January 00

January 2000

Women in Motion
Newsletter

enhancing female performance

Vol 1. Issue 6
January 00

WOMEN IN MOTION NEWSLETTER - January 00
Vol. 1, No. 6

This Month Contains:

~Article
Personal Pressure

~From Around the 'Net
1. Bitter Cold
2. A Little Shopping Help
3. Eat For Energy
4. Alcohol and Fitness
5. Training Tip
6. Acupuncture Reduces Pain!
7. Fit Means Sexy?
8. Overtraining the Result of Stress
9. More On Treadmills

~Words of Inspiration
~The Running Woman Board

Article: Personal Pressure

Personal Pressure - Doing a Number on Ourselves

This article is dedicated to my wife, Fariyal and all runners wanting to break a barrier.

When you ask a runner what their best time for a particular distance is, there is normally an embarrassed pause, perhaps some shuffling of the feet and finally a quiet response. No matter what ability level, most runners are never really satisfied with their personal bests. Even right after a runner has gone out and set a new personal record, in their mind they are recounting the race and figuring out how they could have run faster. We at Women in Motion are no different. As soon as the marathon is completed the heart rate monitor is deprogrammed of its lap interval times and the results entered into a chart. And now the analysis of each race interval according to its race pace is done.

A part of the reason for this is that no matter how fast we run, there is always someone who can run faster. It is really impossible to feel dominant as a runner, because we all know the stopwatch tells no lies.

Another reason for the internal dissatisfaction comes from our desire to attain certain personal goals. Perhaps someone wants to break 20 minutes for 5 K. Or perhaps it is the need to go under three hours in a marathon. A time of 02:59:59 seems a million times better than 03:00:01 in this case, and yet 2 seconds can easily be caused by a slight mismeasurement of the course or a crowded starting line slowing the first part of the race, or a headwind we have to fight in the second half.. Still, the barrier exists in one's mind in a very real way.

The problem doesn't stop once you have broken through a particular time barrier, though. If someone runs a 02:59:59, it becomes obvious just how far away they are from a 02:59:00 marathon. So it doesn't matter what level you are at or what times you are running, there are always unattained time goals sitting out there in front of you.

Our times are only part of the story. Weather, course difficulty and other factors greatly influence our final time. The next thing we look at is how we placed in the race. Runners never seem satisfied. Failure to place in one's age group may be reason to feel failure, no matter how well the race was run or how fast the time. Upon placing third in an age category, a runner may be disappointed they didn't run a bit quicker and nip the second place runner at the line. Winning an age group may be only partially satisfying if you feel you could have won the race. Even winning the race isn't enough, because there may have been someone much faster who decided not to show up for the race.

It's great that we all want to constantly improve and attain new goals as runners. This is what motivates us in training and racing. But, we should all be proud of our achievements, too. Don't allow yourself to feel inferior just because there are runners who are faster, who log more miles each week, or who take home more medals and trophies than you. Remember that there are always time barriers in front of every runner. If you ran 03:08:23 and that was a good, strong effort for you, then feel proud. Sure, you could have run faster. Nobody will ever run the perfect race. So what?

If you permit yourself a little pride, and feel a bit of satisfaction, you might just feel a boost of the old ego. Maybe you'll feel a little more confidence at the starting line of your next race. Maybe you'll even crash though a barrier or two as a result. More importantly, maybe you can relax and enjoy the effort a little more. It's okay to stay humble, but there's nothing wrong with a little quiet self-confidence.

Women in Motion -Gord Samson, adapted from an old article in our collection to try to make my wife feel better.

FROM AROUND THE 'NET

1. Bitter Cold

Dealing with running in the bitter cold?

www.kicksports.com/good/dealcold.shtml

2. A Little shopping Help

This is software that gives something for free. If you don't wish to
purchase this program (which is excellent, by the way) there
are several tools online that you can use to aid your
knowledge of your training and racing.

http://www.peakrun.com/

3. Eat For Energy
Want to put more pep in your step over the long haul? Then pay
extra attention to what -- and when -- you eat. Find out what a
sports nutritionist has to say about eating for long-distance energy:

http://prevention.com/weight/buzz/991124.buzz.html?c23

4. Alcohol and Fitness

Alcohol consumption adds empty calories to our diets since it has no
nutritional value. It is stored mainly as fat in the body and has
adverse effects on athletic performance. The chemistry of the body is
changed by the use of alcohol. The liver's output of glucose
decreases, resulting in the lowering of the amount of ATP (adenosine
triphosphate) entering the cells. ATP is the fuel for muscle
contraction and immediate bursts of energy. Alcohol also increases
fatigue, promotes difficulty in regulating body temperature, and
dehydrates the body.

Alcohol has mind-altering effects on the brain. Within minutes after
alcohol enters the bloodstream, the nerve cells of the brain are
numbed. The heart muscle strains to cope with alcohol's depressive
action. If drinking continues, vision, balance, and coordination are
impaired. Over time, alcohol abuse increases the risk for certain
forms of heart disease and cancer. It can destroy the functioning of
the liver and pancreas, resulting in organ failure.

The general message: Alcohol consumption can lead to poor athletic
performance and health-related problems.

5. Training Tip
As you exercise, your muscles use up stored carbohydrates and become
thirsty for a replenishing supply of sugar from the blood. It is the role
of your liver to supply this sugar, but it, too, is running out of
carbohydrates. This drying up of body carbohydrates brings on a feeling of
light-headedness and weakness. Drinking a sports drink or eating a
carbohydrate food will give your muscles and brains this crucial supply of
carbohydrates to delay inevitable fatigue. -- from Liz Applegate's Power
Foods, page 66.

6. Acupuncture Reduces Pain?

When researchers at the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey measured the brain activity and pain
sensitivity of 12 people before, during and after acupuncture treatments,
they found that acupuncture decreased the brain's "pain messages" in more
than half of the subjects.

7. Fit Means Sexy?

Stay fit, stay sexy: When researchers in California surveyed hundreds of
people aged 50 and older about their exercise and sexual habits, they
learned that only 30 percent of the least fit women and 46 percent of the
least fit men reported one or more bouts of sexual activity a week compared
to 66 percent of the most fit women and 63 percent of the most fit men

8. Overtraining the Result of Stress.

Overtraining is usually the result of weeks of stress, but it can also be
triggered by your failure to recover from a single strenuous event. You
compete in a marathon. You take a day or two off. You start training again
for your next race and then exhaustion hits you. The
best cure for overtraining is rest. Take a few days off. -- from Scott
Tinley and Ken McAlpine, Winning Guide to Sports Endurance, page 198.

9. More on Treadmills?
Another good reason to buy a treadmill: Overweight women who had a treadmill
at home exercised more consistently and
lost twice as much weight as those who did not. Researchers suspect home
exercise equipment provides you with another option during inclement
weather. It also may serve as a visual reminder to exercise.

Words of Inspiration

" Know yourself, so you may live that life peculiar to you,
the one and only life you were born to live.
Know yourself, that you may perfect your body and your play."

-George Sheehan, philosopher -runner-

The Running Woman Message Board in Diet and Fitness

The Running Woman Board - the One and Only!

The Running Woman Board continues to be THE BOARD for runners in iVillage.com for the female runner. Thanks to everyone for making our board such a success. Best wishes for 2000.

Good Luck and Good Running

Gord - Women in Motion

About This Newsletter

A reminder that experts - we are not. Information presented here is a collection of research with a taste of experience and opinion added for flavour. I don't get upset if someone disagrees with anything that has been said or written. In our experience with running groups here at home, it is difficult to get agreement on most anything. If it works for you, then it works.

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If you have any suggestions for topics or questions please email us. We would like to publish a monthly newsletter that reflects the interests of the female runner.

Gordon Samson, Editor
Women in Motion

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Gordon and Fariyal Samson
Women in Motion
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Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.