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Newsletter: Volume 37, March  2002

The momentum of one step leading to another is more important than the pace. - Jeff Galloway

Featured Sale Item of the Month: Accelerade

ACCELERADE® is the first sports drink that shifts the energy dynamic during exercise to improve performance. Like conventional sports drinks, ACCELERADE® supplies the necessary carbohydrates and electrolytes for rehydrating and replenishing muscle reserves. But unlike conventional sports drinks, ACCELERADE® contains the patented 4 to 1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein to speed the movement of carbohydrate into the muscle and the ideal combination of simple and complex carbohydrates for rapid and sustained energy.

Studies show that, compared to a conventional sports drink, ACCELERADE® extends endurance by 24%. ACCELERADE® also contains essential antioxidants to reduce post-exercise muscle damage. ACCELERADE® lets you train longer and harder, and you'll feel less sore afterwards.

SPECIAL SALE PRICE: $21.95 (normally $23.95) through March 30 ­ 2.2 lb. canister

Featured Speaker at Jeff's Tahoe Running Retreat: Sister Marion Irvine

Sister Marion, 71, is the oldest woman ever to qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials (she was 54 when she ran a 2:51 at the Trials in 1984. A member of the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame and the Masters Track and Field Hall of Fame, she now lives in San Rafael, CA.

What she thinks about when she runs: "Basically I zone out when I run. Usually no thinking is going on. I just enjoy the harmony of life."

Running/life philosophy: "Running affords the perfect integration of body and spirit. It makes for a fullness of life."

" From ³Warmups," by Beth Eck, Runner's World, July 2000, p. 18

THE ATHLETE'S KITCHEN
By Nancy Clark, MS, RD
"Helping active people win with good nutrition."
CHOCOLATE: A love affair

"I love chocolate, but I feel so guilty when I sneak a candy bar..."
"I get wicked cravings for chocolate..I've even gone to the store at 1:00 am to buy Hershey's Kisses."
"I can tell I'm premenstrual by my cravings for chocolate...!"

If you are like most active people, chocolate is among your favorite foods. Chocolate is universally loved in all developed countries and has been touted as "a gift of the gods." About 50% of all food cravings are for chocolate, far more than cravings for "something sweet" (16%), salty foods (12%), baked goods (11%), and fruit (4%). Some people go so far as saying they are addicted to chocolate.

The question arises: Why is chocolate such a powerful food? And what makes it the most commonly craved food? (About 40% of women and 15% of men report chocolate cravings.) Scientists have extensively studied chocolate, trying to determine the source of its power beyond having a pleasurable taste, smell, and texture.

Although we do not know the exact reasons why chocolate is so popular, we do know chocolate alters brain chemistry and creates a pleasant mood. Chocolate contains substances similar to drugs that may account for chocolate's stimulant, anti-depressant, and mood altering effects. But the mystery remains, why does just chocolate, and no other food, contain this exquisit combination of substances that induces a desire to eat it for a sense of well-being?

If chocolate is on your favorite food list, the following article may answer some questions you have about chocolate and its role in both your daily diet and sports diet.

How bad is chocolate for my health?
The good news is, chocolate is not as bad for your health as you may think. That is, chocolate actually contains some health-protective anti-oxidants, as well as a type of fat that is neutral in terms of heart disease. Certainly, chocolate should be eaten in moderation (in addition to a variety of wholesome foods) and for pleasure--not for nutritional value. That is, eating chocolate after lunch is nutritionally acceptable, but eating two chocolate bars for lunch is not!

Given the guideline that 10% of daily calories can appropriately come from sugar, and 25% from fat, most active people can budget in 200 to 300 calories of chocolate per day within the context of a healthful diet. That's one big candy bar, guilt-free! A 1.55 oz. Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar, for example, is 230 calories-- 90 calories from sugar, 115 from fat.

How much caffeine is in chocolate?
Although chocolate has the reputation for being loaded with caffeine, it actually contains very little--about the amount in one cup of decaffeinated coffee. The energy burst provided by chocolate more likely comes from its sugar content than from caffeine. In comparison to a small, 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee with about 100 milligrams of caffeine (depending on how it's brewed), or one ounce of espresso with about 40 milligrams of caffeine, the typical 1.55 ounce milk chocolate candy bar offers only 10 milligrams of caffeine. The same amount of semi-sweet dark chocolate offers about 30 milligrams, and a one-ounce square of baker's chocolate, 25 milligrams. (Note: Dark chocolate contains more cocoa, hence more caffeine.) A glass of chocolate milk has only 5 milligrams, an insignificant amount, even for kids.

Why do I feel addicted to chocolate?
So-called "chocolate addictions" are common among dieters and athletes who fail to consume adequate calories. When your body is too hungry and screams for quick energy, you can easily succumb to chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or candy bars. Eating chocolate is the symptom of this nutritional concern; getting too hungry is the real problem. Even a self-proclaimed chocoholic cyclist exclaimed "I have not eaten chocolate at all this week--nor have I missed even it--now that I am having 600 calories of cereal/milk/banana & juice for breakfast (instead of just a banana) and 600 calories of PB&J sandwich, yogurt and apple for lunch (instead of just a yogurt). I've even lost weight, much to my amazement, on 1,800 calories...and I feel better when I eat less sugar."

How fattening is chocolate?
Chocolate is only fattening if you eat too much of it and blow your calorie budget on a whole bag of M&Ms or batch of brownies. This can easily happen when you get too hungry or stressed.

Why do I have monthly premenstrual chocolate cravings?
About one-third of women will agree that nothing does the job of resolving premenstrual sweet cravings as well as some delicious, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. The cyclical nature of women's chocolate cravings supports the involvement of hormonal fluctuations. If you are a chocolate craver, I recommend you eat chocolate for breakfast, get rid of the craving, and then feel content all day. Otherwise, you'll try to stay away from chocolate, only to succumb to eating "the whole thing" that evening. If you're destined to eat chocolate eventually, why "hold off" until evening when you want it now?

Will I "crash" if I eat chocolate before I exercise?
Despite popular belief, eating a candy bar five minutes before exercise can actually enhance performance, not hinder it. While a banana, yogurt, or energy bar would be nutritionally preferable, any fuel in your tank is better than no fuel--particularly if you are underfed and overhungry. The better way to improve performance is to eat more breakfast and lunch, plus a 200 to 300 calorie snack within the hour before you exercise. This fueling pattern can enhance exercise performance by 20% in the last 10 minutes of a one-hour exercise bout. In comparison, you may improve only 10% by eating just a candy bar vs eating nothing and exercising on empty.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, Director of Nutrition Services, SportsMedicine Associates, is author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 2nd Edition, available by sending $23 to Sports Nutrition Materials, 830 Boylston St. #205, Brookline MA 02467 or via www.nancyclarkrd.com, Phone: (617) 795-1875 Fax: (617) 795-1876

Hills: How to run them and how they build strength

Everyone can benefit from doing some hill accelerations. Hill training provides a gentle and effective transition between very slow running and the faster speed play needed by veteran marathoners for faster performance. If you're just starting to run, you shouldn't jump into hill play. But those who've been running regularly for six months or more can benefit from the strength increase which only hill training can give. You don't have to have a time goal to benefit from play on hills.

Hills: The Best Strength Training for Running
Hills provide resistance to the main running groups, primarily the calf muscles; the regular but gentle uphill stress encourages these muscles to develop strength in the act of running. Weight training, in contrast, builds static strength in only one range of motion at a time. Since weight work can strengthen some leg groups more than others (and knock your running motion off balance), it is not recommended for runners. Hill training strengthens as it coordinates the dynamic action of running and can bestow all the running power you need.

When runners of all ability levels run hill sessions regularly, they develop the lower leg strength to support body weight farther forward on their feet. As the foot rolls forward in the running motion, greater support strength will allow the ankle to be loaded like a strong spring. The result is a more dynamic lift-off of the foot as the ankle releases its mechanical energy. Due to the incredible efficiency of the ankle, more work is done with less energy expended by the muscles. Such conservation of muscle resources allows one to run further or faster or a combination of both.

If You're Doing Hill Training for the First Time . . .
Beginning hill runners should be conservative. It's too easy to run too fast in the first few sessions without realizing it. DON'T PUSH THE EFFORT! Run at a comfortable and non-fast pace on each incline during the first few hill sessions. The grade of the hill will be enough of a challenge to bestow a training effect. After three hill play sessions, you may run the hills a little faster.

When?
On non-long-run weekends, before marathon speed play begins.

Warm-up and Warm-down
A good walk of five minutes gets the blood flowing and the tendons and muscles warmed up. Start running very slowly, and jog for at least .5 mile before doing any hills. The warm-down should reverse the warm-up. Runners and competitors could add four to eight acceleration-gliders just before the hills and could increase the warm-up and warm-down to at least one mile.

How Steep?
The incline of the hill can increase to the maximum listed: one to two percent for both beginner groups, three to four percent for runners, and five to six percent for competitors. The grade is measured from horizontal being zero percent and perpendicular being 100 percent.

Rest By the Numbers

One of the best things about running is that it's an activity we can do for a lifetime. But as we get older, rest becomes more necessary. To allow for added recovery time and to decrease your injury risk as you age, remember these general guidelines:

If you're	Then rest
Under 30	at least 1 day per week
30 - 45	2 days per week
45-55	3 days per week
55 plus	every other day

For more on the importance of rest in your running program, see Jeff Galloway's article, "Rest Assured" in the March 2002 Runner's World, p. 34, www.runnersworld.com.

Coming Next Month:

• Speed Play
• Injury Survey
• Nancy Clark article

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