Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Oct 31, 2008
Gu and Gatorade and PowerBars have long been quick energy fixes for endurance athletes. For a couple bucks a pop, you can energize yourself with some maltodextrin in it's various forms for a good 45 minutes until the calories are burned and you pop another gel or sip some more drink or take another chewy bite of a vanilla crisp energy bar. All of those energy sources are great products for endurance sports, but they hold little water to a much more cost-effective source of energy: WORDS.
Words are free and when used in the right way, can energize someone much better than maltodextrin. You don't even have to re-say them every 45 minutes to an hour.
When you are at the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon in Wilmington this weekend, or the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, remember to not just cheer for those athletes during the race, but speak words of encouragement before their difficult endeavor and speak words of recognition after the amazing feat of athleticism they have just accomplished.
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Oct 27, 2008
Endurance Magazine's Ramblin' Rose Women Only Triathlon Series wrapped up in October and capped off an amazing first year of our "green" initiative, "Race Without A Trace". All of the athletes who participated in the series, as well as the Carroboro Classic Endurance Festival, The Tarheel 10-Miler and Franklin 5000 helped contribute to a cleaner environment with respect to the amount of event-related waste they reduced and recycled.
Rather than hand out throw-away plastic bottles at the finish, the Endurance Magazine/Sport Often team hands out re-useable plastic bike bottles participants can use to fill up at one of our many water stations. In addition, race packets including flyers and coupons are all distributed digitally via e-mail. Shirts, bags, and other items are handed out at packet pick-up without plastic bags as well.
Earlier in the year, it wasn't unusual to find our team sorting compost, recycling, and trash in the few bags of waste generated at our events. As the year wore on and more people became aware of our different recycling, trash and compost bins, our job became easier and the environment a little bit cleaner!
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Oct 27, 2008
It's not an old wives tale, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. A nutritious, well-balanced morning meal not only sustains your energy levels better than endless cups of coffee, but it also can help:
- Boost weight loss efforts. Research shows that breakfast eaters are more successful at losing weight and maintaining that weight loss compared to breakfast skippers.
- Sharpen your mind. People who consume a high-fiber breakfast stay more alert than those who start their day with a high-fat meal, according to research.
- Protect your cardiovascular system. A study revealed that people who consumed whole-grain cereals rather than refined cereals had a lower risk of heart disease.
- Strengthen your immune system. The right breakfast choices help you start your day with immune-boosting vitamins and minerals.
Following are some tips on finding a breakfast that's healthy and enjoyable.
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Oct 27, 2008
Vibram Five Fingers KSO - $80.00
If performance footwear existed twenty years ago when I was a private in the Marines, I didn't know about it. But, I did know an old gunnery sergeant who taught me how to make the most out of the gear I had with a few minor adjustments, like wearing my polyester dress socks underneath my standard issue hiking socks to wick moisture away from my feet on long marches. He also gave me the name of a shoe repair shop in San Diego where I could get my combat boots refitted with better soles - Vibram soles.
Posted by: Mandy Beard
on Oct 24, 2008
Tagged in: Untagged
Gaining and keeping perspective on "what is really important in life" is a skill that I am learning needs to continually be cultivated; gaining this perspective on occasion doesn't ensure its permanence. In fact, nothing is permanent. There are so many opportunities for getting micro in our lives - shaving seconds off our time for a PR; Budgeting to the dollar; Pretzel sticks or pretzel rods in lunches this week?; Shorts or running pants for my run this morning?; I said this, should I have said that instead? -- Yes, this moment to moment decision making is part of navigating daily life. But getting stuck here is a potential hazard.
What I realized recently while pumping gas - my fist gripping the lever as if that was going to make the gas flow faster (ha!) - was that we have to consciously and continually step back to remember what is really important; What really matters to us? After I posed this question to myself while standing there pumping gas, I felt my shoulders soften, I really noticed the sunlight hitting the dew on the grass, I felt a sense of gratitude for my health and that I was able to go out for a run on this brisk morning, and I remembered the soft expression on my daughters face as she excitedly bounced into school this morning holding hands with her friends.
Pausing long enough between all of our doing and micro managing of our lives to gain perspective is a skill that has to be cultivated. We have to train ourselves to regularly stop and ask: What really matters? It is even helpful to use clues from our bodies or something in our everyday lives to remind us to gain this perspective in that moment. The balance in life that comes from leveling out our micro thinking with a big picture perspective (imagine a see-saw with equal weight on either side) can be very freeing and peaceful!
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Oct 22, 2008
The other day I was running through the quiet forest in Umstead State Park. With the leaves falling to the ground around me and the oxygen-rich air feeding my brain, I started thinking about the Bailout Plan. Not the one that we've all heard so much about on the news lately, but the one that you actually have some degree of control over, and one that has been shown to be absolutely 100% effective. Having a training plan before the weather gets cold and wet is highly recommended if you want to come out of the other end of winter in reasonable shape - ready for a breakthrough year of racing.
So as you train during the next few months, save yourself from a physical recession by employing the following (bullish) Bailout Plan:
Posted by: Thys Wind
on Oct 10, 2008
Our "green" initiative, Race Without A Trace, has been a huge success this year. Stay tuned for some hard data on just how effective it really was with respect to the amount of event-related waste we saved/recycled and the extent to which we minimized our carbon footprint across the 5 events that we produced this year. As we set our sights on 2009, we felt it was appropriate to update the Race Without A Trace logo. As Steve would say, it's definitely "the new hotness." Or, as I like to say, it's "off the chain."
Posted by: Mandy Beard
on Oct 02, 2008
Tagged in: Untagged
I have always been a rule-follower and as a child I worked hard to keep the peace in a household of 4 kids and many pets. So how come now, at age 35, is my own form of rebellion surfacing? And it comes out in such an interested disguise --as a triathlete rebel!
I love to run and my routine runs feed my soul. A few months ago I decided that it would be fun to expand my horizons and push myself to participate in Endurance Magazines three Ramblin' Rose Tour events. I jumped right into training and participated in Ramblin' Rose Winston Salem in late August. It was a blast and I really enjoyed incorporating swimming and a bike ride into my routine.
This weekend I am participating in event #2 of 3 -- RR Charlotte. Yet the past 2 weeks, I have been at war with this rebellious part of me that does not want to get on a bike or get in the pool -- I just want to run! Although frustrating, I feel well trained enough to participate and remain healthy yet the bigger challenge I face is to garner a better understanding why this creature is re-directing me to the trails. At minimum -- it has provided lots to think about on the awesome brisk morning runs!
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Oct 02, 2008
Mojo Rider Raising Money Madness -- Story Sam Scott, Photo by Bill Fehr
Michael Gibbons jumps into things. Four years ago he chanced upon the Charlotte Criterium, and the next week he was a newly minted cyclist.
Posted by: Joe Nuss
on Oct 02, 2008
Apples have many nutrition benefits. They are low in calories, have no fat, and are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. A study published in the September 2002 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that the flavonoids (plant pigments with antioxidant activity) found in apples may reduce the risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and asthma. Quercetin, an antioxidant flavonoid found in high concentrations in apples, is thought to be responsible for apples' potential benefit in preventing lung cancer.
