I don't want to age!!

F-I-S-H-Y. That whole story smelled to high heaven. The legal only in Germany junk. The self righteous trip to USADA. But, what got me was the inhaler 30 minutes before every RACE. It's a 25 second race. That really bothers me.

F-I-S-H-Y. That whole story smelled to high heaven. The legal only in Germany junk. The self righteous trip to USADA. But, what got me was the inhaler 30 minutes before every RACE. It's a 25 second race. That really bothers me. I wish I had seen the Dara interview ... Forgot to DVR it. Quite a bit of stuff is legal in Europe well before being legalized in the US. FDA review and approval is unbelieveably ponderous. Does Dara have asthma? Can one hit off an inhaler really be performance enhancing? Some people with severe allergies and asthma do need an inhaler. By Sunday afternoon, I could barely breathe in the pool area in Austin and had a hacking cough. One of my teammates had trouble finishing her races because of poor air quality/excess chlorination. When imspoiled forgot to use her inhaler at zones, she couldn't finish her race. Kristina: I think Paul got you there. As I recall, you were trying to do doubles, but couldn't recover. You seem pretty darn motivated to improve even more, even though you're already a superstar! Frankly, if I had the time and bucks, I'd definitely spend more on recovery items like massage.

Does Dara have asthma? Can one hit off an inhaler really be performance enhancing? I'm not at all denying some people, like you, have asthma. She has some respiratory condition diagnosed in the mid 90s. That seems a far cry from your asthma. Further, the medicine she inhales prior to every race (mind you, it did not mention she inhales it before every practice) is controlled by anti-doping and she's careful to comply. Still... It's the sum of the story, not the individual items, such as the asthma.

Ya, I know what you mean... I've actually been very skeptical about these things in the past, you have to be. I don't drink caffeine for that very reason, it makes my heart beat faster than I prefer. This is different, and there is an abundance of scientific evidence that supports Dr.Robert Keller's research. Oxidation damage causes inflamation in the cells, and glutathione reduces that reaction. Yet, eating the stuff doesn't work because it doesn't get through the digestion process. After years of clinical research Dr.Keller has figured out how to make your body produce and absorb glutathione. RE: dara torres on the supplements i read the ingredients and it is similar to several of these so called recovery and aminoacid fixes in europe. I used to drink this orange crap when i lived in italy and all it did was race my heart(100% caffeine) and give me extreme stomach cramps(creatine). it was sold as a recovery aid.

I'm not at all denying some people, like you, have asthma. She has some respiratory condition diagnosed in the mid 90s. That seems a far cry from your asthma. Further, the medicine she inhales prior to every race (mind you, it did not mention she inhales it before every practice) is controlled by anti-doping and she's careful to comply. Still... It's the sum of the story, not the individual items, such as the asthma. I just listened to the interview that George posted. That's a freaking lot of supplements! 10 scoops of amino acid supplements a day as just 1/6 of her supplements?! Is there any solid evidence that amino acids really promote the natural production of human growth hormone? If such evidence is ultimately produced (I'm assuming the evidence is a bit murky), there wouldn't seem to be much difference between "natural" promotion of HGH and injections. (I don't use my inhaler all the time. I try to limit it to attacks of bronchitis, wheezing or poor air quality conditions .. wouldn't go running without it in the spring or fall. I don't want to have any more albuterol/steroid crap in my system than necessary. The long term effects are still largely unknown. I've switched from flonase to astilene for that reason.)

I want to be real clear about this...I'm all for LEGAL supplements, always have been. My only point was that some folks wanted to pooh pooh this thread/testimonial right out of the gate saying how big of a waste it is to try things like this...and as I pointed out they are some of the same people that stood up big time for Dara defending her use of just these kind of things to explain her success vs. anything illegal....sorry but you can't have it both ways! (S)he....nothing personal in any way...I love to train and HATE that when I hit it hard one day it takes 2 days of recovery...even with creatine, cytomax, etc. And trust me...I win the big lottery you can rest assured I'll be hiring Dara's support staff to stretch and massage me daily...sadly however my lack of willpower means no giving up on the poor diet and love of wine/beer so I'm stuck with the extra 15lbs for like! Geek....shades of Amy Van Dyken with the inhaler..GHJ went off big time on that and how she was taking hit after hit right before her races. I wonder what the effect is on exceeding recommended doses of that stuff is?

Some people with severe allergies and asthma do need an inhaler. By Sunday afternoon, I could barely breathe in the pool area in Austin and had a hacking cough. One of my teammates had trouble finishing her races because of poor air quality/excess chlorination. When imspoiled forgot to use her inhaler at zones, she couldn't finish her race. See, I thought that the TSC pool had good air circ, and did not seem chlorinated at all. I was under the impression that it had some kind of advanced filtering that didn't require chlorine, or at least used only low levels of it. One of my teammates, who is an asthmatic, commented several times on how "non-chlorinated" the pool seemed.

See, I thought that the TSC pool had good air circ, and did not seem chlorinated at all. I was under the impression that it had some kind of advanced filtering that didn't require chlorine, or at least used only low levels of it. One of my teammates, who is an asthmatic, commented several times on how "non-chlorinated" the pool seemed. It wasn't the competition pool. It was the diving well, where I personally spent much more time. My friend who had trouble breathing asked about it and was told there were high amounts of chlorine in it (she was also just recovering from bronchitis). Apart from that, being in a pool environment for 10 hours a day for 3 days just does not agree with everyone's respiratory system. However, I agree the facility was way better than most. As I said, I didn't notice any breathing issues until Sunday afternoon. As for George's baiting post, that's ridiculous. Of course you can compete with a medical issue as long as you're taking the correctly prescribed dose of the drug. AVD-type usage is clearly improper and not medically necessary.

RE: dara torres on the supplements....www.mark-warnecke.de/amsport there is a english flag icon to click on to read the web page. i read the ingredients and it is similar to several of these so called recovery and aminoacid fixes in europe. I used to drink this orange crap when i lived in italy and all it did was race my heart(100% caffeine) and give me extreme stomach cramps(creatine). it was sold as a recovery aid. Swimcat found the supplement that Dara mentioned by name in the ESPN interview. I looked at the web site and found this interesting statement by the guy who is selling the stuff (Mark Warnecke). The bold highlighting is mine: "For over ten years now, I have focused my efforts on amino acids, protein products and muscle enhancers and how they affect the human body. During countless long night shifts, I waded through hundreds of studies and scientific analyses. Following detailed research into protein products and muscle enhancers, I turned my attention to amino acids and was able to chalk up my first real meaningful successes with pure amino acids in the 1995/96 season. The intravenous application available then, however, is not affordable for long term use (approx. 40 EUR/day), nor is it ethically acceptable. Today, the application form is also no longer acceptable due to anti-doping regulations. I unreservedly share this view." If I read that correctly, the stuff is illegal (from an anti-doping point of view) if administered by IV but apparently not if ingested orally. The page where I got the above quote is: www.mark-warnecke.de/.../amsport1_engl.html Edit: Hmmm, just found some more interesting things on that page: "One professional cyclist describes an "increased blood circulation" effect on strained leg muscles, even under maximum impact. This is due in part to the high proportion of arginine contained in AMsport. Arginine is an amino acid that widens the lymphatic vessels.... Thanks to its related metabolic path (nitrogen monoxide (NO)), arginine is known in America as 'natural Viagra'...." Also interesting - Mark Warnecke was a breaststroker from Germany who, at age 35, won the world title in the 50m Breaststroke at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Canada. That made him the oldest swimming world champion since 1971.

It wasn't the competition pool. It was the diving well, where I personally spent much more time. Hmmm...my impression was you spent most of your time sneaking into the mens locker room checking out the "current events" poste over the urinals? By the way....you still owe me my drinks from the "whining ban" that was broken pre-Austin!