Archive for April, 2012

TWW Feed for April 30th, 2012:Nutrition tips from top runners, the Vimeo Awards, and why sitting at work is bad for you

April 30th, 2012 | by jm0 Comments

And welcome to the last day of April and the first week of May. For those of us on the Front Range of Colorado, it seems that Spring has been here since about January. We have been fairly lucky with tons of sun filled days and milder temps. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

“Sense of Flying”: the first of twelve candidates for Vimeo’s 2012 Awards in the “action sports” category.

The Feed

Vimeo’s collection of the best adventure videos: Outside Online as a little blurb up about Vimeo’s finalists for its 2012 Awards. This is the first year that the site is featuring an action sports category. There are 12 video candidates within the category that you can waste a few hours at work exploring. I’ll try to post a few of them this week. Great stuff and a great way to spend a few hours during a rainy day.

Nutritional plans, as designed by runners: Run Addicts.net has a piece up discussing the nutritional habits of elite level runners, focusing on what to eat before, during and after a run or race. There are some good tips in here, such as making sure to eat proteins after a run to speed recovery. However, I’m pretty leery of the “before” advice as far as the carb loading goes. The piece advocates lots of carb loading with pasta, potatoes, rice, etc. I think with a lot of this stuff, carb loading works for some and is terrible for others, depending on your individual digestive systems. For some people, loading their bellies up with carbs the night before an event is a recipe for disaster.

Sitting is so, so bad: Gretchen Reynolds, from the NY Times Fitness and Nutrition blog has a great piece up that reviews some of the latest research out there that is pretty conclusively demonstrating that sitting down all day at work, or in front of a TV all weekend, is pretty horrible for your overall health, even if you are a relatively active person. The piece is worth a read for a synopsis of some of the studies, such as one out of the University of Massachusetts in which scientists found that remaining sedentary for as little as forty eight hours resulted in drastic changes to cell metabolic processes. The lesson: get out of your every twenty minutes, and try to work standing up when you can.

A confessional from an arsonist: Outside has a fairly creepy post up featuring the confession/justification for Vail’s Two Elk fire that destroyed about $12 million worth of property on top of Vail Mountain in 1998. I say that the post is creepy because it goes into a good amount of detail about how two motivated but untrained “environmental terrorists” can do massive amounts of damage with fairly little in the way of material and planning. The piece is a good read but falls a little too far in to “self enlightened justification” for my tastes.

Posted in Daily Feed

TWW Feed for Friday, April 27th, 2012: Resistance training is good for the brain, how to size a bike, and the Nutella lawsuit

April 27th, 2012 | by jm0 Comments

Last night we attended a benefit for the Cheyenne Canon open space outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado at Bristol Brewery. Colorado Springs, like a lot of cities throughout the country, has undergone drastic budget cuts, including eliminating almost all of the city’s parks budget. Thankfully, a ton of “friends” groups have rallied and have been aggressively fundraising and organizing volunteer armies to ensure that the parks in the city are well maintained and preserved.

So here’s to you Friends of Cheyenne Canon. Thanks for helping to keep Cheyenne Canon one of Colorado Springs’ best assets.

bristol-beer

The Feed

Nutella problems: A California mom recently sued the maker of the Nutella hazelnut spread, Ferrero, for “deceptive advertising”, arguing that ads and marketing for Nutella made it seem like a healthy food source. Ferrero’s response? They settled! For 3 million dollars! Why in the world would you not fight this in court? Flip the jar over and you can easily see that there are 200 calories per 2-tablespoon serving. And HALF of those calories come from fat. Thank you California mom for turning your nutritional ignorance in to yet another frivolous lawsuit that was awarded. Someone needs to start suing Americans that don’t know how to compute nutritional information (thanks to @endurobites for the link).

How to size a bike correctly: Bicycling.com has a handy little post up that details the proper way to size a new bike, including how to adjust your cleats to the proper position. Never once have I walked into a bike shop and had them detail fit me like this post describes. Usually I get a once over by the sales guy and steered towards the extra reinforced carbon bikes that are stress tested to 300lbs.

Maybe being a gym rat isn’t a bad thing: A few days ago we threw up a NY Times article that detailed how aerobic training seems to improve cognitive capacity. When I read the article I was pretty stoked. Another reason to make fun of dudes that spend way too many hours in the gym getting yoked! Well, as it turns out, getting yoked might not be a bad thing either. Sweat Science has a run down of a study showing that elderly test subjects improved cognitive function more by lifting weights than by engaging in aerobic exercise. Damn it! I’m still making fun of their insistence on a pre, during, and post workout shake.

And to finish off the week, a little Portland, Oregon love in the form of a great time lapse video featuring the best of the city. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Posted in Daily Feed

TWW Feed for April 25th, 2012: Runner’s high, building muscle with the little weights and an awesome video

April 25th, 2012 | by jm0 Comments

Welcome to the Wednesday Feed. Somewhat of a short one for you today as this week has been pretty slow news/post wise. Colorado is currently basking in the glow of 80+ degree days which means lots of outside time and a ready excuse to rip off the shirt during long runs. You are welcome ladies. Hope everyone is having a good week!

The Feed

The evolutionary theory behind “runner’s high”: A study out of the Journal of Experimental Biology recently conducted a study geared toward answering the question of why humans run. As an evolutionary adaptation, running seems to make little sense. It creates a high likelihood of injury and burns an immense number of calories. Regardless, the study found that humans and dogs have a chemical reaction to running. It stimulates the production of endocannabinoids, chemicals that alter and lighten moods, the so called “runner’s high.” The theory is that by creating a positive response to running our bodies evolved to consider running an enjoyable experience. As one of the scientists points out, it is fairly interesting that humans are still producing the endocannabinoid response long after we stopped utilizing running as a means to gathering food.

Building muscle with little weight: Good news for frequent travelers. Alex at Sweat Science has a good post up looking at how lifting lighter weight to fatigue is just as effective at lifting heavy weights when it comes to building muscle. The theory behind the results that Alex discusses is that lifting to fatigue ends up recruiting just as many muscle fibers as you would utilize in trying to lift really heavy weight. What does that mean for you? You can build muscle effectively by using light weights to the point of fatigue. There is no need to waddle around the gym throwing up as much weight as possible. The one caveat here is that building muscle by using lighter weights won’t make lifting heavier weights easier. The body actually does have to train to go Hulk style in the weight room.

And to get you through hump day, a great video from TimeLine Film, featuring a collection of some of their best shots spread over cities, fields, mountains and sky.

TimeLine Action Reel– a selection of best shots with Xavier de Le Rue, Candide Thovex, Lucas Debari, Sam Anthamatten from TimeLine Film on Vimeo.

Posted in Daily Feed

TWW Feed for April 23rd, 2012: Outside’s top towns, marathon recovery tips and how exercise keeps your brain healthy

April 23rd, 2012 | by jm2 Comments

I grew up in a little tourist town in Colorado. A town that, come late April, triples in population as the tourist hordes move in. They bring traffic, annoying t-shirts and a variety of attitudes that can be both fun and incredibly aggravating. They also bring money. A lot of it. So I try and forget the fact that I can’t walk into my favorite bar for a few months and have the stool of my choice, or hunker down in my favorite coffee shop without having to listen to families talk about their favorite t-shirt shop. The price is relatively small for the months of off season solitude in an increasingly vibrant town. And while I can’t admit to liking the tourist season I can readily admit to liking the fact that most of them think that a $45.00 shirt with a cheesy slogan about the altitude and sex is a great purchase.

The Feed

More Colorado ski resorts planning expansion: This year saw the emergence of the Wolf Creek Area plan to expand its existing terrain and facilities and now two more Colorado “gem” resorts are pushing to do the same (“gem” resorts are the independent, smaller resorts in Colorado). Both Monarch Mountain and Eldora Mountain have plans drawn up to expand existing skiable acres and upgrade their service buildings and add new restaurants and other amenities. The news is a small bright spot it what was otherwise a horrible year for most resorts. If you really want to delve into a detailed ski area development plan you can explore Monarch’s plan here, via PDF.

Outside’s best places to live survey: Outside Magazine has its annual list of the best outdoor towns up, as voted on by Outside readers. Portland, Oregon is on there as is Durango, Colorado and Missoula, Montana. Boulder made it onto the list, of course. You can check out the full list here. Take a minute and dive in to the comment sections of each one. It is a nice mix of locals freaking out and trying to describe their towns as crap holes to keep people out, and the virtuous newcomers who are super stoked that their adopted hometown has its own brewery.

Methods for marathon recovery: Our friend Jake over at Wasatch and Beyond ran the brutally hot Boston Marathon last week, came out relatively unscathed and then put together a great post on his approach to recovery after a marathon. The piece has some good tips on how to minimize muscle damage right after a race and what foods to eat to maximize muscle rebuilding and recovery.

Exercise for brain power: The NY Times has a great piece up look at the effect of exercise on our brain’s ability to resist atrophy and to remain healthy and vibrant. The piece asserts, based on the latest research, that “exercise…does more to bolster thinking than thinking does.” The article reviews a recent study involving mice that divided the mice into four groups: a “stimulated” group in which a cage was filled with good food and lots of toys and distractions, a “stimulated/exercise” group that contained included all of the amenities of the first group plus an exercise wheel, a “exercise” group which had standard food but a running wheel, and a fourth group with no toys, standard food and no running wheel. After a few months the researchers tested the mice and found that the only factor that was determinative in improving cognitive function was the presence of the running wheel. Essentially, surrounding your child with books, tutors and music lessons might help build a good academic footing, but if you want your kids brain to be really healthy, and continue to be healthy, get them outside and exercising.

This post got me to thinking a bit. So I looked up some charts. The first: obesity rates by country, showing the United States firmly in the lead with almost 31% of the population considered obese. The second, average science scores by students by country. Shockingly, some correlation. And completely unscientific but who cares. People need to exercise.

Some site news: The “Daily” part of the feed has been pretty sporadic lately. Mostly because I’ve been working and running too much. I’m going to try and put the Feed together three days a week from now on: Monday, Wednesday and Friday with sporadic non-postings and increased postings, depending on the week. And sooner or later (hopefully sooner) I’ll start building out the other parts of the site.

Posted in Daily Feed

TWW Daily Feed for Friday, April 20th: Water consumption of champion runners, 50 hot enviros, and scenic (and fast) marathon courses

April 20th, 2012 | by jm0 Comments

For as much coffee as I drink I have yet to develop a nuanced palate for the flavors that supposedly run through various types of roasts. I can’t taste notes of chocolate or a subtle undercurrent of earthy flavors. I can’t smell a hint pine or fruit notes. I can, however, get completely enraged at people who back up the line at coffee shops so he can get the barista’s opinion on what roast goes well with ham in the morning. Look buddy, the chick makes $10.00 an hour. She doesn’t care what you are having in the morning, and neither do the people behind you who are increasingly contemplating murder in a public space. Please do your research at home and spare the rest of us plebians your views on why the latest roast out of Guatemala doesn’t really do it for you.

The Feed

Water consumption of champion runners: While running a marathon do you ever contemplate how much water a champion marathoner drinks? Me neither. Never once. Irregardless, someone wondered and then they did a study about it. And then Alex at Sweat Science read the study, wrote a good summary of the study and put it up on his website. Essentially the piece looks at whether champion marathoners tend to drink a certain fluid amount of water and how that may affect performance.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison open for guiding business: The National Park Service recently attempted to restrict commercial guiding in one of the most rugged National Parks in the country. And then some outdoor loving Senators wrote a tersely worded letter, explaining to the Park Service that restricting guiding in the Canyon restricts the ability of people to fully enjoy the park. And possibly death. You can read the news brief here via The Goat.

Marathons with fast routes: Trying to qualify for Boston? Check out this little guide from Runaddicts featuring five marathon courses that are historic and fast. We will be checking out the Chicago Marathon this fall and hope to add New York to the schedule for next year.

Sitting too much = you getting fat: Sweat Science has a new post up that takes a look at a recent study that attempts to analyze the effects of sedentary behavior on the body’s ability to metabolize sugar. As Alex points out in the post, there is increasing evidence that sitting too much is really bad for the body. The study that Alex analyzes looks at the effect that activity has on sugar metabolization (basically; should you get your ass up and out of your desk chair every once in awhile?). The post is worth a look just to check out the graph from the study which plots data for a sedentary group, a “light” activity group and a “moderate” activity group. Bottom line: take a walk to the water fountain every twenty minutes or so. It might prevent you from developing diabetes.

Hey there sexy…environmentalist: Talk about nice surprise. When I first stumbled upon Rodale’s list of its top 50 sexy environmentalists I was imagining birkenstocks, flannel shirts, ratty hair and a group of people that do great things for the Earth but not might look so great while doing those things. So, pleasant surprise when the first person on the list is Selma Hayek. There is a good mix of people in the gallery including a lot of celebrities. Which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it. I think it is probably A LOT easier to be environmentally friendly and “progressive” when you can afford to purchase low impact cars and have the resources to dump into environmentally focused projects. But, I would much rather look at Gretchen Bleiler in a gallery with this theme than the usual enviros I run into, so good trade off.

Happy Friday to everyone! Hope your weekend is full of good friends, good beer and good adventure. See you Monday.

Posted in Daily Feed

TWW Daily Feed for April 18th, 2012:

April 18th, 2012 | by jm0 Comments

A few days ago the girlfriend decided that she needed more hours in the day. My solution to this has been to force her out of bed earlier than her usual 8AM. Her presence in what had been my period of morning solitude has created a slight problem with my coffee intake. In that my coffee intake is now half as efficient as it was. I find myself monitoring her pours, trying to make sure she is leaving me with enough and quivering like a crack addict when she pours more than the allotment I’ve fabricated in my head. Now I have to figure out how to reset her back to 8AM.

The Feed

The relationship between participation and performance times: The prevalence of fast marathon times in competition has led some to argue that the increased amount of participation in marathons and other events is creating faster fields, therefore generating faster times. Alex at Sweat Science takes a look at a study examining the hypothesis that increased participation increases performance times. The study examines a race located in Newfoundland that has experienced an increase in participants but a relatively stable performance measurement. Check out Alex’s post for links to the full study and his analysis of the results.

9 traits worth looking for: The Adventure Journal has a fun post up listing out the top traits for your next road tripping partner. My favorite: be a camel and don’t produce BO after days of traveling.

2012 Hardrock 100 rundown: Colorado Runner has a run down on the field for this year’s Hardrock 100, the ultra run located in Southwest Colorado that climbs 66,000 feet over the length of the course. There are some huge names in ultra running making an appearance this year, including Colorado’s Dakota Jones and Anton Krupicka.

Heart rate training myths: I don’t think that there is really a whole body of “myths” surrounding the use of heart rate monitors in training, but Chris Carmichael thinks there is and in his effort to “debunk” them he provides some decent training ride ideas (via Bicycling.com).

Posted in Daily Feed

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