As the heatwave begins, no matter how much you enjoy being out in the heat, it is ESSENTIAL that hydration is a number one priority.

If you exercise in the morning, you are hit with 80 degrees and high humidity. If you exercise in the evening, it might be dry but temps will soon top 100+ degrees reminding you that you aren’t catching a break. With this, you are either spending your day needing to hydrate in order to recover from a workout or hydrate in anticipation of a workout. And, for those lucky enough to do two workouts a day, well, your hydration might end up being a part-time job right now!

Whether you are sitting at a desk all day or working outside, getting in enough fluid is so important to good health and recovery. Even if you are not exercising, you should be consuming AT LEAST 2-3 liters [that is 68-101 ounces] of water a day!

There are so many thoughts on the benefits to staying hydrated with decaffeinated fluids. Here are just a few that should help keep you motivated to drink up: for skin health, to remove toxins and body waste, help keep the body in pH balance, for weight loss, to improve sleep, to increase energy, to help prevent hypertension, to increase metabolism, and many many more!

Photo: Courtesy Cimexus @ http://flic.kr/p/9taKrb

Many of my clients are always searching for which beverages are best for their daily hydration. Water, of course, is best. People often don’t understand that beverages are less satiating than solid foods. When you consume calories from beverages, you don’t compensate by eating less food later on. Liquid calories don’t register with our appetite controls. This is a very important fact for both athletes and non-athletes. As you pass through the shelves of your grocery store, running store, or cycling store remember that all of the electrolyte replacement drinks available are just that, electrolyte replacement. They are mostly meant for before, during, and after exercise, or to balance out your water consumption if you drink too much plain water. The calories in them are used during your workout, but if you are drinking these drinks as your major source of hydration throughout the day, you can end up adding 150-300 calories to your day. The same can also be said for multiple cups of coffee; how many calories are you adding with your milk, sugar, or other flavoring? Pay attention to these facts; the calories do add up.

As you go through the summer, find drinks that work for you to stay well hydrated. Below are some options for day-to-day “water” intake:

• Water with lemon, lime, cucumber, or orange slices
• Sparkling water with a splash of pomegranate juice or other 100% juice (try POM brand flavors)
• Water with a splash of your favorite energy drink
• Water with Emergen-C
• A glass (8oz) of milk (even though it is 100 calories, it counts toward your hydration and gives you a serving of dairy, calcium, and protein)
• A glass of juice (6oz counts as a fruit serving)
• Decaf. Unsweetened Tea – try one of the many herb flavors available

If you are focusing on recovering or prepping for a workout, consider the need to add in some electrolytes to at least one of your water drinks. These are especially important if you are drinking 60+oz of plain water a day:

• Water with NUUN, Hammer Fizz, or other electrolyte tablet
• Coconut Water
• Low-sodium V8 Juice
• Water with diluted electrolyte drink of choice

One important item to note when you are picking up different drinks, or flavor options, at the store many of them, if calorie-free or low calorie, contain chemical sweeteners like: sucralose, aceslfume-K, or aspartame, and neotame. These items have not been shown to harm hydration, but if you are avoiding these ingredients be sure to take a close look at the ingredient list!

Even with these ideas and tips, if you can’t seem to make yourself drink enough everyday, get a bottle that will keep the water a temperature you want to drink it at. My favorite is the Camelbak Insulated Bottle. You will be amazed that you will still have ice cold water after it sits in your hot car!

- Meredith Terranova

[Talk Hydration]

• How do you stay up on hydration during your work-life hours?
• I am a fan of water with a bit of lemon juice (when I want a little flavor or electrolytes). What are your favorite non-calorie fluids to keep that body hydrated when not exercising?

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Our mission is to build joyful community around children and be quickly accepted into public, private and home schools as a free, innovative, celebratory fitness and nutrition program, resonating with the child… and with the child’s family. The goal is for the child to develop the love and habit of moving through space and to carry forward the power of muscular, nutritional and psychological well being.

Finish Line!

The Marathon Kids program (based in Austin, Texas) has positively impacted k-5th grade children for the last 15 years and has helped inspire movement, quality nutrition awareness, and even some gardening skills to over 1,000,000 youth that will shape and help determine this world’s future.

And best of all…it is a FREE program for the youth involved thanks to corporate and private donations.

The Basics of the program:

• Children run/walk 26.2 miles across 6 months and track their progress in the Running Log.
• Children are encouraged to eat 5 servings of fruit/vegetables a day for at least 26.2 days per month and track their progress in the Fuel Log.
• With local non-profit partnerships, the children can be provided tools and resources to start a schoolyard garden.

The program is currently active in nine major city areas within the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Illinois, and Maryland.

Setup

I arrived in the pre-dawn hours at a local high-school (??) football stadium to setup the track and infield for the hundreds and possibly thousands of little tikes. Imagine multiple 100s of excited children ready to run wild…a funneling system is required to keep the event from turning into a mosh pit.

Where the children/little bulls enter onto the track.

After finishing the run...funneled through the center of the football field

Get Crazy

After about 3.5 hours of setup I transitioned to my pre-determined role for the celebration – the crazy greeter! About 15-20 volunteers held this first impression position so we had to bring our high energy A-game. As children/families arrived in school buses or vehicles with their parents, we welcomed them to the event.

We were given pom-poms and noise makers. Our goal was to make them feel like rock stars as they walked into the stadium to sit in the bleachers prior to running their final 600 meters (Yes the celebration is called the Final Mile but it would get a bit crazy for all involved to manage multiple loops. Final Mile sounds cool…Final 600 Meters is less so.).

Cowbell and pom-pom....oh yeah!

At various times we created narrow human tunnels, made lots of noise, and delivered more high-5s to nearly every child and adult that passed us.

Based on the epic smiles and positive energy flowing like a 4th of July light show, you couldn’t help but feel like you were making some small positive impact in the children and parents lives…at least for the day.

Running of the Bulls

After the brief opening ceremonies, sections of children/parents were escorted to the staging area where they got ready for the final 600 meter run.

Terry Wade (with the feathery personality) - MC and local volunteer organizer

This is where things get interesting. Think of a group of a hundred or so children bursting at the seams, ready to run down that open track. As the previous group finished their run and ran through the finish chute, the next group was released in a burst of high-energy excitement.

Here comes the next group!

The Bling

After crossing the finish line the children received the highly-prized finisher’s medal. I was told that it is so highly desired, that some children will try and double back to receive a second one.

And Then There Were None

After the last child left the stadium, we cleaned-up the entire area within 90 minutes. The Marathon Kids truck and trailer was packed and ready to head back to Austin before hitting the road for yet another Final Mile celebration.

I was tired, dehydrated, and hungry, but smiled all the way home.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

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Why my family likes them:

• Stainless steel
• Holds 27 oz of fluid – For reference, most running water bottle hold 20-22 oz.
• Easy to use and non-leaking sports top – No need to unscrew a cap to take a pull.
• Wide enough mouth for ice if desired.
• A great way to reduce or eliminate the plastic bottled water purchase.
• Save money! All those $1-$2 plastic bottle water purchases add up throughout the year. How does a discounted or free race entry sound?

Note, the bottles are single-walled like most stainless steel bottles so no hot items unless you like to wear a pair of these sweet oven mits while drinking.

Good deal at REI

REI is currently providing a 30% discount on these bad boys until October 17. Various colors available. Click here to check them out.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of Mr. T in DC)

[This article contains links that may support Endurance Buzz.]

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The actual product isn’t changing, simply the name.

Check out the complete article at treehugger.

Why eliminate or reduce the consumption of HFCS (oops) Corn Sugar? This article provides some great high-level information and further digging if you so desire.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

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Pesticides are often used on fruits and vegetables during the growing process, yet fruits and vegetables are critical for overall health. See the potential conflict?

Fortunately you can eat your important fruits and vegetables and limit your pesticide exposure with a bit of awareness provided by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

EWG has gone through collected results from 89,000 pesticide tests created by the USDA and FDA. From this data, EWG has created an updated pesticide exposure best-to-worst list for the 50 most popular fruits and vegetables. (Ranking Methodology)

EWG created a nice cheat sheet highlighting the Dirty Dozen (12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables) and the Clean 15 (15 least contaminated fruits and vegetables).

Here is the 2010 cheat sheet.

What is the pesticide exposure difference between the two lists?

EWG explains, “…people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen™ list consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily.”

Seems like a pretty significant difference. If possible, limiting consumption from the Dirty Dozen (unless organic or a known source) seems like a choice definitely worth considering.

You can check out my article on the 2009 EWG list which also contains a few different ways to bring organic produce in your home without the entire organic price tag. – Five Ways to Reduce Your Fruits and Vegetables Pesticide Exposure I have also found great pricing on a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables at Costco but results will vary depending on the store.

If you are not able to buy or grow your own produce without pesticides, should you stop eating them?

EWG states, “No, eat your fruits and vegetables! The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. Use EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to reduce your exposures as much as possible, but eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.”

Snickers bar or a conventional apple? Conventional apple still wins.

If pesticide exposure is a concern to you, you now have a great source to assist with purchasing decisions.

To see the entire EWG list and additional insight, check out the entire EWG Shopper’s Guide.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

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Sunburn – bad.

During our summer months as the rays of the sun become more direct and intense, the possibility of sunburn also increases, especially if we increase the amount of time outdoors.

While sun exposure is beneficial for the body, developing a sunburn is detrimental and just plain hurts. Taking a shower after getting burnt – yowsa!

If you sunburn easily or plan to be in the sun for a significant amount of time where sunburn is a concern, here are four ways to protect the skin, yet still enjoy the outdoors.

1. Safe-r Sunscreen

Aren’t most sunscreen safe and effective? Simply NO.

EWG is a non-profit group whose goal is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG recently released their 2010 Sunscreen Guide that provides an overall score rating (0 (recommend) – 10 (avoid)) for 1400 different sunscreens, sunblocks, moisturizers, and lip balms. The score is determine by the combined rating of  UVB Protection (SPF), UVA Protection, UVA/UVB Balance, Sunscreen Stability, and Health Concern. (Complete study methodology – some significant work went on here)

How many sunscreens are safe and effective? Few. Only 39 (8%) of the 500 beach and sport sunscreens for this season received a recommend rating (score: 0-2) from EWG.

Some reason for the small number of recommends:

• Many exaggerated SPF claims above 50.
• Recent health concerns (government data) about the common sunscreen ingredient, Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate).
• Included Oxybenzone. – A hormone disrupting compound.

Here is a list of five of the top shelf recommended sports sunscreens:

• Badger SPF 30 Sunscreen – For Face & Body, (also unscented version) – EWG Report
• Hara Sport SPF 30 – EWG Report
• Kabana Skin Care Green Screen Organic Sunscreen Fragrance Free SPF 20 – EWG Report
• Loving Naturals SPF 30 Sunscreen – EWG Report
• Soleo Sunscreen SPF 30 – EWG Report

EWG also included a cool widget so you can quickly check the rating of your current sunscreen.

Lots of good stuff in the guide, be sure to check it out.

I am typically not a sunscreen wearer but if burning is a concern, a non-toxic product is a no brainer. I would purchase one of the above mentioned sunscreens.

We currently have an Aubrey Organics product that is mainly used for our son (EWG Rating of 3) when he is in some strong sun for a significant amount time. He has pretty fair skin. We recently purchased the Loving Naturals product and will start using it once the AO is gone.

2. Timing and Location

That mid-day sun is the hottest. If burn is a concern, get that long run or outdoor exposure in during the early or later part of the day.

Running on a mostly or partially shaded trail would also reduce the amount of exposure. This is one of the bonuses of trail running versus the road as trees are often part of the journey.

3. Protective Gear

Various gear/clothing items can provide significant sunburn protection.

For the noggin, we all know about the hat or visor. I am a fan of the visor during the summer months and hat during the cooler months. Of course, the visor won’t do anything to protect the top of the head if that is a concern.

If you want to get all Badwater on us, you can get one of these which includes some neck protection.

A product you may not be aware of are arm sleeves. These snug-fitting arm coverings provide UV protection from your wrist to just below your shoulder. If you don’t feel like you need the extra sun protection, they can be easily be slid down or removed.

Here are a couple examples (Moeben products) of the sleeves.

Another perk during the cooler months, you can use the sleeves for added skin protection from the elements and turn a short sleeve shirt into a long sleeve. Moeben also creates some cold weather fleece sleeves for those looking for more warmth.

Moeben also has a wide variety of prints and solid colors for those that want to bring some personal flare to the trail. I have heard people mention they like the little side pocket as well, where you can stick a gel or some other small item. I haven’t worn the Moeben sleeves.

You can find a large selection of hats, visors, and arm sleeves at Running Warehouse.

• Hats and Visors
• Arm Sleeves

As an Endurance Buzz visitor, you will also receive a nice discount at checkout.

4. Surprise – The Food You Eat Matters!

The quality and types of food you put in your body is one of the many factors that can impact your endurance sports life and even more importantly your overall health.

Is it really any surprise that what we eat can also provide additional skin protection? WHFood.org (non-profit foundation) put together a good article (w/ references) that explains how sunburn works and some of the top foods that can provide skin cell sun support.

Here are a list of some of the top skin supportive foods:

• olive oil and tomato based products
• bell peppers
• brocolli
• strawberries
• sunflower seeds
• almonds
• dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, romaine lettuce)
• various types of fish
• raspberries
• blueberries
• green tea

Entire article

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that a variety of whole food, minimally processed items does the skin and rest of the body good.

For most of us (if not all), the sun is not something to fear but to celebrate. Without it, we wouldn’t be around for very long. With a bit of thought and self-understanding, the summer months can be a joyous sunburn-free time in the outdoors.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

[Photos courtesy of Matt McGee and Running Warehouse. This article contains links that may help support Endurance Buzz.]

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This happened to me over the holidays as I was preparing for the Bandera 100 km trail run. My head became tight, gunk oozing out of my nose, and feeling less than 100%…but I still ran.

I basically use the following guidelines with respect to running when I get a cold:

• If it is in the head (not chest) – keep running.
• If the cold moves deep in the chest – consider not running.
• Reduce or eliminate the high stress running workouts. This could be speed or distance related.
• Instead of running, consider cycling, elliptical, or walking if feeling like a pretty good sized pile of poo.
• If feel like a really, really large pile of poo – get butt to bed.

This all includes incorporating as many natural immunity boosting, stress reduction, and healing techniques I know.

Hammer Time Giveaway question #3 (Giveaway description and rules)

What personal running guidelines do you follow when you get a cold?

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of davidlat.)

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Every day we have the power to redirect the future of our country.

One of those ways is by the food choices we make. If you don’t support or reduce the support of products that are causing more harm than good, they will not survive. And guess what? Something better will take its place.

Food, Inc. Trailer

(If you can’t see the video click here.)

Do you think food choices affect running performance and injury prevention/management?

Let’s go beyond running and ask ourselves do food choices affect the quality of your life?

My answer – yes and yes. What is yours?

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

Visor-tip to professional triathlete Simon Whitfield.

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Now that summer is fast approaching, for many of us that live in or near an urban setting, poor outdoor air quality will start to increase its unwelcomed presence.

Running will not stop but there are a few things you can do to protect yourself and reduce the risks associated with inhaling this unhealthy cocktail of contaminants.

Why Should You Be Aware

When running your heart rate is elevated so you are consuming much more air than if you were sitting in a comfy chair on the patio with a glass of wine in your hand. Also, most run breathing is through the mouth which bypasses one of our natural filtering mechanisms; the old schnoz.

If the air quality is quite poor,  it will have an HOV lane to the lungs and there will be a significant unnecessary stress put on the body to try and get rid of all contaminants. Whether the body will be successful in this clean-up is not a guarantee and may be based on a whole array of factors.

Can you see the possible concern?

How To Be Aware Of Conditions In Your Area

First it would be beneficial to know the current jargon used to describe air quality.

The U.S. uses the AQI (Air Quality Index) to define air quality for a particular location. The index ranges from 0-500+. The lower the value, the better the air quality.

Here is a nice chart displaying the various AQI levels and their meaning as displayed at the governments air quality and information site AirNow.

Air Quality Index Chart

Wiki provides a description of indices other countries use.

What are the conditions in your city?

To stay up to date on your local air quality, cities that have pollution issues will often mention the air quality levels in their news reports or on their website.

The U.S. government’s site AirNow is pretty cool and you can find all kinds of information concerning air quality within the country. Of most interest to us would be the Local Forecast & Conditions page.

The  Local Forecast & Conditions page allows you to select a state and then see the current AQI, Today’s Forecast, and Tomorrow’s Forecast for all the major cities within the state.

AQI Local Forecast of Texas (two city example)

You can even drill deeper if you wish to observe local area maps that display current, 8-hour loop, 8-hour peak, and 1-hour average peak AQI levels.

To look at the maps:

• click on a desired city/area
• click on the current conditions map link to observe either the ozone or particles maps.

How much fun is this! Ok, maybe not fun but hopefully useful.

If you would like to have your local air quality report brought to you. AirNow has an air quality e-mail notification that will provide a daily forecast or it can be configured to only notify you when a minimum level is reached such as the Moderate level.

I personally like the second option. If conditions are Good, I don’t need to know about it.

What Can You Do With This Data

Now you have some choices for those running days when air quality is not in your acceptable range.

• Run indoors.
• Run during a different time of day when air quality will improve. (The times around rush hour traffic will probably have the worst air quality conditions.)
• Drive to a different location that has improved air quality. Of course driving is part of the problem.
• Wear a gas mask. This may be a bit cumbersome and inconvenient. Plus the goggles may fog up.
• Tape mouth shut with duct tape to force the air through your nasal filtration system. Not recommended and no intervals with this one!
• Breath it all in and take your chances.

You now have the power to make the decision that’s right for you!

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David - EnduranceBuzz.com

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The item that I am referring to may or may not be on your list. It is simple sunlight. Yes, I am talking about that bright light in the sky we take for granted most every day. Sunlight or seemingly more importantly, what it produces in our body (vitamin D), seems to be a possible sports performance aid and an element to assist in general health.

I recently ran across a news article called Vitamin D May Allow Olympians To Dominate In 2012. This article refers to an American College of Sports Medicine paper called Athletic Performance and Vitamin D that researched the existing information on the potential benefits of vitamin D and athletic performance.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble steroid and hormone which is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight. It seems to play an important role in the maintenance of organ systems.

A definition is fine and dandy but what does this mean for you? Let’s see what the article and others mention.

How Can Vitamin D Improve Your Running?

The news article notes that their is evidence that Vitamin D improves athlete reaction time, muscle strength, speed, and endurance. It also mentions that vitamin D helps to prevent stress fractures and other athletic injures. Now this seems like potentially useful information.

It is a bit interesting to also observe that the German elite athletes seemed to be aware of the benefits of vitamin D through UV radiation as early as the 1930s.

Dr. Mercola also commented on this report stating a few interesting and key ideas:

• …whereas both steroids and vitamin D can improve athletic performance, steroids are obviously quite dangerous to your health. Vitamin D on the other hand is not only safe, but also vital for literally hundreds, if not thousands of other health conditions.
• Dr. Cannell’s research shows that vitamin D increases the size and number of Type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers. And most cross-sectional studies show that vitamin D levels are directly associated with musculoskeletal performance in older individuals.

This seems like promising news.

How Does Vitamin D Improve Your Overall Health?

Of even greater importance than running performance (gasp) and substantially more research, vitamin D seems to also have significant overall health benefits. Who doesn’t like a WIN-WIN situation!

Mike Adams from Natural News created a free report (a valid email address required to view – no spam) called The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D in which Adams interviews a top world authority on the benefits of sunlight and vitamin D.

Here are just a few of benefits of vitamin D mentioned in the article:

• Sufficient vitamin D prevents prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, depression, colon cancer and schizophrenia.
• Your risk of developing serious diseases like diabetes and cancer is reduced 50% – 80% through simple, sensible exposure to natural sunlight 2-3 times each week.
• Osteoporosis is commonly caused by a lack of vitamin D, which greatly impairs calcium absorption.
• “Rickets” is the name of a bone-wasting disease caused by vitamin D deficiency.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder is caused by a melatonin imbalance initiated by lack of exposure to sunlight.

Who doesn’t see the benefits here? It seems like a no-brainer.

I do question that simply sitting in the sun 2-3 times per day reduces or prevents cancer. That Big Mac, cigarette, unmanaged stress, and poor sleep may have something to say about that.

One other interesting statement mentioned is that obese people require twice as much vitamin D because of an impaired ability to utilize it. Hence another reason to get that weight in a healthy range.

The Million Dollar Question – How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

If you like hard numbers, Dr. Mercola mentions that peak athletic performance will likely occur with vitamin D (25(OH)D – marker in blood) levels around 50 ng/ml. Mercola also recommends an optimal vitamin D range for overall health to be between 50-65 ng/ml based off of scientific studies mentioned in his vitamin D article.

You can determine your current value by getting your 25(OH)D determined by a blood test with your preferred doctor. There also is a vitamin D home based kit from ZRT laboratories.

If you aren’t into exact numbers, get outdoors and enjoy the sun – responsibly! Anyone involved with endurance sports probably are outdoors more than most but it may not necessarily be true in our health club, office bound lifestyles.

The biggest warning it to not get sun burned. There are no health benefits to that painful, crimson glow. Be smart!

Mike Adams also mentioned some natural “internal sunscreens” that can extend your time in the sun include powerful antioxidants such as Astaxanthin, Acai, pomegranates, and blueberries.

Vitamin D Supplementation

If your vitamin D levels are not in the desired range and you aren’t able to fit additional sunlight exposure into your lifestyle, vitamin D3 supplementation may be an option to discuss with your preferred health care professional in order to raise your 25(OH)D value.

Do you supplement with vitamin D3? If so, what has been your experience?

Back To The Basics

The story of sunlight and vitamin D is definitely not complete. Many chapters are yet to be created but it definitely looks like a potential Life Bestseller.

In a world where complexity is often the desire of the day, getting back to the basics can often have some amazing results in your running performance and health.

Back to the basics may include:

• eating minimally processed foods
• drinking clean water
• appropriate training stressors
• adequate sleep/rest
• beneficial exposure to sunlight

Try it, see what happens. You are an experiment of one!

Be active – feel the buzz!

David - EnduranceBuzz.com

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