Amazing Running Machine

by Dr. Daniel Shaye, Chiropractic Physician

Like most runners, you probably lace up your shoes and head out the door for your run without considering the miraculous machine that will carry you over land. Let's take a moment to appreciate that very machine.

With every running movement, muscles up the legs and thighs all the way to the shoulders and arms need to work together. Pushing off with the right calf correlates with forward and upward (flexion) movement of the left shoulder even as the left hip also flexes and the right hip extends. The hips shift from side to side with each stride, with a muscle on the outside of each hip (gluteus medius) keeping the temporarily ground-based push-off hip from collapsing. 3-5 times body weight crashes up your frame with each footstrike, to be distributed via muscles, tendons, and ligaments (including spinal discs and menisci in the knees)-- thus limiting joint damage, muscle strain, or bone failures. Silently, tiny cells called osteoblasts are inspired to build bone and respond to the repeated stresses of running. Over time the bones of your shins and hips, if fortified by calcium and vitamin D and a healthy body, become denser and adapt to the stresses of running. Your heart gets bigger and stronger, and will be able to eject more oxygen-rich blood with each mighty pump while beating slower at rest. Over time your body adds and maintains MILES of blood vessels to deliver oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients; as well to provide more efficient waste-product (such as CO2) elimination capacity.

Your shoes cover roughly ¼ of the bones in your entire body. Each foot is a flexible structure that can sense the ground and adapt to it, changing in an instant from flexible to rigid, from a highly adaptable ground-sensor to a rigid structure capable of absorbing powerful impact forces and levering you forward. Speaking of forward, running is almost like a series of leaps. Unlike walking, where one foot is always on the ground, running has a portion of its cycle where NO feet are on the ground. In a way, we runners are flightless birds who don't even make the pretense of flapping.

With each out-breath, your lungs expel a metabolic waste product called Carbon Dioxide (CO2). As your brain signals your diaphragm to pull downward, your lungs expand to sample the atmosphere. Air is pulled through ever-smaller tubes into many tiny air sacs called alveoli, which are surrounded by blood vessels; and those blood vessels pull out a minority component of the air called Oxygen. The pulmonary veins carry that oxygen to the left atrium, which transfers it to the left ventricle to be forcefully expelled to the needing brain, pumping arms, striving legs... indeed, to every cell of the body. The carrier of that oxygen is the red blood cell, which has a life of only 120 days. Deep in the marrow of your bones, new red blood cells are being born and raised even as we speak; and they'll be needed, since red blood cells (RBC's) will be destroyed with every foot strike. No worries-- eat some iron-rich spinach, and blood vessels around your digestive tract will pull take that mineral and bring it where it needs to be for assembly into the next generation of RBC's.

The blood also carries sugar (glucose), a major energy source. The major storage house of this glucose is the liver, where glycogen is stored; and when the body calls for it, the liver opens up its stores, allowing you to run a mile, a 5K, or even a marathon or more. And when the body gets really hungry, it can also burn the tremendous energy in a fantastic storage medium known as fat.

The most remarkable miracle of your body isn't the bones, or the liver, or the blood... it's the magnificent computer and wires called your brain and nervous system that coordinates the remarkable, concert-like processes that make running possible. You can focus on pace and form, or admire nature, all without a thought to your amazing machine and command-and-control systems. The "machine" will talk to you, guide you, even warn you of impending problems such as too fast a pace or an impending stress fracture; and it does so without the slightest need for system upgrades. Maybe you should say "thank you, amazing machine, for carrying me through each joyous run!"

I wish you many happy -- and appreciative-- runs, my friends.

-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye

Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician

Fellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture

Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com; or visit www.performancechiropractic.com

What's The BIG Idea?

By Sally YoungEmail yo-sal@cox.net

BURIDAN'S ASS

Somehow, two-thirds of Americans got sucked into the gravity well of theoverfed, and came back out, McDonald's-plumped and super-sized. Everybodyknows what to do about weight gain - diet and exercise - but the chokepointis in actually doing it. Like Buridan's ass, who died in front of a bucketof food and a bucket of water because he couldn't decide if he was hungrier or thirstier, the morbidly obese stutter in the face of self-help.

Weight control is had not so much by doing everything right, but by notdoing anything wrong: donuts for breakfast; fast food lunches; night timesnacking; riding when you could be walking; hiring out DIY jobs when the exercise would do you good. It's a sure-fire way of going from breathing to a toe ticket, while adding to our record high weight-related medical costsof $147 billion.

If you want something done epically, you have to do it yourself. This year, Virgin Galactic took nine space tourists to weightlessness. For the rest ofus, there's Virgin Health Miles. Fit or not, you can exchange miles walked or ran for points that count toward gift cards to major retailers, e.g.,Target, Amazon.com. Learn more: http://www.virginhealthmiles.com/

Walsingham Running Path Ribbon Cutting Set for Wednesday, Oct. 28

by Rick Platt

For the past few years, runners participating in the Colonial Road Runners Wednesday afternoon interval sessions at Walsingham Academy have had to contend with about a sixth of a mile per lap of medium-sized rocks, used to cover the maintenance road from the far end of the track, along the woods line, and to the baseball backstop and dugouts. While run-able, the rocks were not fun to run on, and slowed down the pace for that section.

That inconvenience is now history. Back in March Walsingham agreed to purchase a dump truck-load of finely crushed stone, which was left in four large piles. The Colonial Road Runners agreed to provide all of the labor in moving the existing rocks to the side to provide an even base, then loading and dumping countless wheelbarrows full of the crushed stone, before smoothing out the finished running path.

Led by project coordinator Rick Platt, the regulars (with at least three work sessions) included Frank Caruso, Andrew and Mercedes D’Amico, Frank Faykes, Jim Goggin, Ian Hawkes, Ed Irish and Ann Jurczyk. Also putting in at least one work session were MacKenzie Carnes, Greg Dawson, Rex Hoover, Ashley Hoover, Steve Menzies, Paula Pickering and Daniel Shaye.

The finished smooth, flat surface is wide enough for two runners abreast, and is similar in condition to running paths at Noland Trail, Warhill, or Newport News Park. Try it out sometime!

So if you’ve been avoiding the Walsingham intervals in the past year or so, because you didn’t like running over the rocks, that excuse is gone! Come on out, and join us for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, which will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28th, in a ceremonial lap around the “short loop”, before the regular interval workout. Even if you can’t make the ribbon-cutting session, we hope as many of you as possible will become regulars at the Wednesday workouts on our new path.

Note that the October 28th interval session will be the last one at the regular March-through-October 5:30 p.m. starting time. With daylight savings time ending on Sunday, November 1st, all workouts from November 4th through the end of January will be at the winter starting time of 4:30 p.m.

FLY, FLY AWAY

By Sally Young
yo-sal@cox.net

I was wondering why the deer fly kept getting bigger and bigger, and then it hit me right in the eye. I was running in the middle of a flash mob offlying bugs, trying to keep my mouth shut and my speed up, but they were landing all over me, morphing my style into that of a frenzied hackeysacker. I finally smacked one, and pulled my hand back, horrified to see it covered with my own blood. That's when a fly hit my eye, with another going straight into my mouth, mid-"ow". I reached up, smearing red across my eyeand knocking out my contact lens, reducing myself to blind staggers and drooling, like I was fresh off a Haitian white powder binge.

Deer flies thrive in damp, wooded areas or fields during warm weather. They begin swarming at dawn for about three hours, and then again around sunset.They're attracted to forward motion, and can't be outrun. A fly will circle its victim's head and shoulders, delivering a painful cross-shaped cut that pools with blood. Insect repellants are ineffective, but attaching a flypaper-like Deer Fly Patch on your hat will help ease your run. Google Tred-Not Deer Fly Patch.

The Many Faces of Running

by Dr. Daniel Shaye, Chiropractic Physician

Running. Covering ground on 2 feet. It's a universal experience, one we runners all share... or do we?

When you and I think of running, we may think of lacing up our shoes and heading out for a half hour run, or even a race; but there are many faces of running. Here in the USA, running is a form of recreation, a type of exercise, a path to health and/or personal joy. When I lived in Kenya, I saw running used as both a career path and a road to national pride; but I also saw it used as transportation-- especially by kids traveling to and from school. In America, our transportation typically has wheels and a motor. This is not the case in the more rural areas of developing nations... and sometimes they don't even wear shoes (the legends are true).

Having diversified my athletic endeavors, I've discovered other faces of running. I wouldn't dream of lacing up my high-top basketball shoes for a 3-mile trail run; yet for basketball, they're a must. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined giving up a trail run for 1-3 hours of sprints up an down an 84-foot-long hardwood, indoor court... yet it's still my legs, running and bounding, that carry me. The experience has its differences from distance running, to be sure: No deer sightings, no spikes, no precipitation, and never a hill or bump. Even so, it's still a thrill and joy to experience my body, moving through space, my heart pumping and lungs expanding.

We runners are a diverse family. A sprinter or triple-jumper might in some ways have more in common with the basketball player than the 5000 meter specialist; yet can even the 5K runner compare him or her-self with the marathoner? And what of the ultra runner's experience? I've never "been there," yet I understand that going 50 or 100+ miles is very, very different from the half hour or even 2 hour runs I've known.

Some of you might argue that we runners are all a family, sharing in a unique life that is separate and distinct from what basketball players or others might experience... yes? But again, I wonder if our family is bigger than we think. Some runners are driven by the watch, or the scale, or by competition. Some live running as a primal joy, a mental health exercise more than a physical one; and still others live a desire to move beyond desire, to be one with the experience. If such diverse people, doing such disparate things, can all call themselves "runners," might our family be even bigger than we at first conceive?

Whether we run, or racewalk; whether we bound and race, or shuffle along; whether our shoes cover our ankles, or exist not at all; and even whether we run for reasons as different as spikes and trainers; we runners of all stripes share a bond. A distance run, or playing 5-on-5 basketball, both require that our own two legs carry us-- and no one else's. We can experience the forms of the run as our solo treasure, or build a community and social support network around the activity. Perhaps we can expand our family, even while we experience what is in so many ways an intensely personal experience.

I'll see you on the road... or trail... or track... or court... or wherever you choose to run.
Yours in running, health, & fitness,

-Dr. Daniel A. ShayeCertified Chiropractic Sports PhysicianFellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture

Do you have a question you’d like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic, 1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com ; or visit www.performancechiropractic.com

The First Crapolfest 5K

By Rick Platt

Soccer and running were intertwined at the inaugural Crapolfest 2009 5K Run last Saturday, starting and finishing at Albert-Daly Field, the soccer stadium for William and Mary. The race benefited the Andrew E. Crapol Soccer Scholarship, and was organized by the W&M Tribe Club, with assistance by the W&M men’s soccer team.

Andy Crapol (1978-2009) was a Williamsburg native who played soccer for Lafayette High School, then at William and Mary under Coach Al Albert (the race director for the Crapolfest run). The 5K was a Colonial Road Runners event. Andy’s mother, Jeanne Zeidler, is on the Williamsburg City Council, and is the current mayor of Williamsburg. His father, Edward Crapol, is a professor emeritus in history at W&M.

Andy was diagnosed with esophageal cancer early this year, and died tragically within months. His wife, Allison Simmons Crapol, was at all the weekend events, including handing out the race awards.

There was almost $12,000 raised from the Crapolfest weekend events (also including a mini-golf tournament Saturday afternoon at Pirates Cove), and with $4,000+ in additional contributions made to the scholarship fund, that made for over $16,000 raised. The Crapol scholarship is now endowed with over $70,000.

There were 195 finishers in the 5K run/walk, and an additional 31 finishers in the 1 mile fun run/walk. The mini-golf tournament attracted about 125. There was also a W&M women’s soccer game Friday evening, and a men’s soccer game Saturday evening, where rival George Mason prevailed 1-0.

The top three overall men were Danny O’Callaghan, 37, of Houston (17:04), Gregor Kranjc, 35, of Williamsburg (17:13) and Daniel Shean, 26, of Williamsburg (18:07). O’Callaghan coached Brittany Lane, a junior starting midfielder on the W&M women’s team, for the Challenge Soccer Club in Houston, and came to the race with Brittany’s father, Brent Lane. Kranjc is a visiting professor in the same W&M history department as Andy’s father.

The top three women were Alaina Redd, 16, of Midlothian (and Cosby High School) in 20:53, Claire Zimmeck, 22, of Williamsburg (22:02) and Kristin Morgan, 24, of Williamsburg (22:48). Zimmeck was a two-time All-American for the W&M women’s soccer team, graduating in May.

The race course was mostly flat, and included a loop around Dillard Complex to start, then heading out the recreational bike path past the James City County Williamsburg Recreation Center, down Longhill Road to Ironbound Road at James Blair School, then back past the Plumeri Park entrance road to the finish at Albert-Daly Field, where refreshments were served and awards handed out.

Some of the notable runners, with soccer or W&M connections, placing in the top three of their age groups were Robert Bryden of Richmond and Greg Westfall of Manhasset, NY (both ’97 soccer grads); Scott Cooper of Toano (a coach in the Virginia Legacy soccer club); Sean Pieri (vice president for development for W&M); John Tuttle (W&M ’88, who was recently named one of the top 25 men’s soccer players of the CAA for its past 25 years); Gonzalo Abrigo (father of current men’s player Nick); Milam Walters (married to Andy’s older sister Heidi Crapol); Brent Lane (father of Brittany); Christine Connelly (wife of W&M associate head soccer coach Chuck Connelly); Brita Marmon (W&M assistant women’s soccer coach); and Karen DiNuzzo (mother of Michael on the W&M men’s team). Jonny Kamara, the second assistant coach for the W&M soccer team, who also coaches Virginia Legacy, would have been one of the top finishers, but he was accompanying his 3-year-old son Atticus to an impressive 39:23 time.

There were numerous other family members of Andy’s participating in either the 5K or 1 mile events, including Jeanne Zeidler, Ed Crapol, brother Paul Crapol, sister Heidi Crapol, aunt Marianne Crapol, father-in-law Robert Simmons, mother-in-law Patricia Simmons, and sister-in-law Kimberly Simmons.

Andy Crapol was best friends with Shane Emmett and the entire Emmett family since they were little kids, and all the Emmetts participated, including father Bob, mother Pauline, and brothers Shane, Casey (who designed the race entry form) and Quinn (designer and webmaster for the http://www.andycrapol.com/ website), and sister Molly (who ran barefoot).

Al Albert’s son Graham, also a former W&M soccer player, ran the first mile holding a soccer ball, then once the course opened up a bit, dribbled it for the final two miles of the race.

Full results can be found at http://colonialroadrunners.org/2009Crapolfestresults.txt.

What's the Big Idea

IT'S TIME TO BIG IT UP

Like the White Queen trying to believe a few impossible things before breakfast, most of us can't fathom entering a race that covers a full zipcode or two. But for people like Cheryl Lager, the word "ultramarathon" sets off a waggle dance of pure running glee. Cheryl was an average, young, middle-aged woman, experiencing average,young, middle-age spread. She joined an average joe's gym so she could fitinto her average-size clothing. (Sorry!). Soon, treadmill running gave wayto road races, and short distances grew to full marathons. But for Cheryl,marathons simply ended too soon. She had reached the inflection point inlong distance running where lunacy and genius come together to form a neworder: Marathon Maniacs, an elite group of insatiable marathoners who run 50and 100 mile events as well. Happiness comes from being irretrievably drawn into a quest that will notend. "The secret of life," said Henry Moore, British sculptor, "is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bringeverything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And, themost important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do."

Sally is also an artist. Her art work can be found at Parlett's Cards, Stationery & Gifts in Williamsburg, Gallery at York Hall on Main St. in Yorktown, Gallery on the York on Rte 17 in Yorktown, Peedles Gallery and Gifts at 404 Wythe Creek Rd in Poquoson, and Rooms, Blooms, and More in Hilton Village on Warwick Blvd. in Newport News.For comments, questions and resource referrals, she can be reached at yo-sal@cox.net. © by Sally Young