Marathon & Beyond Monday: The Infection Connection

You’ve probably heard it said that exercise can strengthen the immune system. You’ve also probably heard it said that exercise can dampen the immune system. So what are we to make of the seemingly conflicting information? Today on Endurance Planet—a Marathon & Beyond Monday edition—we hear Sara Latta’s story entitled The Infection Connection.

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The Doctor Takes Your Questions

Every couple of weeks on Endurance Planet, Dr. Mark Klion takes questions from endurance athletes about their aches and pains. Klion is an endurance athlete himself, an orthopedic surgeon, and creator of the Bodyworks MD DVD Series. This time around he addresses questions about barefoot running, end-of-marathon cramping, plantar fasciitis, and micro-fracture surgery.

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A Case of the Jitters

Race day should be a fun day—a day of celebration and reward. Like a test you’ve studied hard for, the work has been done. It’s just a matter of applying it. But feeling anxious is not fun. And at its worst, it can ruin your race. Today on Endurance Planet, we’re going to give you an audio exercise that will help you remove the jitters and maintain a healthy focus. Our guest is Karen Dubs, creator of the Flexible Warrior yoga DVD series for multi-sport athletes.

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Pre-Race Calm Exercise

As a service to Endurance Planet listeners, we present you with this 5-minute relaxation exercise to put you in the proper mindset to train and race effectively—without undue anxiety. Thanks to Karen Dubs of Flexible Warrior.

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Racing at High Altitude

Earlier this week, Endurance Planet hosted a live, interactive webinar on Racing at High Altitude with Dr. Scott Drum. Drum is the Director of the High Altitude Performance Lab at Western State College in Colorado. He’s also the founder of the Gunnison Endurance Project. Today on Endurance Planet, we’re making the audio portion of that webinar available to all our listeners. Special thanks to our webinar sponsor: AltoLab Altitude Training Simulator. Look for more Endurance Planet webinars in the weeks to come!

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The Road to Western States 2010: Dr. Marty Hoffman

The Western States Endurance Run is one of the oldest ultra trail events in the world and certainly one of the most challenging. But the 100-miler scheduled for June 26th is also, essentially, a research lab. Dr. Marty Hoffman is the medical director for Western States. He’s a multiple-time finisher who has completed studies on endurance sports and its effects on the human body. Today on Endurance Planet, Marty tackles questions such as: “Aren’t you doing permanent damage to your body running 100 miles?”

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Marathon & Beyond Monday: Hitting “The Wall”

“It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree onto my shoulders.” That’s how Dick Beardsley described hitting “The Wall” at the second marathon of his career. Most of us know what Beardsley spoke of but author and runner Sara Latta says that if you understand the scientific reasons behind “The Wall,” you should be able to avoid it. This week’s Marathon & Beyond Monday is a story from Latta. We hope it helps you avoid tree-dwelling elephants.

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Anxiety: From Pumped to Panicked—12-31-09

This week’s Human Kinetics Corner comes from the Human Kinetics book entitled The Sport Psych Handbook. It focuses on the chapter, Anxiety: From Pumped to Panicked. Our hope is that this edition will help you focus during the upcoming race season and harness your energies in a positive way.
Human Kinetics–Anxiety–12-31-2009

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The Ten Commandments of Endurance

There is, perhaps, no one more qualified to speak on the subject of endurance than 58-year-old Marshall Ulrich of Idaho Springs, Colorado. Outside Magazine once dubbed him the “Endurance King”–and for good reason. In 2008 he ran 3,063 miles across America in just 52-and-a-half days. That’s equal to 117 marathons. He has won the Badwater Ultramarathon. four times. And he has climbed the tallest summit on each continent–a feat known as The Seven Summits.

A motivational speaker, Ulrich recalls being asked to address a group of Navy Seals in 2007.

“And I said to myself, ‘What can I give these guys?’ You know, for instance, they throw them out in the water and they’re struggling for their lives…’what can they think about? What can I give them to help them?’ The same thing holds true for our lives. What can we have in hand that will help us deal with things?”

That’s when Ulrich wrote his Ten Commandments of Endurance, which he shares with Endurance Planet.

The Endurance Planet Hour—12-29-2009

This week on The Endurance Planet Hour we hear from the “Endurance King” Marshall Ulrich. who gives us his Ten Commandments of Endurance. Among his many accomplishments, Marshall ran across the United States in 52 days…that’s the equivalent of 117 marathons. We also hear from Runner’s World executive editor Mark Remy about his new book, [...]

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