Eden Athletics - Training Talk

Notes from My Exercise Phys Lab: Running and Ground Reaction Forces

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:01:20 -0700

Physics + kinesiology = biomechanics

I've been trying to figure out for awhile how much impact there is on leg bones manipulating two variables: pace and surface. Turns out gait style has a role as well. Biomechanics book has some clues ---

Newton's third law states that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. As feet hit the ground, the ground responds with an upward reaction force. The harder you land, the harder that Ground Reaction Force pushing back is.

Runners Interview

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:02:51 -0800

Austin Townsend "OZZY" came to Designer Health Net's Talk Show and gave a most impressive fun and educational interivew about short and long distance running. His humor is outstanding! If you would like to hear it just go to www.designerhealthnet.com. Once you arrive, simply click on the talk show page and then go to the archive section...there you will find the great and wonderful OZ! P.S. if you have an interesting story about nutrition, fitness or health please drop me an e-mail at dhn2009@myfairpoint.net. Guess what else...Mr. King will from SUB 5 will be joining me for an interview next week. I will let you know when his show will air as I am sure you will not miss it.

Follow-up for Michele

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:36:26 -0800

she asked the other day,

fast twich/slow twich
If the 20something starts endurance training, will s/he increase the proportion of slow twitch and if so is it reversible?

An interesting note: "Certain patterns of muscle fiber distribution appear readily in comparisons among highly proficient athletes. For example, successful endurance athletes have predominately slow-twitch fibers in the major muscles activated in their specific sport ... weight lifters, ice hockey players, and sprinters have more fast-twitch fibers and relatively lower aerobic capacities" (386).

Wall Tag (how to do flip turns)

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:35:54 -0800

Two Minute Video

Judy, you are right that it is a "flip then a twist."

Carbohydrate Loading

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:34:35 -0700

John's jokes about the "carbo loading treat of the day" last week got me thinking about how, physiologically, carbohydrate loading - or "supercompensation" - works. The idea is that one can get muscles to store more glycogen if one eats a higher carbohydrate diet (while cutting back a bit on protein and fat), and tapers exercise.

Countdown to an Ironman: Dave Scott's 21-day Tapering Plan

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:37:44 -0700

by Dave Scott, for Triathlete Magazine.

ALYIE'S NOTE - found this online, thought it had lots of useful stuff, maybe a piece for discussion and at the very least I wanted to throw it in the archives for reference the next time I manage to talk myself into tapering.

Countdown to an Ironman: Dave Scott's 21-day Tapering Plan

Did you feel sluggish in your most recent 140.6-distance race, or did you hit the taper right on the mark? If you fell flat—muscles felt heavy, breathing was a bit labored, and you didn't meet your expectations—then you most likely over-looked several components of a proper taper.

track workout

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:38:10 -0700

This might be specific to Kevin but could I have the workout schedule from yesterday? Specifically I want the splits for 17-18 min. 5K. Thanks

Notes from my Exercise Phys Lab - Nutrition

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:00:41 -0800

Dear Eden,

One of my classes this semester is Nutrition for Sports and Exercise. The big project (rather than exams!) is that we are each paired with a student athlete and have to use what we learn in class to help them better their nutrition. They get to do cool stuff like a resting metabolic rate test and a Vo2 max test and a body composition test, keep records of everything that they eat, and hopefully both parties learn something.

Interesting NOVA show:

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:28:00 -0700

Tuesday, October 30 at 8pm ET/PT on PBS
Check your local listings as dates and times may vary.
Broadcast in High Definition where available

How do you run 26.2 miles if you have trouble making it around the block? With good coaching, discipline, and lots of group support, as NOVA shows when it follows 13 normally sedentary people through a training regimen designed to prepare them for an ultimate test of stamina and endurance.

Basics of Aerobic Fitness

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:32:12 -0700

[ Author's note: I wrote this for the First Strides group, and figured I could put it up here too in case anyone else is interested. It is geared toward beginning exercisers but the principles are smiliar for recreational to elite athletes.]

Aerobic Fitness

When we talk about people being “in shape,” or “fit,” the terms are vague. There are lots of different forms of exercise, and being fit for one does not mean that you are fit for another. For instance, an Olympic weight lifter might be just as fit as a marathon runner, but they are two different types of fitness. By running and walking, you are increasing your aerobic fitness.

Notes from my Exercise Phys lab: Vo2 Max

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:26:29 -0700

Hey everyone,

We did these two tests in exercise phys tonight, and they're easy, and you can do them at home, so I thought I'd share - at least a couple of you will find this interesting.

Vo2 stands for volume of oxygen consumption. It is measured in ml/min and standardized to mL/kg/min, allowing you to compare your Vo2 max to others, and to predict race times (there's a table for this in Noakes' "The Lore of Running.") The unit means that your body is taking in X milliliters of oxygen, per kilogram of body weight, per minute.

26.2 countdown to Sugarloaf.

Fri, 18 May 2007 08:23:36 -0700

Starting two days after Boston I'm going to start the 26.2 mile countdown to Sugarloaf. Starting with mile 1 and working our way to the finish

Question for those of you who are coached

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:04:43 -0800

(or, for those of you who have been coached before. or are coaches. whatever.)

-What do you expect from your coach?
-What does your coach expect from you?
-How, and how often, do you and your coach communicate? (ie - weekly/daily/other, email/phone/in person/other)
-What are the good things about having a coach?
-What are the bad things about having a coach (if there are any)?

As to "why are you asking this?!" - I'm in the process of finding a new coach, the goal being to find someone I trust, feel comfortable with, and will LISTEN TO ;) - and just trying to figure out just exactly what a coach/athlete relationship is supposed to be like, and how it works.

Weekly milage

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 04:36:22 -0700

This week has been about the same for my training as I have been able to follow since end of May. Total of about 35 miles more or less. Usually I have to train only between 3:45 and 5:15 daily after working a full eight hours on my feet. This week like normal I mix some running on carriage road and some on trails. I normally do not train on any paved road. Sat. no run today. Sunday 13+ miles I ran long around the mountain and at the top of big hill ran up trail to Sargent Mtn., over to Gilmour Mtn., and to Parkman. Monday 4 miles I ran on mixed surface trails up Day Mtn. over to Van Santmor Trail near Traid and down. Back on the carraige Rd. to trail closest to Rt.3 Tuesday 8 miles I ran up Caddy from South face Rt. near Black Woods CG and return in 57 minutes. Wed. 8 miles I did the same run in 55 minutes. Thursday 6 Miles I ran eagle lake with Chris G. Friday 3 miles I ran up Champlain Mtn. on beachcroft trail and return 24 minutes. Sat. ?.

90 beats per minute

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 05:26:54 -0700

Here's a place to list music that you like that matches a 90 beat per minute optimum running and biking cadence.