diagnosed as being diabetic.
In this study, 20 minutes of self-paced walking
lowered blood sugar levels in diabetics more when done two hours after eating
dinner than before eating. Exercising after fasting
barely lowered their high blood sugar levels at all (Journal of the American
Medical Directors Association, July 2009).
Muscle contractions drive sugar into cells without needing much insulin. These
people were out-of-shape diabetics who walked slowly
and for only 20 minutes, two hours after meals. Longer and more intense exercise
lowers insulin and sugar levels even more and would
be even more beneficial in preventing disease and prolonging life. I recommend
exercising both before AND after eating.
** Dear Dr. Mirkin: Will exercising more intensely lower my blood pressure
more than casual exercise?
No; several studies show that endurance training (swimming, cycling, running,
walking, etc) lowers systolic blood pressure
significantly, and there is no additional lowering from exercising at increased
intensity. However, the more intensely a person
exercises, the greater the lowering of resting heart rate (Journal of Human
Hypertension, July 2009). The more intense the
exercise, the greater the gain in heart strength. With a stronger heart, more
blood can be pumped out with each beat, so it doesn't
have to beat as often.
** Causes of Chronic Fatigue in Athletes
All competitive athletes go through times when they run out of energy and can't
get through their workouts. Over the centuries,
scientists have offered many different explanations and treatments, and most
were wrong. Until 20 years ago, athletes were often
told that tiredness is caused by low mineral levels. However, researchers have
repeatedly shown that healthy athletes rarely suffer
from deficiencies of potassium, magnesium, sodium, or calcium. Similarly,
viruses and other infectious agents will certainly cause
athletes to feel fatigued. However, most of the time, doctors can't find them.
The most-likely explanation for chronic fatigue in competitive athletes is
muscle damage. You train for competition by taking a very
hard workout, which literally damages your muscle fibers. You feel sore the next
day, so you allow your muscle fibers to heal by
taking easy workouts. However, many athletes are so obsessed with their
training, that they attempt another hard workout before they
have recovered from their previous one. This damage prevents muscle fibers from
adequately storing muscle sugar for fuel, so they
contract with less force and tire earlier. You will recover faster by eating a
wide variety of food so you will get all the
nutrients that you need to repair the muscle damage caused by hard training. If
you are a competitive athlete and suddenly can't get
through your workouts, the odds are overwhelming that you are training too much.
Take a rest, and if you do not recover in a few
days, ask a doctor to look for a hidden infection. More on the work-up for
chronic fatigue at:
http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/G115.htm
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


15. Digest Briefs:
** This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- Alice Timbilili (KEN) defeated Meseret Defar (ETH) at the IAAF
World Youth Championships
3000m held in Bydgoszcz POL, posting 9:01.99 to Defar's 9:02.08.
Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) was
3rd in 9:04.42. Elvan Can (Abeylegesse) (TUR) was 5th in
9:08.29. These runners are
currently ranked #24, #1, #2, and #14 in the ARRS competitive
(head-to-head) rankings.
In the boys 3000m, Pius Muli (KEN) defeated Kenenisa Bekele
(ETH), 8:08.16 to 8:08.89.
Bekele is currently #1 while Muli is unranked.
20 Years Ago- Arturo Barrios (MEX) easily won the Peugeot Games (London ENG)
5000m in 13:07.79, leaving
John Doherty (IRL), John Halvorsen (NOR), and Marcus Nenow (USA)
well back with 13:15.27,
13:20.44, and 13:20.86 respectively. Yobes Ondieki (KEN) won the
men's 3000m in 7:41.53
with Marcus O'Sullivan (IRL) 2nd in 7:42.53 and Tim Hutchings
(ENG) 3rd in 7:43.03.
30 Years Ago- Henry Rono (KEN) had a easy win in the 5000m at the Rieti Meeting
(ITA) with a 13:19.65.
Americans Craig Virgin and Alberto Salazar followed in 13:26.4
and 13:36.6 respectively.
40 Years Ago- Ron Hill (ENG) won the Maxol (ENG) Marathonj in 2:13:42, well
ahead of Derek Clayton (AUS)
who clocked in at 2:15:40. Jim Alder (SCO) was 3rd in 2:18:18
while Yoshiaki Unetani
(JPN) was 4th in 2:19:37. Other notables were William Adcocks
(ENG) in 2:20:13, Kenji
Kimihara (JPN) in 2:23:25, and Jürgen Busch (GER) in 2:23:37.
50 Years Ago- Douglas Kyle (CAN) pulled off a 5000/10000 double at the Canadian
Championships. On
Saturday, he won the 5000m in 15:12.8 and on Sunday, he won the
10,000m in 31:40.0.
Given the venue was Winnipeg in July, the weather was probably
rather warm.
60 Years Ago- Emil Zatopek (CZE) defeated Vaino Koskela (FIN) over 5000m in
Turku FIN, both given
identical times of 14:13.2.
70 Years Ago- Sevki Koru (TUR) won the Turkish Championships (TUR) Marathon in
2:47:xx (seconds not
known).
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.
** Geezer athletes
“Aging athletes don't have the agility they had in their youth. Minor injuries
accumulate and become major ones. And by the time
they hit their mid-30s and 40s, they're considered geriatric – that's the
conventional wisdom,” Madison Park writes at CNN.com. “But
recently, middle-aged athletes have defied the tolls of aging, returning to
competition and whizzing past their junior rivals.
‘Forties is the new 30s for physiological capacity,' said Scott Trappe, director
of the human performance lab at Ball State
University. ‘We're going to continue to see people do well into their 40s – no
question.' … ‘It's come down to some of the finances
involved in sports that allow athletes to train year-round and later in their
careers,' Trappe said. ‘In addition to the nutrition,
training, sleep, they have a staff hired to manage their overall health,
flexibility, well-being, nutrition that contributes to
performing better.'”
From the Globe and Mail



THIS WEEK'S FEATURED EVENTS:
*Please verify event dates with the event websites available from our FrontPage
(www.runnersweb.com)

July 24-25, 2009:
Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage - Blaine-Langley, WA

July 25, 2009:
(35th) Quad-City Times Bix 7 - Davenport, IA
USA 7 Mile Championship

White River 50 Mile Trail Run - Enumclaw, WA
USA 50 Mile Trail Championships

July 26, 2009:
Ford Ironman - Lake Placid, NY

August 15-23, 2009:
World Athletics Championships - Berlin, Germany

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

Ken Parker
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The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
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