Mark

DEATH ON THE TRAIL
By Steven Garand

A lifeless body is draped over the dirt and rocks on a park trail.  Even though it was a tragic running accident, I am still the one responsible.

Heading out on a cool clear Sunday morning, the 16 mile run promised to be a pleasant relaxing jaunt.  A slight wind was blowing wispy clouds under a bright blue sky.   This, I thought to myself was going to be the start of an excellent day.  The route strung together three beautiful Pittsburgh parks, Frick, Schenley, and Highland.  It was the kind of morning that makes you feel great to be alive.

Rounding the bend on the Schenley trail something darted from the underbrush and at the same time I felt a crunch under my left foot.  I was several yards down the trails before I could stop and turn around to see what had happened.  To my horror, behind me lay a chipmunk on it’s side, with legs kicking wildly at the air.  Maybe he was just stunned I thought walking back, hoping to see him pop up and finish his dash across the path.  My stomach sank as the full extent of the situation quickly became apparent.  There was blood pooling out of the poor little guys mouth and his spastic movements were already beginning to slow.

Instinctively my mind raced into action from my emergency medical training. There was two women within earshot and my first reaction was to scream to them and ask if they had a cell phone and could call 911 to get help out here as fast as possible.  How close could a medevac helicopter get to this spot was my next thought.  Then the slower rational part of my brain grabbed and slapped my instinctive brain a few times and said: get a hold of yourself man!  This is a chipmunk.  People don’t medevac rodents out of city parks!

There were some major internal conflicts going on here.  A liberal, tree hugging, hybrid driving, organic eating vegetarian goes out communing with nature and stomps a cute little chipmunk to death.  After moving the now limp body off the trail, I slowly began to continue my run in a daze. There was nothing else I could do.  I started having visions of Alvin’s family (at this point I had named him) waiting for him, but he never comes back.  I tried to distract myself by calculating the probability of squashing an animal mid-stride given the surface area of my feet, my steps per year, the average dimensions of a small rodent, and the estimated darting frequency (yes I am an engineer).  This was to no avail since it seemed all the little critters stopped what they were doing as I ran by and stared at me accusingly.  I guess news travels fast in the park.

If this were a fellow runner I had accidentally flattened I’m sure there would be a government panel set up to investigate exactly how this happened.  The panel would eventually make recommendations on how to prevent such a tragedy in the future.  Runners might be required to wear giant foam training shoes.  At the very least there would be kind words said for the fallen runner fallowing the basic eulogy plot.  So out of respect for Alvin I have prepared his eulogy.

He was a fine upstanding father and friend, a real pillar to the rodent community.  You will be sorely missed.

The viewing will be held next to the trail from Sunday morning up until something drags him away and eats him.

Thank you for listening to my story and if you happen to see someone running around town some day with giant foam shoes you won’t have to wonder why.

We have noticed a larger than normal number of ‘new’ runners out recently. This could be a sign of spring, the “marathon effect” where runners start after a large race in town, or perhaps we were so bundled up all winter we could not see them. For whatever the reason, we hope these ‘new’ runners keep at it.

Here are some tips for developing a new running habit or sticking with/renewing an old one.

-Set aside and plan a regular time each day to run. Morning works best for many as obligations, fatigue and responsibilities tend to pile up as the day goes on.

-Set a goal, like trying not to miss a day for a week, or training for a race. Make it a little goal you can achieve, like just getting out the door. Have a whole list of goals for each run, starting with getting out the door. Thus, your run will be a double “success” even if all you do is get out the door. (1: you got out the door and 2: you ran another day.)

That said, run for the run itself, not for the results.

-Make a commitment, to yourself, and also tell others about it.

-Get a training partner, human or canine. Come to the Wed night runs.

-Start small. Go slowly, walking is ok, and don’t set distance goals (go for time not distance for runs). Even if you feel bad or have little time, plan to get out the door and just try it for 15-20 minutes. Just getting out the door should be an inviolate rule, unless you have serious injuries or illness.

-View running and each run itself as a new reward. It will be something selfish that you are indulging in just for yourself and your own personal luxurious benefit. Running will be a soothing, empowering thing.

-Reward yourself for meeting intermediate goals. Something on the order of “I will get _____ (a long hot bath, a massage, a new pair of socks, a good exotic healthy meal, a hot spring visit, a new pair of shoes, or etc) if I run _____(every day this week, every day for 2 weeks, for over 2 hours total time during this week, or etc.)”

-Only plan on doing what you can do now. Today is today and it is not where you will be a year from now, or where you were 1,5, 10 or 20 years ago. Don’t expect anything more than just living in the moment and experiencing the run.

-Keep it simple. If you can find an acceptable route to run from your home do it. You are more likely to run if it does not involve a production

-Find out what you like, and do not try to fit into the mold of someone else’s program.

For example, some people thrive on the same place, pace and time/distance each day. Others like to mix things up. Experiment with both.

-Plan to commit to sticking with this new running thing for 21 days. Studies show that this is how long it usually takes to develop a habit. Odds are that you will like it, feel better, and want to continue running long before that.

I had the opportunity to hear a lecture by Dr. Ken Cooper at the Cooper Institute in Dallas recently. As you may know he coined the term “aerobics” in the late 60’s and was very influential in promoting running and other aerobic exercise to improve the health of the common man. Although most of Dr. Cooper’s research revolves around health and fitness for the average person he has also done a great deal of research with elite athletes over the years.

One thing he shared that I thought might be worth passing on is this: There is more and more evidence that elite endurance athletes put themselves at risk of DNA damage when they train intensely for over 30 miles per week or participate in lengthy endurance events (marathon and up). He cited a long list of athletes who have had various cancers and other life threatening illnesses during…or shortly after their prime. His recommendation for those who train and compete at this level is to increase your anti-oxidant intake when you are training and competing at this level. Marathoners who increased their anti-oxidant intake during build-up and after the event for two weeks show much less damage at the cellular level.

Although supplements may be needed the best source is fruits and vegetables. He warned that athletes need to research their supplements carefully as the vitamin and supplement industry is unregulated and we never really know what is in the pill we are taking….it could be sawdust. Another important message was to reduce transfats in your diet to the lowest level possible…even if you are trim and think you are burning them off they are doing you harm.

Runners have noticed more big rattlesnakes than ever before this summer. Another sign of Global Warming? An 18″ rattler appeared between the railroad rails after the Spiral Drive Run, directly in the spot people cross the tracks at the end of F St! A 5 foot snake was killed by a car on CR 175 north of Sand Lake. Two runners saw a hawk fly away with a snake in its talons while running on Tenderfoot. Run with care.

Tips to avoid snakes on the Run, if you are concerned

-Run in the early morning when the cooler temperatures make snakes less active.
-Keep your dogs on a leash or leave them home, unless you want them to get bit instead of you. On the other hand their keener senses will detect a snake before you do.
-Observation is crucial. You want to be able to see where you are running to avoid stepping on something that is hidden. Be alert.
-Run on roads a bit away from the edge, so you can see what is ahead. But beware of cars, because they pose a much greater risk than any snake.
-Avoid rocky trails
-Snakes will respond to vibration (i.e. heavy footfalls), and will either move out of the way or coil and rattle (if a rattlesnake) to let you know they feel threatened.
-Listening to music with earphones may prevent you from hearing a rattlesnake or other dangers.
-If you encounter a snake, leave it alone.
-Snakes are not naturally aggressive and will only bite you if they feel threatened.
-Not running for fear of snakes is worse for your health than the extremely remote chance you might have a bad encounter with a snake. Get out there!
-Seeing a live (or dead) snake on a run is an interesting bonus of running here.

Coffee lovers, hoist your cups. Stopping at Starbucks before going out for a long run or bike ride is no longer a no-no, exercise researchers say.

By Jack Cox
Denver Post Staff Writer

Contrary to what many trainers and coaches have maintained over the years, caffeine won’t leave you dehydrated and can actually improve your endurance.

“There may be a temporary diuretic effect, but it seems the body deals with this quite well,” says Lawrence E. Armstrong, a physiologist with the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Connecticut.

At moderate levels of consumption, Armstrong says, there is little difference in fluid retention between caffeinated beverages and plain water. The notion that there is, he adds, appears to have been based on a 1928 study so limited it involved only three subjects whose responses were monitored for less than four hours apiece.

As for coffee’s impact on performance, dozens of studies conducted over the past three decades indicate that “the effects of caffeine in prolonged, strenuous exercise have been positive in almost all cases,” says Kirk J. Cureton, head of the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia.

While there is great variability depending on the individuals and types of tests used, Cureton says, researchers have found in general that caffeine increases vigor, improves reaction times and staves off exhaustion – at least in doses of up to 200 milligrams, or the quantity contained in two to three average cups of coffee.

Above that level, the effects tend to taper off, and adverse effects such as headaches or “the jitters” begin to appear at levels of 400 mg or above.

One early study, Cureton says, found that competitive cyclists who received just 30 mg of caffeine an hour before starting a two-hour treadmill test could go 15 minutes longer before becoming exhausted than those who took a placebo.

A more recent study, also conducted on cyclists, found that non-caffeine users felt the effects more strongly than regular users, especially when measured six hours after ingestion.

Other research has shown that caffeine has much less effect in high-intensity, short-duration events such as sprints. It also has little or no effect on muscular strength, Cureton adds.

Canadian researcher Lawrence L. Spriet, a professor at the University of Guelph, Ontario, says it’s unclear how caffeine improves endurance.

One common theory is that it spurs the oxidation of fat early in a workout, thus sparing glycogen in the muscles for use later on.

But there is growing evidence, Spriet says, that caffeine works primarily on the central nervous system, blocking the adenosine receptors that trigger a sense of fatigue, and thus tricking the brain into thinking the body is less tired than it really is.

Not all research on caffeine is as positive as these findings, which were outlined during the recent national meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver.

A study published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that the equivalent of two cups of coffee limited the body’s ability to boost blood flow to the heart during exercise – particularly at high altitude.

The 18 participants, all young healthy coffee drinkers, were checked after riding a stationary bike with no caffeine in their systems and again after being given one 200-mg tablet of caffeine apiece.

Their blood-flow readings after caffeine were 22 percent lower at normal air pressure and 39 percent lower in a chamber simulating the thin air at 15,000 feet, a level designed to mimic the way heart disease deprives the heart muscle of sufficient oxygen.

The lead author, Dr. Philipp A. Kaufmann of University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, wrote that he would not now recommend that any athlete drink caffeine before sports.

“It may not be as harmless as we thought before,” he wrote, “particularly if you suffer from coronary artery disease or if you are in the mountains.”

Staff writer Jack Cox can be reached at 303-820-1785 or jcox@denverpost.com.

Caffeine is the most widely used pharmacologically active compound in the world, with coffee consumption averaging 5 cups per week per person around the globe. Following are the caffeine contents for a selection of common beverages.

• Starbucks Grande – 16 oz. cup: 259mg
• Full Throttle – 16 oz. can: 144mg
• Black coffee – 8 oz. cup: 115-175mg drip, 80-135mg brewed, 65-100mg instant
• Red Bull – 8.2 oz. can: 80mg
• Mountain Dew – 12 oz. can: 55mg
• Diet Coke – 12 oz. can: 45mg
• Dr Pepper – 12 oz. can: 41mg
• Pepsi-Cola – 12 oz. can: 37mg
• Classic Coke – 12 oz. can: 34mg
• Black tea – 8 oz. cup: 40-60mg brewed, 30mg instant
• Hot cocoa – 8 oz. cup: 14mg
• Decaf coffee – 8 oz. cup: 2-4mg

Sources: American Beverage Association, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, MayoClinic.com, and others.