I need you to hold me up to run the marathon! Quit giving me weird pains in my legs with no warning. Right shin occasionally feeling a shin splint kind of pain. Left knee tingles weirdly and I have tight ITB bands. I don’t know if I am being overly sensitive or if I’m just listening to my body A LOT. You treat me well during the runs (my times are great, I am right on schedule with the plan- it’s after the run where you start talking to me). I really want to have a good marathon experience but all these weird pains are making me paranoid. I am attempting to treat you with respect: stretching, core work, myo-fascial release, resting (?!!)

From: Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald.

Illiotibial Band Friction Syndrome means weak abductors, tight ITB bands, and the remedy is strengthening hip flexors, stretching and deep tissue massage.

Shin Splints caused by increasing mileage too quickly or overstriding and the remedy is to reduce running then increase it more slowly, gait retraining, and changing shoes.

Patellofemoral Pain syndrome (runner’s knee) caused by weak hip adbductors, weak quadriceps, week deep abdominal muscles and the remedy is to strengthen hip abductors, quadriceps, and deep abdominals.

Message here:

Runner’s need as much core/functional strength as you can get!! The more I run, the more I stretch and strengthen on those off days. Thinking that the weight training is almost more important than the running.

Eccentric Leg Squats for Runners:

Stand up straight. Lift one leg up to a 90 degree angle and do a half squat. 10 repetitions on each leg for 2 sets. This exercise can be done in a variety of ways- but the bottom line is to strengthen weak quad muscles as well as your balance.

What do you guys think?

So when I was contacted by the PR representative for Powerbar to try out the Electrolyte Refuel product by Powerbar, I jumped at the chance! I have some for you too, so, read all the way to the end.

The facts:

Electrolyte Refuel is a 10 calorie drink designed to replace the sweat you lose when working out. The ingredients start with sugar, citric acid, sodium citrate, magnesium sulfate, potassium citrate, natural flavor, sucralose, calcium silicate, and beet juice color. 130 mg of Sodium, 35 mg Potassium, 2 gr of Carbohydrate, and 2 sugars. This product would be fine if you need a sugar flavored drink when your at the gym, maybe.

My opinion:

I’m not convinced that this is THE product for endurance runs or rides. The reading I’ve done do not recommend simple sugars to be combined with serious training.

For further reading, please check out Natural News: “Fatal and Vital News.” or check out the Sugar Blues on Amazon.

Just for you!

If you’d like to try the Powerbar Electrolyte Refuel product, I have an extra box for one of you. Simply leave a comment on this post by July 6th at 9PST and you will be entered to win.  Please feel free to offer up your opinion on refueling for athletes. Thank you for your comments (in advance).

“How do I increase my endurance? I used to be able to run 10 minute miles but now I can barely complete one mile without being winded. I’d really like to increase my speed and ability to complete a 5km in a reasonable amount of time. I’m also planning on participating in another sprint triathlon in September and I’d really like to do better.”

Multiple answers here so, readers, feel free to jump in with anything I forgot!

1. Pick a local 5km race to do NOW. I’m thinking in 6 weeks you could be ready for a 5km. Pay for it.

2. Commit to a minimum of three running days per week, plus one cross training day, plus CORE and strength training work sprinkled throughout your week.

3. Challenge yourself in your workouts. Wear a heart rate monitor and determine your zones. 1 being walking to 5 equaling a full on sprint. I’d like you to do a little speed work in each workout starting with as little as 20 seconds FAST, followed by 20 seconds slow. You will also need to incorporate some hill repeats once per week at 30 seconds UP, 30 recovery. Your objective is to complete your next 5km faster than your last, therefor, you will need to step up your running accordingly. Not a lot, but, if you don’t train your body to go fast, it won’t know how.

4. Your long runs don’t need to be any longer than 3-4 miles and you work up to that many miles.

5. Take care of your body, stretch properly, and do some networking among your friends. Find the friends that will encourage you to run faster and run with them.

6. Stay positive. Visualize yourself crossing the finish line faster than your goal time. Right now, you need to come up with a GOAL time that you’d like to see on that clock. Write it down. You can also put little sticky notes around your house with the goal time. So that you are always CONSCIOUS of your goal.

7. I also recommend finding a running group in your area to run with at least once per week. This will help motivate you to run faster during training so that you can be better equipped to run with the group.

8. You need a PLAN. Runner’s World has tons of free training plans you can simply download, Matt Fitzgerald offers some pretty comprehensive running plans starting at beginner 5kms called Brain Training for Runners, and most of you know that I am partial to Al Lyman’s (Coach Al) running/triathlon plans. He offers basic running plans or beginning sprint triathlon plans for as little as $29. If you’re really commited, you could find a running coach in your area or pay an online coaching business to help you get up and running.

Finally, the most important part of all this wonderful training is that as you become fitter, you will be more confidant. Confidence= success in my book.

Thanks to all of you who entered the contest. Be ready there are more contests in the works.

Sara Kirsner, founder and designer of Doie Designs, has created fabulous, eco-conscious clothing made out of bamboo! These clothes are cold washable, hang dry, softer than cotton and incredibly comfortable. The clothing is a combination of bamboo jersey and 100% silk.

“Bamboo fabric is incredibly soft and has a natural sheen to it. It is naturally anti-microbial, which means that the fabric actually prevents bacteria from growing on it, resulting in clothing that remains odor-free longer than other fabrics. It is naturally breathable to help keep you dry and comfortable. Bamboo fabric stays around 2 degrees cooler in hot weather and can also keep you warmer in cool weather.”

A note from Sara about her hobbies and fitness:

I grew up in Northern CA, so I always loved to go hiking or on long walks outside. Here in New York I do a lot of cardio classes, at the gym, like kickboxing, and I also do Pilates at a Pilates Studio. I exercise for both physical and mental health reasons. I will be moving to Los Angeles next week and I plan to do a lot more outdoor activities- like hiking in Runyon Canyon.

Doie Designs has been in business for three years and can be purchased online as well as some boutiques across the country. Click here to find a store in your area.

Doie Designs has been featured in Yoga Life, Family Circle, and Nashville Lifestyles, just to name a few. I am a firm believer in less is more. One quality piece of clothing that looks fabulous is better than 10 cheap cotton shirts from Target. The price is worth it!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Tips on how to improve your bike leg of the triathlon.

Last weekend, I competed in my second sprint triathlon of the year. The temperature was in the high 90’s by 8 o’clock in the morning. Normally, I’d wear my Velo Bella Jersey for both the run and the bike, but it was just too hot. The three mile course wrapped around the back of the University and there was absolutely no shade.

Mistake: inserting Spenco insoles prior to the run for extra cushioning only to find out that they do not allow your feet to sweat. My feet were on FIRE. Felt like I was running on hot lava. I had a terrible run time of like 24 minutes.

However, as soon as I got on my bike it felt like heaven. Cool, comfortable shoes, my bike and I was FLYING!! I was able to bring my heart rate down fairly quickly and then crank the intensity back up to pass other riders. Because of my bike leg of the triathlon, I managed to finish 10th overall for women and third in my age group.

So on to tips:

1. Confidence on your bike is key. Must be able to handle your bicycle in stressful situations.

2. High Cadence. Your leg speed is indicative of how fast you are going. The majority of the riders I was passing seemed to be in too big of a gear- “mashing their gears” (legs working in squares not circles) and they were struggling. Your legs should be going around as fast as possible- without bouncing in the saddle. This is tricky to describe but try to spin your legs in an effort to go faster using the biggest gear possible (90-100 RPM’s if you have a cadence monitor.) You want the best speed with the least effort. Bottom line: high speed, medium gear= FAST. Picture a perfectly rolling ball moving efficiently down the lane going at optimal speed.

3. Time Trial bars. Those bars attached to my handlebars will make you go faster because it puts you in an aerodynamic position. They do take practice! The key is to get in that position and DON’T MOVE. Anytime you move, you cause more air to hit you which slows you down. I tend to come out of the bars for tight corners then get back in position as soon as possible.

4. Heart Rate Zones: Make sure that you are racing in your high aerobic training zone. It’s easy to coast on a bike so in a race situation, focus on keeping your heart rate up high. You should be breathing hard but not gasping!

5. Drink on the bike! For a three mile run, I didn’t take any water, however, I drank a whole bottle of HEED on the ride. Learn how to drink in an aero position.

I truly feel that the bike length of a triathlon is really the most important leg. You can make up a TON of speed just understanding basic bike handling skills. The aerodynamic equipment and position can also save minutes off your time.

Questions, comments, suggestions are welcome here!

This girl looks like a healthy, fit, active woman. She is not ultra thin and showing off all her body parts. She looks normal- like the rest of us!! (This is an awesome magazine! I’m using this one as an example of what I’d like to see more of)

Why does the media (Us, People, Self, Shape) continue to display unhealthy, TOO SKINNY women on the cover of magazines? Everywhere?!? We can’t get away from this feeling that skinny people are lurking in every single magazine we open. It’s like we (REAL women) should look like THAT (as the ideal) because this is what is shown to us in the media.

However, many, many of these actresses do all kinds of ridiculously stupid, unhealthy things to their bodies to be ultra skinny. I get my monthly intake of skinniness, smut, gossip- whatever you want to call it in the grocery stores, dental offices…and the articles are always doing a “ra ra ra” session for the actresses. So and so lost 20 pounds on X diet or so and so blonde bombshell “does Pilates”– yet they MUST be doing other things (not so healthy diets) to look like that! (many photos are completely photo edited as well)

So, what’s my point on all this? Many of the actresses portrayed in the media are willing to do unrealistic, unhealthy things to their bodies to look the way they do. Maria Carey used the “protein separation diet” which is some crazy diet that doesn’t allow her to eat carbs and proteins in the same meal). Or the Master Cleanse Diet that is only syrup, lemon juice and cayanne pepper for ten days? Giving a voice to these types of unhealthy diets causes it to be real-”like it’s an ok thing to do” and IT IS NOT!!

Fact or Fiction?

1. Walking a mile burns the same amount of calories as running a mile.

2. Eating late at night causes weight gain.

3. Taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar helps with weight loss.

Exercise regularly, do your strength training and core work, eat clean (check Miz Fit on that) and smile.

For further reading, check out this website: Skinny Myths.

This post has been completely rewritten.

You turn and look and you see your drivers’ legs have totally locked up in nasty, crippling leg cramps. They can’t drive, move their feet, or focus on the traffic, the lights or you (passenger). Driver must abandon driver position to suffer the rest of the way home. They are sore for the next five days and their training has been completely blown out of the water.

Or another instance, I compete in one sprint triathlon a year (except this year) and in the past, it was ALWAYS my goal to beat my husband. The second year I did it, I showed up to the starting line with like 3 weeks of barely running or riding. I didn’t care about anything other than beating my husband. I KILLED myself in the run and on the bike (granted he had some technical issues) but, I stayed ahead of him for both the run and the bike. I was almost to the transition area when I started feeling rolling cramps in my quads. Not debilitating but, if I didn’t stop I was going to be on the curb. I even got to the pool before him- then all of a sudden CRAMPSSSSSSSSSSS. Crap! There he goes past me. Inadequate training and ZERO performance drinks on the bike. He beat me by 2 seconds.

Once your body is cramping, you are basically STUCK. You’ve done too much and now all you can do is suffer. Good luck finishing the ride or race! If you can get your hands on a high quality performance drink it may help lessen the cramping, but don’t expect miracles. (ps. I do not refer to performance drinks as GATORADE!!)What causes muscle cramping? Complex question with many factors. Here are the basics:

1. Temperature

2. Duration of activity

3. Inappropriate preparation

4. Inappropriate hydration and caloric intake

5. Genetics

What I have witnessed in my many years of being married to a cyclist as well as from my father and brother (Hawaii Ironman Competitor for five years), cramping is more often caused by your body’s ability to adapt to the activity that YOU want it to do. In my humble opinion, I think muscle cramps are caused by the athletes assumption that they can do X on nothing. (not enough proper FUEL for too long of an effort) If you wait too long to rehydrate your body- it will “sputter and cough” like a car but if you “oil” it well throughout the effort, your body will reward you with a good effort.

Please READ the following resources:

Electrolyte Replinishment

Can Muscle Cramps Be Prevented?

The Athlete’s Kitchen

If you readers have experience muscle cramping, do you know WHY? What have you done to prevent muscle cramps?

Workout Mommy recently wrote some very good articles regarding BPA free water bottles. You can read them here or here. CamelBak is the first company to produce water bottles that are BPA free. They were kind enough to send me one plus an EXTRA one for YOU. It’s reusable, convenient, and slender to use. All they need are some kid size bottles and we will be set! I tend to keep my sugar-free post-workout recovery drink on ice and ready to go in my CamelBak. Love it!

On a side note: if any of you use their bladder system- they are already BPA free, so no need to replace.

Enter to win yours here:

Simply post a comment with your favorite workout drink (mix, water, Coke) here and you will be entered to win. Winner must provide a U.S. Mailing address and reply to email within 24 hours. Deadline to enter is June 31th, 2008 at 9pmPST.

My site had a comment issue for the last two days.  I apologize!  I’ve extended the date of the contest to allow for more comments.

Clif Bar was one of the sponsors of the race this weekend and they were happily passing out free canisters of their “Recovery Smoothie” to the first 100 participants. My team and I were all excited to be getting a whole canister of a anything- really. We all stood in line, gave up our email addresses, got our drinks.

Then, I looked at the ingredients. The first one is Organic Evaporated Cane Juice!!

“Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Whey Protein Isolate, Organic Brown Rice Syrup Solids, Organic Alkalized Cocoa Powder, Natural Flavors, Xanthan/Guar Gum, Sea Salt. ”

Basically, Evaporated Cane juice is sugar. A simple sugar- which has been shown in many studies to have detrimental effects on athletes. Read this one or this one.

Why is Clif Bar marketing this product specifically to women? How/why is it called a Recovery Drink? Hammer Nutrition’s “Recoverite” contains Maltodextrin, Whey Protein Isolate, Xylitol, Natural Flavor and White Stevia. On the bottle it states, “If a recovery drink contains any of the above ingredients, it may cause unwanted side effects that may actually hinder your performance or worse.”

So, readers, what do you think? What do you drink as a post-workout- and do you think the Clif Bar Recovery Drink has merit? If you’re craving sugar, wouldn’t it be better to just drink a Coke? Or am I way off base here?