If you want to learn recovery running advice, who better to learn it from than one of the best runners in the United States? Marathoner Josh Cox, who currently holds the American 50K record, knows something about recovery (especially after longer, faster tempo runs).
Recovery runs are an interesting topic that some athletes simply avoid. I’m working on a standalone article related to recovery running, but will just post a few helpful links for you:
A Trail Runner’s Blog — This is a great blog. If you don’t read it already, I strongly recommend occasionally reading this blog. Anyway, the blog entry discussing post-race ideas and recovery tips is a solid one.
I woke up yesterday morning with a sudden pain in my ankle, and it caused me to shriek and flail around the bed for a couple of minutes. It was a muscle cramp that mysteriously hit me early in the morning. Ouch.
I can recall the recent times I’ve suffered from muscle cramps – and it isn’t a very big list.
I had cramps in both legs after a very intense muay thai training session that my body clearly wasn’t ready for. I also suffered a cramp during my first 13-mile run (prior to the Oakland Running Festival in late March). I also suffered a nasty cramp during the Tilden Tough Ten race — a race that I expected to be a fun, easy event, especially after a difficult Wildcat half.
My most recent cramp, which suddenly hit me in the morning, is more likely due to a lack of water and electrolytes. My soda and caffeine consumption has significantly increased the past couple of weeks, while my water and electrolyte intake dropped.
Active.com posted five ways to end muscle cramps and it’s an article worth reading over.
How would dehydration cause muscle cramps? Fluids in the body are either inside the cell or outside of the cell. When we become dehydrated, the fluid outside of the cells decreases. Reductions in fluids cause nerve endings to be squished together, overexcited, and spontaneously discharge. That spontaneous discharge is a muscle twitch, which can lead to a muscle cramp. By maintaining proper hydration, you can prevent dramatic shifts in fluids that contribute to abnormal muscle contractions.
As the Active.com article also says, prevention and treating cramps may not be directly related to fluids — but since proper hydration will help increase performance anyway, it’s a good idea to make sure your fuel tank is properly topped off.
Congrats to all participants of the 2010 Armed Forces Triathlon, and especially the Air Force triathlon team, which won the event ahead of three rival military teams.
The Armed Forces Triathlon is based on points from the top eight men and top four women from each military branch’s team.
Image courtesy of Bob Denaro
The Navy had a 7-event win streak heading into the event, but couldn’t topple the Air Force. The Air Force had a total of 121 points when calculated; the Army was in second place; with 124 points; Navy was in third with 136 points; and the Marine Corps was fourth with 174 points.
Air Force Capt. James Bales conquered the overall men’s competition in the event, which featured a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike course, and 10-kilometer run.
If you’re looking to run for an extended period of time (in this case, six or 12 hours), this is the blog entry for you! Our friends at Brazen Racing are hosting the Dirty Dozen Endurance Run at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline.
Runners can tackle the event solo, or have teams of two or three runners. The event circles a 5K mile loop that is mainly dirt fire trails that is best described as a “gentle” course. (Course info is available here).
If you’ve been thinking about participating in a similar event but don’t know if you can do it, I’d like to point you to this race tip from Brazen:
Few are expected to run without any break the whole time. Walk breaks are advised. Runners will also pass through the start/finish area with each loop and will have the chance to stock up on fuel, change shoes or clothing, visit friends, etc.
Trying to become more eco-friendly is a popular trend among athletes, and a major problem is the use of plastic water and soda bottles. A common method to reduce the amount of plastic purchased is to purchase an aluminum or stainless steel water bottle. I chatted with Klean Kanteen to learn about its products and innovations for reusable bottles.
I’ve recently had a greater interest in plastic alternatives, and wanted to reach out to companies like Klean Kanteen to learn more.
A common complaint I have about aluminum and steel bottles is the learned lesson that many of them can be extremely difficult to clean. Convenience is an important perk that must be met by products aimed at being more Earth-friendly than the competition.
“Klean Kanteen Classic bottles have wider openings than most aluminum bottles, (and) they are wide enough to fit ice cubes and put in the dishwasher for easy cleaning,” Klean Kanteen recently told Alameda Runners. “We also make the WIDE bottles, which has a huge mouth at 2.125 inches. Take a look at this Klean Kanteen anatomy page for more details on the design of our bottles.”
Aluminum may be safer for the environment, but it has been discovered that it may not be the best for our bodies. There is a threat of bisphenol A (BPA), and the Klean Kanteen BPA info page can help inform you. When asked about why stainless steel is ideal over aluminum (related to safety), Klean Kanteen was more than happy to explain.
“Great question, not all metal bottles are created equal. While aluminum is lightweight, it can leach harmful substances and chemicals when it gets hot or comes in contact with anything acidic. Studies have also linked aluminum exposure to Alzheimer’s disease.”
To read the full interview, please visit after the jump. Read more… »
Alameda Runners prides itself on tracking down upstart companies with products and services you may not have heard of. Performance clothing is crucial to many athletes, even though there are only a small handful of companies that cater to us.
That’s why today we’re proud to introduce you to a new clothing company, Enso, which offers compression clothing. Both Ted and I currently wear a couple of Enso products, with a review currently in the works.
“Enso was initially started to bring a clean cut, strong brand to MMA to compete with the gaudy/gothic/skull and death brands like Affliction, Tapout, and the 1,000 other brands that all look alike,” Enso founder and CEO Tim Roche told Alameda Runners. “As much as we love MMA, we didn’t want to confine our brand to one market and chose to represent all athletes that compete individually.”
The company currently offers compression and athletic performance t-shirts, according to Roche, who also said board shorts, fighting sorts, yoga pants, and other products are in the pipeline.
Opening up a clothing line — especially for the finicky athletic and MMA communities — can be an extremely difficult business to crack into.
“It’s very risky, but we’ve carved out several niche markets where we believe we can get our foot in the door with a little more ease than most brands. Basic compression clothing is dominated by Under Armour. Finally companies are providing designed compression and finding new innovative ways to print on compression material to avoid the traditional cracking/flaking of designs/logos. Enso will be at the forefront of both of these.”
Read the rest of the interview with Enso after the jump. Read more… »
Warmer weather has finally thawed out most of the U.S., and more people are heading out on bike rides. As someone who has ridden a few years on the road, I’ve noticed some of the dangerous things newer riders do to enhance the danger.
Image courtesy of Fotoreporter Sirotti
To help out, here is a recent article that discusses a couple of basics group riders should be familiar with. I’d like to add a couple of things to the BikeRadar article. These tips are for people who may be content with just sitting in the group.
Call out road hazards — This is a very important one, especially for newer riders. You have to learn what signals the riders in the group use, so you’ll be able to relay the message. If traveling on a busy street, the use of signs and basic communication can help prevent unnecessary hazards in the group.
Intersections — Intersections can be extremely dangerous for large groups of riders. While approaching, someone near the front of the group should yell “slowing” or “stopping” before stopping at the intersection. Once it’s clear to go (presumably after a green light), the first riders in the group call out “clear” to let everyone know it’s safe.Riding towards the front of the group will allow you a better chance of avoiding danger — but it’s unlikely an experienced group will allow newer riders at the front. It’s likely natural selection will occur, and the faster, more experienced riders will be at the front.
Pass on the left — Only pass on another rider’s left hand side! Riders who are familiar with one another may pass on the right, but it’s rarely okay to try and do this in a large group. Passing on the left is especially important if you don’t call out to the person ahead of you that you’re going to roll by.
Don’t be Rude — If you end up on someone’s wheel and plan to stay there, say hello or announce yourself. It’s rude to just draft off someone without saying hello (or taking a turn at the front). I usually just turn myself inside out to try and crack the person who didn’t say hello — but rude cyclists may give you a Cytomax bath, so just avoid the situation entirely.(There is an exception if you’re clearly suffering and don’t have the energy to come to the front and say hello.)
Many of you have read stories about park agencies across the U.S. facing the constant threat of budget cuts and staff reductions. I’ve read and seen the same disappointing stories, but there is still one project that keeps me excited. Each story I read about the 550-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail keeps me enthusiastic that such a beautiful trail is being developed.
Once completed, the Bay Area Ridge Trail will be able to support hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. Just 10 to 15 miles of trail are being opened each year, so my generation (people in their 20’s) will likely be middle aged by the time the trail is done.
Most of the completed trail is on public land looked after by government agencies — but a lot of the proposed trail now sits on private property. It’ll be especially difficult to convince farmers and wine growers to sell or open their land for a park.
California has beautiful trails across the state. Ted and I are most familiar with the trails in San Francisco, the East Bay, and the American River trail in Folsom. Despite the upkeep costs of these park facilities, it’s great to see new trails being constructed — helping the environment and preventing construction.
Although the project is still years from completion, some mountain bikers are already disappointed with Bay Area Ridge Trail restrictions. For example, the SF East Bay has about 70 miles of ridge trail open, but one-third of it prohibits mountain bikes.
I understand some of the complaints regarding mountain bikes on the trails, and the East Bay Regional Park is doing it more for safety reasons. In a recent interview, it was noted bikes are prohibited on most narrow trails, especially if the narrow trail is open to equestrians.
To help explore the country despite peripheral vision loss, James Frigo decided to embark on a 4,063-mile bike ride across 13 U.S. States. Along the way, James has his father James Sr. as the tandem are expected to ride for 40 to 45 days, but should be able to squeeze in time for sightseeing.
They’ve been on the journey for one week, and yesterday’s update said the duo were scheduled to ride from the Grand Canyon to Bitter Springs, Arizona. About $7,000 of a hopeful collection sum of $125,000 has been collected for the Foundation Fighting Blindness non-profit organization.
Just nine of 400 companies approached showed support, as one company loaned the pair an RV. Another sponsor bought two road bikes and necessary accessories and equipment for them.
These across country journeys are difficult and challenging, but riding or running for a cause helps many participants. Another inspiration endurance challenge is currently underway by Ashley Kumlien, who is running more than 3,000 miles across the United States for MS research. Her blog is available here.
I’ve had friends complete events such as the AIDS Ride, and everyone only reported great things about the event. If you have the chance to help support someone like the Frigos or Ashley, then perhaps it’s something you’d consider in the future.
Bikes designed for triathlons and time trials are drastically different than the road bikes most of us are used to riding. Alameda Runners previously published an article describing the basics of tri/TT bike geometry, and tri-specific geometry was discussed.
A different article focuses on the basics of tri/TT bike aerobars (PDF), which offer riders a more aerodynamic position able to limit wind drag. The brief article discusses the brief basics of road bars and aerobars, and why road bars aren’t as well designed for aerodynamics as aerobars.
Triathlete Tech Editor Aaaron Hersh also points out the locations of the base bar, brake grips, brake lever, and other basics. Hersh also discusses clip-on aerobars that give road riders the ability to use aerobars without significant changes to the bike.
Integrated aerobars, which are put on bikes designed specifically for triathlon and time trials bikes, come with the shifters already at the end of the aerobar extension.
If you’re in the market for a bike to ride during triathlons or timed efforts, it’s extremely important to be properly fitted for the bike. Along with comfort and injury prevention, riding a bike frame that is the proper size coupled with aerobars set at the right angle could help performance on race day.
Ted has aero bars on one of his old bikes. He says it is great for resting your upper body before you go out on a long run after the bike ride.
Subscribe
