Team Cross Runs

More Push-ups

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Earlier this year I started the 100 Push-up Challenge.  You know… train for six weeks and then be able to pump out 100 push-ups in a row.

Well I did ok for the first few weeks… Then I failed I think week 4 or 5 several times in a row and I quit. I was making them harder by putting my feet up on a physioball, thus getting a better core workout.  I was also in the middle of marathon training…

Needless to say my body didn’t appreciate the extra demands I was placing on it and something had to go.  So I quit.

Last week I talked about going into the off-season and looking to do some strength training.  I even alluded to the fact that I’d probably do the push-ups.  Well I am currently in the middle of Week 2.  For this first section I managed to get myself into the hardest category and the workouts have been pretty tough to finish.  I don’t plan on quitting this time around, even if I have to repeat a few weeks!  Part of the reason is that a bunch of people that I run with started the challenge, albeit a week later (somehow I missed the memo!).  So that gives some extra motivation.  Especially when some of the women completed more regular push-ups than I did.

Here are a few random snippets from the e-mails being sent around.

I think I have my grunting technique down after my 5th set last night!

I think push ups are a much better work out than running.  I am going to give up running and just do push ups.  On a long push up day..you could have jelly beans strategically located to be lapped up when glycogen levels get low.

Yes, we have a fun group! I’ll keep posting my push-ups in my “Week in Review.”  Are you doing the push-ups?? What week are you in? How are they going??

Technorati Tags: 100 pushups, pushups, strength training, core

Take Care of Your Buds

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That is your ear buds.

A recent study showed that personal ear bud use may cause permanent hearing loss.  I use a  Sansa E250 2GB MP3 Player as my personal music player of choice. It is quite versatile (including an FM tuner and microphone) and has lasted pretty well, not to mention dirt cheap! I’ve talked about my mp3 use before, especially the safety issues and sharing my personal playlist (which is now a little outdated).

In the back of my head I have thought about the impact that all of this mp3 usage might have on my ears.  But never thought enough about it to worry too much.  I’ve thought more about my safety while running than the impact on my hearing.  I remember as a kid getting yelled at to turn down my Discman or Walkman, with the threat that I’d lose my hearing.

Now a study conducted for the European Union confirms that permanent hearing loss can come from too much and too loud of music being played in your ear drum.  The New York Times reported that

The report said that those who listened for five hours a week at high-volume settings exposed themselves to more noise than permitted in the noisiest factory or work place. Maximum volume on some devices can generate as much noise as an airplane taking off nearby.

That is a lot of noise!

The report issued by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, a name which implies they probably don’t use too many iPods, had some more bad news.  We might not feel the effect of our usage for many years. 5-10% of listeners may have hearing loss within 5 years, if they listen to music at a high volume for more than an hour a day. The now famous earbud may make things worse since the overall sound exposure is higher than the older, more traditional models.

A 2006 lawsuit claimed that the Apple iPod can produce music at 115 decibls, while 89 is the border line for safe listening.  It begs the question of why they would produce something at that level.  Well probably the same reason we keep building faster computers or cars with more horsepower.  Bigger, Faster, and Louder means something is BETTER!

SO WHAT! Maybe you want to go deaf or you don’t believe in scientific research, well you can stop reading! For the rest of us they study recommends limiting listening through headphones/earbuds to no more than an hour a day - with the volume set at around 60% of the maximum volume.  Got that? No more two hour long rungs with the ear buds - unless you skip a day somewhere else! This is just a guideline they offer so feel free to disobey - at your own risk and don’t sue me when you lose your hearing.

I guess I won’t be blaring my music anymore so that my training partners can hear the latest MPR program or Phedipidations episode - sorry guys.

Technorati Tags: Hearing Loss, mp3, iPod, ear bud

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Post Marathon Thoughts

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One of the main reasons I run is to race, I really enjoy racing and the feeling that comes with it, even when I place 700 and something!  When I have a goal race or races it gives me something to look forward to and to be motivated by.  So after completing my goal race, no matter the distance, the next week or so is always a little like a slump.

Things are no different for the marathon.  It has been a week and a half since I conquered the beast and for the first few days I was so stiff and sore that running never really crossed my mind. But as the pain and fatigue wore off I started to get a little bit of an itch to go running.  I scratched the itch by biking to work and that helped a little…  My schedule wasn’t really conducive to running without getting up really early (and I was tired) so I didn’t worry too much about running.

One week after the marathon I went for a 5k run, I made it a little more special by running on trails and enjoying the fall beauty of the Mississippi River.  This was great and after the first little bit I felt pretty good.  A few days later on Wednesday I went for another short run and it felt pretty good too. But I am severely unmotivated.  This is maybe the best time of year to run, the temps are cool, scenery is amazing and I lack motivation.  That is a little frustrating.

I know that running a marathon takes a lot out of you and things have been extremely busy since the marathon.  I’m sure that hasn’t helped.  Neither has the fact that the sun doesn’t come up as early anymore. I’ve been eating a ton of food at each meal and sometimes walk away hungry and my sleep schedule hasn’t been the best either.  All of this to say that while I was so extremely focused before the marathon to make sure I was taking excellent care of my body, that isn’t the case now.  In fact I should be sleeping instead of writing this post and last night I played around on Delicious for hours instead of getting some needed sleep.

I think if was taking care of myself better I might not be feeling as unmotivated and fatigued.  What do you think?? Have you experienced similar thoughts and feelings?

Ok enough ramblings from me… I’m going to put my thoughts into action and get some sleep..

One Hundred Push-Up Challenge

100 push-ups in a row.  6 weeks. 3 days a week.

That is the plan.  Doing a prescribed set of push-ups 3 days a week for 6 weeks should allow you to complete 100 push-ups in a row.  That is the claim of the latestet Internet fitness revolution.  Bloggers (and non-bloggers) everywhere are taking part in the Hundred Push-Up Challenge created by Steve Speirs at Run Bulldog Run.

If you’ve been following my marathon training, then you know that I’m in the middle of Week 4 3.  I’m almost up to 100 push-ups total in one setting - but within 5 sets.  It can be pretty challenging some days.

I decided that I wanted to add a little something to my workout and started the challenge using a swiss ball. In addition to the regular benefits, I get a little extra benefits for my overall core.  During an exhaustion test at the end of Week 2 my arms felt great doing the push-ups but my abs couldn’t hold my legs on the ball anymore and I fell over.  My plan is that this will greatly strengthen my overall core and I’ll reap a little extra benefit for the marathon training.

It seems that pretty much everyone has had to repeat at least one week, including Steve himself.  If you fail to meet the required workouts you should repeat the entire week to make sure you get the strength needed later.  I repeated Week 2 because I skipped a workout! If you are thinking about starting it now, make sure that it fits in with your training schedule for fall races - you don’t want to try doing 100 push-ups the day before your marathon!

Are you one of the thousands doing the push-up challenge? Where are you at in the challenge and how does it feel?

Technorati Tags: push-ups, Hunderd Push-Up Challenge, Core

Studying Runners

Two studies are currently underway testing runners in the Twin Cities area.

The first is a study is for any runner who is running either Chicago, Twin Cities, or the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. From the studies site:

We are inviting you to participate in a study on the relationship between marathon performance and satisfaction. The study is being conducted by researchers at The University of Chicago.

The study will take a total of 30 minutes of your life during which you’ll complete 3 different surveys - with the first being 2 months before the marathon and the last will be post-marathon. Anyone is eligible to participate as long as they are training and plan to complete the marathon. There will be random drawings conducted at the end of the study where they will be giving away 14 prizes for each marathon. The prizes include an iPod Nano and a Garmin 305.

Thank you MDRA for pointing out this study - I signed up.

The second study is being conducted locally by the University of Minnesota.  They are looking for 18-45 year-old’s who are participating in a regular running program and are otherwise in good health. The study will involve one outpatient visit for a total of 2 hours.  Participants will get paid $30 for their time. $15 an hour isn’t too bad for most of us working folk!  E-mail for more information. From an e-mail I recieved back from the study:

The reason why we are interested in intramuscular fat is because intramuscular fat levels generally relate to insulin resistance (ie more fat, more insulin resistance). However, this is not the case in endurance athletes and we are studying this apparent paradox.

I submitted a short questionnaire to be considered for the study.

Also the USATF Stretch Study is still going on. Be sure to check that one out too.

Technorati Tags: Research, Marathon, Medical Research

Summer Flip Flop Pain

With summer officially here now and the warm weather has finally made its appearance in Minnesota - it is time to wear the flip flops 24/7 for many people. But not me, I used to wear my flip flops all the time but slowed the use of them after I started having knee and heel issues that wouldn’t seem to go away.

I think for me it was the lack of cushioning and support (or improper support) that exasperated the existing issues I was experiencing. I could say that after I stopped wearing them all the time all my pain magically disappeared! But that would be inaccurate. I think that switching back to regular shoes and even more cushioned leather sandals helped my knee and heel heal more instead of constantly tugging on them.

I still wear my flip flops around quite often - I just try to limit the amount of time I’m going to be in them and on my feet walking around. For example a few weeks ago we went over to a friend’s house for dinner so I wore my flip flops. After dinner we ended up going for a fairly short walk but in that brief time I could feel the discomfort of wearing my flip flops around.

With my previous experiences it was not suprising then to hear about this recent study:

A new study from the American College of Sports Medicine found flip-flop wearers tend to take smaller strides, and alter the way they walk just to keep the sandals on.

Podiatrist Dr. Richard Green, says your flip-flops could be the cause of leg, knee, hip and back pain.

According to Dr. Green, you can love your flip-flops and feel good too. He says, just choose a pair with these three key elements:

arch support

thick sole

a heel stopper

“If it doesn’t hurt, it isn’t a big problem, but I wouldn’t really advise anyone to wear them full time all the time,” says Dr. Green.Flip-flops can cost between two bucks to upwards of 80-dollars a pair.But, price doesn’t necessarily make it a better fit.

What do you think about this? Do you wear flip-flops a lot?

Technorati Tags: Sandals, Flip Flops, Sports Medicine

Re-Thinking Post-Run Nutrition

After a work-out most runners tend to eat a lot (maybe even overeat) to try to replenish a variety of nutrients including: sugar, carbohydrates, protein, electrolytes, and regular old fluids. New research reported in the NY Times seems to indicate for most of us - that it is overkill.

The Researchers

Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a muscle physiology researcher at McMaster University in Canada and a physician and a 45-year-old trail runner and adventure racer.

Stuart Phillips, a 41-year-old associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster who played rugby for Canada’s national team and now plays it for fun. He also runs, lifts weights and studies nutrition and performance.

Dr. Michael Rennie, a 61-year-old who was a competitive swimmer and also used to play water polo and rugby and is a physiologist at the University of Nottingham in England who studies muscle metabolism.

Asker Jeukendrup, a 38-year-old 14-time Ironman-distance finisher is an exercise physiologist and nutritionist at the University of Birmingham in England.

Their Refueling Strategy

They just drink water, and eat real food. Dr. Tarnopolsky drinks fruit juice; Dr. Phillips eats fruit. And neither one feels a need to ingest a special combination of protein and carbohydrates within a short window of time, a few hours after exercising.

Their Thoughts

There are grains of truth to the nutrition advice, they and other experts say. But, as so often happens in sports, those grains of truth have been expanded into dictums and have formed the basis for an entire industry in “recovery” products.

The idea that what you eat and when you eat it will make a big difference in your performance and recovery “is wishful thinking,” said Dr. Rennie, a 61-year-old who was a competitive swimmer and also used to play water polo and rugby.

The Technical Facts

During exercise, muscles stop the biochemical reactions used to maintain themselves such as replacing and resynthesizing the proteins needed for day to day activities. It’s not that exercise is damaging your muscles; it’s that they halt the maintenance process until exercise is over.

To do this maintenance, muscles must make protein, and to do so they need to absorb amino acids, the constituent parts of proteins, from the blood. Just after exercise, perhaps for a period no longer than a couple of hours, the protein-building processes of muscle cells are especially receptive to amino acids. That means that if you consume protein, your muscles will use it to quickly replenish proteins that were not made during exercise.

But muscles don’t need much protein, researchers say. Twenty grams is as much as a 176-pound man’s muscles can take. Women, who are smaller and have smaller muscles even compared to their body sizes, need less.

Dr. Rennie said that 10 to 15 grams of protein is probably adequate for any adult. And you don’t need a special drink or energy bar to get it. One egg has 6 grams of protein. Two ounces of chicken has more than 12 grams.

Muscles also need to replenish glycogen, their fuel supply, after a long exercise session — two hours of running, for example. For that they need carbohydrates. Muscle cells are especially efficient in absorbing carbohydrates from the blood just after exercise.

Once again, muscles don’t need much; about one gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight is plenty, Dr. Tarnopolsky said. He weighs 70 kilograms, or 154 pounds, which means he would need 70 grams of carbohydrates, or say, 27 ounces of fruit juice, he said.

The Conclusions

Jeukendrup said the fastest glycogen replacement takes place in the four hours after exercise. Even so, most athletes need not worry.

“Most athletes will have at least 24 hours to recover,” Dr. Jeukendrup said. “We really are talking about a group of extremely elite sports people who train twice a day.” For them, he said, it can be necessary to rapidly replenish muscle glycogen.

As for the special four-to-one ratio of carbohydrates to protein, that, too, is not well established, researchers said. The idea was that you need both carbohydrates and protein consumed together because carbohydrates not only help muscles restore their glycogen but they also elicit the release of insulin. Insulin, the theory goes, helps muscles absorb amino acids.

My Thoughts

Who am I to argue with these guys? I’ve always thought moderation is key to anything that we do. It is important to eat a healthy meal after a workout. I do find that sometimes eating protein (eggs) after a workout I feel a lot better than just eating cereal. I also think that even though most of us aren’t doing two-a-days we still tap into a lot of energy reserves throughout the day for our daily routine. For instance I’ve been bike commuting so I’ll ride 4 miles within two hours of running. I need to make sure I replenish my body in between and after both workouts.

Their point is well taken and I think most of us would agree that the best way to do this is through natural methods. I’d prefer a large glass of orange juice any day over a bottle of Gatorade.

Your Thoughts?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Other’s Thoughts

Here are a couple highlights from readers’ comments on the NYTimes site:

• Lowfat chocolate milk. — Charles, London
• I never train hungry, and like to eat a balanced protein, carb, non-saturated fat meal @45 minutes before any heavy workout. After the w/o-skim milk, a lot of whey protein, at least 3 tablespoons of sugar, and a nap. During the workout I drink water or unsweetened tea. — George, Tucson
• Before a workout, i hard boiled egg white, 1/2 banana, some nuts and aa date, few ounces of oj and I am good good good to go. Waiting for me in the car every day after my workout at the Y is a hardboiled eggwhite, sourdough rye with peanut butter and jam, 1/2 banana and, coffee, and maybe a date and some nuts. Takes the ‘edge’ off, prevents the sugar treats, like the accelerater pedal is still on.Two hours or so later maybe some steel cut oatmeal with yogurt, nuts, raisons.Somehow it all works, I think its the protein hit in segments. Whatever, at 63 I am in better shape than I was at 43.— rob, seattle

Technorati Tags: Nutrition, Protein, Running Nutrition