ridecamp@endurance.net: my last post

my last post

Phil Gardner (slsf@foothill.net)
Fri, 25 Apr 1997 12:00:15 -0700

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Sorry about by my last post, I forgot to click a button. Here it is
again and hopefuly it will be readable. If it isn't I could use some
advice on how to do this.

Phil

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ÐÏࡱá΢š
http://enterthezone.com/article/

It’s time for the Boston Marathon, and one thing you can be certain of is that no American will win it. It may seem odd that the foreign runners who have dominated this event for the past 20 years rarely show up at the big pasta dinner the night before the race. Why? They want to win.<p>

A lackluster performance in an endurance race is caused by the over-production of insulin. Excess insulin will decrease blood sugar levels, which leads to mental confusion (or “bonking”). Excess insulin will prevent you from using your own stored body fat for energy (and the average marathoner has enough stored fat to run 20 races back-to-back). And excess insulin will decrease oxygen transfer to your muscles thereby creating lactic acid build-up.<p>

And how do you increase insulin levels? Eat a big pasta meal the night before the race, a big carbohydrate meal (like pancakes) prior to the race, and drink lots of Gatorade (expensive sugar water) during the race. These are all the standard dietary practices of the typical American marathoner. Small wonder why Americans are the laughing stock of elite distance runners in the world.<p>

What about all the runners’ publications that tout high-carbohydrate diets? Frankly, I am still waiting for just one study detailing more than seven days in duration to show that eating a high-carbohydrate diet improves athletic performance compared to a moderate-carbohydrate diet. Why I am waiting? Because no such studies exist!<p>

Maybe it’s a perverse conspiracy by the Kenyan runners to make sure they continue to dominate the Boston Marathon. Or maybe it is simply great marketing by food executives who never have to leave their chairs to make lots of money on race day from the Americans who actually believe eating massive amounts of carbohydrates will make them run faster. In either case, you will always make money betting that an American will not win the race.<p>

It’s an American tragedy.

΢š--------------3AD67368EF7--

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