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Newsletter: Volume 57, April 2004

I’ve learned so much about how the body and mind responds to running through my e-coaching program. As each person checks in with me, each week, I’ve come to predict potential problems and avoid them with proper action. The top five lessons are included below.

I hope that you can join us at one of my running/training groups, energizing Running Schools or Beach Retreats. The next two are May 8 in New York City and May 21-23 at our Beach Retreat near Blue Mountain Beach Florida. - Jeff Galloway

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Medical Advice—Always see a doctor for medical problems, especially one that wants to get you back out there on the sidewalks or trails. This newsletter is an offering of information from one runner to another.

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• Top Five Lessons from E-Coaching
1. When runners err on pace, they are usually running 20-30 seconds per mile too fast.
2. If you are tired with your current run-walk ratio, you can usually rebound in a week or two by walking more frequently (a 5-1 person, goes to 3-1 or 2-1)
3. Never try to run through pain. Stop immediately, take 3-5 days off from running, treat the injury and/or see a doctor.
4. Many injuries come from adding an additional day per week of running. The safest running week is a 3-day week.
5. If you miss a long run, you can often resume the schedule—but you must slow down to at least 3 min/mi slower than goal pace (4 min/mi slower is better).
(See GALLOWAY’S BOOK ON RUNNING 2ND EDITION for more on staying injury free.)

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Races of 2004:

Big Sur Marathon – April 25 – the 19th running of what The Ultimate Guide to Marathons has called the best marathon in North America

Prince of Wales Marathon – May 29 – a scenic, certified Alaskan course that winds across Prince of Wales Island from Hollis through Klawock to Craig

Durango Marathon – October 11 – one event of several planned for a real family weekend in an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise

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• Cadence Drill
If you do this drill, once a week, you will run lighter, more efficiently, and a bit faster—in 6 months.
1. Warm up with a 5-10 min slow run.
2. Time yourself for 30 seconds. Count the number of times the left or the right foot comes down (not both).
3. Walk or jog for 1-2 minutes and do another 30 second “count” trying to increase the number of steps by one or two.
4. Repeat this another 2-6 times—each time trying to increase by 1-2 counts.
5. It is important to do this every week.

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Upcoming Galloway Training Program Kickoffs

April: Atlanta, Austin, Albany GA, Baltimore, Bethesda, Charlotte, Chicago, DC, Dallas, Greenville SC, Houston, Raleigh, Sarasota, Tampa, Warner Robins GA

May: Augusta, Cincinnati, Daytona, Denver, Mahwah NJ, New York City

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There’s still time to sign up for Running School!
These one-day sessions offer an individualized running form evaluation and the direct information you need to train for your goal, nutrition, fat-burning, getting faster, endurance, mental toughness, injuries and much more. Cost range is $99 to $199.

Upcoming Galloway Running Schools
* NYC - May 8
* Denver- May 15
* Deadwood, SD - June 5
* Flint, MI - June 9
* Portland, OR - June 13 with special guest Joe Henderson
* Manitoba - June 19
* Minneapolis - June 26
* Seattle - June 27
* Edmonton - August 21
* Moline, IL - September 25

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Sports Science Update: Protein Power
Matt Fitzgerald, Author, The Runner's World Guide to Cross-Training (Oct 2004)

A remarkable new study could change the way athletes fuel their bodies during training and competition. In the July issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers at James Madison University report powerful evidence that consuming a modest amount of protein in a sports drink during exercise can increase endurance, reduce muscle damage, and enhance recovery.

Fifteen male cyclists completed a stationary ride to exhaustion while drinking either a conventional sports drink containing 7.3% carbohydrate (Gatorade®) or a sports drink containing an equal amount of carbohydrate plus 1.8% protein (Accelerade®). The following day, the cyclists completed a second ride to exhaustion at a higher intensity, this time without drinking anything. Before they began the second ride, a blood sample was taken and its concentration of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) was measured. CPK is a biomarker of muscle damage.

Two weeks later, this whole procedure was repeated with one change. The cyclists who had been randomly assigned to drink the carbohydrate sports drink in the first trial received the carbohydrate-protein drink in the second trial, and those who received the combined drink in the first trial received the carbohydrate drink in the second.

The results will be of great interest to all athletes. On average, the subjects were able to cycle 29% longer in the first ride and 40% longer in the second ride when given the carbohydrate-protein drink during the first ride than they were when given the drink without protein. In addition, the carbohydrate-protein drink was found to reduce CPK levels by 83%, indicating significantly less muscle damage.

While the differences are clear, the precise reasons for these differences have not yet been determined. The authors of the study noted that while the carbohydrate-protein drink had more total calories than the carbohydrate drink, the additional calories in the former could account for no more than 12% of the differences in performance. Also, scientists have long known that simply adding more carbohydrate to a sports drink does not make it more effective. There seems to be a special synergy between carbohydrate and protein.

Researchers at a few universities are now trying to figure out exactly how the addition of protein to a sports drink increases endurance, reduces muscle damage, and accelerates recovery. In the meantime, as an athlete, you don’t need to know why it works – it’s enough just to know that it does!

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Jeff’s Recommended Races (Jeff will be in attendance at all of these)
April 24 - Big Sur Marathon, Salt Lake City Marathon*
May 2 - Flying Pig Marathon
May 29 – Prince of Wales International Marathon
June 6 - Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon & Half Marathon
August 28 - Crim Festival of Races
September 25 - Quad Cities Marathon
October 3 - Twin Cities Marathon
October 9/10 - Durango's Rocky Mountain Festival for Runners
October 31 - Marine Corps Marathon
November 7 - Athens Greece Marathon
November 28 - Space Coast Marathon
January 16, 2005 - Lost Dutchman Marathon

Note: * Jeff highly endorses but will not be in attendance.

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The Home Depot Fitness Series - 2004
May 2 - Walk for Hunger, Boston
June 27 - Terry Fox Shore Run, Seattle
August 28 - Crim Festival of Races, Flint
September 19 - The Home Depot Governor's Cup, Denver
September 15 - Al's Memorial Run, Milwaukee

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THE ATHLETE'S KITCHEN Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS, RD 4/04
QUESTIONS SPORTSPARENTS ASK: What Should I Feed My Athletic Kids?

If you are the parent of an athletic child, you may wonder if young athletes have special nutritional needs. Or, are they just small grown-ups who can follow the same sports nutrition program as adults? This article addresses some of the nutrition questions parents ask about fueling their active, growing children.

Q: Does my third grade daughter really need a sports drink after her soccer game?
A: As long as your daughter drinks adequate fluids, she does not need a sports drink after her soccer game. Cold water and juicy oranges are fine refreshers. (Sports drinks are actually designed to be consumed during exercise lasting longer than an hour.) Your job as a parent is to be sure your daughter has access to palatable fluids. For her, this might mean a sports drink. But other beverages and snacks can provide needed fluids and carbohydrates.
Young athletes who exercise intensely for more than 30 to 40 minutes might benefit from a sports drink during exercise. They are at higher risk for becoming dehydrated than adults who do the same workout. Children have a greater body surface area in respect to their body weight, so they gain heat faster from the environment than do adults. They also produce more body heat at a given running speed, and they sweat less than adults do. (Each sweat glands produces about 40% less sweat than an adult's.) This means: Drink frequently during exercise to prevent dehydration!

Q: Between my son’s baseball games and daughter’s soccer schedule, we rarely eat dinner at home.
A: Children often eat poorly because their parents have failed to plan for better choices. For example, let's look at the rush to get to the event. With fluids, try to keep the refrigerator stocked with 16-ounce bottles of water, lemonade and juice. Grab them and go; you'll reduce your kid's intake of soda and sports drinks. With snacks, stash granola bars, pretzels, animal crackers and fig cookies in the car; you'll reduce trips to the snack shack for candy and chips.

If you know you’ll be getting fast food for dinner, you can at least swing by Papa Gino’s (pasta, thick crust veggie pizza) or Taco Bell (bean burritos). Most fast food restauarants offer a healthful option--if you aren't too hungry to choose it. Packing along a post-game recovery food that doubles as a pre-dinner appetite tamer (bagel, yogurt) can help reduce the temptation to fill up on fries, double bacon cheeseburgers, fried chicken, etc..

Q: My kids are junk food junkies. I try to get them to eat more broccoli and bananas, but I’m rarely successful...
A: Despite popular belief, kids (and their parents) do not have to eat a perfect diet to have a good diet. Most active children can meet their nutrient needs within 1,200 to 1,500 calories of a variety of wholesome foods. Hence, they do have space for some "junk" -- in moderation. Your children may actually have trouble getting adequate calories if you strictly limit treats. To find the right balance, I recommend Ellyn Satter's book Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family. Ellyn is the expert on how to encourage kids to eat well.

One trick to reducing your children's intake of not-so-good foods is to have available a healthful “second lunch” after school/before sports. Enjoying a bean burrito, English muffin pizza, cereal with milk, fruit smoothie or a sandwich is preferable to the standard routine of munching on candy bars, cookies and chips. A healthful "second lunch" is particularly important for kids who eat poorly at school lunch.

Q: As my son is training harder, he’s getting very skinny. How can I tell if he’s eating enough to grow normally?
A: Your pediatrician can tell you if your son is growing normally by routine height and weight measurements plotted on a growth chart. (You can print your own growth charts at www.cdc.gov/growthchart.) Hard training will not stunt his growth?as long as he is eating adequately. If he seems overly fatigued and lethargic, he may be eating too little. Encourage more milk and juice (in place of water) as easy ways to boost calories.

Active children may need as many calories as their parents--if not more. For example, the average 6 year old needs 1,800 calories/day (40 cals/lb) plus more for sports. The average 9 year old boy or girl (75 lbs) requires about 2,500 calories/day (32 calories/lb). Add on sports and the number jumps by 300 to 600+ calories. ( To estimate your child’s calorie needs, use the Nutrition Calculator at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000035.html.)