Category Archives: Safety

Resting: 3 Variations

: Image via Wikipedia

Many runners think that taking a day off is a bad thing. The thought of not running any miles on a given day is ridiculous. There is the saying that when you are running 3 miles someone else is running 4, this type of thinking leads into the “no rest” mentality.

Every training program that I’ve followed includes some form of rest/recovery in it. Resting is an important part of allowing your body, especially your muscles the chance to heal and repair themselves. To improve, muscles need a chance to create new fibers and generally get stronger. Running – even an easy jog will tear muscle fibers that need healed.

Resting can mean a lot of different things though. Below are several types of rest:

1) Doing nothing. This is generally what we think of when using the word rest. Doing no strenous physical activity.

2) Cross-training. Biking, Swimming, Rowing, Elipticating – doing some type of physical exercise that isn’t running and doesn’t use your main running muscles. Elipticating might actually be a bad form of cross-training but it is a fun word to write.

3) Active Rest. I think of this as doing nothing strenous but maybe doing something moderate or different than normal. Going for a longer walk than normal, doing more yard work than normal. Basically doing something that isn’t necessarily strenuous but isn’t sitting around on the coach.

I would advocate that doing absolutely nothing every now and then is a good thing. I am a huge proponent of cross-training at least one day a week. Most types of cross-training will actually help your running.

One thing I’m learning more and more is that it is important to understand your body and what you need to stay healthy and fit. A few days off in any given week isn’t going to kill your training plan. But a well thought out resting strategy can be crucial to race-day success.

Bonus Tip: There is a way to get 24 hours of rest and still run every day. If you run in the morning on Monday and then in the evening on Tuesday, you have given your body 24 hours of rest in between runs. What you do on Wednesday is tricky, but you still got a “rest day” without writing down a zero. If you run Wednesday morning prepare for it to be a crappy run (especially if Tuesday was a hard workout). You could mitigate this by doing a lunch-time run.

[tags] running, resting, rest [/tags]

Fitness Switch Up: Spinning Instead of Running (fitsugar.com)
Pilates For Cross Training (fitsugar.com)

Triathlons Twice as Deadly as Marathon

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Dr Kevin Harris

A recent study by the Minneapolis Heart Institute provides data that twice as many people die, per million during triathlons than marathons.

The Pioneer Press reported on Dr Harris’ research:

Marathon-related deaths made headlines in November 2007 when 28-year-old Ryan Shay died while competing in New York in the men’s marathon Olympic trials. Statistics show that for every million participants in these 26.2-mile running races, there will be four to eight deaths.The rate for triathletes is far higher –15 out of a million, the new study shows. Almost all occurred during the swim portion, usually the first event.

That most triathlon deaths occur during the swim portion of the event makes sense. Any injury or fatigue in the water could create a potential drowning incident. Both events are still relatively safe, in a 33 month period 14 triathletes died out of a total of 922,000 competitors.

Out of the 14 athletes, 6 were autopsied and four of those had documentable pre-exsisting heart conditions. The water temperature and stress of competition can exasperacte these conditions. A normal heart may also react negatively in these situations as well.

Their advice:

Doctors offer these tips to anyone considering a triathlon:

—Get a checkup to make sure you don’t have hidden heart problems.

—Train adequately long before the event, including open-water swims — not just in pools.

—Acclimate yourself to the water temperature shortly before a race, and wear a wetsuit if it’s too cold.

—Make sure the race has medical staff and defibrillators on site.

[tags] Triathlon, Marathon, Heart, Heart Research [/tags]

More Products Being Recalled

Salmonella Spreading

1 Reply

: Image by flickrich via Flickr

Clif Bar recently announced that they are expanding their voluntary recall. It was a little confusing at first but here is the lowdown. ClifBar has 14 products affected by their recall. They are the same 14 products from the first announcement except that they have broadened the date scope. The original list included Canadian products and this list has expanded into the UK.

You can see a full list of energy bars affected by Salmonella here.

Here is a current listing:

In the U.S, the following products with BEST BY or SELL BY dates¹ within the ranges below, all sizes and packages, are included in the initial and expanded recall.

CLIF BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
09OCT08 to 31DEC09
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter
09OCT08 to 31DEC09
CLIF BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz
09OCT08 to 31DEC09
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter
20SEP08 to 31DEC09
CLIF Kid Organic ZBaR Peanut Butter
21OCT08 to 31DEC09
LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate
28OCT08 to 31DEC09
LUNA Peanut Butter Cookie
28OCT08 to 31DEC09
MOJO Honey Roasted Peanut
01SEP07 to 31OCT09
MOJO Mixed Nuts
01SEP07 to 31OCT09
MOJO Mountain Mix
01SEP07 to 31OCT09
MOJO Peanut Butter Pretzel
01SEP07 to 31OCT09
MOJO Dipped Chocolate Peanut
01SEP07 to 31OCT09
MOJO Dipped Peanut Butter and Jelly
01SEP07 to 31OCT09
MOJO Dipped Fruit and Nut
01SEP07 to 31OCT09

In Canada, the following products are included in the recall. Only bars with wrappers that have the following EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION codes¹ on them, in all sizes and packages, are being recalled:

CLIF BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch / Brisures de Chocolat aux Arachides Croquants
2008OC04 to 2009DE31
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter / Beurre d’ Arachide Croquant
2008OC04 to 2009DE31
CLIF BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz / Toffee et Arachides
2008OC04 to 2009DE31
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter / Beurre d’Arachide
2009MA06 to 2009DE31
LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate Saveur de Noix et Chocolat
2008OC28 to 2009DE31

In the United Kingdom (UK), the following products are included in the recall. Only bars that have the following dates¹ on them, in all sizes and packages, are being recalled:

CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter
BEST BEFORE:
07NOV2008 to 31DEC2009
LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate Saveur de Noix et Chocolat
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2008OC28 to 2009DE31

No other CLIF or LUNA products or flavors are included in this recall

This expansion is accompanied by a letter from Gary & Kit, co-owners of ClifBar. It included the below paragraph:

Clif Bar is taking a break and temporarily suspending production and shipments of our recalled products with peanuts and peanut butter. Now and during this break, consumers can enjoy our 91 other products that do not contain recalled peanuts or peanut butter.

They hope that by doing this they can rebuild trust, reduce confusion, and take a deeper look at their quality assurance practices.

HT Chicago Athlete

[tags] ClifBar, Salmonella, Energy Bars [/tags]

Headphones Are Safe Again

4 Replies

: Image via Wikipedia

In case you missed it, the USATF is now permitting runners to wear headphones again. Yes the USATF recently changed the rules again for its sanctioned and insured events (official release).

The sudden change of course throws a curveball to the many races that disqualified runners for wearing headphones. I’ve heard at least one story of a streaker whose streak was officially broken because they were DQ’ed after completing a race wearing headphones. Will they continue enforcing the ban as is their right? Should they reinstated runners who were DQ’ed after reviewing marathon pictures? I doubt they will reinstate runners but should they continue enforcing their previous bans?

The USATF has decided to leave the decision about headphones up to the individual race directors, except in the case of USATF Championship races, where those competing for awards can’t wear portable audio devices.

I personally am not a fan of wearing headphones while racing and have had an occasional problem when trying to pass someone who was wearing them. It is one thing to train with headphones, but to me racing is a more pure component of running and it is easier to enjoy the event and surroundings without them.

This quote from The Final Sprint sums it up well:

“The difficulty in enforcement was part of the reasoning,” said USATF Rules Committee chairman John Blackburn through a news release. “However, several good-sized races have demonstrated that they were able to enforce the rule. There were strong opinions on all sides of this discussion, both understanding the issues related to athlete safety, race organization, difficulty of enforcement. This resolution appeared to be the best position for USATF overall.”

Many race organizers thought the genesis of the ban was due to safety concerns; runners may be listening to music which is so loud that they cannot respond to instructions should an emergency arise. Indeed, the issue had been couched that way by many who supported the ban, who also argued that plugged-in runners were discourteous to their fellow athletes, running in their own world and blocking race courses.

While the rule modification will certainly provide race organizers with much-needed breathing room, it will do little to quell the debate amongst runners themselves. Many serious recreational runners don’t want to line up next to headphone wearers, afraid that their competitive efforts may be impeded. The new language of the rule may prompt some event organizers to offer headphone-free starting corrals to mollify those concerns.

What is your opinion on wearing headphones during a race?

HT Run to Win

HT The Final Sprint

[tags] USATF, headphones [/tags]

Individual Bar	UPC 0 21908-40802 6	(Not Sold Individually)
Carton (6 Bars)	UPC 0 21908-14631 7

Individual Bar	UPC 0 21908 50442 1	(Not Sold Individually)
Carton (5 bars)	UPC 0 21908 40774 6

Individual Bar	UPC 0 21908-50443 8	(Not Sold Individually)
Carton (5 bars)	UPC 0 21908 40775 3

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