Three golden weeks

A week ago I was sitting in my house, on the edge of my seat, beer at my side, remote in my hand. At one time there was a Cubs game on (and as most folks know we believe we are World Series bound this year), a Bear's preseason game, and the Olympics, which was highlighting the women's marathon. I was enraptured and in heaven. My boyfriend said I might need to set the next few weeks aside for sports withdrawal, as the Olympics ended on Sunday. He's right. It's going to be a tough adjustment, because it's been a great run.

What a treat to pop on the TV in prime-time - any night of the week - and be able to enjoy such high level athletics. I've had a chance to watch sports that I'm less familiar with and begin to understand these more fully. Or watch the sports I know well and love, and feel the excitement and the nerves as we triumphed or failed in our quest for medals.

We have so much to be proud of as a country. From the run of Michael Phelps and his eight gold medals, to the Redeem Team, who have shown the kind of professionalism, resolve and stunning talent we knew they had, but failed to demonstrate in 2004. With Coach K at the helm and leadership from players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on the floor, we have realized the potential that was always there and have gone unbeaten.  

And in defeat, Tyson Gay would not make excuses for the failures that besieged him. What a rough road this Olympics was for this young man... From his failure to make the 100-meter dash final to the dropping of the baton on his anchor leg of the 4x100 meters. But he never made excuses. Never threw fits. He maintained his integrity and accepted what happened, vowing it would just make him work harder. He is a class act.  

As is Allyson Felix. Having run the fastest time in the world last year in the 200-meter dash, she ran second for the silver this year behind her rival, Veronica  Campbell of Jamaica, who had also beaten her at the 2004 Olympics. Since that race in Athens, she had never lost to Campbell again... until the 200 final last week.  

This had to be a bitter disappointment to her and yet she held her head up, grateful for the medal she did win and showed the best of who we are to the rest of the world. She finally received her gold medal when the women's 4 x 400-meters won Saturday night. I couldn't have been happier for her.

So we walk away knowing there is work to do. What happened to us in track and field demonstrates a need for leadership. Dropping the batons in both the men's and women's 4 x 100-meters, shows that we need work to come together as a U.S. Olympic team in track and field. There is a lot of work to do there.

The sport of cross country mountain bike racing is a sport born in the U.S.A. Yet our best woman finished 7th and our best man, 29th. I think this happens because too often, American athletes who participate in some of the lesser known sports, lack an ability to have time to develop, because most of them are holding down full-time jobs and raising families, without the benefit of the financial support provided by other countries to their own athletes in these particular sports. And that affects our ability to compete.  

The marathon is a good example. In recent years, there has been more of a spotlight on running and greater funding. We now have development happening  with some of our younger phenoms, like Ryan Hall and Dathen Ritzenhein, who have the support behind them to train in a way that allows them to be more competitive. They finished 9th and 10th respectively in the men's marathon, being the first pair of Americans to run sub 2:13 in 34 years. The conditions in Beijing were terrible and their times reflected that, as they are both capable of faster finishes. But the heat made those kinds of performances nearly impossible for those who have not been acclimated to them since birth.  

But they represented us well and I am proud of what they accomplished. The future is bright for both of these young men and I believe we'll see them in London in four years.

It would be great to see that kind of support and development in sports like cross country mountain bike racing, as well as others. We have the athletic ability and talent that can be developed when the opportunities are there. We have proven that again and again, as we once again win the medal count with 110 Olympic medals for these Summer Olympic games.

And finally, I believe the greatest gift the Olympics gives its spectators is the gift of motivation. Swimming centers all over the country are chock full of new swimmers, looking to learn how to swim, because of Michael Phelps' run. Beach volleyball courts will be rife with new competitors as Misty May-Trainer and Kerrie Walsh brought this challenging sport to the forefront, along with Phil Dolhausser and Todd Rogers; as both the men's and women's teams brought home gold.  

Watching the Olympics reminds us there is more to life than baseball, basketball, golf, and football; the bulk of what we know as televised sports. But rather there is a world of athletic possibilities open to us, new and interesting sports to help up stay fit, athletically engaged and healthy.  

It's been a fun three weeks. Can't wait til 2012. Some say that the 2016 Olympics may be right here in Chicago. Murmurs are we've moved into the No. 1 spot. And wouldn't that be an amazing opportunity to BE there next time to watch, rather than to be on my coach, remote in hand and beer at my side. That would be a dream come true!

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No business like shoe business

How do you figure out the right running shoe for your foot and running habits?  

That's the age-old question I get asked all the time. The best answer is a short one. Go to a shop that specializes in running shoes and get fit. Don't buy cross-trainers at a general sporting goods store and expect them to be right for your feet.

The manufacturers have given us options, so that we can find shoes that address the individual foot.

While every person does have a different foot, there are four basic categories of shoe for our feet. They are: neutral/cushioned shoes, light stability, regular stability and motion control shoes. Of course there are also spikes and trail shoes, but when we discuss trainers, these are the basic four.  

The neutral/cushion shoe is designed for the runner with a relatively neutral footstrike, who doesn't really need any correction, or stability in the shoe.
 
The light stability helps the runner who may have just one foot with a little bit of late stage pronation (rolling of the foot off a normal track or strike pattern) or even light pronation in both feet.  

Regular stability is designed for the runner who needs a little more support and help, as the degree of pronation is higher. Usually this runner has noticeable pronation in both feet and needs the help of the greater degree of stability to help his or her foot roll more centrally, so as not to overload the tendons and muscles that are not designed to handle the workload that greater pronation causes.

Finally, there is the motion control shoe. This shoe is generally for the runner who may be a larger and heavier build. It gives maximum control to the foot and keeps the weight of the body from forcing the foot into a detrimental footstrike that can result in injuries.

Most runners fall in the neutral/cushion or light stability category and so those shoes can be easier to find and fit.  

But a good running specialty store will have all types and will properly walk you through the steps of a good fitting, recommending a shoe that is right for you, your foot structure and your footstrike.

Finally, with marathon season coming up, I am often asked how close to race day can you get new shoes.  

First of all, running shoes shouldn't need to be "broken in." They should feel good and fit properly right out of the box with little or no adjustment period.

That being said, my rule of thumb is about two weeks. If you get a new shoes (preferably just a new pair of the model you have been training in) you can start wearing them just as you begin the last two weeks of taper before the race. You'll run enough to know they are fit properly, but not so much that you wear them down. I find two weeks is just about perfect.

Also, don't let your trainers get more than about 400 miles on them. Once the shoe breaks down it has little to offer you. Looking at the bottom tread isn't the way to tell. Tread can look OK even when the cushioning and/or support can be completely shot.

Keep track of the miles in your training log or date the shoe box with the date of purchase and keep it around. You can estimate your weekly mileage and know when you are getting close to needing a replacement.

And if you find you need to keep pulling your laces tighter and tighter, and the laces have gotten very long, it's past time to replace your shoes. Having to pull them so tight assures you that they are stretched out, broken down and kaput.

You can make your trainers last by putting them on before you run and taking them off immediately after, so that you don't just wear the shoe around. Wear them only for running.

Try not to get them very wet. Should that happen, open them up a bit, stuff with newspaper and leave them to dry, changing the paper when it becomes soaked.

And never put your running shoes in the washing machine. It breaks the shoe down much faster, weakening its support and cushioning.

Follow these simple guidelines and you can find a great shoe that is right for you and that you can help last through months of training.

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All heart

Of course I'm going to write about the men's 4 x 100-meter relay at the Olympics. I saw it Sunday night. It was on everyone's lips on Monday.

It had to be one of the most exciting and emotional sporting events I have ever witnessed.

My 17 year-old and I had a discussion about why it was great. He says it is because the French were expected to win. Destined, some say. And that it didn't look that good for us on paper.   The excitement came in seeing not only the world record smashed by such a large margin, but witnessing the Americans do what others said they couldn't and take the gold medal in a
come-from-behind victory.

I say the most exciting thing was the sheer heart that Jason Lezak showed in the anchor leg. It was absolutely astounding. He was pulling so hard he was actually coming up and out of the water in those final strokes. It was incredible to watch. And it gave Phelps the ability to continue in his quest for eight gold medals.  

So for me it was being reminded how much our desire plays into our results. It is easy to go through the motions. Especially when we've been doing this for years. It's easy to take our talent or fitness for granted; to just sort of stop wanting to do better. And frankly, there is definitely a time for that.

But when we make the decision to improve or to compete at a higher level; when we commit to the training required, we always need to plug into the fact that our desire to achieve the goal can directly dictate its outcome.

Having our "head in the game" is really having the focus to execute and the desire to push beyond what we've thought we could do previously. And rather than it really coming from our heads, it is coming directly from our hearts.

And that is what separates the average moment in our sporting lives with the extraordinary moments. When we put our hearts into the process and the event and hit the mark.  

Lezak did that before my eyes the other night. It gave me goosebumps. It was a timely reminder to me that I am blessed to be an athlete and have the direct experience of putting my heart into what I am doing and seeing what I can achieve.

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Standing the heat

We had a brutal winter here in Chicago last year. This was followed up with predictions that we'd have a miserably hot summer. That's what usually happens when winter has been a bear.

But this summer has been lovely. I've only run my air conditioner a handful of times. The sun has been shining plenty and it's been beautiful.

Not so for a client of mine who live in Texas. He is trying to get in speedwork and long runs in temps that exceed 100 degrees for a daily high. They are headed for their 20th straight day of 100+ temps. Ugh.

So how do you handle training when it's so hot? 

Much like dealing with the snow and cold, you have to plan around it to the best of your ability and take preventative steps to ensure your body can handle the work in the heat. If the forecast says it will be excessively hot, then try to go to bed early so that you can get up and get the workout in before the sun begins to become a factor and increases the temperature. 

Check the weekly forecast. If it appears that certain days will be better than others, move your longer and harder workouts to the days that look to be better.

Hydrate. This doesn't mean drinking a glass of Gatorade before you leave and one when you get home. Hydration is a process that occurs over the course of time. Do the lemonade/apple juice test. 

After urination, check the color. If it appears dark and more the color of apple juice, you are dehydrated. We are shooting for it to be the color of lemonade. That shows that you are hydrating properly. It shouldn't be clear. But a light yellow.

Remember your electrolytes. You lose electrolytes through sweat. When it's hot out, you obviously sweat more, and therefore the electrolyte loss is higher.

Water alone cannot supply the body with much needed sodium and potassium, which are integral in muscular function. Cramps occur when the electrolyte balance is out of whack, as both sodium and potassium are involved in the chain of muscular contraction and release. If they are out of balance, the muscle will contract but may not release. That's a cramp. 

In rare instances, too much water and not enough electrolyte can cause hyponatremia or water intoxication. This is a condition caused by an abnormally low concentration of sodium in the blood and can lead to brain swelling and death.

Yes, it's rare. But keeping the balance of water and electrolytes is vital.

Also, if you are on either Diovan for high blood pressure, or beta blockers, these medications when coupled with heat, can produce dizziness and fatigue. Please check with your doctor if you are on any medication, as to whether working out in the heat might adversely affect you.

Finally, eat right. Eating fresh food - fruits, veggies and whole grains - will allow your body to execute the workout in bad conditions, more effectively, than if you were to do the workout after a meal of fat, calories and sugar. 

If we expect the body to perform well and be there for us, even in the most adverse of conditions, we must give it what it needs to meet that challenge in the form of good food, proper hydration and working out before it gets too hot.

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Rocky Mountain high

I just got back from a hike in the Rocky Mountains. 

We hit one of the many trail heads at Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday with our packs, which included tent, sleeping bags, bug repellent, sun block, a change of clothes, some camp cookware and some freeze dried food. And not much else. Gotta keep those packs as light as possible.

Our plan was to do a three-day/two-night hike and camp, which would average about 6 to 7 miles of hiking a day. Quite reasonable, even given the altitude and the elevation gains we'd need to deal with.

But upon reaching the ranger station on Thursday morning to get our permit, we learned the camp sites we wanted were unavailable. Time to regroup. We decided to do the same loop only backwards. This plan allowed us to get the desired campsites, but it would now require an 8- mile, 12-mile and 4-mile hikes, with a heck of a lot of climbing. 

Hiking with a 40-pound pack on your back is challenging. But schlepping it several miles and up 4,000 vertical feet is, uh, hard. Darn hard. But darn rewarding. 

The first day we did the 8 miles, which was mostly up. The hike was a bit of baptism by fire, but it was a good workout. We spent our first night under a cloudy sky, snuggled in our bags and our tent, trying to get a few Z's in prep for the long hike the next day.

After some green tea and instant oatmeal, we headed out the next morning for what we knew would be the most challenging part of the trip. The first 8 miles of the 12-mile day would be climbing.

We hit the pinnacle of our hike at that 8-mile mark. It was some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever come across in my entire life. Truly amazing. 

We saw a gorgeous lake near Long's Peak. The peak is 14,000+ feet, but we climbed to about 12,300 to get this amazing view. We hid our packs and hiked unencumbered to the area where the lake was located. High above the treeline, our views were unobstructed and awe-inspiring.

Our next challenge was to descend from that altitude, down to our next camp site. Just like in a marathon, the punishing part of up and down is the down. Especially with the weight of the pack. It is hard on the legs. But we managed.

We reached our camp site, dropped our packs and hiked back on the trail a bit to explore an old mine that was there. Between that out and back and the out and back we did at the lake, we added another two miles to an already long day.

But it was completely worth it. Again we made ourselves a nice little home at our campsite, fixed dinner and retired with tired legs, but content with what we'd accomplished that day.

Our last day was 4 miles. Mostly downhill once again. And knowing we were drawing near to the end of the hike, that somehow made the hike feel short.

Finally in the bright sunlight of late morning on Saturday, we emerged from the trails, hot, tired, a little hungry, perhaps a little stinky, but deeply satisfied.

This is what I love about being a geezerjock. We make lifestyle choices that allow us a level of fitness and health that keeps doors open. As our kids grow and time becomes a little more available, we find we can do the things we'd wanted to when they were young and time was short. 

We are capable of those choices because we stay fit. We take good care of ourselves. We remain active and cherish that activity, as it is a major component of the life we choose for ourselves.

And when you stay in shape, you always have options. We can once again prove to ourselves, that limitations are largely self-imposed, and when we choose fitness for ourselves, anything is possible.

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A different Tour

Have you noticed it? I have. I started noticing it during the spring classics in March and April.

I am talking about how different pro cycling races look since last year's Le Tour de Fiasco. When Operation Puerto began exposing the names of alleged dopers, team sponsors began pulling out as quickly as the accusations were being flung at nearly all the top riders. Cycling was a mess. Many wondered if the sport could rebound from something this damaging. No sponsors, no support, no cycling. Period. Things were going to have to drastically shift if the sport was to truly survive.

Then along came two American teams, Slipstream Chipotle, now called Garmin Chipotle; and Team High Road (and yes, I do believe the double meaning was intentional), now named Columbia. These two teams assembled an international cadre of riders, all who made the pledge to be tested extensively and by the team itself. They vowed to ride clean. Squeaky clean. 

I had heard this desire to clean up pro cycling and restore its honor was being heralded not only here on our soil, but across the pond as well.

Look, I don't mean to be cynical. But when I heard this I was skeptical this could succeed, because the very nature of the sport of pro cycling is so demanding, unforgiving and punishing, doping had become a way to merely survive. 

But bravo to the effort. Good news for those of us who tune in to Versus to watch the Tour de Flanders, Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix in the spring, the Giro in May and the grand dame of them all, the Tour de France in July. 

And when I saw my first race of the year, I noticed it right away. The race tactics looked different.  The riders who were up in front were different. The old hammer, then hammer some more way of racing, forcing a rider to recover so quickly from an effort it defied logic (hello!) then attack again, was totally different.

I was seeing more conservative riding by the team leaders. More calculation with regard to attacks and counter attacks. And watching the domestiques ride hard for their man but doing it with more emphasis on strategy and less on brute force effort.It was truly startling. And predicting the winner was somehow much more tricky.

Now it is July.  I have seen every stage of the Tour so far and it is definitely a Tour like I have never seen before.

The standing joke is that French riders haven't been successful in more recent years because they've been too clean to compete. Nearly every breakaway of the early stages thus far, has been brimming with Frenchmen. The Yellow Jersey is changing hands every day -- as are the Green and Polkadot jerseys for the best sprinter and king of the mountains respectively. 

Also noted, the guys who are all around riders, who both time trial and climb well are showing a definite strength at one or the other, rather than that dominance of both, which has been the norm for so many years. 

It's also apparent that riders are being more conservative with their energy. Should they decide to burn too many matches too early, you see that fatigue on the next few stages, where in the past, one day of pulling back and they were ready to go again. 

I speak in generalizations here. There have been years with good riders who have competed clean. But the use of EPO and other performance enhancers seems to have been largely eradicated for so many of the elements of racing, in both the one day classics and the grand tours, to look so startlingly different.

And for that I am thrilled. It is a wonderful, challenging, crushingly punishing sport, that requires the riders to train with intensity, intelligence, and precision. The riders are subjected to a test of mind, body and constitution that is paralleled by few sports. It makes the awe and respect I have for them so much deeper, when I know this is the rider out there; just his own talent, training and mental strength, that accomplishes the most intimidating and strenuous of athletic fea ts.

And the effect is that the unpredictability that is a by-product of this movement has made the Tour incredibly exciting to watch. Gone are the days when only a handful of riders were really in contention for the Yellow Jersey. This is anybody's race and you can see that. All are welcome to put their helmets down and compete with all they have. 

And that is the way it should be.

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Is your coach a Master(s)?

I've got a buddy named Dennis. Great guy. He has been racing triathlons and running races for a long time. He is in his 60s now and I saw him at a race on July 4th.

We started talking about training and racing as a master and how that is different from our younger days. We also talked about how important it is to choose a coach who understands the nuances in coaching as that athlete gets further into Masters status.  

As we've said here many times before, you can still do very satisfying  training long after conventional wisdom says you can't. But it has to be done intelligently and with proper rest and recovery. And sometimes that is best achieved with the help of someone who has been through this and understands the difference between training at 20, 40, 60 and beyond.  

There are many coaches out there who are perfectly capable of training athletes older than themselves. That goes without saying. But I think it helps to be coached by someone who has been there -- someone who understands not only in concept but in experience, how different it is to meet the demands of training as the years go by.  

For example, I run with a group of high school cross country runners in the summer. Back just three years ago, I could train five days a week with them, then go and run with my own clients several of those days and race on the weekends.  

I started back with the group two weeks ago. I was very tired that first week. And while part of that is the fitness difference between now and that summer of 2005, more of it had to do with my body just coming back a little more slowly from hard efforts.  

The second week was better. As my fitness and speed continued to improve and running tempo work with them wasn't as taxing as the week before. But I know I need to be very tuned in to my body and how I am feeling. I ran with them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, but took Thursday on my own to recover, as I had a race July 4th and wanted to hit it hard.  

I feel firsthand how training is different from only three years ago. It's subtle but it's there and I need to listen and respect the messages I get. And frankly the difference in how I have to go about things from 5 and 10 years ago is not subtle at all but quite different.

So when you are shopping for a coach, do your homework. Find out if this individual has worked with Masters athletes. If he or she is a Masters athlete, find out how much experience they have not only racing and training themselves, but also coaching other Masters athletes and what ages they have worked with.

Ask for references and talk with people the coach has trained who fall into your specific age group. It is always helpful to get firsthand information from another athlete that coach has worked with.  

Your body will thank you.

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