Running update from Sally Young

[Brian]

From Sally Young, who writes her running newsletter just for fun.
Here's her latest.

---

Cheers,

"The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of...the environment."
That's
a line from Alice in Wonderland, except for the environment part.

But it is time to speak about the environment. There's a real
seriousness to
this problem, and it's going to take all of us, all with the same
goals,
working together to push our "carbon footprint" back to the start
line.

I'm going to do what I can, so you can do what you can. This set of
Big
Ideas introduces you to TerraCycle, an eco company that is almost
irresistible to join. Read "Bully For The Bar Market" and see what I
mean.


******

What¹s The BIG Idea?

By Sally Young
Email yo-...@cox.net <mailto:yo-...@cox.net>


BULLY FOR THE BAR MARKET

If you love the race but hate the waste, meet Tom Szaky. A few years
ago,
he and fellow Princeton student, Jon Beyer, started TerraCycle Inc., a
company that is dedicated to the manufacture of useful, everyday
products
³where literally every part of it is made from waste².

Running events happen year round, all over the world. Participation
often
reaches tens of thousands. Together with spectators and support crews,
the
volume of discarded packaging in and along the racecourse grows in
absurd
profusion, a visually juddering terrain of trash. There is no garbage
in
nature. Man-made trash has doubled since 1960, now at five pounds per
day
per you and per me.

TerraCycle keeps trash out of landfills by repurposing bottles, yogurt
containers, drink pouches and snack food wrappers into retail-ready
totes,
backpacks, office accessories, and house and garden supplies. In 2008,
Terracycle partnered with Cliff Bar and Balance Bar to launch the
Energy Bar
Brigade. Wrappers from ³energy, granola, nutrition, cereal and protein
bars
with an inner foil lining² can be exchanged for two cents per wrapper,
which
is sent to the collector¹s school or non-profit. Anyone can sign up;
it¹s
free, and it costs you nothing. Visit www.terracycle.net/brigades
<http://www.terracycle.net/brigades> .


READY... SET... SLOW!

Running slow settles you into a nearly tireless rhythm of motion. It
feels
like you could go for hours - and you should. Comfortable pacing
bolsters
your self-confidence, letting you know that you can do more than you
thought. It strengthens your heart and circulation, burns more
calories
from fat than glycogen, and is the springboard for faster running.

This is aerobic training, the steady supply of oxygenated blood
meeting the
needs of active muscle, nerve and bone. It accounts for the enhanced
density
of cellular mitochondria and capillary beds in the heart, lungs and
legs of
endurance athletes. In sedentary people, this development is poorer,
putting
blood circulation, as well as general health, at risk.

Easy paced roadwork should be no more than 65 percent of your maximum
heart
rate. To estimate this, run as fast as you can sustain for 15-20
minutes,
and then add two and a half minutes per mile.

Arthur Lydiard, legendary coach of Olympic medalists, found that
running for
two consecutive hours, with the emphasis on relaxing instead of speed
and
distance, ramps up the aerobic system. The amount of time spent
running, not
the total mileage, was ³the most important aspect of conditioning.²


IT¹S PACE WITH A TEMPO

The best training techniques are the ones that have staying power and
get
you in "game shape." They¹re fun, challenging, and sharpen your pacing
skills and concentration.

Tempo runs are the foundation of outstanding runners for these very
reasons.
The pace is steady and comfortably hard, somewhere between jogging and
sprinting. The heart rate is kept north of 65 percent of maximum heart
rate,
but out of the 90 percent anaerobic zone where fatigue would quickly
set in.
If done diligently, performance is measurably improved with faster
times
over the same distance without an increase in perceived effort.

Staying within the aerobic zone, especially near the upper range,
generates
major physiological adaptations. The number of mitochondria in
working
muscles increases, orchestrating a massive Macerana of oxygen and
energy
transport that goes to completion, a clean burn. Beyond this point,
called
the lactate threshold, sugar is only partially metabolized, forming
lactate,
because there isn¹t enough oxygen available. Although lactate doesn¹t
directly cause fatigue, it is a marker of anaerobic metabolism and the
early
demise of sustained speed.

Typically, 20 minutes is sufficient to condition the body. Long
distance
runners, such as marathoners, benefit from longer runs of up to 60
minutes.


*********

PS - this is really a joyous month for me as my son is getting married
on
March 28th. Bride-to-be is wonderful.

Yours,

Sally Y