This is the time of year that endurance athletes must make some changes in their routines to adapt to the rising mercury. Whether planned races or recreational runs have you set to put in your miles under the sun, keep a few concepts in mind to ensure a safe and successful experience.

Keep it covered - wearing highly breathable light colored clothing, including hats will keep direct sunlight off you while enhancing the conductive cooling effects of your sweat by transporting that perspiration out to the atmosphere where it can cool you.

Nutrition and Hydration – It’s assumed that you enter each training session and race in excellent nutritional standing. This means being fully hydrated with proper electrolyte balance. For further reading on this topic consult ‘Endurance Sports Nutrition’ from Human Kinetics.

Enhancing atmospheric cooling – One of the main methods of cooling the body is through the evaporation of moisture from the skin. To get a head start on this process begin by wetting your head and neck before a hot run and ‘refreshing’ yourself at each aid station to keep the cooling process going.

Practice Makes Perfect- After proper nutrition there is nothing as important as practicing for the conditions you will be encountering on race day. This can be done simply by selecting the part of the day that will have similar temperature and humidity to your event. For those traveling for races in climates significantly more warm and particularly humid you may have to get creative. Adding layers during runs is one way to challenge the body to accelerate it’s internal cooling mechanisms. For those who expect exceptionally humid conditions on race day and live in arid climates, visiting a sauna for some riding on an exercise bike has been done by elite athletes in preparation for goal races in hot humid climates with success.

Remember to use common sense when training and racing in the heat. If you ever experience the sensation of becoming chilled and covered with goose flesh while in summer conditions stop and seek medical attention. With respect for the heat and humidity and some specific training you can have success even in the warmest of conditions.

Max King and Bret Schoolmeester competed in the National Cross Country championships 12K at Agricultural History Farm Park. The race also serves at the World Cross Country Trials at the top 8 in each race opt to have a spot on the US Team.

Both Max and Bret raced very well as the competion is very deep. Max got 9th in a time of 36:54 and Bret got 22nd in 38:06 out of 168 runners.

http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/schedule.asp

Though Max got 9th, odds are he will still be representing the US in the World Cross Country Championships next month because typically runners ahead of him will give up their spot.

The US Cross Country Individual Championships and Selection for Team USA at the World XC champs are this coming weekend and BAC has two athletes competing:

Bret Schoolmeester and Max King

We’ll wish them all the best and report results next week.

PS…expect large crowds, tell your friends to get there early!

Video of the Men's Race

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&pg=1&event_id=16&video_id=8082&folder_id=-2&offset=0#video

Video of the Women's Race

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&pg=1&event_id=16&video_id=8081&folder_id=-2&offset=0#video

Video of the Master's Race

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&pg=1&event_id=16&video_id=8078&folder_id=-2&offset=0#video

Max King Interview

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&pg=1&event_id=16&video_id=8091&folder_id=701&offset=3#video

BAC Men Interview

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&pg=1&event_id=16&video_id=8087&folder_id=701&offset=6#video

Runners Space Show including report on XC Nationals

http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=8114

Post Race entertainment courtesy of Messers Holts and Deal

clip_id=2646227&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"

The Master's team placed 3rd out of 21 teams with 102 points. The team was comprised of:

Bret Kimple 9th, Danny Gonzalez 10th, Damien Baldovino 15th, Robert Julian 21st, 47th Mike BLACKMORE, 57 Timothy VANDERVLUGT, 61 Charlie CASE 69 Kevin PAULK.

The top Women's team placed 9th out of 21 teams with 257 points, individually...

21 Lauren JOHNSON, 33 Carre JOYCE, 54 Joanna MURPHY, 57 Michelle KVERNMO, 67 Danielle QUATROCHI, 79 Sara SCHAAF, 83 Tara CROWLEY, 86 Allie GRUNER 23 6:26.4 24:01, 89 Susan BARTH, 93 Carla MCHATTIE, 104 Erin SKOURTES, 114 Jamie HORD, 122 Andi CAMP,128 Olivia POBLACION

On the Men's side the BAC beat a few professional teams to place 2nd out of 40 teams with 67 points.

3 Max KING, 10 Bret SCHOOLMEESTER, 15 Kirby DAVIS, 16 Michael NICKS, 20 Brett HOLTS, 66 Brian MCGOVERN, 73 Danny Mackey 124 Patrick WERHANE, 130 Greg COSTELLO, 143 Brian DEAL, 156 Jeffrey MATSON, 175 Sean DUFFY, 197 Kenny MACKEY, 223 James LEVINS, 237 Jason KNIGHT, 241 Hossein BAGHDADI

Here is a link to the results:

http://www.usatf.org/events/2008/USATFClubXCChampionships/schedule.asp

At 35 years old, "Geb", has exercised-induced asthma.  He fears the conditions in China could damage his body and prevent him from competing in a elite level down the road in future competitions.  Over 42k the pollution could damage his lungs.

He plans to compete in the 10,000 meters, an event which he was 2 gold medals.  Just this past fall Geb ran a 2:04:26, the world record, yet he does not have a gold medal in that event.

A few weeks ago Geb ran a 26:51 for 2nd place and it looks like he will be in Olympics for the 10,000.  I will never be one to doubt  this man's running ability but as fast as he is in the 10k there are a hand full of guys that should beat him, like Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihini, etc.. (and he probably knows this).  Also, he will be passing up on another world record marathon chance in the fall if he runs the marathon.

My question is why the 10,000 over the marathon?  Yes, I know he said it's the pollution but if Geb is worried about the marathon and breathing then wouldn't the 10k be worse?  The rate of breathing is the problem and at the very high VO2 max intensity (95% of max) of the 10k will be worse.  The marathon will have higher total volume of breathing but 2 hours still is not long enough.  Think of it this way, if you are sick and coughing up green crap what is worse an easy long jog are a short hard burst, even just a mile fast? 

Geb has enough physiologists to know this, so what is his reason?

How to take resting heart rate: To take a resting heart rate count your pulse on your wrist or neck for 15 seconds and multiple by 4. Do this before rising at the same time each morning. If unfeasible to do before rising in the morning lie down at the same time each day and relax for 20 minutes. At the end of this rest period take the pulse rate on a 15 second count. Document this value in your training log each day.

Why is this useful: In addition to enjoying the reinforcement that your fitness is improving by observing a lower resting heart rate from your regular running the consistent record keeping of your resting heart rate is important for your training and your coach in 2 ways.

1. A resting heart rate 5 or more beats above normal is an early indication of overtraining, stress or impending illness. By catching the symptoms early you or your coach can modify training as needed to alleviate larger problems resulting in more time away from running.

    

2. Along with an accurate maximum heart rate, resting heart rate can be utilized to develop heart rate training zones specific for your current level of fitness. To use your resting heart rate to accurately hit a goal heart rate zone follow these steps

    

   1. Maximum heart rate – Resting heart rate = Heart rate reserve

       

   2. Heart rate reserve x Goal exercise intensity (%) =% of heart rate reserve

       

   3. % of heart rate reserve + resting heart rate= Goal heart rate for workout

      Employing heart rate training zones that utilize a known resting heart rate along with an accurate maximum heart rate will ensure you are training at the proper intensities for your current level of fitness. Training intensities that do not take into account your resting heart rate will be significantly less accurate.

If you do not know your maximum heart rate I recommend the following equation. HR max = 205.8 - (0.685 * age).

Although no equation will accurately predict your maximum heart rate, this equation was shown to have the lowest range of error (+/- 6.4 beats per minute) when evaluated against 43 other calculations for maximum heart rate. [i]

Using heart rate to monitor exercise intensity is most useful at the lower running intensities and should be used in conjunction with your corresponding training paces. My future articles will address ways to calculate maximum heart rate and use heart rate training zones most effectively.

Regularly monitoring resting heart rate is a simple and effective way to prevent overtraining. By ensuring enough recovery between workouts you will be less likely to become injured or chronically fatigued because of your training load and life stresses.

[i] Robergs and Landwehr. The Surprising History of the “HRmax=220-age” Equation. Journal of Exercise Physiology online . 2002; 5:1-10

http://www.boulderrunningcamps.com/page9/page9.html

Training’s been great – I’ve been going to the track two days a week pretty regularly since January, although the workouts have just started to become more steeplechase-specific recently. I think it’s that consistency as much as anything that’s helped my fitness and confidence. I did go to Asia for a work trip at the beginning of this month, but fortunately it didn’t end up being too much of a disruption.

Do you find it difficult to travel and race, or is it something that gets you more excited to race?

Well, actually I hate flying to races. You end up with these long, boring days in hotels waiting around with nothing to do – it makes me nervous. I’d much rather wake up in my own bed and just have a completely normal day up until an hour before my event.

What was your race strategy before the gun went off?

I wanted to run under 10 minutes and get the A standard, so I planned to run an even pace of 80 seconds per lap. I wasn’t sure if I could do that, but it sounded like a logical strategy. Some people don’t like to lead a race, but I’m not as comfortable when someone else controls the pace, so I figured I would just run to the front.

Were there any points during the race where you were uncertain that you could hit the Olympic Trials qualifier time?

My pace wasn’t perfectly even during the race, so I sortof lost track of how close I was to the qualifying time. It wasn’t until 100m to go, when I could see the clock at the finish line, that I realized (with a little surprise) that I was actually going to run under 10 minutes. When I finished and the announcer called out my official time, my first thought was, I can’t believe that just happened.

So you obviously PR”ed, how much of an improvement was that for you?

My best time in college was 10:37.44 (I just looked it up). I broke my foot two years in a row so I actually didn’t end up running too many steeplechases in college. Needless to say I returned to the event with caution!

Who is your awesome Coach? Can you beat your coach in an all-out 200 meter dash?

I am coached by the very knowledgeable and very patient John Dimoff. He could likely beat me in a race at any distance, but I think the tides would turn if he let me add hurdles.

What’s next on the horizon for you?

Another steeplechase at Stanford University in a few weeks; the Nike Mile in late May; Olympic Trials in June; Wedding in July; return to normal life in August.

Anything else?

Yes – I owe a lot of my success to the great training partners I have here on campus. It’s been amazing to have people actually, willingly, join in on some of the track workouts I’d otherwise have to run all alone.

Nicks said you boys are getting after it, I'm assuming you're part of that "getting after it" group, outdoors is coming soon, heck yeah!