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Training & Nutrition Newsletter: March 2010
Improving the Running & Walking Experience - for you!

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News From Jeff: March 24, 2010

I'm on TV--this week! The Georgia Traveler, on Georgia Public Television, will have a Peachtree Road Race segment on Friday (March 26) @ 9:00 PM with repeats Saturday (March 27) @ 7:00 PM and again Wednesday (March 31) @ 7:30. Tell your friends!

My mission this month is help you find more enjoyment in running. You'll find a lot of resources in this edition: events, recipe, running form—all designed to help you run until you're 100.

The primary reason that I continue to enjoy running almost every day, without having to take time off for injury, is that I'm never afraid to adjust pace or walk break frequency if I don't feel quite right.

Yes, it's possible for most runners to enjoy every run!

Have a great month!

Jeff Galloway
US Olympian
JeffGalloway.com, JeffGallowayBlog.com
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter

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Medical Advice

Always see a doctor for medical problems, especially a physician who wants to get you back out there on the sidewalks or trails. Always get your doctor's OK when you train strenuously. This newsletter is an offering of information from one runner to another.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Race Bag Checklist

Pack your bag and lay out your clothes so that you don’t forget something on race morning.

* Watch or GymBoss, set up for the run-walk ratio you are using
* A pace chart, or wrist band, with lap times, or mile times
* Shoes
* Socks
* Shorts and/or pants
* Top
* Pin race number on the front of the garment in which you will be finishing
* A few extra safety pins for your race number, or bib number
* Water, Accelerade, pre-race and post race beverages (such as Endurox R4), and a cooler if you wish
* Food for the drive in, and the drive home
* Bandages, skin lubricant, any other first aid items you may need
* Cash for registration if you are doing race day registration (check for exact amount, including late fee)
* $25-40 for gas, food, parking, etc
* Race chip attached according to the race instructions
* A few jokes or stories to provide laughs or entertainment before the start
* Your iPhone (or other) to share/Tweet photos and texts

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shoes: How much room in the toe area?

When fitting my favorite shoe, a Mizuno Wave Rider, I need about three-fourths of an inch of extra room. After fitting shoes for almost 40 years, the staff at my Phidippides store find that the average amount of “room” needed is about half an inch, but this will vary with individual foot issues. Spend some time in the store, walk and run in the shoe, and make sure you have adequate—but not excessive room. It is usually best to fit the shoes at the time of the day when your feet tend to be as big as they will be. This is usually in the afternoon.

For more information visit Phidippides.com or ask Bob Wischnia any shoe question at shoeguy@mizunousa.com.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The marathon courses that produced the highest percentage of Boston Qualifiers (2008) are the following:

* Bay State Marathon, MA—38% (Oct)
* Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon NY—32% (Oct)
* Road 2 Hope/Hamilton Marathon Canada—31% (Nov)
* Newport Marathon OR—28.8% (May)
* California Intl Marathon CA—28.2% (Dec)
* Steamtown Marathon PA—28% (Oct)
* Wineglass Marathon NY—27.8% (Oct)
* Tucson Marathon AZ---27.2% (Dec)
* Grand Rapids Marathon MI—25.3 (Oct)
* Royal Victoria Marathon Canada—24.9% (Oct)
* Snickers Marathon GA—24.3% (Mar)
* Rocket City Marathon AL—22.9 (Dec)
* Hyannis Marathon MA—22.3% (Feb)
* Columbus Marathon OH—22.1% (Oct)
* Coeur d'Alene Marathon ID—21.6% (May)
* Louisville Marathon KY—21.6% (Oct)
* Regina Marathon Canada—21.4% (Sep)
* Pocono Mountain Marathon PA—21.3 (May)
* North Central Trail Marathon MD—20.8 (Nov)
* St George Marathon UT—20.7% (Oct)
* Towpath Marathon OH—20.7% (Oct)

- Source: MarathonGuide.com

You'd be surprised how many people get off the couch with our Galloway Training Groups to run “only one marathon” and 5 years later qualify for this great race.

My latest book Boston-How To Qualify has the day-by-day schedules and lots of great information to help you reach this goal.

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Recipe of the Month: “Barbara's Special Oatmeal”

½ cup oatmeal cooked (rolled or steel cut)

¼ cup skim milk

½ oz walnuts

1 Tbs dried fruit

2 tsp brown sugar or 1 tsp of molasses

Calorie Count: (with a 4 oz glass of orange juice). Total Calories: 419, Fat Calories: 103—12 grams, Carbohydrate: 266—67 grams, Protein: 42—11 grams, Fiber: 6 grams

- From Running and Fat Burning for Women by Jeff & Barbara Galloway

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Galloway Training Programs give group support that can get you to your goal.

Upcoming Galloway Training Program Kickoffs/Events:

Atlanta, GA - Austin, TX - Baltimore, MD - Burlington, VT - Chicago, IL - El Paso, TX - Ft. Worth, TX
Hartford, CT - Houston, TX - Macon, GA - Milwaukee, WI - New York, NY - Salt Lake City, UT
Springfield, MO - Washington, DC

- Get more information and see the complete list of training groups.

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Top Ten Ways to manage the mindless calories that keep fat on the body:

* Know the calorie content and nutrient breakdown of what you're eating. Read the label or use a website like fitday.com to record what you eat.

* Concentrate on the positive: “I can eat more of (good tasting fruit and crunchy vegetables”) rather than “I have to eat less of _______."

* Visualize the food on your plate as being in your stomach. Ask yourself “Do I want to stretch my stomach to cram in more food?” “Do I need that much right now?”

* Don't have more than 3 items or “dishes” at one meal.

* Use spices to improve the taste of food. Food that is “spicy” tends to leave you feeling more satisfied.

* Drink a glass of water (6-8oz) before eating, and drink 4-6 oz during the meal.

* Hot fluids (tea, coffee, broth) leave you feeling fuller than cold fluids

* Never eat fatty appetizers if you are very hungry before a meal. Instead, choose soup, salad, hot tea, warm skim milk.

* Take vitamins with a meal and avoid caffeine for half an hour.

* Don't even think about going to a buffet.

- From Running and Fat Burning for Women by Jeff & Barbara Galloway

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Injury of the Month: Ilio-Tibial Band Injury

-Massage of the IT Band above the knee is effective. Using a foam roller is an efficient way to achieve this. Jeff suggests rolling for 5 minutes before a run/walk, 5 minutes after a run/walk and 5 minutes before going to bed. There is less benefit from massage with a Biceps Femoris injury, but an experienced therapist can use special techniques that may speed up the healing process.

-IT Band stretches can help recovery and are valuable to prevent recurrences after the injury.

-Supination should be eliminated and in fact temporary over-pronation may be needed. Choose a shoe with more lateral motion control. If neutral cushioned shoes are already being used, consider a shoe in the lateral stability category or a trail shoe for roads since they usually have firmer outer edges to prevent ankle sprains, and the structure reduces stress on the lateral knee as the foot rolls forward. If it is obvious that over pronation is already present, or when experiencing other injuries such as medial shin pain, do not do this. Shoe experts in a technical running store can help you in choosing the right model.

-Avoid hills and faster running. Try to get a stride evaluation to identify causes such as overstriding. Note: Jeff conducts running form evaluations at his retreats and running schools.

-Elastic knee sleeves will sometimes help and there are straps designed for IT Band injuries that help mild injuries.

- Read more in Running Injures, Treatment and Prevention by Dr. David Hannaford & Jeff Galloway

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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD March 2010

Figuring Out Your Sports Diet: Tips for Label Readers

“What percent of my calories should come from carbs, protein and fat?”
“Orange juice has 24 grams sugar. Isn’t that bad...???”
“I stopped eating peanut butter; the label says it has 16 grams of fat!!!”

If you are like many runners, you feel totally confused about what to eat. You listen to a plethora of nutrition experts, read food labels, and then try to piece the information together to build a better sports diet. Yet, you end up with lots of questions, like what percent of calories should come from carbs, protein and fat: 40-30-30% or 60-15-25%?
According to the American Dietetic Association's Position Stand on Nutrition & Athletic Performance, percentages are not the way to calculate a sports diet. Here's one example why:
• If you are a trying to drop five pounds to be lighter for a race and are eating only 1,600 calories a day, 10-15% of calories from protein translates into 160-240 calories of protein. That’s the equivalent of 40-60 grams protein. (There are 4 calories/gram protein.) That’s way too little. The runner who weighs 140 lbs. would need almost double that amount, because dieting athletes should target about 0.8 grams protein per pound of body weight (1.7 g pro/kg).

Assessing your diet
Instead of getting overwhelmed by percentages of calories, I suggest you envision a dinner plate. The goal is for 2/3 to 3/4 of the plate to be filled with carb-based foods (such as brown rice and broccoli) and 1/4 to 1/3 filled with a protein-rich food (such as a piece of fish). The plate-method is far easier than calculating grams of carbs, protein and fat!

But, if you are curious about your food intake and want to learn more about what you eat, you can track your diet on websites such as MyDailyPlate.com, fitday.com or sparkpeople.com. One critical key when assessing your diet is to weigh and measure your food so you know exactly how much you actually eat and not just guess. (Hmm. I guess that’s about 1 cup of oatmeal...) Be honest now; people tend to change what they eat when they have to record it. Be sure to include the Munchkin someone brought into the office, the Hershey’s Kiss from the candy jar, the French fry you snitched....

By tracking your intake for three or four days, you'll get a good snapshot of your training diet. Ideally, a runner who routinely trains hard wants to consume about:
• 2.5 to 4.5 gram carbohydrate/lb body weight (6 to 10 g/kg)
• 0.5 to 0.8 gram protein/lb body weight (1.2 to 1.7 g/kg)
• the rest of the calories from fat (no less than 20% of calories from fat).
If you are consuming more than 2,000 calories of day from primarily nutrient-dense food, a diet analysis will help you discover you likely consume abundant vitamins and minerals—and get more than 100% of the Daily Value. (This may lead you to question if you actually need that vitamin pill after all!)

Making sense of information on food labels
Here are some food label questions runners ask me about the carbs, protein and fats in their diets. Perhaps this information will help address your confusion as well.

Q. Is it OK to have 2% milk (with 5 grams fat) on my cereal instead of watery skim milk (with 0 grams fat)? It tastes better and is more satisfying.
A. Yes, as long as you budget the rest of your day's fat intake. That is, if you enjoy 2% milk on cereal, then simply choose less mayo, cheese and fatty foods at other meals. Even dieting runners should consume at least 40 grams of (primarily healthful) fat per day.

Q. Should I avoid peanut butter because it has 16 grams of fat?
A. No! About 25% of your calories can appropriately come from fat. That means the typical female runner can enjoy 600 calories (~65 grams) of fat per day. Peanut butter can easily fit within your fat-budget. Plus, peanut butter’s fat is health-protective. People who enjoy peanut butter and nuts five or more times a week reduce their risk of heart disease and diabetes by more than 20%. Perhaps you want to enjoy peanut butter twice a day?!

Q. The label says 2 tablespoons of Skippy peanut butter has 3 grams of added sugar. Isn’t that bad?
A. Three grams of sugar equates to 12 calories of sugar. This is far less than the jelly that goes on a PB&J sandwich, as well as a fraction of the sugar in sports drinks and jellybeans. A standard guideline is 10% of calories can come from refined sugar. That equates to about 240 to 300 calories (60-75 grams) of sugar for most runners. You can choose how you want to spend those sugar-grams.

Q. Should I avoid orange juice because it has too much sugar?
A. All the calories in orange juice come from sugar, but along with that (natural) sugar, you get abundant vitamin C (to boost your immune system), potassium (to protect against high blood pressure), folate (to protect against birth defects) and numerous other health-protective nutrients. The sugar in orange juice (and any type of sugar, for that matter) fuels your muscles. The nutrients that accompany that natural sugar are like spark plugs and help your body’s engine run stronger.
While eating the whole orange is preferable to drinking the juice, any form of fruit is better than none. That is, if you aren't going to make time to peel an orange, grabbing a glass of OJ for a morning eye-opener is a handy alternative—and is far preferable to grabbing just a coffee-to-go.

Q. The label on my protein bar contains it contains 20 grams of protein. How many of these bars should I eat in a day?
A. What makes you think you need any protein bars at all? Most hungry runners get the protein they need through normal meals and snacks. Consuming excess protein is a needless expense for most athletes.

Athletes who might benefit from protein bars include vegetarians, dieters or college students who eat limited meat from the dining hall. If that’s your case, track your protein intake by using the websites mentioned above to see if your protein intake comes up short. If it does, make the effort to eat extra Greek yogurt, tuna or cottage cheese—excellent sources of protein with a lower price (and better taste).

Q. How many grams of protein should I eat in a day?
A. For most runners, I recommend 0.5-0.8 grams protein/lb body weight (1.2 -1.7 g/kg). This equates to a moderate serving of protein-rich food at each meal (such as milk on breakfast cereal, sandwich at lunch, yogurt for a snack, and fish for dinner.) Even if you want to build muscle, your need for additional carbs to fuel the heavy lifting is higher than the need for extra protein. Be sure to enjoy carb-protein combinations that allow you to fill up on carbs and enjoy protein as the accompaniment. Filling up on primarily protein will leave your stomach full but your muscles unfed. That means, recover with a fruit-yogurt smoothie instead of a protein shake!

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) counsels both casual and competitive athletes in her practice at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-383-6100). For help balancing your diet, read her Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for new runners, marathoners, and cyclists, available at nancyclarkrd.com. See also sportsnutritionworkshop.com.

Reference: Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. J Amer Diet Assoc 109(3)509-527.

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