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

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

4. 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/

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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/

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

9. 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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NEW THIS WEEK:
Shop Nike:
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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

* 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

* 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. One Injured Hamstring, a String of Treatments
2. Multisport: Worst Race Best Learning Experience in 30 Years
3. See Jane Run, Bike and Swim
4, Hi-Tech Cycling
Engineers Create A Strong But Lightweight Isotruss Bike Using Carbon Fibers.
5. Running to beat the band - on my wrist
6. Why I Don't Like Energy Drinks
7. Young Women Consistently Exercise Less Than Young Men, Study Finds
8. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
9. Nothing's Easy
10. Can You Take the Heat?
11. How music and video can improve performance
12. This Week in Running
13. Broken hearts mend with 'patch'
14. Running Times' Fall 2009 Training Shoe Review
Find the shoe that fits you.
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Usain Bolt has said that he would like to try the long jump. If he does, how
will he do?"

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 have doubts about the legitimacy of Usain Bolt's performances at the
World Athletics Championships in Berlin?"
Answers Percent Votes
1 Yes 67%
2 No 33%
3 No opinion 0%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: Tirunesh Dibaba
"Hi there! My name is Tirunesh Dibaba and welcome to my official website.
For those of you who don't know me, I am the double Olympic 5000m and 10000m
champion; four-time world champion over the 5000m and
10000m; and a world record holder over the indoor and outdoor 5000m. In 2003, I
was the youngest ever individual gold medalist at a
world championship and also a three-time world cross country champion.
I hope this website gives you, my loyal fan, the chance to know more about me
and my career. For the next two weeks, we will also
have a special section featuring news and information about my wedding to
Sileshi Sihine. Feel free to browse across all sections
and don't forget to post a comment on my guestbook."
Visit the site at:
http://tiruneshdibaba.net/


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Second Wind
The Rise of the Ageless Athlete
Second Wind: The Rise of the Ageless Athlete is an inspiring account of a
growing subculture of Americans who are challenging the
notion of what it means to grow old. These baby boomers can hardly be considered
old, yet this huge group is rewriting the rules of
aging. These stories of trials and perseverance will motivate you to achieve
your best.
For more information or to buy the book visit:
http://www.humankinetics.com/products/showproduct.cfm?associate=880&isbn=9780736\
074919
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. One Injured Hamstring, a String of Treatments :
LAST April, at a meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine,
three experts in tendon injuries sat on a stage and
talked about their preferred treatments.
One said that the best treatment was to inject small amounts of a patient's own
blood into the injured tendon.
Another said that the best method was to concentrate the platelets of the
patient's blood and then inject the concentration, a
substance known as platelet rich plasma.
The third advocated a form of muscle movement called eccentric contractions;
that is, contracting a muscle while an external force
is trying to lengthen it. For example, an eccentric contraction exercise for the
bicep is to bend your elbow and bring a weight to
your shoulder, then lower the weight in a biceps curl.
The three doctors had to agree to disagree. No one had the evidence to clinch
the argument.
Still, the debate offered a revealing glimpse of an area of orthopedics that
affects most athletes sooner or later. If it's not a
rotator-cuff injury in a swimmer, it's an Achilles tendon injury in a basketball
player, or, depending on the sport, a tennis elbow
or - as happened to me - a hamstring injury.
As I tried to figure out why I might have gotten this injury and what might help
it heal, I discovered that misinformation abounds.
But there is hope. Somehow, I am much better. Not only does my hamstring hurt
less, enabling me to run up to six miles with almost
no pain every other day, but ultrasounds showed that my tendon was healing.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/health/nutrition/20best.html?ref=nutrition


2. Multisport: Worst Race Best Learning Experience in 30 Years:
By Elizabeth Primrose
Elizabeth is the managing director of Brockville Sports (BrockvilleSports.com)
and an injury management and cross training
consultant (elizabethprimrose.com) She was the first Canadian Professional
Triathlon Champion in 1988, represented Canada in the
Open Women's Division at the 1999 Avon Global 10k Road Running Championships in
New York City, and completed her first marathon in
25 years in 2007 to win the Niagara Falls International Marathon in 2 hrs 55
min. Elizabeth is planning to compete in her first
Ironman triathlon in 2011 to celebrate her 50th birthday.
Since I started competing in road races when I was 18, I have not had a more
painful learning experience than the one that I had on
August 23, 2009. I had incredible difficulty finishing the extremely well
organized Cornwall Olympic Distance Triathlon as a result
of not fully recovering from being dehydrated from a triathlon a week earlier.
On August 16, I competed in the 1000 Islands Olympic Distance Triathlon in
Brockville. The temperature was getting close to 30
degrees Celsius by the time the run started. I made sure I was fully hydrated
before the race. I had lots to drink while I was on
the bike but was not prepared for having just one water station on the 5k run
loop. With other runners around me reaching for a cup
of water from the 2 volunteers at the water station, I decided to try and get
through the 10k leg of the race by taking water only
once. I got through the race with a strong finish in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 54
seconds (2:12:54), 1 minute and 18 seconds behind
the 1st place overall finisher, David Markin of Ottawa.
It now appears that I paid the price in Cornwall for what happened in Brockville
a week earlier. Even after doing everything that I
could do to rehydrate my body after the 1000 Islands Triathlon, I could hardly
finish the Cornwall Triathlon. My performance was
well off my effort from a week earlier. David Markin finished a strong 6th place
overall in Cornwall with a time of 2:10:14 while I
struggled to finish in 2:17:53. David took 1 minute and 20 seconds off his
Brockville time while I added 5 minutes to my time. I
have never experienced anything like it. I felt uncoordinated during the swim,
was struggling to find my rhythm on the bike, and I
had to walk a few times during the run because I was breathing very rapidly and
feeling extremely lightheaded.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2009/rw_news_20090824_BP_Dehydration.html


3. See Jane Run, Bike and Swim:
Triathlons for children have become tremendously popular, drawing participants
as young as 3 (who probably did not come up with the
idea themselves).
EVEN though her son and daughter were on year-round swim teams, Alison van
Diggelen of San Jose, Calif., had reservations about
letting them sign up for a children's triathlon. Would they have the stamina?
Would the other children and parents be too
competitive?
Then she attended the Silicon Valley Kids Triathlon, one of the largest events
of its kind, in which 850 children - ages 3 through
15 - swim, bike and run. For 11- and 12-year-olds like the van Diggelen
children, the race involved swimming 200 yards (four laps in
the pool), biking 6 miles, then running 1.25 miles (five laps around the track).
Ms. van Diggelen concluded that the distances "seemed very reasonable" and that
"the triathlon was about family support rather than
winning or getting a medal." Her children tried it in 2008, enjoyed it and
wanted to sign up again - but could not. Before they
could register, the 2009 race had sold out (despite the cap being raised to
1,000 children).
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/health/nutrition/27fitness.html?ref=health


4. Hi-Tech Cycling:
Engineers Create A Strong But Lightweight Isotruss Bike Using Carbon Fibers.
Engineers used elements of architecture and geometry to create a strong but
lightweight triangle-based isotruss bicycle frame. To
make a road bike or mountain bike, the isotruss is first wound with carbon fiber
using a sheet that holds the tension constant. The
engineers then hand-wind Kevlar strands over the isotruss. The process creates a
bike with a large strength-to-weight ratio.
Almost every kid has at one time or another asked for one for Christmas. Now,
engineers have developed what may be the most
technologically advanced bike to hit the road yet. It took ten years to develop
a new incredibly light and strong model that will
take cyclists into the future.
Karl Vizmeg has ridden his Delta 7 Arantix bike 1,700 miles. He has raced dozens
of bikes, but says a new see-through model is the
strongest and lightest.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/1201-hitech_cycling.htm


5. Running to beat the band - on my wrist:
The Nike Sportband not only offers a pared-down, inexpensive alternative to
tech-heavy gear, but it also makes running more fun.
For me, running outside has never been a numbers game. Treadmills present the
opportunity to focus on speed, distance and time, but
when I hit the streets or trails I simply want to enjoy the experience without
obsessing about my performance.
I think I'm in the minority here, as even my rookie runner friends use wearable
devices to track their workouts. And these gadgets
are getting increasingly high-tech, from GPS systems to wireless heart-rate
monitors.
If I were training for a marathon, these features would be important to me. But
I'm happy when I complete a 5K run, and positively
elated when I do double that.
Still, I've always been curious to know whether my pace is the same outdoors as
inside, and the new Sportband from Nike ($79.95 at
Canadian Nike outlets, $59 U.S. online) seemed like a good opportunity to find
out.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/running-to-beat-the-band---on-my-wrist/artic\
le1266270/


6. Why I Don't Like Energy Drinks
I'm not a big fan of energy drinks. Heck, even just running under the Red Bull
arch as I come out of the water at a triathlon annoys
me just a bit. As a nutrition consultant, for the sake of my clients I have
sometimes wished in the past that energy drinks did not
exist. And here are the reasons why:
1) Danger of Caffeine Overdose and Addiction: The average energy drink contains
nearly 4 times the amount of caffeine found in
commercial soda beverages and several of the more popular brands contain the
caffeine equivalent of 14 Cokes. A 6-ounce cup of
coffee has 80-150 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, but the caffeine content of
energy drinks ranges from 50-500+ mg, with one popular
energy drink "shot" topping out at 570mg, which gives you the equivalent of
about three and a half cups of coffee with a single sip!
Why should this concern you? Because caffeine forces your adrenal glands to
secrete enormous amounts of adrenaline and "energy"
hormones, even when those glands are depleted. The result is a growing tolerance
to the effects of caffeine, and eventual burn-out
and severe adrenal depletion. This is accompanied by a feeling of increasing
tiredness and a need for higher and higher amounts of
caffeine to achieve an energy boost. Attempts at quitting the addiction can
result in withdrawal symptoms such as severe headaches
and complete loss of mental focus and function.
More...from TriFuel.com at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/health-nutrition/why-i-dont-like-energy-drinks


7. Young Women Consistently Exercise Less Than Young Men, Study Finds:
Despite mounting public health concerns about obesity and persistent social
pressures dictating that slim is beautiful, young women
in their '20s consistently exercise less than young men.
And young black women showed significant declines in exercise between 1984 and
2006, according to a University of Michigan study to
be published in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The study is one of the first to analyze long-term patterns in weight-related
activities, and to assess how these patterns vary by
gender, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
The disparities in health behaviors the study reveals are consistent with
disparities in the prevalence of obesity, particular among
women, according to Philippa Clarke, lead author of the study and a researcher
at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR).
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090821135022.htm


8. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: What can older competitive runners do to keep from running
slower in races as they age?
Train more intensely, but hard exercise can kill a person with blocked arteries,
so check with your doctor first. According to a
study published in the American Journal of Physiology, running in later life
improves running capacity and speed, survival, and body
fat content, but it does not prevent loss of muscle size, ability to use oxygen,
or mitochondrial enzyme activities in muscles that
convert food to energy during exercise (AJP-Regulatory, Integrative and
Comparative Physiology, July 2009).
You become weaker with aging because you lose nerve fibers which take muscle
fibers away. Muscles are made of millions of muscle
fibers. Every muscle fiber is enervated by a single nerve. With aging, you lose
nerves. With the loss of each nerve, you also lose
the corresponding muscle fiber. Usually you can recover from workouts almost as
well as when you were younger. You lose endurance
far more slowly than you lose strength.
Therefore training for older athletes should aimed at retaining strength, and
the best way for runners to do this is to run very
fast. First do background training by running at least
30 minutes every day for many months. Then you may be ready to start training.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, try to run
faster. On the other four days, run very slowly. If you are excessively sore,
take the day off. On your fast days, you can run
timed interval bursts, followed by jogging until you recover your breath; fast
continuous 2 to 10 mile runs, or a series of short
controlled fast runs depending on how you feel, each followed by slow jogging
until you recover your breath, and then go into your
next fast run.
* How To Run Faster
If you don't run very fast in practice, you won't be able to run very fast in
races.
At the University of Copenhagen, Danish scientists studied experienced runners
who had been running 60 miles a week at a fast pace.
One group was told to cut their mileage in half to only 30 miles a week, but to
run a series of around 50 to 100 yard dashes as fast
as they could. The other group continued running 60 miles a week at a fast pace.
Runners who ran fewer miles at a faster pace had a
7 percent improvement in their body's maximal ability to take in and use oxygen.
Runners who did not increase their speed in practice did not improve, even
though they ran twice as many miles. Jogging slowly
reduces your chance of injury, but it won't help you to run fast. You can race
only as fast as you run in practice, but don't try to
run fast every day. Intense exercise damages muscles. Try to run fast once or
twice a week, never on consecutive days and don't run
fast when your legs feel heavy or hurt.
When I trained seriously for marathon running, I thought that the runner who ran
the most miles would be the best. I didn't become a
great runner, but I did become an expert on injuries. My patients seldom come to
me with a running injury that I haven't had.
Many top runners run more than 100 miles a week because their bodies have the
genetic ability to withstand such abuse, but the vast
majority of runners will never be able to run 100 miles a week without being
injured frequently. Furthermore, running a lot of miles
slowly will slow you in races. The ability to run fast in races depends more on
how fast you run in practice than on how many miles
you run each week. However, every time you run fast, your muscles are damaged
and feel sore on the next day, and it takes at least
48 hours for your muscles to heal enough to allow you to run comfortably again
at a very-fast pace. After every workout in which you
run very fast, take the next day off or run at a much slower pace. Most top
athletes plan their workouts so they run very fast only
two days a week. The same principles apply to any endurance sport.
Twelfth European Track Coaches Congress Acoteias, Portugal pp10-16. RRN January,
1991
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


9. Nothing's EasyShare:
Last Saturday, it was 19 miles followed by 9 on Sunday. This coming weekend, if
all goes well, it will be another 20 on Saturday,
followed by10 more on Sunday. Yesterday was an effortless 4, and early this
morning, it was 5 more miles that felt smooth and
natural, but I would hardly call it an EASY 5. Even though it was almost
automatic, it did not just happen. It was not "easy." In
fact, nothing's easy. Not the first mile. Not the last mile. Nothing in between.
For almost 28 years, I've been running. Sometimes, it has been very consistent,
and cyclically, it has been sporadic, or even
nonexistent. At times, life got too busy. At times, life got too hard. At times,
the body rebelled. But since April 16th, 1982, when
I went out the front door and ran an excruciating single mile, in one way or
another, I have been a runner.
The first mile, way back when, was very difficult. One mile. It was all I could
do. That distance, back then, involved total effort.
I remember coming back in the house, and laying on the floor, almost unable to
move. My body felt like one big heart, pounding away,
almost uncontrollably. Whatever my maximum heart rate was, I know that I was
there that day. And that was after one "all out"
9-minute mile
The next day, I didn't run. I hurt too much. My legs hurt. My back hurt. I
didn't think what I had done the day before was good for
me. I didn't think running was good for me. Sometimes you have to avoid the hurt
to take care of yourself. Nothing wrong with that.
So I didn't run that second day.
More...from Michael Selman at:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=138189569208


10. Can You Take the Heat?
By Mackenzie Madison
It's that time of year when the summer heat can really push you over the edge
when it comes to training and just as important -
racing. You don't need a thermometer or to check the weather to know that it's
hot and humid. It'd be quicker to step outside and
notice the immediate beads of sweat start to roll down your face along with your
sunglasses fogging up. Some of you dread the heat,
some of you don't mind. But here's why you should mind; recently, in a group of
elite cyclists completing just a 30 minute time
trial in moderate heat of 90?F, their overall power output was lower by 6.5%
than when performing a time trial in a thermoneutral
environment of 73?F. (Tatterson) So yes, even in elite cyclists and moderate
heat exposure, your performance decreases. So what can
you do to minimize these performance decrements? Get used to it- literately and
get heat acclimated. Besides improving your ability
to perform at a high level in the heat, heat acclimation also starves off
serious health risks when you are exposed to the heat. Not
being heat acclimated exposes you to several risks including muscle cramps,
feeling faint, inability to coordinate muscular
movements, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, hyperthermia, shortness of
breath and overall general fatigue.
How the Heat can affect Your Performance: Did You Know?
Heat Acclimatization reduces overall lactate accumulation in both warm and cool
environments- meaning that in general, you've
improved your lactate threshold by purely heat acclimating. (Young) Studies are
still needed to further prove that heat acclimation
is beneficial in the cool environment and lowers lactate thresholds in the
cooler environment as well- but current research is
telling us else wise.
It's not uncommon that in athletes have lower than normal blood mineral
concentrations, meaning that yes, you do need that extra
helping of table salt. and calcium. and copper, iron, magnesium and zinc. In
fact, mineral losses in sweat can be up to 40% of your
Daily Required Intake for Calcium, 200% of Copper, 80% of your Iron, 10% of
Magnesium, and 50% Zinc. Once your complete heat
acclimation status is achieved, it will conserve whole body sweat loses of these
mineral concentrations. (Chinevere)
Those who are fitter and have a higher VO2max are able to tolerate the heat more
easily than those who are not aerobically trained.
(Sawka) Individuals with higher VO2max tend to gain the benefits from heat
acclimation quicker than those with lower aerobic fitness
levels. As far as heat tolerance and heat acclimation, younger or older
individuals do not have any reduced ability to heat
acclimate as long as the individual is in shape. However, just because you are
training, it doesn't mean that you are already heat
acclimated. Further improvements can be continually seen with proper heat
acclimation. It's also important to keep in mind that some
heat acclimate quicker than others depending on how you deal with heat stress.
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/7211


11. How music and video can improve performance:
The power of MP3 technology: why it works with young athletes.
Young people are typically confident in the use of the latest technologies and
since many aspiring athletes are from this age range,
sport psychologists and coaches should consider using this technology in their
work. Andy Lane and Tracy Devonport explain.
The use of strategies such as goal-setting, imagery, self-talk and emotional
control when working with athletes are highlighted in
many textbooks on applied sport (1). This might lead aspiring coaches or
practitioners to assume that integrating these strategies
into the practice of an athlete's preparation will automatically improve
performance. However, it's not as straightforward as that;
there are many factors that influence the effectiveness of these strategies.
A key factor is the way in which strategies are explained to athletes, and the
extent to which athletes begin using them as part of
their preparation. A barrier faced by many sport psychologists is gaining
credibility with the athletes and coaches they desire to
work with (2) and some researchers have proposed that a significant contributor
to the success of applied sport psychology is the
development and maintenance of positive relationships with clients (3).
As most athletes are young individuals, the interests and activities of this age
group are an important consideration. A feature of
the last 20 years has been the rapid expansion of information technology. Young
people are eager consumers of this technology and
readily accept alternative means of communicating, including e-mail, text, and
audio files, and web conferencing.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/sports-equipment-how-music-and-video-can-improve\
-performance-41239





12. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago- Joseph Kibor (KEN) won the Great Scottish Run (SCO) Half Marathon
in 1:02:36 with
South Africans Josiah Thugwane and John Morapedi following in
1:02:47 and 1:03:26
respectively. Glynn Tromans (ENG) in 5th took the British title
with a 1:03:31.
Joyce Chepchumba (KEN) won the women's race in 1:09:21, way ahead
of Lornah Kiplagat
(KEN) who clocked in at 1:10:11. Lyubov Morgunova (RUS) was 3rd
in 1:11:29.
20 Years Ago- Said Aouita (MAR) won the 3000m at the Weltklasse (Cologne GER)
by more than ten
seconds with a 7:29.45, fastest time for the year by five
seconds. Dieter Baumann
(GER) was 2nd in 7:40.37 while Sydney Maree (USA) was 3rd in
7:40.67. Other notables
included Yobes Ondieki (KEN) in 5th with 7:42.55, Marc Nenow
(USA) in 7th with 7:43.01,
and Khalid Skah (MAR in 8th with 7:43.7.
30 Years Ago- Craig Virgin (USA) won the Falmouth Road Race (MA/USA) 7M in
32:19.7. Herb Lindsay
(USA) was 2nd in 32:28 and Bill Rodgers (USA) was 3rd in 32:30.
Olympic marathon gold
medalist from 1972, Frank Shorter (USA) was 5th in 32:43.
Ellison Goodall (USA) won
the women's race in 38:16, well ahead of Cathie Twomey (USA) at
38:50 and Margaret
Groos (USA) at 39:12.
40 Years Ago- Garry Bjorklund (USA) won the USA 15K road championships (MN/USA)
in 49:54.0,
just 0.2 seconds ahead of Ron Daws (USA) at 49:54.2. Jeff Reneau
(USA) was 3rd in 50:03.
50 Years Ago- William Baillie (NZL) defeated Jeff Julian at a marathon in
Auckland NZL, 2:20:13
to 2:20:37.
From The Analytical Distance Runner, the newsletter for the Association of Road
Racing Statisticians with a focus on races, 3000m
and longer, including road, track, and cross-country events. The ARRS has a
website at http://www.arrs.net.


13. Broken hearts mend with 'patch':
A team of Israeli scientists has developed a potential way to fix the damage
from heart attacks.
A "patch" has been made from heart muscle that can be used to fix scarring left
over from a heart attack.
Writing in the journal PNAS, the scientists describe how the technique
strengthened the hearts of rats that had suffered heart
attacks.
The "patch" was grown in abdominal tissue first, then transplanted to damaged
areas of the heart.
This experiment is the first to show that such patches can actually improve the
health of a heart after it has been damaged.
The scientists measured an increase in the size of the muscle in damaged areas,
and improved conduction of the electrical impulses
needed for the heart to pump normally.
More...from the BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8218077.stm


14. Running Times' Fall 2009 Training Shoe Review;
Find the shoe that fits you.
The shoes you train in from day to day can play a big part in helping you become
a faster runner. Training in shoes with a thick,
multi-density foam midsole and large heel crash pad will feel cushy when you're
on the road and can help offset various degrees of
pronation, even though they're typically heavier than performance-based shoes.
At the other end of the spectrum, ultra-lightweight
flats with a minimal midsole encourage a more nimble, less impactful gait that
inspires speed and dynamically strengthens the micro
muscles in your feet and lower legs necessary for optimal running performance.
But running in either type of shoe all the time might leave you vulnerable to
everything from excessive heel striking and running
too slowly to muscle soreness and overuse injuries. The happy medium is to find
a lightweight trainer with a feel-for-the-road
agility, a smooth heel-to-toe transition and materials and designs that help
absorb impact loads and reduce overpronation based on
your needs.
The key to finding what you need is to think about where your running style,
type of gait and body makeup fall on a hypothetical
protection/speed continuum when you visit a specialty retail running shop.
Ultimately, an everyday trainer should meet but not
exceed your personal protection level, but it should also not fall below your
minimum protection level. But it also shouldn't
inhibit your ability to run at tempo pace or put you into an inefficient style
of running, either. The bottom line is that fit is
still the most important aspect of shoe buying, but buying shoes that help you
run faster should be a very close second.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17368


15. Digest Briefs
** Gamma Linolenic Acid - A Little Goes a Long Way .By Mary Dinehart-Perry MS,
RD, LDN and Barry Sears, PhD
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are increasing popular in
triathletes as a way to reduce pain and inflammation and
improve recovery. Despite the widespread use of NSAIDs, most athletes are
unaware of the risks associated with their use and many
will take them without a prescription from their physician (1).
A recent study found that in triathletes competing in the 2008 Brazil Ironman
Triathlon, 60% of those questioned reported using
NSAIDs in the past 3 months and of this group 26%, 18% and 47% had consumed
NSAIDs the day before, immediately before, and during
the race due to injuries or for pain prevention (1).
Use of NSAIDs has been shown to exacerbate asthma, gastroinstestinal and renal
side-effects, and hypertension (2), and is
controversial with regards to whether it may be detrimental to tissue-level
repair (3). This warrants the need for natural ways to
control inflammation without the undesirable side effects.
What if there was a supplement that could function as a powerful
anti-inflammatory agent, and simultaneously increase peak
performance? Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) may be just that. However, GLA has a
Jekyl-Hyde personality. In very low concentrations, it
is a powerful anti-inflammatory.
In higher concentrations, it can significantly degrade athletic performance. In
low concentrations, GLA can enhance the production
of eicosanoids that reduce inflammation, increase oxygen transfer, and promotes
the release of growth hormone from the pituitary
gland. At higher concentrations, GLA can increase the production of arachidonic
acid that decreases oxygen transfer, increases
inflammation, and depresses your emotional state. That is why in athletes we
work with, GLA does not exceed 20 mg/day and is under
strict dietary conditions which includes tight insulin control and at least
50-100 times more of the omega-3 fatty acid
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). It is only by controlling both insulin and
providing adequate amounts of EPA that you can prevent GLA
from being transformed into arachidonic acid. In other words, if you consider
taking GLA as a supplement, then treat it with great
care.
1) Gorski T, Cadore EL, Pinto SS, da Silva EM, Correa CS, Beltrami FG, Kruel LF.
Use of Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) in triathletes: prevalence, level of awareness, and reasons for use.
Br J Sports Med. 2009 Aug 6. [Epub ahead of print]
2) Paoloni J, Milne C, Orchard J, Hamilton B. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs) in sports medicine. Guidelines for
practical but sensible use. Br J Sports Med. 2009 Jun 21. [Epub ahead of print]
3) Alaranta A, Alaranta H, Helenius I. Use of prescription drugs in athletes.
Sports Med. 2008;38(6):449-63. Review.
Mary Dinehart-Perry MS, RD, LDN is the Clinical Trials Coordinator for USA
Triathlon Gold Partner Zone Labs Inc.
** Getting Rid of Side Stitches
By Tara Parker-Pope
Stop stitches from ruining your run.This week the Runner's World Beginners Only
column focuses on the side stitch - that painful
twinge that often vexes new runners.
In an earlier Runner's World article, "Running Doc" Dr. Lewis G. Maharam,
medical director of the New York Road Runners, explains
that although the phenomenon is not completely understood, a side stitch is most
likely a cramp in the diaphragm, the large muscle
that separates the lungs from the abdomen:
Here's how a "side stitch" most likely happens: Pumping your legs increases the
pressure on your abdominal muscles, which press up
against the diaphragm. At the same time, rapid breathing expands your lungs,
which presses down on the diaphragm. The dual pinching
from above and below shuts off the flow of blood and oxygen to the diaphragm.
Then the diaphragm muscle cramps.
It's also been postulated that food itself may add to the diaphragm's distress.
We know that a meal of less digestible, fatty food
before exercising makes the stomach heavier and increases the tugging on this
diaphragm muscle.
So how does a runner get rid of a side stitch? Susan Paul, training program
director for the Track Shack Foundation in Orlando,
Fla., advises runners to stop and take deep breaths while pressing upward in the
spot where it hurts. Stretching exercises may also
help.
The better strategy, she says, is to prevent stitches from developing in the
first place. Avoid eating meals one to two hours before
running, drink more water throughout the day and consider simple exercises to
strengthen the diaphragm.
To read her advice in detail, go to the full article, "How Do I Get Rid of Side
Stitches," at Runner's World.
(http://beginners.runnersworld.com/2009/08/how-do-i-get-rid-of-side-stitches.htm\
l)
Dr. Maharam also offers a word of caution.
A side stitch can sometimes be felt all the way up to the shoulder. But this
kind of pain may signal a heart attack, especially if
it is on the left side and persists after you've spent a few minutes stretching.
And if you get a side stitch each time you
exercise, you could also have a problem with blood flow to the intestine. So if
you experience these symptoms, see a doctor!


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

August 28, 2009:
Zurich Golden League - Switzerland
Universal Sports.com
LIve Internet Broadcast @ 1:50 p.m. EDT.
Delayed Television Coverage on Universal Sports @ 8 EDT.

August 29, 2009:
Alta Peruvian Lodge Downhill Dash 8K - Alta, UT

(5th) Challenge Arthritis 5K - St. Paul, MN

FootRx Continental Divide Trail 10K Run - Laurel Springs, NC
USA 10K Trail Championships

Minnesota Zoo Tiger Tracks Run 5K - Apple Valley, MN

August 30, 2009:
Ford Ironman Louisville - KY

Quebec City Marathon - Quebec, QC

Subaru Ironman Canada - Penticton, BC

June 19, 2010
Emilie's Run
The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women
http://www.emiliesrun.com

For more complete race listings check out our Upcoming Races, and Calendars.
Check the Runner's Web on Sunday and Monday for race reports on these events at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/

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Have a good week of training and/or racing.

Ken

Ken Parker
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
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