How Much Do You Drink?

About an hour before the workout you should have about 20 ounces of liquid.

-Leslie Bonci quoted in a NY Times article.

MY COMMENT: Unless you are preparing for a marathon or getting ready for a very long (2 hours or longer) training run, I don't know anybody who really does this.

Read the full article, then see my comments below:

First, I’d be very uncomfortable drinking 20 oz of water one hour prior to exercise, and that much certainly isn’t necessary for a 30 minute workout. Second, I’d be curious what the definition of “gulping” and what frequency is recommended. Better advice would be to weigh yourself before and after every workout and using trial and error target not losing more than 3% of your body weight. Some experts agree that blanket guidelines for hydration are not a good idea- this much water for a 100 lb female with a low sweat rate running on a cool day in fact may be very dangerous. Third, I’d be careful what type of carbohydrate you eat 1 hour prior to exercise. If I eat something high on the glycemic index prior to exercise often times my blood sugar drops so low after start my run that I experience light-headedness

Training Update July 13-14

Put in 2 solid days of running- back to back about 80 minutes on the trails. 30 at a slow pace with Sumo, then 50 more minutes at moderate pace. Legs were getting beat near the end of both days. Tomorrow something light! Skipping the 800 repeats this week.

Watch the Tour de France Live !

Watch the Tour de France live here!

Fixing Common Nutrition Mistakes

Check out this article on active.com by Nancy Clark who always offers accurate nutrition advice.

Plyometric Drills to Improve Your Running

If you want better balance, increased speed and more agility, try integrating these fun and challenging plyometric drills into your weekly workouts.
runnersworld.com

Alto Lab - Affordable Altitude Simulation

If you are a serious endurance athlete with some extra cash and looking for an edge, I'd take a look at a company called Pharma Pacific that makes the Alto Lab Portable Altitude Simulator. Their protocol calls for a 1 hour treatment for 2 weeks, which they claim can significantly boost EPO and red blood cell production.

I like the fact that you can actually measure a drop in blood O2 levels while using the simulator. You can purchase the starter kit for under $200, however that does not include the pulse oximeter (you can probably get a better deal on one of those elsewhere). The all-inclusive Elite package (with oximeter and 3 months of silos which need to be replaced periodically) runs $789.

Hendrick Ramaala - The Self-Coached Marathoner

Marathon training can take up to 12 weeks to complete. You need a buildup (base) training phase and then a specific marathon training phase. I go 200 kilometers (124 miles) a week or more when I get ready for a marathon. At the end of this heavy training, you will need a tapering period of two to three weeks. I do a minimum of 10 to 12 long runs in that period. Four to six of those will be around 40 kilometers (24.8 miles), the rest between 25 and 30 kilometers (15 to 18 miles).

I also include interval sessions on the track (two times a week); some hill runs (once a week); tempo runs (twice a week) and recovery runs. Four or three weeks before my marathon race, I normally race a half-marathon to test myself. When doing marathon training you need to take lots of rest, get sports massages, consume lots of liquids, eat lots of good food and focus more as the load of training is taxing on the body. -nytimes

MY COMMENT: Hendrick Ramaala is a self-coached S. African that won the NYC Marathon in 2004.