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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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.
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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
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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

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Race Directors: Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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NEW THIS WEEK:
Get 20% Off PLUS Free Shipping with Purchases of $50 or more at ChampionUSA.com!
This offer is valid through July 4th!
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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
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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
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video content that is unique, high-quality, and
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For more information and to visit other existing channels in the Simply Media
network, please visit:
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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey. Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport
athletes and a member of the OAC Racing Team and X-C
Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public Health and works in the field of nutritional
epidemiology as a Research Associate with the
University of California, San Diego. Her column index is available at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/SK_index.html

* 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
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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:
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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:
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Visit the PPO site at: Peak Performance Online:
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* Peak Running Performance Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running
Newsletter. Rated as the #1 Running Publication by
Road Runner Sports (Worlds Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the
serious / dedicated runner. Delivering world class
running advice are some of running's most recognizable athletes including Dr.
Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach), Scott Tinley (2 Time
Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3 Time Olympian) and many more. This bi-monthly
newsletter has been around for over 13 years, and in the
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. Toolbox: Metabolic Fatigue
2. Nighttime Muscle Cramps and Restless Leg Syndrome in Athletes
3. Pistorius research implications
Mix and match until you find similarities: Oscar Pistorius research evaluated.
4. Travel Tip - Flying With Your Bike .By Blue Competition Cycles
5. Dave Scott-Thomas Interview
6. A 3,000-Mile Triumph, Spurred on by Diabetes
7. What Is Fatigue?
8. VO2Max Newsletter -  The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com
9. How Do Stress Fractures Develop?
When athletes put great stress on their bodies, the damage to bones may be too
much for the body to repair, potentially ending a
player's season or even career.
10. Eating to Fuel Exercise
11. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
12. Hamstring Stretches to help the Lower Back
13. This Week in Running
14. 10 Tips For Your Recovery Day
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Are you following the Tour de France?"

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

LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS:
How will Lance Armstrong do in this summer's Tour de France?
Answers Percent  Votes
1  First 18%
2  Top Three 0%
3  Top Ten 36%
4  Top Twenty-Five 9%
5  In the Peleton 36%


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. Toolbox: Metabolic Fatigue:
Every cyclist loves to eat, and half of the fun of cycling is in having a
built-in excuse to eat in large quantities. What we put
into our bodies before and during our rides, however, can have a direct impact
on our performance and exercise capacity. The topic
of sports nutrition is immense, but we'll start with a primer on fuel
utilization during exercise and the importance of
carbohydrates.
Metabolism Basics
One of the things I really focus on with my exercise physiology class is the
incredible efficiency of the body, with efficiency
defined very broadly. With respect to the metabolic and fuel delivery system,
the human is an omnivore that can eat and digest
almost anything and convert it into fuel for exercise. Compare that to the koala
bear and its reliance on eucalyptus leaves, or my
older son's reliance on meat and aversion to any vegetables or fruits!
But just because we can process a wide range of foodstuffs doesn't give us an
excuse to rely on Pop Tarts and Twinkies for our diet.
It remains important to eat a wide range of quality, nutrient-dense foods that
provide vitamins and minerals in addition to
calories. But we will leave that for another day.
Carping about Carbs
The mass public has been accused of having the attention span of a flea and the
instant gratification needs of an infant. One only
needs to scan through the pages of any lifestyle magazine to see the wide range
of products promising instant weight loss or instant
fitness, most without the need to do more than popping a pill or a six-minute
exercise program.
The cycling world is no different, unfortunately. The fundamental basics of
building fitness (building base, progressive increase in
workload/intensity, balancing training stress and recovery) have been laid out
and known for quite some time now, yet we remain
bombarded with "Climb like a helium balloon in two weeks" training programs or
ads to pimp our ride down to the 6.8 kg limit rather
than reducing the spare tire around our middle.
More...from Pez Cycling at:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4904


2. Nighttime Muscle Cramps and Restless Leg Syndrome in Athletes:
One 55 year old competitive male master's athlete in our practice presented for
years complaining of nighttime muscle cramps, with a
standard work-up being unrevealing. We tried stretching, hydrating, adding
electrolytes, and changing training schedules, but
nothing helped. Last year he was asked to describe his symptoms in more detail.
He said his legs felt very uncomfortable, at times
painful, at times like an electric current ran through his legs whenever he was
resting. This would occur at work or in bed. He
would have to get up and move around or stretch to relieve the pain. Frequently,
in the middle of the night, he would experience
these leg sensations and need to get out of bed and stretch or do some simple
exercises to relieve the pain.
Muscle cramps - part of every athlete's life - are involuntary, painful muscle
contractions that are only relieved with stretching.
The likelihood of developing muscle cramps varies from individual to individual.
Some risk factors for muscle cramps include
exercise beyond what is accustomed (either higher intensity or longer duration),
old age, high body weight, family history of muscle
cramps, and inadequate stretching (Schwellnus, 2003). Dehydration and
electrolyte deficiencies such as calcium, potassium, sodium,
magnesium and zinc have not been consistently shown to increase risk for
cramping.
The causes of muscle cramps
The ultimate cause of muscle cramps is unknown, but a current accepted theory is
muscle fatigue. Muscles have nerves that can either
stimulate or inhibit muscle contractions. The signals that inhibit muscle
contractions are just as important to performance and
injury prevention as the signals that activate them. When muscles fatigue, the
inhibitory signals protect the muscles from muscle
strain injuries by blocking ongoing contractions.
More...from TriTraining.ca at:
http://www.tritraining.ca/injuryarticle4.html



3. Pistorius research implications: Mix and match until you find similarities:
Oscar Pistorius research evaluated.
It's taken me a couple days longer than I would have thought to get around to
this post, analysing the recently published research
that was responsible for the CAS' decision to clear Oscar Pistorius to compete
against able-bodied athletes.
There are a couple of reasons for this - one is the ubiquitous work excuse. But
it's also proven very difficult to sift through the
paper and find anything to say that hasn't already been said dozens of times
before. I almost decided to simply post up links to all
the articles I've written on the subject in the last 18 months, because this
latest "revelatory" paper does little to dispel any of
those arguments, and does not, in my opinion, introduce many new points to the
debate. What it does do is so fraught with method
questions that I am not sure what I believe, and the difficult part was sifting
through the paper to understand how comparisons
between Pistorius and the able-bodied runners had been made.
I also struggled whether to do this as one post or to break it up into a few.
Eventually, I decided on one, mostly because later
this week, I have another post planned and didn't want to interrupt this one.
The result, unfortunately, is a long post (sorry). But
if it helps, it's divided into three sections, so you can select to read it in
parts if you wish:
1. Broad thoughts on the methods - key implications, problems and questions
2. The results - what was found and what it means
3. A wrap-up - the "collective" evidence
More...from the Science of Sport at:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/06/pistorius-research-implications.html


4. Travel Tip - Flying With Your Bike .By Blue Competition Cycles:
Flying to a race with a bike has never been an easy prospect, but recently
things seemed to have become tougher and more expensive
than ever. Airlines have declared war on anyone traveling with their bike by
charging excess weight and baggage fees that can
sometimes exceed the price of your ticket.
Experienced racers have learned that flying with your bike packed in a
soft-sided bag is your best shot at avoiding some of these
outrageous fees. Soft cases are smaller and much lighter than the traditional
hard shell case, giving you a better shot at getting
checked-in without having to fork over large sums of cash.
Regardless of which case you decide to use going to your next event, you should
always follow the manufacturer's instructions on
packing your bike to help insure it arrives unscathed. Additionally, here are
some tips from the pros on how to get your bike to the
races as safely and cheaply as possible:
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6729


5. Dave Scott-Thomas Interview:
Dave Scott-Thomas is the head coach of cross-country and track and field at the
University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He is also
the coach of the National Endurance Centre at Guelph, working with one of the
strongest groups of National Team athletes in Canada.
Indeed, two of his athletes ran in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Taylor Milne and
Eric Gillis, with a third, Reid Coolsaet just missing
out due to injury. Dave is the winner of numerous Provincial and National
coaching awards in Canada following the incredible success
he has had with both his collegiate and post-collegiate runners. In the past
eight years, he has established the varsity program at
Guelph as the premier distance program for men and women in Canada. Dave has
also been a team coach for Canada at a number of global
events including the World Student Games, the World Cross-Country Championships
and the World Track and Field Championships.
In this fascinating interview, Dave outlines the vision he brought to Guelph ten
years ago to begin a University and Club program
that could work in partnership to develop international class athletes. Many
people thought Dave was dreaming, but his results now
prove otherwise. So, how did he do it? Besides a dedication to the "science" of
coaching and the development of a sound training
philosophy, Dave was able to establish a strong culture of success, trust and
communication through his well-thought out vision of
leadership. As a result, he was able to foster a number of positive and
productive relationships, not just with his athletes, but
with administrators, sponsors and members of the Guelph community. For coaches
looking for advice and inspiration on how to build a
program and lead effectively, this interview offers example after example of how
to do just that.
Click here to access this interview via our Media On Demand system:
https://apps.rampinteractive.com/athleticscoaching/


6. A 3,000-Mile Triumph, Spurred on by Diabetes:
Last week, a team of eight cyclists completed the coast-to-coast bike marathon
called the Race Across America in record time. It was
quite an achievement under any circumstances, but what made it extraordinary was
something all eight of them had in common: Type 1
diabetes.
Type 1, sometimes called juvenile diabetes, poses special challenges for
athletes. A person with Type 1 can't produce insulin and
must take regular injections to control blood sugar. But exercise can also lead
to precipitous, even deadly, drops in blood sugar.
(Type 2 diabetes, by far the more common form of the disease, typically develops
later in life, often linked to poor eating habits
and weight gain; exercise is often prescribed as a way to keep blood sugar low.)
The accomplishments of the cyclists, who have a corporate sponsor and ride as
Team Type 1, have become a source of inspiration for
the estimated three million Americans with Type 1 diabetes, and especially for
worried parents confronting a diagnosis of the
disease in their children.
But the victory also offers lessons for the rest of us, underlining the benefits
of daily vigilance when it comes to health. Because
people with Type 1 produce no insulin, they cannot survive without injecting it
before each meal, and they must wear a monitor or
test their blood several times a day to check their glucose levels. Meals,
snacks, exercise and medication are carefully balanced.
This meticulous regimen is necessary to prevent diabetes complications, which
can include kidney failure, blindness and death. But
closely controlling blood sugar can also result in an enviable level of weight
management and overall health.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/health/30well.html?_r=1&ref=nutrition


7. What Is Fatigue?
C 2006 by Joe Friel
Fatigue during exercise is not as simple as it seems on the surface. The cause
varies with the intensity and duration of exercise.
In a twenty minute event in which you are working in Zone 5b you fatigue for a
different reason than if doing a ten hour event with
heart rate in Zone 2. There are several causes of fatigue. Other than
overheating and dehydration that can slow or stop your
exercise, there are at least four, common physiological causes of fatigue during
endurance events generally accepted by sports
science.
Increasing Body Acidity
Hydrogen ions accumulate in and around the hard working muscles. Such fatigue is
common in steadystate events lasting less than one
hour and in the highest intensity moments in variably paced events when heart
rate is in Zones 5a, 5b or 5c. It is marked by heavy,
labored breathing and a burning sensation in the working limbs (legs or arms).
There is a feeling that you are "redlined." Workouts
done in Zone 5 prepare the body for this kind of fatigue by producing buffers to
offset the acid and by removing the hydrogen ions
from the body.
Depletion of Muscle Glycogen
This is the body's storage form of carbohydrate. Glycogen is a limited fuel
source. Your body only has enough stored for about 90 to
120 minutes of intense exercise. If you don't replace it by using a sports drink
or something similar in events lasting longer than
about an hour then you will begin to feel tired and heavy and find it difficult
to continue. There will be an overwhelming desire to
stop moving. Many sports refer to this sensation as "bonking."
More...from the Training Bible at:
http://www2.trainingbible.com/pdf/What_Is_Fatigue.pdf


8. VO2max Newsletter -  The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com:
**  Mileage vs. Time?
(excerpted from Karp, J.R. Training by Time. Running Times. June, 2009.)
As runners, we tend to think a lot about mileage.  Indeed, it's the number of
miles we run each week that often defines our status
as runners.  The more miles we run, the more we're validated.  However, the
amount of time spent running is more important than the
number of miles since it's the duration of effort (time spent running) that our
bodies' sense.  A faster runner will cover the same
amount of distance in less time than a slower runner or, to put it another way,
will cover more miles in the same amount of time.
The slower runner may be running fewer miles, but the time spent running--and
therefore the stimulus for adaptation--is the same.
Endurance is improved not by running a specific distance, but by running for a
specific amount of time.  The duration of effort is
one of the key factors that arouse the biological signal to elicit adaptations
that will ultimately lead to improvements in your
running performance. Focusing on time rather than on distance is a better method
for equating the amount of stress between runners
of different abilities.  Your legs have no comprehension of what a mile is; they
only know how hard they're working and how long
they're working.  Effort over time.
For interval workouts, a slower runner should not attempt the same number of
repetitions of the same distance as a faster runner,
otherwise he or she will experience more stress because he or she will be
spending more time running at the same relative intensity.

In an effort to equate the stress of interval workouts between runners of
different abilities, I have developed a hierarchy of
strategies:
(1) Decrease the length of each work period for slower runners (or increase the
length of each work period for faster runners) to
make the duration of each work period the same between runners.
(2) Decrease the number of repetitions for slower runners (or increase the
number of repetitions for faster runners) to make the
total time spent running at a specific intensity the same.
(3) Increase the duration of the recovery period for slower runners (or decrease
the duration of the recovery period for faster
runners) to make the work-to-rest ratio the same.
**  Nutrition Tips
I admit, my nutrition isn't always the best.  With my chocolate binges and sugar
cereal breakfasts, my diet could use a major
overhaul.  So, this month we have some nutrition tips from Brooke Joanna
Benlifer, R.D., a registered dietician in San Diego,
California who does long-distance and in-person nutrition coaching.
1. For less sugar, more fiber, and a hefty calorie savings, buy fresh or frozen
fruits and vegetables rather than juice.
2. In general, foods with bulk that contain a lot of water (e.g., soups, salads,
oatmeal, melon) are more satisfying than foods that
are "dehydrated" like bars, breads, etc.
3. Include a banana and cinnamon (for the same number of calories as in just two
tablespoons of brown sugar) in your oatmeal for
better glycemic control, more satiety, a few grams of fiber, and some potassium.
4. Use vegetables to bulk up your meals.  Take a frozen meal or your own lunch
or dinner and pair it with lots of veggies (1/2 to 1
pound of frozen veggies or a large salad).
5. Including some protein with every snack and meal helps keep insulin levels
low and your blood sugar on an even keel.  Examples
include: adding nuts to cereal, cottage cheese with fruit, topping a pear with a
slice of cheese, having an apple with almond
butter, and crackers with salmon.
Want to know more?  Go to Brooke's website at
http://www.brookejoannanutrition.com.
To view past newsletters go to: http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter
Copyright Jason Karp All Rights Reserved - http://www.runcoachjason.com


9. How Do Stress Fractures Develop?
When athletes put great stress on their bodies, the damage to bones may be too
much for the body to repair, potentially ending a
player's season or even career.
Considering the forces involved in many sports, it's no surprise that
professional athletes sustain serious injuries to their
muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones. A spate of bone fracture-related injuries
seems to be dogging professional teams this year.
The Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association lost seven-time
all-star Tracy McGrady to season-ending microfracture
surgery in February. And on Monday, Rocket's team physician Tom Clanton
announced in the Houston Chronicle that all-star center Yao
Ming's fractured foot, which he sustained in a play-off game against the Los
Angeles Lakers in May, has worsened over time and may
end his career. The possibility that New York Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran
might have a microfractured knee turned fans and
fantasy baseball owners into nervous wrecks. Such an injury ended the career of
NBA star Jamal Mashburn.
So how do these fractures develop? And why can they have such impact on
athletes' careers, in some cases forcing players into early
retirement? To find out, we turned to Howard Palamarchuk, a former Olympic-class
race walker who is the director of sports medicine
at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine.
What is a stress fracture, and how does it develop?
It's actually a very small, microscopic fracture that occurs in the outside
portion of a bone called the cortex. A bone that is
constantly under stress will eventually weaken or give. The body keeps up with
these stresses by generating osteoblasts, cells that
make bones. At the same time there are osteoclasts-cells that take away older
diseased or broken bone, or bone that is worn out.
You have a balance between osteoblastic activity and osteoclastic activity.
Eventually osteoclastic activity wins out, and that is
literally the breaking point.
More...from Scientific American at:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-do-stress-fractures-develop


10. Eating to Fuel Exercise:
No matter what kind of exercise you do - whether it's a run, gym workout or bike
ride - you need food and water to fuel the effort
and help you recover.
But what's the best time to eat before and after exercise? Should we sip water
or gulp it during a workout? For answers, I spoke
with Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center and a certified specialist in sports
dietetics. She's also the author of a new book, "Sports Nutrition for Coaches"
(Human Kinetics Publishers, July 2009). Here's our
conversation.
Q: How important is the timing and type of food and fluid when it comes to
exercise?
A: I take the approach of thinking of food as part of your equipment. People are
not going to run well with one running shoe or ride
with a flat tire on their bike. Your food is just like your running shoes or
your skis. It really is the inner equipment. If you
think of it this way, you usually have a better outcome when you're physically
active.
Q: What's the most common mistake you see new exercisers make when it comes to
food?
A: There are two common mistakes. Often somebody is not having anything before
exercise, and then the problem is you're not putting
fuel into your body. You'll be more tired and weaker, and you're not going to be
as fast.
The second issue is someone eats too much. They don't want to have a problem, so
they load up with food, and then their stomach is
too full. It's really a fine line for getting it right.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/eating-to-fuel-exercise/


11. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
**  Vigorous Exercise Protects Your Heart
This week, Norwegian researchers reported their findings that high intensity
interval training maximally improves every conceivable
measure of heart function and heart strength.  It also helps to prevent both the
pre-diabetic metabolic syndrome and the heart
damage it causes (Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews, July 2009).
This is more evidence that older people who compete in vigorous sports, such as
biking and running, live longer and suffer less
disease than people who exercise at a more casual pace.
The most intense exercise includes interval training: running or cycling very
fast to become severely short of breath, then resting
and repeating these almost maximum efforts several times in the same workout. 
Controlled interval training is now a treatment for
heart failure.  High-intensity interval training raises the good HDL cholesterol
far more than less intense exercise (Journal of
Strength and Conditioning Research, March 2009).
Intense exercise for older people is still a controversial subject, but these
new results concur with many earlier studies.  Intense
exercise is far more effective than casual exercise in
preventing and treating diabetes (Circulation, July 2008) and reducing belly fat
(Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise [MSSE],
November 2008).   Vigorous exercise protects obese people from heart attacks and
prolongs their lives, even if they don't lose
weight (MSSE, October 2006).  Intense exercise is more effective in preventing
heart attacks than less intense exercise done more
frequently (MSSE, July 1997).  Death rate from cardiovascular disease is lowered
by high intensity activities such as jogging,
swimming, hiking, tennis and climbing stairs, but not by lower intensity
activities such as walking, bowling, sailing, golf and
dancing (Heart, May 2003).  Paul Thompson, of the University of California at
Berkeley, showed that the faster aged runners run, the
lower their blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels (Medicine and
Science in Sports and Exercise,
October 2008).
**  Slow Heart Rate Good
A slow pulse rate in athletes usually means a strong heart, but in non-athletes,
it can mean heart damage.
Athletes often have pulse rates below 60 because their hearts are strong enough
to pump large amounts of blood with each beat and
therefore don't have to beat as often.
But non-athletes with slow heart rates often have damage to their electric
conduction system. An electric impulse starts in the
upper part of the heart and travels along nerves down the heart, causing the
heart to contract and squeeze blood from its chambers
to your body. If the nerves in the heart are damaged, electric impulses can be
blocked and the heart can miss beats. This is called
heart block and is a sign of heart damage. If you are an athlete with a slow
heart rate, you are probably healthy, but if you do not
exercise and have a pulse rate below 60, check with your doctor.
**  Exercise for Osteoarthritis
When you complain that your knees hurt, your doctor tries to find a cause. If he
finds nothing, he tells you that you have
osteoarthritis.
We don't have the foggiest idea what causes osteoarthritis and no effective
treatment except pain medicines. A study from the
Medical College of Georgia shows that strengthening leg muscles helps to control
pain in osteoarthritic knees. Isometric and
range-of-motion strength programs help to control pain and increase range of
motion in people who have osteoarthritis. The patients
had less pain on moving their knees and were able to perform motor tasks faster.
The knee is two bones held together by four bands called ligaments. The ends of
bones are protected by thick gristle called
cartilage. Osteoarthritis damages cartilage so it does not fit properly, making
the knees unstable. Strengthening the muscles around
the joint stabilizes the knee to allow less movement at the joint, increasing
function and decreasing pain.
More on treatment of arthritis; exercises for arthritis
The effect of dynamic versus isometric resistance training on pain and
functioning among adults with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2002, Vol 83, Iss 9, pp
1187-1195. R Topp, S Woolley, J Hornyak, S Khuder, B
Kahaleh. Topp R, Med Coll Georgia, Sch Nursing, 977 St Sebastian Way, Augusta,GA
30912 USA.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


12. Hamstring Stretches to help the Lower Back:
Effective hamstring stretches and hamstring injury treatment is vital to the
overall health and condition of the lower back muscles
and to relieving lower back pain.
The lower part of the spine, or the lumbar region, is the region where most
people experience back pain. This part of the back
carries the weight of the body and the muscles are prone to strain.
Hamstring & Spine Anatomy
The diagram to the right (see link below) illustrates the vertebrae of the
spine. Notice the 'S' shape of the spine, which I refer
to later
The lower back is acted upon by any of the muscles connected to the lower torso.
For example, the abdominal muscles play a leading
part in keeping the lower spine straight and any back exercise program must
strengthen the abdominals.
The subject of this article, however, is stretching the back of the legs, or
hamstring muscles, and how that helps prevent or help
treat lower back pain.
It might not seem obviously necessary to stretch your legs in order to help your
back, but let me explain why this is so.
The hamstring group of muscles, located at the back of the upper leg, are
actually a group of three separate muscles. The top of
these muscles are attached to the lower part of the pelvis, and the bottom of
the hamstring muscles are attached to the lower leg
bone just below the knee joint. The technical or anatomical names for the three
hamstring muscles are semimembranosus,
semitendinosus and biceps femoris.
More...from the stretching Handbook at:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/hamstring-stretches.php


13. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Libby Johnson-Hickman won the USA 10,000m title over Anne-Marie
Lauck and Deena
                Drossin-Kastor, clocking 31:41.33 to 31:43.50 and 32:00.72
respectively.  Adam
                Goucher won the 5000m title in 13:25.59, defeating Robert Kennedy
and Dan Browne
                who clocked in at 13:26.85 and 13:36.64 respectively.  Alan
Culpepper won the
                men's 10,000m in 28:22.46, leading Brad Hauser and Abdihakim
Abdirahman who finished
                in 28:24.32 and 28:28.26 respectively.  And finally, Regina
Jacobs won the women's
                5000m title with a 15:24.80.  Cheri Kenah and Elva Dryer rounded
out the top three
                with 15:26.60 and 15:27.26 respectively.  The venue was Eugene
OR/USA, as it was
                again for 2009.
20 Years Ago-  Lynn Williams (CAN) won the L'Eggs Mini-Marathon (NY/USA) 10K,
defeating Yekaterina
                Khramenkova (BLR) by 14 seconds, 32:09 to 32:23.  Aurora Cunha
(POR) was 3rd in
                32:28 while Judi St Hilaire was the first USA with 33:07 in 4th.
30 Years Ago-  Herb Lindsay (USA) won the Cascade Run-Off (OR/USA) 15K in 44:17.
Hiroshi Yuge (JPN)
                was 2nd in 44:28 while Kirk Pfeffer (USA) was 3rd in 44:44.  Joan
Benoit-Samuelson
                (USA) won the women's race in 51:27.5 with Cathie Twomey (USA)
and Jody Parker (USA)
                following in 53:25 and 53:36 respectively.
40 Years Ago-  Jack Bacheler won the USA 6 mile title with a 28:12.2.  Juan
Martinez (MEX) was 2nd
                in 28:12.6 while Ken Moore (USA) was 3rd in 28:46.4.  Olympic
marathon gold medalist-
                to-be Frank Shorter (USA) was 4th in 28:52.0.
50 Years Ago-  Stanislaw Ozog (POL) defeated a pair of Soviets at the Soviet
Union vs Poland
                meeting held in Warsaw POL.  His time was 29:36.6, well ahead of
Nikolay Pudov at
                30:08.6 and Yevgeniy Zhukov at 30:23.6.  Soviet Pyotr Bolitnikov
returned the favor
                by winning the 5000m in 13:57.4 with Poles Kazimierz Zimny and
Marian Jochman taking
                2-3 with 14:01.4 and 14:01.8 respectively.
60 Years Ago-  Fred Wilt won the USA 5000m title over steepler Horace
Ashenfelter, 14:49.3 to 14:56.0.
70 Years Ago-  Pat Dengis (USA) defeated Don Heinicke (USA) by 14 minutes at a
marathon in Baltimore
                MD/USA.  Dengis finished in 2:44:30.8 with Heinicke at 2:58:30.
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.


14. 10 Tips For Your Recovery Day:
By LifeSport Coaches Paul Regensburg & Lance Watson
Every good triathlon training program will have at least one or two rest days
per week to allow you to recover.  Many triathlete's
are overachievers with very active personalities and are often chronic
multi-taskers.  This can often lead to a feeling of guilt
when not training or being active. This is further complicated by the sheer time
that is required to train for multi-sport placing a
squeeze on time for other life activities including work, family, house work,
etc.
When we see a triathlete that never takes a day off it is usually not too long
until the athlete finds themselves over-trained,
injured, sick, or just plain burned out.  So, now that you have decided to take
the recovery day or two, what to do?  Maybe you
should play soccer or go hiking.  No!  A recovery day is for the body to rest
not to cross train!  Take it easy, relax, and
remember.
Your body only gets faster and stronger when you recover!
Here are some suggestions on what to do on your recovery day.
1.      Sit on the couch with your feet elevated - the couch is a good thing!
Elevation assists the lymphatic system to drain
inflammation. Watch movies or play video games.
More...from LifeSport at:
http://www.lifesportcoaching.com/RecoveryTips.php


15. Digest Briefs:
**  R.A.C.E. Formula for Hydration .By Gatorade Sports Science Institute
To help triathletes stay properly hydrated leading up to and throughout race
day, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute recommends
utilizing the R.A.C.E. formula for hydration:
.Replace Fluid Losses. It's important for athletes to minimize dehydration
(weight loss during exercise).  Triathletes should try to
prevent a loss of more than 1% to 2% of their body weight (e.g., a 150-lb
athlete should not lose more than 1.5 to 3 pounds per
race). By weighing yourself before and after training runs under various
environmental conditions, you can develop a good sense of
your fluid replacement needs on race day and make adjustments based on the
weather that day.
.Avoid Over-Drinking. Over-drinking (weight gain during exercise) can increase
the risk of hyponatremia, a rare but dangerous
condition that has been associated with excessive fluid intake and to some
extent the loss of sodium in the sweat.1 While the sodium
in Gatorade can reduce the risk of hyponatremia during the marathon, the risk
still exists if too much of any fluid is consumed.
Replace fluids based on weight loss, not guessing.
.Check Your Urine. If it's light yellow (like lemonade) that's usually a sign of
good hydration. Crystal-clear urine often indicates
over-hydration and the need to cut back. Dark urine (like the color of apple
juice) may signal dehydration and the need to drink
more.
.Eat a Salty Diet. If you are a heavy sweater or if you finish workouts with
your skin and clothes caked with white residue, your
diet should contain enough salt to replace those losses. Salting your food to
taste is encouraged; during training runs and on race
day, favor salty carbohydrate snacks and sports drinks over water to help
replace the sodium lost in sweat.
1 Montain, S, SN Cheuvront, and MN Sawka.  Exercise associated hyponatremia:
quantitative analysis to understand the aetiology. Br J
Sports Med 40:98-106, 2006.
Gatorade is a gold partner of USA Triathlon. For more information go to
www.enduranceformula.com
**  Mid-Season Transition by Coach Jim Vance
Athletes are nearing the mid-point of their season, and it is common to have a
high-priority race at this time, which will require a
peak and taper. With such a big event happening, it is important to give the
mind and body a brief break afterward. This downtime is
commonly referred to as a "transition" period, because athletes transition from
a peak, to the next phase of training.
The length and specifics of this transition will vary based on the fatigue
brought about the event. If it is a long or
ultra-endurance, then a longer, more relaxed break from training is required.
Athletes should engage in activities which are enjoyable, but are not
necessarily structured, or even the same sport they have been
training. This allows the body to recover and makes the return to training
easier; especially if there have been any injuries the
athlete has had to deal with in the lead-up to the peak.
Another benefit which is often overlooked is the mental recharge athletes can
get from this downtime. It provides an opportunity for
athletes to focus on things which may have been put on the backburner, such as
family time or even household projects.
Take advantage of the opportunity to get healthy and recharge, to make the
second half of the season even better than the first!
Best of luck!
TrainingBible Coaching, Questions or comments can be sent to
mailto:jvance@.... You can also follow his writings and
training advice at his coaching blog, www.CoachVance.blogspot.com



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

July 3, 2009:
ExxonMobil Bislett Games - Oslo, Norway

July 4-26, 2009:
Tour de France

July 4, 2009:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race 10K - Atlanta, GA
USA Men's Championship

Free to Run 4 Miles on the 4th - St. Paul, MN

Freedom Mile - Mammoth Lakes, CA

Watermelon 5K - Winter Park, FL

July 5, 2009:
Gold Coast Airport Marathon - Southport, Australia

Ironman Austria - Klagenfurt, Austria

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

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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
newsletter

Check out our RSS auto-feeds page for automated news updates:
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Webmasters: Get our Syndicated headlines for your site.
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_getRSS.html
Add the Runner's Web News feed to your site through a simple JavaScript. Check
out OnTri.com's implementation at:
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The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is now available
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com/group/RunnersWeb/rss
[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.

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:

Shop the Under Armour Outlet for savings up to 40%!
Dates: Ongoing
Shop the Under Armour Outlet for $10 discounts on all running shoes!
Dates: Ongoing
Under Armour - FREE STANDARD SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS, NO ORDER MINIMUM! Use promo
code UASPRING03
Dates: Now through 6/30/09
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0028567

Special Father's Day Offer from HK Publishers
Having trouble figuring out what to get Dad for Father's Day or looking for ways
to keep active this summer? As a thank you to
their customers and fathers everywhere, Human Kinetics is offering a special 15%
discount for a limited time on any product
purchased from their website www.humankinetics.com . They have all kinds of
resources from sports and fitness to strength
training and nutrition. Enter Code E5241 into the promo code box at check out.
Offer expires: June 21, 2009

Footlocker Specials:
15% off $99 - Use Code LKS196C9 - Valid 6/1-7/6
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=pgaZgw/VDU4&offerid=101680.10000296\
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15% off $99 Lady Footlocker - Use Code LKS196Y9 - Valid 6/1-7/6
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Nike Casual Shoe Sale - Save Big $$$ - at Footlocker.com
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&type=3&subid=0

ChampionUSA:
Outlet Items Are Up to 65% off at ChampionUSA.com! This Offer is valid now
through June 21st.
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=139837.10000218\
&type=3&subid=0

Holabird Sports:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000028013194

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 2547 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the Runner's Web Digest
to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join .

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. Running Injuries: What you don't know about injuries can really hurt you
2. How To Maximize Benefits Of High Altitude Training
3. Cardiac events during sport on TV
The dangers of WATCHING elite sport - health checks needed!
4. This Week in Running
5. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
6. The Truth About Hydration in the Heat
7. Evaluation Study Reveals SLEEPTRACKER� Nearly as Effective in Gathering
Specific Sleep Data as Advanced Sleep Lab Equipment
8. 5 Ways to Shed Those Last Few Pounds
9. How the Web got me ripped
From weight regimens to superstrict diets, the Internet is becoming a key
destination for workout-obsessed men who chronicle their
change from soft to shredded.
10. Running Form: Midfoot Strikers vs. the Balls of Your Feet
11. An Inspiring Woman is Remembered in the 10th Annual Ruth Rothfarb Summer
Festival at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center
12. Building Speed Before Endurance: time to turn convention on the head?
13. Atrial Fibrillation In Endurance Athletes Still Poses Problems For Sports
Cardiologists
14. Can Quercetin Improve Athletic Performance (and Protect Against Cancer)?
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
How will Lance Armstrong do in this summer's Tour de France?

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 running (athletics) movies have you seen?
Answers Percent  Votes
1  Chariots of Fire 16%
2  Golden Girl 6%
3  Marathon Man 12%
4  Prefontaine 14%
5  Personal Best 8%
6  Running Brave 10%
7  Without Limits 10%
8  St. Ralph 14%
9  The Jericho Mile 8%
10  None of the above 2%


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. Running Injuries: What you don't know about injuries can really hurt you:
How to avoid the most common sporting injuries
About 85 per cent of elite and recreational badminton players (!) are injured
during an average year, 65 per cent of regular runners
are hit by the injury bug, and 21 percent of walkers are afflicted (by
definition, an 'injury' is a physical problem severe enough
to force a reduction in training).
When injury rates are expressed per hour of activity, risk of injury can be
ranked by sport. Not surprisingly, such rankings show
that sports like rugby and lacrosse produce the most mayhem, with about 30
injuries per 1000 hours of activity (rates above 5 per
1000 hours are considered high). Basketball and squash are also problem
producers, with around 14 injuries per 1000 hours. Running
and high-intensity aerobic dance follow fairly closely, with 11 injuries per
1000 hours (or about one per 100 hours).
A variety of other sports are ranked below, with the number of injuries per 1000
hours of activity in parentheses ('Injuries in
Recreational Adult Fitness Activities,' The American Journal of Sports Medicine,
vol. 21 (3), pp. 461-467, 1993).
1. Alpine skiing (8)
2. Rowing machine exercise (6)
3. Treadmill walking or jogging (6)
4. Tennis (5)
5. Dancing classes (5)
6. Resistance training with weight machines (4)
7. Resistance training with free weights (4)
8. Outdoor cycling (3.5)
9. Stationary cycle exercise (2)
10. Stair climbing (2)
11. Walking (2)
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0123.htm


2. How To Maximize Benefits Of High Altitude Training:
A study by Indiana University researchers found that athletes' elevated or
heavier breathing at sea level immediately following
high-altitude training accounts for a substantial amount of the gains from the
high-altitude training. The heavy breathing is
temporary, however, said Robert Chapman, lecturer in IU's Department of
Kinesiology, and makes a case for why athletes should
consider giving themselves one week to 10 days at sea level before a major
competition.
Elite endurance athletes, such as runners, swimmers and triathletes, often train
at high altitudes for a month or more because the
body creates more red blood cells to adapt to the lower oxygen content of the
air. An increase in red blood cells can help athletes
by shuttling more oxygen to fuel muscles when they compete nearer to sea level.
Chapman said their study, however, found that the elevated breathing athletes
experience temporarily when returning to sea level can
account for 10 percent to 20 percent of the body's increase in its ability to
consume oxygen. If athletes factor this time in before
their competition, the heavy breathing would go away and they still would likely
have the extra red blood cells, unless they wait
too long.
"It's a matter of balance," said Chapman who also heads Team Indiana Elite, a
group of professional distance runners based in
Bloomington.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090531102843.htm


3. Cardiac events during sport on TV:
The dangers of WATCHING elite sport - health checks needed!
If you're reading this (or are a regular reader), then you're probably also
inclined to spend fairly large periods of time actually
watching sport (and wondering where we've been lately, but that's another
story).
Being sports fans, you probably make it a point to follow coverage of your teams
whenever possible, and live and share in the
emotions of the game. People follow sport differently, of course - some dress up
in the playing kit, scream at television sets and
referees, and feel more anxiety and stress than the players they are supporting.
Others (and I'm in this group) tend to be more
dispassionate and 'cool', watching with a more analytical eye.
Uncertainty and enjoyment
Regardless, the enjoyment comes largely from the uncertainty. In marketing
terms, sport on television is classified as an "instantly
perishable product", which is to say that the value of sport perishes instantly
once the outcome is known. Few will watch a game
with emotion and enjoyment if the result is known, though of course, there are
other reasons to watch matches over and over (game
analysis, for example).
But what if that uncertainty is also the cause of medical problems? I have no
doubt that those of you who fall into the first group
- the screamers who live and breathe every moment - have been told to calm down
or you'll damage your health.
More...from The Science of Sport at:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/06/dangers-of-watching-elite-sport-health.h\
tml


4. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Elena Makalova (BLR) won the Grandma's (MN/USA) Marathon over a
very deep field with
                her 2:29:13.  Albina Gallyamova (RUS) was next at 2:30:03 and
Elena Plastinina (UKR)
                back in 3rd with 2:33:27.  Runners from former Soviet countries
took the top seven
                places and 41 women went under 2:50.  Andrew Musuva (KEN) won the
men's race with a
                2:13:22, leading, in close order, Tesfaye Bekele (ETH) at
2:13:26, Fedor Ryzhov (RUS)
                at 2:13:33, and Benedict Ako (TAN) at 2:13:41.
20 Years Ago-  Tim Hacker won the USA 5000m title with a 13:39.75, defeating
Keith Brantly and
                Doug Padilla who posted 13:40.20 and 13:40.76 respectively.  Pat
Porter took the
                10,000m title in 28:45.78 with Robert Kempainen 2nd in 28:50.95
and John Scherer 3rd
                in 28:58.18.  Patti-Sue Plummer won the women's 3000m title with
a 9:00.05.
30 Years Ago-  Colin Kirham (ENG) won the Sandbach (ENG) Marathon in 2:17:30
with Alexander Keith
                (SCO) 2nd in 2:17:39 and Laurence Adams (WAL) 3rd in 2:18:22. 
Hugh Jones (ENG) was
                4th in 2:20:25.
40 Years Ago-  Dick Taylor (ENG) won a 10,000m in London ENG with his 28:06.6
defeating Ron Clarke
                (AUS) who clocked in at 28:21.0.  Michael Tagg (ENG) got the 3rd
spot with a 28:33.8.
50 Years Ago-  Bill Dellinger won the USA 5000m title in Boulder CO (at
altitude) with a 14:47.6,
                ahead of Lewis Stieglitz at 14:48.8 and Max Truex at 14:50.2. 
Laszlo Tabori (HUN)
                was 4th in 14:51.8.
60 Years Ago-  Jack Holden (ENG) won the Polytechnic (ENG) Marathon in
2:42:54.2.
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.


5. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
**   Protein for Muscle Recovery and Growth
Many athletes believe that they can grow larger muscles by taking protein
supplements rather than by eating protein in ordinary
foods.  However, protein powders come from food, and extracts cannot be more
efficient than the foods from which they are extracted.

All athletes train by stressing and recovering.  They take a hard workout,
damage their muscles, feel sore the next morning, and
then take easy workouts until the muscles heal and the soreness goes away.  The
athlete who can recover the fastest can do the most
intense workouts.  Eating a high carbohydrate-high protein meal within a half
hour after finishing an intense workout raises insulin
levels and hastens recovery (Journal of Applied Physiology, May 2009). Another
breakthrough study reported in the same issue shows
that taking the high protein-carbohydrate meal before lifting weights does not
hasten recovery.
Carbohydrate in the meal causes a high rise in blood sugar that causes the
pancreas to release insulin. Insulin drives the protein
building blocks (amino acids) in the meal into muscle cells to hasten healing
from intense workouts. Muscles are extraordinarily
sensitive to insulin during exercise and for up to a half hour after finishing
exercise, so the fastest way to recover is to eat a
protein- and carbohydrate-rich meal during the last part of your workout or
within half an hour after you finish.
You can use either plant or animal sources of protein; both contain all of the
essential amino acids necessary for cell growth.
There is also good data that creatine loading helps muscles recover faster. You
get creatine from fish, poultry or meat, or
creatinesupplements. Your body can also make creatine from three amino acids
found in both plants and animals: methionine, arginine
and glycine. However, you get higher blood levels from supplements or animal
protein sources. We do not know if taking the larger
amounts of creatine in supplements isbetter than the amount found in meat, 
poultry or seafood.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: How do you get enough sunlight for your body to make
vitamin D without risking skin cancer?
Try to expose a small amount of bare skin to sunlight for a few minutes every
day.  Wear a shirt and a hat.  Put sunscreen on your
face, top of the ears, neck, arms and back of the hands. If you are blond or
blue eyed, do not form pigment well, or have evidence
of sun damaged skin, you should apply sunscreen to your legs also.
* Non-melanoma skin cancer risk (basal and squamous cell skin cancers) is
increased by cumulative sun exposure over a lifetime.
* Recent data show that a single sunburn may cause a melanoma
* It appears that blond and blue-eyed people need less sun exposure to make
vitamin D. People with dark skin, or those who become
very dark when they tan need far more sun exposure to make vitamin D.
* Being overweight or past 60 markedly increases your need for vitamin D.
* Only UVB causes the skin to make vitamin D.  UVA does not cause your skin to
make vitamin D.  Most suncscreens on the market
almost completely block UVB. Window glass and clothes also block UVB.
* Frequent bathing reduces vitamin D. Your sebaceous (oil) glands make vitamin D
and secrete it onto your skin; it is then absorbed
through your skin. Frequent bathing may wash away vitamin D before it can be
absorbed.
* The following changes in your skin predict skin cancer: first a mottling of
pigment with lighter and darker spots, then the
appearance of scaly areas. When the scaly areas start to feel rough like
sandpaper, the damage is passing from the superficial skin
down into the deeper skin and may become cancerous. Check with a dermatologist;
these pre-cancers are very easy to treat.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


6. The Truth About Hydration in the Heat:
Most articles about exercising in the heat are all about hydration. But did you
know that drink fluids during exercise in hot
weather actually does very little to prevent the body's core temperature from
rising?  It's true, and the studies prove it.
For example, a 2007 study from the University of Exeter, England, found that
fluid consumption did not prevent a rise in body
temperature or improve performance in a half-marathon running event. This was
the first study to monitor internal body temperature
continuously throughout a real race, using high-tech sensors that runners
actually ingested the night before the race, which took
place in hot and humid conditions.
Runners consumed as much or as little fluid as they wished during the race, and
there was a high degree of variability in drinking
rates. Runners replaced between 6 and 73 percent of body fluid losses over the
course of the run. Researchers found no correlation
between the amount of fluid runners consumed and their body temperature or
performance. Thus, they concluded that drinking fluid had
no effect on body temperature or performance in this context.
More...from Active.com at:
http://tinyurl.com/kps64j


7. Evaluation Study Reveals SLEEPTRACKER� Nearly as Effective in Gathering
Specific Sleep Data as Advanced Sleep Lab Equipment:
SLEEPTRACKER successfully detects moments of restlessness during sleep 91
percent of the time compared to results gathered with
sleep lab equipment
(ATLANTA, GA � February 17, 2009) � A recent evaluation study reveals that
SLEEPTRACKER�, the world�s only sleep-monitoring watch,
is nearly as effective in gathering specific sleep data as advanced sleep
laboratory equipment. When comparing SLEEPTRACKER to lab
tests, the watch successfully detects moments of restlessness during sleep 91
percent of the time.
The evaluation study was independently conducted by Douglas W. Puryear, MD,
FCCP, D. ABSM, director of Sleep Disorders Centers of
Pulmonary Associates in Midlothian, VA. The primary purpose of the study was to
compare SLEEPTRACKER with advanced sleep laboratory
equipment in the proper detection of movement events while sleeping.
�The popularity of SLEEPTRACKER had led many sleep researchers to inquire about
its ability to monitor sleep events based on
movement,� said Lee Loree, developer of SLEEPTRACKER. �This new evaluation study
only furthers what we already knew about the
product � that it is effective in measuring the movements associated with a
light sleep stage, helping thousands of people across
the globe wake up feeling more refreshed.�
Using a small accelerometer to measure certain types of lateral motion that
correlate to lighter stages of sleep, SLEEPTRACKER
continuously monitors signals from the body that indicate whether the person is
asleep or awake. It uses those times of motion to
give the user a picture of how many restless or light sleep periods they have
throughout the night. The more recorded events, the
more restless (i.e. worse) the night of sleep. The device also uses those
recorded moments to detect lighter stages of sleep within
an alarm window to wake the user at the optimal time in the morning.
A total of 18 subjects were used to collect sleep data during one night each,
during which a battery of measurements was recorded in
the lab on each subject. Movements were monitored and recorded by both
SLEEPTRACKER and the lab equipment. The sleep data was then
summarized to compare event detection between SLEEPTRACKER and the lab equipment
- considered the �gold standard� in the study.
�I was extremely interested to test SLEEPTRACKER after hearing about the
popularity of the product and how many devices had been
sold worldwide,� said Douglas W. Puryear, MD. �After compiling the results of my
evaluation study, I can say with confidence that
SLEEPTRACKER�s performance in detecting events is excellent, as compared to
state-of-the-art sleep laboratory equipment used in my
center. This is the only non-medical device I�ve ever seen that can provide such
sleep insight to consumers.�
The evaluation study concluded that, of a total of 203 total events detected by
either SLEEPTRACKER or the sleep equipment,
SLEEPTRACKER correctly recorded 176 true events, missed only 16 true events and
incorrectly reported 11 non-events. Therefore, for
every 6.52 correct positive detections, SLEEPTRACKER makes only one mistake. In
terms of positive detections only, SLEEPTRACKER
correctly detects and records 91.67 percent of 192 true events (a false positive
rate of only 8.33 percent.)
For more information on SLEEPTRACKER, please visit www.sleeptracker.com
About Innovative Sleep Solutions
Innovative Sleep Solutions, LLC is based in Atlanta, Georgia and is the
exclusive manufacturer and distributor of SLEEPTRACKER and
SLEEPTRACKER PRO. For more information, call 1-800-617-4509 or visit the
company�s Web site at www.sleeptracker.com.


8. 5 Ways to Shed Those Last Few Pounds:
If you're a serious athlete, or just one who monitors their weight consistently,
a few pounds here or there can mean a big
difference in confidence, attitude and especially performance.
Many athletes can go to the extreme by cutting out meals entirely or making a
dramatic change in diet, which can actually have a
detrimental affect on performance and, in some cases, even cause weight gain. If
the body feels it is deficient in some nutritional
areas it can horde and hold onto the things it feels it needs to conserve.
The body is a system that likes to maintain a homeostasis, and thus, dramatic
changes to diet, climate, sleeping and stress patterns
are always more taxing than if the changes were moderately introduced. With this
in mind, here are five tips for losing those last
few pounds you want to drop:
1. Try to stretch your food intake out throughout the day, rather than in big
meals where you can spike blood sugar levels. This
will keep you feeling alert more consistently, and probably not as hungry when
you do sit down for a meal.
2. Start a food log for a few days and write down what you ate and when. Keeping
track will help you see if there is a pattern of
dieting which could be improved, such as eating before bed, skipping meals, or
not getting enough calories.
More...from Active.com at:
http://tinyurl.com/oyy255


9. How the Web got me ripped:
From weight regimens to superstrict diets, the Internet is becoming a key
destination for workout-obsessed men who chronicle their
change from soft to shredded.
He was soft, but now he's shredded.
In 2003, John Stone was your typical pudgy guy: doughy arms, a beer gut and, by
his own admission, �lazy, fat and unhealthy.� But
Mr. Stone, 40, didn't just decide to get himself a gym membership.
Instead, the Florida resident launched a website, www.JohnStoneFitness.com, to
make his progress public. On the site he posted
everything from pics of himself post-workout to diet tips to his daily stats
that detailed his age, height, weight, percentage of
body fat and measurements of just about every body part imaginable. Eight months
later, Mr. Stone had dropped 55 pounds and his
percentage of body fat had gone from 30 per cent to 8 per cent. Today, his site
has 25,000 members and attracts anywhere from 8,000
to 80,000 users on any given day.
�The Internet is invaluable on the support side. Just interacting with people
who are pursuing the same goals you are and supporting
and encouraging one another, that part of it is huge,� Mr. Stone says.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/how-the-web-got-me-ripped/article1195\
682/
[Note: This article might only be available until Wednesday, July 1st]


10. Running Form: Midfoot Strikers vs. the Balls of Your Feet:
There seems to be quite a debate going as to which way of running is best, with
a midfoot strike or running on the balls of your
feet. My response is that one is not necessarily better or worse than the other
because they are used for different situations. In
ChiRunning we focus on the midfoot strike as we primarily support people who run
for longer distances, meaning more than one mile.
My take on the difference between running on the balls of your feet (BOF) and
running with a midfoot strike (MFS) is that the human
body was initially designed (or evolved, depending on your belief system) to be
able to respond to the needs of the moment. Here's
an example of how it might have all started. I want you to visualize being
chased down by... OMG... a saber-toothed tiger! I think
that we'd all agree that the best way to run would be at a lively, full-on
sprint...on the BOF. That's why it's called the "fight or
flight response."
More...from Active.com at:
http://tinyurl.com/n3oahp


11. An Inspiring Woman is Remembered in the 10th Annual Ruth Rothfarb Summer
Festival at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center:
By: Christina M. Acosta
(Boston)--Ruth (Segal) Rothfarb was a testament to what true determination and
commitment can achieve at any age. As she turned 84
years old, she was running 10 miles a day and completing marathons in 5 � hours.
At the height of her running career she held 22
world records in her age group.
She was an encouraging woman who once said, she never believed in just sitting
around having tea. Raising her family in Cambridge,
she and her husband Harry, operated a family clothing business in Cambridge and
Somerville until it was sold after Harry died. Then
at 69 years old Mrs. Rorthfarb began running and a few years later embarked on a
mission to enter competitive races. She competed in
the Boston Marathon, and the Tufts 10k among others. Her love of running and
travel brought her to long-distance races around the
world, including New Zealand, Thailand and Mexico.
Older adults today are living longer, and many find themselves in senior care
facilities as their health declines. Ruth Rothfarb
inspired older adults to remain active. As a resident at Hebrew Rehabilitation
Center, she remained a shining example of unbound
athleticism. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hebrew SeniorLife�s Ruth
Rothfarb Summer Festival in honor of her inspiration
to all older adults and avid runners.
When Ruth died at the age of 96, her family established an endowment fund to
support Hebrew Rehabilitation Center�s Annual Summer
Fun and Fitness Festival in her honor. The festival was designed to encourage
physical activity and wellness among HRC�s residents,
but it has been remodeled to reflect HRC�s increasingly frail population. The
new model allows residents to participate without
regard to physical restrictions and to enjoy summer activities in a festive
atmosphere other than a therapeutic one.
In addition, the endowment fund established by the Rothfarb and Segal families
provides specially designed sports and exercise
equipment that is used by residents in their weekly exercise groups. The
equipment includes modified versions of tennis, bowling,
soccer and field hockey.
This years summer festival was held Thursday, June 25, featuring music by the
Flounders, a Beach Boys/Jimmy Buffet-type band, and was attended by more than
150 residents and employees who enjoyed music,
refreshments and game. Other festival activities planned this summer include the
Brookline First Corps Cadet Band led by Irving
Shine, The band is a 100-person band performing show tunes and patriotic songs.
Still inspiring, Ruth�s memory lives on with the 10th annual Ruth Rothfarb
Summer Festival. Her life is proof that age does not
limit athleticism or dreams.
Hebrew SeniorLife is a non-profit, teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School
recognized internationally as a leader in senior
health care, housing and aging research.
To learn about opportunities to donate or create an endowment fund visit
www.hebrewseniorlife.org/development
[Editor's Note: Ruth Rothfarb ran in the 1981 Avon International Marathon in
Ottawa, Ontario in 1981. I was the race director of
that event]


12. Building Speed Before Endurance: time to turn convention on the head?
The traditional training approach has been to progress speed athletes from
slower, aerobic work through to anaerobic speed work as
the season progresses. But John Shepherd argues that this methodology is
outdated and that convention should be turned on its head
Until quite recently, the prevailing methodology in sprint athlete training has
used a �long to short� training approach. Basically,
for this periodisation model, the sprinter performs slower aerobic and anaerobic
work at the beginning of the training year and then
progresses to faster and faster anaerobic work as the season approaches and
in-season. Intensity is increased, training volume
reduced, and specificity of training increasing accordingly.
However, more recently a �short to long� approach has become more popular.
Coaches such as Charlie Francis (see box, below) have
been at the forefront of such a shift in thinking. This approach emphasises
speed all year round. Sprint workouts, for example, take
place in what would normally be the �slow slog� preliminary stages of training,
when an athlete is �supposedly� building base
condition using slower conditioning methods. In the �short to long� approach,
the athlete trains at or near 100% effort throughout.
Advocates of this approach claim it will:
1.maximise physical speed development;
2.optimally stimulate the central nervous system (CNS);
3.reduce injuries (athletes using the conventional approach can pick up injuries
when attempting to sprint after months of much
slower work);
4.allow for more speed peaks;
5.minimise the negative effects of de-training on fast-twitch muscle fibre.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/building-speed-and-endurance


13. 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 Cl�nic
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.
Dr Mont reports that atrial fibrillation is more frequent in middle-aged
individuals who formerly took part in competitive sports
and continue to be active, or simply in those involved in regular endurance
training without having actually participated in
competitive sports. "So we have to look at the effects of endurance or athletic
training with a more open view," says Dr Mont.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143221.htm


14. Can Quercetin Improve Athletic Performance (and Protect Against Cancer)?
Athletes are always looking for (legal, they hope) ways to boost performance.
They take caffeine, which has been shown to enhance
endurance, and catch up on sleep, which also seems to improve fitness. And they
often take handfuls of supplements in search of an
extra edge. A small study published this week sheds light on one popular
supplement�quercetin�which is being examined for its
potential not only to improve athletic performance but also to prevent or treat
a host of other diseases and conditions.
[Read about caffeine's role in improving performance and why sleep helps
athletes.]
Quercetin is a kind of plant pigment called a flavonoid and is found naturally
in red wine, apples, onions, and other foods. The
potential of flavonoids in general to produce health benefits has been studied,
and quercetin is no exception; it's sometimes used
to treat the symptoms of prostatitis, and it's being looked at for cancer
prevention, allergies, glucose absorption in diabetics,
childhood asthma, and the lung disease sarcoidosis. And you can buy an energy
drink, FRS, containing quercetin. But what's the
evidence behind the most common claims?
The study published this week, in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition
and Exercise Metabolism, looked at quercetin's
effects on endurance in healthy nonathletes. For seven days, 12 volunteers
received either 500 mg of quercetin dissolved in Tang or
a placebo. Their cycling performance was recorded, and then they repeated the
experiment with the other substance, serving as their
own control group. Quercetin supplementation was associated with a 13.2 percent
increase in the amount of time subjects could ride
before getting too tired to continue, as well as a nearly 4 percent increase in
V02 max, a measure of aerobic fitness.
J. Mark Davis, director of the exercise biochemistry laboratory at the
University of South Carolina's department of exercise science
and author of the new study, says quercetin may aid performance through its
anti-inflammatory properties or because it increases the
number and function of mitochondria, the energy-producing factories found in
cells. It may also provide a caffeinelike boost to the
central nervous system. Davis suspects quercetin is similar to resveratrol,
another plant-derived chemical that's gotten much
attention for its beneficial effects in animal studies. (Results of the study
will need to be replicated to be confirmed.)
More...from US News at:
http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-fitness/2009/06/25/can-quercetin-improve-athle\
tic-performance-and-protect-against-cancer.html


15. Digest Briefs:
**  Triathlon Coaching Tip from Mark Hudon
This edition of the Virtual Race Kit is brought to you by Mark Hudon at GP
Wealth Management. As an Ironman Triathlete, Mark has
learned what it takes to succeed through great physical, mental and emotional
challenges. Mark has offered some tips for our
readers:
�Whether you're planning to meet your financial goals or your triathlon racing
goals, a little extra mental preparation & relaxation
can go along way. Race morning can be a very overwhelming experience as you
prepare for the start of the race. Here are a few tips
that I have found very helpful in my 10 years of racing experience:
Find your age group area for your bike & immediately go to rack your bike. Then
make a mental note of where your bike is. Have you
ever parked your car in a big lot & then spent 10 minutes trying to find
it...This will help you cut down on those dreaded
transition delays.
Spend a few minutes alone just relaxing. You can go for a light jog to warm up
your muscles-the idea here is to relax & release most
of those butterflies.
About 15-20 minutes before your wave is set to start go down to the water
(wearing your wetsuit) & go for a very light, very brief
swim. I've found this to be very helpful in relaxing me physically & mentally.
Be sure to find a few friendly & familiar faces & pass along words of
encouragement. Remember this is supposed to be fun.
Mentally detach yourself from any expected outcome & �see� yourself having a
successful & very enjoyable race.
Go fast...kick Ass.
To learn more about Mark Hudon and GP Wealth Management visit his website at:
http://markhudon.gpwealth.ca/


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

June 25-28, 2009:
Canadian Track and Field Championships and Worlds Trials - Toronto, ON

USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Eugene, OR
Qualifier for 2009 World Championships in Berlin, August 15-23

June 27, 2009:
Hyde Park Blast 4 Mile - Cincinnati, OH

(Inaugural) Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon - Seattle, WA

June 28, 2009:
Cranmore Hill Climb - North Conway, NH
USA Mountain Running Championships

New Balance Baltimore Women's Classic 5K - Baltimore, MD

Ironman France - Nice, France

Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon - Vancouver, CAN

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

Puma
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Check out TotalWellness's mp3 Personal Training Program - only 5% the Cost of
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Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
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Instant Stretching Routines
Design unlimited stretching routines today, starting from scratch, in under 60
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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
medical information at all times. Basically, anyone
who is out on the roads or trails needs a convenient place to carry this vital
information.
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?joggerscompanion+pXgxpm+index.html+

SportsShoes in the UK
http://www.sportsshoes.com/index.php?id=149

If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment?
If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
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The Stretching Handbook:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cmd.php?af=245575&u=http://www.thestretchin\
ghandbook.com/newsletter.php
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
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.
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7. January 4, 2008: Goodlife Fitness has come on board as a sponsor of Emilie's
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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

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The Runner's Web is a member of Running USA, The National Professional
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Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
the link on our FrontPage at:
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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
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NEW THIS WEEK:

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Special Father's Day Offer from HK Publishers
Having trouble figuring out what to get Dad for Father's Day or looking for ways
to keep active this summer? As a thank you to
their customers and fathers everywhere, Human Kinetics is offering a special 15%
discount for a limited time on any product
purchased from their website www.humankinetics.com . They have all kinds of
resources from sports and fitness to strength
training and nutrition. Enter Code E5241 into the promo code box at check out.
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Footlocker Specials:
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Holabird Sports:
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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:
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We have 2544 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
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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
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or you are a professional racer, the coaching
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monthly column from CTS at:
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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.
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Check out the Peak Running article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html .

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

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

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Energy drinks: do they prevent fatigue and exhaustion?
2. Regular Daily Exercise Does Not Increase Total Sleep Time
3. The Benefits of Cross Training
4. When to Train, When to Strain
Why, when and how to go to the well in workouts.
5. Front-Running
Leaders of the pack may do better to sit back and work with other runners.
6. Sports science and management strategy
Science IN sport: Search for meaning and higher performance.
7. Eat to Compete
Shelley Johnson Explains How to Discover Nutrient-Rich Foods and the Power of
Protein.
8. Running and Arthritis
Are you really 'ruining your knees'?
9. The Final Push to the Tour
10. To Improve Fitness, Try Sleep
11. 4 Principles to Success, Thirsty Thursday
12. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
13. Running in Your Daughter�s Footsteps
14. Staying Sharp: New Study Uncovers How People Maintain Cognitive Function In
Old Age
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which of the following running (athletics) movies have you seen?"

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:
What is/are your favourite race distance(s)?
  Answers Percent
1.   Marathon  12%
2.   Half-Marathon  18%
3.   10K  12%
4.   8K  8%
5.   5K  11%
6.   Steeplechase  8%
7.   1500M/Mile  12%
8.   800M  11%
9.   Sprints  8%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: MirindaCarfrae.com
Name: Mirinda Carfrae
Nationality: Australian
Height: 161 cm Weight: 52 kg
Birthday: 26 March 1981
Occupation: Professional Triathlete
Coach: Siri Lindley: www.siri-lindley.com
Hometown: Logan City, Queensland
Training Camps: Queensland, Australia; California, USA, Colorado, USA
Federation Links : Triathlon Queensland and Triathlon Australia
Mirinda started sports at an early age, playing basketball and a variety of
other school sports. In 2000, at the age of 19, she
competed in her first triathlon. Even though she did not have a background in
swimming, running, or biking, she experienced success
in 2001 when she made the Australian Junior Elite Team. Mirinda then went on to
represent Australia at the ITU Triathlon World
Championships from 2001 through till 2005 earning silver medals in 2002 and
2003. More recently Mirinda has focused on the longer
distances. She won the Nice Long Course triathlon in 2004 and got silver at the
ITU Long Course World Championships in Denmark in
2005. With the introduction of the Ironman 70.3 series in 2006, Mirinda claimed
the St Croix and Baja titles early in the year,
going on to win a bronze at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in the same
year. In 2007, Mirinda came second in 4 half ironman
distance triathlons before winning the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in
world record time.
With four 70.3 wins already in 2008, Mirinda has clearly claimed the 70.3
distance as her own and leaves no doubt that she's a force
to be reckoned with in ironman racing.......
Check out her site at:
http://www.mirindacarfrae.com

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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any
Stage In Your Life
By Dara Torres
Product Description
From legendary Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres comes a motivational,
inspirational memoir about staying fit, aging gracefully, and
pursuing your dreams.
Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she
launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age
of forty-one-years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight
years since her last Olympics. When she took three
silver medals in Beijing-including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the
gold medalist in the women's 50-meter
freestyle-America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her
good-natured acceptance of the results.
Now, in Age Is Just a Number, Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback
first came to her-when she was months into her
first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned
to serious training-while nursing her infant
daughter and contending with her beloved father's long battle with cancer.
Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older
athlete in a younger athletes' game; about
competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and
finally-about seizing the moment and, most
important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate
with women of all ages-and with anyone daring to
entertain a seemingly impossible dream.
About the Author
DARA TORRES has set three world records and has brought home twelve Olympic
medals, including four golds. She is the first American
swimmer to have competed in five Olympics. She lives in Florida.
Buy the book at Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767931904/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

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. Energy drinks: do they prevent fatigue and exhaustion?
Studies show dilute energy drinks are best for fighting fatigue
The city of Aberdeen is not normally associated with heat exhaustion - but
that's where scientists chose to carry out a study aimed
at establishing what fights exercise fatigue best in hot environments.
Six males cyclists exercised to exhaustion in artificially high temperatures on
three different fluid replacement regimes: no drink;
a 15% carbohydrate (glucose)-electrolyte drink and a 2% carbohydrate-electrolyte
drink.
Skin and rectal temperature and heart rate were measured throughout the trials
and venous blood samples were also taken to establish
plasma volume changes, blood metabolites, serum electrolytes and osmolality.
Unsurprisingly, the cyclists reached exhaustion fastest on the no-drink trial -
70.9 minutes, compared with 84 minutes in the 15%
carbohydrate trial. But the most dramatic finding was that the men on the more
dilute drink regime took 118 minutes to reach
exhaustion - 34 minutes than those taking the more concentrated drink.
The research team conclude that the onset of fatigue when exercising at a
moderate intensity in a hot environment can be delayed by
consuming a large volume of dilute glucose-electrolyte drink.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/energy-drinks-do-they-prevent-fatigue-and-exhaus\
tion-157


2. Regular Daily Exercise Does Not Increase Total Sleep Time:
  According to a research abstract that will be presented on June 8 at Sleep
2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated
Professional Sleep Societies, days with increased activity were followed by
nights with lower total sleep time (TST), while nights
with lower TST were followed by increased activities during the next day.
Results indicated that total sleep time increased by an average of 42 minutes a
night only after days with low activity. In related
findings, increased activity was seen in participants with higher body mass
index (BMI).
According to lead author Arn Eliasson, MD, at the Integrative Cardiac Health
Project at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington DC, results of the study were the opposite of expectations. Quality
of sleep (measured by sleep efficiency or sleep time
divided by time in bed) did not improve after days of increased exertion and
sleep efficiency did not vary according to the amount
of exertion during the day.
"It has long been recommended, even championed, that getting exercise is part of
the recipe for improved sleep. Our data do not
support that notion," said Eliasson. "The longest sleep and best sleep
efficiency occurred after days with low non-exercise
exertion. Similarly, we expected that better-rested subjects would be more
inclined to get exercise or have busier days; however,
better rested subjects got less exercise and had less calorie expenditure. After
relatively more sleep (more than six hours), all
measures of exertion decreased."
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608071937.htm


3. The Benefits of Cross Training:
I felt a little wistful the other day when, riding my road bike, I passed
runners gliding by on the upper bridle path in Central
Park. That used to be me, before the pain in my knees and hip made other workout
plans. So I shifted gears, pedaled faster and
contemplated the benefits of cross-training.

A Race Like No Other
Liz Robbins explores the people and culture of the marathon.
Back in the 1970s, during the first running boom, runners obsessively piled on
the mileage in their Nike waffle trainers. Today,
with recreational runners training for first marathons and ever-older runners
eager to stay active, people are trying to maximize
their body�s potential without running it into the ground.
�If you want to do a marathon, you really only need to do three runs a week,�
said Neil Cook, the multi-sport program manager at
Asphalt Green, a city-owned sports complex in Manhattan. The other two days, Mr.
Cook said, should be spent on cross-training
activities like cycling or swimming.
Of course, he warns, those three days of running must be intense and
concentrated workouts: speed, hills and a long run.
Cycling is the best cross-training sport for runners, Mr. Cook believes, since
it builds an aerobic base while maintaining range of
motion. �It forces your leg muscles to contract and increases the blood flow,�
he said. �If you do it properly, you�re not really
straining on the bike, the muscles aren�t getting that abused.�
Cyclists tend to work opposing muscles � like the quadriceps and hamstrings �
differently than they do when on foot. Indeed,
recreational athletes who only run can end up with muscular imbalances,
according to Bill Pierce, the director of the Furman
Institute of Running and Scientific Training in Greenville, S.C.
He and his colleagues wrote �Runner�s World Run Less, Run Faster� (Rodale,
2007), which promotes a training program of three days of
running (track repeats, tempo and long runs), plus two days of cross-training
workouts.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/the-benefits-of-cross-training/


4. When to Train, When to Strain:
Why, when and how to go to the well in workouts.
We�re often told that just because we can do a given workout, this doesn�t mean
we should.  Thanks to the success and popularity of
programs such as those of coaching legend Jack Daniels, �train smarter, not
harder� is many runners� guiding ethos. The idea is to
go into every hard workout knowing what physiological response you want the
session to produce, and then training accordingly to
elicit that response in the most efficient way. To use perhaps the most familiar
example, tempo runs are said to be most effective
when run at an even pace in a narrow pace range, instead of as hard as possible
for the given distance. In that way, the thinking
goes, you most effectively meet the goal of the workout. (In this case, raising
your lactate threshold.)
Marius Bakken, the Norwegian record holder at 3,000m (7:40) and 5,000m (13:06),
advocates just this sort of judicious approach. A
strong proponent of not going all out in training, Bakken believes that, when
prepping for anything between 5K and the marathon, you
should finish every hard workout feeling like you could do one-third more
repeats at the pace you just ran. Not necessarily want to,
but could, meaning that while cooling down after a session of six 800s, you
should honestly be able to say you could have done two
more without extreme duress.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16761


5. Front-Running:
Leaders of the pack may do better to sit back and work with other runners.
The story of American distance running legend Steve Prefontaine has been
immortalized in a couple of Hollywood movies, Prefontaine
and Without Limits. He was a talented and headstrong runner who always liked to
run at the front of the pack, against the advice of
his coach. We�ve all met someone like that, who treats workouts as races or has
to run 15 metres ahead of you. But for most runners,
front-running just doesn�t pay off. Depending on how fast you�re running, it can
take as much as six percent more energy to conquer
wind resistance when you�re leading - and it�s also more taxing mentally. More
often than not, you�ll end up like Prefontaine, who
led much of the 1972 Olympic 5000-metre race before fading to fourth in the
final lap.
It�s not just about physiology. The advantages of sticking together in a pack
during workouts, tempo runs and races are rooted in
economic theory. John Nash, the subject of the movie A Beautiful Mind, won a
Nobel Prize for his work in game theory. Our instincts
tell us to try to beat our competitors by doing what�s best for ourselves. Nash,
however, showed that we can sometimes obtain a
better result for ourselves by co-operating with those we�re competing against.
More...from Canadian Running at:
http://runningmagazine.ca/2009/04/sections/training/training-zone-front-running/


6. Sports science and management strategy:
Science IN sport: Search for meaning and higher performance.
This post is long overdue. It might even turn into a series, there is so much to
say. But for the last week, every time I have sat
down to work on this topic, I have discovered a form of writer's block, where
I'm unable to properly express the point I would like
to. So this is my latest attempt, and it will probably develop into a series,
personal (even autobiographical) in nature. But it is
my take on where science fits and contributes to high performance sport.
A series with a purpose
Many of these thoughts are inspired by my recent experiences with the South
African Sevens rugby team, now the world champions, with
whom I've toured in the last few months in a sports science and strategy
consulting role. Their success was the result of a
strategic plan developed by coach Paul Treu almost four years ago. It borrowed
from business, science, strategy, philosophy and half
a dozen other sports and represents the most complete, professional and advanced
strategy put together for national sport in South
Africa. It should (though it won't) serve as a template for other sports in
South Africa (my local interest), but hopefully lessons
from it will also be of interest to you reading this, regardless of whether you
follow the sport of Sevens rugby or not!
I don't wish to dwell exclusively on this experience though, and will also share
some of the insights gained from my other
experiences in South African sport. Sadly, the Sevens success is an isolated
one, a rare occasion where the expertise of people,
from the coach down to players, was valued and implemented. For the most part,
South African sport remains the domain of the fragile
egos who recognize not expertise but process, not vision but individual
incentives, and who reward mediocrity rather than
excellence. But more on that later.
More...from Science in Sport at:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/06/sports-science-and-management-strategy.h\
tml


7. Eat to Compete:
Shelley Johnson Explains How to Discover Nutrient-Rich Foods and the Power of
Protein.
As an athlete, you're all about strength and efficiency - of movement, of
energy, even of mental preparation as you undertake
endurance events like the Ironman.
To perform at your peak, remember the importance of protein in the diet. If you
think of your body as a machine, then muscles are
the major moving parts that help sustain you during training and competitive
events. Strong, healthy muscles are critical to your
success. To build, repair and maintain lean muscle mass, your body needs the
essential amino acids found in protein-rich foods.
It�s important to know that not all proteins are created equal. Animal protein,
like lean beef, is a complete high-quality protein
because it contains all the essential amino acids your body needs to build and
maintain muscle, bones, skin, hair and other tissues.
Lean pork, skinless poultry, lowfat dairy products and eggs are other examples
of high-quality protein.
Emerging research indicates that all Americans, whether they�re endurance
athletes or not, may benefit from additional dietary
protein. For example, the government�s Dietary Guidelines recommend 5 to 6
ounces of protein per day from the meat/beans food group
to ensure adequate intake. However, some scientists suggest even more protein is
needed for optimum muscle strength and overall
health. In a 2006 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr.
Robert Wolfe of the University of Arkansas contends
that current recommendations for protein are based on the prevention of protein
deficiency. He suggests that 15 grams of essential
amino acids, or about 4 ounces of high- quality protein at each meal, could be
beneficial to build and maintain adequate levels of
muscle mass and drive optimum metabolic function.
More...from Ironman.com at:
http://ironman.com/training/sponsors/shelley-johnson-explains-how-to-discover-nu\
trient-rich-foods-and-the-power-of-protein


8. Running and Arthritis:
Are you really 'ruining your knees'?
As health insurance premiums rise and employment rates fall, many Americans have
become particularly paranoid about their health.
We�re already strapped for cash. The last thing we need is to find out we have a
condition that sends us spinning into a virtual
turn style of referrals, co-pays, and pharmacies.
For the health-conscious runner, this is of particular concern. We rely on
running and expect it will serve as a fountain of youth,
the ultimate preventive measure against the effects of aging. So, what�s with
the old adage that running is bad for your knees? Our
beloved pastime couldn�t possibly be betraying our bodies, could it?
It�s time for a little myth debunking, anti-fear mongering words of wisdom:
running will not sentence you to being confined to a
motorized Rascal in your later years. In fact, studies suggest the effects are
quite the opposite. Among a long list of pros is the
prevention of osteoarthritis (OA), the most common type of arthritis in older
adults. Running isn�t bad for your knees; it�s good
for them.
Joint Solutions
Ligaments hold together every one of the many joints in the human body, and
those ligaments are stiffened and strengthened through
exercise, such as running. Stronger ligaments equate to more stable joints, and
more stable joints lead to less wear-and-tear
injuries, which means a lower risk of old injuries turning into OA later in
life.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16646


9. The Final Push to the Tour:
This note might meander a bit, since it�s being written on my Blackberry from
the passenger seat of a vehicle following Lance in
Aspen. He�s back in Colorado following the Tour of Italy for one more altitude
exposure before the Tour de France. Well� that and
the birth of his fourth child, Max.
The Tour of Italy was good for Lance, and it�s had a tremendous impact on his
power output. He�s very strong on the climbs around
Aspen � even considering the elevation � and he�s getting his ability to
accelerate explosively back again, too. Some of that has to
do with the unique stress from racing, and some has to do with his weight, which
is getting down close to his normal TdF level.
Ten months ago when this whole comeback started, his muscle weight was one of my
biggest concerns. With his weight getting close to
what it was in 2005, and with another two and half weeks for some final tune-up
training and a few races, I think he�s going to have
a solid Tour de France.
More...from Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=4307


10. To Improve Fitness, Try Sleep:
Most people training for a race or sport focus on adding more miles, workouts or
weight training to improve their fitness. But new
research suggests that simply getting more sleep can improve athletic
performance.
The small study included five members of the Stanford women�s tennis team. For
two to three weeks, the athletes maintained their
regular schedules, sleeping and working out as usual. They took part in
sprinting and hitting drills to measure their performance.
Then the players were told to extend their sleep to 10 hours a night for five to
six weeks.
After increasing sleep, the athletes performed better on all the drills.
Sprinting drill times dropped on average to 17.56 seconds
from 19.12 seconds. Hitting accuracy, measured by valid serves, improved to
15.61 serves, up from 12.6 serves, and a hitting depth
drill improved to 15.45 hits, up from 10.85 hits.
The findings were presented last week at the Annual Meeting of the Associated
Professional Sleep Societies. The study was small, and
some of the improvement may have been the result of additional practice time.
However, the size of the change suggests the athletes
received a direct benefit from more sleep.
The study�s lead author, Cheri Mah, a researcher at the Stanford Sleep Disorders
Clinic and Research Laboratory at Stanford
University, said the athletes who took part in the study also felt better and
realized for the first time the real effect sleep
could have on performance.
Katherine Hobson, who writes the �On Fitness� column for U.S. News and World
Report, said she decided to hang up her running shoes
and catch up on sleep during a recent vacation.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/for-a-better-workout-try-sleep/


11. 4 Principles to Success, Thirsty Thursday:
By Jack Daniels
Jack Daniels, head distance coach at the Center for High Altitude Training at
Northern Arizona University, trains and consults
runners from all over the world. Daniels has been named NCAA Division III Coach
of the Century, three-time NCAA Division I National
Coach of the Year, and was named World�s Best Coach by Runner�s World magazine.
Throughout his career, Daniels has worked with many
successful athletes, including Jim Ryun, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Peter Gilmore,
Amy Hastings, Ryan and Alicia Shay, Magdalena Lewy
Boulet, and many others. Daniels is a two-time Olympic medalist in the modern
pentathlon.
Watch the video at:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234673-thirsty-thursdays-with\
-jack-daniels/187249-1.-4-principles-to-success-thir
sty-thurday


12. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
** Hip Fracture Usually Requires Hip Replacement
The most-feared injury among serious bicyclists is a broken hip.  The femur hip
bone is shaped like a shepherd's crook.  The blood
supply to the ball at the top of the hip bone comes in through the neck just
below the ball.  If the neck or ball are broken, the
blood supply is usually shut off and the top of the hip bone dies.  To prevent
this from happening, fractures of the ball or neck of
the hip bone are usually treated with immediate hip replacement.  Try to avoid
this drastic surgery by keeping your bones as strong
as possible.
1) All exercise strengthens bones.  Bicycling strengthens bones, but not as much
as sports that exert greater forces on bones such
as running or lifting weights. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, March
2009).
2) Exercise increases calcium absorption, which is necessary for strong bones. 
As I reported last week, even non-impact exercises
such as swimming and cycling increase calcium absorption from the intestines by
upregulating the calcium transporter genes.
(American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, April 2009).
3) Those most likely to suffer broken bones during exercise are people who have
low levels of vitamin D (Journal of Bone and Mineral
Research, September 2006).  When you lack
vitamin D, ionizible calcium drops. This causes the parathyroid glands to put
out large amounts of parathyroid hormone which takes
calcium out of bones to weaken them and increase fracture risk.
4) High blood levels of parathyroid hormone (from vitamin D deficiency or any
other cause) are a major risk factor for bone
fractures during exercise (Bone, August 2005).
If you ever are unable to expose a few inches of skin to sunlight for at least
20 minutes four or five times a week, get a blood
test called vitamin D3.  If it is below 75 nmol/L, you need to take a vacation
in a sunny place, or take at least 3000 IU of vitamin
D per day until you can get some sunlight.
**  Recovery Heart Rate
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that one of the best tests
to predict your risk for having a heart attack is
your Recovery Heart Rate.
Recovery heart rate is a measure of fitness and a slow recovery from exercise
means that you are out of shape. The study really
shows that being out of shape increases your chances of having a heart attack.
To measure recovery heart rate, exercise on a treadmill until you breathe hard,
record your heart rate, and hold that pace for at
least a minute. Then cool down and measure your pulse rate exactly one minute
after stopping. If your heart does not slow down at
least thirty beats in the first minute, you are in poor shape and at increased
risk for a heart attack. If your heart rate slows
down more than fifty beats in the first minute, you are in excellent shape.
You can also use the recovery heart rate to measure improvement as you get into
shape. This test can cause irregular heart beats in
people with damaged hearts, so check with your physician before you try it.
Cole CR et al. Hear-rate recovery immediately after exercise as a predictor of
mortality. New England Journal of Medicine
1999(October 28);341(18):1351-7.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


13. Running in Your Daughter�s Footsteps:
New York Times food writer Mark Bittman and his daughter Kate are planning to
run the New York City marathon. He will offer training
insights and favorite post-run recipes building up to the Nov. 1 event.
Why run a marathon? I don�t know.
I guess I ran my first marathon � in Stamford, Conn., in 1986 � to show that I
could. I was 36, my time was 4:20, and I thought
everything was just about perfect. Though I seem to remember spending two or
three days in bed afterward, there was something
compelling about the experience, enough to repeat it seven times in the
following 11 years. But exactly what that something was I
couldn�t tell you: perhaps euphoria, a lack of rational thought, a smug sense of
accomplishment.
Certainly the experiences have been varied enough. In New York, in 1992 (I
think), I was on pace to run about 3:45 when, in the 25th
mile, my leg cramped so badly the skin on my calf looked as if there were mice
doing the crawl under it; I finished in 4:10.
One year I crossed the 59th street bridge and asked myself, �Why am I doing
this?� Never, ever do that in the middle of a marathon;
it�s especially unanswerable after 13 miles. I stopped dead in my tracks and
walked to Central Park, thereby bypassing the last 10
miles or so of the race.
In 1994 I bucked a stiff headwind and ran 4:01.40 in Hyannis, Mass., a race so
underpopulated I saw exactly two other runners over
the course of the last 10 miles. My last marathon was in 1997; I was injured
during training, knew I�d never break four hours, and
decided to run for fun. It worked: my time was 5:20 and, when it started pouring
rain at about mile 20, I broke out laughing and
started skipping through the puddles.
Ten years passed; many things happened. I got divorced, moved countless times,
published a few books, and watched my kids become
young adults.
Through this, I ran, but not like a �real� runner. I gained weight, had knee
surgery, lost weight, and then, last year, found myself
running more seriously. Instantly, I started thinking about the marathon again;
evidently I need the Big Goal.
Then my 30-year-old daughter, Kate, whose first runs were as a teenager � with
me � announced she was running New York. (�Why?� I
asked her. �It seems like the right thing to do now,� she said, which is as good
an answer as any.)
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/running-in-your-daughters-footsteps/


14. Staying Sharp: New Study Uncovers How People Maintain Cognitive Function In
Old Age
Not everyone declines in cognitive function with age. Elderly people who
exercise at least once a week, have at least a high school
education and a ninth grade literacy level, are not smokers and are more
socially active are more likely to maintain their cognitive
skills through their 70s and 80s, according to research published in the June 9,
2009, print issue of Neurology�, the medical
journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study followed 2,500 people age 70 to 79 for eight years, testing their
cognitive skills several times over the years. Many of
the participants showed decline in cognitive function. Fifty-three percent of
the participants showed normal age-related decline and
16 percent showed major cognitive decline. However, 30 percent of the
participants had no change or improved on the tests over the
years.
The researchers then examined what factors made the people whose cognition
stayed sharp different from those who lost some of their
abilities over eight years.
"To this day, the majority of past research has focused on factors that put
people at greater risk to lose their cognitive skills
over time, but much less is known about what factors help people maintain their
skills," said study author Alexandra Fiocco, PhD, of
the University of California, San Francisco.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608162424.htm


15. Digest Briefs:
**  This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Ayelech Worku (ETH) defeated Lornah Kiplagat (KEN) by 1.3 seconds
to win the
                Schweizer Frauenlauf (SUI) 5K, 15:15.2 to 15:16.5.  Anita
Weyermann (SUI) was
                well back in 3rd with 15:53.5 and Daria Nauer (SUI) was 4th in
16:01.6.
20 Years Ago-  Bill Reifsnyder (USA) won the Maski-Courons (PQ/CAN) 20K by more
than a minute
                over Art Boileau (CAN), 1:00:31 to 1:01:46.  Philippe Laheurte
(CAN) was 3rd in
                1:01:53.  Rosa Mota (POR) won the women's race by a huge margin
over Isabelle
                Dittberner (BEL), 1:08:39 to 1:12:13.  Jacqueline Gareau (CAN)
was 3rd in 1:12:25.
30 Years Ago-  Marco Marchei (ITA) won the Grand Prix d'Europe (BEL) Marathon
over a strong
                international field with a 2:15:22.  Hendrik Schoofs (BEL) was
2nd in 2:15:45
                and Fernand Kolbeck (FRA) was 3rd in 2:16:18.  Other notables
were Orlando
                Pizzolato (ITA) 5th in 2:17:28, Jeffrey Norman (ENG) 6th in
2:17:43, and G�nther
                Mielke (GER) 20th in 2:22:04.
40 Years Ago-  Phil Hampton (ENG) won the Polytechnic (ENG) Marathon with a
2:25:22.  David John
                Holt (ENG) was 2nd in 2:26:56.
50 Years Ago-  Hans Grodotzki (GER) got a narrow win over Kazimierz Zimny (POL)
at the 6th edition
                of the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial (POL) 3000m, both given times
of 7:58.4.  Siegfried
                Herrmann (GER) was 3rd in 8:00.0 and Derek Ibbotson (ENG) was 4th
in 8:00.4.
60 Years Ago-  Emil Zatopek (CZE) won the Czechoslovak Army Championships (CZE)
10,000m in 29:28.2.
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.


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

April 19 - June 21, 2009:
Trans Europe Footrace - Bari, Italy to Cape North, Norway (4485Km)

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

Grandma's Marathon - Duluth, MN

University of Maryland Heart Center Baltimore 10 Miler - MD

June 21, 2009:
Alterna Do It For Dad 5/10K - Ottawa, ON

Dextro Energy Triathlon - Washington DC

Fathers Day 5K - St. Paul, MN

GBMC Father's Day 5K - Towson, MD

Manitoba Marathon - Winnipeg, MAN

New Balance Victoria Half IM Triathlon - BC

Vikings Grid Iron Gallop 5K - Minneapolis, MN

June 25-28, 2009:
Canadian Track and Field Championships and Worlds Trials - Toronto, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
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* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
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.
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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
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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
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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
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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

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NEW THIS WEEK:

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Dates: Ongoing
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Special Father's Day Offer from HK Publishers
Having trouble figuring out what to get Dad for Father's Day or looking for ways
to keep active this summer?  As a thank you to
their customers and fathers everywhere, Human Kinetics is offering a special 15%
discount for a limited time on any product
purchased from their website  www.humankinetics.com   . They have all kinds of
resources from sports and fitness to strength
training and nutrition. Enter Code E5241 into the promo code box at check out.
Offer expires: June 21, 2009

Footlocker Specials:
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Holabird Sports:
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The Runner's Web has partnered with Training Peaks to provide online coaching
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Fitzgerald.
Sign up at:
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b


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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
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of the company has been to improve the lives of individuals we work with through
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or you are a professional racer, the coaching
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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. Training by Time
The benefits of working out by the watch.
2. Sport psychology: take mental charge of your performance
3. Psychological Strategies for Success
4. Huge amounts of cola can cause muscle problems
5. Ways To Predict Exercise-induced Asthma And Its Severity Without Requiring An
Exercise Challenge
6. Runner's Knee Part 1: What is Runner's Knee?
7. The Myth of the Lonely Long-Distance Runner
8. So are YOU allergic to your iPod? As doctors warn of 'mobile elbow', why
high-tech ailments on the rise
9. Meet the Coaches, Track Your Training
10. Benefits of Strengthening and Lengthening Your Body
11. Race Day Fuel by Coach Christine Palmquist
12. Calorie burn after exercise is 'minimal'
Metabolic boost from workout is overstated: study.
13. Irregular heartbeats raise risk of stroke
14.  Protect your penis while pedalling
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"What is/are your favourite race distance(s)?"

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

LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS:
"How long have you been running?"
Answers Percent
1.   30+ years  44%
2.   20 -29 years  19%
3.   15 - 19 years  6%
4.   10 - 14 years  6%
5.   5 - 9 years  25%
6.   1 -4 years  0%
7.   < 1 year  0%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: MirindaCarfrae.com
Name: Mirinda Carfrae
Nationality: Australian
Height: 161 cm Weight: 52 kg
Birthday: 26 March 1981
Occupation: Professional Triathlete
Coach: Siri Lindley: www.siri-lindley.com
Hometown: Logan City, Queensland
Training Camps: Queensland, Australia; California, USA, Colorado, USA
Federation Links : Triathlon Queensland and Triathlon Australia
Mirinda started sports at an early age, playing basketball and a variety of
other school sports. In 2000, at the age of 19, she
competed in her first triathlon. Even though she did not have a background in
swimming, running, or biking, she experienced success
in 2001 when she made the Australian Junior Elite Team. Mirinda then went on to
represent Australia at the ITU Triathlon World
Championships from 2001 through till 2005 earning silver medals in 2002 and
2003. More recently Mirinda has focused on the longer
distances. She won the Nice Long Course triathlon in 2004 and got silver at the
ITU Long Course World Championships in Denmark in
2005. With the introduction of the Ironman 70.3 series in 2006, Mirinda claimed
the St Croix and Baja titles early in the year,
going on to win a bronze at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in the same
year. In 2007, Mirinda came second in 4 half ironman
distance triathlons before winning the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in
world record time.
With four 70.3 wins already in 2008, Mirinda has clearly claimed the 70.3
distance as her own and leaves no doubt that she's a force
to be reckoned with in ironman racing.......
Check out her site at:
http://www.mirindacarfrae.com


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any
Stage In Your Life
By Dara Torres
Product Description
From legendary Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres comes a motivational,
inspirational memoir about staying fit, aging gracefully, and
pursuing your dreams.
Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she
launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age
of forty-one-years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight
years since her last Olympics. When she took three
silver medals in Beijing-including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the
gold medalist in the women's 50-meter
freestyle-America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her
good-natured acceptance of the results.
Now, in Age Is Just a Number, Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback
first came to her-when she was months into her
first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned
to serious training-while nursing her infant
daughter and contending with her beloved father's long battle with cancer.
Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older
athlete in a younger athletes' game; about
competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and
finally-about seizing the moment and, most
important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate
with women of all ages-and with anyone daring to
entertain a seemingly impossible dream.
About the Author
DARA TORRES has set three world records and has brought home twelve Olympic
medals, including four golds. She is the first American
swimmer to have competed in five Olympics. She lives in Florida.
Buy the book at Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767931904/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

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. Training by Time:
The benefits of working out by the watch.
Beginning in the seventh grade, I became fascinated with time, specifically how
fast it moves and how each year seems to go faster
than the previous year. Time spent running is also interesting -- the second
half of a run always seems to go faster than the first,
and some runs seem to fly by while others seem to drag on. This changing
perception of time may be partly explained by its
relationship to effort, as Dr. George Sheehan once noted: "The faster we run,
the longer it takes."
As runners, we tend to think a lot about mileage. Indeed, it's the number of
miles we run each week that often defines our status as
runners. The more miles we run, the more we're validated. Other runners will ask
you how much mileage you run and make judgments
about you based on the answer you give.
The amount of time spent running, however, is more important than the number of
miles -- since it's the duration of effort that
represents the amount of training stress. A faster runner will cover the same
amount of distance in less time than a slower runner
or, to put it another way, will cover more miles in the same amount of time. For
example, a runner who averages 7-minute mile pace
for 40 miles per week is running the same amount of time as a runner who
averages 10-minute mile pace for 28 miles per week (280
minutes per week), and therefore is experiencing the same amount of stress. And
that's what matters -- the stress. If a slower
runner tries to run as much as a faster runner, the extra time it will take
increases the amount of stress and therefore puts the
slower runner at a greater risk for injury.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16510


2. Sport psychology: take mental charge of your performance:
Mental stress can hurt your performances in a variety of different ways. It can
raise heart rate and oxygen consumption, harming
your exercise efficiency and causing particular workout and race speeds to feel
tougher than they actually should. It can increase
muscle tension, reducing stride lengths (if you are a runner) and making your
legs and arms considerably less 'springy' and
powerful. On a cognitive level, stress prevents you from 'mentally managing'
your tough workouts and races; instead of relaxing and
focusing on the task at hand, you are preoccupied with stressful thoughts and
emotions, so the quality of your performance
decreases.
If you feel stressed-out before and during your competitions or hard training
sessions, what can you do to control the stress, and
thus increase your chances of performing at your highest-possible level? Sport
psychologists have proposed a number of different
stress-managing techniques over the years, but one of the most successful has
been something called 'stress-inoculation training'.
Developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Donald Meichenbaum, a
psychologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada,
stress-inoculation training takes its name from the fact that it exposes
individuals to stress in manageable but gradually
increasing amounts, thereby enhancing 'immunity' to stress for the persons
practising the technique.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/stress-management-sport-125


3. Psychological Strategies for Success:
Bobby McGee is an Olympic Coach and Running Expert but also an expert on Sport
Psychology and Mental Skills. He has produced world
record holders & an Olympic Champion & numerous Olympians as runners, over &
above his work with triathletes. No one knows better
how to mentally prepare athletes for success on race day than Bobby McGee! Today
on Endurance Planet we talk with McGee about
psychological strategies for success in sport. And we hear about McGee's
upcoming one-hour webinar available thru USA Triathlon.
More...from Endurance Planet at:
http://www.enduranceplanet.com/public/299.cfm


4. Huge amounts of cola can cause muscle problems:
Drinking several liters of cola-containing soft drinks per day can cause a
chronic depletion of potassium in the body, leading to
muscle weakness and even paralysis, according to Greek doctors.
While you might think that "excessive soft drink consumption at this level is so
rare that it is not a public health issue," writes
the author of an accompanying editorial in the International Journal of Clinical
Practice, "we have every reason to think that it is
not rare."
Dr. Moses Elisaf and associates at the University of Ioannina, Greece identified
six reports of cola-induced potassium deficiency
published since 1994. Quantities of cola consumed ranged from 2 to 9 liters per
day.
Muscle complaints ranged from mild weakness to profound paralysis, and all
patients had abnormally low potassium levels in the
blood.
"Fortunately," Elisaf and colleagues write, "all patients had a rapid and
complete recovery after the discontinuation of cola
ingestion and the oral or intravenous supplementation of potassium."
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5546ID20090605


5. Ways To Predict Exercise-induced Asthma And Its Severity Without Requiring An
Exercise Challenge:
Two Indiana University studies have explored the potential use of two simple
tests for not only predicting whether someone has
exercise-induced asthma (EIA) but also its severity, without subjecting the
patient to an exercise challenge.
One test involves measuring exhaled breath levels of nitric oxide. The other
involved measuring the pH level of exhaled breath.
Researchers found that both tests could be effective at predicting EIA and its
severity. Both tests can be performed in a doctor's
office while the patient is at rest.
With EIA, vigorous exercise triggers an acute narrowing of the airway afterward,
making breathing difficult. Around 80 percent of
people with asthma have this condition, also called exercise-induced
bronchoconstriction. EIA also is found in an estimated 10
percent or more of elite athletes and as much as 10 percent of the general
population without asthma.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090530172218.htm


6. Runner's Knee Part 1: What is Runner's Knee?
What is Runner's Knee?
Dr. Anita Rao, an Orthopedic Surgeon for Kaiser Permanente specializing in
sports medicine, describes runner's keen as "pain
originating from the region of the kneecap (patella) as it glides with a portion
of the thigh bone (femur) at the knee joint." She
explains that the exact cause of these symptoms is poorly understood, in part
because there are so many factors involved.
Dr. Rao lists one common cause as "Maltracking of the kneecap during the gliding
process with the thigh bone." This can be caused by
muscle weakness, tightness, or imbalance. When I was diagnosed two years ago
with runner's knee, it was likely due to an imbalance.
Many times, runners who don't cross-train or do resistance training have a
stronger hamstring than quad or vice versa, depending on
how and where they run.
Even though the hamstring and quad are the largest muscles around the knee, the
iliotibial band or calf muscles can also be
involved. Dr. Rao explains, "f the quadriceps are weak, for example, the
resulting muscle imbalance can cause the kneecap to glide
improperly, causing pressure, friction, and irritation to the undersurface of
the kneecap. After continued maltracking, the
cartilage on the underside of the kneecap can soften and degenerate, a condition
known as chondromalacia. This can cause
irreversible damage to the cartilage."
Women are sometimes more likely to develop runner's knee due to a naturally
wider hip-knee angle.
Some other causes include overuse - excessive training, dislocation of the
kneecap, or physical differences in runners such as being
knock-kneed or having flat feet. Runner's knee could even be the result or
compensating for another injury, so it's important to
have your doctor evaluate your pain and running to determine the most likely
cause.
More...from Oregon Live at:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/runoregon/2009/06/runners_knee_part_1_what_is_ru.html


7. The Myth of the Lonely Long-Distance Runner:
Lace up your sneakers and run around the block. Do that about 10 times and it's
a mile. Do that 100 times and it's an
ultra-marathon. Now run those 100 miles up a mountain, or in the woods at night,
or in a desert so hot that the soles of your shoes
begin to melt. Sound like fun? Chris McDougall, author of Born to Run, thinks
so. What started as a simple quest to explain a
running injury took the former war correspondent deep into the world of
ultra-running - and into the world of the Tarahumara, an
indigenous race of superrunners who live deep in a canyon in Mexico. McDougall
talked to TIME about his experiences and what he
thinks about people who say they don't like to run.
What misconceptions do people have about running?
Anyone can do running. Running should be easy. It should be fun. It should
include everyone. It shouldn't be a punishment for eating
cheesecake, which is what we've turned it into. There's this kind of war on
running - people keep telling you you'll get hurt, get
injured, that you need orthotics, that you need go to a special running store
before you try it. There's this totally misconceived
notion that it's hard to do, and it's not.
What is the correct way to run?
Prior to the creation of the modern running shoe, people were taught how to run
either by a running coach or by simple feedback from
their feet. If something hurt, you would start running differently. You'd never,
ever land on your heel on a thinly cushioned shoe,
because it hurt. Your heel's not designed to absorb impact. Running should feel
weightless. It should feel like you're floating in
space. It's basically a series of controlled jumps. Then we started trying to
trump nature and come up with something we could sell,
and what we've created are these monstrosities that allow people to forget about
form and running technique and just clump along in
whatever kind of sloppy fashion they want.
More...from Time at:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1902027,00.html?imw=Y


8. So are YOU allergic to your iPod? As doctors warn of 'mobile elbow', why
high-tech ailments on the rise:
Back in the old days, you knew where you were with illnesses. Too many drinks
last night? Well, that explains your splitting
headache. Dinner wasn't cooked properly? Watch out for an upset tummy.
These days, things are more complicated. Every time a gadget arrives, it seems
to bring with it a new risk or ailment.
Ever since the Sony Walkman was launched 30 years ago, we've known that using
headphones excessively can cause deafness.
And last week the Mail revealed that doctors have identified mobile phone elbow,
a painful condition that is caused by people
bending their arms too tightly and for too long while making phone calls.
So are you allergic to the 21st century? Read our medical guide to the
oh-so-modern maladies.
MOBILE ELBOW
Spending hours on your mobile phone can damage the ulnar nerve - the nerve which
pings when you hit your funny bone.
If the nerve becomes stretched, the blood supply becomes restricted, causing
tingling. If the stretching gets worse, sufferers will
be unable to open jars, write or open the battery compartment of their mobile
phone to fish out the Sim card.
Orthopaedic surgeons recommend that you switch hands during long phone calls. At
its most extreme, mobile elbow can lead to cubital
tunnel syndrome (an
inability to grip objects, chronic pain and, in extreme cases, deformity of the
little and ring fingers), which can require surgery.

Wrist injury expert Dr Leon Benson, of the American Academy of Orthopaedic
Surgeons, says the elbow and ulnar nerve can get
'stressed out' by excessive mobile use.
'The more you bend it - for example, when using a phone - the more it stresses,'
he says. 'It diminishes the blood supply, which
means the blood is not flowing through the nerves.'
More...from the Daily Mail at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1191703/So-YOU-allergic-iPod-As-doctor\
s-warn-mobile-elbow-high-tech-ailments-rise.html


9. Meet the Coaches, Track Your Training:
Today, the Well blog unveils a new running partner for readers who are training
for a marathon: the Run Well training tool.
This new tool will let you pick a coach, select a training plan and track your
runs in the weeks and months building up to the
marathon. There are plans for every level of fitness, and the training will
automatically adjust for your race day. And once you've
signed up, you'll be able to make whatever tweaks and changes you desire to
customize the plan so it's just right for your training
schedule. Click on the "Your Plan" link to learn more about your training plan
and find additional links, information and resources
to get the most out of your training.
Over the coming weeks, the Run Well coaches and other experts will offer advice
and guidance and answer reader questions to help you
prepare for the big day. The first step is to sign up and pick your experience
level. Then select a training plan from one of the
following top running coaches.
Jeff Galloway: Jeff Galloway, a member of the 1972 Olympic track team, is the
author of several books on running and conducts
marathon training groups around the United States as well as online coaching.
The goal of this program, adopted from the book
"Galloway Training Programs," is to get the runner to both the start and finish
lines injury-free by incorporating regular "walk
breaks" during training runs and the marathon itself.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/meet-the-coaches-track-your-training


10. Benefits of Strengthening and Lengthening Your Body:
By Kelly Wissolik
Laying in the grass, looking up at the beautiful blue sky while holding that
hamstring stretch you think, "Ahh, another workout in
the bank! What a great day! A long endurance ride followed by a solid 45 minute
run. Okay, time to shower and eat." So you head
inside and tackle the other tasks on your to-do list. Tomorrow brings a long run
and perhaps a swim. As a triathlete, your days are
filled with swimming, biking and running. With your busy schedule and all of
this sport-specific exercise, how often are you really
taking the time to stretch? How often are you strengthening your core?
Strengthening and lengthening the body is an often overlooked task for most
endurance athletes. However, the benefits of spending
just a few short sessions a week on stretches and strengthening exercises such
as yoga or pilates are immense. Many endurance
athletes are turning to workouts like yoga, pilates and other forms of core
conditioning because they see significant performance
gains due to increased flexibility, improved core strength and injury
prevention.
There are various types of yoga, which has roots in religion and spirituality.
Yoga typically uses a combination of physical
postures (known as asanas) and breathing techniques (known as pranayama) as well
as meditation to purify the mind, body and spirit.
The word "yoga" means "union," a definition that fits well with its ability to
center the mind and the body.
Yoga allows the mind to enter a relaxed and meditative state while also pushing
the body to gain increased flexibility, strength and
balance. Athletes use restorative yoga sessions to put the mind and body back in
balance by deeply opening tight muscle groups
through deep stretches and various poses performed in a relaxing environment.
Other short yoga sequences are often used during a
warm-up and/or cool-down to center the mind and steady the pulse. Yoga poses
increase range of motion which supports and stabilizes
the skeletal system, further preventing injury. The concentration and mind-body
connection gained in yoga can enhance the mental
focus needed in endurance sports training and racing. Combined with slow
breathing, relaxation and meditative aspects of yoga, it
can be a great way to relax and unwind. Yoga alleviates stress, muscle tension
and many aches and pains as well as improving
flexibility, muscular strength, posture, circulation and general well-being.
With all of these benefits athletes are able to train
harder, get faster, prevent injury and stay focused!
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6551


11. Race Day Fuel by Coach Christine Palmquist:
No matter how well you've trained, race day fueling can make or break your race.
Before you arrive at your "A" race, you should
have practiced race day fueling in several breakthrough workouts and practice
race situations.
Your race day fueling begins at least 24 hours before you stand on the starting
line.    Things to consider:
*  Glycogen Loading - In the 24 hours leading up to your race, eat carbohydrate
rich foods and beverages with each meal and snack.
Aim to total 4-5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight during this
day.  For a 150 pound athlete, this means 600-750 grams
of carbohydrates or 2400-3000 calories of carbohydrates.  This can add up
quickly if you drink fruit smoothies and energy drinks
along with your meals.
*  Fluids - Drink often, but don't force it.  Energy drinks and fruit juices
make ideal day-before drinks as they can boost your
carbohydrate intake and often include electrolytes to maintain your electrolyte
balance.
*  Sodium - If you are an athlete prone to cramping or weather conditions will
be hot/humid, consider sodium loading.  Eat salty
foods, take some electrolyte capsules and drink energy drinks.
*  Fiber - You need to know what your body needs and give it just enough.  I
would avoid big salads and any foods high in fiber for
lunch or dinner the day before your race.
Race Breakfast:
*  Eat 1 gram of carbohydrate per pound of body weight with your pre-race
breakfast.  For our 150 pound athlete, that means 150
grams or 600 calories.
Choose foods and drinks that have worked well for you in many practice races. 
Typical pre-race breakfast foods include:  Boost,
Ensure, bagels with honey and/or peanut butter, bananas, yogurt, hard boiled
eggs, apple sauce, energy bars, energy drinks, toast,
waffles, oatmeal, and cereals.
*  Focus on carbohydrates for breakfast and avoid fats.  Some athletes find that
a little protein can make their fuel last longer.
It can also lead to stomach distress.  If in doubt, skip the protein.
*  Fluids - drink as soon as you wake up with the aim of rehydrating.  Stop
drinking 1-2 hours before your race so that you don't
start the race with a full bladder.  10 minutes before your race, "top off your
fluids" with a reasonable gulp of energy drink.
During the race:
*  For races longer than 60 minutes, you will benefit from in-race fueling and
fluids.
*  Start early with your fueling - within the first 15 minutes.
*  Average 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour during your race.  These can be
exclusively in fluid form if you have stomach
issues.  Always follow gels, bars and concentrated drinks with some water.
*  Drink every 10-15 minutes throughout the race.  With each drinking
opportunity, your job is to "know" what your body needs.  It
may need a small sip, or it may need more.  By drinking often, you can keep up
with your needs.  Don't over-drink - be perceptive.
Weather and pace may have changed your fluid requirements from previous
experiences.  Be open to this and give your body what it
needs, no more, no less.
*  Sodium and electrolytes -if you are prone to cramps or will race in hot,
humid conditions, add some sodium capsules according to
the manufacturers directions.  Take these with water.
Post-race:
*  Although you may not want to, try to have a recovery drink within 15 minutes
of your race.  This drink should include fluids,
50-100 grams of carbohydrates and some sodium.  Repeat this drink or begin
adding solid foods at regular intervals for two hours
after your race.  Proper recovery nutrition can slash the number of days that
you will need to recover from this racing effort.
Christine Palmquist is a USAT Elite Level III TrainingBible Coach and can be
reached at mailto:cpalmquist@...


12. Calorie burn after exercise is 'minimal':
Metabolic boost from workout is overstated: study.
There is a long-held belief that exercise can turn you into a fat-burning
machine. The idea is based on the suggestion that fat
burning occurs not just during exercise but also long after your workout is
over. That post-exercise burn, so goes the theory, is
instrumental in losing unwanted weight.
As it turns out, however, like so many headlines touting weight-loss miracles,
this one is more myth than fact.
"To our surprise, we have found that exercise has little, if any, effect on
24-hour fat oxidation [burning]," declared Edward
Melanson, an exercise physiologist from the University of Colorado and lead
author in an article from the April issue of Exercise
and Sport Sciences Review.
Melanson used an interesting design to challenge the long-held belief that
exercise enhances fat burning. Sixtyfive candidates of
varying fitness level and girth (well-trained and sedentary, lean and obese) all
cycled at varied intensities until they burned 400
calories, after which they were monitored for 24 hours -- a period that exceeds
most other studies by several hours. All were
monitored in closed quarters and were able to eat during the 24-hour period.
None posted results that suggested enhanced fat burning
during or after their workouts.
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=1680600


13. Irregular heartbeats raise risk of stroke:
Research shows that the condition increases the risk of stroke five-fold, but a
mere 4 per cent of patients are aware of the danger.
Marilyn Eardley had just returned from a vigorous aqua fitness class and lunch
with friends when the phone rang. Her daughter,
calling for a run-of-the-mill chat, immediately became alarmed.
"She was panicking, but I didn't know what her problem was. I felt fine," Ms.
Eardley said.
She wasn't fine. Her words were slurred and jumbled, her mouth drooping -
classic signs of a stroke.
Ms. Eardley, 63, was rushed to the hospital and received clot-busting drugs. She
has virtually no sequelae.
But the Oakville, Ont., woman still suffers from atrial fibrillation, an
irregular heart rhythm that places sufferers at markedly
higher risk of stroke.
"Atrial fibrillation is a fairly common condition but a lot of people are
unaware they have the condition and many more are not
treated," said Paul Dorian, a cardiologist and spokesman for the Heart and
Stroke Foundation.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/irregular-heartbeats-raise-risk-of-st\
roke/article1177346/


14.  Protect your penis while pedalling:
Unless you spend your life watching The Osbournes, your genitals will be in
harm's way, sooner or later. Whether it's telling the
guy with 'roid rage at the gym he's ''overdeveloped" or just blasting a squash
ball around the court, sooner or later you'll take
one in the box. We thought you ought to know.
Sadly, cyclists are more likely than most to do so, which is a pity, because
cycling is superb exercise. And the more you pedal, the
better your chance of wiping that smile off the old one-eyed snake's dial
occasionally.
There's a good reason for this: your penis is nearly twice as long as you think
it is. The bad news is that most of this burgeoning
tissue is tucked away inside you - probably a good thing, you'd just show off
anyway. There's a reason for it, though. When you get
an erection, there's a little bugle that sounds in your nether regions. It's the
signal for two arteries in your penis to stretch,
to about twice their normal size. This is so they can pump a prodigious amount
of blood into your manhood, enabling it to go from
flaccid to rock-hard in seconds. You may have noticed this yourself at some
stage.
The destination for all the blood is two long tubes of spongy tissue, which,
once engorged, hold up the erection. Ingenious, right?
It's also where biking and bonking meet (apart from one obscure Danish movie).
When the arteries are damaged in any way, the blood can't get to the erectile
tissue. This can be caused by smoking, high blood
pressure, a fatty diet, aging, or physical damage.
Here's how it happens
Your penile arteries are flexible, and because the outside, visible portion of
the penis can move around when flaccid, it has less
chance of injury, even though it's dangling about and making suggestions about
how you spend your time.
More...from Health 24 at:
http://www.health24.com/fitness/Specific_sports/16-476-492,20776.asp


15. Digest Briefs:
** Training Tip: Warming Up
To optimize performance in a race, it is absolutely crucial to get in a
sufficient warm up. Consider the following:
- the shorter the race, the longer the warm up should be. Keeping in mind that
every athlete is different, the following general
guidelines apply to triathlons:
~  A try-a-tri triathlon should demand a good long warm up...20 to 30 minutes!
~  A Sprint to an Olympic distance can be handled with a short bike and a
moderate swim warm up.
~  A Half Ironman requires only a short swim warm up.
~ And Ironman...well, a minute or two of easy swimming should do.
- the warm up should start very slow, very aerobic. And progressively build to a
moderate effort. Finish the warm up such that you
have reached goal race pace for a minute or two.
- note that some triathlons do not allow athletes into the water until X minutes
before the start of the race. And often this window
is too small a time frame to get a suitable swim warm up in. Have a Plan B warm
up routine.which would include a dry-land swim warm
up (arm circles, swim tubing, etc).
- perhaps most importantly, show up to the race venue early! Register, pick up
your kit, timing chip, set up your transition...and
then warm up sufficiently.
Allow time for a proper warm up, and you will for certain race better.
From the Endurance Lab Newsletter. Subscribe at:
http://www.endurancelab.ca/maillist.asp
**  The Claim: Candy Can Hinder Athletic Performance
Lamar Odom, the star forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, is known for his
outsized love of candy, sometimes downing entire bags of
chocolate and jelly beans on game day.
Last week, a doctor and Lakers fan wrote an essay linking Odom's sweet tooth to
his "erratic" and sometimes lethargic play. Odom
countered that if anything the excessive sugar helps his performance.
But what do studies have to say?
According to research, candy before exercise can enhance performance, but only
to a point. Studies have shown, for example, that
when athletes eat a 180-calorie candy bar and then ride a stationary bike for an
hour - sprinting for the final 15 minutes - they
perform better than on days when they drink only water beforehand. But on days
when the subjects eat a solid meal a few hours
earlier and then have sugar before riding, they do better than on just the sugar
alone.
Candy can be as efficient as healthier options like fruit, and because people
typically secrete little insulin during exercise,
crashing is unlikely, said Nancy Clark, a sports nutritionist. But candy lacks
nutrients that are critical to things like bone
strength and post-exercise recovery.
For best results, pre-exercise meals should combine protein and easily
digestible carbohydrates.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Sugar can work as quick fuel for exercise, but nutrient-rich foods are better.
  ** This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Nora Leticia Rocha (MEX) led a 1-2-3-4 MEX sweep of the women's
10,000m at the
                Harry Jerome Meeting (CAN) with her 32:34.4.  Adriana Fernandez,
Maria Isabel
                Juarez, and Madai Perez followed with 32:39.6, 32:48.9, and
32:55.7 respectively.
                Shawn Found (USA) won the first race of the men's 10,000m with a
28:54.0, more
                than 40 seconds ahead of 2nd place Kyle Baker (USA) at 29:34.7. 
David Galvan
                (MEX) won the second race in 28:12.53 with Sisay Bezebah (ETH)
2nd in 28:13.01
                and Alejandro Salvador (MEX) 3rd in 28:14.19.
20 Years Ago-  David Clarke (ENG) won the Stockholm (SWE) Marathon in 2:13:34
with Carlos Retiz
                (MEX) and John Burra (TAN) rounding out the top three with
2:14:35 and 2:15:00
                respectively.  Kjell-Erik Stahl was 4th for the Swedish title in
2:15:07.  On
                the women's side, 47 year old Evy Palm (SWE) ran 2:33:26 to win
overall as well
                getting the Swedish title.  Renata Kokowska (POL) was 2nd in
2:35:43 and Jutta Pedersen
                (SWE) was 3rd in 2:41:32.
30 Years Ago-  Fernando Mamede (POR) won the 5000m at the European Clubs Champs
(POR) with a
                13:47.3.  Zoran Molovic (SER) was 2nd and Erwin Wagger (AUT) was
3rd (times
                unknown).  Mamede came back the next day to win the 10,000m in
28:22.0.  He was
                followed by Aniceto Simoes (POR) and Hendrik Schoofs (BEL) (times
unknown).
40 Years Ago-  Jim McDonagh (USA) won the 7th edition of the Holyoke (MA/USA)
Marathon in 2:33:04.
                Ray Hall (USA) and Ted Corbitt (USA) collected 2nd and 3rd with
2:37:43 and 2:42:13
                respectively.  Over the years. the race date has been gradually
moved to early May
                to avoid the notorious heat associated with this race.  The race
celebrated its
                47th running this past May.
50 Years Ago-  Billy Mills (USA) won the Central Collegiate Conference
Championships (WI/USA) 3M in
                14:18.9.  Five years later, Mills would win the gold medal in the
10,000m at the Tokyo
                Olympics in less than twice the time he ran here for 3 miles.
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.
**  Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
*  Surgery for Blocked Arteries Questioned
What should you do if your doctor tells you that you have blocked coronary
arteries?  A recent study shows that in people who have
blocked arteries and diabetes, the chances of dying or having a major heart
attack are the same whether they undergo surgical
procedures (bypass or stents) or just take medication to treat cholesterol,
blood pressure and diabetes.  Death rate was also the
same whether or not they took insulin (BARI 2D study, New England Journal of
Medicine. June 10, 2009).
Patients who had bypass procedures had fewer heart attacks than those who had
stents, even though both had the same chances of dying
(also reported in the BARI-1 trial).  I think
that stents are less effective in preventing heat attacks because stents are
foreign bodies placed in arteries that can increase
chances of clotting, a major precipitating cause of heart attacks. That is why
people with stents are given drugs to prevent
clotting. Also, type 2 diabetics who were not given insulin had fewer blockages
than those given insulin. I think that this is
because high insulin levels constricts coronary arteries.
This is a very important study because the most common cause of a sudden heart
attack is diabetes, and 80 percent of diabetics die
of heart disease.  More than 1/3rd of Americans will become diabetic and that
number is projected to double by 2030.
If you have diabetes and blocked arteries, try to avoid surgery. If you need
surgery, you may gain better protection from a bypass
than from a stent.  I also believe that you should try to
control type II diabetes without insulin.  Get a blood test called C peptide
(which measures insulin production). If it is above
one, try to avoid insulin.  If it is below one, or you cannot get your HBA1C
blood test (which measures cellular damage from
diabetes) below 6.5, you may need insulin.
For everyone, I recommend: 1) A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
beans, seeds and nuts. Restrict meat from mammals,
and eat refined carbohydrates (sugar water and
flour) only when exercising. 2) Exercise every day, and avoid overweight,
smoking and more than two alcoholic drinks a day. 3) Keep
blood  levels of vitamin D3 above 75 nmol/L.
* Dear Dr. Mirkin: Is it true that only weight-bearing sports strengthen bones?
Many studies have shown that weight lifting and weight bearing sports strengthen
bones, but a new study from Thailand suggests that
non-impact exercise such as swimming or cycling help to increase calcium
absorption from the intestines (American Journal of
Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism, April 2009).  In this study, rats that
swam one hour a day, five days a week for two weeks
had a marked increase in calcium absorption compared to their non-swimming
litter mates.   The researchers conclude that any
exercise helps to upregulate the calcium transporter genes.


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

April 19 - June 21, 2009:
Trans Europe Footrace - Bari, Italy to Cape North, Norway (4485Km)
English Updates

June 10 - 13, 2009:
NCAA Division I Track & Field Championship - Fayetteville, Arkansas
Live Coverage on the Internet

June 13, 2009:
Britannia Beach 5Km Fun Run - Ottawa, ON

DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay, Lake Tahoe, CA

Ottawa Riverkeeper Triathlon, Duathlon & Relays - Ottawa, ON

Steamboat Classic - Peoria, IL

June 14, 2009:
High1 Long Distance Triathlon Asian Championships - South Korea


June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
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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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our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
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!
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7. January 4, 2008: Goodlife Fitness has come on board as a sponsor of Emilie's
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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.
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NEW SUBSCRIBERS: Check the "New Subscribers' note at the bottom of the
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Add the Runner's Web News feed to your site through a simple JavaScript. Check
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The Runner's and Triathlete's Web Digest is now available
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Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
the link on our FrontPage at:
http://www.runnersweb.com . We have added a button for Lauren Groves,
Triathlete.

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
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Race Directors: Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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You can also list your events for free in our Interactive Calendars and on our
Marathons, Races and Triathlons pages.

NEW THIS WEEK:

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Special Father's Day Offer from HK Publishers
Having trouble figuring out what to get Dad for Father's Day or looking for ways
to keep active this summer?  As a thank you to
their customers and fathers everywhere, Human Kinetics is offering a special 15%
discount for a limited time on any product
purchased from their website  www.humankinetics.com   . They have all kinds of
resources from sports and fitness to strength
training and nutrition. Enter Code E5241 into the promo code box at check out.
Offer expires: June 21, 2009

Footlocker Specials:
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ChampionUSA:
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through June 21st.
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Holabird Sports:
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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:
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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:
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We have 2.537 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
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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. Women Who Run May Benefit From Extra Folic Acid
In athletes who stop menstruating, supplements boost vascular function, study
finds.
2. Ballerinas And Female Athletes Share Quadruple Health Threats
3. How Many Calories Are You Really Burning?
Don't believe everything you read.
4. VO2max - The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com
5. Runners4Runners
6. Fewer Americans following a healthy lifestyle
7. Sport psychology: take mental charge of your performance
8. Top Tips for Long Distance Racing
9. Work Hard or Work Smart: Which Way To Fitness?
10. Triathlon Training: Managing Your Appetite
11. Good mood can run a long time after workout
12. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
13. 18 Supplements That Could Help Your Body Heal Faster
14. Anti-Inflammatory Foods
15. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"How long have you been running?"

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:
"The women's world record for the mile is 4.12.56 set by Svetlana Masterkova of
Russia in 1996. Will a woman ever break 4 minutes
for the mile?"
Answers Percent
1.   Never  25%
2.   50 years  6%
3.   25 years  13%
4.   10 years  25%
5.   5 years  13%
6.   1-4 years  19%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: MirindaCarfrae.com
Name: Mirinda Carfrae
Nationality: Australian
Height: 161 cm Weight: 52 kg
Birthday: 26 March 1981
Occupation: Professional Triathlete
Coach: Siri Lindley: www.siri-lindley.com
Hometown: Logan City, Queensland
Training Camps: Queensland, Australia; California, USA, Colorado, USA
Federation Links : Triathlon Queensland and Triathlon Australia
Mirinda started sports at an early age, playing basketball and a variety of
other school sports. In 2000, at the age of 19, she
competed in her first triathlon. Even though she did not have a background in
swimming, running, or biking, she experienced success
in 2001 when she made the Australian Junior Elite Team. Mirinda then went on to
represent Australia at the ITU Triathlon World
Championships from 2001 through till 2005 earning silver medals in 2002 and
2003. More recently Mirinda has focused on the longer
distances. She won the Nice Long Course triathlon in 2004 and got silver at the
ITU Long Course World Championships in Denmark in
2005. With the introduction of the Ironman 70.3 series in 2006, Mirinda claimed
the St Croix and Baja titles early in the year,
going on to win a bronze at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in the same
year. In 2007, Mirinda came second in 4 half ironman
distance triathlons before winning the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in
world record time.
With four 70.3 wins already in 2008, Mirinda has clearly claimed the 70.3
distance as her own and leaves no doubt that she's a force
to be reckoned with in ironman racing.......
Check out her site at:
http://www.mirindacarfrae.com


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any
Stage In Your Life
By Dara Torres
Product Description
From legendary Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres comes a motivational,
inspirational memoir about staying fit, aging gracefully, and
pursuing your dreams.
Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she
launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age
of forty-one-years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight
years since her last Olympics. When she took three
silver medals in Beijing-including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the
gold medalist in the women's 50-meter
freestyle-America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her
good-natured acceptance of the results.
Now, in Age Is Just a Number, Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback
first came to her-when she was months into her
first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned
to serious training-while nursing her infant
daughter and contending with her beloved father's long battle with cancer.
Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older
athlete in a younger athletes' game; about
competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and
finally-about seizing the moment and, most
important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate
with women of all ages-and with anyone daring to
entertain a seemingly impossible dream.
About the Author
DARA TORRES has set three world records and has brought home twelve Olympic
medals, including four golds. She is the first American
swimmer to have competed in five Olympics. She lives in Florida.
Buy the book at Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767931904/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

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. Women Who Run May Benefit From Extra Folic Acid:
In athletes who stop menstruating, supplements boost vascular function, study
finds.
High-dose folic acid supplementation improved vascular function in young female
runners who stopped menstruating (amenorrhea)
because their caloric intake was lower than their energy output, researchers
say.
The findings suggest that folic acid may decrease cardiovascular risk and also
improve performance in young female athletes,
according to the Medical College of Wisconsin researchers.
"Previous studies have shown that amenorrheic women runners have decreased
dilation in the main (brachial) artery of the arm in
response to blood flow. Athletic amenorrhea has a hormonal profile similar to
menopause, when the earliest sign of cardiovascular
disease is reduced vascular dilation, which can limit oxygen uptake and affect
performance," study author Dr. Stacy Lynch, a women's
sports medicine fellow, said in a news release.
The study included 16 female college or recreational runners, aged 18 to 35, who
weren't on birth control pills and had been running
at least 20 miles a week for the past year. All the women were healthy, but six
of them had reduced vascular function and irregular
or absent menstrual periods.
More...from Forbes at:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/05/31/hscout627440.html?feed=rss_forbesl\
ife_health


2. Ballerinas And Female Athletes Share Quadruple Health Threats:
A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O., at The Medical
College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has revealed that young
female professional dancers face the same health risks as young female athletes
when they don't eat enough to offset the energy they
spend, and stop menstruating as a consequence.
"These two components of the female athlete tetrad put them at higher risk for
the other two; the cardiovascular and bone density
deficits of much older, postmenopausal women," according to Dr. Hoch, associate
professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the
Froedtert & the Medical College Women's Sports Medicine Center.
The researchers studied 22 professional ballerinas, all members of the Milwaukee
Ballet Company, to determine the prevalence of
disordered eating, amenorrhea (lack of menstruation), abnormal vascular function
and low bone density. Study findings were presented
at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting in Seattle, May 30.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090530094456.htm


3. How Many Calories Are You Really Burning?
Don't believe everything you read.
Hustle to the locker room-there's less than an hour to spare. Strapping on a
heart rate monitor as you head to the front door, you
notice the rain clouds have turned into a storm. The multiple flashes of
lightning and the forceful crash of thunder suggest running
outside just isn't worth the risk. Too bad there's not enough time to wait out
the storm. Looks like a day for the treadmill.
As you plug away, you can't help but notice the calorie expenditure window on
the treadmill making its climb.  Slowing the treadmill
for a cooldown walk you read nearly 800 calories burned.  "Fabulous," you would
like to think, but you have reason to be confused,
given that your heart rate monitor claims you burned more like 550 calories.
Those who rely on that calorie window at the gym for daily caloric goals may end
up feeling only disappointment. It's not uncommon
to be deceived by the calorie expenditure reading of your favorite piece of
equipment. For starter, the caloric tally is often based
on the average 150-pound male. Moreover, even if you fit this build your calorie
expenditure could be quite different.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16669


4. VO2max - The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com:
**  Bones (excerpted from Karp, J.R. The Bare Bones. IDEA Fitness Journal. May
2009.)
Just like your muscles get stronger when you apply stress to them, so do your
bones.  The elegant adaptation of bone to withstand
stress is called Wolff's Law, and is explained by the changes to the internal
strain of bone caused by external stress, which
activates mature bone cells called osteocytes that alter the balance between
bone resorption and formation in favor of formation,
leading to greater bone mass.  External stress is so important to bone health
that the absence of stress by immobilization results
in losses in
bone mineral density (BMD) of 1 percent per week.  If you have ever elevated a
leg off the ground by using crutches, you have seen
the massive muscle atrophy that occurs when not bearing weight on the injured
leg.  Interestingly, the lack of stress on your leg by
not bearing weight affects your bones just as much.
While weight-bearing exercise is better than non-weight-bearing exercise for
burning calories and losing weight, it's also better
for your bones.  Research has shown that people who participate in sports
involving running and jumping, such as soccer, distance
running, basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball, have greater BMD compared to
non-active people and even compared to athletes in
non-impact sports, such as swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing, and rowing. 
While some running is good for bones, more running
is
not necessarily better, as research has shown a negative association between
running mileage and BMD when people run more than 20
miles per week.  Comparing athletes in different sports, a number of studies
have found that athletes in high-impact activities,
like gymnastics, have the greatest BMD.
Despite the repetitive stress of running, which imposes two to three times your
body weight with each landing of your foot on the
ground, the large forces associated with weight training have an even greater
impact on BMD.  The strong contraction of muscles as
they pull on the bones to which they attach influences the magnitude of stress
on the bones themselves.  And the magnitude of stress
on the bones is more important for increasing BMD than the number of times the
stress is repeated, so you only need one set of a
heavy weight to increase BMD.
For bones to maximize their adaptive response to exercise, they require a
dynamic, rather than static, stress; either a
low-frequency, high-intensity stimulus (e.g., heavy weight training with few
reps per set) or a high-frequency, low-intensity
stimulus (e.g., running five miles at an easy pace), with a high-intensity
stimulus being more effective; and a direction and
magnitude of stress different from what are normally experienced.
**  The Runner's Heart
The heart is the symbol for our most powerful emotion, love.  It can be found
among the scribbles in a lovestruck girl's high school
notebook, as a figure of speech when we thank people ("from the bottom of my
heart"), and as a metaphor for life and death when
beneath the delicate hands of a surgeon as he performs a bypass operation.  Even
when we salute the American flag and sing the
National Anthem, we place our hand over our heart as a symbol of loyalty to and
respect for our country.
The ancient Greeks may have been the first to acknowledge the existence of the
heart, which they named kardia.  Our words cardiac,
cardiovascular, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), echocardiogram, and cardiologist
are all derived from that word. The Greek
philosopher Aristotle thought that the heart was the seat of the soul and the
center of man.  But it is certainly also the most
extraordinary muscle in the human body.  It is always working, from before we
are born until we die.  It has both the unique ability
and responsibility of delivering the most important chemical
element--oxygen--throughout the body to sustain life.  And it is how
our most vital body fluid--blood--is delivered to our organs and running
muscles.  With running, we can actually train the heart to
pump more efficiently, to pump more blood (and hence, oxygen) with each beat.
The amount of blood the heart pumps with each contraction of its left ventricle
(the heart's largest chamber that is responsible for
sending blood to every part of the body except the lungs) is called the stroke
volume.  Multiply the stroke volume by the heart
rate, and you get the amount of blood pumped by the heart each minute, called
the cardiac output.
The first documented case of an enlarged heart in a distance runner may have
been Clarence DeMar, who won the Boston Marathon 7
times between 1911 and 1930.  A large heart is so characteristic of genetically
gifted and highly trained runners that it is
considered a physiological condition by the scientific and medical communities
called Athlete's Heart.  Specific training can make
your heart larger and increase your maximum stroke volume and cardiac output. 
Since cardiac output is one-half of the equation that
determines VO2max, when maximum cardiac output increases, so does your VO2max.
Intervals of 3- to 5-minute work periods provide the heaviest load on the
cardiovascular system because of the repeated attainment
of the heart's maximum stroke volume and cardiac output (and, by definition,
VO2max).  In response to the imposed threat of running
at the heart's maximum ability to pump blood, the heart responds by increasing
its contractility (pumping strength) and by enlarging
its most important chamber (left ventricle) so that more blood and oxygen can be
sent to the working skeletal muscles.  The larger
your left ventricle, the more blood it can hold; the more blood it can hold, the
more blood it can pump.
If you can't get to a laboratory to tell you the pace at which your VO2max
occurs, you can use your current race performances or
heart rate.  VO2max pace is close to 1.5-mile race pace for recreational runners
and close to 3K or 2-mile race pace (10 to 15
seconds per mile faster than 5K race pace) for highly trained runners.  You
should be within a few beats of your maximum heart rate
by the end of each work interval.  Examples of workouts are: 1) 3 x 1,200 meters
(or 4-5 minutes) at VO2max pace with 3 to 4 minutes
recovery; 2) 4 x 1,000 meters (or 3-4 minutes) at VO2max pace with 2.5 to 3
minutes recovery; and 3) 6 x 800 meters (or 3 minutes)
at VO2max pace with 2.5 to 3 minutes recovery.
**  Rest Periods
If you lift weights, do you ever wonder how long you should rest between sets? 
A study published in the January, 2009 issue of
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that resting 2.5 minutes
between sets caused a greater increase in muscle size
after 10 weeks of strength training than resting for only 1 minute between sets
in men who had not weight trained before.  The
longer rest period enabled the subjects to use a higher percentage of their
one-rep max for each set, so it's possible they
recruited a greater
percentage of the available muscle fibers, giving them a greater hypertrophic
response.
To view past newsletters go to: http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter
Copyright Jason Karp All Rights Reserved - http://www.runcoachjason.com


5.  Runners4Runners:
Every once in a while we encounter a real-life story that touches our hearts and
breathes hope for the future, revealing the best in
human nature. This is one of them. Please take a moment to look at this webpage
and catch the spirit  www.urdt.net/runners/
The girls at URDT in rural Uganda are totally committed to running and working
to help others, in spite of very challenging
circumstances.  As an athlete I am truly inspired by the girl's story.  As I
raced to a personal best and set a new Canadian record
in the half marathon recently, I found myself thinking of the girl's.  Without a
doubt any amount of pain or fatigue that I was
feeling seemed insignificant compared to the challenges these girls face on a
daily basis.   Their strength and determination kept
me focused and I know their story will touch your heart and do the same for you.
So, let's make a commitment, to running - running
not for ourselves but for the betterment of others.  These girls are truly
inspiring and their story shows us what we can accomplish
when we commit to a goal.
Here's how you can help. Once you have visited the website and read the girl's
story there are a number of ways you can choose to
support this great cause.  You can choose to create an individual and/or team
webpage, or you can simply join an existing team's
webpage.   As runners there are a number of ways you can target your fundraising
goals - running in local road races; or perhaps
competing in various track and field/cross country races if you are on a school
team or a competitive athlete.  The possibilities
are endless.  Most importantly, if you are planning to support a local cause you
can feel good supporting the girls in Uganda at the
same time. The two are complementary - local, and a worthy cause in Africa. It's
easy to join in.  You can also forward this to
other people who aren't runners whom you think would be moved by this story and
may want to donate directly; that's great too.
"As both a woman and a runner, I am proud to support Runners4Runners. Growing up
in Canada and having the support of our education
system made me realize how truly fortunate we are.   For the girls of Uganda, an
education is a life changing opportunity; to be
able to better themselves, strengthen their communities and learn to be leaders.
Through education and sport we can make this connection. In supporting these
girls I join their cause and I challenge others in the
running community to do the same.   Let's make a commitment to running- running
not for ourselves, but for the betterment of others.
These girls are truly inspiring and their story shows us what we can accomplish
when we commit to a goal. I'm very excited to be
involved in such an amazing cause and I'm really looking forward to doing what I
can to help.
I'm very excited to be a part of such an amazing cause and with your help I know
we can make a difference. I can't possibly Thank
you enough for your support of these remarkable young girls in Uganda. I know
they will never forget it.   All the best,  Tara
Quinn-Smith   - Canadian Marathon & Half Marathon Champion."


6. Fewer Americans following a healthy lifestyle:
The number of middle-aged and older Americans who eat right, exercise and keep
their weight down has declined substantially in the
past two decades, a new study finds.
Using data from a large government health survey, researchers found that in
2006, only 26 percent of Americans ages 40 to 74 said
they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day -- down from 42
percent in 1988.
When it came to exercise, 43 percent said they worked out at least 12 times per
month, versus 53 percent in 1988.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the rate of obesity went in the opposite direction,
from 28 percent in 1988 to 36 percent in 2006, the
researchers report in the June issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5505MX20090601


7. Sport psychology: take mental charge of your performance:
Mental stress can hurt your performances in a variety of different ways. It can
raise heart rate and oxygen consumption, harming
your exercise efficiency and causing particular workout and race speeds to feel
tougher than they actually should. It can increase
muscle tension, reducing stride lengths (if you are a runner) and making your
legs and arms considerably less 'springy' and
powerful. On a cognitive level, stress prevents you from 'mentally managing'
your tough workouts and races; instead of relaxing and
focusing on the task at hand, you are preoccupied with stressful thoughts and
emotions, so the quality of your performance
decreases.
If you feel stressed-out before and during your competitions or hard training
sessions, what can you do to control the stress, and
thus increase your chances of performing at your highest-possible level? Sport
psychologists have proposed a number of different
stress-managing techniques over the years, but one of the most successful has
been something called 'stress-inoculation training'.
Developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Donald Meichenbaum, a
psychologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada,
stress-inoculation training takes its name from the fact that it exposes
individuals to stress in manageable but gradually
increasing amounts, thereby enhancing 'immunity' to stress for the persons
practising the technique.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/stress-management-sport-125


8. Top Tips for Long Distance Racing:
By Monique Ryan, MS, RD
Nutritional preparation for Ironman racing is both a science and an art, with
each competitor formulating their own mix of training
and race nutrition strategies. However, there are some essential ingredients to
race-day success. Below are some nutrition tips
deserving of your time and attention in preparation for race day.
Your Daily Diet
Of course the quality of your daily diet is important for your health, with
whole grains, fruit, and vegetables comprising the
majority of your carbohydrate intake. Lean proteins, and adequate amounts of
healthy fat also provide dietary balance. But much of
what distinguishes your training diet and affects your recovery is how you
portion and time your food intake.
Match your nutrition plan to your training plan
Often referred to as nutritional periodization, this simply requires that you
eat just the right amounts of carbohydrate, protein,
and fat for that day's training. You can have the best nutrition on race day,
but if you do not feed your body appropriately every
day, you will not arrive at the race in the best shape possible.
Long training days and intense training sessions mean that you burn through more
muscle glycogen for fuel, and underconsuming
carbohydrate can compromise muscle glycogen recovery. Your body also needs
plenty of protein when you are building your training
program for muscle tissue repair and a strong immune system. Super long cycling
days may require that you take your fat intake up a
notch.
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6447


9. Work Hard or Work Smart: Which Way To Fitness?
I took myself for a swim today, part of my 'easing back into exercise' program,
and had a couple of revelations.
I'm by no means a great swimmer.  I learned to swim with any degree of
proficiency as part of my first few outings as a triathlete
in 2005, and was lucky enough to get some coaching from a guy named Clay Evans,
an Olympic silver medalist who now runs a very
popular master's swimming program here in Southern California.
Clay taught our class of budding triathletes the basics of the crawl, but he
also taught us how to structure a swimming workout.  At
the time, I was prepping to race distances from a quarter-mile to a full mile,
and before I started training with Clay's group,
would just swim lap after lap, vaguely trying to improve on my previous
workout's record.
According to Clay, that's not the way to learn to swim better.  Clay handed all
his charges a sheaf of pages with some standard
workouts on them, and though they all varied in difficulty, length, and
complexity, they all followed a basic pattern:  drills that
built technique alternated with drills that built strength and stamina.
Example:  you'd do a few laps with your hands in fists--which teaches you to use
your whole arm efficiently--and then you'd do a few
100-meter repeats on the 2:00, trying to go faster and faster each time. The
first drill emphasized and built on one particular
aspect of your stroke; the next one put it into practice.  The first one forced
you to slow down and think, the next one forced you
to speed up and get out of your head.
The ldea was that in a race, the two different approaches--the one which taught
you to swim well, the other to swim hard--ultimately
would blend, giving you a technically sound stroke that was also strong and
enduring.
More...from Male Pattern Fitness at:
http://www.malepatternfitness.com/2009/6/3/898055/work-hard-or-work-smart-which-\
way


10. Triathlon Training: Managing Your Appetite:
Appetite is important. It is your body's built-in mechanism for food intake
regulation. Its job is to drive you to eat enough to
meet your body's energy and micronutrient needs, and no more. The appetite
mechanism works very well under normal circumstances.
Obviously, it never would have survived millions of years of evolutionary
testing if it did not work to the benefit of our health.
But our modern lifestyle does not constitute normal circumstances in relation to
the environment in which most of our evolution took
place. Consequently, our appetite cannot be entirely relied upon to ensure that
we don't overeat and get fat.
The crux of the problem is that many modern processed foods, such as
cheeseburgers, are far more calorically dense than most natural
foods, such as carrots. Consequently, we can eat 500 or even 1,000 calories in
just a few minutes when dining on cheeseburgers
compared to scarcely 100 calories in the same amount of time when snacking on
carrots. Because appetite is not satisfied
instantaneously when food is swallowed (there's a lag time of 10 to 20 minutes),
it's possible to eat far more calories than you
need to satisfy your appetite when consuming cheeseburgers and other such foods.
In essence, the modern diet does an end run around
our appetite control mechanism.
Exercise is a great way to counterbalance this problem. Exercise increases
caloric usage more than it increases appetite, so when
you work out regularly some of those excess calories from processed foods don't
end up being stored as belly fat. As a triathlete,
therefore, you are in a better position to control your body weight than is the
average couch potato, despite the manner in which
our modern food environment sabotages our appetite control mechanism. However,
even most triathletes struggle to reach or maintain a
satisfactory body weight, which we may define as a weight that not only makes us
look good but that supports optimal triathlon
performance as well. A recent survey of more than 3,000 endurance athletes
reported that 54 percent were dissatisfied with their
current body weight. Clearly, then, there is a need for triathletes to manage
their appetite and avoid excessive caloric intake too.
Following are five appetite management methods that will enable you to prevent a
rumbling stomach from sabotaging your efforts to
reach and maintain your optimal racing weight.
More...from Competitor Magazine at:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/uncategorized/triathlon-training-managing-your-a\
ppetite/


11. Good mood can run a long time after workout:
Exercise experts have known for years that moderate physical activity improves
mood. Now a study shows that people are in a better
mood for up to 12 hours after they work out.
Researchers at the University of Vermont had 24 college students ride an
exercise bike for 20 minutes at a moderate intensity.
Another 24 people did no exercise during the same time period.
Afterward, everyone in both groups filled out questionnaires that evaluated
their overall mood at several intervals: one hour, two,
four, eight, 12 and 24 hours. The questions addressed tension, anger, vigor,
fatigue, confusion and depression.
The researchers found that people in the exercise group experienced a
significant improvement in mood immediately after the
exercise. They also had improved moods after two, four, eight and 12 hours
compared with the people who didn't exercise, says Jeremy
Sibold, an assistant professor in the university's Department of Rehabilitation
and Movement Science.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-06-02-exercise-mood_N.htm


12. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
** Burning During Exercise Differs from Muscle Pain After Exercise
The burning you feel in muscles during intense exercise is different from the
burning and pain you feel after exercising.   Burning
during intense exercise is caused by the acidity from accumulation of lactic
acid.  When your muscles cannot get all the oxygen they
need to convert food to energy during intense exercise, lactic acid accumulates
in muscles, makes them more acidic, and the acidity
causes a burning feeling.  Excess lactic acid is cleared from the muscles within
seconds after stopping exercise.
Lactic acid is good because it is the most efficient fuel for muscles during
exercise. It requires less oxygen for energy than
virtually all other fuels.  Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
neutralize lactic acid in muscles during intense exercise and helps athletes to
exercise longer (Medicine & Science in Sports &
Exercise, October 2006).  Caffeine (the amount in four cups of coffee) reduces
muscle burning during intense exercise (International
Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, April 2009).
Burning or pain eight to 24 hours after exercising is usually caused by damage
to the muscles themselves.  The longer you stay in
the burn during exercise and the greater the
force on your muscles during exercise, the greater the muscle damage.  Most
athletes train by taking a hard workout on one day,
damaging their muscles and feeling sore on the next, and then going at low
intensity for as many days as it takes for the soreness
to disappear.  When muscles heal from hard force on them, they become stronger. 
Athletes recover from hard exercise actively by
exercising at low intensity. They rarely take days off.  Exercising at low
intensity during recovery makes muscles more fibrous
which protects them from injury when they are stressed again.
**  Dear Dr Mirkin:  My doctor told me that my irregular heart beats won't harm
me. Should I continue to enter bicycle races at age
65?
Nobody knows.  Exercise cannot hurt a healthy heart. However, some heart
problems are silent and a person may not know that he has a
problem. This is a very controversial subject. We know that master athletes have
a very high incidence of irregular heartbeats, such
as intermittent atrial fibrillation (Annals of Internal Medicine April, 2009).  
Many doctors put these people on anticoagulants but
we do not know if this is necessary for them. You probably have a harmless
irregular heartbeat that should not keep you from
competition.  However, it is always possible that you may have hidden heart
problems.
Personally I still compete at age 75, take no medication, and do not restrict
myself. When I started to compete again after many
years of less regular exercise, I would suddenly lose my breath, which can be a
sign of irregular heartbeats.  By the time I
recovered my breath, I would be so far behind that I could not catch anyone.  I
may have taken great risks, but now that I am riding
regularly and following a good training program, it does not happen anymore.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


13. 18 Supplements That Could Help Your Body Heal Faster:
If you find yourself injured or laid up with inflammation, follow this exact
protocol for enhanced connective tissue healing, fast
recovery from injury-produced inflammation, and a quick return to your training
and competition after a strain, sprain or crash.
This information is not provided by a physician for medical treatment purposes,
but is rather a simple guide to natural supplements
that can assist with healing.
1. Glucosamine, ~500mg. Best when combined with Chondroitin, ~400mg. Spread it
through the day in three separate doses.
2. Chondroitin (see above).
3. Vitamin C, ~1000+mg per day. You could take this in an "immune system
booster" like Airborne, from high fruit and vegetable
intake (*ahem*, one apple only contains 8mg, however), or from a multi-vitamin
that includes Vitamin C (AKA ascorbic acid).
4. Zinc, ~50mg. Often, zinc can also be found in an "immune system booster" type
of effervescent powder.
5. Vitamin B3, ~250mg. Also know as Niacinamide. Tuna is one of nature's richest
sources, but you'll only get about 15mg from one
fillet. You're getting the idea - use a supplement form for convenience, rather
than mowing down 17 tuna fillets.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/health-nutrition/18-supplements-that-could-help-\
your-body-heal-faster


14. Anti-Inflammatory Foods:
GI Distress, Inflammation and Diet
By Patricia Rosen MD, & Becky Witinok-Huber
There are multiple reasons for GI distress in endurance athletes. Some of the
most important reasons are: decreased blood flow to
stomach; high osmolality in foods and drinks and improper dietary preparation.
Adequate blood flow to the stomach requires that the athlete have an adequate
hemoglobin, meaning not have anemia. Runners and
endurance multisport athletes loose blood in their gut from the pounding of the
intestines during the run and the use of
anti-inflammatory medicines. This group of athletes are most prone to anemia. It
is important to check your hemoglobin or red blood
cell count on at least a yearly basis and to use multivitamins with iron if
indicated. An easily digested multi-vitamin with iron is
recommended to avoid gut issues with the vitamin. Slow release or iron that is
attached to a carbohydrate is more easily absorbed.
If you have anemia and require iron, try different formulations to find one that
is easily tolerated, like MultiV from First
Endurance.
Adequate blood flow to the GI tract also requires that the athlete have adequate
fluid on the run and prior to the race. Consume a
sports drink that provides sufficient energy and electrolytes, is rapidly
absorbed, has a good palatability, and quenches thirst. It
has been suggested that a reduction in mesenteric blood flow by more than 50%
causes a linear fall in the rate of glucose
absorption. Liquids are the preferred source of energy during strenuous physical
exercise. Note also that the body can sweat out two
liters an hour but the stomach can only absorb 800 ml per hour, less than one
half that amount. Thus it is important to hydrate
before the race and if doing multisport racing, while on the bike. Due to
oxidative stress and loss of blood in the gut, Ironman
athletes and long distance runners, may have a higher susceptibility to ischemic
colitis and various inflammatory diseases.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://blog.firstendurance.com/2009/06/anti-inflammatory-foods/


15. Digest Briefs:
**  Absorb, Process, Persevere
By Coach Matt Russ
One of the key ingredients to being a successful athlete is not motivation, or
talent, or mental focus, it is the ability to learn
from your mistakes. Bad races happen to everyone and they will likely happen to
you at some point. A race is only "bad," however, if
you do not walk away some knowledge that will help you in the future.
Having worked with many elite athletes, I can tell you one of their key
characteristics is the ability to absorb an injury, bad
race, equipment failure, or other setback, learn from it, and move on. I have
observed talented athletes that did not have this
ability fall by the wayside, victims to their own discouragement.
It is ok to be disappointed, but then you must look for answers. If it was
something out of your control such as a mechanical,
weather, or illness then you must simply shrug it off. There are numerous
accounts of unlucky athletes that stuck with their sport
and came back to achieve their goals. If it is a factor within your control,
break it down, come up with a plan over come it, and
keep moving forward. A successful athlete is like Teflon; they do not let
negativity stick to them.
Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and
internationally for over ten years. He currently holds
expert licenses from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling (Elite), and is a licensed USA
Track and Field Coach. Matt is head coach and owner
of The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time. He is a
free lance author and his articles are regularly
featured in a variety of magazines such as Inside Triathlon, and Triathlete.
Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information or
email him at mailto:coachmatt@...



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

June 6, 2009:
Avon Foundation Need for Speed Relay - Westchester County, NY

Challenge 5K - St. Paul, MN

Hospital Hill Run - Kansas City, MO

June 7, 2009:
NYRR New York Mini 10K, New York, NY

Prefontaine Classic - Eugene, OR


June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
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SportsShoes in the UK
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment?
If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
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The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
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* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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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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our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
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!
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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.
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7. January 4, 2008: Goodlife Fitness has come on board as a sponsor of Emilie's
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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

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At the Runner's Web site, click "Join this group". Once I have approved your
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and training.

If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
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NEW THIS WEEK:

ChampionUSA
Free Shipping With 4 Or More Purchased Items At ChampionUSA.com. This Offer is
Valid May 7th Through May 25th.
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It's The Shorts Sale at ChampionUSA.com! Get Shorts As Low As $8.99! This offer
is valid now through May 25th.
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Holabird Sports:
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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:
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b

Under Armour is pleased to announce Free Shipping on Orders $75+ through May
31st! Please use the following code, UASPRING02, and
shop at Under Armour today!
Free Shipping on all orders over $75!
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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. Master training: the importance of maintaining strength and power
2. Engineered Sports Foods: Convenience or Necessity?
3. Calibrating your Inner GPS
Learning to Run by Feel.
4. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
5. iRun Women Online Survey
6. This Week in Running
7. The Road to Success, Paved With Bad Advice
8. Plantar Fasciitis: the causes and treatment methods for foot injuries
9. Running and Arthritis: Worse for the Wear?
The facts on whether 'you're ruining your knees'.
  Universal Sports- Athletics: Stockholm Marathon enjoys unique style
11. 'Invincible' athlete's death renews cardiac questions
12. Technology for Your Marathon Training
13. 3 Ways to Prevent Running Injuries
14. Mass Swim Starts
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"The women's world record for the mile is 4.12.56 set by Svetlana Masterkova of
Russia in 1996. Will a woman ever break 4 minutes
for the mile?"

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

LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS:
How has the current economic situation affected your involvement in sports?
Answers Percent
1.   Less travel to events  25%
2.   Fewer equipment purchases  17%
3.   Entering fewer events  14%
4.   Spending less on sports supplements  14%
5.   Fewer magazine subscriptions  17%
6.   Paying less for online or in-person coaching  14%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: MirindaCarfrae.com
Name: Mirinda Carfrae
Nationality: Australian
Height: 161 cm Weight: 52 kg
Birthday: 26 March 1981
Occupation: Professional Triathlete
Coach: Siri Lindley: www.siri-lindley.com
Hometown: Logan City, Queensland
Training Camps: Queensland, Australia; California, USA, Colorado, USA
Federation Links : Triathlon Queensland and Triathlon Australia
Mirinda started sports at an early age, playing basketball and a variety of
other school sports. In 2000, at the age of 19, she
competed in her first triathlon. Even though she did not have a background in
swimming, running, or biking, she experienced success
in 2001 when she made the Australian Junior Elite Team. Mirinda then went on to
represent Australia at the ITU Triathlon World
Championships from 2001 through till 2005 earning silver medals in 2002 and
2003. More recently Mirinda has focused on the longer
distances. She won the Nice Long Course triathlon in 2004 and got silver at the
ITU Long Course World Championships in Denmark in
2005. With the introduction of the Ironman 70.3 series in 2006, Mirinda claimed
the St Croix and Baja titles early in the year,
going on to win a bronze at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in the same
year. In 2007, Mirinda came second in 4 half ironman
distance triathlons before winning the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in
world record time.
With four 70.3 wins already in 2008, Mirinda has clearly claimed the 70.3
distance as her own and leaves no doubt that she's a force
to be reckoned with in ironman racing.......
Check out her site at:
http://www.mirindacarfrae.com


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any
Stage In Your Life
By Dara Torres
Product Description
From legendary Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres comes a motivational,
inspirational memoir about staying fit, aging gracefully, and
pursuing your dreams.
Dara Torres captured the hearts and minds of Americans of all ages when she
launched her Olympic comeback as a new mother at the age
of forty-one�years after she had retired from competitive swimming and eight
years since her last Olympics. When she took three
silver medals in Beijing�including a heartbreaking .01-second finish behind the
gold medalist in the women�s 50-meter
freestyle�America loved her all the more for her astonishing achievement and her
good-natured acceptance of the results.
Now, in Age Is Just a Number, Dara reveals how the dream of an Olympic comeback
first came to her�when she was months into her
first, hard-won pregnancy. With humor and candor, Dara recounts how she returned
to serious training�while nursing her infant
daughter and contending with her beloved father�s long battle with cancer.
Dara talks frankly about diving back in for this comeback; about being an older
athlete in a younger athletes� game; about
competition, doubt, and belief; about working through pain and uncertainty; and
finally�about seizing the moment and, most
important, never giving up. A truly self-made legend, her story will resonate
with women of all ages�and with anyone daring to
entertain a seemingly impossible dream.
About the Author
DARA TORRES has set three world records and has brought home twelve Olympic
medals, including four golds. She is the first American
swimmer to have competed in five Olympics. She lives in Florida.
Buy the book at Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767931904/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

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. Master training: the importance of maintaining strength and power
Training for master athletes: plyometrics, explosive and maximal strength
training.
You can�t reverse the arrow of time, but according to John Shepherd, the good
news for master athletes is that a combined weights
and plyometric (mixed) training programme can help offset much of the
age-related decline in speed and power capability�
Master athletes are atypical compared to most sedentary adults, who display huge
physiological decline over their middle and older
years. However, despite this, the body of the master athlete still suffers the
�typical� physical decline (albeit far less so)
associated with ageing � eg a decline in speed- and power-producing fast-twitch
muscle fibres, and an associated declining muscle
mass. In this article, we�ll examine the ways that age-related physiological
decline can be slowed (and even reversed), with
specific reference to speed and power and muscle composition in master athletes.
Sprint times do decline
Sprint times do decline among the world�s elite master sprint performers. This
slowdown has been estimated as 5-6% per decade for
males and 5-7% per decade for females, with a more significant drop-off
occurring between the ages of 65 and 70 (1). With age,
muscle mass declines � in particular the proportion of fast-twitch (speed and
power producing) muscle fibres. This decline can be by
as much as 30% between the ages of 20 and 80 (see figure 1). Fast-twitch fibres
literally wither away with age as the nerves that
control them die. Looking at total muscle fibre decline � that�s including
fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibre � the biceps muscle of
a newborn baby, for example, has around 500,000 fibres, but 80 years later these
have reduced to 300,000. Why is this important?
Well, everything else being equal, a larger muscle can generate greater force.
And for those people who (like master sprinters) need
speed and power, a decline in fast-twitch fibre count will manifest itself in a
decline in these very capacities.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/master-training-importance-maintaining-strength-\
and-power-40888


2. Engineered Sports Foods: Convenience or Necessity?
By Nancy Clark, MS RD CSSD
To look at all the ads for sports drinks, energy bars, electrolyte replacers and
sports candies, you'd think these engineered
products are a necessary part of a sports diet, particularly if you are doing
endurance exercise such as training for a marathon or
a triathlon. When my clients ask for advice about how to use these products, I
first assess their daily sports diet to determine if
they can get�or are getting�what they want from standard foods (carbs, sodium).
In most cases, they can get their needs met with a
wisely chosen sports diet.
While there is a time and a place for engineered sports foods (particularly
among people who train at a high intensity), many
athletes needlessly waste a lot of money misusing them. The purpose of this
article is to help you become an informed consumer, so
you can wisely spend your hard-earned money.
Pre-Exercise Energy Bars
While fueling with a pre-workout PowerBar and Gatorade ($2-$3) is one way to
energize your workout, you could less expensively
consume 300 calories of banana+yogurt+water ($1) or pretzels+raisins+water
(50�). Any of these choices are carbohydrate-rich and
will offer the fuel your muscles need for a stellar workout.
More...from Active.com at:
http://tinyurl.com/r9d5c6


3. Calibrating your Inner GPS:
Learning to Run by Feel.
When I started running way back in the 20th century, I wanted longer legs. Long,
lean legs for a flowing stride that would simply
eat up the ground. As a runner in the 21st century, I find that I need longer
arms. I�m up to my elbows in watches, GPS units,
heart-rate monitors, and iPods. And I�m not alone. Some runners look like they
are straight out of a science fiction movie�water
bottles in holsters circling the hips, gadgets running up and down the arms
relaying detailed information on location, position,
elevation, temperature, speed, heart rate, and distance from the target. A
pre-dawn encounter with a 21st-century runner in full
gear can be quite scary!
There is nothing wrong with our 21st-century technology. Over the last few
decades, remarkable advances such as heart-rate and
speed/distance monitors have enhanced our ability to better prescribe and
monitor training for a variety of runners. Coaching is now
so much easier, and new runners can avoid the problems runners in the 20th
century faced. Any training can now be adjusted to any
runner.
The problem is that we are at risk of becoming too dependent on the
technology�so dependent that we forget the art of learning our
bodies. And, learning our bodies is what this sport is about. After all, we
can�t predict the conditions for race day, so we need
some internal gauge to properly adjust our pace. How will you know how to adjust
your pace if your marathon day turns out to be hot
and muggy? What if it is windy? How can you adjust if you�ve only relied on
external devices to guide your training? Too often,
we�re slaves to the tools instead of using the tools to learn ourselves. We need
to calibrate our inner GPS.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=7203&PageNum=&CategoryID=


4. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
**  Drop in Performance? Common Causes
1) The most common cause of a drop in performance in cycling, or any other
sport, is overtraining: going hard when you should go
easy. Hard-and- easy refers to intensity (speed and pressure on the pedals), not
to total mileage. On one day, you ride very fast
with your group, feel sore on the next day and go slowly for as many days as it
takes for the soreness to go away. When the soreness
goes away, you ride fast again. If you take hard workouts while your muscles are
still sore you can cause chronic muscle soreness.
2) A second cause is a low-salt syndrome caused by sweat loss. The only mineral
that you need in large amounts is sodium, common
table salt. All athletes have to salt food heavily and use lots of salt. Your
doctor can check for low-salt syndrome by having you
take a very hard workout on one day, replenish your fluids, and then draw blood
for sodium and chloride on the next morning. If you
are worried about developing high blood pressure, check your blood pressure
frequently.
3) The third most common cause is lack of vitamin D. Blood levels of vitamin D3
below 75 nmol/L can cause muscles to feel sore,
particularly in the wintertime.
4) You can also fail to recover adequately from intense workouts if you do not
carbohydrate- and protein-load within a half hour
after you finish a workout. Your muscles are maximally sensitive to insulin
during exercise and for up to a half hour after you
finish exercising. Sugar taken within a half hour after you finish your intense
workout will raise your blood sugar level enough to
increase insulin levels. Insulin then drives protein into cells to help you
recover faster.
5) Another cause of muscle soreness is not getting off your feet after intense
workouts. Muscles recover fastest when they are not
used. After intense workouts, lie down instead of sitting, standing or walking.
If you have had a marked drop in performance in your sport and none of these
causes applies to you, you may need a medical
evaluation.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: Can deep massage help you recover faster from hard
exercise?
It may; a study from Chukyo University in Japan shows that a deep massage
technique called Petrissage improves cycle ergometer
pedaling performance, recovery from muscle stiffness and perceived lower limb
tiredness (British Journal of Sports Medicine, October
2008).
Petrissage is done by applying great pressure deep into the muscles, with
kneading, wringing, skin rolling and pick-up-and-
squeezing movements performed with the padded palmar surface of the hand,
fingers and thumbs.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: Anything new for treatment of joint pain?
Two recent reports show that an extract from the inner membrane of an eggshell
helps to control the pain and flexibility of muscles
and joints in people suffering from osteoarthritis (Clinical Interventions in
Aging, May 19, 2009; Clinical Rheumatology, April
2009).
Glucosamine and chondroitin are extracts from cartilage that have been shown to
help control muscle and joint pain. The inner
membrane of egg shells contains glycosaminoglycans that are similar to these
cartilaginous extracts. Egg shell membrane may help to
control pain and suffering, but I am skeptical until further studies demonstrate
safety and effectiveness. The products are already
on the market before we have adequate data, and the studies are associated with
the company that sells the products.
**  Older People Need More Sunshine
A study from the University of Warwick in England shows that more time in the
sun can help older people avoid diabetes and heart
attacks (Diabetes Care, July 2009).  They evaluated 3,262 people aged 50-70
years old in Beijing and Shanghai, China, and found that
94 percent were low in vitamin D and 42 percent had metabolic syndrome:
abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL and high
blood sugar levels. This is consistent with world-wide studies that show that as
people age their skin atrophies, reducing their
ability to make vitamin D from sunlight.  Seniors also usually exercise less so
they do not go outside as often. Since they are more
susceptible to cold, they usually wear more clothing when they do go outside.
Inadequate vitamin D increases risk for heart attacks,
strokes, certain cancers, arthritis, auto-immune diseases and many other health
problems.
A major function of vitamin D is to increase absorption of calcium from food.
When vitamin D levels are low, body levels of ionized
calcioum drop. This forces the parathyroid glands to increase production of
parathyroid hormone that blocks insulin receptors, to
raise blood sugar levels markedly and increase production of insulin. High
levels of insulin constrict coronary arteries to cause
heart attacks.
Vitamin D deficiency occurs when the concentration of D3 (25-hydroxy-vitamin D)
is less than 75 nmol/L.  If you are deficient, you
need to expose skin to more sunlight or take at least 2000 IU of vitamin D3 per
day.  To address skin cancer concerns, protect the
most frequently exposed areas, since it is cumulative life-long exposure to
sunlight that increases risk for skin cancer.  For most
people, this means you should use sunscreen or wear clothing to cover your face,
scalp, neck, tops of the ears, forearms and hands
whenever you will be in the sun for more than 30 minutes.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


5. iRun Women Online Survey:
www.irunwomen.ca is a web-based survey for ALL women runners, including:
low-to-moderately physically active women runners, recreationally
competitive women runners, AND elite competitive women runners.
The survey is anonymous. The survey needs to be completed all at once.
The survey will take approximately 25-35 minutes to complete.
The survey is NOW available on line until August 2009.
All woman involved in the sport of running are invited to participate in
this research. To get more information on the research study and/or to
participate in the survey go to www.irunwomen.ca
Please pass this information on to all your women runner friends throughout
Canada.
Elizabeth (Beth) Mansfield, MSc, RD
Registered Dietitian & Certified Exercise Physiologist
PhD Candidate, McGill University
School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
mailto:elizabeth.mansfield@...
mailto:beth@...


6. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Philip Tarus (KEN) won the 2nd edition of the Rock 'n' Roll
(CA/USA) Marathon with
                a 2:08:33.  Mbarek Hussein (KEN) was 2nd in 2:10:45 while John
Kemboi (KEN) was
                3rd in 2:11:55.  Irina Bogacheva (KGZ) won the women's race with
a 2:28:46 while
                Russians Alla Zhilyayeva and Albina Gallyamova followed with
2:30:00 and 2:31:28
                respectively.  This race moved to the first weekend in June the
following year
                and has been held on that weekend every year since then.
20 Years Ago-  Eddy Hellebuyck (BEL) won the RevCo Cleveland (OH/USA) Marathon
with a 2:14:23.
                Vladimir Kotov (BLR) was 2nd in 2:14:55; Kotov now lives in South
Africa.
                Filemon Lopez (MEX) was 3rd in 2:15:33.  In 4th, Doug Kurtis
collected another of
                his 69 sub-2:20 marathons with a 2:16:19.  Irina Bogacheva (KGZ)
won the women's
                race in 2:35:55 with Irina Sklyarenko (UKR) 2nd in 2:39:01 and
Janis Klecker (USA)
                in 3rd with 2:39:22.  This was Bogacheva's second marathon win. 
She would go on to
                win 17 more covering a span of more than 17 years.
30 Years Ago-  Joan Benoit (USA) ran 33:40.7 to win the AIAW Championships
(MI/USA) 10,000m.
                Karen Cramond (USA) was next in 34:23.9 and Amy Laffoon (USA) was
3rd in 34:24.0.
40 Years Ago-  Ken Moore (USA) won the Bay-to-Breakers (CA/USA) 12K by 15
seconds over Doug Wiebe (USA)
                and Skip Houk who tied for 2nd, 38:40 to 38:55 (twice). 
Six-year-old Mary Etta Boitano (USA)
                won the women's race in 61:12.
  50 Years Ago-  John J Kelley (USA) won the Yonkers (NY/USA) Marathon in
2:21:54.4.  Olympian Ted
                Corbitt (USA) placed 11th in 2:44:42.
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.


7. The Road to Success, Paved With Bad Advice
THE talk, at the Expo Center at the Boston Marathon this year, had an intriguing
title: Using Biomechanics to Predict Running
Injuries. And the lecturer, Dr. Thomas W. Vorderer, a podiatrist at the division
of sports medicine at Children�s Hospital, one of
the Harvard hospitals, spoke with great conviction.
You can prevent injuries, Dr. Vorderer said, or, if you get them, can make them
heal if you learn the right way to stretch and if
you stretch regularly. And you should also learn the right way to run; in
general, he said, runners should strike the ground with
their heels first. If they strike with their midfoot or forefoot, he said, they
are just asking for injuries.
Dr. Vorderer speaks from experience: he was a competitive runner for years and
said he trained with fantastic coaches. And he says
he has helped countless runners rid themselves of chronic injuries by figuring
out why they were getting injured and teaching them,
for example, the right way to stretch. He has e-mail messages from grateful
patients, thanking him for solving problems that
threatened to end their running altogether.
But exercise physiologists say none of what he espouses has been established by
rigorous studies. Stretching evidence is so
inconclusive that two large studies are now under way that randomize people to
stretch or not and ask whether it prevents injuries,
does nothing or increases injury rates. No one knows what the answer will be.
As for running styles, a credible study in 2007 showed that running form often
depended on running speed. The slower people run, the
study found, the more likely they are to strike the ground with their heel
first. The same runners, going more slowly, run
differently from when they run fast.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/health/nutrition/28best.html?_r=1&ref=nutritio\
n


8. Plantar Fasciitis: the causes and treatment methods for foot injuries
Foot pain, don�t let it affect your performance
Plantar fasciitis is a common foot injury, which can plague male or female
athletes of any sport. As Alicia Filley explains, knowing
how to detect and prevent this injury can keep you training and away from the
physiotherapist�s clinic!
The fascia
Plantar fasciitis is an overuse injury whose incidence accounts for 10% of all
running injuries(1). A brief review of foot anatomy
and running biomechanics explains why this fibrous tissue is so important. The
foot�s amazing architecture enables it to be flexible
enough to accommodate changes in surface and speed, yet rigid enough to support
body weight and provide propulsion.
The plantar fascia plays a key role in these functions. It is located on the
plantar surface, or bottom, of the foot. It spans
between the anterior portion of the calcaneus, or heel bone, and the toes. It
helps to form the arch of the foot by serving as the
base of the truss. The tendon of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, also
known as the Achilles tendon, inserts into the heel
bone, just behind the plantar fascia
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/plantar-fasciitis-causes-and-treatment-methods-f\
oot-injuries-40850


9. Running and Arthritis: Worse for the Wear?
The facts on whether 'you're ruining your knees'.
As health insurance premiums rise and employment rates fall, many Americans have
become particularly paranoid about their health.
We�re already strapped for cash. The last thing we need is to find out we have a
condition that sends us spinning into a virtual
turn style of referrals, co-pays, and pharmacies.
For the health-conscious runner, this is of particular concern. We rely on
running and expect it will serve as a fountain of youth,
the ultimate preventative against the effects of increasing age. So, what�s with
the old adage that running is bad for your knees?
Our beloved pastime couldn�t possibly be betraying our bodies, could it?
It�s time for a little myth debunking, anti-fear mongering words of wisdom:
running will not sentence you to being confined to a
motorized Rascal in your later years. In fact, studies suggest the effects are
quite the opposite. Among a long list of pros is the
prevention of osteoarthritis (OA), the most common type of arthritis in older
adults. Running isn�t bad for your knees; it�s good
for them.
Joint Solutions
Ligaments hold together every one of the many joints in the human body, and
those ligaments are stiffened and strengthened through
exercise, such as running. Stronger ligaments equate to more stable joints, and
more stable joints lead to less wear-and-tear
injuries, which means a lower risk of old injuries turning into OA later in
life.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16646


10. Universal Sports- Athletics: Stockholm Marathon enjoys unique style:
From its afternoon start time to the inspiring course scenery, the Stockholm
Marathon is a unique race. One example: More than 5,000
runners come from neighboring Finland, and they generally arrive the night
before via ferry. Watch this year's race LIVE on
UniversalSports.com at 8 a.m. ET Saturday.
More...from Universal Sports at:
http://tinyurl.com/n4alh9


11. 'Invincible' athlete's death renews cardiac questions:
Every time an elite athlete dies suddenly from heart failure while competing �
and thankfully, that doesn't happen often � disbelief
and concern are the dominant reactions.
Such was the case Wednesday when triathlete, former professional cyclist and
ex-Davis resident Steve Larsen, 39, collapsed and died
on a track in Bend, Ore., during interval training with 40 other runners.
Medical examiners ruled the death the result of sudden
cardiac arrest; an autopsy is pending.
"I don't know a fitter human being," fellow triathlete Matt Lieto told the Bend
Bulletin. "I always thought of him as invincible."
Larsen's death, coming not so long after the sudden cardiac arrest deaths of
Ryan Shay during the 2007 Olympic Marathon trials and
Adam Nickel just after finishing 18th in the Little Rock (Ark.) Marathon in
2008, has made some wonder about the health and safety
of athletes in endurance sports.
Those raising concerns also point to the 1984 death of so-called running guru
Jim Fixx, who wrote the best-seller "The Complete Book
of Running" and dropped dead on the road of cardiac arrest.
Medical researchers and exercise scientists have long studied the effects of
exercise on the heart.
A study presented this month at the International Conference of the American
Thoracic Society in San Diego showed that marathon
runners' heartbeats and ventricle pumping capabilities had abnormalities
immediately after the race. But follow-up tests by
University of Manitoba (Canada) researchers showed the runners had no signs of
permanent injury to the heart.
The study rebuts a 2006 study in the journal Circulation that showed heart
abnormalities among 60 non-elite participants in the
Boston Marathon.
More...from the Sacramento Bee at:
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1882608.html


12. Technology for Your Marathon Training:
Today, the Gadgetwise blog debuts a new weekly Marathon Tech Review featuring
e-tools, gadgets and applications that runners can use
to monitor their workouts and train for race day.
In her first Friday review, Danielle Belopotosky tests out the Nike+ iPod Sport
Kit, which includes a sensor for your shoes that
collects information from your run. The gadget tracks pace, distance, duration
and calories burned, among other things. Danielle is
also training for her first marathon and will keep you updated on her progress
as she searches for gadgets and technology that can
make training easier.
To learn more, read the complete review on the Gadgetwise blog.
http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/marathon-tech-review-nike-ipod/


13. 3 Ways to Prevent Running Injuries:
By Matt Fitzgerald
As a runner, understanding injuries and injury prevention is critical to your
longevity in the sport. A few years ago, Michael
Muller, a professor of physical therapy at Washington University, presented a
new theory of tissue adaptation to physical stress
that provides a helpful conceptual framework for runners seeking to stay healthy
without sacrificing performance.
Physical Stress Theory
Physical stress theory, as it is called, is based on the simple premise that
body tissues adapt in a predictable way in response to
changes in the relative level of physical stress they are exposed to. When
tissues are exposed to an accustomed level of stress,
they maintain their current structure and function at a state that is often
referred to as homeostasis.
When these same tissues are exposed to a slight or gradual increase in stress,
they modify their structure and function--after an
initial period of breakdown--to become more tolerant of that type of stress.
They achieve a new homeostasis at a greater level of
durability. For example, a recent animal study found that when rats were exposed
to a running program, fingerlike branches of new
tissue grew in the attachment between the tendons and muscles of their legs,
strengthening these important junctions. But if a
stress is increased too quickly or abruptly, the tissues never recover from the
initial period of breakdown. They lose their
homeostatic balance and progressively degenerate. All running overuse injuries
follow this pattern.
On the other hand, if the level of stress is reduced, the tissues adapt in the
other direction, finding a new homeostasis at a lower
level of durability and function.
More...from Active.com at:
http://tinyurl.com/qln3gb


14. Mass Swim Starts:
Practicing a mass swim start in the pool is a great drill to practice if you
have any race day anxiety about mass swim starts.
How to do it?
Simple: find a few friends, clear a few pool lanes and go!
Practice swimming down and back the length of the pool in close quarters with
your friends.  Surge ahead or slip back to escape the
melee.  Breathe to the opposite of a flailing arm or kicking leg and practice
sighting to both look where you are going and to find
less confined water space.
By practicing close up swimming in the safe environment of the pool, you will
become more comfortable in mass starts in open water
on race day.
Here's a link to a video I filmed demonstrating the drill at the recent She Does
Tri Camp for Women in Warrenton, VA in April.
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6241


15. Digest Briefs:
**  Peaking by Coach Dean Yobbi
The outcome of any well-devised annual training plan should involve at least one
Peak Period.  The Peak Period is the top of your
training plan pyramid, above the 8-week Build and 8-12-week Base periods. When
you're at your Peak, blood volume, red blood cells,
glycogen stores and leg power increase and lactic acid production at any given
power output decreases. Translation: You're ready to
race at maximum output.
In order to reach this physiological state, a reduction in training volume is
necessary. This scares a lot of endurance athletes who
fear fewer miles or laps means a loss of fitness.
During a Peak, every workout will be high in intensity but low in duration.
Weekly volume will also decrease. In between workouts,
you should do active recovery or no training. The goal is to be rested before
your workouts. Now is not the time to fret about
miles.
Every memorable season has a highlight or two. Make sure your annual training
plan can give you a chance to experience yours.
Dean Yobbi is an affiliate TrainingBible (www.TrainingBible.com) Coach and can
be reached at dyobbi@...


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

April 19 - June 21, 2009:
Trans Europe Footrace - Bari, Italy to Cape North, Norway (4485Km)
English Updates

May 29-30 2009:
Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay Run Adventure - NV

May 30, 2009:
Freihofer's Run for Women 5K - Albany, NY

Reebok Grand Prix - New York, NY

Stockholm Marathon - Sweden

U.S. Half Marathon - Sun Valley, ID

May 31, 2009:
SBS Christchurch Marathon - New Zealand

(The Original) Rock 'n' Roll Marathon - San Diego, CA

Team Ortho Downtowner Half Marathon - Minneapolis, MN

Toronto Women�s Half Marathon and 5k - Toronto, ON

ZOOMA Annapolis Half-Marathon - Annapolis, MD


June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

Puma
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Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
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who is out on the roads or trails needs a convenient place to carry this vital
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SportsShoes in the UK
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment?
If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
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The Stretching Handbook:
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ghandbook.com/newsletter.php
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.


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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.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


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the link on our FrontPage at:
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If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
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Race Directors: Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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NEW THIS WEEK:

ChampionUSA
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It's The Shorts Sale at ChampionUSA.com! Get Shorts As Low As $8.99! This offer
is valid now through May 25th.
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Holabird Sports:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/click?lid=41000000028013194

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

Under Armour is pleased to announce Free Shipping on Orders $75+ through May
31st! Please use the following code, UASPRING02, and
shop at Under Armour today!
Free Shipping on all orders over $75!
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Event directors, add your event to our Event Calendar at:
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Watch live and webcast of Track and Field and Road races on Universal Sports
Sign up at:
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&SPSID=105551

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.

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RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB CONTENT PARTNERS

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* BREAKSWEAT.TV
We have partnered with Breaksweat TV to provide us with video content.
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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
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Breaksweat TV is not a user generated website, or a broadcasting channel; rather
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For more information and to visit other existing channels in the Simply Media
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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey. Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport
athletes and a member of the OAC Racing Team and X-C
Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public Health and works in the field of nutritional
epidemiology as a Research Associate with the
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* Peak Performance Online Peak Performance is a subscription-only newsletter for
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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
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* Peak Running Performance Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running
Newsletter. Rated as the #1 Running Publication by
Road Runner Sports (Worlds Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the
serious / dedicated runner. Delivering world class
running advice are some of running's most recognizable athletes including Dr.
Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach), Scott Tinley (2 Time
Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3 Time Olympian) and many more. This bi-monthly
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* Running Research News: RRN's free, weekly, training update provides
subscribers with the most-current, practical, scientifically
based information about training, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and
injury rehabilitation. The purpose of this weekly e-zine
is to improve subscribers' training quality and to help them train in an
injury-free manner. Running Research News also publishes a
complete, 12-page, electronic newsletter 10 times a year (one-year subscriptions
are $35); to learn more about Running Research
News, please see the Online Article Index and "About Running Research News"
sections below or go to RRNews.com. Check out the
article index at: http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html


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


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Training Tip - Double Up
2. Sports Coaching: an interview with periodization coach Tudor Bompa
3. Hi-Tech Cycling- Engineers Create A Strong But Lightweight Isotruss Bike
Using Carbon Fibers
4. Temporary Transient Heart Dysfunction Found In Some Long-distance Runners
5. Podcast: Nate Jenkins Talks Training
Great training insight and inspiration from the World Champs marathoner.
6. 10 Tips to Race Tough
7. Cereal And Milk Is The New Sports Supplement
8. Of Marathons and Meditation
Can a calm mind lead to a faster body?
9. Dame Kelly Holmes says you don't have to be skinny to be a champion
10. Strengthen those bones: pump iron or hit the road
11. Adults Aren't Active Enough, 22-year Study Finds
12. The Science Behind the Fiction
Will Gene Doping be the Next Big Sports Scandal.
13. Cycling Equipment: The effect of aerodynamics and drag on cycling
performance
14. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"How has the current economic situation affected your involvement in sports?"

1. Less travel to events
2. Fewer equipment purchases
3. Entering fewer events
4. Spending less on sports supplements
5. Fewer magazine subscriptions
6. Paying less for online or in-person coaching

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 brand(s) of running shoe(s) have you worn?
Answers Percent
1.   adidas  11%
2.   Asics  14%
3.   Brooks  9%
4.   Fila  6%
5.   Mizuno  10%
6.   New Balance  11%
7.   Nike  10%
8.   Reebok  10%
9.   Saucony  11%
10.   Avia, Diadora, Etonic, Puma, Other  8%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: RunningUSA.org
Mission
Running USA advances the growth and success of the running industry in America.
Overall Goals
1. Promote and build the sport
2. Provide quality services that enhance members' businesses
History
Running USA, a non-profit organization for the running industry, was launched on
March 13, 1999 in Los Angeles. A joint and historic
venture with USA Track & Field (USATF), Running USA resulted from a year of
planning by the race directors of several leading U.S.
road races along with USATF's Long Distance Running Chairs and its CEO Craig
Masback. Steve Edwards was named its first executive
director.
From its original press release, Running USA was created to improve the status
of road racing in the United States through
collective marketing and promotions, services to runners and events and the
development of American world class stars
Visit the site at:
http://www.runningusa.org


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: The Winning Mind: My Inside Track on Great
Leadership: Developing Inspirational Leadership and
Delivering Winning Results
By Seb Coe
Product Description
THE WINNING MIND is Seb Coe's highly personal account which gives true insight
into how success can be achieved.
From a childhood amidst the steel mills of Yorkshire to Olympic glory and
beyond, Sebastian Coe has always known how to capitalise
on the moments which separate winners from losers. Great leadership is also
about seizing the moment and doing the right thing at
the right time. The daily challenges, hard graft, meticulous planning, small
wins and frequent set-backs are all critical steps
which take you closer to a winning position and your ultimate goal. THE WINNING
MIND combines inspirational leadership,
self-development, popular business and biography that will help nurture the
qualities needed to achieve your full potential.
About the Author
Sebastian Coe is a winner. His record as a sporting champion and world-record
holder in middle-distance running speaks for itself,
and earned him four Olympic medals during a glittering career. He is also a
renaissance man of our times, as his record of achieving
success in many different areas of life shows. Sebastian Coe, now Lord Coe of
Ranmore, has been a politician, a business leader and
the inspirational figurehead of the successful 2012 Olympic bid. He is a life
peer, a Knight Commander of the Order of the British
Empire and is Vice President of the International Association of Athletics
Federations. Sebastian Coe has the passion,
determination, focus, dedication and self-belief that mark him out as a true
champion.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0755318838/runnersweb-21

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. Training Tip - Double Up:
As the summer approaches with its longer days, exciting elite track season and
lots of local road races, my enthusiasm for running
invariably increases as well. Adding 2-3 double days per week is a great way to
deal with this extra motivation. A 20-30-minute
shakeout run first thing in the morning before grabbing breakfast, a quick
shower and hopping on the bus to go to work invariably
puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Other times I might do my main
run of the day while the morning coolness is still
hanging around, and then pop out the door for a quick 4 miles to unwind after
work in the evening.
Aside from the insta-mood lift you get from the more frequent endorphin boosts,
there are some actual training benefits you might be
able to get out of adding some doubles to your schedule as well. The summertime,
with its lack of darkness, snow and ice is a great
time to experiment with this sort of program.
ADD MILEAGE: Many runners initially take up doubling as a simple way to add a
bit more mileage to their weekly tab. Those easy 3-
and 4-milers in the morning don't sound (or feel) like much, but they quickly
add up when a 7-mile day becomes a 10-mile day, and a
10-mile day, a 14-er. If you're having trouble increasing the length of your
long run, start adding the miles on as a separate run
the evening before. After a few weeks of 5 at night and 10 in the morning, you
(and your body) realize that "night" and "morning"
aren't separated by more than a few hours of sleep and before long, 15 miles at
once is something your body can easily handle.
AVOID HOT WEATHER: Simply put, two short runs can fit better before and after
sunrise and sunset, respectively, than one longer one.
If you live in a truly harsh summer clime, avoiding the sun may be your best bet
for effective training. And adding a second run
during the "other" dark time of the "day" will allow you to better maintain the
fitness that you probably gained by training through
your mild winter weather.
GET USED TO MORNING RUNNING: We know, many of you probably run every single day
in the morning, before work. More power to you, but
for a large variety of reasons, many of us have a very hard time running in the
morning. The body has a hard time waking up and
running at the same time. Unfortunately, most road and cross country races are
run in the morning. So it would benefit those of us
who are generally evening runners to gain some proficiency at running in the
morning hours. Ease into your morning runs. Don't wear
a watch or hold to your standard afternoon-run pace expectations. Our bodies are
incredibly adaptable, if we just give them some
time and patience. Start with just one morning run per week, then add another
one or two as you are able.
ACCUSTOM BODY TO NEW STRESSES: As we mentioned above, our bodies are very
adaptable. Running twice a day requires our body to
recover from running twice per day. As we gradually increase our training load
over the years, this is a great way to take the next
step. The first few times you double, you'll probably feel very sluggish on that
second daily run. But eventually, your body will
get used to it and you'll feel peppy and sprightly for that evening run once
again. Congratulations, your body has adapted!
SHAKEOUT FROM WORKOUTS: What's the best way to recover from running? Why, by
running of course! After a tough evening track session
or tempo run, 20-30 minutes of easy running the next morning is a great tonic
for working out soreness and kinks.
       -- Katie Wolpert, www.runningtimes.com webmaster

2. Sports Coaching: an interview with periodization coach Tudor Bompa:
Periodization from a sport science point of view
Tudor Bompa has been called the father of periodization (training planning) and
I bet there are very few athletes in the world who
don�t owe their successes (even if they don�t realise it) to the former
Romanian�s theories in some way or another.
Bompa has had his detractors (maybe because he advised �drugs cheat sprinter�
Ben Johnson and his coach Charlie Francis in the
Eighties), but I believe he is the genuine article. He did the research, proved
the theory by coaching Olympic and world champions
and should be hailed as one of the greatest practical sports sport scientists of
all time.
Having training advice provided by coaches such as Bompa on Peak Performance
Premium is what makes our online site such an exciting
and informative resource.
PPP: How did you get involved in sport?
TB: Like almost every kid in Romania, I started to play football. Track and
field also captivated me so much so that during my
mid-teens I was very busy training and competing in both sports. I quickly
realised that the athleticism I gained from track and
field greatly helped my football. I was the fastest and the strongest in our
junior football league and by the time I was 17 I was
selected for the Romanian national under-18 side. And I was still training for
track. I won a silver and two bronze medals in the
under 18 national championships. These were in the sprints and the pentathlon,
so I was busy! However, an unfortunate ankle injury
terminated my football career.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/sports-coaching-interview-periodization-coach-tu\
dor-bompa-40858


3. 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.
"This is phenomenal," said Vizmeg. "I've had so much fun this year, particularly
with the 'wow' factor, but [also] because it's such
a great racing bike."
Vizmeg's $8,500 bike was handmade in Utah using geometry and architecture. To
make bikes like his, workers first make an isotruss, a
form made from isosceles triangles. Then, they wind carbon fiber around the form
-- creating a great strength-to-weight ratio.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/1201-hitech_cycling.htm


4. Temporary Transient Heart Dysfunction Found In Some Long-distance Runners:
  A new study using advanced cardiac imaging technology indicates that cardiac
abnormalities experienced by some marathon runners
following competition are temporary, and do not result in damage to the heart
muscle. The study, conducted by researchers at the
University of Manitoba, marked the first use of cardiac magnetic resonance
imaging, or CMR, in a post-marathon setting.
The research will be presented on May 17, at the 105th International Conference
of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.
"Although previous studies of marathon runners have demonstrated biochemical
evidence of cardiac injury and have correlated these
findings with echocardiographic evidence of cardiac dysfunction, this was the
first time CMR has been used to further evaluate and
understand the effects of marathon running on the heart," said study
investigator Davinder S. Jassal, M.D., assistant professor of
cardiology, radiology and physiology at St. Boniface General Hospital Research
Centre in Winnipeg.
The study examined the cardiac health of 14 runners who participated in the full
2008 Manitoba Marathon in Winnipeg, Canada. All
runners were classified, for purposes of the study, as "non-elite," meaning they
participated on a casual, non-professional basis,
with limited or no training. Prior to the marathon, each study participant
underwent a comprehensive health screening, including
blood tests to determine the levels of cardiac biomarkers, factors present in
the blood that reflect the health of the heart muscle.
Following the race, additional blood samples were taken and echocardiograms and
CMR were performed.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090517143229.htm


5. Podcast: Nate Jenkins Talks Training:
Great training insight and inspiration from the World Champs marathoner.
This Running Times blogger should be an inspiration to all who long for self
excellence but lack great genetic gifts. Through sheer
force of will and dedication to training, Jenkins has remade himself from a
so-so collegiate runner into a member of this year's
World Championships marathon squad for the U.S. In this podcast, he covers it
all, from how he structures his training, what a guy
with a 2:10 marathon goal is doing running 8:00 pace most days and how he keeps
the faith during months on end of unsatisfying
races. (20:30) Listen at Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16601


6. 10 Tips to Race Tough:
1. Break It Down
Forget the big picture; think small. "When things get tough, I know I can always
run just one more mile," says Jess Norton of
Seattle. Or try something shorter. Adrienne Ramsey of Hingham, Massachusetts,
tells herself, "You can do anything for one more
minute." Jeff Rothman of Los Angeles targets landmarks. "I say to myself, 'Get
to that building 300 meters from here.' Then, 'Now
get to that tree 200 meters ahead...'" Harry Thompson of Charlotte, North
Carolina, uses moving targets. "I make a game of trying to
pick off people who are ahead of me one by one," he says.
"I think, If I stop running, how am I going to get home?" -Josh via
RunnersWorld.com
2. Repeat a Mantra
Follow the lead of elites, and tap into the power of words. "My favorite saying
is 'Do or do not; there is no try.' It's from Star
Wars," says Brian Sell, 2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner. Steve Prefontaine's "Pure
guts race" inspires Octavius Bonacquisti of Austin,
Texas, while Kellana Hindert of Cincinnati invokes Ryan Hall's "Run the mile you
are in." A runner who wishes to be known simply as
Jeff repeats Lance Armstrong's: "Pain is temporary; quitting lasts forever."
Heidi McIlroy of Kent, Washington, takes a different
approach, talking trash-to herself. "I say things like, 'Legs, you're fine. No
big deal. That hill? Hardly anything. Don't be such
wimps, just keep moving.' Works like a charm."
More...from Active Runner at:
http://tinyurl.com/pezfvy


7. Cereal And Milk Is The New Sports Supplement:
A bowl of whole-grain cereal is as good as a sports drink for recovery after
exercise. New research has shown that the readily
available and relatively inexpensive breakfast food is as effective as popular,
carbohydrate-based "sports drinks."
Exercise physiologist Lynne Kammer, from The University of Texas at Austin, led
a group of researchers who investigated the
post-exercise physiological effects of the foods. Kammer and her team studied 12
trained cyclists, 8 male and 4 female. In contrast
to many sports nutrition studies, however, the exercise protocol was designed to
reflect a typical exercise session. After a warm-up
period, the subjects cycled for two hours at a comfortable work rate, rather
than the more frequently seen test-to-exhaustion.
"Our goal was to compare whole grain cereal plus milk�which are ordinary
foods�and sports drinks, after moderate exercise," said
Kammer. "We wanted to understand their relative effects on glycogen repletion
and muscle protein synthesis for the average
individual. We found that glycogen repletion, or the replenishment of immediate
muscle fuel, was just as good after whole grain
cereal consumption and that some aspects of protein synthesis were actually
better".
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090513215408.htm


8. Of Marathons and Meditation:
Can a calm mind lead to a faster body?
Jim Martin, a veteran marathoner and attorney from Boulder, Colorado, has a
"monkey mind." Perhaps you do, too, with thoughts,
ideas, musings and reflections constantly flowing through your head like
detritus whipping about in a windstorm.
Or, like a monkey, rattling the walls of his cage.
If so, you might want to start a meditation practice. Not only could it calm
your monkey mind, it could lead to significant
improvements in your running -- and your life, say Martin and other runners who
have incorporated meditation into their training
regime.
"It gives me a way to focus," says Martin, a 2:34 marathoner who began
meditating while recovering from a bicycle accident suffered
while at the Falmouth Road Race last summer. "It also gives you a sense of
'now.' It takes you to the 'right now,' which is what you
want from your running and training."
Martin's newness to meditating was evident during our interview, as his monkey
mind was busy answering his cell phone and sending
text messages regarding his latest real estate deal. He was, however, much more
tranquil than in past years.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16397


9. Dame Kelly Holmes says you don't have to be skinny to be a champion:
IF you think the Female Athlete Triad has something to do with Chinese organised
crime, you are probably not alone.
Despite being a serious health threat to young female athletes, it is a
condition that receives little publicity. There are,
apparently, even coaches who are unaware of its existence.
That is something Dame Kelly Holmes, Britain's most successful Olympic track
athlete, desperately wants to change.
Holmes, who now supports 45 up-and-coming female athletes through her 'On Camp
With Kelly' programme, was the host of a conference
on the subject at Loughborough last week where the facts were spelled out to
some of the country's leading track coaches.
In simple terms, the Female Athlete Triad is an interconnected triple whammy of
potentially dangerous health problems that starts
with energy deficiency caused by poor nutrition and leads to loss of menstrual
function and stress fractures caused by low bone
density.
The energy deficiency (defined as energy intake minus energy expended) can be
down to a full-blown eating disorder such as anorexia
or bulimia, or it can be the result of 'disordered eating'- not replacing the
calories expended in heavy training, either out of
ignorance or a mistaken belief that dieting can improve performance.
The issue facing athletics is the common perception among young women,
particularly those in endurance events, that thin equals
fast.
"The core of it is that a lot of athletes think that they need to be light and
skinny to run faster," says Holmes.
More...from the Guardian at:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/simonhart/blog/2009/05/20/dame_kelly_holmes_says_yo\
u_dont_have_to_be_skinny_to_be_a_champion


10. Strengthen those bones: pump iron or hit the road:
Alex Hutchinson draws on the latest research to answer your fitness and workout
questions in this biweekly column on the science of
sport.
The question:
What type of exercise is best for maintaining strong bones?
The answer:
The key word here is "maintain," as 95 per cent of your mature skeleton is
already in place by the age of 17 for girls and 19 for
boys. Once you reach adulthood, it's basically one long fight against the slow
but inexorable loss of bone strength - and the key to
that fight, many of us assume, is weight-bearing activities.
But the latest research shows that resistance-training exercises like lifting
weights can also play a crucial role in bone health -
and in some cases are even more effective than weight-bearing activities such as
elliptical training.
"Over the past decade, people have realized that bone is more dynamic than we
thought. It's actually a pretty responsive tissue,"
says Heather McKay, a professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of
British Columbia and the director of the Centre for
Hip Health and Musculoskeletal Research.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/strengthen-those-bones-pump-iron-or-h\
it-the-road/article1148067/


11. Adults Aren't Active Enough, 22-year Study Finds:
A new study has sounded the alarm that the majority of Canadian adults are
inactive over their lifespan and don't exercise enough
during their leisure time. The study is unique in that it collected information
over two decades from the 1981 Canada Fitness
Survey, the 1988 Campbell's Survey of Well-Being and from the 2002/4 Physical
Activity Longitudinal Study of the Canadian Fitness
and Lifestyle Research Institute.
The research team studied a healthy subgroup of Canadians and found almost 56
percent were consistently inactive and only 12 percent
of participants remained active with each subsequent survey. The investigation
was a partnership between the Universit� de Montr�al,
the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, the Centre Hospitalier de
l'Universit� de Montr�al, the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle
Research Institute and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
"Women and older participants, compared to men or their younger peers, were less
likely to follow a consistently active lifestyle.
And participants with less education and lower household income were also less
likely to be active," says lead author Tracie A.
Barnett, a professor at the Universit� de Montr�al's Department of Social and
Preventive Medicine and a researcher at the
Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512121301.htm


12. The Science Behind the Fiction:
Will Gene Doping be the Next Big Sports Scandal.
As far as anyone knows, gene doping hasn't yet hit the athletic world. But forms
of it are definitely possible, derived from medical
research on muscle-wasting diseases. "We're trying to work with muscular
dystrophy," said Lee Sweeney, a physiologist at the
University of Pennsylvania, as far back as 2004. "But we're drawing a road map
for how the athlete of the future could obtain
tremendous performance enhancement."
One way it can be done is by using a designer virus to insert strength-or
endurance-boosting genes into muscle cells, says Theodore
Friedmann, a gene therapy researcher at the University of California, San Diego.
Sweeney's group and others have used a hormone
called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) to create mice whose muscles don't
atrophy as quickly as normal with age. Young mice
wind up 15 to 20 percent stronger -- without training. "It's the couch potato's
dream," Sweeney says.
It's also possible to turn the muscles (or other cells) into chemical factories
for the body to make its own performance-enhancing
drugs. In animal tests, for example, a synthetic virus called Repoxygen can
insert the erythropoietin (EPO) gene into muscle cells,
causing the animals to make more EPO (the hormone that signals the body to make
more red blood cells). Sophisticated tests can
detect the difference between the body's EPO and the lab-synthesized version
used by cheating athletes. But EPO created by altering
the body's DNA would be indistinguishable from the natural compound.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16386


13. Cycling Equipment: The effect of aerodynamics and drag on cycling
performance:
How to prevent aerodynamics and drag from ruining your performance
When it comes to high-performance cycling, aerodynamic innovation is paramount.
In the first of two articles, Joe Beer explains the
role of wind tunnel testing to improve bike aerodynamics and how it can be used
to improve cycling performance.
As early as the 1880s, cyclists sought a high-altitude track, known as a
velodrome, in order to ride a greater distance during
record attempts. This was possible because of the lower density of air reducing
wind resistance acting on the rider. However,
despite the adoption of the drop handlebar bike and riding in protective
�groups� or peletons in the early part of the 20th century
nothing much changed until the 1970s. It was then that the legendary Eddy Merckx
visited a wind tunnel prior to his 1972 �hour�
record in order to hone his bike and riding position.
However, it took the Renault-Gitane team and a host of aerodynamic innovations
in the late 1970s and early 1980s to put wind tunnel
testing into the �must-have� toolbox of pro teams and Olympians seeking maximum
speed. Francesco Moser famously used two disc
wheels, a special skinsuit and up-turned handlebars to break Merckx's record,
causing a rulebook change and transforming the sport.
The floodgates opened at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, fuelled by huge American
investment in aerodynamics, which became the
driving force behind all aspects of bike technology. Today, all contemporary pro
teams and countries with performance programmes
include wind tunnel testing.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/cycling-equipment-effect-aerodynamics-and-drag-c\
ycling-performance-40874


14. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
**  Why Antioxidant Supplements May Harm, Not Help
A new study from researchers at University of Bonn and Harvard gives a plausible
explanation for the negative effects of antioxidant
vitamins that have been reported in several previous studies.  They show that
people who take 1000 mg/day of vitamin C and 400
IU/day of vitamin E do not gain the benefits of increased insulin sensitivity
when they exercise (Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, May 12, 2009). Here's a detailed explanation of this
important finding:
* When blood sugar levels rise too high, sugar sticks on the surface of cell
membranes and can never get off; it is converted in a
series of chemical reactions to sorbitol that destroys cells.
* Contracting muscles help to prevent this damage by removing sugar so fast from
the bloodstream that blood sugar levels do not rise
too high.
* Food is converted to energy to power your muscles by a series of chemical
reactions that shuffle electrons from molecule to
molecule.
* This occurs primarily in the mitochondria, small energy-producing chambers in
cells, that number anywhere from a few to thousands
in each cell.
* As electrons are shuffled to produce energy, extra electrons can accumulate.
They can either end on hydrogen atoms to form water
and become harmless, or they can end up
on oxygen atoms to form free radicals that can damage cells.  This can cause
cancers, heart attacks and other life-shortening
conditions.
* Exercise speeds up the reactions that turn food into energy.  So exercise
increases the production of free radicals.
* The body responds to this increased production of free radicals during
exercise by producing tremendous numbers of antioxidants
that sop up the free radicals and render them
harmless.
* Exercise prolongs life and prevents heart attacks and cancers by causing the
body to dispose of free radicals by the increased
production of antioxidants.
* This new study explains that if you exercise and take antioxidant vitamins C
and E, you prevent your own body from making large
amounts of antioxidants during exercise, so more
free radicals (oxidants) accumulate in your body and more cells are damaged.
This study reinforces the recommendations I have given for years: Exercise every
day, and get the antioxidant vitamins and other
nutrients your body needs from foods, not from pills.
Eat a wide variety of foods including large amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole
grains, beams, nuts and other seeds.
** Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate for Arthritic Pain
One in 10 Americans suffers from osteo or degenerative arthritis, a disease in
which the currently used medications, acetaminophen,
aspirin and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, do not slow or reverse the
progressive destruction of joints and no cause is known.
Over the last decade, reports have shown that pills containing chondroitin
sulfate and glucosamine, two components of cartilage, may
help alleviate the pain. Three major reviews in the scientific literature claim
that the three studies showing that glucosamine
relieves pain were poorly designed and therefore cannot be offered as proof of
benefit. On the other hand, six studies from Europe
and another from the United States show that chondroitin sulfate does help to
slow joint destruction and pain caused by
osteoarthritis (journal references for these studies).
One study in Rheumatology showed that glucosamine is not more effective than a
placebo in controlling arthritic pain (8).
Several studies show that glucosamine helps control pain, but it is very
difficult to test the effect of any drug on pain because a
very significant number of people will benefit just as much from placebos. The
authors performed a double blind study over six
months in which they gave either 1500 mg glucosamine or placebo pills daily to
patients with arthritis. Neither the doctors nor the
patients knew who received glucosamine. One out of three patients receiving
glucosamine had excellent control of their pain. but one
out of three people receiving placebos also had the same excellent response.
Another study in the British medical journal, Lancet, showed that glucosamine
helps to retard the breakdown of cartilage. Up to
then, studies showed only that glucosamine helps to relieve pain. People with
arthritis received either 1500 mg of glucosamine or
placebo. X rays of their knees showed that the placebo group lost more distance
between the bones of their knees than the
glucosamine group.
The ends of bones at the knee joint are covered with cartilage, so the greater
the distance between the bones on X ray, the greater
the amount of cartilage. There is a serious problem with the study. People with
arthritis often cannot fully straighten their knees,
so it is impossible to use distance between bones to determine how much
cartilage is lost. For example, if a person bends his knees
a little, he will have the bones closer together than when he holds his knees
straight. That means that anything that blocks pain
will allow person to straighten his knees and have a greater distance between
the bones at the knee. You should get the same benefit
from any pain medicine. Furthermore, the study was sponsored by Rotta Research
Group, who could gain billions of dollars from sales
promoted by this study.
An earlier editorial in Lancet raises questions about the safety of glucosamine
(2). Most research shows that glucosamine can help
to relieve some of the pain associated with arthritis (3), but does not help to
prevent cartilaginous damage and has not been shown
to heal broken cartilage. Therefore, it is no more effective in treating
arthritis than aspirin, but costs more than aspirin, but
less than most brand name arthritis pain drugs that your doctor prescribes.
Glucosamine helps form aggrecan, the part of cartilage that allows cartilage to
swell and shrink, acting like a shock absorber to
help protect your knees from the trauma of running and walking. Adding
glucosamine to cartilaginous cells in a test tube causes them
to increases production of aggrecan (4).
However, in light of this good news, you should know that glucosamine can block
the effects of insulin, causing blood sugar levels
to rise (5,6,7), increasing likelihood of suffering the side effects of diabetes
in susceptible people.
1) Lancet, January 27, 2001
2 )Mark Adams: editorial The Lancet, July 31, 1999, 354(9176):353-354.
3) Muller-Fabbender et al. Glucosamine compared to ibuprofen in osteoarthritis
of the knee. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1994;2:61-69.
4)Bassler et al. Stimulation of Proteoglycan production by glucosamine sulfate
in chondrocytes isolated from human osteoarthritis
articular cartilage in vitro. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1998;6:427-434.
5) Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 1996;270:C803-11.
6) Diabetes 1995;45:1003-10089.
7) Proc Assoc Am Phys 1998;110:422-432.
8) A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of glucosamine sulphate
as an analgesic in osteoarthritis of the knee.
Rheumatology, 2002, Vol 41, Iss 3, pp 279-284. R Hughes, A Carr. Hughes R,
Ashford & St Peters Hosp Trust, Dept Rheumatol, Guildford
Rd, Surrey KY16 0PZ, ENGLAND
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: How can I tell if I'm improving my level of fitness?
The best way is to race and see how much faster you become. However, you don't
need to do that.  You can also use a simple test
called Heart Rate Recovery.  Tim Noakes, a former marathon runner, followed
competitive bicycle racers through a four-week
very-intense training program and showed that a simple test that can be done by
anyone, Heart Rate Recovery, was as accurate as a
measurement of improvement as more sophisticated and expensive tests, such as
peak power output, VO(2max) or a 40-km time trial
(European journal of applied physiology. March, 2009;105(5):705-13.)
This test should be done only by people who have no hidden heart disease, since
exercising to your maximum can cause a heart attack
in people who have damaged hearts.
Exercise as hard as you can, close to the fastest your heart can beat, for at
least a few minutes. Use a heart rate monitor to check
your pulse just before you stop and then again one minute later.  If you are
fit, your heart rate will drop 30 beats or more in the
first minute.  As your level of fitness improves, your heart rate recovery
increases also.
**  Drop in Performance?  Common Causes
1) The most common cause of a drop in performance in cycling, or any other
sport, is overtraining: going hard when you should go
easy. Hard-and- easy refers to intensity (speed and pressure on the pedals), not
to total mileage.  On one day, you ride very fast
with your group, feel sore on the next day and go slowly for as many days as it
takes for the soreness to go away. When the soreness
goes away, you ride fast again.  If you take hard workouts while your muscles
are still sore you can cause chronic muscle soreness.
2) A second cause is a low-salt syndrome caused by sweat loss. The only mineral
that you need in large amounts is sodium, common
table salt. All athletes have to salt food heavily and use lots of salt.  Your
doctor can check for low-salt syndrome by having you
take a very hard workout on one day, replenish your fluids, and then draw blood
for sodium and chloride on the next morning.   If
you are worried about developing high blood pressure, check your blood pressure
frequently.
3) The third most common cause is lack of vitamin D.  Blood levels of vitamin D3
below 75 nmol/L can cause muscles to feel sore,
particularly in the wintertime.
4) You can also fail to recover adequately from intense workouts if you do not
carbohydrate- and protein-load within a half hour
after you finish a workout.  Your muscles are maximally sensitive to insulin
during exercise and for up to a half hour after you
finish exercising.  Sugar taken within a half hour after you finish your intense
workout will raise your blood sugar level enough to
increase insulin levels. Insulin then drives protein into cells to help you
recover faster.
5) Another cause of muscle soreness is not getting off your feet after intense
workouts.  Muscles recover fastest when they are not
used. After intense workouts, lie down instead of
sitting, standing or walking.
If you have had a marked drop in performance in your sport and none of these
causes applies to you, you may need a medical
evaluation.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin:  Can deep massage help you recover faster from hard
exercise?
It may; a study from Chukyo University in Japan shows that a deep massage
technique called Petrissage improves cycle ergometer
pedaling performance, recovery from muscle stiffness and perceived lower limb
tiredness (British Journal of Sports Medicine, October
2008).
Petrissage is done by applying great pressure deep into the muscles, with
kneading, wringing, skin rolling and pick-up-and-squeezing
movements performed with the padded palmar surface of the hand, fingers and
thumbs.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: Anything new for treatment of joint pains?
Two recent reports show that an extract from the inner membrane of an eggshell
helps to control the pain and flexibility of muscles
and joints in people suffering from osteoarthritis
(Clinical Interventions in Aging, May 19, 2009; Clinical Rheumatology, April
2009).
Glucosamine and chondroitin are extracts from cartilage that have been shown to
help control muscle and joint pain. The inner
membrane of egg shells contains glycosaminoglycans that are similar to these
cartilaginous extracts. Egg shell membrane may help to
control pain and suffering, but I am skeptical until further studies demonstrate
safety and effectiveness.  The products are already
on the market before we have adequate data, and the studies are associated with
the company that sells the products.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


15. Digest Briefs:
**  Running Times Medical Corner: Chronic Achilles Soreness
Q: I have a pain along the inner side of my left foot when I run. I don't think
it is Plantar Fasciitis, because it is on the side
of the foot, not the sole. What could be the cause of the pain? What could be
done to reduce the pain?
I have low arch feet, but am not an over pronator because my shoes wear out on
the outer edge instead of the inner on my right shoe.
Is it possible that my left foot is under pronating and the right foot is over
pronating?
--Esther from Singapore
A: Pain along the inside of the foot may be due to inflammation of a tendon
(posterior tibialis) that attaches to the bone that is
the keystone of the arch (navicular). The posterior tibialis muscle helps to
support the arch of the foot. Since you have low
arches, it is possible that the muscle and tendon are overworked, causing
inflammation and pain. Another possible cause of pain is a
stress fracture of the navicular.
The wear pattern on your shoe may not necessarily mean that you underpronate. A
running coach or knowledgeable running shoe sales
person could evaluate your running form.
Work on strengthening your foot and ankle muscles. Put an ankle weight on your
foot and point your foot inward 10 times, outward 10
times and upward 10 times. Perform 3 sets of these exercises. Pick up small
objects, such as marbles, with your toes for about 5
minutes twice a day. Apply ice to your foot for 15 minutes 3 times per day. If
symptoms persist, you should see a sports medicine
specialist to make sure that you do not have a stress fracture.
-- Dr. Cathy Fieseler, MD, www.runningtimes.com
Do you have a question for Running Times coaches? Ask it here:
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=11937
** This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Catherine Ndereba (KEN) won the 88th edition of the
Bay-to-Breakers (CA/USA) 12K
                by two seconds over Elana Meyer (RSA), 38:37 to 38:39.  Jane
Omoro (KEN) was 3rd
                in 39:14.  Lazarus Nyakeraka (KEN) won the men's race by a good
margin, defeating
                Armando Quintanilla (MEX) 34:11 to 34:40.  Abraham Assefa (ETH)
was 3rd in 35:13.
20 Years Ago-  Lynn Jennings (USA) won the Nike Women's Race (DC/USA) 8K in
25:07 with Judi St
                Hilaire (USA) 2nd in 25:12 and Brenda Webb (USA) 3rd in 25:14. 
This very deep field
                included Patti-Sue Plumer (4th), Betty Jo Springs (7th), Janis
Klecker (10th),
                Ria VanLandeghem (11th,BEL), Priscilla Welch (15th,ENG), and Joan
Benoit-Samuelson
                (21st).  This race was held for only four years but still
accounts for nine of the
                top 30 all-time world performances.
30 Years Ago-  Ferenc Szekeres (HUN) won the Amsterdam (NED) Marathon in
2:14:45.6 with Benji Durden
                (USA) 2nd in 2:17:11 and Daniel McDaid (IRL) 3rd in 2:17:29.  Cor
Vriend was first
                NED in 4th with 2:17:44.  The women's race was won by Marianne
Nieuwenhuis (NED) in
                3:22:45.
40 Years Ago-  Gary Muhrcke (USA) won the 45th Yonkers (NY/USA) Marathon in
2:33:11.  Moses Mayfield
                (USA) and Jim McDonagh (USA) followed in 2:35:58 and 2:39:34
respectively.  Ted Corbitt
                (USA) was 5th in 2:49:41 and author Hal Higdon (USA) was 7th in
2:53:47.
50 Years Ago-  Stephen James (GBR) won the British Games (ENG) 3 mile in 13:36. 
Stanley Eldon (ENG)
                was 2nd with the same time and Alastair Wood (SCO) was 3rd in
13:42.
60 Years Ago-  Emil Zatopek (CZE) won a 5000m race in Prague CZE with a 14:32.2.
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.
** Massage myths busted
True or False: Massage therapy after strenuous exercise relieves soreness by
stimulating blood flow which assists in the removal of
lactic acid and other waste products from muscles.
If you answer �true� then you are certainly not alone. For decades, many massage
therapists have adhered to the notion that a deep,
penetrating massage gets the blood flowing.
But a new study by researchers at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., suggests
that the opposite is actually true � it inhibits
circulation at least for a while.
The researchers � led by kinesiologist Michael Tschakovsky � recruited 12
healthy male university students for a series of
experiments. Using ultrasound and blood tests, they observed the effects of
massage on forearm muscles after the volunteers had
performed hand-grip exercises.
�Every time you squeeze the muscle [with massage] you actually squeeze shut the
blood vessels in the arm which prevents blood flow,�
Dr. Tschakovsky said in an interview.
That means lactic acid would hang around in muscles even longer with massage.
But, according to Dr. Tschakovsky, that's not
necessarily a problem. �There's lots of robust evidence to show that lactic acid
does not contribute to muscle fatigue.�
Why then does a massage feel so good? Dr. Tschakovsky can't yet say for sure,
but he suspects that it helps stops muscle spasms.
�The pressure applied to the muscle ... breaks the cycle of the nerve that is
causing the muscle to contract so your muscle will
relax,� he speculated.
The study's findings will be presented later this month at the annual American
College of Sports Medicine conference in Seattle.


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

May 23, 2009:
Ironman Lanzarote - Canary Islands

YAM Scram Kids Run - Burlington, VT

May 23-24, 2009:
Ottawa Race Weekend - Ottawa, ON

May 24, 2009:
Buffalo Marathon - Buffalo, NY

Comrades Marathon - Durban to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

KeyBank Vermont City Marathon - Burlington, VT

Subaru Shawnigan Lake International Triathlon - BC

May 25, 2009:
Dick's Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10K - Boulder, CO

LA Marathon - Los Angeles, CA
Watch Live on UniversalSports.com


June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
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* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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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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our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
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The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
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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
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Until now, Canadian runners haven't had our own running magazine. But now,
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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
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writing has appeared across the country in daily newspapers, and magazines like
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Ray Zahab, Contributing Editor
Ray Zahab is Canada's most renowned ultramarathon runner. A former pack-a-day
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Distribution
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iRun Magazine is a sponsor of Emilie's Run
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9. Canadian Running Magazine: Subscribe at:
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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
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Fitzgerald.
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NEW THIS WEEK:

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Free Shipping With 4 Or More Purchased Items At ChampionUSA.com. This Offer is
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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey. Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport
athletes and a member of the OAC Racing Team and X-C
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* Running Research News: RRN's free, weekly, training update provides
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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. Do Sports Creams Rub the Pain Away?
2. Vibrate yourself to a leaner you
3. Run less. Run faster? For marathon training, less can be more, experts say
4. Wisdom From a World Record Holder
5. Beta-Alanine clinically proven to enhance performance in endurance athletes
6. Excess training may leave runners vulnerable to flus
7. The Anaerobic Threshold In Marathon Training
8. Massage After Exercise Myth Busted
9. Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits
10. Massive Volume Does Not Equal Massive Performance
11. Will Running Barefoot Cure What Ails Us?
12. One Size Doesn't Fit All
Individualizing Track Workouts Within a Group.
13. Heart Rate Variability Analysis- how to improve your training performance
14. Next-Level Training: Club or Coach?
Finding the Right Path to Better Running.
15. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which brand(s) of running shoe(s) have you worn?"


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 is/are your favourite event group(s) within athletics at the Olympic
Games?
Answers Percent
1.   Sprints/hurdles  10%
2.   Middle distance  18%
3.   Long distance  22%
4.   Steeplechase  12%
5.   Jumps (high, long, triple jump)  9%
6.   Throws (shot, discus, javelin)  7%
7.   Pole vault  9%
8.   Decathlon/Heptathlon  12%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: RunningUSA.org
Mission
Running USA advances the growth and success of the running industry in America.
Overall Goals
1. Promote and build the sport
2. Provide quality services that enhance members' businesses
History
Running USA, a non-profit organization for the running industry, was launched on
March 13, 1999 in Los Angeles. A joint and historic
venture with USA Track & Field (USATF), Running USA resulted from a year of
planning by the race directors of several leading U.S.
road races along with USATF's Long Distance Running Chairs and its CEO Craig
Masback. Steve Edwards was named its first executive
director.
From its original press release, Running USA was created to improve the status
of road racing in the United States through
collective marketing and promotions, services to runners and events and the
development of American world class stars
Visit the site at:
http://www.runningusa.org


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: The Winning Mind: My Inside Track on Great
Leadership: Developing Inspirational Leadership and
Delivering Winning Results
By Seb Coe
Product Description
THE WINNING MIND is Seb Coe's highly personal account which gives true insight
into how success can be achieved.
From a childhood amidst the steel mills of Yorkshire to Olympic glory and
beyond, Sebastian Coe has always known how to capitalise
on the moments which separate winners from losers. Great leadership is also
about seizing the moment and doing the right thing at
the right time. The daily challenges, hard graft, meticulous planning, small
wins and frequent set-backs are all critical steps
which take you closer to a winning position and your ultimate goal. THE WINNING
MIND combines inspirational leadership,
self-development, popular business and biography that will help nurture the
qualities needed to achieve your full potential.
About the Author
Sebastian Coe is a winner. His record as a sporting champion and world-record
holder in middle-distance running speaks for itself,
and earned him four Olympic medals during a glittering career. He is also a
renaissance man of our times, as his record of achieving
success in many different areas of life shows. Sebastian Coe, now Lord Coe of
Ranmore, has been a politician, a business leader and
the inspirational figurehead of the successful 2012 Olympic bid. He is a life
peer, a Knight Commander of the Order of the British
Empire and is Vice President of the International Association of Athletics
Federations. Sebastian Coe has the passion,
determination, focus, dedication and self-belief that mark him out as a true
champion.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0755318838/runnersweb-21

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. Do Sports Creams Rub the Pain Away?
CAROLYN LUMBER, a 56-year-old retired tennis pro, experimented with different
over-the-counter sports creams for more than five
years in the hope that one might ease the pain she had suffered since having
knee-replacement surgery. Nothing worked until Ms.
Lumber, who lives in Portland, Ore., started using a prescription product along
with the over-the-counter pain-relieving cream
ALCiS.
"I used to be very limited in what I could do, but now I can go for a two-hour
hike around the mountains,� Ms. Lumber said before
she was scheduled to play tennis one day. �ALCiS has managed to keep everything
very comfortable.�
ALCiS is one of several successful new products to enter a large, longstanding
and lucrative market for over-the-counter topical
analgesics, or pain creams, an industry that includes Bengay, Icy Hot,
ThermaCare and Aspercreme, and has been part of United States
retail since before the turn of the 20th century. Indeed, the medicinal smell of
many of these creams is ubiquitous in locker rooms
(that smell comes from methyl salicylate, an ingredient ALCiS does not include).
Last year, external analgesic rubs had approximately $275 million in sales in
the United States, excluding sales at Wal-Mart,
according to the Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources. But
despite Ms. Lumber�s experience, and despite those
big sales numbers, there is scant evidence that any of the creams actually work.
Some doctors point out that no physical changes
occur at the spot where the creams are applied � even if they give the
not-unpleasant sensation of heat or cold � and suggest that
the only real benefit could be that of a placebo.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/health/nutrition/07fitness.html?ref=nutrition


2. Vibrate yourself to a leaner you:
Vibrating exercise platforms, which are increasingly found in commercial gyms in
Europe and elsewhere, may help people lose the
particularly harmful deep "hidden" fat that surrounds the abdominal organs and
is linked to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and
heart disease.
"We conclude that it would be good to combine aerobic exercise with whole body
vibration in a weight loss program," study chief Dirk
Vissers, a physiotherapist at the Artesis University College and the University
of Antwerp in Belgium told Reuters Health.
With whole body vibration training, people do squats, lunges, calf raises,
push-ups and sit-ups on a platform that sends mild
vibratory impulses through the feet and into the rest of the body. These
vibrations make muscles rapidly contract, which builds lean
muscle mass. Whole body vibration training is touted as a more effective method
of resistance training. Its true value, however, has
been unclear.
To investigate, Vissers and his colleagues divided 79 overweight or obese adults
into four groups. One group dieted but did not
exercise; another group dieted and did "conventional" aerobic and general
strength training exercises; a third group dieted and
engaged in three sessions per week of supervised whole body vibration training
but no aerobic exercise; and the fourth group -- the
control group -- did not diet or exercise.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE54743C20090508


3. Run less. Run faster? For marathon training, less can be more, experts say:
It sounds a little too good to be true: Finish a 26.2-mile marathon on just
three days of training a week.
But for time-pressed, injury-prone runners, this type of low-mileage marathon
plan can be an attractive alternative to the
traditional five- or six-day training programs. Why neglect your job, family and
friends while pounding out more than 50 miles a
week if you don't have to?
For many runners, finding the right regimen is a precarious balancing act. Too
little training can leave you painfully unprepared.
But as your mileage increases, so does your mental fatigue, physical exhaustion
and the risk of an overuse injury.
Marathon-lite plans usually involve two short but purposeful runs -- a speed
workout and paced run -- during the week and a longer
one on the weekend. Cross training (swimming, strength training or cycling) can
be incorporated, but isn't necessary. Junk miles are
eliminated
More...from the Chicago Tribune at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0510-marathonmay10,0,718282\
0.column


4. Wisdom From a World Record Holder:
Insights for masters and others from Jim Sorensen.
In the course of researching this article on masters world record holder Jim
Sorensen, I had a conversation with him about his
approach to training and advice he has for others aspiring to compete at their
best. Here�s what Sorensen, who has world masters
records at 800m (1:50.34) and 1500m (3:44.06)) and the American masters mile
record (4:04.98), had to say.
Running Times: You�ve managed to stay healthy and run at a very high level for a
long time. To what do you credit that success and
your ability to stay healthy?
Jim Sorensen: I stay relatively healthy but I always have a set back. My best
year ever [1996] I had no injuries, but every other
year I have had setbacks. My second healthiest year was 2006/07, and I ran a
couple of masters world records that year. Since I�m so
injury-prone, I�ve always been pretty conservative, so I don�t run high mileage.
I love to run mileage but I never have.
Almost every miler I know, that I�ve interacted with that�s at my level, like a
sub-4:00 guy, every single one of them has run more
miles than I have per week and has put in more training. And I�m always envious
of them because I know that if I could put in all
those miles and put in that training that my body will improve. But then again
you�re not going to improve if you�re injured, so
I�ve always had to be conservative. Maybe that�s given me longevity, I�m not
sure, but since I�m fairly injury-prone I�m always very
cautious and I have to be conservative. I can�t take chances because my body
just gets hurt.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16487


5. Beta-Alanine clinically proven to enhance performance in endurance athletes:
Intro
With its release of OptygenHPTM in August of 2007, First EnduranceTM introduced
the endurance training and racing market to
beta-alanine-enhanced supplements. Since then, three additional clinical studies
have shown significant endurance performance
benefits from beta-alanine. Now positioned as the most promising nutrient since
creatine and supported with over 10 positive
clinical studies, beta-alanine has become widely accepted as a highly effective
nutrient for endurance training and racing. More
recent studies have clearly shown it to be an effective tool to boost endurance
training and racing through its effect on working
capacity, VO2 and lactate threshold. (Pottier 2007, Stout 2007, Suzuki 2002, Van
Thienen 2009, Zoeller 2006, and Smith 2009).
Lactate Threshold
Based on current research, beta-alanine�s primary role appears to be its effect
on lactate threshold - in endurance training,
defined as the rate at which there is equilibrium in lactic acid production and
lactic acid elimination. During exercise, hydrogen
ions (H+) are produced in the body and cause the pH levels in the muscles to
drop. When pH levels in the muscles are low, it means
muscle tissue is acidic or producing lactic acid. At this lower pH, muscles
cannot balance lactic acid production with lactic acid
elimination, resulting in an overall slowing of movement, physical strength and
intensity. When pH levels are balanced, training can
continue for longer periods at increased intensity.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://blog.firstendurance.com/2009/05/beta-alanine-clinically-proven-to-enhance\
-performance-in-endurance-athletes/


6. Excess training may leave runners vulnerable to flus:
With concern ratcheting up over the current pandemic potential of swine flu,
it's appropriate to address the curious, ambivalent
interplay between distance running and our immune systems. Runners have long
suspected what science has but recently confirmed:
moderate exercise can buttress our natural defenses against illness, but
excessive training � in terms of volume or intensity � can
crumble our biochemical fortresses, leaving us vulnerable to contagions that
range from merely pesky to downright life-threatening.
In his cult classic novel Once a Runner, John Parker describes the health
conundrum of a serious athlete, whose over-the-top
training occasionally threatened to bottom out his immunity to sickness. After a
Frank Shorter-like 132-mile week, Parker's
protagonist knew "that had a single germ strolled up and surveyed the premises,
it could have set up shop without even a damage
deposit." Like the novel's fictional hero Quenton Cassidy, many who undertake
arduous training leave themselves uncovered against
infection even as they add layers of endurance fitness. Personally, I've taken
sick after four of the nine marathons in my running
career. Likewise, although I haven't kept statistics on the phenomenon, I
regularly witness an uptick in sniffles within my prep
track team in the 48 hours following a major, day-long championship. Scientific
investigators do have statistics that suggest a link
between long, hard running and infectious episodes. Among others, Appalachian
State University health & exercise science professor
and Vanderbilt University epidemiologist Charles Matthews have published
independent studies that confirm anecdotal observation:
moderately active subjects experience about 20% fewer respiratory tract
infections than sedentary folks, but excessive exercise
bouts (can you say marathoning?) increase the infection rate almost fivefold,
compared to moderate running.
More...from Tallahassee.com at:
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090502/SPORTS/905020338/1002/SPORTS


7. The Anaerobic Threshold In Marathon Training:
By A. Glimov and V. Kulakov
The authors discuss the possible practical value in using the anaerobic
threshold speed, based on the Conconi test, as a guide for
the selection of an optimal pace in the various combinations of training means
employed by experienced marathon runners. The article
is a slightly edited and abbreviated translation from Legkaya Atletika, USSR,
No. 3, March 1991. Re-printed with permission from
Modern Athlete and Coach.
The anaerobic threshold, indicating the running speed at which the blood lactate
level increases suddenly, is a common indicator in
the guidance of long distance and marathon training. A popular method to
determine the anaerobic threshold is the Conconi test (Fig.
1). It is based on finding a deviation point in the pulse rate graph during a
steadily increased running speed. The deviation point,
according to Conconi, indicates the individual anaerobic threshold.
There appears to be a reliable correlation between the anaerobic threshold and
the running performance. Several authors have shown
that high level marathon runners cover the distance at an average speed that
corresponds to 92 to 93% of the anaerobic threshold
speed. Knowing their anaerobic threshold is therefore helpful for marathoners
for the selection of an optimal pace and the correct
exploitation of energy reserves.
Contemporary research has also shown that fats play, next to carbohydrates, an
active part in supplying energy for long distance
running. In addition, it is known that fats can be the basic energy suppliers up
to a certain running speed. However, as the running
speed increases, the role of the fats in the total energy production begins to
decrease in favour of carbohydrates.
More...from the Canadian Athletics Coaching Center at:
http://tinyurl.com/p2q2w9


8. Massage After Exercise Myth Busted:
A Queen�s University research team has blown open the myth that massage after
exercise improves circulation to the muscle and
assists in the removal of lactic acid and other waste products.
�This dispels a common belief in the general public about the way in which
massage is beneficial,� says Kinesiology and Health
Studies professor Michael Tschakovsky. �It also dispels that belief among people
in the physical therapy profession.  All the
physical therapy professionals that I have talked to, when asked what massage
does, answer that it improves muscle blood flow and
helps get rid of lactic acid.  Ours is the first study to challenge this and
rigorously test its validity.�
The belief that massage aids in the removal of lactic acid from muscle tissue is
so pervasive it is even listed on the Canadian
Sports Massage Therapists website as one of the benefits of massage, despite
there being absolutely no scientific research to back
this up.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507164405.htm


9. Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits :
If you exercise to improve your metabolism and prevent diabetes, you may want to
avoid antioxidants like vitamins C and E.
That is the message of a surprising new look at the body�s reaction to exercise,
reported on Monday by researchers in Germany and
Boston.
Exercise is known to have many beneficial effects on health, including on the
body�s sensitivity to insulin. �Get more exercise� is
often among the first recommendations given by doctors to people at risk of
diabetes.
But exercise makes the muscle cells metabolize glucose, by combining its carbon
atoms with oxygen and extracting the energy that is
released. In the process, some highly reactive oxygen molecules escape and make
chemical attacks on anything in sight.
These reactive oxygen compounds are known to damage the body�s tissues. The
amount of oxidative damage increases with age, and
according to one theory of aging it is a major cause of the body�s decline.
The body has its own defense system for combating oxidative damage, but it does
not always do enough. So antioxidants, which mop up
the reactive oxygen compounds, may seem like a logical solution.
The researchers, led by Dr. Michael Ristow, a nutritionist at the University of
Jena in Germany, tested this proposition by having
young men exercise, giving half of them moderate doses of vitamins C and E and
measuring sensitivity to insulin as well as
indicators of the body�s natural defenses to oxidative damage.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/health/research/12exer.html?ref=nutrition


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


11. Will Running Barefoot Cure What Ails Us?
PopSci talks to an anti-shoe guru.
Why is it that, although the human species is pretty pathetic when it comes to
sprinting (just imagine Usain Bolt matching up with
your average cheetah in an Olympic 100-meter final and you get the picture), we
really rock as long-distance runners? In a
long-enough distance race, a well-trained human can outrun just about any
species on the planet.
Did we evolve to run long distances? There is certainly some compelling evidence
to support this hypothesis. Daniel Lieberman, a
paleoanthropologist at Harvard University, and Dennis Bramble, a biologist at
the University of Utah, argue that many of the
morphological and physiological characteristics of humans make us uniquely
adapted to running long distances.
But if so, why are those of us who run for recreation or competition so prone to
running-related injuries? If we are natural
runners, shouldn't running come naturally to us? Nowadays, we have a plethora of
fancy cushioned running shoe designs supposedly
intended to alleviate all manner of running related ailments. Maybe you need a
stability shoe for added support or perhaps a motion
control shoe in order to avoid excessive pronation. It may seem logical that
cushioning reduces the impact forces experienced while
running but do they really? In fact although it seems counter intuitive there
may be evidence to the contrary! At the same time
there is no convincing evidence supporting the case that cushioned running shoes
actually do anything to reduce the rate of running
injury.
More...from PopSci at:
http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2009-05/running-barefoot?\
page=


12. One Size Doesn't Fit All:
Individualizing Track Workouts Within a Group.
"Tonight, we'll start with six by 400, then close with four 200s." It's the type
of announcement you'll hear each week at hundreds
of club track workouts throughout the country. The workouts may vary, but the
concept doesn't: It's a group workout and everyone
will be doing the same thing.
We all know that's not the perfect way to train; runners differ and so do their
ideal workouts. We band together, though, because
solo speed workouts are tough. Personally, I love the camaraderie of the track
so much that if I had to choose between perfect
workouts and a congenial group, I'd probably choose the group.
But that doesn't mean workouts can't have some flexibility.
With 300 members, my club can draw as many as 40 to any given track workout.
We're a varied lot. There are high-mileage marathoners,
5K road racers, cross country runners, and people training for masters track.
Some are peaking for upcoming races, others just
beginning to build up. Paces vary, too. We have age-group champions, former
collegiate stars, and even 10-minute milers.
The diversity makes it hard to design workouts. When I was first asked to coach
the group, there seemed to be only two choices: run
a program aimed at whatever segment of the group I chose to favor, or punt, with
workouts that had something for everyone but not a
lot for anyone.
Every club coach faces the same dilemma. How to provide structurally sound
workouts that give everyone what they need, rather than
forcing them into the same mold? How to keep the whole thing fun and
interesting? Beginners are easily intimidated by repetitive
workouts, like 5 x 1,000m or 12 x 400m. Mile repeats are also a problem because
many people think the average runner shouldn't do
repeats much longer than 5 or 6 minutes. That means miles are too tough for the
slower people.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16398


13. Heart Rate Variability Analysis- how to improve your training performance:
Heart rate variability analysis � a training tool you can�t ignore
Heart rate variability analysis (HRVA) is fast becoming a versatile instrument
for athletes and coaches. In this article Alan
Ruddock provides further evidence for HRVA�s efficacy and gives a step-by-step
guide for sportsmen and women who wish to use HRVA as
a monitoring tool to enhance training response.
In endurance sports, several �endurance markers� are used to monitor athletes,
assess the effects of training and determine training
intensity. The most frequently applied models are the ventilatory threshold (VT)
and respiratory compensation point (RCP). To
identify these endurance markers, athletes normally undertake an incremental
exercise test to volitional exhaustion, usually within,
but not restricted to, an exercise physiology laboratory.
VT and RCP are identified using cardiopulmonary gas analysis equipment, which
continuously measures oxygen and carbon dioxide
concentrations and the flow of air inhaled and exhaled by athletes during
exercise. As exercise intensity increases during the test,
so does lactate and hydrogen ion production, and as the body attempts to
�buffer� the hydrogen, an increase in carbon dioxide
occurs. The response of the physiological system is to increase ventilation (the
total volume of gas being inspired and expired) to
expel the carbon dioxide.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/heart-rate-variability-analysis-how-improve-your\
-training-performance-40837



14. Next-Level Training: Club or Coach?
Finding the Right Path to Better Running.
It's 6 o'clock on a Tuesday evening at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco's Golden
Gate Park. I'm talking with Neil about the reasons
behind a recent race disappointment and with Dave about his spring marathon
mileage buildup. Newcomers Joe and Monica wait to
discuss pace for their upcoming intervals; meanwhile, around 10 more experienced
runners warm up together, rehashing the past
weekend, debating the relative merits of various post-workout watering holes, or
planning the next West Valley Track Club beer mile.

All of these athletes have joined the club for one basic reason: to improve.
And, although each may see a different aspect of the
experience as most important, all have found something in the mixture of group
training, weekly workout schedules, and socializing
that has enriched their running experiences.
I did all my best running, modest as it might have been, solo. I became
intimately familiar with the pitfalls that can result from
training without a coach or experienced training partners, even as I read every
available book on the theory and practice of
training and worked toward a Ph. D. in exercise physiology. Now, after
discovering how much the camaraderie of team training and
team competition can enhance someone's enjoyment of the sport and improve their
performance, I understand well the pull that brings
this group to the track each week, and I try to ensure that their experience
with the club benefits their running.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16384


15. Digest Briefs:
** Quick Tip
By Robert Kunz MS
Gums found in gels slow absorption
Cellulose, xanthan and arabic gums are a typical ingredient in many gels. These
gums are used to turn a liquid product into a thick
gel. Clinical studies also clearly show they slow absorption and delay gastric
emptying leading to stomach discomfort. This is just
one reason why the EFS liquid shot which was formulated without any gums gets
absorbed fast and won�t back-up your stomach.
From First Endurance at:
http://www.firstendurance.com/
**  The Natural Anti-Inflammatory Drug .To be a triathlete often means that
inflammation is your constant companion due to
over-training. As a result, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs (Aspirin, Motrin,
and Aleve) is exceptionally common. These drugs
reduce inflammation by inhibiting pro-inflammatory hormones known as
eicosanoids.
Unfortunately, they also inhibit the formation of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids
which results in the collateral damage that comes
with long-term use. Even in short-term use in ultra marathoners, it was
demonstrated that taking anti-inflammatory drugs prior to
and during a race actually produced more oxidative stress (1) and inflammation
without improving the muscle damage and soreness in a
matched group of runners who were not taking any such drugs (2).
So what is a triathlete to do, simply live with constant pain?
Actually it turns out that following an anti-inflammatory diet will dramatically
reduce the need for such anti-inflammatory drugs.
An anti-inflammatory diet is one that reduces the production of arachidonic acid
(AA). AA is the molecular building block for the
pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. Reduce AA by the diet and you automatically reduce
inflammation induced by training.
The foundation of an anti-inflammatory diet is one that is based on a diet rich
in fruits and vegetables. The reason is that the
color found in fruits and vegetables is a result of compounds known as
polyphenols. Polyphenols not only act as anti-oxidants to
reduce oxidative stress (i.e. free radicals), but they also have
anti-inflammatory properties as they inhibit the same enzymes that
are blocked by anti-inflammatory drugs. Now combine the consumption of fruits
and vegetables with adequate intake of protein and
high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and you have a true �drug� that not only
reduces inflammation, but improves performance. It�s
also known as the Zone Diet.
Barry Sears Ph.D.
Founder of The Zone Diet
1) McAnulty SR, Owens JT, McAnulty LS, Nieman DC, Morrow JD, Dumke CL, Milne GL.
Ibuprofen use during extreme exercise: effects on
oxidative stress and PGE2.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Jul;39(7):1075-9.
2)  Nieman DC, Henson DA, Dumke CL, Oley K, McAnulty SR, Davis JM, Murphy EA,
Utter AC, Lind RH, McAnulty LS, Morrow JD.  Ibuprofen
use, endotoxemia, inflammation, and plasma cytokines during ultramarathon
competition.  Brain Behav Immun. 2006 Nov;20(6):578-84.
** Changing a Flat Using a CO2 Cartridge .
You're out on a ride and, ppsssstttttt....the sound of a flat! Oh no! What do
you do now?! Hopefully you're prepared with the right
tools and knowledge about how to change the flat on the road so you can finish
your ride. In this short videocast, Coach Troy
demonstrates how to quickly change a clincher tire (tube) using a standard CO2
Cartridge. Practice this at home so that when it
happens on the road, you're ready for it!
Watch the video at:
  http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6220
From... www.USATriathlon.org
** This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Joseph Kariuki (KEN) won the Old Kent River Bank (MI/USA) 25K in
1:14:09 with compatriot
                William Kiptum in 2nd with 1:14:24.  Todd Williams won the USA
title in 4th place with
                a 1:17:15.  Teresa Wanjiku (KEN) won the women's race in 1:26:51
with Margaret Kagiri
                (KEN) next in 1:27:38.  Christine McNamara won the USA title in
3rd place with a 1:28:05.
                This race is now known as the Fifth Third Bank 25 km.
20 Years Ago-  David Clarke (ENG) won the Berlin (GER) 25K in 1:15:07, edging
Martin Vrabel (SVK) by
                three seconds.  Suleiman Nyambui (TAN) was 3rd in 1:16:01.  Rosa
Mota (POR) won the
                women's race in 1:25:46 with Alena Peterkova (CZE) not far back
at 1:25:55.  Third place
                went to Carla Beurskens (NED) in 1:27:10 while Alison Gooderham
(ENG) was 4th in 1:27:49.
30 Years Ago-  Greg Meyer (USA) won the Old Kent River Bank (MI/USA) 25K in
1:14:29 well ahead of
                Steve Flanagan (Shalane's father) in 1:17:28.  Doug Kurtis was
3rd in 1:21:15.  Kurtis
                is perhaps best known for his "world record" 75 sub-2:20 marathon
performances (69 on
                legitimate courses).  Cheryl Flanagan (Shalane's mother) won the
women's race in
                1:36:39.
40 Years Ago-  Timothy Johnston (ENG) won the Karl Marx Stadt (GER) Marathon in
2:15:31.2 with Nedjalko
                Farcic (SER) 2nd in 2:16:50.2 and J�rgen Busch (GER) 3rd in
2:17:43.8.
50 Years Ago-  Kurao Hiroshima (JPN) won the Mainichi (Osaka JPN) Marathon in
2:30:06.  This race is now
                known as the Biwa-ko Marathon and is held in near-by Otsu.
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.



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

May 15-16, 2009:
Ragnar Relay New York - Woodstock-NYC, NY

May 16-17, 2009:
PAC 10 Championships - Eugene, OR

May 16, 2009:
Colonel by Classic 8Km, 3Km Run, & Wylie Ryan Dow's Lake 1Km Run - Ottawa, ON

Early Bird Triathlon, Duathlon & Relays - Ottawa, ON

(5th) Healthy Kidney 10K - New York, NY

May 17, 2009:
ING Bay to Breakers 12K, San Francisco, CA

(10th) Cellcom Green Bay Marathon - Green Bay, WI

Denver Post Colorado Colfax Marathon, Denver, CO

Marine Corps Historic Half - Fredericksburg, VA

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K, Cleveland, OH

Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon - Sydney, Australia

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
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SportsShoes in the UK
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
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If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
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The Stretching Handbook:
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ghandbook.com/newsletter.php
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.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.
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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


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NEW THIS WEEK:

Holabird Sports:
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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

Under Armour is pleased to announce Free Shipping on Orders $75+ through May
31st! Please use the following code, UASPRING02, and
shop at Under Armour today!
Free Shipping on all orders over $75!
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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. VO2 Max Newsletter - Dr. Jason Karp
2. Injury prevention - the running mechanics behind achieving an injury free
season
3. Athletes With Asthma Need More Help From Their Team Trainers
4. Invisible: Women in Senegal
Breaking barriers to hit the track.
5. Chronic Ankle Pain May Be More Than Just A Sprain
6. As joggers hit the pave, they need to show respect
7. Is it All in the Family?
Running Legacies: Nature or Nuture?
8. A little wine may make for a longer life
9. Shock Absorber encourages women to invest in essential sports kit - a sports
bra.
10. Margo Jennings Audio Interview
11. How Tim wants you to train
Professor Tim Noakes' latest research findings are bound to cause a stir.
12. Pros and Cons of Training Partners
13. Dropping Seconds from Your Time
14. The Use Of Lactate Threshold In Training
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
Which is/are your favourite event group(s) within athletics at the Olympic
Games?
Sprints/hurdles
Middle distance
Long distance
Steeplechase
Jumps (high, long, triple jump)
Throws (shot, discus, javelin)
Pole vault
Decathlon/Heptathlon


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:
"Would you support the concept of a permanent site for the Olympic Summer
Games?"
Answers Percent
1.   Yes  65%
2.   No  30%
3.   No opinion, don't care  5%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: RunningUSA.org
Mission
Running USA advances the growth and success of the running industry in America.
Overall Goals
1. Promote and build the sport
2. Provide quality services that enhance members' businesses
History
Running USA, a non-profit organization for the running industry, was launched on
March 13, 1999 in Los Angeles. A joint and historic
venture with USA Track & Field (USATF), Running USA resulted from a year of
planning by the race directors of several leading U.S.
road races along with USATF's Long Distance Running Chairs and its CEO Craig
Masback. Steve Edwards was named its first executive
director.
From its original press release, Running USA was created to improve the status
of road racing in the United States through
collective marketing and promotions, services to runners and events and the
development of American world class stars
Visit the site at:
http://www.runningusa.org


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: The Winning Mind: My Inside Track on Great
Leadership: Developing Inspirational Leadership and
Delivering Winning Results
By Seb Coe
Product Description
THE WINNING MIND is Seb Coe's highly personal account which gives true insight
into how success can be achieved.
From a childhood amidst the steel mills of Yorkshire to Olympic glory and
beyond, Sebastian Coe has always known how to capitalise
on the moments which separate winners from losers. Great leadership is also
about seizing the moment and doing the right thing at
the right time. The daily challenges, hard graft, meticulous planning, small
wins and frequent set-backs are all critical steps
which take you closer to a winning position and your ultimate goal. THE WINNING
MIND combines inspirational leadership,
self-development, popular business and biography that will help nurture the
qualities needed to achieve your full potential.
About the Author
Sebastian Coe is a winner. His record as a sporting champion and world-record
holder in middle-distance running speaks for itself,
and earned him four Olympic medals during a glittering career. He is also a
renaissance man of our times, as his record of achieving
success in many different areas of life shows. Sebastian Coe, now Lord Coe of
Ranmore, has been a politician, a business leader and
the inspirational figurehead of the successful 2012 Olympic bid. He is a life
peer, a Knight Commander of the Order of the British
Empire and is Vice President of the International Association of Athletics
Federations. Sebastian Coe has the passion,
determination, focus, dedication and self-belief that mark him out as a true
champion.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0755318838/runnersweb-21

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.  VO2 Max Newsletter - Dr. Jason Karp:
** Weight Loss
If you or someone you know is trying to lose weight, ever wonder how much
exercise is needed to get the job done?  According to the
2009 position statement of the American College of Sports Medicine, people need
at least 250 minutes of exercise per week for
significant weight loss.  Research has repeatedly shown that the amount of
weight loss or the amount is weight gain is proportional
to the amount of exercise done.  Do more, lose more.  Do less, gain more. For
example, a study published in Obesity Research in 2005
found that the greater the number of miles run per week, the lower the body mass
index and the smaller the circumferences of the
chest, waist, and hips.  Interestingly, research has revealed that people gain
more weight by stopping running than the weight they
lose by starting running.  In other words, it's much easier to gain weight than
it is to lose weight.
**  Ultramarathons
Ultramarathons, running events that are substantially longer than a marathon,
are becoming increasingly popular, as humans are
continually trying to push the limits of endurance.
While the marathon requires the largest glycogen storage capacity possible, a
very efficient capacity to make new glucose, and a
very effective system of fat use, these characteristics are paramount for the
ultramarathon.  Therefore, one of the goals of
ultramarathon training is to teach your muscles to rely on fat as fuel.  While
muscles' store of carbohydrate is limiting, humans'
store of fat is virtually unlimited, with enough to fuel about five days of
marathon running or about 1,000 miles of walking.  While
women are at a definite cardiovascular disadvantage to men since they have a
smaller cardiac output and less hemoglobin in their
blood to transport oxygen, research has shown that women have a greater capacity
to metabolize fat and conserve glycogen, which may
give them an advantage for very long endurance activities.  Indeed, in 2002 and
2003, Pam Reed beat all the men at the 135-mile
Badwater Ultramarathon.
There are two ways to make your muscles more effective at using fat for
energy--1) run/walk for very long periods of time (4-6
hours) and 2) begin your runs with low muscle glycogen by consuming a
low-carbohydrate diet beforehand.  Think of this strategy as
creating a threat to the muscles' survival--when you threaten the survival of
muscles by depriving them of their preferred fuel, a
strong signal is sent to make more of that fuel to combat the threat and to use
other sources of fuel more effectively.  The
downsides
to training with little glycogen, however, is that 1) it doesn't feel good and
2) it compromises any intensity in your program since
high intensity running depends on carbohydrates for fuel. If you're going to try
training with low muscle glycogen, make sure you
consume lots of carbohydrates before your ultramarathon, so you "train low, race
high."
Given its duration, the ultramarathon also requires the consumption of calories
during the race.  If you've ever eaten during a long
endurance event, you know the mess it can make of your digestive system.  During
your long training runs, practice eating different
foods and different nutrients to see what your stomach can handle. The more you
practice refueling and rehydration strategies, the
better off you'll be on race day.
Like the marathon, dehydration, muscle fiber damage, hyperthermia, and
psychological fatigue are huge issues for the ultramarathon,
so use your long runs to practice dealing with each of these issues. Since your
sweat rate exceeds your ability to ingest fluid
while running, dehydration is difficult to prevent.  However, since endurance
performance declines with only a 2-3 percent loss of
body weight due to fluid loss, it's important to minimize its effects by
drinking fluids with sodium.  Since water goes wherever
sodium goes, more water is conserved by the kidneys when you ingest sodium with
the water.
Climate has a greater effect on the ultramarathon than it does on any other
race.  Prepare yourself by acclimatizing to hot and
humid conditions beforehand.  While cardiovascular adaptations to running in the
heat are nearly complete within one week, the
sweating response takes about two weeks, so give yourself at least two weeks of
slowly introducing yourself to the heat.
To view past newsletters go to: http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter
Copyright Jason Karp All Rights Reserved - http://www.runcoachjason.com


2. Injury prevention - the running mechanics behind achieving an injury free
season:
Injury prevention - taking a robust approach to running
There's more to reducing the risk of sustaining a running injury than
incorporating a couple of stretches and the odd weights
session into your training routine. As Matt Lancaster explains, a structured
approach to build 'running robustness' is a much better
approach.
Oscar Pistorius is able to run 400 metres in less than 47 seconds. While this
does not mark him as a serious medal contender, his
determination to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics became a big story in
athletics. However the IAAF ruled that he was not
eligible to compete.
Pistorius was born without fibulas (the smaller of the two bones which form the
lower part of the leg) and he has never walked
without the aid of prosthetic limbs. He began running competitively in 2003 and
after winning the 200 metres at the Athens
Paralympic Games, turned his attention to competing against able bodied
athletes.
The IAAF ruling was based on an investigation by Professor Gert-Peter
Brueggemann, and concluded that an athlete using the carbon
fibre prosthetic blades has a more than 30 percent mechanical advantage over an
athlete not using the blades. Once Pistorius reached
a certain stride the blades, known as Cheetahs, behaved like stiff springs and
he was able to run at the same speed as able-bodied
runners using about 25% less energy. However, Pistorius' prosthetist Trevor
Brauckmann has argued that the athlete still has to
produce the energy to propel the blades and Pistorius unsuccessfully attempted
to appeal against the ruling.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/injury-prevention-running-mechanics-behind-achie\
ving-injury-free-season-40811


3. Athletes With Asthma Need More Help From Their Team Trainers:
Very few athletic trainers associated with National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) programs said that they were following
best practice standards for managing asthma among their athletes, according to a
new study.
For athletes with asthma, the dangers of the condition can be as mild as
impacting athletic performance or so severe to be
incapacitating, or deadly. The lead report is published in the American College
of Sports Medicine's journal, Medicine & Science in
Sports & Exercise.
"We wanted to see how well asthma is being managed in athletes competing at the
NCAA level," says Jonathan Parsons, clinical
assistant professor of internal medicine at Ohio State University. "Evidence has
shown that outcomes are better when an athlete has
an asthma attack and the proper help is available."
"Since it's impossible to predict an asthma attack, we need to be prepared for
when it happens," adds Parsons, who also is lead
author of the study and a pulmonologist, critical care specialist and associate
director of the Asthma Center at the Ohio State
University Medical Center.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090428111530.htm


4. Invisible: Women in Senegal:
Breaking barriers to hit the track.
It's 5 p.m. in Dakar, Senegal, Africa's westernmost city, in Africa's
westernmost country. The sun is setting over the Atlantic, and
across the trafficky, market-filled metropolis, mosques are piping out yet
another call to prayer over tinny speakers.
"Alllahu Akbar."
"Allaaaaaahu Akbar."
"God is great."
Islam demands five daily prayer sessions, and starting before dawn, Dakar's
hundreds of mosques cry out at regular intervals to
remind adherents of their duty.
But under the setting sun along the seaside that rings Dakar, hundreds of people
are engaged in a more earthly pursuit.
Sweat drips off gleaming faces as hundreds of runners jog along the Corniche --
the highway along the perimeter of the
peninsula-city. Others sprint up the steep slope to the city's lighthouse. Sand
flies off flat-soled Adidas, plastic sandals and
bare feet as runners take tight turns in speed drills on the beach.
On an undersized beach near the city's main university, a dense pack of
muscle-bound bodies swarms across the sand in mini 25-meter
laps. At the water's edge, a small boy scampers alongside his patiently jogging
father.
And a few yards away, two women sit in the sand with two tiny girls, who are
digging and playing quietly.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15245


5. Chronic Ankle Pain May Be More Than Just A Sprain:
  Ankle sprains are a common injury after a fall, sudden twist or blow to the
ankle joint. Approximately 40 percent of those who
suffer an ankle sprain will experience chronic ankle pain, even after being
treated for their initial injury.
A review article published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) explains
that tendon injuries to the ankle can be a possible cause for this chronic pain.
In some cases, the condition is untreated or
overlooked which prolongs the pain and the problem.
"When patients injure their ankles, the injury may not seem serious at first,"
explains Terrence Philbin, DO, lead author of the
article and Fellowship Director of the Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Center in
Columbus, Ohio. "People may not seek medical attention
and they can think it will just get better on its own. I think that is why this
condition often goes undiagnosed."
The authors of the article describe how in some cases chronic ankle pain may
actually be the result of injuries to the peroneal
tendons.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501090931.htm


6. As joggers hit the pave, they need to show respect:
As spring spreads across our vast nation, thousands of runners are springing out
of bed and out of doors for a new season of
fine-weather running. But if you've been exercising all winter on a treadmill,
take care: The transition to grass or pavement could
be hazardous to your limbs.
There's a reason why gyms buy industrial-strength, NASAapproved exercise
equipment. Over the course of a winter, they see more feet
than a military camp podiatrist. But for all the use they get, your gym's
treadmills are soft, predictable and foot-forgiving
compared to the great outdoors.
Each spring, my sports medicine practice welcomes a horde of indoor runners
who've been tripped up by outdoor conditions.
Evenhardcore outdoor runners (the ones who wouldn't consider jumping on a
machine that goes nowhere, no matter how frigid the
weather) are in danger of shin pain and stress fractures from the repetitive
impact of running on pavement. Grass may seem like a
good alternative. But smooth-seeming pastures may conceal ankle-bending divots,
tree roots or animal burrows. A bouncy boardwalk is
ideal for running, but how many of us live by the sea or lake?
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=1560937


7. Is it All in the Family?
Running Legacies: Nature or Nuture?
My blue eyes are a biological gift from my dad. My sister inherited her red hair
from our grandmother. As a kid she was teased and
called Carrot Top. For that she nurtured a stubborn and feisty nature. One of my
brothers has my mom's Irish temper. Certain parts
of us are genetically determined, while others are a propensity, or learned
behavior. While no elites with super running genes are
sprinting around my family tree, my passion for running was nurtured by my older
brothers who ran cross country in high school.
Would my racing times be faster if my dad was John A. Kelley? Biological genes
would have made me predisposed to be a better runner,
but what about the desire and passion for running? Can you succeed with just the
biological genes, or do you need both nature and
nurture? And do the parents of our legendary elite runners even want their
children to pursue the sport with the vigor and tenacity
they did? To find out, I interviewed the children and grandchildren of some of
the world's best runners.
Grandkids
Ben Diestel, a junior at Northern Highlands High School in Allendale, NJ, has a
personal best of 16:04 for the cross country 5K.
When he wins a race he celebrates by going out for sushi with his grandmother,
world-record holder Toshiko D'Elia, the first female
over 50 to run a sub-three-hour marathon.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=7380


8. A little wine may make for a longer life:
Very light wine consumption -- the equivalent of about half a glass a day --
over the long term appears to lead to a longer life,
new research shows.
Among a group of randomly selected Danish men who were repeatedly monitored
between 1960 and 2000 as part of the Zutphen Study,
long-term light wine consumption was associated with an increase in life
expectancy of nearly 5 years.
The benefit was independent of total alcohol consumption, Dr. Martinette T.
Streppel from Wageningen University, the Netherlands,
and colleagues report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
According to the report, during the 40-year monitoring period, 1,130 of the
1,373 men in the study died. The average age at death
was 77 years.
Mirroring past studies, long-term light alcohol intake was significantly
associated with lower mortality risk. The investigators
found that the life expectancy of men with a long-term alcohol intake of up to
20 grams per day was 2.3 years longer than that of
non-drinkers.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5443NJ20090505


9. Shock Absorber encourages women to invest in essential sports kit - a sports
bra:
As thousands of women across Ireland get set to take part in the annual Women's
mini-marathon on Monday June 1.
Shock Absorber is encouraging them to ensure they have the right sports bra,
just as they would invest in a good quality pair of
trainers.
While women run, jog or walk the 10km course past many Dublin landmarks, the
average female runners breasts will be taking their own
journey and could travel up to a staggering 600-metres in bounce - that is the
equivalent of the Dublin Spire stacked end to end,
more than five times.
Not only this, but the average 36C breast weighs between 250-300 grammes, the
weight of four bags of sugar! As the women bounce
their way around the course on race day this weight must be supported properly
otherwise, research* has found, they will risk
increasing the effects of gravity on their breasts.
Regular exercise like running can put great strain on the breasts fragile
support structure, which compromises the outer skin and a
connective tissue known as the Coopers ligament. Excessive breast movement can
cause the Coopers ligaments to stretch and lead to
irreversible breast sag.
More...from Westmeath Examiner at:
http://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/plus/lifestyle/articles/2009/05/05/39141-womens-\
minimarathon/


10. Margo Jennings Audio Interview:
Margo Jennings's coaching career, of more than 25 years, has seen her bring two
athletes to the pinnacle of our sport. In 2000, at
the Sydney Olympic Games, Maria Mutola from Mozambique, who Jennings had been
coaching since 1991, won gold in the 800 metres. Then
in 2004, at the Athens Olympic Games, Kelly Holmes, of Great Britain, who
Jennings had been coaching for two years, won both the 800
meters and 1500 meters. Without question, these are markers of a coach who knows
how to have her athletes peak when it counts.
In this fascinating interview, where Jennings outlines the "Maria Mutola Story"
and how she became one of the greatest
middle-distance runners of all time, she also goes into great detail regarding
her long-term planning philosophy and how she
breaks-up an athlete's year into key phases and transitions including the
specifics of how to bring an athlete to his or her peak.
Also discussed is Jenning's coaching style that involves a strong individual
approach to athlete development. For any
middle-distance coach looking to learn from one of our sport's most successful
coaches this is a must-listen-to interview from a
coach who has certainly done it all.
Listen to the audio interview from the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre at:
http://www.athleticscoaching.ca/?pid=1&spid=81


11. How Tim wants you to train:
Professor Tim Noakes' latest research findings are bound to cause a stir.
Fatigue doesn't originate in a sportsman's muscles, as scientists have believed
for many years. It originates in their brain.
The latest research by world-renowned sports scientist Professor Tim Noakes
shows the brain has far greater control over sports
performance than sports scientists have ever realised. And you can condition
your brain to achieve success.
Noakes, co-founder of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (based in
Newlands, Cape Town), is making his surprise findings
known for the first time.
At the same time he and his team have submitted their study to a top American
medical journal for publication. His findings cut
against the grain of existing scientific opinion - that an athlete's muscles
become tired because lactic acid accumulates during
exertion.
Noakes has turned conventional scientific wisdom on its head before. The first
time was when he demonstrated that fitness doesn't
make people immune to heart attacks. Then he showed neck injuries were a serious
- and preventable - problem at all levels of rugby
in South Africa.
Thirdly, he provided proof the amount of water US experts recommended marathon
runners should drink (1,2-1,8 litres of water an
hour) was far too much and could lead to water intoxication rather than prevent
dehydration.
In each case his findings were questioned and discredited - and in each case
they were adopted worldwide some years later.
Where it all began
For years scientists have thought runners get tired during a race because of a
build-up of lactic acid in the muscles. The more
lactic acid in the muscles the more tired muscles become and the more difficult
it is for the athlete to keep going.
More...from Health24 at:
http://www.health24.com/fitness/Specific_Sports/16-2175-2181-2277,50688.asp


12. Pros and Cons of Training Partners:
I have my workouts that I like to hit "solo" depending on my mood or the workout
(all depends on how much thinking I've got to do).
However, there is nothing like having the support of training buddies. I was
very, very fortunate to have a core group of wonderful
folks to train with when I was racing as a professional triathlete. I still
can't thank them enough for "showing up."
With that being said, you can either benefit or sink yourself depending on the
folks you choose to surround yourself with on easy,
moderate or hard days. I say the choice is yours because ultimately, you are and
should be in control of your workout. So, here are
my top tips:
1.Training partners need to have a mutual respect for each others training
goals. Talk about and agree upon the effort and objective
before you head into the workout.
2.Try to hook up with folks who understand that an easy day means EASY! There
are those individuals out there who always start
pushing the envelope. You know the type .... the one who picks up the pace
during the last mile or two of a run. The one who always
picks up the effort when going up a hill on the bike .... or the run for that
matter! There is one guy who occasionally swims at the
same time as I do at the YMCA who ALWAYS wants to share a lane with me or swim
in the lane next to me. No prob ... he's a nice guy
but is always "racing me." I could be doing kicking drills on my side, and he's
splashing away (yes, he's a splasher) right next to
me! He's not my training partner, but he seems to want think that we are
training together. I just shut off the fact that he's next
to me. It's a good skill to have. Also, never be afraid to speak up during a
workout if someone starts pushing during an easy
training session. I do it all of the time! It's all about "keeping folks
honest!"
3.During easy days, try to find training partners who are at the same level or
even a bit slower than you so that you stay true to
the goal of going easy.
4.During hard interval sessions or time trial efforts, try to find training
partners who are slightly stronger or at the same level
as you so that you stay true to the goal of challenging yourself. A nice way to
organize recovery efforts during intervals, is to
circle back and pick up those who might be slightly behind. In swimming,
determine a send off time that is fair for everyone
(assuming everyone is close to the same level).
More...from USAT at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6137


13. Dropping Seconds from Your Time"
By Mary Dinehart MS, RD, LDN
If a diet or natural supplement claimed to improve reaction time, along with
faster recovery and better mental focus who wouldn't
want to follow or take it? Athletes are bombarded day in and day out with new
supplements boasting to bring them to greater
performance heights, but the products don't always back the claims. In addition,
the importance of diet composition is often
overlooked and viewed merely from a caloric standpoint for fueling needs. The
composition and consistency of the diet are just as
important as the consistency of the training program prior to race day. This is
because the diet controls hormone levels that are
essential for maximum performance.
Fish oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids (primarily EPA and DHA), is well known for
its anti-inflammatory properties specifically in
treating chronic disease and prevention of cardiovascular disease, but it's a
relatively new concept when it comes to improving
athletic performance.  Inflammation is a huge component of training and
influences an athlete's ability to recover quicker.  Fontani
et al published a study comparing the effect of diet composition and omega-3
fatty acid supplementation on blood profiles, body fat
and mood state in healthy, active individuals (1).  These subjects demonstrated
significant improvements in inflammatory markers in
35 days after supplementing with 2.5 grams of EPA and DHA per day.  In addition
EPA and DHA supplementation improved feelings of
vigor, while decreasing negative mood associations such as anger, anxiety,
fatigue, depression and confusion.  Another study by
Fontani et al showed supplementation with EPA and DHA significantly improved
reaction times (2).
More...from USAT at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6136


14. The Use Of Lactate Threshold In Training:
Richard Field discusses the concept of pulse rates to determine workout
intensities and outlines how the controversial Conconi test
can be used to guide and to monitor training processes. The methods described
herein give the coach and athlete reasonably accurate
and functional methods for monitoring and guiding the athlete to new heights of
athletic performance. Reprinted with the permission
of Modern Athlete and Coach.
The monitoring of an athlete's pulse during training is not a new concept, it is
however a technique that is often overlooked or
misunderstood. The most important energy source for intense exercise are
carbohydrates. With lower exercise intensities the burning
of fat as a fuel source becomes more important. With well-planned training there
will be an increase in the utilization of fat as a
fuel source which tends to act as a carbohydrate sparing mechanism. This will
aid in improving the performance capacity (Brooks &
Fahey, 1990). Improvement
in this parameter is an obvious plus to athletes in many sports, yet few coaches
have an understanding of exercise physiology that
will enable them to develop workout schedules to improve this critical area. To
design a program which will improve athletic
function relative to energy source usage, the coach must first understand the
relationship of the pulse rate
and physical exercise and the concept of lactate threshold. Pulse rates can be
used as a measure of the intensity of physical
exercise because there is a linear correlation between pulse rates and the
workout intensity. When a coach knows the athlete's pulse
rate percentage relative to his/her maximum pulse rate, valuable information can
be obtained as to the energy sources being utilized
and the effort expended during a workout.
More...from the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre at:
http://tinyurl.com/ckn5zy


15. Digest Briefs:
**  Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
Dear Dr. Mirkin: Won't I be a better bicycle rider if I ride hard every day?
If you exercise intensely when your muscles are sore, you put yourself at high
risk for injury. The soreness you feel is from direct
muscle damage. Putting great pressure on damaged muscles causes them to tear.
Furthermore, sore muscles significantly increase your
needs for oxygen during exercise and slow you down (European Journal of Applied
Physiology, March 2009). That's why athletes in
every sport use the "hard-easy principle." To become a better rider, do a hard
session (very fast and/or lots of hills) so your
muscles feel sore on the next day. Go slowly for as many days as it takes for
the soreness to disappear, and then take another hard
day.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: What can I do about Achilles tendinitis? The backs of my
ankles hurt all the time.
Until now, no treatment has been consistently helpful. However, a recent
uncontrolled study reports that injection of the patient's
own centrifuged blood into the tendon has healed some cases of chronic Achilles
Tendinitis (Sports Medicine, May 6, 2009).
Tendons have the poorest blood supply of all connective tissue.  Blood contains
platelets that promote clotting and healing. Doctors
injected the patients' blood with concentrated platelets that contain cell
growth and differentiation hormones. However, no
controlled studies on the effectiveness of this treatment for Achilles
tendinitis have yet been published. More on Achilles
tendinitis at http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/8513.html
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com
** Vitamins on the Menu
Q. When is the best time to take vitamins? Morning, noon or night? With meals or
without?
A. With vitamins and most nutritional supplements, the time of day isn't so
important, said Dr. Sheldon S. Hendler, co-editor of The
Physicians' Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements.
"What is important is that vitamins are taken when most convenient," he said.
"This best ensures that vitamins are taken in a
consistent manner. Also, most vitamins should be taken with food, food that
contains some fat."
Although the water-soluble vitamins B and C can be absorbed when taken with food
or on an empty stomach, the fat-soluble vitamins A,
D, E and K are most efficiently absorbed when taken with some fat, Dr. Hendler
said. Beta carotene, a member of the carotenoid
family and a precursor of vitamin A, is also best absorbed with some fat. This
is also the case with other carotenoids used as
nutritional supplements, including lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin and
fucoxanthin.
Minerals should also generally be taken with food, Dr. Hendler said. "Absorption
efficiency of calcium carbonate on an empty stomach
is poor and increases significantly when taken with food," he said. "Calcium
citrate can be taken on an empty stomach. Iron is
absorbed best on an empty stomach. However, iron typically upsets the stomach
and is usually taken with a small amount of food."
From the New York Times
**  This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Alfredo Vigueras (USA) won the City of Pittsburgh (PA/USA)
Marathon and the USA title
                with a 2:14:20 (for US$25,000).  Eddy Hellebuyck (USA) was 2nd in
2:16:58 while Stephen
                Swift (USA) was 3rd in 2:17:27.  Tatyana Titova (RUS) won the
women's race in 2:40:00,
                followed by Cheryl Collins (USA) and Charlene Lyford (USA) in
2:46:52 and 2:47:07
                respectively (no USA women's title at this race).  This race was
discontinued after
                the 2003 running but was resurrected this past weekend for its
20th running.
20 Years Ago-  Carl Thackery (ENG) won the Trevira Twosome (NY/USA) 10M with a
47:40.  John Gregorek
                (USA) and Pat Porter (USA) went 2-3 with 47:53 and 47:55
respectively.  Barbara Moore
                (NZL) won the women's race in 55:13 with Francoise Bonnet (FRA)
next in 56:24 and
                Joan Nesbit (USA) in 3rd with 56:26.   This race was dropped to a
10K in 1997 and
                discontined after the 2000 running.
30 Years Ago-  Keith Forman (USA) won the Avenue of the Giants (CA/USA) with a
2:21:28.  Michael
                Cassaday (USA) was 2nd in 2:21:45 and Bill Sevald (USA) was 3rd
in 2:25:02.  Jane
                Wipf (USA) won the women's race in 2:47:50 with Irene Rudolf
(USA) and Jane Wooton
                (USA) claiming 2nd and 3rd with 2:56:10 and 3:01:40 respectively.
With 1663 finishers,
                this was the 21st largest marathon in the world for 1979.  This
past weekend, "The
                Avenue" celebrated its 38th running with 415 finishers and
winning times of 2:47:51
                (men) and 3:09:54 (women).
40 Years Ago-  Jeff Julian (NZL) won a 50 mile track race in Auckland NZL with a
time of 5:24:26.
50 Years Ago-  George Young (USA) won the two mile in a dual meet between
Arizona State and the
                University of Arizona held in Tucson AZ/USA.  His time was 9:29.
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.




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

May 7, 2009:
5th Medtronic TC 1 Mile, Minneapolis, MN
Inaugural USA 1 Mile Road Championship

Mary 9, 2009:
(5th) Fargo Marathon - Fargo, ND

Fifth Third River Bank 25K, Grand Rapids, MI
USA 25K Championship

National Run a Mile Day - Across the USA

Run For A Wish - Ottawa, ON

Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon - Santa Ynez, CA

May 9-10, 2009:
Mississauga Marathon Weekend - Mississauga, ON

May 10, 2009:
Fredericton Marathon - Fredericton, NB

Kirkland Half Marathon - Kirkland, WA

Mother's Day 5K - St. Paul, MN
May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
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* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

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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boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com.

3. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
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4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 27, 2009
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5. Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon - October 18, 2009
Register before the end of this month for the Marathon, Half Marathon, or 5k and
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Run GoodLife Fitness - Coed or Women's Only Visit
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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
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desirable demographic of Canadian runners.
iRun Magazine is a sponsor of Emilie's Run
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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
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Nick Matthew, the 2006 British Open squash champion now uses the player to train
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NEW THIS WEEK:

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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:
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* 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
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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
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Breaksweat TV is not a user generated website, or a broadcasting channel; rather
it is a platform used to host Breaksweat.tv's
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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
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For more information and to visit other existing channels in the Simply Media
network, please visit:
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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey. Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport
athletes and a member of the OAC Racing Team and X-C
Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public Health and works in the field of nutritional
epidemiology as a Research Associate with the
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* Peak Performance Online Peak Performance is a subscription-only newsletter for
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published 16 times a year, including four special reports,
by Electric Word plc. Peak Performance is not available in the shops - only our
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Check out our article archive from Peak Performance Online at:
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Visit the PPO site at: Peak Performance Online:
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* Peak Running Performance Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running
Newsletter. Rated as the #1 Running Publication by
Road Runner Sports (Worlds Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the
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Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach), Scott Tinley (2 Time
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* Running Research News: RRN's free, weekly, training update provides
subscribers with the most-current, practical, scientifically
based information about training, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and
injury rehabilitation. The purpose of this weekly e-zine
is to improve subscribers' training quality and to help them train in an
injury-free manner. Running Research News also publishes a
complete, 12-page, electronic newsletter 10 times a year (one-year subscriptions
are $35); to learn more about Running Research
News, please see the Online Article Index and "About Running Research News"
sections below or go to RRNews.com. Check out the
article index at: http://www.runnersweb.com/running/RRN_index.html


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


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Inspiratory muscle training as an ergogenic aid: the story so far
2. Fartlek or Speedplay
3. Training Q & A: How do you know when it's time to race and when it's time to
rest?
4. A Pain in the Butt
Prevention and Treatment of Piriformis Syndrome.
5. Family Doctor Researches Running Techniques
6. Avoiding Injury: Don�t Overtrain
7. Fitness lion Jack LaLanne still roaring in winter
8. Sportsmedicine: Most Running Overuse Injuries Related to Hip
9. What can't the body learn to do?
10. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
11. Train Like a NCAA Record Holder
An RT Radio podcast on how 10K ace Sam Chelanga does hard tempo runs and easy
recovery days.
12. Differences Among Exercisers And Nonexercisers During Pregnancy
13, Even Modest Exercise Can Reduce Negative Effects Of Belly Fat
14. New bodysuits trigger controversy in France
15. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Would you support the concept of a permanent site for the Olympic Summer
Games?"
Yes
No
No opinion, don't care

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 are your favourite places to run?
Answers Percent
1.   Cross Country  15%
2.   Indoor Track  14%
3.   Outdoor Track  15%
4.   Road  19%
5.   Trail  23%
6.   Treadmill  14%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: RunningUSA.org
Mission
Running USA advances the growth and success of the running industry in America.
Overall Goals
1. Promote and build the sport
2. Provide quality services that enhance members� businesses
History
Running USA, a non-profit organization for the running industry, was launched on
March 13, 1999 in Los Angeles. A joint and historic
venture with USA Track & Field (USATF), Running USA resulted from a year of
planning by the race directors of several leading U.S.
road races along with USATF's Long Distance Running Chairs and its CEO Craig
Masback. Steve Edwards was named its first executive
director.
From its original press release, Running USA was created to improve the status
of road racing in the United States through
collective marketing and promotions, services to runners and events and the
development of American world class stars
Visit the site at:
http://www.runningusa.org


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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: The Winning Mind: My Inside Track on Great
Leadership: Developing Inspirational Leadership and
Delivering Winning Results
By Seb Coe
Product Description
THE WINNING MIND is Seb Coe's highly personal account which gives true insight
into how success can be achieved.
From a childhood amidst the steel mills of Yorkshire to Olympic glory and
beyond, Sebastian Coe has always known how to capitalise
on the moments which separate winners from losers. Great leadership is also
about seizing the moment and doing the right thing at
the right time. The daily challenges, hard graft, meticulous planning, small
wins and frequent set-backs are all critical steps
which take you closer to a winning position and your ultimate goal. THE WINNING
MIND combines inspirational leadership,
self-development, popular business and biography that will help nurture the
qualities needed to achieve your full potential.
About the Author
Sebastian Coe is a winner. His record as a sporting champion and world-record
holder in middle-distance running speaks for itself,
and earned him four Olympic medals during a glittering career. He is also a
renaissance man of our times, as his record of achieving
success in many different areas of life shows. Sebastian Coe, now Lord Coe of
Ranmore, has been a politician, a business leader and
the inspirational figurehead of the successful 2012 Olympic bid. He is a life
peer, a Knight Commander of the Order of the British
Empire and is Vice President of the International Association of Athletics
Federations. Sebastian Coe has the passion,
determination, focus, dedication and self-belief that mark him out as a true
champion.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0755318838/runnersweb-21

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. Inspiratory muscle training as an ergogenic aid: the story so far:
Since the first reports of an ergogenic effect of specific inspiratory muscle
training (IMT) in the mid-1990s, researchers have not
only demonstrated its efficacy beyond reasonable doubt, but are also beginning
to understand how it works. Alison McConnell takes a
look at the latest thinking on IMT, its ergogenic benefits, and why serious
athletes neglect it at their peril...
Background
For those readers who are unfamiliar with IMT, we should perhaps take a small
step back in time to set the stage for the following
discussion. In the early days of research in this area, those of us with an
interest in ventilatory limitations to exercise
performance were viewed with what might politely be called scepticism.
The received wisdom has always been that there is no respiratory limitation to
exercise performance; after all, maximal oxygen
uptake is not limited by the transfer of oxygen across the lung, but by the
ability to transport and utilise it. This being the
case, what possible advantage could there be to increasing the ability of the
respiratory pump muscles to ventilate the lungs?
Furthermore, the respiratory muscles were thought to be �super human�, and
immune to fatigue, by virtue of their continuous activity
throughout life.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/ergogenic-benefits-of-inspiratory-muscle-trainin\
g-35875


2. Fartlek or Speedplay:
Speedplay or fun running at 5K to 15K race pace improves your ability to race
and also makes your other runs more enjoyable.
Why Fartlek Running?
Fartlek (Swedish for speedplay) running recruits more of your fast twitch muscle
fibers, bringing more of your total muscle fibers
into the running. With this fast running, you'll be conditioning your entire
muscle to prepare for racing.
According to former University of Florida coach and author Roy Benson, "Aerobic
speedwork improves flexibility, strength and
coordination." You need all three to race well at any distance.
Speedplay or fartlek is a controlled OR uncontrolled system to accomplish
quality aerobic running and speedwork. It can be a run
fast when you feel like it session, or you can have a set plan of say 20 efforts
of 200 to 300 meters; another day it could be 6
efforts of roughly half a mile. Probably the way is to use sections of the trail
or park with the safest footing, or least traffic,
or most mud, or enjoyable slope; then run at easy pace to recover.
Fartlek is a great play-tool for:
Post Long Distance Run Recovery
After the longest run of the week, fartlek brings pep back to your
legs...gently. Two days after running long, run 100 to 400 meter
striders over varying terrain, at different speeds or paces with the emphasis on
5K and 15K intensity, or 95 and 90 percent of your
maximum heartrate. Incorporate small hills, or running in dirt or sand for
additional strength.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/run/fartlek-or-speedplay


3. Training Q & A: How do you know when it's time to race and when it's time to
rest?
Younger Legs asked masters distance stars Kathryn Martin, Craig Fram, and Joe
Dudman to discuss various aspects of their racing -
including frequency, recovery, the race's place in training, and what type of
races command their focus. Here's what they said ...
Kathryn Martin - Age 57
Northport, NY
Broker in Real Estate - known as "The Running Realtor"
2008 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year ... 2008 Masters Cross Country Runner of
the Year ... 2008 Masters LDR W55-59 Athlete of the
Year ... Multiple-Times National Champion (various distances and venues) ...
Multiple-Times World & American Record Holder (various
distances and venues)
I'll race pretty much every weekend if there's something going on. So I guess
you could say I race a lot. I'm like Pavlov's dogs -
just tell me where there's a race, and I'll go do it. I've got no room in my
brain for obsessing over these races. If racing becomes
like a second job, then I won't do it.
I don't focus much on peaking for any one race. Instead, I try to stay in pretty
good shape year-round. And no matter what sport I'm
preparing for, I always do the same type of training. Whenever I've tried
focusing on one race and tapering for it - not running for
two days before the race - I ended up feeling sluggish. So while I might cut
down by not doing the second hard workout the week of
an important competition, I won't take days off.
More...from Younger Legs for Older Runners at:
http://petemagill.blogspot.com/2009/04/training-q-how-do-you-know-when-its.html


4. A Pain in the Butt:
Prevention and Treatment of Piriformis Syndrome.
You're 12 weeks into your marathon training program; while out on a long run,
you develop a sharp pain in your buttocks. As you
continue to run, the pain persists. Your hamstrings feel tight and even a little
sore, though by slowing the pace the symptoms
subside a little, and you finish the run. While sitting at your favorite
post-run hangout, there is a tingling sensation in the back
of your thigh and calf.
You�ve just been introduced to your piriformis muscle. This muscle arises from
the sacrum, passes through the sciatic notch (an
opening in the pelvic bone) and attaches to the bony prominence on the side of
the thigh (greater trochanter). The piriformis plays
a role in the outward rotation of the hip. The sciatic nerve is formed by five
nerves exiting from the spinal cord; it typically
passes through the notch in front of the piriformis. In approximately 15 percent
of the population, the nerve passes through the
muscle.
More...from Running Times at:
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4220


5. Family Doctor Researches Running Techniques:
I have been a runner since age 13 and ran competitively at University of
Virginia in the mid 80�s. My interest in medicine was
sparked after experiencing our team physician Dr. Danial Kulund of
Charlottesville try some seemingly bazaar at the time and
innovative approaches to running injuries. He was the first to have people run
in the pool and built orthotics in his toaster oven.
It seemed like there must be better ways to treat these maladies and Dr. Kulund
blazed his own path. Oft injured Mary Decker Slaney
was one of the first of Dr. Kulund�s patients to have running rebirth by his
methods. Runners train in water now not just as injury
rehab, but for prevention and supplemental training. 20 years into my medical
career I am reviving the passion I felt at that time
by witnessing how ChiRunning is giving many, including myself, running rebirth.
Dr. George Sheehan was another pioneer and his ideas were also way ahead of his
time. I read �Running and Being� in high school and
did not really understand a lot of what he was talking about then�but now I do.
Holism, prevention, understanding movement and the
root causes of injury- that is the holy grail of running pain free for life.
�If athletes were given less care and more thought, the doctors might come up
with some original ideas on why illness persists, why
injury doesn�t clear up.
If more non-physicians could be induced to lend their ideas and talents, we
might see a completely new approach to sports medicine.�

Dr. George Sheehan 1975
A modern innovator applying these innovative and integrated principles is Jay
Dicharry at The University of Virginia Speed Clinic.
His inquisitiveness and pursuit of new methods gave me the opportunity to
present ChiRunning research at the 2008 UVA Running
Medicine Conference. Jay connects form, function, performance, and injury
prevention and empowers those he sees with insight, cues,
and detailed instruction to self correction.
More...from Health News Digest at:
http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Guest_Columnist_710/Family_Doctor_Researche\
s_Running_Techniques.shtml


6. Avoiding Injury: Don�t Overtrain:
Everybody knows that to improve your performance you've got to work hard.
However, training hard breaks down tissue in a process
called catabolism. Physiological improvements occur during the rest period as a
result of the body�s adaptation to intense training.
This is the anabolic or building-up process.
This physiological adaptation is in response to increased loading of the
cardiovascular and muscular systems and is accomplished by
improving efficiency of the heart (more blood pumped per heart beat), increasing
the capillaries and blood supply to the muscles,
and increasing glycogen (energy) stores and mitochondria (power plants) within
the muscle cells.
During periods of recovery these systems rebuild to greater levels in response
to the stress that you have placed on the system.
They are, in effect, preparing your body for greater demands. The result is that
you are now capable of performing at a higher level
before fatigue sets in. If sufficient rest is not included in a training
program, then this rebuilding cannot be completed and
performance plateaus or declines. This is overtraining!
Overtraining Syndrome is the name given to the collection of emotional,
behavioral and physical symptoms caused by inadequate
recovery following the demands of exercise that has persisted for weeks to
months. Overtraining is marked by fatigue and exhaustion
that persist even after ample recovery periods.
More...from Health News Digest at:
http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Exercise_480/Avoiding_Injury_Don_t_Overtrai\
n.shtml


7. Fitness lion Jack LaLanne still roaring in winter
At 94, fitness pioneer and TV icon Jack LaLanne is not concerned about resting
on his laurels, easing into old age, or contemplating
his star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
What is upper most in his mind, and has always been, is getting people fit.
"Life's a pain in the butt. You've got to be in shape for it," LaLanne said in
an interview, urging the same message he's been
hammering home for over half a century.
"And the hell with the good old days. The most important thing is now," he
declared after a weightlifting session at his California
ranch. "What are you this moment? You set an example.
The so-called "Godfather of Fitness," has been setting that example for a very
long time.
His groundbreaking TV show introduced the concept of fitness programming.
Today's workout offerings like "Biggest Loser" and FitTV
began with his vision.
But The Jack LaLanne Show, which aired from 1951 to 1985, transformed the
fitness industry even as it blazed a trail through the
infant medium of television.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE53Q1S720090427


8. Sportsmedicine: Most Running Overuse Injuries Related to Hip:
As most runners know, aches and pains are a common part of training. However,
according to a study published in the May/June issue
of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, the real culprit for overuse
running injuries, such as patellofemoral pain syndrome,
iliotibial band syndrome, and Achilles tendonitis may have more to do with
weakened hip muscles than how many miles run.
"Various studies have estimated that up to 70 percent of runners sustain an
overuse running injury each year with more than 80
percent of those injuries occurring below the knee. Based on a literature
review, it appears that foot pronation (how one steps) and
inadequate hip muscle stabilization are the top categories for injury," said
lead author Reed Ferber, Assistant Professor and
Director of the Running Injury Clinic from the University of Calgary. "Hip
muscle weakness especially appears to lead to atypical
lower extremity mechanics and increases forces on knees and feet while running."
The study analyzed data from 1980 through July 2008 in MEDLINE, EMBASE,
PsychInfo and CINAHL clinical databases. Information
inclusion focused on studies that were directly related to risk factors for
overuse.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2009/rw_news_20090428_Sports_Health_Hip.h\
tml


9. What can't the body learn to do?
As exercise physiologists we are trained to understand and explain the
physiology of human movement. Together with that, how the
body can adapt to training stress and improve performance is of great interest
to us, and in most cases "performance" means running
or cycling or some other endurance sport (save our annual forays into tennis,
soccer and rugby).
But it never ceases to amaze us how the body can adapt and learn. Again, mostly
we look at how it "learns" to run faster or pace
better by making adaptations to the muscular, neuro-muscular system and other
physiological systems. The result is beautiful because
it is an outstanding performance or a world record or just an amazing race (see
the London men's race for all of the above!).
However part of understanding exercise physiology and how the body responds to
endurance training is also understanding how the
brain controls movement in the first place, because after all exercise is just a
complex series controlled movements that produce
running or cycling or swimming or anything else, for example how it can activate
the muscles in my hands and fingers in such a
manner that I can type this post you are now reading. So any way you slice it,
human movement and the adaptations the body makes are
amazing on many levels.
I came across an amazing video that illustrates just how amazing the body can
be. It is of "trials rider" Danny MacAskill and has
been doing the rounds on several blogs and probably forums. The sport consists
of riders jumping/leaping/riding in all sorts of
manners on and over all kinds of obstacles----really, anything is game. I
suspect that anyone who watches, regardless of their
background, can appreciate the level of fine and gross control it takes to pull
off these kinds of movements.
More...from the Science of Sport at:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/04/beauty-of-human-movement.html


10. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
*  Keep On Moving!
The next time you are stuck sitting in one place for a very long time, get up
and move.   Sitting for extended periods markedly
increases your chances of suffering a heart attack or
diabetes, and dying prematurely, whether or not you exercise regularly (Medicine
& Science in Sports & Exercise,   May 2009).   This
comes from the Canada Fitness Survey that evaluated men and women for "sitting
time" in 1981 and followed them for more than 12
years.
We have to explain why sitting increases risk for heart attacks and diabetes,
even if you exercise.  More than 80 percent of
diabetics die of heart disease and diabetes can be caused by repeated high rises
in blood sugar and fat after meals.   When blood
sugar rises too high, sugar sticks to the surface of cell membranes. Once there,
sugar can never detach and is eventually converted
by a series of chemical reactions to sorbitol which destroys the cell to cause
blindness, deafness, heart attacks, strokes, kidney
failure, impotence and all the horrible side effects of diabetes.  The most
efficient way to prevent these high rises in blood sugar
is to contract your muscles. Contracting muscles draw sugar so rapidly from the
bloodstream that they can prevent this high rise in
blood sugar. This effect lasts during active exercise, is maximal for up to a
half hour after you stop exercising and then gradually
tapers off in about 17 hours.
Now we know that you should keep moving for most of your waking hours.  Exercise
every day, and when you are not exercising,
continue to use your muscles.  If your job or hobbies
require you to sit, get in the habit of walking around several times an hour. 
Avoid being overweight, and reduce your intake of
foods that cause a high rise in blood sugar when you are not exercising.  The
foods that cause the highest rises in blood sugar are
sugars in liquid form and foods made from flour.
*  Night-time Leg Cramps
Have you been awakened in the middle of the night by a sudden painful cramp in
your leg? So have lots of other people.
Cramping during sleep is usually due to an exaggeration of a normal muscle
reflex. When you turn during sleep, you contract your
calf muscles and stretch their tendons. This stimulates nerve stretch receptors
in the tendon and sends a message back to the spinal
cord, telling the calf muscles to contract. Sometimes, the muscles remain
contracted and hurt. Painful muscle cramps at night can
also be caused by nerve damage such as that caused by pinching a nerve, muscle
damage, a partially-obstructed flow of blood to the
legs, or abnormal mineral or hormone levels, so if you have this problem, check
with your doctor. If you do not have a serious
cause, you can often prevent night cramps by exhausting the stretch reflex
before you go to bed by stretching your calf muscles with
wall pushups, and applying a heating pad for 10 minutes before you go to sleep.
The only drug that has been shown to be effective in treating night-time leg
cramps is quinine, but the Food and Drug Administration
stopped over-the-counter marketing of this remedy because of concerns about
irregular heart beats and other side effects. Doctors
may still prescribe quinine pills for relief of leg cramps, but they can cause
birth defects and miscarriages, so they should never
be taken by a pregnant woman. Quinine can also cause ringing in the ears,
headache, nausea, disturbed vision, chest pain, asthma and
other problems.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS News Radio
1) KM Leclerc, FJ Landry. Benign nocturnal leg cramps: Current controversies
over use of quinine. Postgraduate Medicine 99: 2 (FEB
1996):177.
2) FDA Consumer November, 1994.
3) Quinine does not help to prevent or treat night-time leg cramps. Journal of
the American Geriatrics Society June, 1993.
4) M Mansonhing, G Wells. Meta-analysis of efficacy of quinine for treatment of
nocturnal leg cramps in elderly people. British
Medical Journal 310: 6971 (JAN 7 1995):13-17-The results of six double-blind
studies show that quinine can prevent nocturnal leg
cramps in general ambulatory populations.
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


11. Train Like a NCAA Record Holder:
An RT Radio podcast on how 10K ace Sam Chelanga does hard tempo runs and easy
recovery days.
RT's college editor, Chris Lear, talks with former NCAA champion Josh McDougal
about the training behind his success and that of Sam
Chelanga, the NCAA record holder at 10,000m. Learn how these Liberty University
standouts do hard tempo runs and easy recovery days
to reach their racing potential.
From Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16336


12. Differences Among Exercisers And Nonexercisers During Pregnancy:
No one doubts that mothers � especially pregnant mothers � are among the busiest
people on earth. And while the benefits of exercise
for these women and their developing fetuses are widely known, many expectant
mothers do not exercise. A survey examining daily
activities of moms-to-be will soon be released as part of a larger study looking
at the effect of maternal exercise on fetal
development. The results suggest, among other things, that exercising during
pregnancy does not require �stealing� time from other
activities.
The study was conducted by Linda E. May, Kansas City University of Medicine and
Biosciences (KCUMB), Kansas City, MO; Alan Glaros,
KCUMB, and Kathleen M. Gustafson, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas
City, KS and is entitled Differences Among Exercisers
and Non-Exercisers During Pregnancy. The team will discuss its study at the
122nd Annual Meeting of the American Physiological
Society, which is part of the Experimental Biology 2009 scientific conference.
The meeting will be held April 18-22, 2009 in New
Orleans.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090417084016.htm


13. Even Modest Exercise Can Reduce Negative Effects Of Belly Fat:
A new University of Illinois study suggests that moderate amounts of exercise
alone can reduce the inflammation in visceral
fat�belly fat, if you will�that has been linked with metabolic syndrome, a group
of risk factors that predict heart disease and Type
2 diabetes.
"In the study, the benefits of exercise were apparent, even without a change in
diet. We saw improvements in insulin sensitivity,
less fat in the liver, and less inflammation in belly fat," said Jeffrey Woods,
a U of I professor of kinesiology and community
health and faculty member in the U of I Division of Nutritional Sciences and the
Integrative Immunology and Behavior Program.
Belly fat is particularly dangerous because it produces inflammatory molecules
that enter the bloodstream and increase the risk of
heart disease and diabetes, he said.
"Scientists now know that obesity is associated with a low-grade systemic
inflammation. Obese people have higher levels of
circulating inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), which are
produced and secreted by fat tissue. This inflammation
then triggers the systemic diseases linked with metabolic syndrome, such as Type
2 diabetes and heart disease," he said
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090423154237.htm


14. New bodysuits trigger controversy in France:
  New performance-boosting bodysuits have triggered a row at the French
championships.
At the heart of the controversy is the Italian-manufactured Jaked suit being
used by some competitors in Montpellier.
The suit is totally covered with polyurethane to aid buoyancy while the old
suits only had polyurethane plates.
Representatives from Jaked were spotted selling their suit in the VIP stands
here and then at the back of the pool after being asked
to leave by organisers.
However Pierre Roger, hot favorite in the 200 meters backstroke, failed to
qualify for this year's Rome world championships when he
finished fifth in the final after his Jaked suit cracked at the start.
Other manufacturers are trying to catch up with Jaked. Arena have just developed
a similar outfit that helped Olympic champion Alain
Bernard set a 100 freestyle world record of 46.94 seconds in Friday's
semi-finals.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSTRE53O23U20090425


15. Digest Briefs:
*  Endurance training: hill training for endurance
South African coach Abrie de Swardt has come up with some excellent tips for
hill training in a recent issue of The Coach. Hill
training, as you may be aware, offers the following benefits:
�helps develop power and muscle elasticity;
�improves stride frequency and length;
�develops co-ordination, encouraging the proper use of arms during the driving
phase and feet in the support phase;
�develops control and stabilisation as well as improved speed (downhill
running);
�promotes strength endurance;
�develops maximum speed and strength (short uphill runs).
Abrie de Swardt is a big fan of hill training for endurance athletes and
believes it can make the difference between winning and
losing. Here are a number of ways to complete hill sessions that will help
elevate your performance:
1.Short hills � 5-10 seconds to improve the phosphocreatine system of anaerobic
energy production (speed strength) or 15-30 seconds
to improve the lactic (glycolytic) power system;
2.Whistle hills � controlled by the coach with a whistle, eg sets of 10s, 15s,
20s, 25s flat-out sprints, with an easy recovery jog
of one minute between each and 3-5 minutes between sets;
3.Short hills of 30-80m to develop speed strength;
4.Longer hills of 150-200m for strength endurance;
5.Hills of 400-1,000m and hilly circuits over several kilometres for
ultra-distance runners;
6.Downhill sprints over 50-80m for increased leg speed;
7.Hill bounding or hops and skipping over 30-80m.
The Coach, Issue 16, Page 18-20
**  Beware of Temptations .The expos before races are fantastic. It is great to
support the vendors, but please remember that you
are racing and not at a food and nutrition sampling conference.
Visit the booths and accept the samples that nutrition companies are providing,
but most importantly, if you have never consumed
that product before, please, please, please, do not do so the day before your
race.
Place these samples in your schwag bag and either give it to a friend or family
member or put it in the closet in your hotel room so
you are not tempted.
I have witnessed far too many athletes have horrible GI distress before their
race begins because they tried new things before race
morning. Stick to your nutrition plan and leave the sampling for your trip home
after your race.
About the author
Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS is a sport dietitian and elite triathlon coach.
He traveled to the 2008 Summer Olympics as the U.S.
Olympic Committee Sport Dietitian and the personal Sport Dietitian for the 2008
Olympic Triathlon Team. He is also Sarah Haskins'
personal coach and was a performance team member (sport dietitian and strength
coach) for Susan Williams, 2004 Olympic Triathlon
bronze medalist.
Bob's book, Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes: Taking Sports
Nutrition to the Next Level will provide triathletes of
all levels education on how to structure their nutrition program based on their
exercise program. For more information, visit
www.fuel4mance.com or contact Bob at mailto:coachbob@...
** This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Paul Tergat (KEN) won the Compaq Road Race 5M in Balmoral SCO
with a 22:27, edging
                Khalid Skah (MAR) by one second.  Thomas Nyariki (KEN) was 3rd in
22:32.  Paula
                Radcliffe (ENG) won the women's race in 24:47, more than a minute
ahead of Jackline
                Maranga (KEN) in 2nd with 25:51.  Annemari Sandell (FIN) was 3rd
in 26:16.  This
                race was discontinued after the 2004 running.
20 Years Ago-  Salvador Garcia (MEX) won the New Jersey Waterfront (NJ/USA)
Marathon in 2:10:47
                to collect $25,000.  Antoni Niemczak (POL) ran 2:11:56 for 2nd
while Bill Reifsnyder
                (USA) came in 3rd but won the USA title and $22,000.  Gillian
Beschloss (ENG) won
                the women's race in 2:40:44 (no prize money) with Jeanne Pare'
(USA) in 2nd with
                2:44:04 (no USA champs race) and Christine Gibbons (USA) 3rd in
2:53:28.
30 Years Ago-  J�rgen Eberding (GER) won the Karl Marx Stadt (GER) Marathon in
2:14:52.1 with Jukka
                Toivola (FIN) 2nd in 2:15:14.5 and Helfried Tannett (GER) 3rd in
2:15:23.0.  This
                race made it to 20 runnings in 1987 and was then discontinued.
40 Years Ago-  Jay Dirksen (USA) won the inaugural Drake Relays (IA/USA)
Marathon with a 2:35:17.5.
                This race had 25 runnings as a marathon and in 1994, was changed
to a half marathon.
                This series held its 41st running this past weekend.
50 Years Ago-  Fred Norris (ENG) won the Clonliffe Harriers Int'l (IRL) 25,000m
(outdoor track) race
                in 1:17:13.0, coming within one minute of Emil Zatopek's WR. 
Alain Mimoun (FRA) was
                2nd in 1:21:39.6.
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.



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

May 2, 2009:
Capital City Half Marathon - Columbus, OH

Festival 500 Mini-Marathon - Indianapolis, IN

NYRR Half Marathon Grand Prix - Brooklyn, NY

May 3, 2009:
Blue Cross Broad Street Run 10 Miler - Philadelphia, PA

BMO Vancouver Marathon - Vancouver, BC<

Care First Frederick Marathon - Frederick, MD

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon - OH

(Inaugural) Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, PA

Eugene Marathon - Eugene, OR

Lilac Bloomsday 12K - Spokane, WA

New Jersey Marathon - Long Branch, NJ

OC Marathon - Orange County, CA

The Place d'Orleans Half Marathon, 10Km, 5Km & Austin Wylie Kids May Day 1Km -
Orleans, ON

Santa Monica Classic 5K / 10K - Santa Monica, CA

Sporting Life 10K - Toronto, ON

St. Croix Triathlon, St. Croix, VI


May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

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* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com.

3. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
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4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 27, 2009
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5. Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon - October 18, 2009
Register before the end of this month for the Marathon, Half Marathon, or 5k and
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6. Training Peaks Training Peaks, LLC is dedicated to the endurance athlete and
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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
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include: . A Visual Fitness Planner Consultation . Fit
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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
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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
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it perfect for swimming, kayaking, and water
skiing. Now incorporating the latest 3D music quality with it's adapted
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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/

ASSOCIATIONS:
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Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
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Race Directors: Advertise your event on the Runner's Web.
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NEW THIS WEEK:

Offer: Enjoy 20% off clearance items at Nikestore.com when you enter code
TRAINHARD at checkout.
Code: TRAINHARD
Dates: April 23, 2009 - May 6, 2009
Restrictions: Enter promo code TRAINHARD at checkout. Discount valid on
merchandise found in online Clearance section only. Shipping charges calculated
after discount. Not transferable and not redeemable for cash, credit, towards
previous purchases. Redeemable at NikeStore.com, Swoosh.com, or via telephone
only. Can be used in combination with Free Shipping promo codes only.  Offer
expires May 6, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
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Foot Locker:
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It's The Sports Bra Sale at ChampionUSA.com! All Bras are $19.99 and up! Valid
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The book "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running
has Taught Me About Winning, Loving, Happiness,
Humility, and the Human Heart" is available FREE as a download from
MindsetTriathlon.com.
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FRS Healthy Energy Drink - Free Trial
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The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - June 20, 2009
http://www,emiliesrun.com

Event directors, add your event to our Event Calendar at:
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Events must be approved before going live.

Watch live and webcast of Track and Field and Road races on Universal Sports
Sign up at:
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&SPSID=105551

I've created a Runner's Web Group on Facebook. To join the Runner's Web Facebook
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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
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For more information and to visit other existing channels in the Simply Media
network, please visit:
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* Sports Nutrition by Sheila Kealey. Sheila is one of Ottawa's top multisport
athletes and a member of the OAC Racing Team and X-C
Ottawa. She has a Masters in Public Health and works in the field of nutritional
epidemiology as a Research Associate with the
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* Peak Performance Online Peak Performance is a subscription-only newsletter for
athletes, featuring the latest research from the
sports science world. We cover the whole range of sports, from running and
rowing to cycling and swimming, and each issue is packed
full of exclusive information for anyone who's serious about sport. It's
published 16 times a year, including four special reports,
by Electric Word plc. Peak Performance is not available in the shops - only our
subscribers are able to access the valuable
information we publish.
Check out our article archive from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PPO_index.html
Visit the PPO site at: Peak Performance Online:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/cmd.php?af=517509

* Peak Running Performance Peak Running Is The Nation's Most Advanced Running
Newsletter. Rated as the #1 Running Publication by
Road Runner Sports (Worlds Largest Running Store) , Peak Running caters to the
serious / dedicated runner. Delivering world class
running advice are some of running's most recognizable athletes including Dr.
Joe Vigil (US Olympic Coach), Scott Tinley (2 Time
Ironman Champ) Steve Scott (3 Time Olympian) and many more. This bi-monthly
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past two it has been awarded the "Golden Shoe Award" in recognition of it's
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Check out the Peak Running article index at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/PRP_index.html .

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


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


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. What Ruins Running
Tomorrow's marathoners who have suffered foot and knee injuries should ask: Is
the problem their body or their shoes?
2. Sportsmedicine: Understanding the Stretch Reflex (or Myotatic Reflex)
3. Educated's Excellent Ekstrand: His Fitness Is Up in Uppland
4. Runner's high
If judged by race times alone, 1992 was the pinnacle of my running career. It
was also 17 years ago.
5. Five common pre-race mistakes triathletes should avoid
7. How to prevent hyponatremia during long distance events
8. Heat Illness Study
9. Corrective Exercises That Triathletes Need To Do
10. Want to Go Faster? You Need a Trainer
Exercise physiologists and coaches say most people who want to run, swim, cycle
or row faster or improve in almost any sport do not appreciate what can be
accomplished with training nor how to do it.
11. Triathlon – why swimming, cycling and running training is not enough
12. U.S. nutritionists urge new, not-as-sweet drinks
13. What women want from mountain biking
14. Keep the running shoes, but hit the pool
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which are your favourite places to run?
Cross Country
Indoor Track
Outdoor Track
Road
Trail
Treadmill"

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 aspects of race organization are important to you?"

Answers Percent
1.   Certified course  14%
2.   Accurate timing  14%
3.   Traffic-free course  13%
4.   Aid stations  11%
5.   T-shirts  10%
6.   Finisher medals  7%
7.   Prize money  8%
8.   Medical services  8%
9.   Large field  6%
10.  Other (Weather)  8%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: All-Athletics.com
A new subscription-based athletics Web site has been launched:
www.all-athletics.com. The site intends to provide an "unprecedented variety of
facts, figures, news and other features" on athletics, according to a recent
release circulated to journalists covering the European Indoor Championships.
Here is a partial list of the features the site is offering:
. In depth Overall and Event-by-event World Rankings with searchable archive and
history
. Area, regional and national Rankings
. Athletes Profiles including the athletes'€™ Personal and Annual Bests,
past and current results, records, honours, participations at major
championships, their World Ranking positions and Ranking calculations, etc.
. Head-to-head statistics against other athletes
. Winning streaks of the selected athletes
. Score Calculator
. Competition Results
. World and Area Records
. World news, Competition previews and reports and other Featured articles
The site is a "Service Partner" of the Weltklasse Zurich, and its full content
is only available by subscription. Pricing varies from USD 5 per day and USD 21
per month to USD 99 for a full year.
Currently, the only other athletics website charging a fee for usage is the
statistics site, www.Tilastopaja.org, which charges 90 Euros (USD 113) for two
years or 55 Euros (USD 69) for one year.
(This review was written by Race Results Weekly)
Visit the website at:
http://www.all-athletics.com

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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Race Against Me: My Story
By Dwain Chambers
It is being billed as the book "they don't want you to read" and at its launch
in Soho, London last night, Dwain ­Chambers said he was braced for controversy.
'Race Against Me', due to be published on 9 March, is likely to upset some of
the most important and influential individuals in athletics.
"It's an opportunity to express my point of view," said Chambers. "It involves
some peoples' names being mentioned, not to upset them, but to set the record
straight. I'm just using it to voice my opinion. I am fully aware that I'm not
everybody's cup of tea but that's life and you can't please everybody."
The book is Chambers' side of the story since testing positive for THG in 2003,
his subsequent two year ban, his failed attempt to overturn a lifetime Olympic
ban in the high court and his opinion on his treatment by the sport's governing
bodies and leading individuals.
The title itself is provocative, with some suggesting it is a thinly veiled
accusation of racism. Asked if this was his intention Chambers replied: "If
you're a smart man you'll read between the lines. That's never been my point but
I understand how ­society works and it's something I'm accustomed to. I think
it's a fitting title."
Chambers, who is tipped to win gold at next month's European Indoor
­Championships in Turin, published and wrote the book on a shoestring budget.
He received no advance sum from the ­Spanish publishers Libros International.
"I'm using it to add a bit of balance to the story because so far it's been so
one sided and I haven't been able to get my point across," Chambers added. "It's
been very therapeutic to get everything off my chest."
Chambers, who is heavily in debt, insisted the book was not an attempt to earn a
quick buck. "I'm not doing it just to make money because I have no idea how well
the book's going to sell. Most importantly I just want to focus on Turin and
earn money on the track so I can pay off my debts and then see where it goes
from there."
From the Guardian
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905988753/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=book

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. What Ruins Running:
Tomorrow's marathoners who have suffered foot and knee injuries should ask: Is
the problem their body or their shoes?
I'd been plagued by running injuries my entire adult life. I'd seen the best
sports-medicine physicians and podiatrists in the country, and they'd all
prescribed the same fruitless formula of orthotics, ice, and injections. Nothing
and no one could cure me. So a few years ago, I looked elsewhere: to a tiny
tribe of super-athletes in Mexico, who taught me that it's not running that's
dangerous -- it's running shoes.
That's right. Running shoes are a failed experiment. After nearly four decades
of technological gimmicks and outrageous prices, they simply do not perform the
function that's their only reason for existence -- protecting your feet. You can
now buy running shoes with steel bedsprings embedded in the soles or with
microchips that adjust the cushioning, but the injury rate hasn't decreased in
almost 40 years. It's actually inched up; Achilles' tendon problems have risen
by 10 percent since the '70s.
More...from the Boston Globe at:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/04/19/what_ruins_runnin\
g/


2. Sportsmedicine: Understanding the Stretch Reflex (or Myotatic Reflex):
The nervous system of mammals is very complex. For most major actions in the
body the brain must decide what movement or action must be taken, the nerve
impulses must be transmitted out of the brain, down the spinal cord and out to
the intended receiver. Then when the action is carried out the impulse must
return back the reverse pathway to tell the brain it was completed and start the
next process. This is the path for any brain-controlled, conscious, impulses.
Although it takes a lot of words to explain, it is really a very rapid process.
There are many processes in the body that do not require direct thought to
complete. The heart functions, breathing, metabolic processes, disease fighting
and many other autonomic processes happen automatically in the body. The body
uses signals to increase, decrease, or maintain many of these actions. If the
carbon dioxide levels in the body begin to rise, the autonomic nervous system,
through acid/base thermostats, calls for an increase in respiratory rate.
Another automatic response by the nervous system is the reflex. The body reacts
in a predetermined way based on specific stimulus. This may be a practiced
response or a pre-programmed one. The stretch reflex is one of those responses.
What is the Stretch Reflex?
The stretch reflex; which is also often called the myotatic reflex, knee-jerk
reflex, or deep tendon reflex, is a pre-programmed response by the body to a
stretch stimulus in the muscle. When a muscle spindle is stretched an impulse is
immediately sent to the spinal cord and a response to contract the muscle is
received. Since the impulse only has to go to the spinal cord and back, not all
the way to the brain, it is a very quick impulse. It generally occurs in 1-2
milliseconds.
This is designed as a protective measure for the muscles, to prevent tearing.
The muscle spindle is stretched and the impulse is also immediately received to
contract the muscle, protecting it from being pulled forcefully or beyond a
normal range.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2009/rw_news_20090421_TSH_Stretch_Reflex.\
html


3. Educated's Excellent Ekstrand: His Fitness Is Up in Uppland:
The runners coached by EducatedRunner.com have been doing extremely well. A case
in point is Ingmar Ekstrand, an intelligent, tough-minded, 63-year-old runner
who hails from the beautiful university city of Uppsala, Sweden. Ingmar has
life-time PR of 3:10 for the marathon and in the past year has hit 20:43 during
a club-run 5K and 3:34:00 for the 26.2-mile event. Before coming to
EducatedRunner, he was a confirmed Lydiardite, with weeks filled with 17- to
18-kilometer runs and a nearly mandatory 25- to 30-K, LSD workout each Sunday.
He arrived at EducatedRunner’s door step wanting to be faster in shorter races
and more-confident in competitions.
At the beginning of this month, coach Owen placed Ingmar on a lower-volume,
higher-quality training plan, dropping his weekly Ks from 100 to about 60,
boosting Ingmar’s workout intensity, and adding strength training to his
program (the combination of quality running and resistance work is a cornerstone
of the EducatedRunner philosophy).
Over the past three weeks, Ingmar has completed some notable workouts, including
the following:
             (1) 7 X 400 in 87 seconds each, with 87-second jog recoveries (a
session which EducatedRunner.com would term a vVO2max-plus workout),
             (2) 3 X 1000 in 3:50-3:55 each, with four-minute jog recoveries (the
projected split for this one was 4:18, but Ingmar felt so good with his reduced
volume that he took off and felt great at the faster speeds!),
             (3) A marathon-prep session, with 6K easily, 12K at marathon tempo,
and 6K easily,
             (4) Three circuit sessions with series of 10 different exercises
interspersed with high-quality running segments ranging in length from 400 to
800 meters, and finally
             (5) A vVO2max test, which involved running all-out for six minutes
continuously. This was a shock to Ingmar’s system: After a winter of running
at tempos of 11 to 12 km/hour, his neuromuscular system was jolted by the update
to 16 km/hour! Ingmar covered 1610 meters during the exam, for an average of 4.5
meters per second (89.5 seconds per 400 meters). Completion of the vVO2max test
provides a benchmark which can be used to chart gains in running capacity in the
months ahead. vVO2max can also be employed to create a variety of high-intensity
workouts, including the vVO2max-plus session described above (# 1).
This kind of training pushed Ingmar’s fitness up so high that Saturday he won
the Regional (Uppland) Cross Country Championship (4K) in his division,
completed over a very tough and hilly course. The key period of the race was the
second lap, when Ingmar overtook his opponents during a challenging uphill
segment and then charged steadily toward the finish (the photo at the top of
this story shows Ingmar, in second place, getting ready to make his decisive
move). He is looking forward to a series of upcoming races and of course to
toeing the starting line for the Stockholm Marathon on May 30.
As Ingmar himself points out, moving his six-minute, vVO2max-test distance up to
1700 meters, a reasonable goal, would represent a close-to-6-percent upgrade in
vVO2max and thus in all of his race times. Before too long, he will be in
sub-20-minute territory for the 5K, for example, and he will knock about 13
minutes off his marathon time. Stay tuned to this blog for further reports on
Ingmar’s progress. He’ll be transitioning soon from general strengthening
(as represented by the circuit workouts) to running-specific strength training
and then on to hill and explosive work.
From the Educated Runner at:
http://www.educatedrunner.com/


4. Runner's high:
If judged by race times alone, 1992 was the pinnacle of my running career. It
was also 17 years ago.
Almost lost amid the clutter of our basement office are two cardboard file
boxes. They contain a nearly complete and mostly chronological record of an
amateur athletic career now well into its fourth decade.
One box covers the prehistoric era, roughly defined as the period from the
mid-1970s until 1990. To fully understand this era, you need to know that I
started running long before it was popular.
My early athletic aspirations followed the mainstream. Like my friends, I wanted
to play football or hockey. These dreams were gradually dispelled by the
overwhelming reality that I was neither big enough nor talented enough.
But when the dreaded one-mile run was forced upon us in gym class, I found
myself at the front of the pack. I did as I was told and reported to the
cross-country coach after school. My relationship with running had begun
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090422.wfacts22/BNStory/lif\
eMain/home


5. Five common pre-race mistakes triathletes should avoid:
Mora offers tips for beginning triathletes
Champaign, IL--The days preceding a first triathlon can be nerve-wracking for
first time triathletes. In the new edition of Triathlon 101 (Human Kinetics,
2009), triathlon expert John Mora addresses five pre-race mistakes triathletes
should avoid:
~ Overreacting to new race course information. It's important to be familiar
with the race course on race day, but don't squeeze in some last-minute training
based on new information you learn about the race the day before the event. For
example, perhaps you discover that the bike course is hillier than you
thought--now is not the time to get in some last-minute hill training. You'll
risk injury or burnout, plus it won't do you much good, anyway.
~ Losing sleep. Chances are you'll be a little anxious the days before your
first triathlon. While it's not a big deal to get less sleep the night before,
long-term sleep deprivation over three or more days can cause you to lose your
edge and diminish your enjoyment on race day. Make a special effort to catch up
on your sleep the week before an event. This will also help your body recover
from training.
~ Becoming too preoccupied with details. Triathlon racing, like life, is a
balancing act. We've talked about the importance of covering all those details,
but there is such a thing as obsessing over insignificant particulars. Examples
include fussing over the lack of detail on the swim course map, fretting over
which flavor Gatorade to drink, and checking the race Web site every 15 minutes.
~ Not accounting for race-day conditions. Keep an eye on the weather forecast in
the days before the race. If there's even a slight chance of rain, pack a poncho
for prerace transition area setup and comfort. If conditions will be hot and
humid, pack extra fluids and your best moisture-wicking racing apparel. Of
course, don't forget your sunblock and sunglasses.
~ Not preparing for a flat. We've talked about the importance of having the
essential flat repair equipment on your bicycle--tube, frame air pump, tire
levers. Yet, you'll almost always see a novice triathlete walking his or her
bicycle back to the transition area or waiting for a rescue wagon during a big
race. Don't let that be you. You should have done it long ago, but if you
haven't, visit your bike shop for the gear and a flat-tire changing lesson the
week before the race.
Excerpt adapted from Triathlon 101, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2009).  For
more information on Triathlon 101 or other triathlon books, visit
www.HumanKinetics.com or call 800-747-4457.


6. High Altitude Healing:
By Chris Carmichael
I’m less surprised that Lance broke his collarbone, and more surprised that
it’s the first time he’s broken it in the 19 years I’ve been working with
him. Come to think of it, he’s had remarkably few injuries in his adult life.
Back in 2000 he broke a vertebra in his neck in the process of flipping over a
car – if memory serves – while training in the mountains before the Sydney
Olympics. Beyond that, he’s really only had the normal scrapes, bumps, and
bruises that come with being a professional cyclist. And in typical Lance
fashion, he took his recent crash in stride and looked forward instead of
lamenting about what he could have done differently.
And as much respect as I have for European physicians, I glad Lance endured the
long plane flight home to be treated in Austin, Texas. I’m not an expert in
healthcare systems, but having been in and out of my share of hospitals around
the world with my own injuries, injured athletes and kids, there’s no place
I’d rather be treated than in the US. I broke my collarbone in East Germany in
the early 80s, and when I went to the hospital all the instruments and
facilities looked they were straight out of WWII. Then my doctor came into the
room and proceeded to smoke a cigarette throughout my examination. They told me
I needed surgery, and I could only imagine where the metal plate was going to
come from, so I gritted my teeth, got off the table and walked out. My plane
ride home was a lot longer than Lance’s, but probably just as painful, and in
my case it turned out I didn’t need surgery after all. In Lance’s case,
x-rays in Austin showed the fracture – and the subsequent repair - was more
complicated than previously believed. But the surgery went very well and he was
back on the bike within days.
More...from Carmichael Training Systems at:
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=4260


7. How to prevent hyponatremia during long distance events:
By Monique Ryan, MS, RD
The past decade of triathlon long distance course competition has born witness
to the hyponatremic meltdown of many age-groupers and professionals competitors.
While this lowering of blood sodium levels can be dramatic, dangerous, and even
fatal, many half and full Ironman triathletes can experience mild to severe
degrees of this condition. The lower sodium blood levels drop, the more serious
and life-threatening the symptoms. At the very least, hyponatremia can slow your
competitive efforts and is best prevented. Anywhere from 3 to 27 percent of
ultra-endurance athletes seeking medical care may suffer from hyponatremia.
Researchers at one Hawaiian Ironman found that up to 30 percent of competitors
were hyponatremic.
Cause and effect
While the causes of hyponatremia are many and varied, there are two main
culprits. The first is excess fluid intake, which occurs when you drink too much
salt-free fluid leading up to competition and drink in excess of your sweat
losses during competition. High sodium sweat concentration is the second
culprit. Extensive and repeated sweating as seen during Ironman can clearly
result in large sodium losses. Triathletes with longer finishing times are also
at great risk for fluid overload, as there is simply more time to sweat and
drink during a race.
Simply put, excessive fluid intake is a big risk factor for developing
hyponatremia, and how you pre-hydrate and your drinking strategies during
competition can have a significant effect upon this precarious fluid balance.
Being a salty sweater also exacerbates this condition.
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/6036


8. Heat Illness Study:
Lora Harrison April 20, 2009
Heat Illness in Endurance Athletes
•    How many athletes feel sick during hot races?
•    Why do some athletes get sicker than others?
•    What can be done to prevent these symptoms?
The Department of Sports Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical
Center is researching heat illness in endurance athletes. If you attempted a
marathon, half marathon, or triathlon within the past two weeks then you may be
eligible to complete an online survey about your race. The survey takes 5-10
minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. This will not affect your
participation in future races. Please click the link below if you are interested
in completing the survey.
Take the survey now at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gsh9UO8yOmlPD9ExC0UZJw_3d_3d


9. Corrective Exercises That Triathletes Need To Do:
This is the first of a 6 part series on corrective exercises triathletes (or any
athlete for that matter) must do everyday to balance their body. With so many
overuse injuries in the sport, these athletes must make it a priority to perform
these exercises as part of their daily workout routine.
With so much demand on the body from vigorous training, triathletes need to
build balance throughout their entire body. All athletes need core, hip and
shoulder stability and ankle, hip and thoracic (mid-spine) mobility. The
stronger your structure becomes the less you become injured and the higher your
performance will soar. Endurance athletes seem to wait too long to correct their
imbalances and issues. From an unstable lower spine, weak and “loose” hips
and shoulders, and a weak core, triathletes are destined for a physical therapy
clinic. These six corrective exercises can big a huge assistance to correcting
some major issues I see all the time in, not just triathletes, but a majority of
athletes. These movements need to be part of a regular routine so you can build
a balanced body, increase your flexibility and mobility and decrease your chance
of injury. Remember when you get hurt you can not train and when you can not
train you can not get better. Train smart and perform these exercises daily.
More...from TriFuel at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/triathlon-training/corrective-exercises-that-tri\
athletes-need-to-do


10. Want to Go Faster? You Need a Trainer:
Exercise physiologists and coaches say most people who want to run, swim, cycle
or row faster or improve in almost any sport do not appreciate what can be
accomplished with training nor how to do it.
IF anyone ever wondered whether it was talent or sustained systematic training
that makes athletes so good, they need only look at Joshua Gordon, a
professional mediator in Boston.
Mr. Gordon ran cross-country in college before stopping completely to take up
baseball. Six years later, in 1999, he decided, almost as a lark, to run the
Boston Marathon. He joined a program to learn how to run longer distances, a
process that involved gradually increasing the length of his runs and focusing
only on distance, not speed.
He finished the marathon in a little over four hours, not especially fast for a
man of 24, but he did meet his goal. “I was thrilled,” he said.
And so he found himself edging back into running, entering shorter races, 5 and
10 kilometers. He tried to train on his own, but he never did particularly well
until he decided to start serious, rigorous marathon training with the Boston
Athletic Association. He received coached track workouts once a week, four to
six coached runs of 18 to 23 miles along the marathon course, and he had a group
of skilled and talented athletes to run with.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/health/nutrition/23best.html?_r=1&ref=nutritio\
n


11. Triathlon – why swimming, cycling and running training is not enough:
Triathlon may be the ultimate test of cardiovascular endurance, but according to
Nick Grantham, triathletes who neglect musculoskeletal strength and flexibility
will never fulfil their true potential
Triathlon is an endurance sport consisting of swimming, cycling and running over
various distances. In most modern triathlons, these events are placed
back-to-back in immediate sequence, and a competitor’s official time includes
the time required to ‘transition’ between the individual legs of the race,
including any time necessary for changing clothes and shoes.
While there are various race distances the three most common are Sprint, Olympic
and Ironman. Take a look at the breakdown (see table 1 below) for each stage of
the event and you can see that when it comes to the Ironman competitors, these
are no normal athletes!
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/triathlon-why-swimming-cycling-and-running-train\
ing-not-enough-40780


12. U.S. nutritionists urge new, not-as-sweet drinks:
Soft drink makers should invent and market a new category of semi-sweet
beverages that will help wean Americans off their reliance on sugary drinks,
nutrition experts said on Monday.
They proposed a new class of reduced-calorie beverages with no more than 1 gram
of sugar per ounce, which with about 50 calories is about 70 percent less sugar
than a typical soft drink contains. They said such drinks should also be free of
artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharine.
"We need to retrain American tastes away from super-sweet drinks," Lilian Cheung
of the Harvard School of Public Health said in a statement.
"If we can shift the present American norm back to a lower expectation of
sweetness, people will adjust their palates, particularly the younger
population."
The American Beverage Association, which represents soft drink makers, was not
immediately available for comment.
The researchers cited evidence that sugary drinks are an important contributor
to the epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the United States, where more
than two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53J6NE20090420


13. What women want from mountain biking:
Riding down a spongy, pine needle-covered trail in the North Cascade foothills,
one thing was clear: I did not want to hit a tree. Some of the hefty hardwoods
measured as wide as doorways and had withstood years of battering, coastal
storms and, more recently, mild assaults from clumsy mountain bikers.
My fellow biker babes and I were feeling confident, however, after three hours
of skills sessions during which we learned how to leap over logs, pedal up steep
hills, and do wheelie drops (a technique for clearing obstacles or descending
steep ledges). Even more important, we had mastered controlled braking, the
skill that would help ensure a safe, Band-Aid-free descent of Galbraith Mountain
in northwest Washington.
Thirty-four of us had signed up for the Dirt Series program, a women's weekend
mountain bike camp in Bellingham. This roving instruction program holds camps
throughout the Northwest, from its home base in Whistler, British Columbia, down
to Santa Cruz, Calif., and as far east as Park City, Utah.
More...from the Boston Globe at:
http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us/articles/2009/04/19/what_women_want_fro\
m_mountain_biking/


14. Keep the running shoes, but hit the pool:
Allan Rock, 61, is president of the University of Ottawa. An Achilles tendon
injury ended his 30-year, five-day-a-week running regime, which had included
four marathons and five half-marathons. But the injury introduced him to
cross-training, which improved his stamina as it restored his conditioning and
flexibility.
MY GOAL
"My goal used to be to bring my running time down. I did a half-marathon in
1:50. My first marathon was in New York and I ran it in 3:55. My best was 3:30,
because I knew the route and didn't start out too fast. I've been lucky with
health. ... Now I exercise for energy to endure long work days."
six days a week, and varies his activities. "I studied yoga, but haven't in 10
to 12 years. I do a series of my own design based on my general awareness of
what to stretch and for how long. As time goes by, it's increasingly difficult
to maintain flexibility."
Elliptical or rowing machine: 40 minutes.
Weights: three sets of 10 reps of bench press and biceps curls. "[They're] not
huge weights, but enough to provide sufficient challenge to the muscles."
"I walk to work every day." This amounts to about 10 kilometres each workday.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090417.LCRUNCH17ART1610/TPSto\
ry/?query=power+crunch


15. Digest Briefs:
** This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  The London (ENG) Marathon had five men under 2:10, led by
Abdelkader El Mouaziz (MAR)
                with a 2:07:57.  Antonio Pinto (POR) in 2:09:00 and Abel Anton
(ESP) in 2:09:41
                finished out the top three.  Joyce Chepchumba (KEN) led seven
others under 2:30 in
                the women's race with her 2:23:22.  Adriana Fernandez (MEX) was
2nd in 2:24:06 and
                Manuela Machado (POR) was 3rd in 2:25:09.
20 Years Ago-  Susan Marchiano (USA) won the IAAF World Cup (ITA) Marathon by a
wide margin with her
                2:30:48.  The silver medal went to Misako Miyahara (JPN) while
Uta Pippig (GER)
                collected the bronze medal with a 2:35:17.  Metaferia Zeleke
(ETH) won the next day's
                men's race in 2:10:28 with Dereje Nedi (ETH) and Gianni Poli
(ITA) getting the silver
                and bronze medals with 2:10:36 and 2:10:49 respectively.
30 Years Ago-  Tim Backenstose (USA) won the Penn Relays Etonic (PA/USA)
Marathon in 2:22:14.  Diana
                Golden (USA) won the women's race in 3:07:21.  This was one of
several marathons
                associated with spring relay meets in the USA, including the
Drake Relays, Kansas Relays,
                and Florida Relays.  All of these marathons have been long
discontinued.
40 Years Ago-  Dave Bedford (ENG) won a 10,000m in London ENG with a 28:24.4.
50 Years Ago-  John Macy (POL) defeated Leonard "Buddy" Edelen (USA) in the two
mile at the Kansas Relays.
                Macy's winning time was 8:59.2.  Edelen's time is not known to
ADR.
60 Years Ago-  Gösta Leandersson (SWE) won the Boston (MA/USA) Marathon in
2:31:51.
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.
**  Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine:
Dear Dr. Mirkin: I exercise heavily but still have high blood pressure. Do I
need to take drugs?
High blood pressure causes premature death from heart attacks, strokes and
kidney disease.  Exercise and a high-plant diet are effective ways to lower high
blood pressure. However, if your blood pressure is still high after you have
done your best with lifestyle changes, your doctor will probably recommend that
you take drugs. Many exercisers and even elite competitive athletes suffer from
high blood pressure and should take medication (Journal of Clinical
Hypertension, April.2009).  High blood pressure is dangerous when your systolic
blood pressure does not drop below 120 in the evening before you go to bed.
Angiotensin receptor blockers are the drugs of choice for exercisers because
they do not hinder athletic performance and may even enhance it.  ACE inhibitors
are also safe for athletes with the exception that as many as 25 percent will
suffer coughing when they take them.  Beta blockers are not recommended for
athletes or heavy exercisers because they slow heart rate, tire you during
exercise, and impair performance.  Diuretics are very safe, but when you take
them, you will start each exercise session dehydrated which will make you tire
earlier.
Common brand names of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers: Atacand, Avapro, Benicar,
Cozaar, Diovan, Micardis, Teveten
ACE Inhibitors: Accupril, Aceon, Benazepril, Capoten, Captopril, Mavik, Monapril
Ramipril, Univasc, Vasotec
  Beta blockers:   Betapace, Blocadren, Cartrol, Coreg, Corgard, Corzide,
Inderal, Inderide, Kerlone, Levatol, Lopressor, Normodyne, Sectral, Tenoretic,
Tenormin, Timolide, Toprol,
Trandate, Visken, Zebeta, Ziac
From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com




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

April 22-25, 2009:
Drake Relays - Des Moines, Iowa

April 23-25, 2009:
Penn Relays - Philadelphia, PA

April 24-25, 2009:
American Odyssey Relay - Gettysburg, PA-Washington, DC

April 24-26, 2009:
St. Anthony's Triathlon - FL

April 25, 2009:
(10th) Country Music Marathon - Nashville, TN

East Beach Chesapeake Bay 10K - Norfolk, VA

Get in Gear 10K - Minneapolis, MN

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon & Mini Marathon - Louisville, KY

Main Street 5K Festival - Sparta, NJ

April 26, 2009:
adidas MBC Marathon - Seoul, Korea

Big Sur International Marathon, Carmel, CA

London Marathon, London, UK

More | Fitness Marathon + Half-Marathon - New York City, NY

Run for Reach - Ottawa, ON

May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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/

Send this to a Friend:
Forward the Runner's Web Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
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mailto:runnersweb@yahoogroups.com and in our Runner's Web Forum, available off
our FrontPage. If you post to the mailing list and
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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
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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The Stretching Handbook:
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/cmd.php?af=245575&u=http://www.thestretchin\
ghandbook.com/newsletter.php
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

NEW SUBSCRIBERS:
This newsletter has been composed using Outlook set to "Text" format. The Digest
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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.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.
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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/

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

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

If anyone is looking for a web mail provider, you might wish to consider
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:

Check out the latest hot promotion now available at Nikestore.com.
Enjoy Free Shipping on your purchase of $100 or more
Offer Copy: Enjoy Free Shipping on your purchase of $100 or more at
Nikestore.com
Code: NIKESNEAKER
Dates: April 16, 2009 - April 22, 2009
Text Link:
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GET AN EXTRA 20% OFF EVERYTHING ON OUR SITE!
Hurry! Now through April 26th, your customers can get an EXTRA 20% off their
total purchase at ChampionUSA.com.
There's no promotional code necessary!
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Foot Locker:
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It's The Sports Bra Sale at ChampionUSA.com! All Bras are $19.99 and up! Valid
Through April 27th.
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=139837.10000200\
&type=3&subid=0

The book "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running
has Taught Me About Winning, Loving, Happiness,
Humility, and the Human Heart" is available FREE as a download from
MindsetTriathlon.com.
http://www.mindsettriathlon.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&it=1#previews

FRS Healthy Energy Drink - Free Trial
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1452277-10571944

The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - June 20, 2009
http://www,emiliesrun.com

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

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 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:
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We have 2,506  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 ONE personal posting this week.
ONE:
Runner Appeal: Get fit, have fun and help a great cause!
We are currently looking for people to take part in the 10K London Run on
Sunday 12th July 2009 as a sponsored challenge in aid of helping street
children in Brazil.
No entry fee, no experience needed, just your willingness to try your best
to complete the challenge and raise £250 for ABC Trust.
The race will begin at 9.30AM, and the course starts in Piccadilly Circus,
passes through London’s famous landmarks and finishes in Whitehall.
We have a team of 20 people and some places left, please come and join our
team, get fit and help change the lives of vulnerable children in Brazil!
To register or to find out more, please contact me directly: Fatima Luna:
0207 287 3818, mailto:fatima@...
www.abctrust.org.uk/challenges.html

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Do tight socks improve performance?
Compression garments claim to speed recovery by pumping oxygen flow. They may
actually work.
2. Growth hormone slows age-related loss of strength
3. Dr. Mirkin's Fitness & Health eZine
4. .Calorie-Burning Fat? Studies Say You Have It
5. Gender Differences in Endurance Performance and Training
6. Student-designed Device Provides New Way To Track Calorie Burning
7. Alex "IronDoc" McDonald: Amino Acids Before, During and After Exercise
8. Horse stem-cell technique to be tested in people
9. Eat or get beaten
One of the most overlooked ways that female athletes sabotage themselves is by
not consuming enough food.
10. Want to get buff, ladies? Switch contraceptives
11. Hormones, knee injuries linked
New research finds joint laxity is influenced by phases of the menstrual cycle .
12. Multivitamins could be dangerous, report says
13. Hamstring Flexibility and Stretches
14. Walking vs Running as dryland training for XC
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Which aspects of race organization are important to you?"
Certified course
Accurate timing
Traffic-free course
Aid stations
T-shirts
Finisher medals
Prize money
Medical services
Large field
Other (email:polls2009@...)

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:
"What would be the best way(s) to manage the excessive demand for entry into
many of the major marathons and triathlons?"
Answers Percent
1.   Time stamped on-line entry  5%
2.   Geographical quotas  0%
3.   Performance standards  89%
4.   Lottery  5%
5.   Other  0%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: All-Athletics.com
A new subscription-based athletics Web site has been launched:
www.all-athletics.com. The site intends to provide an "unprecedented variety of
facts, figures, news and other features" on athletics, according to a recent
release circulated to journalists covering the European Indoor Championships.
Here is a partial list of the features the site is offering:
. In depth Overall and Event-by-event World Rankings with searchable archive and
history
. Area, regional and national Rankings
. Athletes Profiles including the athletes'€™ Personal and Annual Bests,
past and current results, records, honours, participations at major
championships, their World Ranking positions and Ranking calculations, etc.
. Head-to-head statistics against other athletes
. Winning streaks of the selected athletes
. Score Calculator
. Competition Results
. World and Area Records
. World news, Competition previews and reports and other Featured articles
The site is a "Service Partner" of the Weltklasse Zurich, and its full content
is only available by subscription. Pricing varies from USD 5 per day and USD 21
per month to USD 99 for a full year.
Currently, the only other athletics website charging a fee for usage is the
statistics site, www.Tilastopaja.org, which charges 90 Euros (USD 113) for two
years or 55 Euros (USD 69) for one year.
(This review was written by Race Results Weekly)
Visit the website at:
http://www.all-athletics.com


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


BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Race Against Me: My Story
By Dwain Chambers
It is being billed as the book "they don't want you to read" and at its launch
in Soho, London last night, Dwain ­Chambers said he was braced for controversy.
'Race Against Me', due to be published on 9 March, is likely to upset some of
the most important and influential individuals in athletics.
"It's an opportunity to express my point of view," said Chambers. "It involves
some peoples' names being mentioned, not to upset them, but to set the record
straight. I'm just using it to voice my opinion. I am fully aware that I'm not
everybody's cup of tea but that's life and you can't please everybody."
The book is Chambers' side of the story since testing positive for THG in 2003,
his subsequent two year ban, his failed attempt to overturn a lifetime Olympic
ban in the high court and his opinion on his treatment by the sport's governing
bodies and leading individuals.
The title itself is provocative, with some suggesting it is a thinly veiled
accusation of racism. Asked if this was his intention Chambers replied: "If
you're a smart man you'll read between the lines. That's never been my point but
I understand how ­society works and it's something I'm accustomed to. I think
it's a fitting title."
Chambers, who is tipped to win gold at next month's European Indoor
­Championships in Turin, published and wrote the book on a shoestring budget.
He received no advance sum from the ­Spanish publishers Libros International.
"I'm using it to add a bit of balance to the story because so far it's been so
one sided and I haven't been able to get my point across," Chambers added. "It's
been very therapeutic to get everything off my chest."
Chambers, who is heavily in debt, insisted the book was not an attempt to earn a
quick buck. "I'm not doing it just to make money because I have no idea how well
the book's going to sell. Most importantly I just want to focus on Turin and
earn money on the track so I can pay off my debts and then see where it goes
from there."
From the Guardian
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905988753/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=book

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. Do tight socks improve performance?
Compression garments claim to speed recovery by pumping oxygen flow. They may
actually work.
THE QUESTION
Will compression pants and knee socks make me fitter and stronger?
THE ANSWER
From basketball players wearing compression shorts and sleeves on their shooting
arm to marathoners racing in knee-high socks, there's a lot of tight clothing in
the upper echelons of sport these days. And the reasons vary.
"It has become evident that one garment does not do all things," says William
Kraemer, a professor at the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Lab
and past president of the U.S. National Strength and Conditioning Association.
The wave of colourful spandex that engulfed gyms in the 1980s offered benefits
such as cooling, sweat management, reduced chafing and (ahem) better support,
Dr. Kraemer notes. The current vogue is focused on bolder claims of enhanced
power, better endurance or faster recovery, depending on the garment.
Attempts to verify these claims have reached conflicting conclusions, in part
because it's so difficult to control exactly how much compression is applied to
different body shapes. But it's increasingly clear that these garments do
something.
The new generation of compression gear is descended from medical leggings that
have been used for decades to treat blood clots and certain circulatory
disorders. The key is that these garments deploy "graduated" compression: They
squeeze more and more tightly the farther they are from the heart. Such leggings
help reduce blood pooling in the legs and speed the return of blood to the
heart.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090410.LJOCKOLOGY10GTAART1627\
/TPStory/?query=Alex+Hutchinson+


2. Growth hormone slows age-related loss of strength:
Ten years of growth hormone treatment improves muscle strength in adults who
have a deficiency of the hormone. The first five years of treatment restores
muscle strength, and the second five years and thereafter slow age-related loss
of strength, Swedish investigators say.
Adults with growth hormone deficiency tend to have excess body fat and reduced
muscle strength, but little is known about the effect of prolonged growth
hormone therapy on muscle strength.
Dr. Galina Gotherstrom and colleagues at Goteborg University evaluated the
effects of 10 years of treatment on muscle strength and neuromuscular function
in 109 subjects, average age 50 years, with adult-onset growth hormone
deficiency.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53861W20090409


3. Dr. Mirkin's Fitness & Health eZine:
**  Special Issue on Coffee and other Caffeine Sources
Researchers at the University of Illinois report that 300 mg of caffeine (the
amount in four cups of coffee) reduces muscle burning during intense exercise in
both regular coffee
drinkers and in those who do not drink coffee at all (International Journal of
Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.  April, 2009).  One of the researchers,
Robert Motl, PhD, says that caffeine blocks spinal nerves that transmit pain
messages to the brain.  This means that people can exercise longer because they
feel less pain.
Athletes take caffeine because they know it helps them to exercise longer. When
muscles run out of their stored muscle sugar, they have to burn more fat which
requires more oxygen.  Lack of oxygen is the limiting factor in how fast and
hard you can exercise over long periods of time. When you run low on oxygen,
lactic acid accumulates in the muscles, which makes muscles more acidic, causing
the burning that you feel in tired muscles.  However, caffeine helps to delay
the burning by causing muscles to burn more fat so they can preserve the sugar
stored in muscles and you can exercise longer without accumulating large amounts
of lactic acid.
Another interesting study from Iran showed that omega-3 fatty acids lessened
delayed onset muscle soreness that occurs 48 hours after exercise in untrained
men (Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, March 2009).
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin:  Is there any evidence that caffeine raises blood pressure?
If you do not have high blood pressure or heart disease, there is little
evidence that drinking coffee will affect you.  Several studies have shown no
association between drinking coffee (up to six cups per day) and sustained high
blood pressure or heart attacks (JAMA, February 14, 1996; American Journal of
Epidemiology, January 15, 1999; Hypertension, July 2000).
If you have high blood pressure, you may want to limit your caffeine intake. 
Caffeine can raise blood pressure slightly and temporarily in people with normal
blood pressures and more so in people with high blood pressure, but there is
little evidence caffeine causes sustained high blood pressure or heart attacks
(European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2007).
Coffee and tea may be good for you because they contain polyphenols, which help
protect against high blood pressure and heart attacks by preventing blood clots
and lowering
C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation (Atherosclerosis, August
2007).
*  Note on an interesting potential use for caffeine:
A study from the University of Washington in Seattle showed that a
caffeine-containing cream helps to prevent cancer in skin cells that had
long-term exposure to ultraviolet B rays (the cancer-causing rays).  Caffeine
disrupted a protein, ATR-Chk1, so the affected cells would stop spreading and
would self-destruct (Journal of Investigative Dermatology, March 2009.)
* * Muscle Soreness, Exercise Injuries and Vitamin D
When doctors don't know the cause of a patient's problem, they often give it a
fancy name so you will believe they are giving you a useful diagnosis.  A
perfect example of this is
"idiopathic inflammatory myopathy", which means you have chronic muscle soreness
and your doctor doesn't know why.  Researchers recently reviewed the effects of
exercise on people with chronic muscle soreness and found that exercise is
beneficial (Current Opinion in Rheumatology, 04/07/09):
*The muscles of many of subjects with this condition did not get a sufficient
oxygen supply
*Exercise increases endurance-type fibers after a 12-week exercise program
*Creatine supplements plus an exercise program are more beneficial than exercise
alone
*Intensive resistance training improves muscle strength and endurance
*Exercise reduces muscle soreness and possibly even muscle inflammation
I am now convinced that a leading cause of muscle soreness and slow-healing
injuries is lack of vitamin D.  All my life, I have suffered a series of
baffling injures that usually occur
in the winter. and heal in the summer.  For the entire winter of 2007-8, I was
unable to exercise because of a non-healing hamstring injury and diffuse muscle
soreness.  Eventually I found that my vitamin D 3 level was 22 nmol/L (normal is
greater than 75).  I took the prescribed treatment of 50,000 IU of vitamin D
twice a week and my muscles became so sore that I couldn't even walk.  In the
summer, the hamstring injury healed and the soreness disappeared.  This winter I
went to Florida and was able to train on my bicycle better than ever.  In March
I went back to wintery Maryland and the non-healing hamstring injury and
soreness reappeared.  This time I improved within 24 hours of taking 2000 IU of
vitamin D twice a day.  From my experience, I conclude that:
* my muscle soreness and non-healing injuries are caused by or worsened by low
levels of vitamin D
* very high doses (50,000 IU) may increase muscle soreness
* lower doses of vitamin D (2000 to 4000/day) or daily sunlight exposure cured
my muscle soreness and helped to heal my injuries
Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council quotes 14 studies that show that
athletic performance improves in the summer months when sunshine is abundant, or
with ultraviolet light exposure in winter.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2007-mar.shtml
If your muscles feel sore or you keep on being injured when you exercise, get a
blood test called D3.  If it is below 75 nmol/L, your problems may be caused by
lack of vitamin D and
be cured by getting some sunshine or taking at least 2000 IU each day of the
very inexpensive vitamin D3.
**  Dear Dr. Mirkin: I get so nervous before races that I have diarrhea almost
every time.  Can you help me?
Hard running causes giant contractions of the colon in runners whether they are
nervous or not. However, it is a problem only if your colon is full when you
start the race. The solution is to be sure to empty your colon before you run. 
On the day before a race, eat lots of fiber-rich foods: salads, vegetables, and
fresh or dried fruits. On the day of the race, get up and eat your pre-race meal
and drink fluids several hours before your race.  This causes the gastro-colic
reflex that stimulates your colon to contract.   About half an hour after the
meal, spend a long time trying to empty your colon.  You should then be able to
run without any distress.
  From Dr. Mirkin's e_zine at:
  http://www.drmirkin.com


4. Calorie-Burning Fat? Studies Say You Have It:
For more than 30 years, scientists have been intrigued by brown fat, a cell that
acts like a furnace, consuming calories and generating heat. Rodents, unable to
shiver effectively to keep warm, use brown fat instead. So do human infants, who
do not shiver very well. But it was generally believed that humans lose brown
fat after infancy, no longer needing it once the shivering response kicks in.
That belief, three groups of researchers report, is wrong.
Their papers, appearing Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine,
indicate that nearly every adult has little blobs of brown fat that can burn
huge numbers of calories when activated by the cold, as when sitting in a chilly
room that is between 61 and 66 degrees.
Thinner people appeared to have more brown fat than heavier people; younger
people more than older people; people with lower glucose levels, presumably
reflecting higher metabolic rates, had more than those whose metabolisms were
more sluggish; and women had more than men. People taking beta blockers for high
blood pressure or other medical indications had less active brown fat.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/health/research/09fat.html?_r=1&ref=science


5. Gender Differences in Endurance Performance and Training:
This article is long overdue and I apologize to those who were interested in the
topic. To bring up the issue of gender differences in physical performance may
suggest sexism, but that is not my intention. Historically, there is no doubt
that sport has been a center of faulty assumptions and sexism where female
athletes are concerned. Social issues, and misunderstanding about female
physical and medical limitations (or the presumption of limitations) conspired
to slow the development of female performance for many years (the marathon for
women was only added to the Olympic schedule in 1984! ), but those times are
gone, at least among young athletes. Among master's athletes, we still see
greatly reduced participation by the older female age groups. This participation
difference will no doubt diminish over the next couple of decades. As a result,
performances by the oldest females will probably improve more rapidly than those
of the oldest males, as this new generation of well trained young female
athletes moves into age-group competition, and are joined by more and more
talented "late bloomers."
"Old" Social norms and habits are still having negative consequences on
participation and performance by older (50 +) females. Modern female athletes
have repeatedly demonstrated these norms ("women are not built to run long
distances" blah- blah-blah) are totally bogus. Currently, teenage daughters are
encouraging their formally sedentary mothers and even grandmothers to take up
exercise. This transfer of knowledge and norms UPSTREAM is the reverse of what
we traditionally see in males (Dad teaching his boy all he knows). However, this
is a transitional period for women in sport, so the knowledge transfer across
generations is helping to speed the development of women's masters sport.
Having said all that, there ARE some physiological differences between the sexes
that impact performance in females independent of age. Some years ago, when the
marathon was first becoming a competitive event for women, the rapid improvement
in female times led some to predict that female performances would soon equal
those of men in the marathon. This has not happened, and it won't. The current
world record for women is 2:21, compared to 2:06:50 for the men, a difference in
speed of about 10%. This same 10% gap is present across the distance running
performance spectrum The reason for the performance gap is not that women don't
train as hard as men. There are some important physiological differences between
the sexes that can't be overlooked or overcome. I want to point out the most
important. Where relevant, I will try to do so in terms of the BIG THREE
Performance adaptations that I have discussed on the MAPP.
The Maximal Oxygen Consumption
The "typical" young untrained male will have an absolute VO2 max of 3.5
liters/min, while the typical same-age female will be about 2 liters/min. This
is a 43% difference! Where does it come from? Well first, much of the difference
is due to the fact that males are bigger, on average, than females. Us humans
are all (sort of) geometrically similar, so heart size scales in proportion to
lean body size . If we divide VO2 by bodyweight, the difference is diminished
(45 ml/min/kg vs 38 ml/min/kg) to 15 to 20%, but not eliminated. What is the
source of this remaining difference?
More...from Exercise Physiology - The Methods and Mechanisms Underlying
Performance at:
http://home.hia.no/~stephens/gender.htm


6. Student-designed Device Provides New Way To Track Calorie Burning:
Counting calories that burn through activity is a constant quandary.
One can only run on a treadmill so long, watching intently as the pedometer
reads out the number of calories melted during a session of exercise. Not to
mention the question of how many calories are burned through basic daily
movements and even during sleep.
But technology – and youthful ambition – is presenting a round-the-clock
solution for those consumed with this calculation.
A group of Georgia Tech students has crafted a device that allows individuals to
constantly compute the amount of calories they burn – even as they sleep.
“It’s a completely converged device,” said Garrett Langley, 21, a senior
in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) who spearheaded the
project. “It’s a single unit that provides complete fitness monitoring and
management.”
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090311153416.htm


7. Alex "IronDoc" McDonald: Amino Acids Before, During and After Exercise:
It has been known for some time that carbohydrates are essential to endurance
exercise, before, during and after to main blood glucose levels as well as
restore muscle glycogen in order to fuel the next training session. However,
more recently Amino Acids (AA), particularly Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA),
have become a popular nutritional topic. Products from reputable companies, such
as Base Performance Nutrition, have began producing powders and supplements that
contain amino acids. What exactly are amino acids, what role do they play in
nutrition as it pertains to endurance athletics and what does this mean
practically for an athlete.
Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein. A protein molecule is a long
string of hundreds to thousands of amino acids strung together. The order of
amino acids dictate the shape of the protein and as a result, dictates the
function of the protein. Many common diseases illustrate the importance of amino
acid. For example Cystic Fibrosis, a lethal genetic disease, results from a
change in a single amino acid among hundreds which alters the protein just
enough so that it is unable to perform its intended function. Lastly, and most
interestingly, amino acids are also involved in numerous metabolic pathways that
affect exercise metabolism. Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are a few amino
acids with a specific structure that make them slightly unique in their
function.
There are 36 different amino acids, many of which the body can produce on its
own by breaking down the nutrients a person's diet (obtained thru various forms
of dietary protein), reorganizing it and building the necessary amino acids it
requires. However, there are 9 “essential” amino acids that the body is
unable to produce and these must be obtained in the diet in order to maintain
health. Lastly, there are “conditionally essential” amino acids which the
body is able to produce, however, under periods of heavy stress the body’s
ability to produce these amino acids is not be able to keep up with demand. As a
result, under circumstances of heavy training stress, these amino acids become
essential as well and must be obtained in the diet.
More...from Xtri.com at:
http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5527&CAT=21&xref=xx


8. Horse stem-cell technique to be tested in people:
A stem-cell repair technique that has already been used to fix hundreds of
injured race horses is to be tested for the first time in people with damaged
Achilles tendons.
Privately owned British biotech firm MedCell Bioscience Ltd said on Wednesday it
would start clinical tests within 12 months and planned to run a larger
confirmatory study at several European hospitals in 2011.
Patients will receive injections containing millions of their own stem cells,
which have been extracted and multiplied up in a laboratory, and can regenerate
new tissue to repair damaged regions.
More than 1,500 race horses have been treated using the same process and
follow-up data suggests a 50 percent reduction in re-injury over a three year
period, compared with conventional treatment.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53E4WJ20090415


  9. Eat or get beaten:
One of the most overlooked ways that female athletes sabotage themselves is by
not consuming enough food.
Picture it: A thirtysomething woman is interested in training for a triathlon,
maybe even one as gruelling as the half- or full-Ironman. To get herself into
top shape, she decides to lose a few pounds, not only to reduce the stress on
her joints and potentially lower her risk of injury, but also to shave valuable
seconds or minutes off of her training and race times (and hey, it doesn't hurt
to look lean and mean in those skimpy running bras). So despite the higher
energy needs that come with more intense training, she decides to trim her
caloric intake just a little, perhaps by cutting excess carbs such as pasta,
bread and cereal. Her intentions, she feels, are good, so much so that she might
even see a dietitian or other nutrition professional to help her lose the
weight.
As a sport dietitian, I routinely work with female athletes of all shapes and
sizes, and some of them inevitably have eating issues, which can be severe and
ultimately life-threatening. But below the layer of the most severe, clinically
diagnosable eating disorders (including anorexia and bulimia nervosa), there is
another, much larger percentage of female athletes whose dietary habits are
putting them at risk, not only in terms of their performance, but also when it
comes to their health - and in many cases, even the athletes themselves don't
realize it.
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/life/story.html?id=1245408


10. Want to get buff, ladies? Switch contraceptives:
Young women seeking a sculpted, muscular silhouette may want to avoid taking
oral contraceptives, U.S. researchers said on Friday.
They found women who were not taking birth control pills gained 60 percent more
muscle mass after a 10-week weight training program than those who were.
The study, led by Chang-Woock Lee and Steven Riechman of Texas A&M University in
College Station and Mark Newman of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania,
will be presented at the American Physiological Society meeting in New Orleans
this weekend.
The researchers studied 73 generally healthy women between 18 and 31 who
completed a whole-body resistance exercise training program. About half took the
pill and half did not.
The women were encouraged to eat at least half a gram of protein per pound of
body weight each day -- about a third more than recommended by U.S. nutritional
guidelines -- to ensure they got enough protein and calories to build muscle.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53G3ZS20090417


11. Hormones, knee injuries linked:
New research finds joint laxity is influenced by phases of the menstrual cycle.
  Female athletes have long been more prone to knee injuries than men - something
experts have largely chalked up to differences in anatomy. But new research
suggests that the monthly changes in a woman's hormone levels may also play a
role.
Darren Stefanyshyn, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Calgary, and
his team of researchers have found knee joint laxity, or looseness, which can
make athletes more prone to injury, is influenced by phases in the menstrual
cycle.
"We found on average, the average person is going to be more lax during
ovulation, but it's not true for everybody."
Prof. Stefanyshyn and colleagues have published several studies in The American
Journal of Sports Medicine and the British Journal of Sports Medicine examining
the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among women.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53G3ZS20090417


12. Multivitamins could be dangerous, report says:
More than 30% of multivitamins tested recently by ConsumerLab.com contained
significantly more or less of an ingredient than claimed, or were contaminated
with lead, the company reports.
ConsumerLab.com, based in White Plains, New York, is privately held and provides
consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health
and nutrition. According to the company, it is neither owned by nor has a
financial interest in any companies that make, distribute or sell consumer
products.
Several multivitamin products tested, including three for children, exceeded
tolerable upper limits established by the Institute of Medicine for ingredients
such as vitamin A, folic acid, niacin and zinc, according to the report posted
on www.ConsumerLab.com.
More...from the National Post at:
http://www.nationalpost.com/life/health/story.html?id=1481847


13. Hamstring Flexibility and Stretches:
Hamstring flexibility: How to keep your hamstrings in tune and singing sweetly
EXERCISE 3: GENERAL STRENGTH: HIGH-BENCH STEP-UPS
Perform this exercise twice a week after you have warmed up thoroughly.
Begin from a standing position on top of a bench that is approximately knee
high, with your body weight on your left foot and your weight shifted toward the
left heel. The right foot should be free and held slightly behind your body.
Lower your body in a controlled manner until the toes of the right foot touch
the ground, but support all of your weight on your left foot. Return to the
starting position by driving down with the left heel and straightening your left
leg. Maintain an absolutely upright body posture with your trunk throughout the
entire movement, with your hands held at your sides.
Perform this exercise for two sets of 10-15 repetitions with each leg. You can
make the step-ups progressively more difficult by holding dumbbells in your
hands as your perform the exercise (start with three to five pounds and
gradually increase to 25 pounds) - and by gradually increasing the height of the
step. Increase the height of the step by no more than two inches from workout to
workout. Of course, you can eventually add on additional reps and sets as well -
and increase your overall speed of movement.
If you are a devoted follower of Peak Performance, you may have noticed with
some surprise that we called the bicycle swings a specific strength exercise for
the hamstrings - and labelled the high-bench step-ups a general
hamstring-strengthening activity. Since the high-bench step-ups force the
hamstrings to exert force while they are in a weight-bearing mode, while the
bicycle swings call for hamstring action when the hams aren't bearing any
weight, shouldn't that be the other way around? The high-bench step-ups seem
more specific to the act of running, which of course was a weight-bearing
activity the last time we checked.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/hamstring-flexibility-and-stretches-715


14. Walking vs Running as dryland training for XC:
It might surprise many of you to know that it is November here on the south
coast of Norway, and we still have no snow. It turns out the ocean "warms" the
coast a bit and makes the coastline less snow-covered in winter. So, for a Texas
transplant who is learning cross country skiing where it all started, I have to
do my best to get ready for some skiing without the white stuff for now.
What to do for off-snow training? Certainly roller skiing is an option, but not
always a safe one if the conditions are wet, icy, hilly etc. Plus I am a
beginner. The next obvious choice is running. This is sensible. You are on your
legs doing the same "basic" motion as skiing. And then there is walking. Yeah,
walking. Now, trust me, I am a hard core, fairly fit guy who would have laughed
at anyone that suggested to me that I could train for anything by walking. But
after some personal experience, observations and experimentation, I am
rethinking. Here is why.
The "make or break" aspect of XC racing is hill climbing. That is when the boys
and girls with the really big aerobic capacity show their stuff. So, do we run
hills to simulate the hill climbing on skis? No, I think most of us would do
better by walking all the long steep ones we can find, fast.
This got started when my wife told me that the women she ran with would often
shift to a fast walk during hill climbs. They cold have continued running, but
they didn't. They shifted into a style where their arms and legs were moving in
the long deliberate movement cycles typical of skiing.
On a motorized treadmill, usually late at night, I have been experimenting on
myself. With a heart rate monitor and controls that allow me to change speed or
treadmill incline on the fly, I have done some interesting workouts. I like to
experiment under well controlled conditions, so the laboratory treadmill is
perhaps a workout only a physiology geek could appreciate. I started with
walking and slowly increased the "hill" to 14% grade, which is really steep, but
just below what over-stretches my Achilles, then I keep increasing the speed
until I have to really work to keep up while walking. In fact, if I shift into a
jog on the steep climb, the going is actually easier and I feel less fatigue. It
turns out that I can achieve a heart rate of 155-160 at this steep incline,
upper limit walking pace. This is perfect for me for steady state work. However,
I can easily reach the same cardiovascular workload with running if I speed up
the treadmill and drop the incline. This is actually more "comfortable" for me
and I get less local muscular fatigue. So, why not just run? The really
important difference is the muscular work pattern.
More...from Cross-Country Skiing Physiology and Performance at:
http://home.hia.no/~stephens/walkvrun.htm


15. Digest Briefs:
*  Biking While Intoxicated
A new study of New York City bicycling accidents over a decade found that one in
five cyclists who died had alcohol in the body.
“It’s something we have to call attention to,” said Catherine Stayton,
director of the health department’s injury epidemiology unit, as reported by
the City Room blog. “To learn this is new for us. We want to get that
information out there.”
While the information about alcohol and cycling could lead to an awareness
campaign, it’s not clear what role alcohol actually played in the deaths.
It’s important not to blame the victim, said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for
Transportation Alternatives. “It’s a no-brainer to be sober when you ride in
New York City,” Mr. Norvell said. “Being alert and conscious of everyone
else on the road is the best protection a bicyclist has, and biking while
impaired makes our already dangerous streets an even greater risk.”
To read more about the link between bicycle deaths and alcohol, read the full
City Room post, “Study Links Alcohol and Bicycle Deaths.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/study-links-alcohol-and-bike-deaths\
/?hp
*  Compression Socks- Fact or Fad
By Coach Brett Daniels
If you have been to a running race or triathlon in the last year to eighteen
months you have no doubt noticed the athletes in knee high socks. The first time
I saw someone in a pair of them I didn’t know what to think, were tube socks
from the 70’s making a comeback (and could headbands be far behind?) or was
this some new super secret piece of performance clothing that would make me
considerably faster?
The idea behind compression socks (or any compression clothing for that matter)
is that the compression fabric increases blood flow, removes the waste, and
gives additional support to the working muscles. According to a medical study
conducted by (A. Ali, B.G. Snow & M.P. Caine 2003), 14 runners were tested in a
fast 10 km pace and found runners wearing graduated pressure socks: Ran 1%
faster despite being paced. Had lower pulse rates (2-3 BPM).Jumped higher
post-exercise and recovered faster with 60% less post-exercise muscle soreness.
I became intrigued with the idea of compression socks and decided to do some
testing to see what all the fuss was all about. I tested OxySox and CEP
Compression socks in unscientific field trials by using the socks on my long
runs and then wearing non compression socks every third week. I found that after
the non-compression sock runs my calves were significantly more sore and tight
and it took me longer to feel recovered. I also noticed a 10-15 second per mile
increase in performance over my long runs. I did not notice a difference between
the OxySox and the CEP Compression socks in comfort or performance, however the
CEP Compression Socks were labeled for the Right and Left foot and the heel and
toe were reinforced to provide a bit smoother ride, where the OxySox just had a
padded sole. The CEP Compression Socks also seemed to be made of a heavier
weight fabric and seemed to be a higher quality product. This is reflected in
the cost with the OxySox retailing for $29.99 and the CEP socks going for
$59.95.
As of now the Ali study is the only medical study that uses compression socks in
an exercise environment and not in treatment of patients with phlebitis or deep
vein thrombosis. There is not enough clinical evidence to draw a definite
conclusion as to the effectiveness of compression socks during competition or in
assisting recovery post exercise. That being said all of the anecdotal evidence
from my personal use as well as athletes that I coach suggest that there are
benefits to be had from wearing compression socks during and after competition.
Just do not to forget your headband!
From the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com
*  Biological vs. Habitual Hunger .There is a distinct difference between eating
when you are biologically hungry and eating out of habit.
Biological hunger is easily characterized by stomach pangs and decreased
cognitive focus. During these times, the body and the brain absolutely needs
fuel. It is best to try to identify biological hunger about 30 minutes before it
sets in so you can eat before the craving response hits.
In contrast, habitual hunger is either tied to the clock or emotions. For most
athletes, I encourage them to eat when they are biologically hungry so they do
not let emotional triggers such as stress, boredom and fatigue drive their
eating patterns and overeat.
By simply asking yourself, "am I biologically hungry," you will be able to
identify the difference, control your blood sugar and decrease the infamous
craving response better.
  About the author
Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS is a sport dietitian and elite triathlon coach.
He traveled to the 2008 Summer Olympics as the U.S. Olympic Committee Sport
Dietitian and the personal Sport Dietitian for the 2008 Olympic Triathlon Team.
He is also Sarah Haskins' personal coach and was a performance team member
(sport dietitian and strength coach) for Susan Williams, 2004 Olympic Triathlon
bronze medalist.
Bob's book, Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes: Taking Sports
Nutrition to the Next Level will provide triathletes of all levels education on
how to structure their nutrition program based on their exercise program. For
more information, visit www.fuel4mance.com or contact Bob at
mailto:coachbob@...
* Running Times Medical Corner: Chronic Achilles Soreness
Q: I am a 48 year old male, with over 30 years of running behind me. I had a
right Achilles tendon problem earlier in the spring. I took time off and
returned to training slowly. But I have noticed my right Achilles still is
slightly sore and does not stretch as easily or as much as the left side. Is
there anything I can do to reduce the scar tissue or whatever from my right
Achilles tendon to eliminate the soreness and limited flexibility?
-- John
A: Achilles tendon injuries can be quite persistent. The tendon is the structure
that connects the large calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) to the heel.
These muscles provide the power for pushing off while running. Any injury causes
some loss of flexibility and strength in the involved muscles. Recovery involves
working on improving these deficits.
Hang your heels off the edge of a step and lower your heels to a point where you
feel stretching, but not pain. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds. You can also stretch
just the right Achilles tendon. Try to incorporate stretching into daily
activities; you can gently stretch while sitting at a desk and at other times
during the day.
Once you have no pain with stretching, begin incorporating strengthening
exercises into your routine. Hang your heels off the edge of a step and lower
them as far as you can. Then rise on your toes. Slowly lower again. Repeat this
20 times at least once a day. As you become stronger, perform the exercise at a
more rapid rate, but make sure that your heels are moving through the entire
range of motion. You can progress to performing this exercise just on the right.
Warm up prior to running and apply ice to the tendon following all workouts.
Deep tissue massage may help break up the scar tissue.
Recalcitrant cases of Achilles tendonitis may require more aggressive treatment,
ranging from physical therapy to prolotherapy to surgery. Be patient; avoid
hills and speed work until your symptoms resolve. Good luck.
-- Dr. Cathy Fieseler, MD
From the Running Times Newsletter. Sign up at:
http://runningtimes.com/Newsletter.aspx
*  This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Hendrick Ramaala (RSA) won the Humarathon (FRA) Half Marathon
over a very deep field that
                saw 34 men at or better than 1:06:00.  Ramaala won in 1:00:40
with Faustin Baha (TAN)
                and Philip Rugut (KEN) also under 1:01:00 with 1:00:45 and
1:00:51 respectively.
                Cristina Costea (ROM) won the women's race in 1:10:09, besting
Restituta Joseph (TAN)
                by four seconds (1:10:13).  Anne Njeri (KEN) was 3rd in 1:11:49.
20 Years Ago-  John Halvorsen (NOR) won the MDA Boston Milk Run (MA/USA) 10K in
28:01, edging John
                Gregorek (USA) at 28:02.  Andrew Lloyd (AUS) was well back in 3rd
with his 28:14.
                Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) ran a sterling 30:59, some 20 seconds
over Liz McColgan's
                WR set the month before.  Judi St Hilaire (USA) and Annette
Peters (USA) followed
                with 31:45 and 31:47 respectively.
30 Years Ago-  Shigeru So (JPN) won the Biwa-ko (JPN) Marathon in 2:13:26. 
Hatsuo Okubo (JPN) and Susumu
                Sato (JPN) were 2nd and 3rd with 2:14:13 and 2:14:22.
40 Years Ago-  James Haddow (CAN) won the first edition of the Calgary (AB/CAN)
Marathon in 2:38:07
                with William Herriott (CAN) 2nd in 2:45:23.  This race is still
being held
50 Years Ago-  Allan Lawrence (AUS) defeated Patrick CLohessy (AUS) over 2 miles
at the Southwestern
                Louisiana Institute Relays (LA/USA) with a time of 9:14.1.
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.




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

April 18, 2009:
Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon - Chesapeake, VA

April 18-19, 2009:
GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend - St. Louis, MO

April 19, 2009:
Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal - Montreal, PQ

(Inaugural) B.A.A. 5K & Invitational Mile - Boston, MA

Ottawa Physio Race - Ottawa, ON

Run Rocklin 12K - Rocklin, CA

Sacramento Zoo Zoom - Sacramento, CA

Santa Cruz Half Marathon / 10K - Santa Cruz, CA

Sun Run - Vancouver, BC

Vienna City Marathon - Austria

April 20, 2009:
Boston Marathon - Boston, MA

May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

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Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
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SportsShoes in the UK
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
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Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
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The Stretching Handbook:
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The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

NEW SUBSCRIBERS:
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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.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.
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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/

ASSOCIATIONS:
The Runner's Web is a member of Running USA, The National Professional
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Get the Runner's Web button for the Google Toolbar 4 for Internet Explorer from
the link on our FrontPage at:
http://www.runnersweb.com . We have added a button for Lauren Groves,
Triathlete.

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:

Foot Locker:
Take 15% off no minimum. Use code LKS19A5M. Valid 4.6-5.4
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=pgaZgw/VDU4&offerid=101680.10000287\
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It's The Sports Bra Sale at ChampionUSA.com! All Bras are $19.99 and up! Valid
Through April 27th.
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The book "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running
has Taught Me About Winning, Loving, Happiness,
Humility, and the Human Heart" is available FREE as a download from
MindsetTriathlon.com.
http://www.mindsettriathlon.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&it=1#previews

FRS Healthy Energy Drink - Free Trial
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1452277-10571944

The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - June 20, 2009
http://www,emiliesrun.com

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

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 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:
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We have 2,498 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the Runner's Web
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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 ONE personal posting this week.
ONE:
Runner Appeal: Get fit, have fun and help a great cause!
We are currently looking for people to take part in the 10K London Run on
Sunday 12th July 2009 as a sponsored challenge in aid of helping street
children in Brazil.
No entry fee, no experience needed, just your willingness to try your best
to complete the challenge and raise £250 for ABC Trust.
The race will begin at 9.30AM, and the course starts in Piccadilly Circus,
passes through London’s famous landmarks and finishes in Whitehall.
We have a team of 20 people and some places left, please come and join our
team, get fit and help change the lives of vulnerable children in Brazil!
To register or to find out more, please contact me directly: Fatima Luna:
0207 287 3818, mailto:fatima@...
www.abctrust.org.uk/challenges.html

THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. How much water should we drink?
With spring in the air, thoughts turn to marathons, heat - and dehydration. So
how much liquid do we need?
2. As Good As It Gets: Octogenarian Muscles Don't Get Stronger With Exercise,
Study Finds
3. Triathlete Magazine reviews new Team FE nutrition site
4. Putting Failure in its Place
5. One easy remedy for overweight kids -- water
6. Advanced Balancing
Getting the right mix of training and recovery is essential to peak performance.
7. Optimize Nutrition with Naturally Occurring Compounds
8. Interval Training by Coach Bryan Hoskinson
9. Practical Considerations for Eating the Hour Before Exercise
10. Caffeine may lessen exercisers' muscle pain
11. Stretching Exercises: When and How
12. Pezcyclingnews.com reviews Ultragen
13. CHI Running Incorporates Core To Enhance Performance
14. Caffeine Reduces Pain During Exercise, Study Shows
15. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"What would be the best way(s) to manage the excessive demand for entry into
many of the major marathons and triathlons?"
Time stamped on-line entry
Geographical quotas
Performance standards
Lottery
Other

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:
Are you male or female and do you support women-only races?
Answers Percent
1.   Female - Yes  35%
2.   Female - No  0%
3.   Male - Yes  60%
4.   Male - No  5%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: All-Athletics.com
A new subscription-based athletics Web site has been launched:
www.all-athletics.com. The site intends to provide an "unprecedented variety of
facts, figures, news and other features" on athletics, according to a recent
release circulated to journalists covering the European Indoor Championships.
Here is a partial list of the features the site is offering:
. In depth Overall and Event-by-event World Rankings with searchable archive and
history
. Area, regional and national Rankings
. Athletes Profiles including the athletes'€™ Personal and Annual Bests,
past and current results, records, honours, participations at major
championships, their World Ranking positions and Ranking calculations, etc.
. Head-to-head statistics against other athletes
. Winning streaks of the selected athletes
. Score Calculator
. Competition Results
. World and Area Records
. World news, Competition previews and reports and other Featured articles
The site is a "Service Partner" of the Weltklasse Zurich, and its full content
is only available by subscription. Pricing varies from USD 5 per day and USD 21
per month to USD 99 for a full year.
Currently, the only other athletics website charging a fee for usage is the
statistics site, www.Tilastopaja.org, which charges 90 Euros (USD 113) for two
years or 55 Euros (USD 69) for one year.
(This review was written by Race Results Weekly)
Visit the website at:
http://www.all-athletics.com

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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Race Against Me: My Story
By Dwain Chambers
It is being billed as the book "they don't want you to read" and at its launch
in Soho, London last night, Dwain ­Chambers said he was braced for controversy.
'Race Against Me', due to be published on 9 March, is likely to upset some of
the most important and influential individuals in athletics.
"It's an opportunity to express my point of view," said Chambers. "It involves
some peoples' names being mentioned, not to upset them, but to set the record
straight. I'm just using it to voice my opinion. I am fully aware that I'm not
everybody's cup of tea but that's life and you can't please everybody."
The book is Chambers' side of the story since testing positive for THG in 2003,
his subsequent two year ban, his failed attempt to overturn a lifetime Olympic
ban in the high court and his opinion on his treatment by the sport's governing
bodies and leading individuals.
The title itself is provocative, with some suggesting it is a thinly veiled
accusation of racism. Asked if this was his intention Chambers replied: "If
you're a smart man you'll read between the lines. That's never been my point but
I understand how ­society works and it's something I'm accustomed to. I think
it's a fitting title."
Chambers, who is tipped to win gold at next month's European Indoor
­Championships in Turin, published and wrote the book on a shoestring budget.
He received no advance sum from the ­Spanish publishers Libros International.
"I'm using it to add a bit of balance to the story because so far it's been so
one sided and I haven't been able to get my point across," Chambers added. "It's
been very therapeutic to get everything off my chest."
Chambers, who is heavily in debt, insisted the book was not an attempt to earn a
quick buck. "I'm not doing it just to make money because I have no idea how well
the book's going to sell. Most importantly I just want to focus on Turin and
earn money on the track so I can pay off my debts and then see where it goes
from there."
From the Guardian
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905988753/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=book

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. How much water should we drink?
With spring in the air, thoughts turn to marathons, heat - and dehydration. So
how much liquid do we need?
If you are confused about how much water we should really be drinking, then you
are not alone. I am often asked: is it two litres? Four litres? Does a can of
diet cola count?
According to the UK Food Standards Agency, what we need is about six to eight
glasses of fluids a day - about 1.2 litres in total. This will help your body to
carry out myriad roles, from helping us to keep the body temperature steady and
stable to protecting sensitive tissues such as the spine and keeping up water
levels in the brain.
What is crucial here, however, is the word “fluid” because, physiologically
speaking, this can be from any fluid source including tea, coffee, squashes,
juices, diet or standard fizzy drinks and, to a certain extent, alcohol. Many
foods provide fluids as well; watermelon provides 185ml (about a small yoghurt
pot's worth) of fluid per 200g slice. Even an average 100g banana provides about
75ml of water.
Scientists say that there is no convincing medical research to prove that
glugging litres of water on top of these needs will improve the elimination of
toxins by your kidneys, improve skin tone or reduce your appetite or the
frequency of headaches.
Responding to your body's thirst mechanism is apparently the best way to remain
properly hydrated - and this goes for everyone, including those of us embarking
on marathons and fun runs. While amateur runners often believe they should drink
as much water as possible during long runs, the reality is that too much can in
a substantial fraction of runners be dangerous to health and in rare cases,
fatal.
More...from the Times Online at:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/diet_and_fitness/article\
6028000.ece


2. As Good As It Gets: Octogenarian Muscles Don't Get Stronger With Exercise,
Study Finds:
Octogenarian women were unable to increase muscle mass after a 3-month weight
lifting program targeted at strengthening the thigh muscle, according to a new
study from the Journal of Applied Physiology. The results are surprising because
previous studies have found resistance training capable of increasing muscle
mass, even for people who are into their 70s. An increase in muscle size
translates to an increase in strength.
Still, the Ball State University study contained some good news: The
octogenarians were able to lift more weight after the training program, likely
because the nervous system became more efficient at activating and synchronizing
muscles.
The American Physiological Society published the study, “Improvements in whole
muscle and myocellular function are limited with high-intensity resistance
training in octogenarian women.” The researchers are Ulrika Raue, Dustin
Slivka, Kiril Minchev and Scott Trappe.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090331091250.htm


3. Triathlete Magazine reviews new Team FE nutrition site:
Written by Jay Prasuhn -Courtesy of Triathlete Magazine
Which would you find more valuable? A triathlon team nutrition sponsor that
gives you cool jerseys, some product and then just sends you on your way? How
about a team and nutrition sponsor whose goal is getting you through your race
with a nutrition plan that not only delivers calories, but also keeps your
stomach happy. It’s that duo, paired with proper training, which lead to PRs.
The two developers of Team First Endurance—Robert Kunz and Mike
Fogarty—considered what a real athlete wants, which is either a PR or a
qualifying spot. Moreover, they want knowledge, and a way to test products in
their own training that will help them develop a solid nutrition program.
First Endurance has a stable of doctors and research board members in their
stable who actually race as well, including Bob Seebohar (a former U.S. Olympic
Committee sports dietitian and the 2008 Olympic Triathlon Team dietitian who is
also an Ironman athlete) and Neal Henderson, the director of the Sports Sciences
Department at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, who’s also a Masters
road racer. They actually get what endurance athletes need. They do the studies
on subjects and then they do the studies on themselves.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://blog.firstendurance.com/2009/04/triathlete-magazine-reviews-teamfirstendu\
rancecom-nutrition-research-site/


4. Putting Failure in its Place:
Failure: Are you defining and managing it effectively, or is it defining you?
Wrestling successfully with the interpretation, role, and consequences of
failure are common challenges for the mentally fit athlete. Consciously working
with your experience of failure – rather than defaulting to one that is too
habitual and narrow – can dramatically enrich your riding and your results.
By Marvin Zauderer
In last month’s Sport Psychology column, published during the Tour of
California, we looked at More Minds of Mentally Fit Pros: what it takes,
mentally, to succeed in a stage race. Just as in last year’s Tour of
California column, we looked at how we mere mortals can learn and apply the
pros’ mental skills in our own experiences on the bike.
Did you notice this quote from Tom Zirbel of Bissell Pro Cycling in last
month’s column?
“The worst rejection is when you try your hardest and fail. Mentally, it’s
easier to give in and fail. After feeling failure, it can be easy to say, ‘I
don’t want to feel that again, I’m going to beat it to the punch.’”
That’s Tom’s view. What’s yours? How do you define failure as an athlete?
What meaning do you make of it when it happens? What impact does it have on you?
Whether it’s attached to a race, a group ride, a century, a tough interval, or
that hill you’ve been trying to conquer, your experiences and relationship
with failure can affect you before, during, and after your ride. Have you put
failure in its place? Let’s take a closer look.
How much does it hurt, and why?
In the movie The Princess Bride, the master swordsman Inigo Montoya duels with
the mysterious Man in Black, who quickly puts Inigo in the shockingly unfamiliar
position of second best. There is a pause in the duel.
More...from Pez Cycling News at:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=6885&status=True&catname=Toolbox


5. One easy remedy for overweight kids -- water:
Want to help your kids keep the weight off? Just give them water instead of soda
and other sugar-sweetened drinks, researchers advised on Monday.
One analysis of the diets of children and teens in the United States showed they
drink, on average, 235 "empty" calories in sugar-sweetened beverages each day.
When these drinks are cut out, the average child does not make up for them by
eating or drinking more calories elsewhere, the researchers said. In a second
study, Dutch researchers found children would cut out sugary drinks before they
would exercise or abandon snacks.
"The evidence is now clear that replacing these 'liquid calories' with
calorie-free beverage alternatives both at home and in schools represents a key
strategy to eliminate excess calories and prevent childhood obesity," Dr. Claire
Wang of Columbia University in New York said in a statement.
Writing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Wang and colleagues
said they looked at data from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey that includes detailed questions about diet.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53560U20090406


6. Advanced Balancing:
Getting the right mix of training and recovery is essential to peak performance.
Every time you do a hard workout, you provide a stimulus for your body to
improve in some way, such as your lactate threshold, fat-burning ability, VO2
max, and so on. Any one workout, though, provides only a mild stimulus for
improvement; it's the sum of your workouts over time that determines the total
stimulus to improve a specific component of your fitness. For example, if you do
one tempo run in the few months before a marathon, you provide a mild stimulus
for your lactate threshold to improve. If you do six tempo runs in eight weeks,
you provide a strong repetitive stimulus for your lactate threshold to improve.
The training stimulus, however, is only half of the formula for performance
improvement. To improve, your body must recover from training and adapt to a
higher level. By learning to manage your recovery, you'll optimize your
training. If you manage your recovery so that you can do hard workouts more
frequently or so that the quality of your hard workouts consistently improves,
then you'll provide a greater stimulus for your body to improve its capacities.
Recovery from training is important, both day to day and over the course of your
marathon preparation program. Poor management of your recovery can lead to
overtraining, which simply overwhelms your body's ability to respond positively
to training. Let's look more closely at how to optimize your recovery for racing
success.
Recovery and Supercompensation
One of the realities of running is that if you do a hard workout today, you
won't be a better runner tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow you'll just be tired. Hard
training causes immediate fatigue, tissue breakdown, dehydration, and glycogen
depletion. Depending on the difficulty of the training session and other
factors, you'll require from two to 10 days to completely recover from a
workout.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16078


7. Optimize Nutrition with Naturally Occurring Compounds:
New kids on the block – do quercetin and beta-alanine have any value for
athletes?
Athletes are always looking for a competitive edge and optimising nutrition is
one area where significant gains can be had. In this two-part article, Ron
Maughan and Andrew Hamilton look at emerging evidence for the possible benefits
of two naturally occurring compounds – quercetin and beta-alanine, both of
which are attracting attention from researchers in the field of sports
nutrition.
Quercetin – by Ron Maughan
A recent press release on 14 February, 2007 drew attention to research that has
recently been conducted by Dr David Nieman and his colleagues at Appalachian
State University in the USA. David Nieman is well known around the world,
especially for his work on the effects of exercise and stress on the immune
system. He has conducted many important studies in this area, including many
field studies on marathon and ultra-marathon runners.
David Nieman was largely responsible for the first description of the so-called
‘J-shape’ relationship between exercise and the risk of illness and
infection. This is important, because it seems that the ability of our immune
system to fight off infection is enhanced with moderate levels of exercise,
which is good news. With very high levels of exercise stress, however, athletes
seem to be more susceptible to minor illness and infection. These usually amount
to little more than a few sniffles, but they may be enough to interrupt
training. Two or three such interruptions over the course of a season may have
serious effects, especially if one of them coincides with a major race.
For many years, Nieman – along with many other research teams around the world
– has been investigating the effects of a number of different nutritional
interventions on the ability of the immune system to fight off infections. Most
of the earlier work has focused on the traditional interventions, and from this
we know that athletes who want to stay healthy should be sure to eat enough food
to match their energy demands, to get enough carbohydrate and protein, and to
make sure they select a wide range of foods that will provide essential vitamins
and minerals in the amounts that are necessary.
More recently however, attention has turned to the effects of a range of herbal
extracts and botanical compounds on the immune system. There are many such
products on the market, and echinacea has for many years been one of the
top-selling supplements aided at promoting a healthy immune system, but it is
only one of an enormous number of such products. Many of these herbals form an
important part of the traditional medicine culture in different parts of the
world, but western medicine has largely ignored them in favour of antibiotics
and other more powerful pharmaceuticals.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/optimize-nutrition-with-naturally-occurring-comp\
ounds-36330


8. Interval Training by Coach Bryan Hoskinson:
Most of us know intervals from sets in our swim workouts, jumps or tempo sets on
the bike, or track work for runs. While these are the most common, and bread and
butter of any training plan, there are other “fun” ways to accomplish the
same goal. Group workouts!
The goal is to make them fun; use others to help you push, yet not over train.
The last of these is the one to watch out for as too many times athletes abuse
these sessions and end up over trained or injured.  Here are some options for
you.
Open water or pool swims where you agree to practice swimming as a group,
simulating a mass race start where you have to move around each other, are great
intervals. This is best accomplished if you work at a pace everyone can
maintain, so swimmers in the back can accelerate through the other swimmers then
slow down, and the next swimmer can work through. Obviously caution is well
advised.
Group rides are an excellent way to accomplish intervals. Ride in a pace line of
riders, spread out 3 bike lengths from each other. When you get to the front
work towards your goal pace, heart rate or wattage; hold it to your planned
duration, then move to the back to recover and repeat through the ride as
planned.
Group run work outs can be accomplished in much the same way. Prior to the
workout, agree to the goal pace. Runners at the back will accelerate to the
front, working around other runners and using them to pace off of. Then slow
down so the next set of runners can work their way through, using pace and or
heart rate to regulate the duration of the efforts.
Plan these workouts for several key weeks of your season where you need some
help and motivation to push through barriers. It is a fun way to share your
workouts with your training partners or club.
Have fun and train smart!
Bryan Hoskinson is an Elite level TrainingBible Coach and can be reached at
mailto:bhoskinson@...


9. Practical Considerations for Eating the Hour Before Exercise:
By Monique Ryan
Triathletes are well aware that beginning training and competition with a well
fueled body can delay fatigue. One significant fuel source is stored glycogen,
which remains relatively limited even with an optimal diet. Depending on the
intensity of your workout, glycogen stores may last only for 75 to 90 minutes of
exercise. Because of the multiple training sessions required for the sport,
triathletes face the constant cycle of training and refueling, often with only
several hours of recovery time. It is not unusual to have the need to fit a
small meal or snack in between training sessions.
Eating Before Exercise
Research and practical experience makes a good case for consuming carbohydrate
2-4 hours prior to exercise. A relatively nice amount of food can be consumed
and replenish or top off your muscle glycogen stores. Liver glycogen stores,
which maintain blood glucose levels during training, can become significantly
depleted after a training session and require a good meal to return back to
their full levels. Eating adequately before exercise can also prevent hunger
during longer training sessions. However, scheduling and other real-life
considerations may not always allow for optimal meal timing before exercise.
Often, consuming foods and fluids in the 30-60 minutes prior to exercise may be
a viable and necessary option.
The Hour Before Exercise
There are a variety of scenarios that could necessitate the need for food 30-60
minutes prior to exercise. Every triathlete is all too familiar with those early
morning training sessions and early race start times. Rising in the extremely
early hours of the morning simply to eat food and fuel up for an early start may
not be feasible or desirable. Scheduling may also result in a long time gap
between the last meal and the start of a training session, and hunger and
limited fuel during training may become a significant issue. It may also be
helpful to eat closer to longer training sessions in which the added fuel
provides a performance benefit. Despite these practical considerations,
consuming carbohydrate in the hour prior to exercise has been a subject of some
controversy over the years.
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/5894


10. Caffeine  may lessen exercisers' muscle pain:
A couple cups of coffee before a tough workout may lower the chances of sore
muscles later on, a small study suggests.
The researchers found that young men who performed an intense bout of cycling
had less muscle soreness when they took a pre-workout dose of caffeine.
What's more, the benefits were seen in both habitual caffeine consumers and
those who typically shunned caffeine, the researchers report in the
International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
The findings add to evidence from earlier studies showing that caffeine may help
prevent that familiar muscle soreness that strikes during and after a
particularly tough or new exercise routine.
In theory, caffeine may limit muscle pain by blocking the activity of a chemical
called adenosine. Adenosine is released as part of the inflammatory response to
injury and can activate pain receptors in body cells.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5374YR20090408


11. Stretching Exercises: When and How:
Stretching your horizons – why timing counts
Recent research has shown that some types of pre-exercise stretching may not
only fail to enhance performance, but can also be counter-productive. However,
according to James Marshall, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be
stretching – you just have to stretch appropriately
Practice and research shows that the components of stretching are as varied as
other training principles such as speed or strength. But all too often,
stretching is either just tagged on to other forms of training, or overlooked
completely. And repeating the same stretching routine day in, day out inevitably
gets you the same results. However, adding a variety of stretches and altering
the types of stretching that you do at different times of day, time of season,
or time of year should enable you to improve your flexibility and your
performance.
Is stretching is bad for you?
I’ve recently had this comment thrown at me by coaches and athletes alike. As
is often the case, information can be misinterpreted or applied in the wrong
context (with the best of intentions) and then becomes dogma – for example
‘weight training makes you slow’. There has been a lot of research in recent
years that has shown that static stretching as part of a warm-up may not improve
performance, and may actually inhibit speed and power activities. But some
athletes and coaches have extrapolated these findings to conclude that all
stretching is bad for you at any time. In fact, there may be a clue in the
phrase ‘warm-up’ as to what you are supposed to do! We will examine this
later.
More...from Peak Performance Online at:
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/stretching-exercises-when-and-how-36327


12. Pezcyclingnews.com reviews Ultragen:
The hard training we do on the bike is only the stress that we impose, and is
only half of the training equation. To get the most out of that hard training,
we need to recover and let our body adapt and come back even stronger. Ultragen
recovery drink by First Endurance can be a critical component of your recovery
plan.
The Importance of Recovery
When I was younger, my ideal weekend consisted of pounding out hours and hours
on the bike each morning and then trying to do the same the next day. I rather
enjoyed that feeling of utter exhaustion in between and at the start of
following rides, and looked at it as a sign of good training. It was only a few
years and degrees later that I put the training-recovery spiral together and
realized the importance of proper recovery, both physical and dietary, as an
important component of overall training.
Think of a rubber band analogy. If you want to have the hardest snap of the band
(training), you also need to pull the band back (recovery) as much as you can.
One does not exist in a vacuum without the other.
More...from First Endurance at:
http://blog.firstendurance.com/2009/04/pezcyclingnewscom-reviews-ultragen/


13. CHI Running Incorporates Core To Enhance Performance:
Though your legs may be able to bring you to the start line, your core gets you
to the finish, according to the fundamentals of Chi running. Experts at today's
American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) Health & Fitness Summit &
Exposition discussed the physics and benefits of the technique.
Dixie Stanforth, M.S., and Karen Smith, M.A., say core activation is essential
for efficient movement, particularly distance running. Chi running is based on
the concept that a strong and stable core improves performance by allowing the
arms and legs to move freely while the spine/trunk provides stability.
"Core supported alignment, combined with forward lean, allows for the majority
of the rest of the body to remain tension free and relaxed," said Stanforth.
A strong and stable core is essential during all activities - whether
sport-related, such as running or basketball, or real life activities like
picking up groceries, say Stanforth and Smith. Having a strong and stable core
is the foundation for any functional movement pattern, and trainers need to be
mindful of alignment and technique during all activities.
More...from Medical News Today at:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/144198.php


14. Caffeine Reduces Pain During Exercise, Study Shows:
Stopping to smell the coffee – and enjoy a cup of it – before your morning
workout might do more than just get your juices flowing. It might keep you going
for reasons you haven't even considered.
As a former competitive cyclist, University of Illinois kinesiology and
community health professor Robert Motl routinely met his teammates at a coffee
shop to fuel up on caffeine prior to hitting the pavement on long-distance
training rides.
"The notion was that caffeine was helping us train harder … to push ourselves
a little harder," he said.
The cyclists didn't know why it helped, they just knew it was effective.
"I think intuitively a lot of people are taking caffeine before a workout and
they don't realize the actual benefit they're experiencing. That is, they're
experiencing less pain during the workout," Motl said.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330200831.htm


15. Digest Briefs:
*  Quick Tip
By Robert Kunz MS
Use all 5 Electrolytes
The primary electrolytes are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride.
Cells require a complex electrolyte balance between intracellular and
extracellular milieu which maintains a precise osmotic gradient. This osmotic
gradient is regulated by all 5 electrolytes and drives proper hydration. For
superior hydration and elimination of cramping, make sure to consume all 5
electrolytes.
*  This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Julius Rutto (KEN) won the Paris (FRA) Marathon in 2:08:10,
leading four others under
                2:09.  Paul Kipsambu (KEN) was next in 2:08:25 and Mwenze Kalombo
(COD) was 3rd in 2:08:40.
                Cristina Costea (ROM) won the women's race with a 2:26:10, well
ahead of Irina Timofeyeva
                (RUS) who finished at 2:27:46.  Mineko Yamanouchi (JPN) was 3rd
in 2:28:52.
20 Years Ago-  Marti tenKate (NED) won the City-Pier-City (NED) Half Marathon
with a 1:01:34.  Eddy
                Hellebuyck (BEL) was 2nd in 1:02:19 with Peter Daenens (BEL)
completing the top three
                in 1:03:02.  Nelly Aerts (BEL) won the women's race in 1:11:32,
followed by Susan Dilnot
                (ENG) in 1:12:51 and Barbara Kamp (NED) in 1:13:54.
30 Years Ago-  Bill Rodgers (USA) won the Perrier Cherry Blossom (DC/USA) 10M in
48:00.7.  John Flora
                (USA) and William Haviland (USA) rounded out the top three with
48:16 and 48:34
                respectively.  Aileen O'Connor (USA) won the women's race in
56:03 with Cathie Twomey
                (USA) and Jill Haworth (USA) clocking in at 58:28 and 58:49
respectively.
40 Years Ago-  Bill Adcocks (ENG) won the Athens (GRE) Marathon by more than two
minutes, finishing
                2:11:07.2.  Japanese star Kenji Kimihara was 2nd in 2:13:25.8
while Ismail Akcay (TUR)
                was 3rd in 2:15:07.6.  Mamo Wolde (ETH) was 4th in 2:15:17.2.
50 Years Ago-  Fred Norris (ENG) won the English (AAA) 10 mile track title in
48:32.4 over Basil Heatley
                (ENG) at 48:58.4.  Derek Ibbotson (ENG) was a notable dnf.
60 Years Ago-  Jesse vanZant (USA) won the Petaluma (CA/USA) Marathon in
2:58:45.
back.
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.



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

April 10, 2009:
Beirut Marathon - Beirut

April 11, 2009:
(Inaugural) Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon, Champaign-Urbana, IL,

Eisenhower Marathon - Abilene, KS

Half Marathon Unplugged - Burlington, VT

April 12, 2009:
Television
NBC - Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3
4:30 to 6:00 p.m. EDT

May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
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The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
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* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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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
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SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS: All of the revenue from our advertisers and affiliates
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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. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.com.

3. Road Runner Sports, the world's largest running store at:
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4. Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 27, 2009
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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/

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

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

NEW THIS WEEK:

Nike:
Offer: Enjoy Free Shipping on your purchase of $100 or more at Nikestore.com
Code: ELEVATE8
Dates: April 2, 2009 - April 8, 2009
Restrictions: Enter promo code ELEVATE8 at checkout. Not valid on NIKEiD or Gift
Cards (Gift Cards always ship free). For discount to apply the minimum
merchandise total must be $100.00 after any other discounts are taken and before
shipping, handling and taxes are added. Valid for standard ground shipping to
one destination only. Order usually arrives in 2-9 business days. Not
transferable and not redeemable for cash or for credit towards previous
purchases. Valid at NikeStore.com, Swoosh.com, or via telephone only. Offer
expires April 8, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000027600611&pubid=2100000000\
0028567

Finish Line has a huge selection of athletic shoes, running shoes, basketball
shoes, sneakers, sandals, and boots for men, women, and kids. Find incredible
savings at Finish Line in April!
Not only has Finish Line extended its offer for $10 off orders of $60 or more
until April 28th, but now customers can also get $20 off orders of $100 or more
with code APRIL20100. This promotion is only available to the affiliate channel
and expires on April 4th.
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000027534803&pubid=2100000000\
0028567

It's The Sports Bra Sale at ChampionUSA.com! All Bras are $19.99 and up! Valid
Through April 27th.
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=139837.10000200\
&type=3&subid=0

The book "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running
has Taught Me About Winning, Loving, Happiness,
Humility, and the Human Heart" is available FREE as a download from
MindsetTriathlon.com.
http://www.mindsettriathlon.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&it=1#previews

FRS Healthy Energy Drink - Free Trial
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1452277-10571944

Get Free Shipping with a Purchase of $60 or more from March 13th through March
15th. No promo code necessary! Hurry and get a chance
to save before this fantastic offer ends!
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=139837.10000196\
&type=3&subid=0

The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - June 20, 2009
http://www,emiliesrun.com

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

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 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:
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We have 2,497 subscribers as of publication time. Forward the Runner's Web
Digest to a friend and suggest that they subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RunnersWeb/join .

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 ONE personal posting this week.
ONE:
Runner Appeal: Get fit, have fun and help a great cause!
We are currently looking for people to take part in the 10K London Run on
Sunday 12th July 2009 as a sponsored challenge in aid of helping street
children in Brazil.
No entry fee, no experience needed, just your willingness to try your best
to complete the challenge and raise £250 for ABC Trust.
The race will begin at 9.30AM, and the course starts in Piccadilly Circus,
passes through London’s famous landmarks and finishes in Whitehall.
We have a team of 20 people and some places left, please come and join our
team, get fit and help change the lives of vulnerable children in Brazil!
To register or to find out more, please contact me directly: Fatima Luna:
0207 287 3818, mailto:fatima@...
www.abctrust.org.uk/challenges.html


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:


1. Study: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks
2. Fitness: Underwater trainers - do they work for you?
We put the latest fitness trends through their paces.
3. Study: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks
4. Optimal Running Speed Associated With Evolution Of Early Human Hunting
Strategies
5. Tired of the treadmill? Get out and play instead
6. Team Triabetes
7. Get in step with your fitness personality: expert
8. Forty years of aerobics
More than 40 years ago, Dr. Kenneth Cooper's book touted a new type of exercise.
9. Piloting a Distance Revolution
Rob Conner's Portland Pilots Get Faster by Running Slower.
10. This Week in Running
11. VO2max Newsletter
12. Heart Muscle Renewed Over Lifetime, Study Finds
13. Run Softly, Naturally
Can a Gait Makeover Improve Your Running?
14. Dr. Mirkin's Fitness & Health eZine
15. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Are you male or female and do you support women-only races?"


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:
Should there be an age restriction for the marathon?
Answers Percent
1.   No restriction  10%
2.   12+  10%
3.   14+  5%
4.   16+  15%
5.   18+  40%
6.   21+  20%



FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: All-Athletics.com
A new subscription-based athletics Web site has been launched:
www.all-athletics.com. The site intends to provide an "unprecedented variety of
facts, figures, news and other features" on athletics, according to a recent
release circulated to journalists covering the European Indoor Championships.
Here is a partial list of the features the site is offering:
. In depth Overall and Event-by-event World Rankings with searchable archive and
history
. Area, regional and national Rankings
. Athletes Profiles including the athletes'€™ Personal and Annual Bests,
past and current results, records, honours, participations at major
championships, their World Ranking positions and Ranking calculations, etc.
. Head-to-head statistics against other athletes
. Winning streaks of the selected athletes
. Score Calculator
. Competition Results
. World and Area Records
. World news, Competition previews and reports and other Featured articles
The site is a "Service Partner" of the Weltklasse Zurich, and its full content
is only available by subscription. Pricing varies from USD 5 per day and USD 21
per month to USD 99 for a full year.
Currently, the only other athletics website charging a fee for usage is the
statistics site, www.Tilastopaja.org, which charges 90 Euros (USD 113) for two
years or 55 Euros (USD 69) for one year.
(This review was written by Race Results Weekly)
Visit the website at:
http://www.all-athletics.com

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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Race Against Me: My Story
By Dwain Chambers
It is being billed as the book "they don't want you to read" and at its launch
in Soho, London last night, Dwain ­Chambers said he was braced for controversy.
'Race Against Me', due to be published on 9 March, is likely to upset some of
the most important and influential individuals in athletics.
"It's an opportunity to express my point of view," said Chambers. "It involves
some peoples' names being mentioned, not to upset them, but to set the record
straight. I'm just using it to voice my opinion. I am fully aware that I'm not
everybody's cup of tea but that's life and you can't please everybody."
The book is Chambers' side of the story since testing positive for THG in 2003,
his subsequent two year ban, his failed attempt to overturn a lifetime Olympic
ban in the high court and his opinion on his treatment by the sport's governing
bodies and leading individuals.
The title itself is provocative, with some suggesting it is a thinly veiled
accusation of racism. Asked if this was his intention Chambers replied: "If
you're a smart man you'll read between the lines. That's never been my point but
I understand how ­society works and it's something I'm accustomed to. I think
it's a fitting title."
Chambers, who is tipped to win gold at next month's European Indoor
­Championships in Turin, published and wrote the book on a shoestring budget.
He received no advance sum from the ­Spanish publishers Libros International.
"I'm using it to add a bit of balance to the story because so far it's been so
one sided and I haven't been able to get my point across," Chambers added. "It's
been very therapeutic to get everything off my chest."
Chambers, who is heavily in debt, insisted the book was not an attempt to earn a
quick buck. "I'm not doing it just to make money because I have no idea how well
the book's going to sell. Most importantly I just want to focus on Turin and
earn money on the track so I can pay off my debts and then see where it goes
from there."
From the Guardian
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905988753/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=book

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. Study: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks:
Warning to weekend warriors: Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the
risk of sudden death as marathons do, the first study of these competitions has
found.
The risk is mostly from heart problems during the swimming part. And while that
risk is low — about 15 out of a million participants — it's not
inconsequential, the study's author says.
Triathlons are soaring in popularity, especially as charity fundraisers. They
are drawing many people who are not used to such demanding exercise. Each year,
about 1,000 of these events are held and several hundred thousand Americans try
one.
"It's something someone just signs up to do," often without a medical checkup to
rule out heart problems, said Dr. Kevin Harris, a cardiologist at the
Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. "They might prepare
for a triathlon by swimming laps in their pool. That's a lot different than
swimming in a lake or a river."
He led the study and presented results Saturday at an American College of
Cardiology conference in Florida. The Minneapolis institute's foundation
sponsored the work and tracks athlete-related sudden deaths in a national
registry.
Marathon-related deaths made headlines in November 2007 when 28-year-old Ryan
Shay died while competing in New York in the men's marathon Olympic trials.
Statistics show that for every million participants in these 26.2-mile running
races, there will be four to eight deaths.
The rate for triathletes is far higher — 15 out of a million, the new study
shows. Almost all occurred during the swim portion, usually the first event.
"Anyone that jumps into freezing cold water knows the stress on the heart," said
Dr. Lori Mosca, preventive cardiology chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
and an American Heart Association spokeswoman. She had no role in the study but
has competed in more than 100 triathlons, including the granddaddy — Hawaii's
Ironman competition.
More...from AP at:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jac9_Ky-Kczqn-CYlQwwgOuZivPwD9\
775UKO0


2. Fitness: Underwater trainers - do they work for you?
We put the latest fitness trends through their paces.
What are they?
These are running shoes to wear in the swimming pool. Developed by Garry
Killgore, a professor in sports biomechanics in Oregon, they have
“hydro-dynamic fins” and six “drainage ports” to allow water to escape.
Who are they aimed at?
Physiotherapists have long recommended aqua (or deep water) running for injured
sports people, those with dicky knees and pregnant women. Water reduces pressure
on joints and tendons by up to 90 per cent. Because it is 800 times denser than
air and provides up to 12 times the resistance you get on land, you work harder
running in water than on land. Studies show that regular runners burn eight
calories a minute, and aqua-runners burn 11.5.
What's the idea?
Aqua-running is done in the deep end of a pool (you also need a flotation suit
or belt) and your feet don't actually touch the floor. The main benefit of these
trainers is to provide some resistance as you “jog”. They also have a
non-slip surface that makes them great for getting in and out of the pool.
Who uses them?
Elite athletes in their hordes, including the world 5,000 metres record-holder
Lornah Kiplagat, and the former winner of the London Marathon, Catherina
McKiernan from Ireland. Paula Radcliffe runs in water when she is injured, as
did Liz McColgan. And Jennifer Aniston stays in shape by aqua-running for 15
minutes every day.
Can I try it?
You can buy the AQX Aquatic Training shoes (from £49.99), zero gravity suits
and flotation belts from www.aqua-running.co.uk
Is it worth the money?
Yes, if you are going to use them regularly. Ignore the gawps from swimmers -
your waistline and knees will thank you for it.
From the Times Online at:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/diet_and_fitness/article\
5988771.ece


3. Study: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks:
Warning to weekend warriors: Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the
risk of sudden death as marathons do, the first study of these competitions has
found.
The risk is mostly from heart problems during the swimming part. And while that
risk is low — about 15 out of a million participants — it's not
inconsequential, the study's author says.
Triathlons are soaring in popularity, especially as charity fundraisers. They
are drawing many people who are not used to such demanding exercise. Each year,
about 1,000 of these events are held and several hundred thousand Americans try
one.
"It's something someone just signs up to do," often without a medical checkup to
rule out heart problems, said Dr. Kevin Harris, a cardiologist at the
Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. "They might prepare
for a triathlon by swimming laps in their pool. That's a lot different than
swimming in a lake or a river."
He led the study and presented results Saturday at an American College of
Cardiology conference in Florida. The Minneapolis institute's foundation
sponsored the work and tracks athlete-related sudden deaths in a national
registry.
Marathon-related deaths made headlines in November 2007 when 28-year-old Ryan
Shay died while competing in New York in the men's marathon Olympic trials.
Statistics show that for every million participants in these 26.2-mile running
races, there will be four to eight deaths.
The rate for triathletes is far higher — 15 out of a million, the new study
shows. Almost all occurred during the swim portion, usually the first event.
More...from USA Today at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-29-triathlon-heart_N.htm


4. Optimal Running Speed Associated With Evolution Of Early Human Hunting
Strategies:
  Runners, listen up: If your body is telling you that your pace feels a little
too fast or a little too slow, it may be right.
A new study, published online March 18 in the Journal of Human Evolution, shows
that the efficiency of human running varies with speed and that each individual
has an optimal pace at which he or she can cover the greatest distance with the
least effort.
The result debunks the long-standing view that running has the same metabolic
cost per unit of time no matter the speed — in other words, that the energy
needed to run a given distance is the same whether sprinting or jogging. Though
sprinting feels more demanding in the short term, the longer time and continued
exertion required to cover a set distance at a slower pace were thought to
balance out the difference in metabolic cost, says Karen Steudel, a zoology
professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
However, Steudel and Cara Wall-Scheffler of Seattle Pacific University have now
shown that the energetic demands of running change at different speeds. "What
that means is that there is an optimal speed that will get you there the
cheapest," metabolically speaking, Steudel says.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319142411.htm


5. Tired of the treadmill? Get out and play instead:
Tired of the same old exercise routine? Get out and play instead, suggests a
fitness expert who spoke at the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM)
Annual Health and Fitness Summit in Atlanta.
Play is "the perfect anecdote for when your exercise routine starts to feel like
more of a chore than an activity of enjoyment," health scientist from Bethesda,
Maryland, and ACSM faculty member Dr. Carol E. Torgan noted in a statement from
the meeting. It's good for the body, mind and soul.
"Think about activities you loved to do as a child and incorporate those into
your routine (and) include your family," Torgan added in comments to Reuters
Health.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52T6JI20090330


6. Team Triabetes - Denise Ricci of New Jersey, Sean McKendry of Denver and
Jerry Nairn of Phoenix. The three are accomplished marathoners,
ultramarathoners, cyclists, Ironman finishers and Type 1 diabetics. Each has a
compelling story of overcoming adversity of a life challenging disease while
using the latest medical technology to reach new athletic heights.
Denise, Sean and Jerry are all captains for unique training group called
Triabetes- an organization strictly for diabetic athletes looking to push
themselves that extra mile. In November, American Diabetes Month, the Triabetes
team will compete in the Ford Ironman in Arizona. For more about the Triabetes
team, check out http://www.triabetes.org/.
About Denise Ricci
Denise Ricci, an active 37 year-old Forked River, New Jersey resident, was
diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in high school after experiencing unexplainable
and unquenchable thirst following spring track practices.  A fit teenager and
avid runner, she vowed never to let diabetes stand in her way.  That mindset has
helped Denise achieve many personal goals—such as completing 15 marathons, two
ultramarathons, three Ironman events, and the hardest of all, a one-day 200-mile
bike event.
Being an RN since the age of 19, Denise recognizes that exercise is just one
part of the equation.  She manages her diabetes with a Medtronic Paradigm
insulin pump, which closely mimics a healthy pancreas by delivering insulin on
demand.  Denise calls the decision to use the pump “the best thing I’ve ever
done.”  Elated with the pump’s convenience and consistency, Denise boasts
that freedom from multiple daily injections, and better control of her blood
glucose levels, gives her ultimate peace-of-mind and allows her to live a normal
life.
Today, Denise is driven to go beyond “normal.”  She’s currently a 2009
team captain of Triabetes, a program that inspires and instructs diabetic
athletes as they train for triathlons (contests that feature a 112-mile bike
ride, a 2.4-mile swim, and a 26.2 mile run).  Denise and the Triabetes team will
compete in the Ironman Arizona this November and she’ll “warm-up” for the
race during her Iron Girl event in Las Vegas this May.
Denise thinks of herself as “just your typical Type 1 diabetic” -- a proud
mom, devoted wife, full-time night shift RN and accomplished athlete.  She’s
always sworn to live life to the fullest and demonstrate to people with diabetes
that their condition does not have to hold them back from doing anything.
About Sean McKendry
Sean McKendry, an active 36 year-old Denver resident, was diagnosed with Type 1
diabetes when he was 15.  After graduating from college, Sean moved to Colorado
to pursue a healthier lifestyle, having realized that exercise would play a
critical role in managing his diabetes.  He’s taken full advantage of his
active Colorado lifestyle – pursuing sports such as mountaineering,
snowshoeing, skiing and, more recently, cycling and triathlons.
Sean recognizes that exercise is just one part of the equation in staying
healthy.  Today, he manages his diabetes with a Medtronic Paradigm insulin pump,
which closely mimics a healthy pancreas by delivering insulin on demand.  Sean
credits a friend in convincing him to try the pump, and he’s glad he did. 
Elated with the pump’s convenience and flexibility, Sean boasts that freedom
from multiple daily injections, and better control of his blood glucose levels,
provides him with peace-of-mind and confidence in pursuing any dream.  It’s
this confidence that allowed him to travel through remote areas of Thailand and
Nepal without being limited by his diabetes.
Now a 2009 team captain of Triabetes – a program that inspires and instructs
diabetic athletes as they train for triathlons – Sean’s next adventures
include two half Ironman-distance triathlons this May, a cycling fundraiser with
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in August, and an Ironman with his
fellow Triabetic athletes in Arizona this November.
Sean calls his determination and drive “pretty normal” – he’s just
playing the cards he’s been dealt in the game of life and in the process,
hopes to show diabetics and non-diabetics alike that you can accomplish anything
that you set your mind to.
About Jerry Nairn
Jerry Nairn, an active 50-year-old Chandler, Arizona resident, was first
diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes his sophomore year of high school.  A fit
teenager and cross country athlete, Jerry vowed never to let diabetes stand in
his way.  Throughout the years, Jerry continued to stay active and completed his
first marathon in 1998.  Jerry is now a self-proclaimed “marathon maniac”
having participated in 48 marathons and 5 ultramarathons.
Jerry recognizes that exercise is just one part of the equation in staying
healthy. Today, he manages his diabetes with a Medtronic Paradigm insulin pump,
which closely mimics a healthy pancreas by delivering insulin on demand. Elated
with the pump’s convenience and flexibility, Jerry finds the pump a “huge
improvement” from multiple daily injections and says that it provides him with
the confidence to live a very active lifestyle.
These days, Jerry runs with a dual purpose to raise both awareness and funds for
diabetes. As a 2009 team captain of Triabetes – a program that inspires and
instructs diabetic athletes as they train for triathlons – Jerry’s next
adventures includes the Ironman Arizona with his fellow diabetic endurance
athletes, and the Avenue of the Giants Marathon – his 49th lifetime marathon
– this May.  With the support of his loving family, Jerry is living his life
to the fullest and demonstrating to people with diabetes that “you can do
anything you put your mind to.”
Visit the website at:
http://www.triabetes.org/.


7. Get in step with your fitness personality: expert:
Having trouble sticking to your exercise regimen? Maybe you're not doing the
right exercises for your "fitness personality," suggests Linda Shelton, a
fitness expert who spoke at this year's American College of Sports Medicine's
Health and Fitness Summit held last weekend in Atlanta.
"Everyone has a fitness personality; their own exercise needs," Shelton told
Reuters Health. Most people fail to stick with an exercise regimen, she said,
because they are not exercising according to their fitness personality.
In her work, Shelton has identified five distinct fitness personality types,
which she labels squares, rectangles, triangles, circles and squigglies -- each
has its own pitfalls.
Of the five personality types, "squares" are the most reliable, stable and
predictable exercisers. They thrive on routine. "Squares tend to develop rigid
schedules for themselves, so while they get to the gym, they don't see
progressive results because they hit plateaus," Shelton explained in a statement
from the meeting. "Instead, a square should try to take baby steps toward
sprinkling in new activities weekly that switch up their routines while still
giving them the familiarity of the old program."
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52U70B20090331


8. Forty years of aerobics:
More than 40 years ago, Dr. Kenneth Cooper's book touted a new type of exercise.
Today's gym goers can be found singing on their stationary bikes during Cycle
Karaoke, shaking their butts at Yoga Booty Ballet, sweating through a
high-energy yoga flow class and learning the dance moves to "Legally Blonde."
They're moving in different ways with different rhythms, but they're all trying
to get the heart rate up in an interesting, engaging way.
In short, they're doing aerobics.
released the book "Aerobics," the form of exercise hasn't died. It's just
morphed with the times, giving itself new names and shedding the leg warmers and
the headbands.
Cooper, then a young Air Force physician, invented the word "aerobics" for his
1968 book of the same name -- tacking an S onto the medical adjective "aerobic"
as a way to describe the new kind of exercise he was touting. In the book, he
defined aerobic exercises as those that "demand oxygen without producing an
intolerable oxygen debt, so that they can be sustained for a long period of
time."
He didn't particularly like the word, and he didn't want it to be the title of
his book. "The publisher thought we should call the book 'Aerobics.' I
disagreed," he said recently from his office at the Cooper Institute in Texas
where, at 77, he still sees patients, including former President George W. Bush.
" 'People can't pronounce it, they can't spell it, they won't remember it,' " he
recalled contending. "But look what has happened in the past 40 years."
More...from the LA Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-aerobics30-2009mar30,0,6263972.stor\
y


9. Piloting a Distance Revolution:
Rob Conner's Portland Pilots Get Faster by Running Slower.
Three years ago, David Kinsella and his freshman classmates at the University of
Portland began their collegiate careers by running among themselves so they
could gingerly adjust to collegiate training. One week in, longtime Portland
mentor Rob Conner let 'em loose to run with the varsity.
Their guide for their trial by fire was Michael Kilburg, a man who would explode
as a Pilot senior in 2008 after an otherwise undistinguished career to run a
school-record 28:20 for 10,000m. Kilburg proceeded to haul ass through the
Oregon forest at such a clip that Kinsella and crew remember not how far or fast
they went -- Kinsella is fairly certain it was 10 miles in 57 minutes -- only
that they had to hang on for dear life.
Welcome to college, fellas. "It was this attitude of just go out and blast it,"
says Kinsella, who quickly discovered that everyday runs like that were the
norm. He knew if he was to make it as a collegiate runner, he would have to
survive a training regimen that typically consisted of 60 to 80 miles a week,
blazing 6-mile tempo runs and intense sessions of repeat miles, and 60-minute
"recovery" day efforts routinely run at a 6-minute-per-mile clip. The Portland
training program, as then constituted, resembled what you'll find on many
campuses around the nation, and, like many others, its components developed
organically from within.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15744


10. This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Getenesh Wami (ETH), Merima Denboba (ETH), and Paula Radcliffe
(ENG) were the medalists
                in the women's 8K on the first day of the IAAF World Crosscountry
Championships (NIR).
                Benjamin Limo (KEN), Paul Kosgei (KEN), and Hailu Mekonnen (ETH)
were the men's short
                course medalists.  The next day's long course (12K) for men saw
Paul Tergat (KEN),
                Patrick Ivuti (KEN), and Paulo Guerra (POR) collecting the medals
while Jackline Maranga
                (KEN), Yamna Oubouhou-Belkacem (FRA), and Annemari Sandell (FIN)
were the medalists for
                the women's short course (4K).
20 Years Ago-  Peter Maher (CAN) won the 81st edition of the Around the Bay
(ON/CAN) 30K in 1:34:12,
                with a comfortable lead over Andrew Jones (CAN) in 2nd with
1:38:11.
                Dorothy Goertzen (CAN) won the women's race in 1:58:53.
30 Years Ago-  Joan Benoit-Samuelson (USA) was first woman at the Jacksonville
River Run (FL/USA) 15K
                in 51:47 while Jermy Odlin (ENG) was the first man in 46:03. 
Peter Squires (USA) and
                Malcolm East (ENG) followed Odlin with 46:25 and 46:30
respectively.
40 Years Ago-  Jay Dirksen (USA) won the National Junior AAU Championships
(IA/USA) Marathon in 2:24:36
                in very cold (6F = -14C) and windy weather.  Canadian Joe Skaja
was 3rd in 2:36:17
                and masters legend Alex Ratelle (USA) was 14th in 2:51:39.  Yours
truly finished his
                first marathon in 3:21:35, way back in 36th place.
50 Years Ago-  Gordon Dickson (CAN) won the Firestone War Veterans (CAN) 25K in
1:21:58 with Ron
                Wallingford (CAN) picking up 3rd place in 1:24:16.
60 Years Ago-  Alain Mimoun (FRA) won the World Crosscountry Champs (Dublin IRL)
14.5K by one second
                over Rafael Pujazon (FRA).  Bronze medalist Charles Cerou (FRA)
was another four seconds
                back.
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.

11. VO2max Newsletter:
*  Marathon Fatigue
Continuing with our discussion of fatigue, this month we examine the marathon.
Given the length of the marathon, there are some things that limit your
performance that don't play a major role in shorter races. The main difference
is that you run out of  carbohydrate, which is your muscles' preferred fuel. 
You have enough stored carbohydrate (glycogen) in your muscles to last slightly
more than two hours of sustained running at a moderate intensity.  Glycogen
depletion and the accompanying low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) coincide with
hitting the infamous wall.  Once you run out of glycogen and blood glucose, your
pace will slow down.
Other issues not encountered in shorter races that affect marathon performance
include dehydration, muscle fiber damage, hyperthermia, and psychological
fatigue.  When you sweat a lot, you become dehydrated, which causes a decrease
in the plasma volume of the blood, decreasing the heart's stroke volume and
cardiac output.  Oxygen flow to your
muscles is then compromised, and the pace slows.  The relentless pounding on the
pavement causes muscle fiber damage, which decreases muscle force production. 
Since your muscles produce heat when they contract, running for long periods of
time increases body temperature and the resulting hyperthermia decreases blood
flow to the active
muscles since more blood is directed to the skin to increase convective cooling.
Finally, running for so long can cause psychological or neural fatigue, the
latter of which is due to changes in the levels of brain neurotransmitters.
To combat fatigue in the marathon, you need to do high mileage, long runs, tempo
runs, and long intervals.  A high training volume improves many aspects of
aerobic metabolism, including the number of red blood cells, hemoglobin
concentration, muscle capillary and mitochondrial volumes, and aerobic enzymes,
together resulting in a greater oxygen-
carrying capability and greater ability to use the available oxygen.High mileage
also seems to improve running economy, the oxygen cost of maintaining a given
pace.
Long runs present a threat to the muscles' survival by depleting their storage
of fuel.  Given adequate ingested carbohydrates following the long run, our
bodies respond rather elegantly to the "empty tank" by synthesizing and storing
more glycogen, thus increasing endurance for future efforts.  However, molecular
evidence suggests that holding out
on the muscles by delaying the consumption of carbohydrates may be even more
beneficial.  By "starving" the muscles of carbohydrates, even more glycogen may
be synthesized when carbohydrates are finally consumed.  Low muscle glycogen
content has been shown to enhance the transcription of genes involved in protein
synthesis.  Long runs also help you combat the psychological and neural fatigue
by practicing to tolerate prolonged exertion.
Tempo runs improve your lactate threshold, the fastest speed you can sustain
aerobically and above which fatigue-inducing acidosis occurs. Increasing your
lactate threshold pace allows you to run faster before you fatigue because it
allows you to run faster before oxygen-independent metabolism begins to play a
significant role.  This is paramount for the marathon, which is basically a test
of how long you can sustain a hard aerobic pace.  The goal of marathon training
is to increase the pace at which your lactate threshold occurs and to increase
your ability to sustain as high of a fraction of your lactate threshold as
possible.  Try 3 to 4 miles, increasing to 7 to 8 miles, at lactate threshold
pace (about 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace or about 10K race
pace for recreational runners, and about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than
5K race pace or about 15 to 20 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace for
highly trained runners) or 5 x 1 mile at lactate threshold pace with 1 minute
rest.  If you're experienced with doing many long runs
and you want to give your marathon performance a boost, try inserting lactate
threshold-paced running into some medium-long runs (12 to 16 miles).  These
LT/LSD combo runs let you simulate the physiological and psychological fatigue
of the marathon without having to run as far.  They also severely lower muscle
glycogen, stimulating its synthesis and storage.
Long intervals (3 to 5 minutes) increase your heart's stroke volume and cardiac
output, sending more blood and oxygen to your muscles and increasing your
VO2max.  You should come close to reaching your maximum heart rate by the end of
each work period. High-intensity training (95 to 100% VO2max) is the optimal
stimulus for VO2max improvement. Try 5 x 1,000 meters or 7 x 800 meters at
VO2max speed (about 2-mile race pace for good runners) with equal (or slightly
less than equal) time as recovery.
Other things you can do to combat fatigue in the marathon are 1) ingest
carbohydrates during the race, 2) drink fluids with sodium, and 3) run long on
pavement.  That muscles prefer carbohydrates as a fuel is so fundamental to
exercise metabolism, even research examining supplementation with carbohydrate
during prolonged exercise has shown that fatigue can be delayed.  Begin
ingesting glucose about 30 minutes before you hit the wall so the glucose has
time to be absorbed into your blood where it can be used for energy.  Since your
sweat rate exceeds your ability to ingest fluid while running, dehydration is
difficult to prevent. However, since endurance performance declines with only a
2-3 percent loss of body weight due to fluid loss, it's important to minimize
its effects.  Since water goes wherever sodium goes, more water is conserved by
the kidneys when you ingest sodium with the water.  Finally, unless you're
planning on running a trail marathon, do all of your long training runs on
pavement to prepare for the muscle fiber damage you'll sustain in the race.
*  Strides
There are a number of lightning-fast steps that occur for muscles to contract
and produce force, all starting with the central nervous system, including the
transmission of a signal to a motor neuron, the release of a neurotransmitter
(acetylcholine) at the neuromuscular junction, the depolarization of the muscle,
the propagation of an action potential deep inside the muscle, the release of
calcium ions from the muscle's sarcoplasmic reticulum, the interaction between
contractile proteins (actin and myosin), and the hydrolysis of ATP for muscle
contraction.  To run fast, the central nervous system has to increase the number
of motor units recruited and increase the frequency of stimulation of the motor
units.  Thus, running fast is a strong stimulus for the central nervous system. 
While most of a distance runner's training is cardiovascular and metabolic in
nature, sometimes you have to focus on the neuromuscular aspect of performance.
Strides are one of the things you can do to focus on the neuromuscular aspect. 
Strides are 10- to 25-second (50 to 150 meters) controlled sprints.  The purpose
of strides is largely neuromuscular: to increase stride rate by recruiting
fast-twitch motor units (muscle fibers), which increases speed and, more
importantly, to increase stride length by increasing joint mobility (especially
at the hip) and increasing leg muscle power, causing a greater propulsive
thrust. The short bursts of speed also improve your coordination and running
form.
Strides, like other neuromuscular and technique work, should be performed at the
beginning of the training session (after a warm-up) or after an easy run, when
you're still fresh.  Strides for a distance runner are analogous to starting
block drills or plyometrics for a sprinter or hurdle drills for a hurdler.  It's
about making fast movements efficient.  Thus, doing strides after an interval
workout that causes a large amount of fatigue defeats the purpose of the
strides.  When you're fatigued, stride length naturally decreases.  Any
neuromuscular or power training requires greater recovery than endurance or
metabolic training; thus, you should take full recovery between strides.  Taking
only a few seconds of
recovery between strides introduces a metabolic demand.  Making strides too long
also introduces a metabolic demand, so strides should not be longer than about
25 seconds, otherwise you will start to cause acidosis.
When running strides, aim for a fast, smooth feeling.  Don't press to go
fast--they should not feel like intervals.  Rather, relax and focus on moving
your legs quickly through the running cycle to increase stride rate, and (more
importantly) extending your legs behind you from the hip to increase stride
length.  Take as much time as you need between each one to feel recovered.  Try
to do strides on the track; if you can't get to the track, find a flat stretch
of road or other firm footing.
Want to know more about organizing the components of your training program?  My
popular DVD--"Chasing Mercury, Battling Hercules: Getting Fitter and Stronger
with Periodization Training"--provides an overview of training theory, reviews
research findings, discusses the use of training cycles, and provides examples
of how to properly organize all of the components of training.  To order a DVD,
just go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise.
*  Coaching Consultations
Are you having trouble meeting your running and fitness goals?Do you coach other
runners and want to know how to improve theirperformances?  RunCoachJason.com
can help.  We offer the best consultations for runners, coaches, and personal
trainers.  If you want to improve your running performance, or you want the
opportunity to have your fitness and running questions answered immediately, you
can talk to Coach Jason live.  For a list of consultation topics and to book a
consultation with Coach Jason,
go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/consulting.
To view past newsletters go to: http://www.runcoachjason.com/newsletter
Copyright Jason Karp All Rights Reserved - http://www.runcoachjason.com

12. Heart Muscle Renewed Over Lifetime, Study Finds:
In a finding that may open new approaches to treating heart disease, Swedish
scientists have succeeded in measuring a highly controversial property of the
human heart — the rate at which its muscle cells are renewed during a
person’s lifetime.
The finding upturns what has long been conventional wisdom: that the heart
cannot produce new muscle cells and so people die with the same heart they were
born with.
About 1 percent of the heart muscle cells are replaced every year at age 25, and
that rate gradually falls to less than half a percent per year by age 75,
concludes a team of researchers led by Dr. Jonas Frisen of the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm. The upshot is that about half of the heart’s muscle
cells are exchanged in the course of a normal lifetime, the Swedish group
calculates. Their results are to be published Friday in the journal Science.
“I think this will be one of the most important papers in cardiovascular
medicine in years,” said Dr. Charles Murry, a heart researcher at the
University of Washington in Seattle. “It helps settle a longstanding
controversy about whether the human heart has any ability to regenerate
itself.”
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/science/03heart.html?_r=1&ref=health


13. Run Softly, Naturally:
Can a Gait Makeover Improve Your Running?
For years, running coaches and elite athletes have preached that good running
form is the key to efficient running and faster times.
Now the concept of running "naturally" and hitting the ground on your midfoot
instead of your heel is being advanced by university studies, biomechanists,
stride gurus and shoe companies as a highly efficient way to run and prevent
common running injuries.
Many longtime runners are hesitant to tweak their form, especially if they're
skeptical about falling for what they might consider a fad. But the basis of
natural form or midfoot running gaits has been around for decades, much of it
derived from the super-efficient form elite runners have been employing for
years.
"It's not new, it's just that most runners have either gone away from what they
used to do or they were never taught the proper way to run in the first place,"
says Malcolm Balk, a Montreal-based running coach, form guru and competitive
masters runner who teaches The Art of Running workshops in Canada and the United
Kingdom.
More...from Running Times at:
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15751


14. Dr. Mirkin's Fitness & Health eZine:
*  Study Finds Eating Red Meat Contributes to Risk of Early Death
A study of more than 500,000 Americans over 40 shows that those who consume the
equivalent of at least a hamburger a day have a 30 percent increased chance of
dying  during the next 10 years, mostly from heart disease and cancer. Cold
cuts, sausage and other processed meats also increased the risk (Archives of
Internal Medicine, March 2009).  This agrees with many other studies showing
that eating meat from mammals is associated with increased risk for heart
attacks, arthritis, and several types of cancer.  The study found that eating
fish, chicken, turkey and other poultry decreased the risk of premature death.
Most authorities still attribute the high mortality in meat eaters to the
saturated fats and cholesterol in meat.  This makes little sense since 1)
poultry is also a rich source of saturated fats and does not increase premature
death, cancer or heart attacks; 2) people who eat a diet rich is saturated fats
from palm, palm kernel and coconut oils are not at increased risk for premature
death; and 3) eggs and shell fish are extremely rich sources of cholesterol and
they are not associated with premature death.  I believe that the most likely
explanation for the increased risk for heart attacks and premature death in meat
eaters is inflammation from  the glycoprotein Neu5Gc; see
http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine110908.html
http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine111608.html
*  Piriformis Syndrome
If it hurts to touch a point that's in the middle of one side of your buttocks,
you probably have piriformis syndrome. This chronic condition is very difficult
to diagnose, because other injuries may produce exactly the same symptoms.
Similar pain may be the result of an injury to bones, muscles, tendons, bursae
(pads between the tendons and bones), the hip joint, or the sciatic nerve, but
there are ways to determine from which condition you might be suffering.
If you feel most pain when you land after hopping on one leg, you might have an
injured hip joint or a stress fracture in your pelvis or upper leg bones. An
x-ray will usually reveal a joint injury, but only a bone scan will reveal a
stress fracture.
If you feel pain in your buttocks, particularly when you touch your toes while
keeping your knees straight, you might have a tear in the large muscles or
tendons that run down the back of your hips.
If you feel pain when you touch a spot that's either on the lowest point of your
pelvis (the part that touches a chair when you sit) or at the top of your femur
(thigh), you might have injured your bursae (bursitis) or torn the tendons that
are attached to bones at these sites.
If your back hurts, particularly when you bend backwards, and the pain goes down
the back of your leg to below your knees, your sciatic nerve is probably being
pinched in your back.
Cause: The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It starts on the
lower part of your spine, [passes through a hole between the piriformis muscle
above it and several other muscles beneath it, and goes down the back of your
leg to below the knee. When you run, the piriformis muscle contracts and
squeezes the sciatic nerve underneath it. Repeatedly squeezing and relaxing the
piriformis muscle can damage the sciatic nerve and cause pain. This injury is
thought to be caused by an innate tightness of the piriformis muscle or a
structural abnormality in the path of the sciatic nerve. It can't be attributed
to a specific error in training.
Treatment: Priformis syndrome won't ease until you stop running. Don't run again
until you can run without feeling pain in your buttocks. If it hurts to touch,
it hasn't healed.
In most cases, pedaling a bicycle will also be painful. You probably shouldn't
do any exercise that causes you to bend at the hip while keeping your knees
straight, because this will stretch the sciatic nerve. You might be able to
swim, if it isn't painful. Medication doesn't usually alleviate the pain, and
even if it does, the pain will return as soon as you stop taking it.
Sometimes, the pain will disappear after a rest of a few days to several months;
frequently it does not. In this case your doctor will be able to make an
accurate diagnosis by injecting a mixture of xylocaine and corticosteroid drugs
directly into the piriformis muscle where it passes over the sciatic nerve. If
the pain disappears, you may resume running only after a few weeks, but remember
that this injury tends to recur. If you feel pain in that area, stop running
immediately, and don't attempt to run again until you can do so without pain.
*  Dear Dr. Mirkin: Is caffeine safe when I exercise in hot weather?
Just about everyone agrees that caffeine can help you exercise intensely longer,
but a major concern was that it could raise body temperature and increase
urination to harm
performance in the heat.  However, in one study doses of caffeine as high as 420
mg did not raise body temperature in the heat and did not impair hot-weather
performance because it is not a diuretic during exercise (Exercise and Sport
Sciences Reviews,  March 2009). That's four cups of coffee or eight soft drinks.
However, caffeine is a stimulant that can harm people with irregular heart
beats, blocked coronary arteries, high blood pressure, and other conditions that
you may not know you have.
When you compete in endurance events that last more than an hour, you go at the
fastest pace that allows enough oxygen to reach your muscles to prevent a large
build up of lactic
acid.  However, when your muscles start to run out of their stored sugar, you
burn more fat which requires more oxygen and you slow down for the same effort. 
So anything that preserves your muscle sugar during competition will give you
greater endurance.  Caffeine causes your muscles to burn more fat and therefore
preserve the stored muscles sugar, so it allows you to move very fast for a
longer period of time.  That's why the vast majority of cyclists in races such
as the Tour de France use caffeine.
*  Should You Drink Milk and Eat Dairy Products?
In this month's issue of the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition is a debate on whether milk causes cancer, heart attacks and a
shortened life span (March 25, 2009). Dr. Amy Lanou of the University of North
Carolina in Asheville, NC, writes that you don't need milk to be healthy. There
is little evidence that the calcium in milk prevents osteoporosis. Osteoporotic
bone fracture rates are highest in countries that consume the most dairy
products, and most studies of fracture risk provide no evidence that dairy
products benefit bone.  But Dr. Connie Weaver of Purdue University claims that
studies show that dairy products are associated with reduced risk of stroke,
metabolic syndrome, and some cancers.  She does admit that dairy products can
elevate blood levels of insulin-like growth factor (a cancer promoter), and that
the high calcium content of milk can reduce blood levels of active 1,25
dihydroxy vitamin D (a cancer preventer).
The issue is far from settled. Extensive theoretical evidence shows that whole
milk dairy products are full of saturated fat and cholesterol that may increase
risk for heart attacks.  We do not know if dairy products really increase cancer
risk.
Professor Ajit Varki, of U Cal/San Diego, proposes a theory to explain why
eating meat, which contains Neu5Gc, increases risk for cancers, heart attacks
and arthritis. If his theory is correct, dairy products should also be linked to
these diseases because milk also contains Neu5Gc, although in much smaller
amounts (meat has seven times more Neu5Gc than dairy products).  More on this at
http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine110908.html
http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine111608.html
http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine111608.html
From Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine at:
http://www.drmirkin.com


15. Digest Briefs:
*  Vitamin D Pills May Prevent Fractures in Older Adults
Vitamin D supplements may help prevent fractures in people over 65, provided
they take enough of the right kind. A new review of clinical trials appears to
show a strong dose-dependent effect for vitamin D in lowering the risk for
nonvertebral fractures in the elderly.
The lead author of the analysis, Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, a professor of
medicine at the University of Zurich, said that “vitamin D in a high enough
dose is not only beneficial in the frail older population, but it also works in
those still living at home and able to take care of themselves.”
The researchers, writing in the March 23 issue of The Archives of Internal
Medicine, reviewed 12 randomized trials that together included more than 65,000
subjects. Doses under 400 international units a day had no discernible effect,
but for doses larger than that, the pooled data showed a 20 percent reduction in
the risk for all nonvertebral fractures, and an 18 percent reduction for broken
hips.
The type of vitamin D made a difference. The effect of vitamin D3 was
significant, with a 23 percent risk reduction, but there was no significant
reduction with vitamin D2. The authors suggest that D3 is more effective in
maintaining blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the active form that the
supplement takes in the body.
*  Sleep for Optimal Recovery
By Jason Gootman, USAT Certified Coach
Sleep is a critical aspect of health and one of the most important aspect of
recovery from your workouts. Aim for as much sleep as you can get. Six hours is
the minimum effective amount of sleep for an endurance athlete in heavy
training. Eight to nine hours is ideal for most athletes.
Jason Gootman, MS, CSCS, is the co-director of Tri-Hard Endurance Sports
Coaching, a USA Triathlon Certified Coach and a Certified Strength and
Conditioning Specialist. Visit his website at www.tri-hard.com.
*  More Energy for Your Workouts .
Focus on combining a good source of lean protein, healthy fat and
fruits/vegetables together for your meals and snacks.
Whole grains should be used sparingly right now if you are in your prep/base
season, especially if you have weight or body fat loss goals. Eating foods such
as chicken, fish, yogurt, beans, nuts, tofu, cottage cheese, fruit and
vegetables will stabilize your blood sugar nicely, minimize emotional eating
cravings, prevent the afternoon energy "crash" and keep you fuller longer.
Try this almost every time you eat and you will be on the road to having more
energy for exercise!
Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS is a sport dietitian and elite triathlon coach.
He traveled to the 2008 Summer Olympics as the U.S. Olympic Committee Sport
Dietitian and the personal Sport Dietitian for the 2008 Olympic Triathlon Team.
He is also Sarah Haskins' personal coach and was a performance team member
(sport dietitian and strength coach) for Susan Williams, 2004 Olympic Triathlon
bronze medalist.
Bob's book, Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes: Taking Sports
Nutrition to the Next Level will provide triathletes of all levels education on
how to structure their nutrition program based on their exercise program. For
more information, visit www.fuel4mance.com or contact Bob at
coachbob@...


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

April 4, 2009:
Challenge Obesity 5K - St. Paul, MN

Harry's Spring Run-Off - Toronto, ON

Run with the Wolves 5K - Minneapolis, MN

Santa Anita Derby Day 5K - Arcadia, CA

April 5, 2009:
Big D Texas Marathon - Dallas, TX

Carlsbad 5000 - Carlsbad, CA
Home of the 5K World Records - 13:00 & 14:46

Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run - Washington, DC

Fortis Rotterdam Marathon - Netherlands

Ironman Australia - Port Macquarie, Australia

Paris Marathon - Paris, France

May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON

June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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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YOUR FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS:
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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
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

Puma
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Check out TotalWellness's mp3 Personal Training Program - only 5% the Cost of
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Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
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SportsShoes in the UK
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
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If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
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The Stretching Handbook:
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The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

NEW SUBSCRIBERS:
This newsletter has been composed using Outlook set to "Text" format. The Digest
is sent via an email list at
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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.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.
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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/

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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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.

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:

It's The Sports Bra Sale at ChampionUSA.com! All Bras are $19.99 and up! Valid
Through April 27th.
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=139837.10000200\
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The book "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running
has Taught Me About Winning, Loving, Happiness,
Humility, and the Human Heart" is available FREE as a download from
MindsetTriathlon.com.
http://www.mindsettriathlon.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&it=1#previews

FRS Healthy Energy Drink - Free Trial
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1452277-10571944

Get Free Shipping with a Purchase of $60 or more from March 13th through March
15th. No promo code necessary! Hurry and get a chance
to save before this fantastic offer ends!
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The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - June 20, 2009
http://www,emiliesrun.com

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

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 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:
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We have 2,491 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. Iron to Gold
Low iron levels can affect your running performance. Here are some strategies to
help you get enough iron in your diet.
2. It’s Time to Make a Coffee Run
Caffeine is one of the few performance enhancers that are not banned by the
World Anti-Doping Agency, and studies have proved that it does work in athletes'
favor.
3. Sifting Through the Sugars – The good, the bad, and the ugly
4. Moderate drinking may help build bone density
5. Race Day Nutrition
6. Turning to the Pros
Whether you are a ten-time marathoner or just looking to get into running for
the first time, finding a coach can offer up some great benefits.
7. Fuelling for the Long Run
8. Red meat raises risk of all kinds of death: study
9. What Seneca Would Say about Marathon Frustrations
10. Gains From Exercise After Heart Attack Are Lost if Exercise Stops
11. Developing Your Junior Athlete
12. Body and The Machine
13. Sportsmedicine: Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Discover the causes behind Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome plus the correct treatment and
prevention strategies
14. Rub You The Right Way: Massage for Runners
Do you know how to unwind? iRun answers your most pressing questions about how
to loosen up.
15. Digest Briefs

RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"Should there be an age restriction for the marathon?"
No restriction
12+
14+
16+
18+
21+

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:
"What is you all-time personal best marathon time?"
What is you all-time personal best marathon time?
Answers Percent
1.   Never run one  13%
2.   Sub 2:20  7%
3.   2:20 to 2:30  0%
4.   2:30 to 2:40  0%
5.   2:40 to 2:50  20%
6.   2:50 to 3:00  27%
7.   3:00 to 3:20  13%
8.   3:20 to 3:40  0%
9.   3:40 to 4:00  7%
10.   4:00 Plus  13%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: All-Athletics.com
A new subscription-based athletics Web site has been launched:
www.all-athletics.com. The site intends to provide an "unprecedented variety of
facts, figures, news and other features" on athletics, according to a recent
release circulated to journalists covering the European Indoor Championships.
Here is a partial list of the features the site is offering:
. In depth Overall and Event-by-event World Rankings with searchable archive and
history
. Area, regional and national Rankings
. Athletes Profiles including the athletes'€™ Personal and Annual Bests,
past and current results, records, honours, participations at major
championships, their World Ranking positions and Ranking calculations, etc.
. Head-to-head statistics against other athletes
. Winning streaks of the selected athletes
. Score Calculator
. Competition Results
. World and Area Records
. World news, Competition previews and reports and other Featured articles
The site is a "Service Partner" of the Weltklasse Zurich, and its full content
is only available by subscription. Pricing varies from USD 5 per day and USD 21
per month to USD 99 for a full year.
Currently, the only other athletics website charging a fee for usage is the
statistics site, www.Tilastopaja.org, which charges 90 Euros (USD 113) for two
years or 55 Euros (USD 69) for one year.
(This review was written by Race Results Weekly)
Visit the website at:
http://www.all-athletics.com


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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Race Against Me: My Story
By Dwain Chambers
It is being billed as the book "they don't want you to read" and at its launch
in Soho, London last night, Dwain ­Chambers said he was braced for controversy.
'Race Against Me', due to be published on 9 March, is likely to upset some of
the most important and influential individuals in athletics.
"It's an opportunity to express my point of view," said Chambers. "It involves
some peoples' names being mentioned, not to upset them, but to set the record
straight. I'm just using it to voice my opinion. I am fully aware that I'm not
everybody's cup of tea but that's life and you can't please everybody."
The book is Chambers' side of the story since testing positive for THG in 2003,
his subsequent two year ban, his failed attempt to overturn a lifetime Olympic
ban in the high court and his opinion on his treatment by the sport's governing
bodies and leading individuals.
The title itself is provocative, with some suggesting it is a thinly veiled
accusation of racism. Asked if this was his intention Chambers replied: "If
you're a smart man you'll read between the lines. That's never been my point but
I understand how ­society works and it's something I'm accustomed to. I think
it's a fitting title."
Chambers, who is tipped to win gold at next month's European Indoor
­Championships in Turin, published and wrote the book on a shoestring budget.
He received no advance sum from the ­Spanish publishers Libros International.
"I'm using it to add a bit of balance to the story because so far it's been so
one sided and I haven't been able to get my point across," Chambers added. "It's
been very therapeutic to get everything off my chest."
Chambers, who is heavily in debt, insisted the book was not an attempt to earn a
quick buck. "I'm not doing it just to make money because I have no idea how well
the book's going to sell. Most importantly I just want to focus on Turin and
earn money on the track so I can pay off my debts and then see where it goes
from there."
From the Guardian
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905988753/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=book

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. Iron to Gold:
Low iron levels can affect your running performance. Here are some strategies to
help you get enough iron in your diet.
Six weeks before the 1984 Canadian Olympic marathon trials, Silvia Ruegger
stepped out the door for a crucial 35K training run. Right from the start, her
legs felt heavy and her energy levels were low, and after five miserable
kilometres, the habitually determined and resilient athlete turned around and
walked home. At her doctor’s office the next day, she got an explanation: her
body’s iron stores were depleted. Ruegger’s experience was not unusual:
runners tend to lose more iron through the heavy sweating, repetitive
foot-pounding that ruptures blood cells, and gastrointestinal bleeding that can
accompany competition and heavy training loads. And the risk of low iron for
pre-menopausal female runners is compounded by the monthly blood loss of
menstruation.
Low iron is a problem because we need it for the production of hemoglobin in our
red blood cells, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the working muscles. If
your muscles aren’t getting enough oxygen, it’s much harder to run. Sounds
fairly straightforward – but iron levels are a little more complicated for
runners than they are for the rest of the population. Most doctors test for
“iron deficiency anemia” by measuring your hemoglobin levels. If they’re
low, your iron stores are gone. Running performance, however, can suffer even if
you just have “iron depletion,” in which your hemoglobin levels are still
normal even though your iron stores are depleted. The best way to test for iron
depletion is to have a doctor measure your “serum ferritin,” which is an
index of iron stores in the body – but you may have to specifically ask your
doctor to include that test in any blood work.
More...from Canadian Running at:
http://runningmagazine.ca/2009/01/sections/health-nutrition/iron-to-gold/


2. It’s Time to Make a Coffee Run;
Caffeine is one of the few performance enhancers that are not banned by the
World Anti-Doping Agency, and studies have proved that it does work in athletes'
favor.
WELDON JOHNSON first tried caffeine as a performance enhancer in 1998. He was
not a coffee drinker but had heard that caffeine could make him run faster. So
he went to a convenience store before a race and drank a cup of coffee.
For the first time in his life, he ran 10 kilometers in less than 30 minutes.
“I remember being really wired before the race,” he said in an e-mail
message. “My body was shaking.”
From then on, he was a convert.
Mr. Johnson, a founder of LetsRun.com, would avoid caffeine, even in soft
drinks, for a few weeks before he competed in a race, wanting to have the full
stimulant effect.
“It may have been a huge placebo effect, but I swore by it,” Mr. Johnson
said. “Having a cup of coffee exactly one hour before the race was part of my
routine.”
Or maybe it was not a placebo effect.
Caffeine, it turns out, actually works. And it is legal, one of the few
performance enhancers that is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
So even as sports stars from baseball players to cyclists to sprinters are
pilloried for using performance enhancing drugs, one of the best studied
performance enhancers is fine for them or anyone else to use. And it is right
there in a cup of coffee or a can of soda.
Exercise physiologists have studied caffeine’s effects in nearly every
iteration: Does it help sprinters? Marathon runners? Cyclists? Rowers? Swimmers?
Athletes whose sports involve stopping and starting like tennis players? The
answers are yes and yes and yes and yes.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/health/nutrition/26best.html?ref=nutrition


3. Sifting Through the Sugars – The good, the bad, and the ugly:
By Monique Ryan, MS, RD
America clearly is in the midst of a long love affair with refined
carbohydrates, particularly in the form of added sugars. In the typical American
diet,  20-perent of our total carbohydrate intake and 10-percent of our total
calorie intake comes from the pervasive sugar additive corn syrup. Added sugar
consumption is currently estimated at well over 150 pounds per person each year.
How does sugar fit into the diet of a triathlete that consumes a healthy diet
geared to both optimal performance and good health, but who may enjoy a sweet
taste now and then?
Sifting through the sugars
Triathletes appreciate that carbohydrate, refined or not, provides fuel for
their muscles, brain, and nervous system during exercise. Adequate amounts of
carbohydrate in your daily diet impacts your recovery by replacing your body’s
carbohydrate fuel stores from one training session to the next.  Sugars are one
simple form of carbohydrate found in both healthy nutrient filled foods, but
also in processed foods with very little nutritional value. Smart triathletes
choose not only the proper quantity of fuel, but quality fuel as well.
When we refer to “sugar” we commonly think of the white stuff that may
sweeten your morning coffee, but this term refers to simple carbohydrates
composed of single and double carbohydrate molecules. Glucose, fructose, and
galactose are monosaccharides or single carbohydrate molecules that are the
building blocks for carbohydrates found in our diet. Disaccharides are composed
of two sugar molecules and include sucrose (table sugar), which is a combination
of glucose and fructose, and lactose (milk sugar), which a combination of
glucose and lactose. Corn syrup is a combination of glucose and fructose, and a
processed sugar frequently listed on food labels.
Too put “sugars” in the context of the general term carbohydrate, complex
carbohydrate are simply long chains of glucose molecules. Added sugar is simply
sugars added to food such as sweeteners. Naturally occurring sugar is found in
foods and not added in processing, preparation, or at the table. To make
choosing the right sugars simple- when classifying sugars as good or bad,
nutrients provided with these sugar containing foods should be your primary
consideration.
More...from USA Triathlon at:
http://usatriathlon.org/content/index/5092


4. Moderate drinking may help build bone density
People who enjoy a glass or two of wine or beer every day could be helping to
keep their bones strong, new research published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition suggests.
However, drinking more -- and choosing hard liquor instead of wine or beer --
may actually weaken bones, Dr. Katherine Tucker of Tufts University in Boston
and her colleagues found.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Tucker agreed that keeping track of the
health benefits and risks of alcohol is tough these days. "It is very confusing
for people because alcohol has such diverse effects on different things," she
said; for example, while drinking may prevent heart disease, it increases breast
cancer risk.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52J2VX20090320


5. Race Day Nutrition:
We say it time and again at The Endurance Lab, an athlete's success on race day
comes down to four things:
A) fitness
B) pacing
C) nutrition
D) mind set
Your fitness is already determined long before race day. It's the other three
factors that often go neglected. Too many of us train, train, and train and thus
get terrifically fit. But we neglect paying much attention to the crucial
factors of pacing, nutrition, and mind set.
The longer the event being contested, the more important these factors become.
Particularly race day nutrition. Have you ever had disappointing race results
due to an upset stomach? Gas? Cramping? Bloating? Nausea? Bonking? Heat stress?
You surely have, as has near every endurance athlete at one time or another.
Use the next few months to develop and fine tune your race day nutritional plan.
Be it for a half marathon, Olympic triathlon…or the grand events of the
marathon and Ironman…race day nutrition is vitally important to your success.
In fact, any event of about an hour or longer requires careful attention to race
day nutrition for optimal success.
In determining your nutritional plan, you should address three variables:
~ calories: how many calories should you consume for your given event?
~ hydration: how much fluid should you consume for your given event?
~ electrolytes: what amount of electrolytes need you consume for your given
event?
Given how relatively easy it is to develop a race day nutritional plan, everyone
should do it! It's far easier and less time consuming to develop a nutritional
plan for race day than it is to build your fitness over the months and years for
the same event!
Get your nutrition right, and you'll race well.
About The Endurance Lab
The Endurance Lab is an endurance coaching, consulting, training, and testing
facility which helps adult athletes of any ability achieve their
endurance-related athletic goals. We work with triathletes, cyclists, runners,
and swimmers. We provide expertise, practical experience, and a deep level of
caring for our athletes throughout their endurance journey.
From the Endurance Lab at: www.EnduranceLab.ca


6. Turning to the Pros:
Whether you are a ten-time marathoner or just looking to get into running for
the first time, finding a coach can offer up some great benefits.
For many of us, getting an unsolicited email promising to help us “go
harder” or “perform longer” warrants an immediate click of the delete key.
But for ten-time marathoner Stefan Steen, these are the messages he eagerly
awaits – albeit with a very different connotation. Six years after completing
his first marathon clinic, his renewed quest for a 3:15 Boston qualifier has him
seeking the guidance of Ontario-based Marathon Dynamics. For $30 per week, Steen
receives a training schedule personalized to his initial conditioning and race
aspirations, weekly coached group runs, monthly analysis of his progress and
access to private online discussion groups. By the time he crosses the start
line at the Mississauga Marathon in May, he will have spent nearly $500 on the
program. “If it gets me to Boston, I’ll say it was worth it,” says Steen.
Running is somewhat unique in that it frequently gives participants quantifiable
feedback – times, distances, heart rates – and promotes constant
self-improvement. As running crowds continue to swell, more and more people are
seeking professional help. Whether you’re a ten-time marathoner like Steen or
just looking to get into running for the first time, finding a coach can offer
up some great benefits. Read on to find out what the perks include, as well as
what type of coaching is best suited for you.
More...from iRun at:
http://www.irunnation.com/issues/article.php?id=140&intIssueID=8


7. Fuelling for the Long Run:
It seems simple-the further you go, the more fuel you use. But running a
half-marathon is drastically different than running an ultramarathon. You might
think you’re delirious seeing potatoes, nuts or doughnuts on the ultra
racecourse, but they’re there for a good reason. Before you tack another 10K
onto your longest run, consider what food is going to get you there.
Calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat are your body’s fuel. You get
four calories from one gram of carbohydrate or protein and you get nine calories
from a gram of fat. Because they’re burned quickly and efficiently with or
without oxygen, carbohydrates are your body’s preferred fuel source for
exercise. The exact amount of carbs you burn per workout depends on your
fitness, intensity and energy efficiency. If you’re new to running, you’re
going to use two baked potatoes to every one that a trained athlete uses for the
same distance and intensity. But a top marathoner like Paula Radcliffe is going
to need more macaroni than a jogger for the same route because her intensity is
higher.
More...from Canadian Running at:
http://runningmagazine.ca/2009/03/sections/health-nutrition/fuelling-for-the-lon\
g-run/


8. Red meat raises risk of all kinds of death: study:
People who eat the most red meat and the most processed meat have the highest
overall risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, U.S.
researchers reported on Monday.
The National Cancer Institute study is one of the largest to look at the highly
controversial and emotive issue of whether eating meat is indeed bad for health.
Rashmi Sinha and colleagues looked at the records of more than 500,000 people
aged 50 to 71 who filled out questionnaires on their diet and other health
habits.
Even when other factors were accounted for -- eating fresh fruits and
vegetables, smoking, exercise, obesity -- the heaviest meat-eaters were more
likely to die over the next 10 years than the people who ate the least amount of
meat.
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52M6UR20090324


9. What Seneca Would Say about Marathon Frustrations:
Running a marathon can be an extremely frustrating experience. Frustration
occurs during this great race when there is a gap between actual performance on
race day and expected performance.
One “solution” could be to eliminate expectations and simply focus on the
actual effort during the race. A key problem with this is that expectations can
be great motivators during pre-marathon training. In addition, having a goal
pace for the marathon (an expectation) improves the quality of pre-race
training, because portions of long runs can be carried out at goal tempo (thus
enhancing goal-tempo economy and fatigue-resistance, not to mention confidence
with one’s goal).
If frustration is permitted to mount on race day (because race pace is slower
than expected), it usually hurts performance severely. As my friend Angelos
Vetsis points out, frustration produces stress and a loss of focus and mental
control. One feels a bit disgraced out on the course, and a feeling that
pre-marathon training has been a waste of time is allowed to burgeon. The
overall race performance becomes much worse than it should be – finishing time
moves even farther away from the goal.
So frustration should be handled successfully during races which do not meet
expectations, but what is the key to such success? Part of the answer may come
from the Stoics of ancient Greece.
One of the key tenets of the stoic philosophy was that one should not worry
excessively about situations over which one has no control. What might Stoicism
mean – from a practical standpoint – in a race? In the case of a marathon,
expected pace might be 4:00 per K, but actual pace could turn out to be 4:20 per
K, as an example. The runner hitting the 4:20 Ks feels that nothing can be done
– it is simply impossible to ramp up to 4:00 per K, for whatever reasons. The
legs simply won’t go any faster.
Frustration over this 4:00 to 4:20 gap can completely ruin the rest of the race.
Seneca, a founding Stoic (not the noted American-Indian chief, although he might
have similar thoughts), would say that one should completely forget about the
20-second gap, since nothing can be done about it. All attempts to close the gap
have failed. Thus, the task remaining in the race is to maintain the 4:20 pace
without letting frustration tear it apart. Accomplishing this “maintenance
job” would be a major victory on a very tough day. It would be easy to let the
whole race come crashing down into dejected plodding and mental self-abuse, out
of frustration associated with not hitting what appeared to be an achievable
goal. In this common situation, frustration is dealt with and a crash is avoided
through stoic thinking, an adjustment of goals, and within-race focus on the new
goal.
The Stoics also believed that one should focus more intently on constructive
actions rather than thoughts (especially repetitively negative cogitations).
Putting this belief into practice, a frustrated runner would “cancel”
negative thoughts about performance during the race and would consciously refuse
to dwell on the gap between goal and reality. Such a thought (about the
inability to sustain goal speed) could occur once and only once, and then the
runner would move on with actions, employing all the strategies needed to keep
on running in a quality way (such strategies are covered in our marathon blog).
Part of the answer, too, may lie in the realization that every day is different
from a performance standpoint, and every day has its own specific, top level of
possible performance (which is different from the tops on other days). As a
mature runner, one can realize that a certain day, perhaps even race day, simply
can not be a day for best-possible performance, for a variety of different
physiological and psychological reasons. When a race goes bad, one can thus
proceed in different directions: (1) Beating oneself up for not reaching the
goal and letting frustration mount, with all of its negative consequences, or
(2) Deciding that one is going to perform at one’s best on that day, even
though it is not a goal performance. The accomplishment of the latter can
actually be quite heroic and satisfying. On a day when a goal can’t be
reached, there is no mental elation associated with flying along at one’s very
top capacity, and thus the effort can be very hard psychologically. The race
then becomes a matter of toughness, self-control, gutting it out, and employing
Stoic philosophy. On a bad day, succeeding in this way is even more difficult
than achieving one’s goal on a perfect day – and thus it can be even more
satisfying. As the Stoics often pointed out, you should strive to locate
happiness in things you can control.
Dealing with frustrating aspects of training and racing – and much more –
will be fully developed at my running camps this summer. Three camps are
available for you – June 20-25 in Vermont, July 4-9 at the University of
Oregon, and July 18-23 in Los Angeles (at beautiful Loyola Marymount
University). Attending one of these camps will make you fitter, faster, and more
injury free. I’ll personally help you develop a training program which is just
right for you. To sign up and work with me on making your running better than it
has ever been before, please go to http://www.educatedrunner.com/Camps.aspx
I also have a special offer running from now until April 1 (no fooling). The
offer is one month of personal coaching for $19.99, no strings attached. You
don’t have to provide a credit card – just information about yourself and
your running goals. After the month, you can continue to work with me at my
usual rate or simply say “No – it’s not what I expected,” with no hard
feelings at all, and of course no pressure at any time. To begin your month of
training at the astonishing rate of just 67 cents per day, please go to
http://www.educatedrunner.com/Coaching.aspx


10. Gains From Exercise After Heart Attack Are Lost if Exercise Stops:
Some important benefits of exercising after a heart attack can vanish in weeks
if the exercise is stopped, a new study has found.
The researchers tested F.M.D. — flow-mediated dilation, a measure of the
flexibility of an artery as blood flows through it — in 228 heart attack
survivors. Their arteries averaged about 4.2 percent expansion, compared with
the 10 percent considered normal in healthy people.
Then the scientists divided patients into four groups to undergo resistance
training, aerobic exercise, both together, or no exercise program at all.
Finally, the exercisers “detrained,” remaining idle for four weeks.
The study, published in the March 16 issue of the journal Circulation, found
that the dilation had increased to 5.3 percent in the people who had not
exercised, but to an average of more than 10 percent in the training groups.
After four weeks of detraining, dilation returned to almost exactly the initial
levels in all three exercise groups.
More...from the NY Times at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/health/24prev.html?_r=1&ref=nutrition


11. Developing Your Junior Athlete:
Great parents do not necessarily make great coaches for their children. Coaching
requires a certain level of objectivity, even detachment, that a parent will
generally not possess when it comes to their child. It is very important to
provide a level of training and teaching that is commensurate with the junior
athlete’s age, experience, and interest.
Children simply do not need highly structured coaching at an early age; they
mainly need to have fun and to learn. For this reason, we will not design a
structured training plan for a child under the age of 14, and even in the 14-16
age range we select athletes for our junior program on a case by case basis. We
will offer coaching for skill sets, technique, safety, and mentoring under the
age of 14, but defer structured programs to those offered by schools or team
sports (such as the neighborhood swim team). It is vital to recognize that a
child’s main motivation at a young age is to HAVE FUN. Although dad may be
setting Ironman PRs, children simply do not have the internal drive, focus, or
ambition that adults possess. Do not impose these ambitions on your child, or
they may find that the pressure becomes too great and desire to participate is
lost. Let your child explore different avenues in sport and come to their own
decision as to what piques their interest.
Children should not be “training;” rather, they should be spending quality
time with mom and dad. Avoid prescribing specific performance markers at a very
early age (i.e. we must run 2 miles today) that may make this time drudgery.
Keep the swim, bike, and runs unstructured and enjoyable. As they get older you
can set reasonable goals and praise them for attaining them. Always keep
feedback positive and the praise unconditional. When they do participate in an
event, do not place too much emphasis on placement or prizes. There will be
plenty of time for that as they get older.
More...from the Sport Factory at:
http://thesportfactory.com/site/trainingnews/Developing_Your_Junior_Athlete.shtm\
l


12. Body and The Machine:
Aerodynamic bikes and aero products are definitely “hot” on the market right
now. Every triathlete or cycling are always looking for a easy way to faster. It
is certainly possible to gain “free” speed with the use of such equipment:
to go faster for no increase in effort or fitness.
However, improvements in the aerodynamics of the machine must be viewed within
the contest of the bike and rider combination. Here is a simple exercise to
illustrate the point: Stand in front of a mirror with your bicycle, which is
larger, your bike or your body? Clearly, the frontal area of your body is much
larger than that your bike. This simple observation is important to cycling
because aerodynamic drag is a function of frontal area. Consequently, your body
is much more of a determinant of your aerodynamic drag than your bicycle is.
Even though your body has a large frontal area, the frontal area you present
during cycling can be modified by changing your body position. Another simple
exercise will illustrate how dramatic those changes can be: Set your bicycle
upon a trainer in front of a mirror and observe your frontal area with your
hands on the top of the handlebars, the brake hoods, and the drops, and with
your elbow on the aerobars. You will observe a dramatic range in frontal area as
you change from one position to the next. Indeed, within each if those hand
positions, you can substantially affect your frontal area by flexing or
extending your arms. Each of those observed changes will significantly alter
your cycling velocity.
More...from TriFuel.com at:
http://www.trifuel.com/training/bike/body-and-the-machine


13. Sportsmedicine: Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome:
Discover the causes behind Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome plus the correct treatment and
prevention strategies.
The foot is subjected to forces hundreds of times the bodyweight, thousands of
times in a day. The ankle is a complex structure that makes weight bearing
possible. It allows the foot to flex and extend and absorb the shock of the
compressive forces when walking, running and jumping. The ligaments, tendons,
nerves and blood vessels travel over and through the ankle joint to the foot.
The posterior tibial nerve runs down from the leg and behind the medial
malleolus, the bump on the inside of the ankle, down into the foot. This nerve
is protected by a fibrous sheath, called the flexor retinaculum. The flexor
retinaculum, along with the bones of the ankle, forms a tunnel for this nerve
(and tendons, arteries, veins) that runs through the foot. This tunnel is the
tarsal tunnel. The ligament over the tunnel is meant to protect the components
underneath, but if it becomes inflamed or a foreign body obstructs the tunnel,
then it can become part of the problem.
What is Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome?
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in the wrist, is a
compression of the nerve inside the tunnel. It is less common than its
counterpart in the wrist and is sometimes simply wrapped into the foot
neuropathy diagnosis. The pressure can come from injuries resulting in
deformities, inflammation of the protective sheath, tumors, or other
impingements on the nerve. The compression on the nerve interferes with the
signals sent through the nerve, causing pain and other neuropathy in the foot.
More...from the Runner's Web at:
http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news_2009/rw_news_20090324_TSH_Tarsal_Tunnel_S\
yndrome.html


14. Rub You The Right Way: Massage for Runners
Do you know how to unwind? iRun answers your most pressing questions about how
to loosen up.
Sure, you’re an expert in tying your muscles up in all kinds of knots, but do
you know how to unwind? iRun answers your most pressing questions about how to
loosen up, whether it’s with the help of a trained professional or with some
handy tricks you can try at home.
For some runners, massage is as much a part of their training regime as
speedwork and post-long-run greasy breakfasts. But for the uninitiated, the
prospect of going for a massage can seem kind of confusing, even intimidating:
Will I be layered with hot lava rocks and subjected to plinky-plonky spa music?
Assaulted with a barrage of Miss Piggy-style karate chops and
Streetfighter-esque spinal adjustments? Quietly be judged for having a
less-than-perfect posterior? I’m not ashamed to admit that I had been a
dedicated runner for years and was training for my first marathon before I got
over my own massage table anxieties – caused, in my case, by an unfortunate
incident at a traditional Hungarian bath, where “sports massage” apparently
means “getting beaten within an inch of your life with a wet towel and a bar
of soap.” But one fateful day, when my 85-year-old grandmother accused me of
moving so stiffly I looked like a ‘little old lady,’ I decided it was time
to take matters into my own hands – or rather, someone else’s. Here’s what
I learned on my journey from massage-o-phobe to true believer.
More...from iRun at:
http://www.irunnation.com/issues/article.php?id=127&intIssueID=8


15. Digest Briefs:
*  Create Your Reality Through Visualization
By David Glover, USAT Level 1 Coach
Positive thinking and planning in the months and weeks leading up to an event
are critical elements to setting the stage for a successful race. When I once
asked a female friend of mine who was attempting to make the U.S. Olympic
Triathlon Team in an e-mail what she does to prepare mentally before a race, she
replied back, “Visualization.” Visualization means visualizing the race in
your mind as to how you want it to happen.
Before your next race, write a race report as if you had raced your perfect
race. From start to finish, detail everything that you want to happen from warm
up to swim start to climbing on the bike to pacing on the run. Revisit your
story on a weekly basis. By visualizing a perfect race in your head before the
race, you can make it happen on race day.
David Glover is a USAT Level 1 Certified Coach and Certified Race Director.
Visit his website at www.davidglover.net.
* This Week in Running:
10 Years Ago-  Philip Tanui (KEN) won the Rome (ITA) Marathon in 2:09:56. 
Dmitriy Kapitonov (RUS),
                Philip Chirchir (KEN), and Roberto Barbi (ITA) followed with
times of 2:10:10,
                2:10:15, and 2:10:46 respectively.  Maura Viceconte (ITA) won the
women's race in
                2:29:36.  Jane Salumae (EST), Gadisse Edato (ETH), and Karina
Szymanska (POL) followed
                with 2:30:40, 2:32:36, and 2:34:46 respectively.
20 Years Ago-  John Ngugi (KEN) won the Cinque Mulini (ITA) 10K (cross) by six
seconds over Moses
                Tanui (KEN).  Andrew Masai and Boniface Merande completed the
Kenyan 1-2-3-4 sweep.
                Jacqueline Perkins won the women's 5K by 5 seconds over Susan
Hobson as the Aussie
                women went 1-2.  Nadia Dandolo (ITA) was 3rd while Carla
Borovicka (USA) was 4th.
30 Years Ago-  John Treacy (IRL) took the gold medal at the IAAF World
Crosscountry Champs (IRL) 12K,
                nine seconds ahead of Bronislaw Malinowski (POL).  Aleksandras
Antipovas (URS/LTU)
                edged Anthony Simmons (ENG) for the bronze medal, both given the
same time.  Grete
                Waitz (NOR) won her 2nd of five gold medals at these
championships with a 26 second
                margin over Raisa Smekhnova (URS/BLR).  Ellison Goodall (USA)
nabbed the bronze medal
                another four seconds back.
40 Years Ago-  Gaston Roelants (BEL) won the gold medal at the World
Crosscountry Championships (SCO),
                19 seconds up on Dick Taylor (ENG).  Ian McCafferty (SCO) took
the bronze medal, another
                13 seconds back.  Doris Brown (USA) won her third of four gold
medals at these championships,
                5 seconds up on compatriot Maureen Dickson.  Val Robinson (NZL)
won the bronze medal,
                another seven seconds back.  Cheryl Bridges-Flanagan (USA) was
4th.  Cheryl is the mother
                of reigning Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist, Shalane Flanagan.
  50 Years Ago-  Fred Norris (ENG) led a near medal-sweep for England, leading
Frank Sando (ENG) by eight
                seconds with Salah Beddiaf (FRA) taking the bronze another 9
seconds back. Basil Heatley
                (ENG) was another nine seconds back in 4th.
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.


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

March 28, 2009:
37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships - Amman, JOR
Website of the Local Organising Committee, Amman WXC 2009

Big Sur's Mud Run - Seaside, CA

Hervis Prague Half Marathon - Prague, Czech Republic

10th Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K - Richmond, VA

March 29, 2009:
(5th) Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon - Oro Valley, AZ

Around the Bay 30K Road Race - Hamilton, ON

Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K - Chicago, IL
Inaugural Elite Club Competition

(5th) Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon - Knoxville, TN

ING Georgia Marathon - Atlanta, GA

May 9, 2009:
Run For A wish - Ottawa, ON
June 20, 2009:
Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Ottawa, ON

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
www.RunnersWeb.com
The Running and Triathlon Resource Portal
mailto:kparker@...
613-746-4053
http://www.OACRacingTeam.com
http://www.EmiliesRun.com

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RUNNER'S WEB AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
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All revenue from advertisers and affiliate programs goes into the support of
running and triathlon through sponsorship of events,
teams, clinics and fund raising programs for Canada's Olympic athletes.

Puma
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Check out TotalWellness's mp3 Personal Training Program - only 5% the Cost of
Regular Personal Training!
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Buy Paula Radcliffe's book, My Story - So Far, from Amazon UK at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/074325242X/runnersweb-21

Instant Stretching Routines
Design unlimited stretching routines today, starting from scratch, in under 60
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ShoeWallet.com has set out on a mission to enable people to easily carry ID and
medical information at all times. Basically, anyone
who is out on the roads or trails needs a convenient place to carry this vital
information.
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SportsShoes in the UK
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TriSwim Coach - The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming
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If you have an accident while running or cycling, do you want your family to be
contacted? Do you want to receive immediate and
proper medical treatment?
If so, make this cool item part of your gear -- for safety and peace of mind.
Road ID has created 4 awesome ways for athletes to
wear ID: the SHOE, the WRIST, the ANKLE, and the NECK. Get your RoadID at:
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The Stretching Handbook:
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ghandbook.com/newsletter.php
The Stretching Video in a DVD version. With the DVD version you're able to use
the convenient menu facility to:
* Go directly to a specific stretch;
* View only stretches for a specific muscle group;
* Pause each stretch to get a good look at how it is performed;
* View only the introduction and rules for safe stretching; or
* Play the entire video from start to finish.

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*** END OF RUNNER'S AND TRIATHLETE'S WEB DIGEST...***

A FREE WEEKLY E-ZINE OF MULTISPORT RELATED ARTICLES. The Runner's and
Triathlete's Web Digest is a weekly e-zine dealing with the
sports of running and triathlon and general fitness and health issues. The
opinions expressed in the articles referenced by the
Digest are the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of the Runner's
Web. Visit the Runner's Web at
http://www.runnersweb.com The site is updated multiple times daily. Check out
our daily news, features, polls, trivia, bulletin
boards and more. General questions should be posted to one of our forums
available from our FrontPage.

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

1. Emilie's Run - The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - Canada's
Fastest Women's 5K
Emilie's Run is over for another year. Almost 300 women completed the race with
38 women running under 20:00
The 2009 race will be run on June 20th.
For more on the race visit the website at:
http://www.emiliesrun.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/

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

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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.

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 book "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running
has Taught Me About Winning, Loving, Happiness,
Humility, and the Human Heart" is available FREE as a download from
MindsetTriathlon.com.
http://www.mindsettriathlon.com/product_info.php?products_id=1158&it=1#previews

FRS Healthy Energy Drink - Free Trial
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1452277-10571944

Get Free Shipping with a Purchase of $60 or more from March 13th through March
15th. No promo code necessary! Hurry and get a chance
to save before this fantastic offer ends!
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=vVGS2V*0iZg&offerid=139837.10000196\
&type=3&subid=0

The Emilie Mondor Memorial 5K Race for Women - June 20, 2009
Register before March 15, 2009 and get a 10% discount.
http://www,emiliesrun.com

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

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 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 2,492 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 ONE personal posting this week.
Hi there,
I have a baby store called - The Baby Boutique - www.boutiqueyourbaby.com . We
are based out of Kitchener Ontario and currently have
2 specials that may be of interest to your members. We are a certified retailer
for Baby Jogger - http://www.babyjogger.com/  . Baby
Jogger specializes in high quality jogging / running strollers and bike
trailers.
Once a year Baby Jogger offers retailers a great discount to clear out their
remaining stock. This year we were able to get great
savings on the following items:
Double Performance Jogging Stroller  -  
http://babyjogger.com/performancedouble.htm
This is a high performance double jogging stroller that is specifically designed
for runners.
This stroller typically retails for $899, we are selling them at $479 + tax
while our supplies last.
Tailwind Double Bike Trailer - http://babyjogger.com/tailwind.htm
This is a very well built bike trailer.
At the beginning of 2008 this trailer was retailing for 697$, we are selling
them at $339 + tax while our supplies last.
Julie Evans
1-877-868-7360


THIS WEEK'S DIGEST ARTICLE INDEX:

1. Athletes, pause before you pill pop
2. Enlyten Sports Strips Used To Keep Players Hydrated In Six Over-time Game
3. Fatigue-Defying Strategies for the Marathon
4. High-impact exercise may be best bone-builder
5. Fixing Damaged Knees
Biomedical Engineers 'Arm' Surgeons For Highly Precise Knee Resurfacing With
Robot.
6. Training Tip - Taking on the early season
Enhance your preparation for the coming season.
7. Beating the Band
New Treatment for IT Band Syndrome Yields Results.
8. The Right Way to Warm Up
Coach Jay Johnson explains how to really get ready to race.
9. Study sheds light on exercise after heart attacks
10. Moderate-protein diet may beat high-carb diet
11. Off The Oval
Getting race-ready without a track.
12. Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine
13. Optimum Running Speed Is Stride Toward Understanding Human Body Form
14. How Good is the 'Bod Pod'?
15. Digest Briefs


RUNNER'S WEB WEEKLY POLL:
"What is you all-time personal best marathon time?"

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 injuries (conditions) have you had:
Answers Percent
1.   Patellofemoral Syndrome  10%
2.   Pulled Hamstring  11%
3.   Iliotibial Band Syndrome  16%
4.   Shin Splints  15%
5.   Stress Fractures  9%
6.   Exercise Induced Compartment Syndrome  5%
7.   Achilles Tendonitis  11%
8.   Plantar Fasciitis  11%
9.   Hip Bursitis  5%
10.   Mononucleosis  6%


FIVE STAR SITE OF THE MONTH: MileSplit.us
The Nations' Premier High School T&F/XC Network.
MileSplit US is the nation's premier network for high school track & field and
cross country. We believe that the heart of the sport
is on a local, grassroots level. By facilitating the publishing and business
process for our state webmasters, we are able to
provide in depth state-by-state coverage of the sport. At the same time, these
state portals feed content into a national database
allowing us to provide an unprecedented depth of coverage on the national level
as well.
Designed around powerful proprietary database software that unites all of the
important aspects of covering the sport--results,
rankings, articles, videos, photos, podcasts, statistics, etc--MileSplit US is
the only online publisher in the sport with the tools
to provide a high level of timely and comprehensive nationwide coverage.
MileSplit was founded in 2000 by then college sophomore Jason Byrne. It has
continued to grow over the years, incorporating and
adding Don Rich and Fred Finke to the corporate team in 2004. MileSplit has a
partnership with Universal Sports (formerly WCSN),
which serves as its sales team for its national advertising inventory.
MileSplit, Inc. is a privately held Florida corporation. Its primary offices and
datacenter are located in Greater Orlando, Florida.
Additional servers are located just outside of New York City. MileSplit has a
team of staff and affiliates located around the
country. We encourage your questions, sponsorship and investment inquiries.
Visit the website at:
http://www.milesplit.us

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

BOOK/VIDEO/MOVIE OF THE MONTH: Out of Nowhere: The Inside Story of How Nike
Marketed the Culture of Running
By Geoff Hollister
How does a boy from a small Oregon farm town get swept up in the politics of his
chosen sport? Out of Nowhere takes the reader along
on Geoff Hollister's 33 year journey at the center of Nike, the company that
would change not only the world of athletic shoes and
apparel but the business of sport itself.
Nike began with a handshake and a few hundred dollars passed between Phil Knight
and legendary track coach Bill Bowerman. Hollister
was coached by him at the University of Oregon and was Bowerman's pick as Nike's
third employee. Before he had even graduated
Hollister began selling shoes out of the trunk of his car for Blue Ribbon
Sports, the company that became Nike.
Out of Nowhere provides an inside look for the entrepreneur, from someone who
experienced the humble beginnings, lived and breathed
the first 33 years of Nike, now the largest sports and fitness company in the
world. Hollister takes you on the rollercoaster ride
of success and failure.
Buy the book from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/184126234X/runnersweb/102-0182896-9006569\
?v=glance&s=books

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. Athletes, pause before you pill pop:
Alex Hutchinson draws on the latest research to answer your fitness and workout
questions in this biweekly column on the science of
sport.
Last summer, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in
California made a splash by announcing an exercise pill
that allowed mice to gain the benefits of vigorous exercise - all without
setting a paw on their exercise wheels. That era hasn't
yet arrived for humans, but strolling down the aisle of any drugstore makes it
clear that we're very interested in pills whose
claims include faster, higher and stronger.
With a few exceptions, if you're eating a healthy, balanced diet, there's very
little evidence that any (legal) pill you pop will
make you a better athlete. But there's hope: New research is constantly
emerging, as the links between nutrition and physical
activity become clearer. In the first part of a two-part series, we look at the
hard data behind some currently popular supplements.
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS
Used for: Endurance
The Claim:
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish such as salmon and tuna and (in a less
usable form) in plants such as flax and canola. Because
they have well-established effects on the cardiovascular system, researchers
have hypothesized that they should improve endurance.
More...from the Globe and Mail at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090313.wljockology13/BNStor\
y/Front/


2. Enlyten Sports Strips Used To Keep Players Hydrated In Six Over-time Game:
March 13, 2009, NCCA Men's Basketball, New York, Syracuse and Connecticut . Two
of the Big East's top teams for the past 20 years,
staged a game for the ages on Thursday night and into Friday morning here at
Madison Square Garden.
Regulation time wasn't enough for these two rivals as they played into overtime
and well past midnight in a classic battle. It took
six overtimes; 30 extra minutes of incredible nonstop action , before Syracuse
finally outlasted UConn for a 127-117 victory.
The Syracuse trainer Brad Pike had a difficult job to keep his players hydrated.
To help him with this task he gave the players
Enlyten Electrolyte Strips. The players pressed the strips in their checks and
gums to help them hydrate.
The strips are Fast & Efficient: Recent studies indicate that delivery through
the buccal mucosa region may deliver double the
bio-availability of active ingredients at more than two to three times the rate
of absorption, compared with products that rely
exclusively on digestion through the GI tract.
Enlyten Electrolytes Strips are designed to provide your body with much needed
electrolytes prior to and during exercise to promote
optimal physical performance. They help maintain proper electrolyte balance
which is essential for proper hydration as well as
muscle and nerve function. Electrolytes plus strips provide an active lifestyle
with essential electrolytes and antioxidants via one
of the most technologically advanced delivery systems available today!
More...from Village Soup at:
http://waldo.villagesoup.com/sports/story.cfm?storyID=150021


3. Fatigue-Defying Strategies for the Marathon:
The spring marathon season is kicking into full-swing, which reminds me that
this race depends on mental strategizing (for success)
more than any other popular race distance. You can burn a 5K without thinking,
but in the marathon pensiveness is always going to
come to the fore at some point, and it can hurt you or help you as you negotiate
those 26.2 miles. The right mental mind-set for the
marathon revolves around what I like to call FFRR & DSD - Focus, Fatigue-Relief,
Relaxation, and Doing Something Different.
Focus: There are times during the race when fatigue seems overwhelming and
thoughts are turning negative. At these points, total
focus on the act of running becomes paramount. Yes, running becomes one foot
forward, then the other, then the other, and so on, and
the only conscious thoughts permitted are the ones associated with controlling
gait. Thinking about how far you still have to run is
verboten. Thinking about how bad your muscles feel is arrested in its tracks.
Thinking about how terrible your chest is feeling is
ended. The mind becomes totally transfixed by the process of controlling
movement in a smooth and coordinated way. One step, then
the next, then the next, and one continues to cover ground without any worries
about how fast one is going, how far it is to the
finish line, how soon one will get to the next rest stop, etc. You become an
animal out there, an animal in motion and nothing more.
You suddenly are thrilled that all thoughts are completely purged from your mind
and that you are exhilarating in movement and
nothing else. Your mind is totally pure for the first time in a long while, with
no distracting thoughts, no doubts.
More...from the Educated Runner at:
http://www.educatedrunner.com/Blog/tabid/633/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3\
67/FatigueDefying-Strategies-for-the-Marathon.aspx


4. High-impact exercise may be best bone-builder:
Men who want to keep their bones strong may want to add running to their
exercise routine, new research suggests.
In a study of 42 athletic men ages 19 to 45, researchers found that running
seemed to have even bigger benefits for bone mass than
strength training did. Both runners and weight trainers had greater bone density
in the spine compared with road cyclists, but much
of the benefit in weight trainers seemed to stem from their greater muscle mass.
In contrast, running appeared to build bone density regardless of the men's
muscle mass.
"The results of the study confirm that both resistance training and high-impact
endurance activities increase bone mineral density,"
senior researcher Pamela S. Hinton, an assistant professor at the University of
Missouri in Columbia, said in a news release from
the university.
"However," she added, "high-impact sports, like running, appear to have a
greater beneficial effect."
Hinton and her colleagues report the findings in the Journal of Strength and
Conditioning Research.
Bone is living tissue that reacts to exercise by becoming stronger.
Exercise that forces the body to work against gravity -- like running, jumping
and weight training -- is most effective. In
contrast, low- impact activities, such as cycling or swimming, put relatively
little stress on the bones.
In this study, cyclists generally had the lowest bone density at all body sites
measured. That sports-related difference did
diminish once Hinton's team factored in the men's muscle mass; in general, as
muscle mass -- or body weight -- increases, bone mass
does as well.
However, even with muscle mass considered, weight trainers
More...from Reuters at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52B6RR20090312


5. Fixing Damaged Knees:
Biomedical Engineers 'Arm' Surgeons For Highly Precise Knee Resurfacing With
Robot.
Biomedical engineers developed a robotic arm to very precisely resurface the
knee before replacing it. In order to do this, a 3-D
image of the knee is generated, providing a live-action view of the knee during
surgery. A stereo camera system constantly updates
surgeons on the location of the diseased portion of the knee--this keeps the
healthy parts untouched. Visual alarms and artificial
resistance tell the surgeons when they are too close to healthy parts. After the
resurfacing is done, the implant is placed.
More than 15 million Americans have osteoarthritis in their knees, and about
600,000 of them could be helped by a partial knee
replacement. A new way to fix arthritic knees that uses robots and computers is
helping patients walk out of the hospital the same
day of surgery.
Once an avid runner, Harvey Saff was surprised when he was sidelined with knee
osteoarthritis.
"It felt like a knife going right through me," said Saff. "That's the only
description that can aptly describe it."
Saff got relief with a knee resurfacing system developed by a biomedical
engineering team led by Rony Abovitz.
More...from Science Daily at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0107-fixing_damaged_knees.htm


6. Training Tip - Taking on the early season:
Enhance your preparation for the coming season.
By Lance Watson
Ask 10 athletes and coaches about how one should prepare for next season and
odds are you will get 10 completely different answers.
Some will tell you to begin preparation only after an extensive "off-season,"
where you do very little training and allow your body
to recover with a month, or even more, of time off. Others will tell you the
precise opposite. Others will advocate a position
somewhere in between.
No off-season
I advocate that there is no "off-season," just varied levels of training that
allow you body to actively recover. This allows you to
maintain a level of conditioning without slipping into a fitness valley, which
takes an extended period of time to climb out of.
While a great number of athletes start with sprint races and work their way up
to longer distances, if you have already raced long
course (1/2 IM or IM), now is the time to evaluate your racing goals. What type
of racing suits you? Do you have the time to devote
to longer races? Maybe you are better at racing shorter triathlons such as
international- or sprint-distance. Once you have
established the type of triathlons you should be racing, it is time to set your
goals. Be sure to pick only one or two "A" priority
races; these will be your most important events. Then, pick "B" and "C" races --
less important events that will help prepare you
for the key races.
More...from TriSeries.ca at:
http://triseries.ca/news_article.php?id=95


7. Beating the Band:
New Treatment for IT Band Syndrome Yields Results.
Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) can be a debilitating injury to a runner. The IT
band, as it is more commonly known, can become so
painful that a runner is unable to train at all. Mark Fadil, the Director of
Sports Medicine Institute International (SMI) in Palo
Alto, CA, knows this injury both personally and professionally. As a high-school
senior, Fadil won the New York state 3,200m
championship in 9:10. After one successful collegiate year, Fadil developed pain
on the outside of his knee on the fourth day of his
sophomore year. He was diagnosed with IT band syndrome and,