Alameda Runners – Get After It!

If you’re looking for a running race later this month, the Brazen Racing Bear Creek Half Marathon (10K/5K also available) event will take place on Saturday, June 26.

The event will take place in the East Bay Regional Park District’s Briones Regional Park.  I haven’t explored Briones before, but the course looks very challenging!  Alameda Runners will be represented by Ted, as I’ll be in the Sierra Nevada foothills for a wedding.

Brazen had this to say regarding its upcoming race:

The cut-off for regular registration is this Sunday (6/13).  This is also the deadline for guaranteed t-shirts, so if you want to be sure you get yours in the size you want, register before the end of Sunday.

Also, due to parking issues, the park has asked us to keep the number of participants more or less equal to our last race there (about 400).  Right now we are on track for that, but if we get a rush of sign-ups, we might have to shut down registration.  We’d hate to turn anyone away, so if you’re planning to run, we recommend signing up as soon as possible!

If you’re not quite ready for the course, Brazen still welcomes volunteers (my opinion about volunteers can be found here) for the race.

Brazen’s Bear Creek website is available here, with course info (looks like a tough day) available here.

Just like most cyclists, I’ve dreamed and longed for a chance to ride a road bike in the mountains of Italy or France, or on the famed cobbles.  I’ve seen an increase in tourism companies catering to rich cyclists looking to explore Europe, while there has been a more silent rise in mountain biking and road riding adventures closer to home.

I’ve seen reports of amazing journeys across Cuba, with at least one Alameda cyclist saying he enjoyed a recent trip to the Dominican Republic.  I know baseball and soccer are extremely popular sports in the Dominican Republic, but didn’t realize mountain biking is growing in popularity — increasing so much, a mountain bike resort will open in the country.

I stumbled across this article on Wend Magazine’s website — which links to the original source, hosted at Dominican Today — that discusses the new resort.

The proposed ParkVida resort, expected to open by Oct. 31, 2011, will feature downhill, cross-country, dirt jump, free ride, cyclocross, and street events.

“We are excited about the promise associated with our intended acquisition,” said Ruairidh Campbell, chief executive officer of Montana. “Mountain biking has become the activity of choice for many outdoor enthusiasts yet the number of full-service facilities dedicated to this growing industry is limited.” Mr. Campbell stated, “I believe that ParkVida will attract bikers from around the world for its exotic location and mountain bike specific amenities.”

If opened, I wonder how many foreign mountain bikers will be up for the trip to the DR to ride at ParkVida.  I imagine a multi-million dollar marketing ploy in the United States and Canada will take place — but it could be worth the adventure.

Similar to a ski resort, once the on-mountain activities are finished, visitors will be able to enjoy the amenities at the “six-star” resort.

People seem to think I eat bird seed and fish because I am skinny.  I am always being asked why I am drinking milk or coffee.  I often hear “I didn’t know you could eat that.”  I am also asked by people why their latest magic diet is not working and I can drink chocolate milk with whole milk.

Dieting is a life long commitment to nutrition.  It is really hard to be nutrition conscious in today’s highly processed food climate.  The marketers and food manufacturers are good at making bad things look healthy.  I have a few rules that I live by for healthy eating.

Drink lots of water
Drink iced tea or a similar drink.  Add real sugar for sweetness.
Eat real yogurt
Eat 3-4 meals a day
Eat loin cuts of meat
Eat free range meat
Eat organic food
Use real butter
Carbs are good
Some fat is good
Eat what you like
Moderation is key
Occasional junk food is ok
Indulge in good chocolate
Exercise

Eliminate the soda (diet soda too)
Eliminate the diet foods
Eliminate the high fructose corn syrup.  It is a lot harder than you may think.
Do not skip meals
Do not snack or mooch
Do not replace meals with workout recovery food
Avoid empty calories
Avoid margarine
Stop eating when you are full
Avoid cheap chocolate (never waste calories on something average)
Do not be a couch potato

A lot of what I say here is easy and makes sense.  A lot of is hard and is against what we are told by marketers.  A lot of it is expensive.  I can’t afford to eat all organic and free range food, especially organic loin cuts of meat.  Do the best you can.  Watch out for the sneaky stuff like Yoplait yogurt that looks healthy but it is just a chemical bomb full of bad calories.

The bottom line of dieting – burn more calories than you consume.  Good calories build good muscles, bad calories don’t.

The photo page is finally up.  I had a bit of a delay because I recently made the switch to Linux and I did not know how to use a photo editor that was really easy in the end.  This was a really fun event.  It was great to see all of the new people out on the trails this time around.  I am proud of you guys who just got out and did it.

I hope to see everyone at Bear creek in Briones on 6/26/10.

Drinking and eating the right foods and supplements after a hard effort out on the road can lead to faster recovery and less muscle pain.   The biggest problem many people have involves trying to figure out what works the best — and what is the easiest to chug down after a workout.  The kind folks over at Active.com listed 10 different post-run drinks that help “fuel fast recovery.”

I’d like to single out a single drink idea that many people likely overlook as a post-run recovery drink:  chocolate milk.

Per the article:

Why: The drink you loved as a kid has the ideal amount of carbohydrates and protein that tired muscles need for recovery, says Joel Stager, Ph.D., director of the department of kinesiology at Indiana University. According to a study Stager led, drinking chocolate milk postexercise speeds up recovery and increases the time it takes to reach exhaustion during a subsequent exercise session better than sports drinks. And a 2007 British study found that regular milk is better than water or a sports drink at restoring fluid levels following a bout of exercise in the heat. Plus, milk contains bone-strengthening vitamin D and calcium. Sipping Points: Single-serving containers are handy for tossing into a cooler for a postrun treat and for portion control.

Chocolate milk is an excellent way to recover, and can be mixed with whey protein and other recovery drinks.  Ted likes mixing chocolate milk with some of his recovery drinks, which helps make the taste a bit more bearable.

The taste of chocolate milk is good, the science behind it has been proven, so what’s your excuse?  Got milk? 😉

Of the “road tested” products listed, including Powerade Ion4, Clif Quench, Gatorade Powder Pack, and Accelerade Hydro, I’ve had the most success with the Clif Quench drink.  I posted a review of the Clif Quench in late February, which you can read here.

Editor’s Note:  I’d just like to thank @Cool_running on Twitter, who originally tweeted a link to the article. 🙂

While reading an ongoing published feature posted on Nature.com, I stumbled upon a series of articles on doping in sports.  It started out with a blurb about the 1976 East German women’s swim team that won 11 of 13 gold medals.  Then it moved in to the realm of professional cycling where the probability of the winning cyclist at the Tour De France doping is believed to be 100%.

My first thoughts after reading something like this is something along the lines of, “Those dirty rotten cheaters”!  I read on.  The German women may not have known they were doing something wrong.

I am fairly certain they did not know of the problems they would have later in life as a result of the steroid use.  I am fairly certain the cyclist knew they were and are doing something wrong.  When elite athletes die from heart attacks at age 30, something is wrong.

Reading into doping in sports, it makes me wonder what is really right or wrong in sports.  Take a look through this web site and you will find that it is loaded with information on better living through chemistry.  Do I really know what is in a protein mix?  What about the instant energy in a bag that I carry around for long runs?  What is a BCAA or an amino acid compound?  They seem to work for me and they don’t seem to have side effects.  Where do we draw the line?  Who am I to say my line should be the same as everyone else’s?

I will put my line in the sand as something that does not cause adverse side effects or harm others as fine for use.  Anything that has a risk of adverse side effects or causes harm in others is bad.  I am sure that I can find thousands of reasons why both my standards are wrong.

Reading the articles gave me a lot of insight into doping in sports and I found that I really like the Scitable web site.

It seems that half the runners in the Bay Area raced in a half marathon someplace this weekend. There were three half marathons in the EBRPD alone.

It was uncharacteristically hot this weekend. Drink a lot of water for a few days after the event to help recover. An 8-ounce cup of an electrolyte drink for a couple of days will help too.  Bay area runners have a unique problem where we are not accustomed to the heat and using up lots of fluid when we train. If we wind up in an event where it is really hot we can wind up getting light headed and having cramps the week after an event. It is very important to hydrate, get electrolytes and potassium into our bodies.

Water and ice are the best things for a sore body. An ice bath does wonders for the legs. It is a bit aggravating to go buy ice then fill up the tub and jump in. That first step is into the ice water is horrible. Your legs will soon go numb and your body will thank you for it later. I put ice packs all over my legs. I even have ice packs for my feet. I look for those big buckets in the dollar store so I can just stick my whole foot into a tub of ice water but I never seem to find them. Remember, no stretching after ice.

A half marathon does not usually put a tremendous strain on our bodies
where we have to be overly concerned with rest the following week. You will have to gauge how you feel afterward and go from there. I had a
really tough day on my half marathon on Saturday so I am going to rest up a
bit until my legs feel better. Here is my post half marathon week:

Saturday – hard half marathon, ice on legs, nap, lots of water, ice on
legs, more water and some chicken noodle soup and light food.

Sunday – Ice on legs and lots of water. Eggs and bagel for breakfast,
chicken salad with bread for lunch, fish and vegetables for dinner.

• Monday – no run – power yoga
• Tuesday – no run – plyometrics, swim
• Wednesday – no run – weights
• Thursday – light run, easy yoga
• Friday – core workout
• Saturday – easy long run followed by an easy bike ride

I added my meals so you can see what I eat after a hard event. I usually listen to my body after a really hard day. As you can see, I am taking it easy all week with the running. If you don’t go all out in the half marathon and you feel good, there is no reason that you can’t continue to train as you normally would.

Another day, another Brazen half marathon in the East Bay Regional parks. I had a solid top 10 going for the whole race but the wheels fell off the bus at mile 10. My heart rate was up but I was just slowing down. I carried a bottle of water today as I usually do for trail half marathons. There were plenty of water stops along the way but I drink the water I carry. Today, I emptied my bottle on the first of two laps so I ditched it at the start/finish line. I should have stopped at an aid station to fill it up. The sun shine and 80 degree weather took a toll on me. My second lap was 7 minutes slower than my first and I suffered mightily.

The suffering was fine because most other people were suffering with me. I managed a top 20 and placed second in my age group. At the finish area, a lot of people were stretching their calf muscles out. A sure sign of dehydration. As much as I preach to you guys about paying attention to your surroundings, I still go out and make the same mistakes. I am just now starting to recover 6 hours later.

The EBRP district is awesome. If you live in Northern California or come out here to visit, I encourage you to visit the parks. We had the trail run that I did in Point Pinole and the See Jane Run Half marathon in Alameda, mostly on the EBRP trails.

Today was a great day. I am proud of everyone who got out and enjoyed it. For the rest of you readers who are on the fence about the activities, just get out and do it. Love life and enjoy your surroundings, where ever they are.

Today is the day before a trail half marathon that I am going to run alone.  I am going to run with 700 other people but I will not be accompanying anyone as a pacer.  It is the first time in more than a year, if ever, that I plan on going as fast as I can.  I am usually concerned about other people, an injury or a bigger event (marathon) when I do a half marathon.

It is a strange feeling when you plan on giving it your best for the day.  I wonder if I can deal with the pain for a whole two hours.  Did I eat too much meat this week?  Am I drinking enough water today?  Did I drink enough all week?  All of my little injuries seem to hurt.  I wonder if one of them will cause me to stop.  Will I make my planned time?  Is my planned time feasible?  Did I rest enough?  Did I rest too much?

Everyone has the same questions when they plan on doing a hard event.  It does not matter if it is your first event or you are just planning on picking up the pace like I am.  We get nervous and wonder what we should do.  I have a good base fitness level so my taper is a little different from someone with a lower base.  I will call day one the Saturday before the race.

• Day one – Saturday – easy 15 mile jog
  Pancakes, ON 2:1:1 recovery drink, electrolyte, anything for dinner.  4 liters of water
• Day two – Sunday – rest
  Cereal, clam chowder, pizza, chocolate bar.  4 liters of water
• Day three – Monday – moderate 25 mile bike ride
  Cereal, Hammer bar, recovery drink, cheese burgers.  4 liters of water
• Day four – Tuesday – hard 5.5 mile run at race pace
  Cereal, Cytomax, chicken sandwich, lean steak. 4 liters of water
• Day five – Wednesday – rest
  Cereal, peanut butter & jelly, chicken, 4 liters of water
• Day six – Thursday – easy 4 mile jog
  Cereal, Cytomax, chicken sandwich, lean roast beef, 4 liters of water
• Day seven – Friday – rest
  Cereal, PB&J, pasta, 4 liters of water
• Day eight – race day
  Pancakes, 1 cup of coffee, water, and then race…..

Most lunches come with fruit and jello.  All dinners come with vegetables.  I would have planned a lighter dinner last night but the roast beef was good and I don’t want to be too demanding on the family for my hobbies. I do demand pasta on Friday nights because I always doing a long or hard event on Saturday morning.  I make my own pancakes on Saturday mornings.

None of my sedentary friends know the difference between a 1:45 and a 2:30 half marathon.  I am doing this run for me alone, not my friends and family.  As long as I have fun, it is a successful taper week.

See Jane Run is going to go all along the shore line of Alameda tomorrow for a ladies only half marathon.

Tomorrow is the big day.  Good luck ladies!