Exceptional year for fitness and recover

MAP Makes Athletes Run Easier

Pam Kallio

USAT Coach , USA Cycling Coach

MAP marks more PRs for athletes. MAP continues to mark more PRs for athletes training and racing with it. I recently had 2 athletes from the east coast travel to Tucson to race the Holualoa ½ Marathon .

One of the athletes was training for his first full marathon so this was an important milestone along the way. He had been training well and was ready for the race, but needed a PR to set him up to enter the up com ing marathon with a boatload of confidence. The other athlete had not been training for the distance, but had a good base and knew that he could do the distance without any real problem.

My part of the bargain was if they came to Tucson , I would run the ½ marathon also. Now, this might not sound like such a big deal, but remember, we have just moved to this great town and I have been biking, not running. I also had knee surgery at least 4 years ago December and it was not handled properly nor was the rehab after. As a result, it has left me with a very painful knee harboring arthritis and a leg that does not have full extension or flexion. As I am first and foremost a triathlete and not a runner – I promised myself that I would not waste that knee on any races/runs that were not triathlon related, so for me to run a ½ marathon was a BIG deal.

The three of us are all dedicated MAP users and of course since they were staying with me I just happened to have enough extra for everyone.

This is a particularly challenging ½ Marathon due to the fact that 11 miles are relatively downhill going from an elevation of about 4000 ft down to 2600 feet. At mile 11 you make a left turn and look up at a hill that ought to be renamed the Tucson version of “Heart Break Hill.“ After running (or in my case walking) up this monster hill you then have another short steep climb before it levels out for the final mile. As I was making the final turn into the last ¼ mile a spectator shouted at me “ deep sand up ahead!” Just to make things really interesting for the runners the last ¼ mile or so was VERY deep sand. As if your quads and hamstrings were not burning enough by this time!

I am a firm believer in MAP before – during and after a race, along with using it before/after training. Once again Scott PR'd - by almost 4 minutes this time. Both Jose and I had VERY respectable races and were very pleased with our times. The two guys were absolutely fine after the 11 mile downhill. I was limping for the next day or so but a multi hour walk around the Pima Air force Museum ( this covers 85 acres and some 800 aircraft of various vintages,) the next day and some additional MAP cured that situation.

No matter how well you feel that you eat and no matter how good you think your diet is, chances are that you are not getting the amino acids that you think you are, or that the quality of that protein is not top quality. The food value has been so greatly reduced in today's food vs. what it was twenty or even ten years ago that its hard, virtually impossible, to get the value that our bodies need from diet alone. Because of this, I find taking MAP is a necessity. As Athletes, we demand much of their bodies and replenishing with MAP is one way to make sure you stay on top of that com petitive edge.

Train well and Happy Holidays to all

Pam Kallio
USAT L2 Triathlon coach
USA L2 cycling coach

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