Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday Night Run 3-30-2011
Hello ORC,
I totally missed Earth Hour this weekend. We were out to dinner and didn’t even have a chance to look around the neighborhood to see if people participated. This past weekend was the Tour Decatur race which had a nice route through the Hibernia and Lenox neighborhoods. There were a lot of runners racing. I haven’t found the winning times. One cool thing to notice was that I had thought there was only the Oakhurst Track Club at Oakhurst Middle School. I find out just by watching the race, there is a Track Club at the other middle schools in Decatur. This was a very kid friendly run; lots of future runners running.
If you are interested in pizza tonight Decatur PD has 3 officers riding in the 2011 Police Unity Tour a 300 mile bike ride from New Jersey to Washington DC in May to raise awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty and funds for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum. They will be serving pizza at Avellino’s from 4-10. Avellino’s will be donating back a percentage of sales to the Unity Tour. The event supports a local business and a great cause. Eat up!
Just in case you missed all the signage all around town, WrestleMania is this weekend. If you want smaller name wrestling, there is always Platinum Championship Wrestling at the Academy Theatre.
What else is going on? What events would you like to share?
There is not much on the race calendar this weekend. I saw a race in Marietta, Knock Out Cancer 5K, and a Dirty Spokes trail race in Woodstock. A couple of races here and there but nothing local; last weekend was a busy race weekend. Some other race news is Decatur won 2nd place during the GA Publix Marathon Neighborhood Challenge Cheering Zone, Division 2 – Marathon Course.
This Wednesday you will be running route 8, the East Lake Golf Course run. The link to the route is at the bottom of this e- mail. It's one of the oldest as in longest running routes I know of for the group. If there is a 5-mile race to be run, this would make a great route with the exception of maybe taking out the uphill on Garland Av. After the run, it's off to Mojo's Pizza for food, drinks and trivia.
Thanks for making the Oakhurst Running Club one of the friendliest running club in Atlanta.
Corny
http://oakhurstrunningclub.blogspot.com/
Pizza Fundraiser for Decatur Officers Riding in the Police Unity Tour
Picked up from Decatur Metro…
Decatur PD has three officers who will be participating in the 2011 Police Unity Tour which is a 300 mile bike ride from New Jersey to Washington DC in May. The primary purpose of the Police Unity Tour is to raise awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty. The secondary purpose is to raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum.
Join police officers from Atlanta and Decatur and enjoy the best pizza in Atlanta next Tuesday, March 29th in an effort to raise money for the Law Enforcement Memorial Ride/Police Unity Tour at Avellino’s located at 902 West College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030 from 4pm-10pm. Officers will be serving customers at this event. Avellino’s will be donating back a percentage of sales to the Unity Tour. So eat in, take out, or have some food delivered. This event supports a local business and a great cause!
And if anyone wants to directly support one of the Decatur Officers riding in this year’s Police Unity Tour, here are the links.
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/dana-canipe/2011-police-unity-tour
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/axel-fiksman/2011-police-unity-tour-1
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/andrea-sibley/2011-police-unity-tour
What Is The Best Time Of Day To Run?
From Running Competitor online…
What Is The Best Time Of Day To Run?
Updated: Mar 22nd 2011 12:15 PM UTC by Mario Fraioli
The short answer is late afternoon—unless you normally run at some other time.
A couple weeks ago I rolled out of bed on an uneventful Thursday morning and went for an easy 6-mile run on the bike path outside my apartment. I covered my usual out-and-back route in 45 minutes, which seems to be par for the course when I lace up the sneaks before noontime on a weekday. Four days later, in the early evening on Monday, I ran the exact same route at an equally easy effort and the watch read a few ticks over 42 minutes.
It was nearly a 3-minute improvement over the same course in similar conditions just a few days later, with the only discernible difference being the time of day I headed out for my run. Afterward, I stood in my driveway for a second wondering, “Did my fitness really improve that much over the weekend or are my workouts simply more effective later in the day?”
Read on here.
Local Races This Weekend
Thursday, March 31
Gordon Hospital Run for Your Life 5K, Calhoun
Saturday, April 2
Knock Out Cancer 5K, Marietta
Dirty Spokes Olde Rope Mill 6.5 Mile Trail Running Race, Woodstock
Deputy Dash 5K, Hampton
What's a Zero Drop Shoe?
From Running Times online…
What's the Deal with Zero-Drop Shoes
Altra shoes provides something more refined than strip-mined running shoes
By Brian Metzler
As featured in the April 2011 issue of Running Times Magazine
For years, Golden Harper has been helping injured runners cut apart their old running shoes. Yes, literally, cutting them open with a saw blade. It's not that Harper and running store coworker and former high school cross country teammate Brian Beckstead were helping disgruntled runners achieve some sort of misplaced retribution for getting hurt, but instead trying to remove what they believe--what many experts now believe--is the culprit to a lot of common running injuries, namely the significantly elevated heels of most training shoes.
Essentially what Harper and Beckstead were doing was creating "zero-drop" shoes--or shoes that allowed the foot to sit level to the ground without a slope from the heel to the forefoot--by cutting a triangular shaped wedge of foam out of the back half of the shoe and then re-gluing them back together. They estimate they modified 2,000 pairs of shoes over the past seven years with an overwhelmingly positive response.
"Initially, we only recommended injured runners should do it, but then we realized it was a tool that could help a lot of runners who wanted to run more naturally and more efficiently," Harper says. "That's when we decided to pursue it as a marketable shoe."
Zero-drop shoes can make it easier to run with more efficient form, says Jay Dicharry, MPT, director of the SPEED Clinic at the University of Virginia's Center for Endurance Sport, though it's still possible to run efficiently in shoes with slightly raised heels.
Read on here.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tour deCatur This Weekend March 26
Local Races This Weekend
Saturday, March 26
Atlanta Women's 5K, Atlanta, Candler Park
VanderDash 5K/Mile Fun Run/Tot Trot, Dunwoody
Kiwanis Club of Historic Roswell Spring "K" Classic 5K / 10K / Mile Fun Run, Roswell
Miles for Smiles 5K & 1K Fun Run & Tot Trot, Atlanta
Tour deCatur 5K & Mile, Decatur
Spring Into Action 5K & Fun Run, Marietta
Sunday, March 27
2011 Merrick's Walk and 5K Fun Run, Atlanta
Wednesday Night Run 3-23-2011
Congratulations to all who ran this past Sunday for the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon and big thanks to those who volunteered for the race. I had a chance to escort the 2nd place women’s marathon finisher which turned out to be a good story. Ever read this story, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/sports/othersports/23marathon.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1300730979-pneQjHACoW8dQjtJWw1C9A? Throughout the race my racer, Christine Rockey, was being cheered on as the 2nd place finisher. We heard the cheers of you are only this far behind, lead runner is cramping, and so on. So at the finish, she’s announced as the 2nd place finisher. I ended up checking the race results and Christine shows up as the 3rd place finisher. This is really fishy because the bike group I was with had the top 4 women’s marathoners covered. We brought this up to the attention of the race and it was corrected but not before the AJC reported the incorrect placement, http://www.ajc.com/sports/defending-champ-wins-georgia-879057.html. It would have sucked to lose out on prize money if a guy was running with a women racers timing chip. In the end, placement and prizes are based off of CLOCK time and not CHIP time. The old 2nd place finisher now shows a time of 5:32. It makes for a good story.
Earth Hour is this weekend and there will be a bonfire in Decatur Square. Also this Saturday is the Tour deCatur which benefits the Decatur Education Foundation. This is a great race because it focuses on kids running. Oakhurst Elementary has a track club which is helping students to train for this year’s race. We’ll be out as a cheering section at Adair and Hibernia.
What else is going on? What events would you like to share?
Here’s another route that we haven’t done in a while, the Lake Claire run. It’s not the best run for low light or dark conditions but now that we have more daylight during the evening runs, here it is. The link is at the bottom of this e-mail. After the run it's off to Mojo's Pizza for food, drinks and trivia.
Enjoy your run Wednesday night. Thanks for making the Oakhurst Running Club one of the friendliest running club in Atlanta.
Corny
Friday, March 18, 2011
Good Luck This Weekend!
To all the runners running this weekend during the Publix GA Marathon and Half-Marathon; Good Luck!
If you’re not running, come out and cheer!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Publix GA Marathon in Decatur
Decaturites are needed to come to the official cheering station on Ponce de Leon adjacent to the Old Courthouse Square on Sunday morning at 7:30 am to help cheer the runners on. Don your GREEN clothes and come out with a noise maker, signage, and/or a musical instrument. Let’s make noise so the runners remember our city. Runners are going to vote for their favorite Hydration Stations and their favorite Cheering Section so we want them to remember us! Prize money will go towards the city’s new walking program, “Walk There, Decatur!”
You don’t have a noise maker? Well check out the easy green project below…All you need is a clean, empty soda can, a few pennies or dried beans, and a piece of tape-VOILA! Plenty of noise for everyone!
See you on Sunday morning! For more info, please contact me katie.abel@decaturga.com or call 678-553-6573
Earth Hour Bonfire & Marshmallow Roast on the Square
March 26th, 2011
8:00pm-9:00pm
If you have questions about this event, please contact Lena Stevens, Resource Conservation Coordinator at 404-370-4102 or lena.stevens@decaturga.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wednesday Night Run 3-16-2011
Hello ORC,
I found a WonderRoot event for their Independent Film Series, Best Of Year One at the Rich Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. Shamjam Shuckfest is going on at Tin Roof Cantina on Briarcliff Rd. There is also the Decatur old House fair at the Holiday Inn. You can even learn beekeeping this Saturday at the Oakhurst Community Garden. Deana Levine Photography is having an Open House. Tough to do something this weekend if you are racing this weekend.
Carbo loading will be going on this week for the GA Publix Marathon and Half-Marathon. It is the event of the weekend. If you are not running, you can always cheer the runners on. There are cheering sections throughout the city. I will be on the course, hope to see you also. Good luck to you all!
What else is going on? What would you like to share?
With more daylight during the evening runs, I am dusting off some old routes which we haven’t run since the fall. Here is the Katie Kerr – Kirk Rd run. It’s a nice challenging run. It does have one of the few downhill finishes when coming into Oakhurst and the shop. The link is at the bottom of this e-mail. After the run it's off to Mojo's Pizza for food, drinks and trivia.
Enjoy your run Wednesday night. Thanks for making the Oakhurst Running Club one of the friendliest running club in Atlanta.
Corny
http://oakhurstrunningclub.blogspot.com/
Pacing Strategy
From Runner’s World online…
Racing Tips
Pace Yourself
Do questions about setting (and maintaining) the right race pace constantly nag you? Relax. We've got the answers.
By Christie Aschwanden
From the April 2011 issue of Runner's World
His start hardly foreshadowed history.
On that August 2009 night in Zurich, Switzerland, Dathan Ritzenhein immediately dropped to the back of the pack among the 15 runners in the 5000-meter race at the Weltklasse Golden League meet. Competing against the world's best, including world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, Ritzenhein came through the first lap dead last. Perfect, thought his coach, the legendary Alberto Salazar.
Before the race Salazar had told Ritzenhein, "Get to the back and go as slow as you can without losing contact." Doing just that, Ritzenhein remained calm, his pace steady at 61.8 seconds per lap. Eventually, a number of racers who had pushed the lead began to fall from the front and behind the American. With two laps to go, Ritzenhein had climbed to seventh place—even though his splits barely wavered by more than a second from lap to lap. At that point he finally sped up, pushing his previous pace by two seconds, and ended up in third place. His time of 12:56.27 sliced nearly two seconds off a 13-year-old American record.
But while his surge may have earned him a podium spot and a record, to this day Ritzenhein knows it was his adherence to his (and Salazar's) pacing plan that put him in a position for history.
"I fell into a groove," he says, "and it got easier as the race went on."
Whether you're a world-class runner like Ritzenhein or a weekend warrior who's just out there to finish a fast 10-K, finding the optimal pace can mean the difference between success and suffering. Determining such a pace would seem pretty straightforward. If you want to run a 3:40 marathon, say, it's a simple calculation to figure out that you need to run eight-minute, 23-second miles to meet your goal. But on the track, on the roads, and in real life, unexpected detours and surprises can shred your best pacing plan to pieces.
"We would like to be robots and turn the knob to our goal pace and just go, but we're human," says Greg McMillan, owner of the Flagstaff, Arizona-based McMillan Running Company who has coached elite national runners, including several Olympians. "When we encounter a slight hill or a slight turn, it makes a difference."
To run your best in your next race, consider the following questions, and then put their answers toward a new—and improved—pacing strategy.
Read on here.
Hitting The Wall
Running/training tips from Runner’s World online…
Training Tips
Against the Wall
How to avoid hitting the notorious roadblock—and strategies for coping if you do.
By Nancy Averett
From the April 2011 issue of Runner's World
You're in the middle of a run when things start to fall apart. Your legs feel like concrete, your breathing grows labored, your strides turn into a shuffle. Negative thoughts flood your mind, and the urge to quit becomes overwhelming. Unfortunately, if you run long enough, you're bound to experience this some day.
So what can you do about it? Matt Buman, Ph.D., a research fellow at Stanford School of Medicine, wanted to examine the specific physical and psychological reasons recreational runners hit the so-called "wall"—and more importantly, how they cope and recover from the setback. Of the 315 marathoners he surveyed, 43 percent had hit the wall in a recent race. Although Buman's study focused on marathoners, the insights he collected can be helpful to any runner who hits a rough patch. With these specific, proven strategies, you can bounce back from the most common midrun meltdowns and finish strong.
Read on here.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Local Races This Weekend
If you are not racing the Publix GA Marathon and Half Marathon this weekend, there are other races to be run.
Saturday, March 19
Ashley's Run 5K, Powder Springs
Dirty Spokes Runnin The Rocks 3.1 Mi / 6.2 Mi Trail Running Race, Conyers
Haulin' from Pollen 5K and Mile Fun Run, Hampton
Eagle Mountain Run 5K, Woodstock
Razorback 5K Walk/Run, Jonesboro
The Finish Lion 5K and Family Fun Run, Atlanta
Sunday, March 20
Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon, Atlanta
The Golden Rules of Weight Loss
From Runner’s World online…
Run Your Butt Off
The Golden Rules of Weight Loss
Running keeps you fit, healthy, and happy, but to lose real weight, you also have to focus on what you eat.
By Sarah Lorge Butler
From the April 2011 issue of Runner's World
Runners know the miles they log on the pavement, trails, and the treadmill are great for keeping them fit and healthy. High on the list of the sport's many virtues? It is an amazing tool for weight control. But weight loss is a different story. Because you run, you may think you can eat whatever you want and still drop pounds. Unfortunately, that's not true. Running is only half of the equation. You have to look hard at what and how you eat, too.
Leslie Bonci, M.P.H., R.D., pinpoints eight crucial nutrition rules of weight loss in Run Your Butt Off!, a new Runner's World book for beginning runners who are coming to the sport to lose weight. (The book also includes a sensible beginner's training plan and tips for runners of all abilities from Runner's World coach Budd Coates, M.S.) Bonci's advice can help any runner who wants to lose weight—whether it's five pounds or 25. She'll show you how to track your food intake, space meals to ward off hunger, and honestly reckon with the calories you consume in a day (brace yourself). These methods were tested by real runners who overhauled their eating habits and shed dozens of pounds over 12 weeks. And if they can do it, so can you.
Read on here.
Peachtree Road Race lottery opens Tomorrow
From the AJC online…
Peachtree Road Race lottery opens Tuesday
By Ken Sugiura
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the bigger changes in the recent history of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race will roll out Tuesday.
Starting that day, Peachtree hopefuls will have until March 24 to enter a lottery for a spot in the world's largest 10-kilometer race. Rather than register runners in a first-come, first-served online process, which the Atlanta Track Club has done for the past two years, the club is employing what it believes is a fairer and less frenzied process. Previously, most spots in the race were awarded to the applicants who mailed their registration to the track club office the fastest.
Read on here.
Friday, March 11, 2011
McRunner Marathoner
From the Chicago Sun Times…
‘McRunner’ trains for marathon by eating only McDonald’s
BY KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter/kjanssen@suntimes.com Mar 10, 2011 02:09AM
Joe D'Amico is planning to eat every meal at McDonald's for 30 days in preparation for a sub 2 hours and 36 minutes time in the LA Marathon. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times
You’ve heard of Big Macs, McNuggets, McMansions and McJobs — now meet the McRunner.
Palatine dad Joe D’Amico plans to run the Los Angeles Marathon on March 20 after training for 30 days on a diet of McDonald’s fast food alone.
It may sound more like a recipe for getting the runs than running fast. But ultra-lean D’Amico aims to beat his personal best time of two hours and 36 minutes — a six-minute-mile pace that should put him among the top 50 finishers.
“My wife told me I was crazy,” D’Amico, 36, said. “But I love McDonald’s and I love running, and this was a great way to combine the two.”
D’Amico, who has been blogging about his progress at McRunner.com, has been eating three meals a day at the golden arches for the last two weeks. He plans to keep up the regime until the race.
Read on here.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
St Pat's at Steinbeck's
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Steinbeck’s
Join Steinbeck’s Ale House in celebrating St Patrick’s Day, Thursday, March 17. Steinbeck’s will make its own corned beef and offer Irish bangers and mash as well as fish and chips and lots of Guinness. Free live music will feature The Damages and other local bands, 4-10 p.m., in the parking lot, with Irish music from Steinbeck’s own Dublin Jimmy. Kids’ activities, 3-5 p.m., will feature a large “jumpy jump.”
Steinbeck’s is at 659 East Lake Rd. in Oakhurst. Visit www.steinbecksbar.com for information.
Tour deCatur March 26
Tour deCatur March 26
Online registration for Tour deCatur is now Open!
Online registration for the 9th annual Tour deCatur Road Race is now open. Mizuno is the presenting sponsor and the newly launched website has all the information at www.decatureducationfoundation.org. New this year:
• Register a team of six and compete for special team prizes.
• The race is part of the inaugural year of Decatur’s Grand Slam Fitness Challenge that encourages Decatur community members to walk/ run year round. Register and participate in four out of six Decatur based races (including Tour deCatur) in 2011, and hit a “Grand Slam.” Visit www.decaturga.com/teamdecatur for details on the Grand Slam Fitness Challenge.
Publix Georgia Marathon Needs Volunteers for March 20
Decatur and Georgia Rides to the Capitol on March 22
Georgia Rides to the Capitol March 22
The sixth annual “Georgia Rides to the Capitol” will be March 22. The event, co-sponsored by the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA), is designed to raise support for the development of a regional-scale bicycle network of both on-road facilities and multi-use trails, and cycling connections near major transit facilities, activity centers and schools. The bike ride is free and open to the community but participants should preregister at www.Georgia-RidesToTheCapitol.org.
The Decatur leg of the ride leaves from the north parking lot of the East Lake MARTA station, 2260 College Ave., at 10:45 a.m. and arrives at the Capitol at approximately 11:40 a.m. The ride from Decatur is five miles one way, with some hills, and will proceed at a slow pace. Visit www.georgiabikes.org for more information.
Eat Right with Color for Nutrition Month
From the Active Living Advisory Board
Eat Right with Color for Nutrition Month
In celebration of National Nutrition Month in March, the Active Living Advisory Board and the American Dietetic Association encourage you to “Eat Right with Color.” This means adding variety to your meals with colorful fruits and vegetables and “making a rainbow on your plate.” Visit the Be Active Decatur blog for ideas and ways to eat right and live a healthy and active life. For information about the Eat Right with Color campaign visit www.eatright.org/nnm.
Earth Hour Bonfire & Marshmallow Roast
Earth Hour Bonfire & Marshmallow Roast
Hosted by the City of Decatur and the Decatur Business Association
March 26 • 8-9:30 pm
In celebration of Earth Hour, Decatur is hosting a bonfire and marshmallow roast. Join us on the Square for glow-in-the-dark Frisbee and roasted marshmallows to celebrate Earth Hour. At 8:30, we’ll count down and turn off the gazebo lights and the blue pillar lights on the MARTA plaza. You can participate at home just by turning off your lights for one hour. Watch the Decatur Minute blog at the City’s website for more details.
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney. Just three years later, 128 countries and territories have participated and global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Coliseum, have stood in darkness to show their support.
Decatur Named Most Walkable City in Georgia
From the Decatur Focus…
Decatur Named Most Walkable City in Georgia
Walk Score recently named the city of Decatur the No.1 Most Walkable City in Georgia. According to Walk Score, the 65 largest cities in Georgia have an average Walk Score of 38. Decatur leads the pack with a score of 66 followed by Brunswick at 54 and Atlanta at 53. Walk Score is a number between 1 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address. Visit www.walkscore.com/GA for more information and to measure how walkable your individual address is in relation to others.
Decatur Electronics Recycling Day
New Decatur Blog
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Wednesday Night Run 3-9-2011
Hello ORC,
Happy Fat Tuesday! Happy St Patrick’s Day! St Pat’s will have come and gone by next Wednesday. The Marlay House will have some St Patty’s events going on. This weekend at the Holiday Inn Decatur is the Southern Fried Burlesque Fest, much craziness in downtown Decatur. Superior Donuts at the Horizon Theatre is continuing through the end of March. Michelle Malone has shows going on at Eddie’s Attic. Eventually I’d like to check out the Sketchworks improv troupe at the Sketchworks Theater.
There will be the requisite St Patty’s day runs around town. Some within Atlanta are the O'Highlands Jig & Jog 5K and the ShamRock 'N Roll Road Race 5K & 10K. There is also the 27th Annual Hunger Walk/Run 5K. Some of you are training for the GA Publix Half and Full Marathon’s coming up in less than 2 weeks. I will be on course providing a bike escort for the top 3 female marathoners. Hope to see you on the course so I can cheer you on.
What else is going on? What would you like to share?
It's back to running through Winnona. It is Route 1. The run goes through Kirkwood, through McKoy Park, around Winnona, through Agnes Scott, and a long finishing straight on Ansley. The link to Route 1 is at the bottom of this e-mail. Changing the clock is just right around the corner; so remember to wear reflective clothing and lights for running in the dark. After the run it's off to Mojo's Pizza for food, drinks and trivia.
Enjoy your run Wednesday night. Thanks for making the Oakhurst Running Club one of the friendliest running club in Atlanta.
Corny
http://oakhurstrunningclub.blogspot.com/
http://oakhurst-running-club.googlegroups.com/web/Route+1.pdf?gda=v86xvD
Monday, March 7, 2011
Local Races This Weekend
Saturday, March 12
O'Highlands Jig & Jog 5K, Atlanta
Warrior's Stride for Pride 5K, Canton
1st Annual St. Patrick's Day 5K & Mile, McDonough
Sunday, March 13
ShamRock 'N Roll Road Race 5K & 10K, Atlanta
The Cougar 5K and Mile Fun Run, Dawsonville
27th Annual Hunger Walk/Run 5K, Atlanta
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Wednesday Midday Walking Group
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Balance Life
From Running Competitor online…
Fitting It All In: How To Balance Training With Life
Updated: Mar 1st 2011 1:23 PM EST by Matt Fitzgerald
Matt Fitzgerald provides seven helpful suggestions for endurance athletes.
Written by: Matt Fitzgerald
Lack of time is the most commonly cited excuse for not exercising. But surveys suggest that those who exercise regularly are just as busy with their jobs, families and other responsibilities as those who don’t work out. So the time excuse is just that: an excuse.
Yet time is a challenge for most endurance athletes. Run training is a time-consuming pursuit, and our lives are busier than ever these days. So while it might not be hard to find time to get some exercise daily, finding time to train as much was we would like to train is difficult. Use the following tips to better fit your training into your hectic life.
Read on here.
Smooth Landing
From Running Competitor online…
Smoothen Your Landing & Reduce The Risk Of Injury
Updated: Feb 23rd 2011 2:01 PM EST by Matt Fitzgerald
Retrain your stride to reduce impact and injury risk.
Written by: Matt Fitzgerald
Some runners hit the ground hard with their feet. Others land very softly. Even when two major factors affecting impact forces—body weight and running speed—are held constant, there is a large degree of individual variation with respect to this variable. Certain subtleties in biomechanics appear to be at fault for causing a hard landing in some runners.
You can’t always tell who the stompers are by watching them run. But you can tell from their injury history. Studies have shown that runners exhibiting unusually high impact forces when they run also have a very high risk of developing common overuse injuries such as plantar fasciitis and shin splints.
Read on here.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Can Exercise Keep You Young?
From the NY Times online…
March 2, 2011, 12:02 am
Can Exercise Keep You Young?
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
We all know that physical activity is beneficial in countless ways, but even so, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was startled to discover that exercise kept a strain of mice from becoming gray prematurely.
But shiny fur was the least of its benefits. Indeed, in heartening new research published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging in mice that had been genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.
In the experiment, Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lab rodents that carry a genetic mutation affecting how well their bodies repair malfunctioning mitochondria, which are tiny organelles within cells. Mitochondria combine oxygen and nutrients to create fuel for the cells — they are microscopic power generators.
Mitochrondria have their own DNA, distinct from the cell’s own genetic material, and they multiply on their own. But in the process, mitochondria can accumulate small genetic mutations, which under normal circumstances are corrected by specialized repair systems within the cell. Over time, as we age, the number of mutations begins to outstrip the system’s ability to make repairs, and mitochondria start malfunctioning and dying.
Many scientists consider the loss of healthy mitochondria to be an important underlying cause of aging in mammals. As resident mitochondria falter, the cells they fuel wither or die. Muscles shrink, brain volume drops, hair falls out or loses its pigmentation, and soon enough we are, in appearance and beneath the surface, old.
The mice that Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lacked the primary mitochondrial repair mechanism, so they developed malfunctioning mitochondria early in their lives, as early as 3 months of age, the human equivalent of age 20. By the time they reached 8 months, or their early 60s in human terms, the animals were extremely frail and decrepit, with spindly muscles, shrunken brains, enlarged hearts, shriveled gonads and patchy, graying fur. Listless, they barely moved around their cages. All were dead before reaching a year of age.
Except the mice that exercised.
Read on here.