Tag Archives: Olympic Games

Olympic Trials Preview

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The Men’s Marathon Olympic Trials are set for November 3 at Central Park in New York City. The race begins at 7:30 and will be featured briefly throughout the morning on NBC, but will be streamed live at NBCSports.

A map of the course (pdf) and spectator guide are available at the NYRR site. The USATF describes the course as

… a criterium-style course in Central Park that will start in Rockefeller Plaza and finish near Tavern on the Green. The criterium loop in Central Park will be the reverse of the loop used when NYRR hosted the USA 8 km Championships from 2002 to 2004. Athletes will run the loop five times, with distance added to complete the full 42.195 km of the marathon.

According to a press release

2004 Olympic Trials champion Alan Culpepper (Boulder, Colo.), Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi (San Diego, Calif.) and 10,000m and marathon Olympian Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.) lead a host of contenders who have officially made their bid to become the first members of Team USA’s Track & Field squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Also joining Culpepper, Keflezighi and Browne on the official entry list for the November 3 event are half-marathon American record-holder Ryan Hall (Big Bear Lake, Calif.), 2004 Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein (Eugene, Ore.), Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and two-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.)

As of 10/21 Khalid Khannouchi has the fastest qualifying time of 2:07:04 (4:50).  The slowest time posted is 2:22:02 (5:25) which is actually 2 seconds over the “B” standard.  The “A” standard which means that USATF will pay for your trials participation is a 2:20:00 (5:20).  You may also obtain the “B” standard by racing a 5K in 13:40:00 (4:23) or a 10K in 28:45:00 (4:37).

You can watch a video collection about the athletes, the event, and American running at New York Road Runner’s Chasing Glory site.  Runner’s World also has a large selection of information.

It looks like it should be a great race, especially the finish.  Who do you think will win this year’s Marathon Trials?

There actually is an Anderson connection to one of the runners, but I can’t remember who he is.  Anyone remember??

The Women’s Marathon Trials will be held April 20 in Boston.

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Caffeine – A Banned Substance

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Since the 2000 Olympics, caffeine has been banned by the International Olympic Committee. The level that is banned is approximately 8 cups of coffee.  If the IOC found that much caffeine in your urine, they would assume that you are trying to gain a competitive advantage.

Does Caffeine Really Help?

Research is all over the place, but the majority seem to suggest that caffeine will not benefit athletes in the shorter distances or those with high intensity. But it can improve performance in an endurance event. Runner’s World published an article about a research study that contradicts that claim, as well as a study that supports it!

Personal differences in tolerance to caffeine, metabolism, diet, and others can have an impact on the benefit of caffeine use.  Doctors don’t recommend the use of caffeine to enhance performance. Caffeine is present in much more than coffee and Coke.  Most energy drinks, sports drinks, and energy bars contain some level of caffeine.  Ingested during a race it can also provide a needed boost to help you continue at your desired level of exertion.

How It Works

According to a Rice University professor, “Caffeine mobilizes fat stores and encourages working muscles to use fat as a fuel.  This delays the depletion of muscle glycogen and allows for the prolongation of exercise.”  To optimize this caffeine needs to be ingested early in an event or before-hand.  This prevents the body from switching to glycogen too early.

Caffeine may also impact the brain, making you feel that your level of exertion is lower than it actually is.  This will also allow you to push longer and harder. It may also help keep your muscles relaxed.

Nasty Side Effects

Caffeine does have some bad side effects including:

  • Sleep deprivation
  • Nausea
  • Cramping
  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Stomach Instability
  • Muscle Tightness
  • Muscle Cramping
  • Dehydration
  • Diarrhea
  • May compound existing heart problems

Tips or Recommendations

  • Ingest Caffeine 3-4 hours before performance
  • Abstain for a few days before event, to improve caffeine effect
  • Make sure you have tested caffeine during training

Sources:

Do you drink coffee regularly?  Do you use it to “improve your performance”? What do you think about this topic?  Leave a note in the comments section.


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