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Very interesting thoughts on doping…
I’ll have an article related to doping (again) sometime prior to the start of the Tour de France next month.
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.
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.
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.
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!
It’s common to see cyclists in the ProTour peloton use power meters to help monitor performance while out on the road, but regular athletes are still unsure if it’s worth the investment.
You can find power meters starting at $200, but it’s not uncommon to see some models top $4,000 — and the power meters used by the pros are obviously top notch.
If you’ve been thinking about investing in a power meter but don’t know the basics, I’d recommend reading this article written by the fine folks at Fit Werx (article originally posted at BeginnerTriathlete).
The power meter doesn’t care about hills, wind, temperature, indoors, outdoors, or any environment you’re riding in. It will always measure the actual power you’re producing on the bike regardless of the conditions. Most power meters will include heart rate straps so you can watch your heart rate response compared to power. Go out and ride at a constant power level for 20 minutes and heart rate can climb nearly the entire time. Harder intervals such as three minute intervals at VO2max power will see heart rate climbing quickly the entire interval and never leveling off.
I find myself dragging people through the wind quite a bit, and I’ve always been curious about wattage and overall power, so a power meter is the ideal tool. I’m still unsure if I’m willing to spend a few hundred dollars just to see how much harder I’m pedaling than Ted when we’re riding in Coyote Hills — but it could be very interesting to use one of these gadgets some day.
If I could ever learn how to avoid sinking like a rock in the pool, I’d probably be more willing to one day get a time trial bike and attach a power meter. Until then, I’ll just have to keep dreaming…
Editors note: That is an engineering marvel!
It’s a shame such a strong cyclist has been banned — but if he was doping, which is certainly plausible, then this is a good step in the right direction.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) is satisfied by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the Alejandro Valverde case. Mr Valverde has been suspended from all competition for two years commencing 1 January 2010.
By deciding to suspend the Spanish rider, the CAS agreed with the UCI, which had appealed in 2007 together with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the refusal of the Spanish Cycling Federation to open disciplinary proceedings against Mr Valverde for his involvement in Operation Puerto.
The UCI and cycling as a whole have certainly suffered greatly from this affair. The damage caused by Mr Valverde’s behaviour since the UCI became convinced of his guilt cannot be fully compensated for by this regulatory sanction. Nevertheless, the UCI is now relieved and contented with CAS’s decision as it resolves a situation that had become untenable.
Following the CAS’s decision, Mr Valverde will not be allowed to participate in any cycling events before 31 December 2011. Furthermore, he has been disqualified from all competitions in which he has competed since the beginning of the year and all points allocated to him have been removed. Mr Valverde must also return all prizes received.
The UCI World Ranking has been modified accordingly.
During the Tour de France and Vuelta this year, the ban could make things extremely interesting. Caisse d’epargne is built specifically around Valverde, which could open up the team to hunt for breakways and stage wins this July and August.
Luckily, the ban isn’t a full two-year ban, which means he’ll be able to compete in the 2012 Giro d’Italia, along with the major spring classics.
Ted has participated in numerous running, cycling and triathlon events over the years, and understands the importance of volunteers. I’ve participated in a couple of different events this year, and have volunteered several times in the past, so I’ve noticed the importance volunteers have during events.
I recently chatted with organizers of the California International Marathon (CIM), a major running event that draws thousands to the Sacramento area each fall.
“Important is not the word for volunteers,” Alameda Runners was told, “vital is.” Without them, there would be no CIM or other marathons around the country. There are about 2,000 volunteers who help with all of the preparation for the race, the expo, and all of those out on the course. Thousands of hours of volunteer work and all they get tangibly is a T-shirt. But of course, it is much more than that. Many come back year after year and are part of the CIM as much as the paid staff. Also, the board which puts in a great deal of time all year round, in addition to the monthly (and special) meetings, is all volunteer.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Thank the volunteers! When it’s cold and miserable during a race, it’s likely the volunteers are freezing the entire time they’re working. If it’s hot and muggy, they’re suffering as they help set up the events, hand out drinks and other tasks during the event, and clean up the race after everyone is finished.
Ted and I volunteered to run the Oakland Half Marathon carrying the 2:15 pace sign (the only half marathon pace group), which was a lot of fun for both of us. It was a blast to help so many people cross the finish line, especially the participants who were suffering and needed just an extra boost of support to cross the finish line.
Sharing ideas related to safe running and cycling is extremely important for us here at Alameda Runners — especially since I see both drivers and athletes doing such reckless things out on the road.
In the May 2010 edition of Runner’s World (pg. 69), the “need to know” section includes runner safety if you’re running on the street.
First, you may be wondering why people would want to run on the street. It’s done for a few different reasons, and the most popular answer is related to the smoother running surface of the road when compared to the sidewalk.
Q: When runners run in the road, do they have to use hand signals?
A: Not the way cyclists do. For one, you should be running against, not with, the flow of traffic. But don’t assume a driver sees you. Stretch out a hand and make eye contact at intersections. If you’re at a stop sign or light, it’s a good idea to let drivers know which way you’re going, especially if you’ll be turning in front of them.
Read after the jump to read some more basic tips. Read more… »
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