CYCLING SANCTUARY - Spokes Magazine

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KIDS ADVENTURE CAMP by PAT CHILDERS Spring break in Fairfax County can cause a dilemma for local youths. They are gratefully out of school, often with nothing to do. This is especially true for children from the local poor or minority communities, who’s parents can’t afford camps. But this spring, for 18 youths representing six different elementary and middle schools things were a little different. They participated in the Lake Accotink Kids Adventure Race Camp. No watching TV and consuming calories on their couch during their week off, these friends and strangers united for a week long camp to compete against nature, each other and exhaustion. FOR THE FIRST FOUR DAYS, they learned to trail run, mountain bike, and boat and learned about conservation, nutrition and teamwork. They performed community service blazing new trails in the park for themselves and generations to follow. Everything they learned about nature and themselves, assisted them for the last day of their camp experience, an adventure race. The students arrived in the woods of Lake Accotink Virginia on Monday, April 6, to overcast skies. While many of them lived within only miles of the park they had never been there before. The camp offered by the Fairfax County park and recreation department and Trips for Kids Metro DC was designed to provide a challenge in nature to children who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity, Many of the children are on scholarships for the week, others pay for the experience, none of them really know what to expect. As the camp’s councilor and chauffeur for most of the children, I made quick introductions and chose two loose teams to get the ball rolling. Existing friendships created a comfort zone, but as the challenges start, new alliances made sort of a suburban survivor program. Today they learned about the park that would be their home for the next week. Four hundred acres of rolling hills, trails, and water. By the end of the week they traveled every inch of the property learning about the animals and plants that they shared space with during their adventure. After a quick warm up challenge, the teams tackled the hillsides of Lake Accotink in a trail race on foot. This is their first day in nature and for some their first time hiking, abilities are determined, the fast must learn patience, the slow perseverance. All learn the importance of proper nutrition and that nature can be fickle as a warm rain begins to fall. Heading home they were told the first day is the hardest. Exhausted, most of them hope this is true. Tuesday, tired muscles and weary legs bring the youth back to the park. They were told today would be easier, learning to bike and row. But even an easy day of instruction can be made difficult as 20-30 mile per hour winds blow across the lake, dropping the temperatures 20 degrees from the previous days warmth. The skills sessions on the bikes and boats teach the children to look to their future are difficult but not as difficult as standing and waiting their turn in the sudden spring chill of the day. The group escapes the wind as they head into the woods for some trail riding. The lesson of the day is brains over brawn, shift gears before you climb the hills or you may end up walking. Several hills are walked before the lesson is fully learned. Wednesday –Three days of exercise and their bodies are adjusting. The youth eagerly await the days challenges, today is about community service, they will give back to the park building a new trail for all to enjoy. But first it’s a long ride uphill before they get to the work site. Waiting for the kids are tools and adult volunteers from the Mid-Atlantic Off-road Enthusiasts (MORE), experts in making sustainable trails. For the next two hours the children build and learn ... not only do they ride single track for the first time, they are the first ones to ride a trail that will last for thousands of people to enjoy in the future, a trail they built. Thursday – The week has grown long but smiles are prominent as the sun shines on the group. Today they learn who their teammates will be for the race tomorrow. As they reorganize each team names itself, the Flamin Scorpions (no "g” required the counselors are told),The Gangsters and the Jokers (pronounced with a “Y” sound at the beginning). Then team skill races begin so the new teams can assess themselves and their opponents. After the skills, the three teams must do the most difficult tasks of the week – pick a captain and pick their route through the following days race course. The course has five check points, some that can be reached by biking, hiking and others only by rowing. There are over 200 options on how to do the race, and each team has to pick one and hope it’s the best one for their team members. All three teams choose different routes. Two teams decide they will boat first, the Jokers decide to tackle the bikes and long hikes first, saving the rowing for the end of the race. Friday – race day – everyone is ready, nature is threatening with a storm, so the volunteers hurry to get the race started. A small group has gathered to cheer on the racers. As the race begins, all of the week’s lessons on patience, pacing and perseverance are temporarily lost as the teams rush to their first flag. But then their lessons return to them, No one child is expected to remember everything they are taught, but as a team, the children can tackle every obstacle placed in front of them. As the day progresses, their legs tire and the captains are required to muster up enthusiasm as the teams go from check point to check point. The threatening rain never appears and jackets are shed as the teams move forward. An hour into the race, radio communications let the captains know where they stand. Captains Karissa of the Jokers, and the Flamin Scorpions led by Uyen both have captured three flags with two remaining. The Gangsters led by Captain Nick already have four flags captured, but have left the longest hilliest stretch of trail before they reach the final check point and head for home. It’s a whole new race again and energy is found where some thought none existed. Water bottles are refilled, maps checked for quicker routes from one check point to the next and bikes pedaled harder. Each team hoping that they will be the first to capture the final flag and pass the finish line. As they approach their final destination, they anxiously look ahead to see if they are the first to cross to victory or if another team has beaten them to the top place on the podium. The Lake Accotink Kids Adventure Race has always been unpredictable and it is once again. The Gangsters raced down the dam hill expecting a win, only to find that the Jokers had successfully beat them to the finish and were waiting cheering them on as they crossed the line. To further complicate the issue The Gangsters second place finish was now in danger due to missed questions on the written test. The Flamin Scorpions successfully kept it competitive as Uyen brings her team home on the bikes. If the Scorpions have a perfect score on the written test they could move into second place, but one incorrect answer ensured that the standings remained the same and The Gangsters take second. Tired smiles are the order of the day, as the youth return their equipment and celebrate their experience. New friendships are made that hadn’t existed only four days earlier, phone numbers exchanged and weekly bike rides together planned. No one is disappointed, only glad that they did their best. The race is over but for these 18 youths the adventure has just begun. 26 June 2009
THE CYCLIST'S KITCHEN by NANCY CLARK, MS, RD COLUMNS SPORTS NUTRITION NEWS FROM ACSM FOR CUTTING EDGE SPORTS NUTRITION information, the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine is the place to be! Over 5,000 exercise scientists, sports dietitians, physicians and coaches gathered in Indianapolis in May to share their latest research. Below are some of the sports nutrition highlights. (For other highlights, see www.acsm.org; click on news releases.) ! Eating an energy bar just 15 minutes before you exercise is as effective as eating it an hour before. Grabbing fuel as you rush to your workout is a good idea that gets put to use. ! Natural sports snacks, like a granola bar or banana, offer a variety of sugars. But engineered foods might offer just one type of sugar. Because different sugars use different transporters to get into muscle cells, eating a variety of sugars enhances energy availability. In a 62 mile (100 km) time trial, cyclists who consumed two sugars (glucose + fructose) completed the course in 204 minutes; those who had just glucose took an 16 additional minutes. The bottom line: eat a variety of foods with a variety of sugars during endurance exercise, such as sports drinks, tea with honey, gummi bears… • Salty pre-exercise foods such as chicken noodle soup can make you thirsty and encourage you to drink more. This can reduce the risk of becoming dehydrated during hot weather. • A survey of 263 endurance athletes indicates they understand the importance of recovery after a hard workout. But they don’t know what to eat. They believe protein is the key to recovery. Wrong. Carbohydrate should really be the fundamental source of recovery fuel. Or better yet, enjoy a foundation of carbs with a little protein ...Chocolate milk. • When exhausted cyclists were given a choice of recovery drinks, they all enjoyed—and tolerated well—the chocolate and vanilla milks, more so than water, sports drink or watery chocolate drink. Chocolate milk is familiar, readily available and tastes good! • How long do elite soccer players need to recover from a game? In one study, they needed five days for sprinting ability to return to pre-game level. That’s four days longer than most athletes allow... • How many calories does a triathlete burn during the Hawaii Ironman? Using labeled water, researchers determined a 173 lb (78.6 kg) man burned 9,290 calories. Body water turnover was about 4 gallons (16.5 L), and weight dropped 7.5%. Muscle glycogen dropped by 68%. • Fatigue is related to not only glycogen depletion and dehydration but also to body temperature higher than 104o F (40˚ C). Try to keep cool when exercising in hot weather! • Have you ever wondered how long it takes for the water you drink to end up as sweat? Only 10 minutes (in trained cyclists). Ingested fluid moves rapidly, so don’t hesitate to keep drinking even towards the end of an event. • Should an endurance athlete choose a sports drink with protein during exercise? The research is confusing, due to different protocols (time trials vs. endurance tests). Plus, in most research studies the subjects have nothing to eat before the exercise tests—an unlikely situation for most endurance athletes. Hence, we need more “real life” research. Until then, plan to eat carbs with a little protein pre-exercise—cereal with milk, a cup of yogurt—so the protein will be available, if needed. During exercise, choose a sports drink that tastes good, so you’ll want to consume enough. • Some endurance athletes do perform better with protein during exercise. For example, when given carbs or carbs + protein during an endurance exercise test, those who were “high responders” to the protein performed about 10% better in the time trial at the end of the endurance test, as compared to the “low responders”. This is just one example of how each athlete has his or her individual response to different fuels during exercise. The best bet: Experiment during training to learn what sports drinks/foods settles best, tastes good and works well for you personally! • A Norwegian study of elite endurance athletes indicates 73% took vitamin supplements. Little did they realize their diet provided the recommended nutrient intake without the pills. The vitamin intake of the pill takers was even higher—135% to 391% of recommended levels. Two exceptions were Vitamin D (low in 22% of the athletes; perhaps due to the fact they live in Norway and have less sunshine) and iron (low in 10% of the women). The researchers remind us that high intakes can have toxic effects and may be detrimental to health over time. The best bet is to eat your vitamins via healthy foods. • Coaches encourage football players to be big—but what is the long term cost? A survey of former college players indicates a high rate of obesity and associated health problems. • The “freshman fifteen” pounds gained in the first year of college may be an exaggeration. Among a group of 40 female college freshman, half gained and half lost weight (~4 to 5 lbs) Excess calories from specialty coffees and soda contributed to the weight gain. Watch out for liquid calories! • If kids are going to play video games, they might as well play active ones such as Wii Boxing, Wii Tennis or Dance Dance Revolution. These burn two to three times the calories as traditional hand held games 1417, 2443 • If you read ultra-fit magazines when you are exercising, you’ll likely feel more anxious and depressed then if you read Oprah or no magazine. Take note: the models’ “perfect bodies” are altered to look leaner and more glamorous. !Women who exercise experience an increase in the hormones that stimulate appetite; men have less of a response. This means women tend to get hungry after exercise and have a harder time with weight reduction than do men. Science finally validates what women have known all along! • Lightweight rowers commonly get rib stress fractures. In their efforts to maintain a light weight, many rowers under eat, lose their menstrual period, and end up with low bone mineral density. Even after rowers with menstrual dysfunction retired from their sport, their bone density remained low, suggesting the effects might be irreversible. Light weight athletes should consult with a sports dietitian for professional guidance on how to healthfully lose weight and maintain the low weight. (For a local referral, see www. SCANdpg.org.) • Athletes with eating disorders are known to overexercise. If they get admitted into an eating disorders recovery program, they often are not allowed to exercise (for health reasons). This can be very upsetting. Yet, a study with patients with eating disorders who did 10 weeks of supervised strength training as a part of their recovery achieved higher bone mineral density and muscular strength. The exercise generated positive physical and psychological benefits. • If you have “healthy genes”, you still need to exercise to be able to gain access to the potential good health you inherited. There’s no slouching when it comes to prolonging life! xxx_<strong>Spokes</strong>.qxd 3/20/07 12:56 PM Page 1 Great Gear For Cyclists... Dual Action Knee Strap Patented strap takes pain relief from knee degeneration and overuse syndromes to a higher level. Provides increased support and stability. Sizes: Sm-XL 1-800-221-1601 • www.cho-pat.com June 2009 27
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