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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-Q (Mark One) (X) QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED JUNE 30, 2002. ( ) TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM ________ TO __________. Commission file number: 1-12619 RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER) Missouri 43-1766315 (State of Incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 800 Market Street, Suite 2900 St. Louis, MO 63101 (Address of principal (Zip Code) executive offices) (314) 877-7000 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes (x) No ( ) Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date. Common Stock Outstanding Shares at par value $.01 per share August 12, 2002 30,026,251 RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. INDEX PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION PAGE ---- Item 1. Financial Statements Consolidated Statement of Earnings 1 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet 2 Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 3 Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements 4 Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 9 Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 16 PART II. OTHER INFORMATION Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K 16 (i) PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION Item 1. Financial Statements RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EARNINGS (Unaudited) (Dollars in millions except per share data, shares in thousands) Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------ ------------------ 2002 2001 2002 2001 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net Sales $ 314.9 $ 289.9 $ 953.5 $ 864.1 -------- -------- -------- -------- Costs and Expenses Cost of products sold 251.5 233.5 763.8 699.8 Selling, general and administrative 41.3 38.8 122.0 114.0 Interest expense, net 1.2 3.9 4.7 12.7 Plant closure and relocation costs - .2 - 1.6 Merger termination fee, net of related expenses - - - (4.2) -------- -------- -------- -------- Total Costs and Expenses 294.0 276.4 890.5 823.9 -------- -------- -------- -------- Earnings before Income Taxes and Equity Earnings 20.9 13.5 63.0 40.2 Income Taxes 7.6 5.1 22.7 15.3 -------- -------- -------- -------- Earnings before Equity Earnings 13.3 8.4 40.3 24.9 Equity in earnings of Vail Resorts, Inc., net of Related Deferred Income Taxes 4.8 6.0 5.2 5.9 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net Earnings $ 18.1 $ 14.4 $ 45.5 $ 30.8 ======== ======== ======== ======== Basic Earnings per Share $ .60 $ .48 $ 1.52 $ 1.03 ======== ======== ======== ======== Diluted Earnings per Share $ .59 $ .48 $ 1.49 $ 1.03 ======== ======== ======== ======== Weighted average shares for basic EPS 29,980 29,908 29,941 29,883 Dilutive effect of assumed conversions: Stock options 600 153 480 183 Restricted stock awards 1 - 1 - -------- -------- -------- -------- Weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share 30,581 30,061 30,422 30,066 ======== ======== ======== ========
See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. 1 RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (Unaudited) (Dollars in millions) June 30, Sept. 30, 2002 2001 --------- --------- ASSETS Current Assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 2.3 $ 3.9 Receivables, net 10.4 9.0 Investment in Ralcorp Receivables Corp. 23.0 41.0 Inventories 139.3 164.1 Deferred income taxes 3.3 3.7 Other current assets 3.0 3.0 --------- --------- Total Current Assets 181.3 224.7 Investment in Vail Resorts, Inc. 89.8 81.9 Property, Net 284.0 287.4 Goodwill 246.5 209.5 Other Intangible Assets, Net 5.9 8.1 Other Assets 8.5 6.3 --------- --------- Total Assets $ 816.0 $ 817.9 ========= ========= LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current Liabilities Accounts payable $ 65.1 $ 86.2 Other current liabilities 43.8 39.0 --------- --------- Total Current Liabilities 108.9 125.2 Long-term Debt 179.9 223.1 Deferred Income Taxes 43.3 39.9 Other Liabilities 46.2 40.3 --------- --------- Total Liabilities 378.3 428.5 --------- --------- Shareholders' Equity Common stock .3 .3 Capital in excess of par value 110.0 109.9 Retained earnings 378.1 332.6 Common stock in treasury, at cost (49.9) (51.9) Unearned portion of restricted stock (.1) - Accumulated other comprehensive loss (.7) (1.5) --------- --------- Total Shareholders' Equity 437.7 389.4 --------- --------- Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 816.0 $ 817.9 ========= ========= See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. 2 RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) (Dollars in millions) Nine Months Ended June 30, ------------------- 2002 2001 -------- -------- Cash Flows from Operations Net earnings $ 45.5 $ 30.8 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash flow provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 25.7 30.8 Equity in earnings of Vail Resorts, Inc. (8.0) (9.1) Deferred income taxes 4.2 4.4 Sale of receivables, net (6.1) - Changes in operating assets and liabilities 39.0 7.5 -------- -------- Net cash provided by operations 100.3 64.4 -------- -------- Cash Flows from Investing Activities Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired (52.1) (55.6) Additions to property and intangible assets (20.2) (25.2) Proceeds from sale of property 12.0 .6 -------- -------- Net cash used by investing activities (60.3) (80.2) -------- -------- Cash Flows from Financing Activities Net borrowings under credit arrangements (43.2) 13.9 Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 1.6 .7 -------- -------- Net cash provided by financing activities (41.6) 14.6 -------- -------- Net Decrease in Cash and Cash Equivalents (1.6) (1.2) Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period 3.9 4.1 -------- -------- Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period $ 2.3 $ 2.9 ======== ======== See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. 3 RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS JUNE 30, 2002 (Unaudited) (Dollars in millions except per share data) NOTE 1 - PRESENTATION OF CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The accompanying unaudited historical financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with the instructions for Form 10-Q and do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation, have been included. Operating results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results for any other quarter or for the full year. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year's presentation. These statements should be read in connection with the financial statements and notes included in the Company's Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended September 30, 2001. NOTE 2 - RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, the Company implemented accounting reclassifications as a result of EITF 00-10, 00-14, and 00-25. These reclassifications had no impact on net earnings or earnings per share but did affect reported net sales, cost of products sold, and selling, general and administrative expenses. All periods presented reflect these reclassifications. On October 1, 2001, the Company adopted FAS 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets," which stops the amortization of goodwill and requires a goodwill impairment test at least annually. The Company completed its transitional goodwill impairment test in the second quarter. While this initial test resulted in no impairment, the fair value of the Carriage House reporting unit only slightly exceeded its carrying value. In accordance with the provisions of FAS 142, the Company will monitor this unit closely to determine whether circumstances change that would reduce its fair value below its carrying amount. The following schedules show net earnings and earnings per share adjusted to exclude Ralcorp's goodwill amortization expense (net of tax effects) and to adjust Ralcorp's equity in the earnings of Vail (net of tax effects) to exclude Vail's goodwill amortization expense. Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------ ------------------ 2002 2001 2002 2001 -------- -------- -------- -------- Reported net earnings $ 18.1 $ 14.4 $ 45.5 $ 30.8 Add back: Goodwill amortization - 1.6 - 4.6 Adjust: Equity in earnings of Vail - .1 - .4 -------- -------- -------- -------- Adjusted net earnings $ 18.1 $ 16.1 $ 45.5 $ 35.8 ======== ======== ======== ======== Basic earnings per share: Reported net earnings $ .60 $ .48 $ 1.52 $ 1.03 Add back: Goodwill amortization - .06 - .16 Adjust: Equity in earnings of Vail - - - .01 -------- -------- -------- -------- Adjusted net earnings $ .60 $ .54 $ 1.52 $ 1.20 ======== ======== ======== ======== Diluted earnings per share: Reported net earnings $ .59 $ .48 $ 1.49 $ 1.03 Add back: Goodwill amortization - .06 - .16 Adjust: Equity in earnings of Vail - - - .01 -------- -------- -------- -------- Adjusted net earnings $ .59 $ .54 $ 1.49 $ 1.20 ======== ======== ======== ======== 4 FAS 143, "Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations," is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2002. FAS 143 addresses financial accounting and reporting for legal obligations associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets and the associated asset retirement costs. The Company does not currently have any obligations falling under the scope of FAS 143, and therefore does not believe its adoption will have a material impact on its financial position, earnings or cash flows. FAS 144, "Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets," is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2001, and interim periods within those years. FAS 144 supersedes FAS 121, "Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed Of," but retains the requirements to (a) recognize an impairment loss only if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable from its undiscounted cash flows and (b) measure an impairment loss as the difference between the carrying amount and fair value of the asset. The Company does not expect the adoption of FAS 144 to have a material impact on its financial position, earnings or cash flows. FAS 145, "Rescission of FASB Statements No. 4, 55, and 64, Amendment of FASB Statement No. 13, and Technical Corrections," is generally effective for the Company for fiscal year 2003. The Company does not expect the adoption of FAS 145 to have a material impact on its financial position, earnings or cash flows. FAS 146, "Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities," addresses financial accounting and reporting for costs associated with exit or disposal activities and nullifies EITF 94-3, "Liability Recognition for Certain Employee Termination Benefits and Other Costs to Exit an Activity (including Certain Costs Incurred in a Restructuring)." FAS 146 requires that a liability for a cost associated with an exit or disposal activity be recognized when the liability is incurred rather than at the date of an entity s commitment to an exit plan. Costs covered by the standard include lease termination costs and certain employee severance costs that are associated with a restructuring, discontinued operation, plant closing, or other exit or disposal activity. FAS 146 is to be applied prospectively to exit or disposal activities initiated after December 31, 2002. The Company does not expect the adoption of FAS 146 to have a material impact on its financial position, earnings or cash flows. NOTE 3 - ACQUISITION On January 30, 2002, the Company completed the purchase of 100% of the stock of Lofthouse Foods Incorporated for $52.8 in cash obtained through borrowings from the Company's revolving credit agreement. Headquartered in Clearfield, Utah with plants in Clearfield and Ogden, Utah, Lofthouse is a producer of high quality cookies that are sold to the in-store bakeries of major U.S. grocers and mass merchandisers. The combination of Lofthouse with Cascade, acquired in 2000, gives Ralcorp a significant presence in this fast-growth, higher-margin category. Post-acquisition results of the operations of Lofthouse are included in Ralcorp's Consolidated Statement of Earnings. The acquired business, with approximately $70 in annual sales, is reported in the Cereals, Crackers and Cookies segment. The purchase price allocation has not been finalized, pending the completion of an appraisal of the "Lofthouse" trade name. The total purchase price will also be adjusted slightly due to an additional payment related to the Company's election under code section 338(h)(10) to treat this stock transaction as an asset purchase for tax purposes. Because of this election, goodwill and other intangibles associated with this acquisition are expected to be deductible for tax purposes. On January 31, 2001, the Company purchased Torbitt & Castleman (T&C) and post-acquisition results of the operations of T&C are included in Ralcorp's Consolidated Statement of Earnings. The following pro forma information presents the results of operations of the Company as though the acquisitions discussed above had been completed as of the beginning of each of the reported periods. Pro forma adjustments to earnings are net of income taxes at Ralcorp's rates and include actual Lofthouse and T&C earnings before taxes, additional interest expense and, in the 2001 periods, amortization of related goodwill at approximately $.2 per month. 5 Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------ ------------------ 2002 2001 2002 2001 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net sales $ 314.9 $ 306.7 $ 979.3 $ 942.0 Net earnings 18.1 14.4 45.7 29.7 Basic earnings per share .60 .48 1.53 .99 Diluted earnings per share .59 .48 1.50 .99 NOTE 4 - PLANT CLOSURE AND RELOCATION COSTS AND RESERVES During fiscal 2001, the Company closed plants in Baltimore, MD and San Jose, CA, moving production to its other facilities. For the three and nine months ended June 30, 2001, costs related to these closures totaling $.2 and $1.6 are included on the Statement of Earnings as "Plant closure and relocation costs." On the Balance Sheet, "Other current liabilities" included reserves as follows: Sep. 30, Amount June 30, 2001 Utilized 2002 -------- -------- -------- San Jose severance costs $ .2 $ .2 $ - Other San Jose closure and relocation costs .4 .4 - -------- -------- -------- $ .6 $ .6 $ - ======== ======== ======== NOTE 5 - MERGER TERMINATION FEE Agribrands International, Inc. terminated a merger agreement with Ralcorp on December 1, 2000. In accordance with the agreement, Ralcorp received a payment of $5.0 as a termination fee, which was recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2001 net of related expenses. The after-tax effect of this nonrecurring income item was $2.6, or $.09 per diluted share. NOTE 6 - EQUITY IN EARNINGS OF VAIL RESORTS, INC. In June 2002, Vail Resorts changed its revenue recognition policy and is restating Historical results to reflect the new policy. Based upon restatement data Provided to Ralcorp by Vail Resorts, Ralcorp's share of the cumulative effect of the Change through June 30, 2002, was a reduction of equity earnings of $3.2 million ($2.1 million net of related deferred income taxes), or $.07 per diluted share. Ralcorp adjusted its equity earnings and related investment and deferred tax balances to reflect the full impact in the third quarter of fiscal 2002. 6 NOTE 7 - COMPREHENSIVE INCOME Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------ ------------------ 2002 2001 2002 2001 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net earnings $ 18.1 $ 14.4 $ 45.5 $ 30.8 Other comprehensive income - Deferred (loss) gain on cash flow hedging instruments (.1) (.1) .8 (.2) -------- -------- -------- -------- Comprehensive income $ 18.0 $ 14.3 $ 46.3 $ 30.6 ======== ======== ======== ======== NOTE 8 - SALE OF RECEIVABLES On September 23, 2001, the Company entered into a three-year agreement to sell, on an ongoing basis, all of its trade accounts receivable to a wholly owned, bankruptcy-remote subsidiary called Ralcorp Receivables Corporation (RRC), which in turn sells the receivables to a bank commercial paper conduit. RRC is a qualifying special purpose entity under FAS 140 and the sale of Ralcorp receivables to RRC is considered a true sale for accounting, tax and legal purposes. The receivables of newly-acquired Lofthouse are not included in the agreement. As of June 30, 2002, the outstanding balance of receivables (net of an allowance for doubtful accounts) sold to RRC was $77.9 and net proceeds received were $54.9, resulting in a subordinated retained interest of $23.0 reflected on the Company's consolidated balance sheet as an "Investment in Ralcorp Receivables Corp." Discounts related to the sale of receivables totaled $.2 and $.9 in the three and nine months ended June 30, 2002 and are included on the statement of earnings in "Selling, general and administrative" expenses. NOTE 9 - INVENTORIES consisted of the following: June 30, Sep. 30, 2002 2001 -------- -------- Raw materials and supplies $ 55.9 $ 63.6 Finished products 83.4 100.5 -------- -------- $ 139.3 $ 164.1 ======== ======== NOTE 10 - PROPERTY, NET consisted of the following: June 30, Sep. 30, 2002 2001 -------- -------- Property at cost $ 468.6 $ 450.2 Accumulated depreciation (184.6) (162.8) -------- -------- $ 284.0 $ 287.4 ======== ======== 7 NOTE 11 - GOODWILL The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the nine months ended June 30, 2002 are as follows: Dressings, Cereals, Syrups, Crackers Jellies Snack Nuts & Cookies & Sauces & Candy Total ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Balance, September 30, 2001 $ 56.0 $ 99.1 $ 54.4 $ 209.5 Goodwill acquired 36.9 - - 36.9 Adjustments - .1 - .1 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Balance, June 30, 2002 $ 92.9 $ 99.2 $ 54.4 $ 246.5 ========== ========== ========== ========== NOTE 12 - OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET consisted of the following: June 30, Sep. 30, 2002 2001 -------- -------- Software $ 21.8 $ 21.4 Accumulated amortization (15.9) (13.3) -------- -------- $ 5.9 $ 8.1 ======== ======== Amortization expense related to these assets was $2.6 and $3.2 during the nine months ended June 30, 2002 and 2001, respectively, with $3.6, $3.4, $1.2 and $.3 scheduled for the years ended September 30, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively. NOTE 13 - LONG-TERM DEBT On October 16, 2001, the Company entered into a $275 revolving credit agreement. Borrowings under the credit agreement incur interest at the Company's choice of either (1) LIBOR plus the applicable margin rate (currently 1.00%) or (2) the maximum of the federal funds rate plus 0.50% or the prime rate. Such borrowings are unsecured and mature on October 16, 2004 unless such date is extended. The credit agreement calls for an unused fee of 0.225%, payable quarterly in arrears, and contains certain representations, warranties, covenants and conditions customary to credit facilities of this nature. Also on October 16, 2001, the Company repaid and terminated its $125 revolving credit agreement (Credit Agreement A) and its term loan (Credit Agreement B), and the total amount available under uncommitted credit arrangements was reduced from $50.5 to $35.0. Outstanding long-term debt consisted of the following: June 30, 2002 September 30, 2001 ------------------ ------------------ Balance Rate Balance Rate --------- ------- --------- ------- $275 Revolving Credit Agreement $ 165.0 2.972% $ - n/a Credit Agreement A - n/a 40.0 3.531% Credit Agreement B - n/a 160.0 4.611% Uncommitted credit arrangements 8.9 2.700% 16.9 4.108% Industrial Development Revenue Bond 5.6 1.370% 5.6 2.280% Other .4 Various .6 Various --------- --------- $ 179.9 $ 223.1 ========= ========= 8 NOTE 14 - SEGMENT INFORMATION The tables below present information about the Company's reportable segments: Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------ ------------------ 2002 2001 2002 2001 -------- -------- -------- -------- Net Sales Cereals $ 76.5 $ 74.2 $ 235.5 $ 229.7 Crackers & Cookies 87.2 61.6 244.3 191.5 Dressings, Syrups, Jellies & Sauces 114.4 113.4 343.3 305.3 Snack Nuts & Candy 36.8 40.7 130.4 137.6 -------- -------- -------- -------- Total $ 314.9 $ 289.9 $ 953.5 $ 864.1 ======== ======== ======== ======== Profit Contribution Cereals, Crackers & Cookies $ 17.5 $ 13.1 $ 54.2 $ 43.4 Dressings, Syrups, Jellies & Sauces 4.1 3.0 10.4 3.5 Snack Nuts & Candy 4.0 3.4 14.7 11.3 -------- -------- -------- -------- Total segment profit contribution 25.6 19.5 79.3 58.2 Interest expense, net (1.2) (3.9) (4.7) (12.7) Merger termination fee, net of related expenses - - - 4.2 Unallocated corporate expenses (3.5) (2.1) (11.6) (9.5) -------- -------- -------- -------- Earnings before income taxes and equity earnings $ 20.9 $ 13.5 $ 63.0 $ 40.2 ======== ======== ======== ======== June 30, Sep. 30, 2002 2001 -------- -------- Total Assets Cereals, Crackers & Cookies $ 335.7 $ 295.2 Dressings, Syrups, Jellies & Sauces 246.1 273.8 Snack Nuts & Candy 98.9 104.0 Investment in Ralcorp Receivables Corporation 23.0 41.0 Investment in Vail Resorts, Inc. 89.8 81.9 Other unallocated corporate assets 22.5 22.0 -------- -------- Total $ 816.0 $ 817.9 ======== ======== Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. The following discussion summarizes the significant factors affecting the consolidated operating results, financial condition, liquidity and capital resources of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. (Company). This discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements under Item 1. 9 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS CONSOLIDATED NET SALES Third quarter net sales grew 9 percent, from $289.9 million in fiscal 2001 to $314.9 million in fiscal 2002. About 78 percent of the increase was due to the acquisition of Lofthouse Foods Incorporated, acquired January 30, 2002. Net sales for the first nine months grew 10 percent from the prior year, about two-thirds of which is attributable to the acquisitions of Lofthouse and, on January 31, 2001, The Torbitt & Castleman Company. Refer to the segment discussions below for specific factors affecting results. OPERATING EXPENSES For the three months ended June 30, 2002 and 2001, cost of products sold was 79.9% and 80.5% of net sales, respectively, while selling, general, and administrative expenses were 13.1% and 13.4% of net sales, respectively. The nine-month period of fiscal 2002 showed similar improvements from the first nine months of fiscal 2001. These improvements are mainly attributable to certain favorable raw material costs, cost reduction programs, and the adoption of FAS 142, as further described in the segment discussions below. Specifically, note that earnings for the nine months ended June 30, 2001 were reduced by $5.8 million ($4.7 million after taxes) of goodwill amortization expense while this year had none. INTEREST EXPENSE, NET Interest expense dropped to $1.2 million and $4.7 million for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2002, respectively, from $3.9 million and $12.7 million in the corresponding periods of the prior year. For the fiscal 2002 periods, the weighted average interest rates on the Company's debt, practically all of which incurs interest at variable rates, were about half of last year's average rates. In addition, Ralcorp has been able to reduce its debt levels during the past year as cash from operations has exceeded cash needs for business acquisitions and capital expenditures. Further, on September 24, 2001 the Company entered into a three-year agreement to sell its trade accounts receivable on an ongoing basis, and Ralcorp reduced its outstanding debt with approximately $60 million of proceeds from this agreement. Discounts related to this agreement totaled $.2 million and $.9 million in the third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2002, respectively, and are included on the Consolidated Statement of Earnings in selling, general and administrative expenses. If this transaction had not met the criteria for a sale as specified in FAS 140, Ralcorp would have accounted for the transfer as a secured borrowing with pledge of collateral, wherein the discount amounts would have been classified as interest expense, the proceeds received would have been recorded as short-term debt and the receivables would have remained on the Company's balance sheet. PLANT CLOSURE AND RELOCATION COSTS During fiscal 2001, the Company closed plants in Baltimore, MD and San Jose, CA, moving production to its other facilities. For the quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2001, costs related to the Baltimore closure totaling $.2 million and $1.6 million, respectively, are included on the Statement of Earnings as "Plant closure and relocation costs." No material plant closure charges have been incurred in fiscal 2002. For information about reserves relating to the San Jose closure, see Note 4 to the financial statements in Item 1 herein. MERGER TERMINATION FEE Earnings of the previous year's first quarter were favorably impacted when Agribrands International, Inc. terminated a merger agreement with Ralcorp on December 1, 2000. In accordance with the agreement, Ralcorp received a payment of $5.0 million as a termination fee, which was recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2001 net of $.8 million of related expenses. The after-tax effect of this $4.2 million nonrecurring income item was $2.6 million, or $.09 per diluted share. INCOME TAXES Income tax provisions generally reflect statutory tax rates, adjusted by the effects of non-deductible goodwill amortization expense. The effective rate for fiscal 2002 is lower because the Company has not recorded goodwill amortization expense since its adoption of FAS 142 on October 1, 2001. 10 EQUITY IN EARNINGS OF VAIL RESORTS, INC. Ralcorp continues to hold an approximate 21.5 percent equity ownership interest in Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts operates on a fiscal year ending July 31; therefore, Ralcorp reports its portion of Vail Resorts' operating results on a two-month time lag. Vail Resorts' operations are highly seasonal, typically yielding more than the entire year's equity income during the Company's second and third fiscal quarters. For the third quarter ended June 30, 2002, this investment resulted in non-cash pre-tax earnings of $7.4 million ($4.8 million after taxes), compared to $9.3 million ($6.0 million after taxes) for last year's third quarter. Through nine months, after-tax equity earnings were $5.2 million for fiscal 2002 and $5.9 million for fiscal 2001. These reported results include a cumulative adjustment in the third quarter of fiscal 2002 to reflect a restatement of Vail Resorts' net income due to a change in its revenue recognition policy. Based upon restatement data provided to Ralcorp by Vail Resorts, Ralcorp's share of the cumulative effect of the change from January 1997 through June 30, 2002 was a reduction of equity earnings of $3.2 million ($2.1 million net of related deferred income taxes), or $.07 per diluted share. Because the amounts were immaterial to any single reporting period and in total, the Company chose to reflect the entire impact in the third quarter of fiscal 2002 rather than restate its historical financial statements. CEREALS, CRACKERS & COOKIES Third quarter net sales for the Cereals, Crackers & Cookies segment were up $27.9 million from last year, primarily due to additional sales from the Bremner cracker and cookie division. Through nine months, the segment's sales were up $58.6 million, as the Ralston Foods cereal division and Bremner contributed increases of $5.8 million and $52.8 million, respectively. While Bremner benefited from the acquired Lofthouse business, third quarter and first nine months sales volumes and net sales at its other cookie businesses also grew about 25 percent from last year as a result of ongoing expansion with existing customers and additional short-term and long-term co-manufacturing business. Cracker volumes were down slightly in both periods due to lower demand for saltines. At Ralston Foods, incremental sales to existing customers, driven by several recent product introductions and additional distribution of established items, have been offset partially by price concessions and less co-manufacturing business. Ready-to-eat cereal volume was up 3 percent from last year's third quarter and up 2 percent through the first nine months. Hot cereal volume was up 10 percent for the third quarter and 4 percent for the first nine months. Profit contribution for the Cereals, Crackers & Cookies segment improved more than 33 percent for the third quarter and 24 percent through nine months, primarily as a result of the incremental profit from Lofthouse and improved cereal profits. The segment benefited from favorable volumes, plant efficiencies, and lower freight and energy costs, offset partially by price concessions and lower co-manufacturing margins. In addition, last year's profit for the third quarter and first nine months was reduced by $.6 million and $1.9 million of goodwill amortization expense, respectively. DRESSINGS, SYRUPS, JELLIES & SAUCES Third quarter and nine-month net sales for the Company's Dressings, Syrups, Jellies & Sauces segment, also known as Carriage House, increased $1.0 million and $38.0 million, respectively. As noted previously, last year's nine-month results include only five months of sales from Torbitt & Castleman, acquired January 31, 2001. The addition of new customers and increased business with major existing customers also contributed to this segment's sales growth but was partially offset by a reduction of volume with a co-manufacturing customer. The segment's profit also increased from the comparable prior year periods, improving $1.1 million for the quarter and $6.9 million for the nine months ended June 30. Approximately one fourth of the nine-month increase is attributable to the additional four months of results from Torbitt & Castleman in the current year. The segment also benefited from the continuing cost reduction efforts begun during fiscal 2001, including two plant closures. In 11 addition, last year's profit for the third quarter and first nine months was reduced by $.9 million and $2.1 million of goodwill amortization expense, respectively. These benefits were offset partially by ingredient cost increases and continued pricing pressures in the current year. SNACK NUTS & CANDY Third quarter and nine-month net sales for the Snack Nuts & Candy segment, also known as Nutcracker, declined 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The third quarter drop was primarily the result of the loss of several major customers in competitive bidding. Despite lower sales, third quarter and nine-month segment profit contribution increased $.6 million and $3.4 million, respectively, from the corresponding periods last year. This is attributable primarily to favorable ingredient costs, which have continued to fall throughout the past year. In addition, last year's profit for the third quarter and first nine months was reduced by $.6 million and $1.8 million of goodwill amortization expense, respectively. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES The Company focuses on generating positive cash flows through operations. Management believes the Company will continue to generate operating cash flows through its mix of businesses and expects that short-term and long-term liquidity requirements will be met through a combination of operating cash flows and strategic use of borrowings under committed and uncommitted credit arrangements. Capital resources remained strong at June 30, 2002 with a net worth of $437.7 million and a long-term debt to total capital ratio of 29 percent, compared to corresponding figures for September 30, 2001 of $389.4 million and 36 percent. Working capital, excluding cash and cash equivalents, was reduced to $70.1 million at June 30, 2002 from $95.6 million at September 30, 2001. Cash flows from operating activities were up significantly in fiscal 2002, primarily as a result of the increase in earnings and the relative change in receivables outstanding and inventories on hand. Cash earnings (i.e., net earnings adjusted for non-cash items such as depreciation and amortization, equity earnings, and deferred income taxes) were up $10.5 million. Receivables outstanding and inventories were at higher levels at the beginning of fiscal 2002 than at the beginning of fiscal 2001, but June 30 levels of the two years were similar. Payments for Lofthouse Foods, acquired January 30, 2002, were similar to the amount paid for Torbitt & Castleman in January 2001. The amount of capital spending this year is lagging the prior year-to-date period but is still expected to total nearly $35 million by the end of fiscal 2002. During the second quarter of 2002, Ralcorp received over $10 million of proceeds from the sale of its San Jose facility with no material gain or loss. Despite the acquisition of Lofthouse, the strong operating cash flows enabled the Company to decrease its total outstanding long-term debt by $43.2 million from September 30, 2001 to June 30, 2002. On October 16, 2001, the Company entered into a $275 million revolving credit agreement. Concurrently, the Company repaid and terminated its $125 million revolving credit agreement (Credit Agreement A) and its term loan (Credit Agreement B), and the total amount available under uncommitted credit arrangements was reduced from $50.5 million to $35.0 million. Total remaining availability at June 30, 2002 was $136.1 million. OUTLOOK CEREALS, CRACKERS & COOKIES The level of competition in the cereal category continues to be intense. Competition comes from branded box cereal manufacturers, branded bagged cereal producers and other private label cereal providers. For the last several years, 12 the overall category has not grown, which has added to its competitive nature. When the competition focuses on price/promotion, the environment for private label producers becomes more challenging. Ralston Foods must maintain an effective price gap between its quality private label cereal products and those of branded cereal producers, thereby providing the best value alternative for the consumer. Increased distribution, including new co-manufacturing opportunities, new and improved product emulations and aggressive cost containment remain important goals of the organization. The Company's cracker and cookie operation, Bremner, also conducts business in a highly competitive category. Major branded competitors continue to market and promote their offerings aggressively and many smaller, regional branded and private label manufacturers provide additional competitive pressures. Bremner's ability to maintain a sufficient price gap between products of branded producers and Bremner's quality private label emulations and its ability to realize improved operating efficiencies from recent acquisitions will be important to its results of operations. The Company is working to realize synergies through the combination of Lofthouse with Cascade, which has given Bremner a significant presence in the in-store bakery cookie category. In addition, Bremner will continue to focus on cost containment, new products and volume growth of existing products in order to improve operating results. DRESSINGS, SYRUPS, JELLIES & SAUCES The Dressings, Syrups, Jellies & Sauces operation started fiscal 2002 in transition. The consolidation of its Baltimore operation into the Dunkirk facility was completed in January 2001. A second plant closure, in San Jose, CA, was completed in January 2002 and all related production has been moved to other Carriage House facilities. As evidenced by current year results, these measures have improved the profit contribution of Carriage House. The acquisition of the wet products portion of Torbitt & Castleman on January 31, 2001 has provided Carriage House with additional scale and manufacturing flexibility. Carriage House's competitors, both large and small, continue to be very aggressive on pricing. The division plans to improve performance by further increasing sales to new and existing customers by integrating product offerings and sales efforts of the combined organization. In addition, capacity rationalization, further cost reductions, and capture of additional synergies will continue to be critical objectives. Carriage House currently sells product to a branded company under several co-manufacturing agreements, the last of which expires in November 2002. This customer plans to self-manufacture in the future and has notified Carriage House that it does not intend to renew these contracts upon their expiration. These contracts account for approximately 5 percent of the segment's projected fiscal 2002 net sales and a greater percentage of its operating profit. However, the Company expects that the effect of these lost sales on net earnings will not be material to Ralcorp. The cost of peanuts, a major ingredient for Carriage House (peanut butter), could be favorably impacted by the farm bill which was signed into law in May 2002. The benefit to the Company, if any, cannot be determined at this time. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements in Item 1, the fair value of the Carriage House reporting unit only slightly exceeded its carrying value as of October 1, 2001. In accordance with the provisions of FAS 142, the Company will monitor this unit closely to determine whether circumstances change that would reduce its fair value below its carrying amount. For example, fair value would be diminished if the forecasted benefits of the cost reduction plans discussed above are not realized, or are negated by lost customers or pricing pressures, and the unit is not able to achieve its planned results. Other critical factors are listed below in the "Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements." If the fair value drops below the carrying value, Carriage House goodwill would likely be impaired and an impairment loss would be recorded immediately as a charge against earnings. 13 SNACK NUTS & CANDY Snack nuts and candy continue to be very competitive categories. This segment of Ralcorp faces significant competition from branded manufacturers as well as private label and regional producers. Recently, competitive bids for store brand customer business have resulted in either loss of margins or loss of customers to competitors. Management expects this margin pressure to continue into the foreseeable future. The segment will continue to focus on maintaining its customer base and the quality of its products. The segment has recently benefited from lower raw material costs. The cost of cashews, a major ingredient, has trended down from significant highs in fiscal 2000 but now appears to have stabilized. As discussed above, the 2002 farm bill could also have a favorable impact on this segment's peanut costs and profitability. OVERALL The Company's management believes that the opportunities in the private label and value brand areas are favorable for long-term growth. The Company has taken significant steps to reshape the Company and lessen its reliance on any one business segment and to achieve sufficient scale in the categories in which it operates. Management expects to continue to improve its business mix through volume and profit growth of existing businesses, as well as through acquisitions or alliances. Management will continue to explore those acquisition opportunities that strategically fit with the Company's intentions of being the premier provider of private label, or value-oriented, food products. RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS See Note 2 in Item 1 for a discussion regarding recently issued accounting standards, including EITF 00-10, 00-14, and 00-25, and FAS 142, 143, 144, 145, and 146. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES The following discussion is presented pursuant to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's Financial Reporting Release No. 60, "Cautionary Advice Regarding Disclosure About Critical Accounting Policies." The policies below are both important to the representation of the Company's financial condition and results and require management's most difficult, subjective or complex judgments. Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, Ralcorp makes estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses as well as the disclosure of contingent liabilities. The Company bases estimates on past experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Those estimates form the basis for making judgments about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Ralcorp records estimated reductions to revenue for customer incentive offerings. Should a greater proportion of customers redeem incentives than estimated by the Company, additional reductions to revenue may be required. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market value and have been reduced by an allowance for obsolete product and packaging materials. The estimated allowance is based on management's review of inventories on hand compared to estimated future usage and sales. If market conditions and actual demands are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required. 14 Management reviews long-lived assets, including leasehold improvements and property and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Long-lived assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less the cost to sell. Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquired businesses over the fair market value of their identifiable net assets. In the first quarter of fiscal 2002, Ralcorp adopted FAS 142, which requires that the Company no longer amortize goodwill but review for impairment on a regular basis. During the second quarter of fiscal 2002, Ralcorp completed its transitional impairment tests which resulted in no impairment. The goodwill impairment test requires the Company to estimate the fair value of its businesses, for which Ralcorp utilizes discounted cash flow analyses based on projected cash flows. Pension assets and liabilities are determined on an actuarial basis and are affected by the estimated market-related value of plan assets, estimates of the expected return on plan assets, discount rates and other assumptions inherent in these valuations. The Company reviews annually the assumptions underlying the actuarial calculations and makes changes to these assumptions, based on current market conditions, as necessary. Actual changes in the fair market value of plan assets and differences between the actual return on plan assets and the expected return on plan assets will affect the amount of pension expense (income) ultimately recognized. The other postretirement benefits liability is also determined on an actuarial basis and is affected by assumptions including the discount rate and expected trends in healthcare costs. Changes in the discount rate and differences between actual and expected healthcare costs will affect the recorded amount of other postretirement benefits expense. Liabilities for workers' compensation and accrued health care costs are estimated based on historical experience and expected trends. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are made throughout this Report. These forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "believes," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "will" or similar expressions elsewhere in this Report. The Company's results of operations and financial condition may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current views and assumptions, and involve risks and uncertainties that could affect expected results. For example, any of the following factors cumulatively or individually may impact expected results: (i) If the Company is unable to maintain a meaningful price gap between its private label products and the branded products of its competitors, successfully introduce new products or successfully manage costs across all parts of the Company, the Company's private label businesses could incur operating losses; (ii) Consolidation among members of the grocery trade may lead to increased wholesale price pressure from larger grocery trade customers and could result in the loss of key accounts if the surviving entities are not customers of the Company; (iii) Significant increases in the cost of certain raw materials (e.g., wheat, soybean oil, various nuts, corn syrup) or energy used to manufacture the Company's products, to the extent not reflected in the price of the Company's products, could adversely impact the Company's results; (iv) In light of its significant ownership in Vail Resorts, Inc., the Company's non-cash earnings can be adversely affected by Vail Resorts' unfavorable performance; 15 (v) The Company is currently generating profit from certain co-manufacturing contract arrangements with other manufacturers within its competitive categories. The termination or expiration of these contracts and the inability of the Company to replace this level of business could negatively affect the Company's operating results; (vi) The Company's businesses compete in mature segments with competitors having large percentages of segment sales; (vii) The Company has realized increases to sales and earnings through the acquisitions of businesses, but the ability to undertake future acquisitions depends on many factors that the Company does not control, such as identifying available acquisition candidates and negotiating satisfactory terms upon which to purchase such candidates; (viii) Presently, all of the interest on the Company's indebtedness is set on a short-term basis. Consequently, increases in interest rates will increase the Company's interest expense; and (ix) If actual or forecasted cash flows of any reporting unit deteriorate such that its fair value falls below its carrying value, goodwill would likely be impaired and an impairment loss would be recorded immediately as a charge against earnings. Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. Management believes there have been no material changes in the reported market risks faced by the Company during the nine months ended June 30, 2002. For additional information, refer to Item 7A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2001. PART II. OTHER INFORMATION There is no information required to be reported under any items except those indicated below. Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K. (a) Exhibits 10.1 Agreement between Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. and J. R. Micheletto dated May 23, 2002. (b) Reports on Form 8-K On April 30, 2002, the Registrant announced earnings for the second quarter ended March 31, 2002. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. RALCORP HOLDINGS, INC. By: /s/ T. G. Granneman -------------------------------- T. G. Granneman Duly Authorized Signatory and Chief Accounting Officer August 14, 2002 16 Exhibit Index Exhibit Description ------- ----------- 10.1 Agreement between Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. and J. R. Micheletto dated May 23, 2002. 17


text:
Stewart: Shady Side, Pirates, PSU excite fans
TribLIVE Sports Videos
Random Thoughts from a happy Pirates fan and hopeful Steelers fan:
• Circle the date. Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. That's when Shady Side Academy will be hosting Kittanning in what promises to be the Allegheny Conference game of the year.
Both teams are unbeaten and, on paper, should still have unblemished marks when they face off.
The Indians still have to get by Summit Academy and the Wildcats have to tangle with Valley.
It will be a battle between the stone wall that is the SSA defense and a Wildcat offense that has been running amok all season.
The Indians have been among the team leaders in defense in WPIAL Class AA all season long. They will be sorely tested. Kittanning averages well over 40 points a game. In their last three games, they've scored 160 points.
They have not punted since Sept. 20! Yep. No punts in their last three games.
It should be quite a game.
You know that SSA will need running backs Dennis Briggs and Jarred Brevard to keep the Wildcat offense off of the field. And the Indians are very good at long, sustained time-consuming drives.
• A recent survey of kids aged 8 to 14 who play team sports was conducted nationally by the 2012 i9 Sports Association.
The survey found that 31 percent wished that adults weren't watching their games, mostly because adults yell too much, are too distracting, make the players nervous and put too much pressure on them to win. Amen, brother.
That percentage is much higher among us referees. I see it every game. There are "parent-coaches" in the stands at too high a percentage of the basketball games that I referee.
On the plus side, I'd say over 90 percent of the parents are there to enjoy watching their kids play. They let the players play, the coaches coach and the refs ref. And I applaud them.
Believe me, I see the kids getting frustrated as their coach is yelling out instructions and the parent is yelling at them, too. I've even had a couple of youngsters ask my partner and I if we could toss their parent from the gym.
That's embarrassing and it's also a shame.
• So, are you happy with the Pirates' season, despite the loss. You should be.
The curse has ended and things look good for 2014. Don't get overly optimistic.
In 2012, the Washington Nationals won 98 games and were picked by many prognosticators to be in the World Series in 2013. They stumbled and struggled for much of the season before making a futile late run. Injuries were a factor, and we need the Buccos to stay healthy.
• So which of the looming Pirate free agents will be back?
A.J. Burnett, Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau are eligible to sign elsewhere. I'd like to see all three back. Burnett is still a very solid No. 3 pitcher, behind Gerritt Cole and Francisco Liriano.
Byrd was invaluable once he came aboard and Morneau is still a solid player. You gotta wonder about an aging first baseman who didn't homer in two months, though.
• The problems of the Pirates are miniscule, though, when compared to the plight of the Steelers.
You can't pinpoint any one area of concern. There are problems everywhere.
There are two rays of hope though — they found a way to beat the Jets, and the division looks pretty woeful.
• Did you catch Penn State and Michigan on Saturday night afternoon/night? I sure hope so. That was definitely one of the best college football games I've ever seen.
I'm sure that PSU fans were biting their nails and chugging Nervine, Jr. as they ran the gamut of emotions. I've never seen so many momentum swings in a game.
The football gods were surely watching over Sam Fickens and Allen Robinson, who stood to be goats in overtime. Michigan's kicker, Brendan Gibbons, cursed by those same pigskin gods, missed a game-winning 33-yard attempt in the third overtime to elicit a sigh of relief from Mickens, who himself shanked a couple, and Robinson, who lost a fumble on an end-around play.
Penn State may not be going to a bowl game and may not finish in the Top 25, but they're a resilient group who play every down like it's their last.
Marty Stewart is a sports editor for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-782-2123 or email@example.com.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Rangers 3, Mariners 1 (11 innings)
SEATTLE – The Rangers may have faced two renowned starters this weekend against Seattle in Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee. But the less heralded duo of Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson proved to be better for the moment. Wilson pitched seven innings and allowed just one run Sunday as the Rangers completed their first sweep of the season with a 3-1 11-inning win.
Wilson lowered his ERA to 1.65 with his work, but still found himself on the losing end of things when he exited the game in the eighth inning. Seattle RHP Doug Fister had held the Rangers scoreless through eighth. But Texas rallied for a run in the ninth against RHP David Aardsma and two more in the 11th to extend its winning streak to three games.
For the weekend, Rangers starters went 22 innings and allowed just four runs. Lewis went nine shutout innings on Friday. Matt Harrison went six innings Saturday and Lewis was lifted after walking the leadoff hitter in the eighth with the Rangers trailing 1-0.
Here are a few points to ponder:
•The Rangers scored four extra-inning runs over the weekend. None of the runs was driven in by a hit. Two scored on errant throws (one wild pitch, one passed ball), one scored on a ground out and another on a sacrifice fly. Let that be a lesson to them.
• Not sure if 3B Michael Young needs a day off or not, but I think I'd err on the side of caution right now. Three errors in three games? Six strikeouts? Not him. He's the only Ranger to play every inning of every game so far this season. He could use a short break.
•Elvis Andrus had a great finish to the weekend with a huge 10-pitch walk in the ninth inning that led to the game-tying run. His bunt in the 11th put the go-ahead run at third and was so perfectly placed it ended up going as a hit and setting up the Rangers' third run of the game, too.
•I'm just going to forget asking questions about the closer for the time being. The Rangers will use both Neftali Feliz and Frank Francisco in the role. They'll sort things out themselves.


text:
I don't need to increase my miles as I'm not training for a race, but I would simply like to.I've been running regularly 3-5 times a week since Nov. 2013. I'm currently doing 5 days most weeks. for the past 12 weeks I've been hovering between 25-33 mpw with about half of those weeks over 30 mpw. It seems like every time I go over 30 I end up with some ache or feeling of overdoing it and I drop back into the twenties the next week. I've only had 3 consecutive 30+ weeks. My biggest trouble seems to be that after my longest runs (10-13 miles) I am pretty sore for several days and it's hard to get the miles in. I'd rather not get the miles than cause lasting injury though.Any thoughts? I'd like to slowly ramp to 35-40 regularly for awhile. I think part of my problem is that some weeks my long run ends up being too large of a percentage of my weekly miles. My running was much more consistent before it started getting hot and now I'm having trouble getting quality runs in around the heat.
1m - 7:11 (8-28-14) · 5k - 27:01 (1-10-15) · 10k - 56:2413.1m - 2:13:58 (9-19-15) · 26.2m - 4:57:48 (11-20-15)
I think you answered your own question - spread the miles out more. Especially since you're not training for anything specific right now, keep your longest run a little shorter but add more miles to the other runs. Or drop the mileage of the longest run and add another day.
Increasing mileage in between training cycles is a good thing, especially since you can focus on the volume and worry less about pace and specific workouts. Oh, and slow down when it gets hot.
Bah. The bummer is that I am so slow that my midweek runs are starting to take way too long as I increase miles. I have the time on the weekend, but my body doesn't seem to be able to take it very well yet. Looking back at my log, my best week (followed by another good week) seemed to be this:M - 3.8Tu- 7.2W- offTh- 3.75F- 3.75Sa- 13.75Su- offI recall feeling like I had plenty of recovery from the mid-length tuesday run before saturday. Maybe I need to try to schedule more weeks like that.FYI - I don't like it when I answer my own questions. I like y'alls answers better.
Well if you have more time on the weekends and the 13-14 mile runs are taking too much out of you, maybe cut the Saturday long run to 10 miles and then run 3-5 on Sunday. The overall mileage would be about the same but you wouldn't be beating yourself up so much on the long run. Then once you've adapted to that volume you can inch the long run up again if you want to.
Or knock Sunday down to 10.75 miles and spread the other 3 miles out over M, Th, F. That will allow you to keep two rest days, keep your long run on the low end, and maintain the same mileage.
"In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best." ― Eric Liddell
Another way to go would be something like this.
Tu: 6
W: Off
Th: 6
Sa: 8
Su: Off
That gives you 30 for the week, and after getting to where that isn't a challenge you can add a mile to the Saturday run, and then a mile to the Tuesday run later, then a mile to the Thursday run, etc. until you're where you want to be.
Everyone has a ceiling. There's a point you simply won't be able to reach and a point you're only be able to maintain for a few weeks before you encounter the symptoms you have.
I would suggest you reduce your 12-13 milers and tack those miles elsewhere. I just ran 111 miles for All-Star week and other than one 20 miler my longest runs were five 10 milers and one 11 miler. And even when I was running higher mileage I rarely ran further than 15 miles. I wasn't training for a marathon so there wasn't a need to go beyond that distance [or do so very often]. Several years ago I suffered from AT and PF and was able to record 3000+ mile years by limiting my "long runs" to 13-15 miles.
A steady diet of 10 milers will make you plenty strong.
Youth has no age. ~ Picasso * 1st road race: Charleston Distance Run 15 Miler - 1974. - Voice
Do you regularly take cutback weeks? I can handle higher mileage for 2-3 weeks but then I need to proactively cut my mileage a good bit. If I don't, I end up being forced to cut it a lot. What that cutback means varies depending on my level of conditioning. If I'm in the meat of marathon training and regularly putting in 70-80 mile weeks, then a cutback week is 45-50 miles. Normally though, when I'm running 50-60 miles per week, a cutback is 30-40 miles. If you aren't regularly taking cutback weeks, try it some time and see how it works.
Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K
Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon
Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)
Ice Slider--
30mpw has been the ceiling for me too. I always seem to "pay for it" when I go over.
Lately I have been doing well in getting above 30 and I would second what Love the Half said. I take a cut back week every 4 weeks. Another big factor has been that I now do one of my weekly runs on trails. The pounding on the pavement did not bode well with my legs and taking that one 5-7 mile run and adding all or partial trails made a huge impact. er....less of an impact..... well, it worked.
I don't know what it is about the 30 mile curse but you won't be the first or last to suffer with it. Keep trying til you find what works for you.
Go the extra mile....it's never crowded
My cutbacks are less planned than out of a feeling of necessity. A couple weeks at 30-33 and I end up with a week at 24-25 following. The weeks that I have backed off, I feel like I run worse. I tend to just drop a day and maybe shorten my longer run that week. I think I should keep the day I want to drop and just reduce all my runs a smidgen. For some reason I come back from complete days off feeling stiff and not wanting to run.Thank you all for your input. It seems like I may just need to be content with sticking very close to 30 for longer than I expected and wait until I can hold that for a month or more until I try another bump up.I'll get this stuff figured out eventually.
I found it difficult to go from about 25-30 miles per week. Then again, 30-35 mpw. Once I got over 35, it wasn't that difficult to jump to 40. Most I've consistently averaged was about 42 mpw for a few months (and then got injured, which I think was more of a freak thing than a "I can't run over 40 miles per week" thing). I had to take increases at certain junctures incredibly slowly and had to stick to certain mileage ranges for what seemed like ages.
Try doing some short doubles. That mileage can make a difference. Say you're running 28 miles a week spread out like
Sunday -10
Monday- Rest
Wednesday- 6
Friday- Rest
Change Thursday to 5 and 3, Saturday to 3 and 3, and Sunday to 10 and 2 (I wouldn't do this all in one week, but over a few weeks, adding these in). All of a sudden, you're at 36 mpw. And you probably won't feel that fatigued adding in 2-3 mile runs here and there -- at least versus throwing in another 8 mile run or something like that. .
May I ask how long have you been running?
In my 20's I never ran more than 900 mpy and peaked with one [1] 50 mile week. In my 40's I averaged 50 mpw.
The runner you are today may not be the runner you'll become tomorrow.
As others said, even out your run distances more. RaggedMan's plan looks good. Run that until it feels easy then add in a mid week medium long run, and once that feels good extend the long run, then bring all the runs up when you add mileage. .
You might also be running the shorter stuff too fast because, well, it is so short that you can. Increasing them to 5 or 6 will take care of that for a while.
Sometime or other you may need to go to 6 days a week to get the miles in.
Spreading the mileage over more runs, plus reducing the long run to no more than 9-10 miles, I think would help you a lot. 10 miles is about the maximum length run I would include in my regular schedule, if I were running 30 mpw. That amounts to 33% of your total mileage. Daniels recommends long runs amounting to 20%-25% of your weekly mileage. That would be approximately 6-8 miles for you.
Have you considered running 6x/week? Perhaps something like this would work:
Th - 5
Sa - 9
Su - OFF
A big advantage of spreading the mileage over more days, is that it makes it easier to add miles to your non-long run days. Then, when you are at 35 or 40 miles, it becomes easier to ramp up your long run while keeping it at a reasonable percentage of your overall mileage.
In some cases, I was following a fast running, good looking, seductively clad woman. In others, I was making a half-hearted attempt to do speed work, despite my absolute hatred of it. In any case, the following results are intended for entertainment purposes only, not because I'm trying to be the next Speed Racer of running.
mile - 6:48 (9/17/13)
3k - 13:20 (9/3/13)
2 miles - 14:12 (11/14/13)
3 miles - 22:40 (9/21/13) - 22:22 (1/26/14)
5 miles - 38:04 (11/22/13)
Try doing some short doubles. That mileage can make a difference.
I first attempted to run sometime August 13 with a c25k program. I couldn't even rightfully call it jogging at first. "Wogging" was the term I used, lol. It was pitiful. I "ran" 5k for the first time Nov 13 and realized I might actually be able to do this thing if I kept at it, so I have. I've made a lot pf progress and believe I have a lot more to make.
As others said, even out your run distances more... You might also be running the shorter stuff too fast because, well, it is so short that you can. Increasing them to 5 or 6 will take care of that for a while.
I have one week where I did 6 days, between 4-6.5mi each. Most around 5.75. That seemed to go alright, but I did miss the long run.
Spreading the mileage over more runs, plus reducing the long run to no more than 9-10 miles, I think would help you a lot. 10 miles is about the maximum length run I would include in my regular schedule, if I were running 30 mpw. That amounts to 33% of your total mileage.
I totally hear you. I realize some of my longer runs are way too large a percentage. (some over 40% I think)Going to 6 days is probably not something I want to do right now, as I drive to most of my runs, and between the driving, running and cleanup at home, it's getting to be a pretty large time commitment (My wife already thinks more than 3 times a week is excessive). For now, I think making the runs a bit more even is the answer.
Can you describe the aches? When did you last change shoes?
Cut the speedwork, keep the effort levels down, just run easy as often as you can. Build toward it, an extra ten minutes here, add a run there. Don't bind yourself on schedules. Don't make excuses like showers, laundry, crap like that. Just go. You can bring your longer runs and speedwork back in later.
Oh, the aches... they're an ever moving target. lol. One day it's a tight calf, another tight hips, next week it's one knee or the other. I stretch some, I foam roll some. I think the big issue here is that I do almost all my running on pavement and most of it has a bit of camber. It's making me kind of lopsided, even though I try to run on the crown as much as possible.Shoes - I have three pair that I rotate. The oldest only gets used for short, very easy runs. The newest only gets used for longer runs. The middle pair gets the bulk of use. I do track miles and wear on each pair. I'm just about to bring in a new pair and drop the oldest. Oldest pair has about 250 miles on them, the newer ones have about 175 and 135.
I don't do any formal speedwork, but I will push it on one run per week typically. I can stop that for awhile and see how that affects things. I plan my week, but I do keep it VERY flexible (I never keep the plan if I feel like I shouldn't). I'm not sure what you're talking about excuses like showers, etc. for... could you elaborate?
It was your comment, not mine. "Definitely considering experimenting a bit with doubles. The big downside is that means more shower time."
I thought you might be referring to that, but how is that an excuse? I have a finite amount of time in a day to run. An extra 15 minutes of cleanup is over a mile less on my feet. To me, that's worthy of consideration at least.The reality for me is that if I break a 10 mile run into two 5 milers, it's not the same amount of time. From changing into running clothes to getting back into clean clothes, a 10 mile run takes me about 2 1/2 hours (give or take a few). Two 5 mile runs in a day would take closer to 3 hours out of my day. If I'm going to lose an extra half hour out of my already busy life, I better have a good reason for it. That has nothing to do with excuses.
I definitely can appreciate not losing a half hour per day. Really I think you just need to run your current mileage for a while. 30 mpw is nothing to sneeze at. I ran that for over a year.
The reality for me is that if I break a 10 mile run into two 5 milers, it's not the same amount of time.
It also has nothing to do with doubles.
Now I have absolutely no idea what your point is. If you have something to say, say it plainly, otherwise you aren't being helpful here.
This is basic math. If you want to increase your mileage, you have to run more. Run further, run more often, however you want to do it and however you can best handle it. If you can't open your front door and run, if you can't get up in the mornings and run, if your life says you can only run 3 or 4 times a week without upsetting the SO, well we can't really help you on this.
Perhaps you should consider getting a treadmill to make it easier for you to get the short runs in, or else find a more creative solution, like getting in a short run during your lunch break at work. Short run days are important, since they both encourage recovery, and allow you to get some extra conditioning.
The only thing that is going to make the 30mpw easier for you is to break it up into a greater amount of runs, and to reduce the length of your long run.
If you absolutely insist on keeping to a 5 run schedule, the best thing you can do for your recovery is to just forget about the long run. Long runs are overrated, compared to higher overall mileage. As you mentioned yourself, your main problem has been recovery from your long runs. I bet you could bump up to the 35-40mpw range right now, without any problem, if you just nixed the long run, and did a good job of alternating easy and hard days.
I'm thinking of a schedule something like this (to start out with):
Th - OFF
Sa - 8
This type of schedule would as incorporate a medium long run (MLR), which is also something good to keep in your schedule if you can swing it. I generally tend to keep my MLR about 75% of my weekend LR, but max it out at 12 miles.
Thank you RunBum. I think my answer for now is evident. I plan to reduce the longer run and put those miles into other runs during the week. I'll hold that for a bit and then add a little here and there to increase the overall mileage. Hopefully that will allow me to increase without feeling like I'm constantly flirting with injury.Really, I can do pretty much whatever I want with my time, but I have a family and responsibilities that I have to prioritize. I'm simply trying to work out a solution within the constraints that I voluntarily adhere to. Running has become important to me, but it is not even remotely the most important thing to me.
Going to 6 days is probably not something I want to do right now, as I drive to most of my runs, and between the driving, running and cleanup at home, it's getting to be a pretty large time commitment (My wife already thinks more than 3 times a week is excessive). For now, I think making the runs a bit more even is the answer.
Yes, once you bring up doubles to non-running spouses, they start to go from thinking you are committed, to thinking that you need to be committed. At least that's what "a friend" told me.
You just have to get the weekday mileage up a bit and perhaps slow down (yes, even more than you're running now). Get your azz out of bed earlier and just add 5 minutes to your runs each week. If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way!
50+ year old trying to stay with 11 year old son!
13.1- 1:22
26.2- 2:58, 2:59, 2:58, 2:58, 2:55
As the the thread has drifted a bit, the point seems to be lost that I didn't ask about making time to run a little more, I asked how to run a little more without always feeling on the verge of injury. Slowing down will probably be a help, thank you. I'm already pretty slow, but at some point it hurts more to run/jog even slower. I guess I'll spend some time exploring that line too.
My answer on how to increase your mileage without feeling wiped out or on the verge of injury, as you say, is to do what I outlined. Your weekend long run is a huge leap from your normal weekday runs. Gradually increasing those runs while keeping your long run the same will eventually make it easier for you to feel better after those long runs. Again, in my opinion, you need to gradually increase your weekeday runs.
I think I misunderstood the intent of something you said. It's clear now.
What are your runs like? Hills and speed work tend to make me feel on the verge of injury. When I back off, without decreasing milage, I feel better. An unscheduled rest day, a cut back week, and a good nap also help! Good luck!
Out of curiosity, are these aches and pains coming after you run 10-13 miles on your long run? I run 7+ daily, and it's not a big deal on the legs, but 13, I'll feel for a couple of days.
Have you considered running more days? Your aerobic and cardiovascular systems don't require entire days off to recover from training (good thing for us - otherwise we'd all be dead). The other option is to add more miles (kind of obvious answer) and work through the aches. Get a lot of sleep, eat well, cross your fingers.
My legs are better at 40-50 mpw than 20-30 mpw, recovery is faster and the leg/hip assembly feels stronger and better-assembled. Makes me wonder what it feels like to be world class.
Have you considered running more days?
My feet always hurt. It's been that way all my life, no matter what I do, no matter the shoes, active or inactive. They hurt when I sit even. I think I could wear 12" thick air cushions and they would still hurt. It seems like that has a tendency to affect the rest of me in various ways after the longer runs. I think when I get up around 10+ miles, my foot pain probably cause me to not run quite right, putting strain on other parts. My muscles rarely get all that tired or sore after I run anymore, it's usually more a feeling of tight connective tendons/ligaments/whatever.I usually run 5 days, and as I've mentioned already in the thread, I'm not real eager to add more days at this point. I'd rather have the time with my family than reach an arbitrary mileage goal that is for no other purpose than "because". That could change down the road, but for now I'll work with what I've got.


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Hello I am wondering what the difference is between these packs in size med. On paper voulume is less ,torso length is the same.What about shoulder and waist straps are they the same length ? Thanks Jim
I can't find where I read this, but I think the shoulder straps are more curved and closer together. The hipbelt might be different too....and the sterum strap????
Ahh here we go:"Designed for women, the ultralight GoLite Jam pack lets her haul gear for multiday hikes, short winter trips and rock climbing without sacrificing comfort.The GoLite Jam offers narrow shoulder straps, narrow torso, narrow upper hip and wide lower hip wings on waistbelt for a women-specific fitSpecial women's features also include short shoulder strap padding, short sternum strap and enhanced hip belt angle"
Hello I was trying to noodle through getting one. They are on sale in the 50.00 range. If you can get past the color. Thanks for the help. Jim
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My great-grandfather, John J Strelesky, of the Edes Robe Tanning Co. came from the home office in Dubuque, Iowa, and opened an office in South Omaha, Nebraska. An article was published in the Omaha World Herald on December 5, 1909 discussing the new venture. Transcription of article: Edes Robe Tranning Co. Locates at South Omaha John J. Strelesky of the Edes Robe Tanning company, who comes from the home plant at Dubuque, has secured an office at 2415 Q street, South Omaha, and will take orders there this winter. He will open a branch factory next … [Read more...]
John J Strelesky, Edes Robe Tanning Co. locates at South Omaha
September 30, 2011 by 3 Comments


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Waltham Watch Company: Information on the Catawiki site about Waltham Watch Company, Voting Trust Certificate, Common stock, .At its heart, Catawiki is an online catalogue with images of, and information on, collectibles. Our catalogue is compiled by users in a similar way to Wikipedia.
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People wait in line to talk to the General Electric representative. Sponsored by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, more than 80 employers participated in the region's largest job fair.
- Filed Under
With an improving labor market and falling unemployment, the eighth annual Homecoming Job Fair may have had as many openings as job seekers.
A record number of employers - 94 - signed up for the region's largest job fair Wednesday at the WNC Agricultural Center, looking to fill some 2,000 openings in the coming year. Organizers expected at least 2,000 job seekers to wander through the Davis Event Center before the fair ended at 3 p.m.
"We're starting to see a balance come back. In years past with higher unemployment, we were packed with a lot of job seekers going after fewer openings. Now we have a ...


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Moderate physical activity from childhood contributes to metabolic health and reduces hepatic fat accumulation in adult rats
1 UNESP/Rio Claro, Bioscience Institute, Physical Education Department, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, Brazil
2 UNICAMP/Limeira, Applied Sciences Faculty, Sports Science Course, Campinas State University, Campinas, Brazil
3 Department of Physical Education, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Avenida 24ª n° 1515, Bela Vista, P.O. Box 199, 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
Lipids in Health and Disease 2013, 12:29 doi:10.1186/1476-511X-12-29Published: 6 March 2013
Obesity, oxidative stress and inflammation, by triggering insulin resistance, may contribute to the accumulation of hepatic fat, and this accumulation by lipotoxicity can lead the organ to fail. Because obesity is growing at an alarming rate and, worryingly, in a precocious way, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of moderate physical training performed from childhood to adulthood on liver fat metabolism in rats.
Twenty rats that were 28 days old were divided into two groups: control (C) and trained (T). The C Group was kept in cages without exercise, and the T group was submitted to swimming exercise for 1 hour/day, 5 days/week from 28 to 90 days of age (8 weeks) at 80% of the anaerobic threshold determined by the lactate minimum test. At the end of the experiment, the body weight gain, insulin sensitivity (glucose disappearance rate during the insulin tolerance test), concentrations of free fatty acids (FFA) and triglycerides (TG) and hepatic lipogenic rate were analyzed. For the statistical analysis, the Student t-test was used with the level of significance preset at 5%.
The T group showed lower body weight gain, FFA concentrations, fat accumulation, hepatic lipogenic rate and insulin resistance.
The regular practice of moderate physical exercise from childhood can contribute to the reduction of obesity and insulin resistance and help prevent the development of accumulation of hepatic fat in adulthood.


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Kansas City organization asks for response from Bishop Finn
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Some sex abuse victims are demanding answers from the head of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) turned in a letter to the diocese headquarters.
The group is giving Bishop Finn 10 days to respond to a 2008 settlement agreement in sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits.
They are accusing him of ignoring their pledges to reform the diocese in the wake of the recent cases of Fr. Shawn Ratigan and Fr. Michael Tierney.
"If he doesn't respond, they'll have to consider whether or not to going forward with more legal action. But we're hopefull he'll respond," said SNAP member Abott Durocher.
SNAP is urging anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups to contact police, not church officials.


text: Become a member of MOCA Jacksonville and receive FORMA, our award-winning* news magazine. Published and sent to Museum members three times per year, it includes wonderful curatorial essays highlighting the Museum's featured exhibitions and artists, as well as articles, pictures and reports from MOCA's education, program and membership departments. The news spotlights member and family events such as our Members' Receptions for exhibition openings, the Museum's sponsors and partners, community educational outreach programs and our many special events. In addition, readers learn the latest news from all of MOCA's various volunteer committees (such as MOCA Friends, The Contemporaries, and our Museum Docents), plus upcoming Museum events.


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Connect with Us
Graduates, we are proud to have you as one of our very own, and invite you to stay connected with us through Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Flickr. The Anderson University Alumni Association at large is a great way to stay connected with the entire Anderson University community and meet alumni in your area.
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Jesper de Jong wrote:You have defined the nooftimes() method, lines 6 to 9, inside your main() method.
In Java you cannot define methods inside methods. Move lines 6-9 outside the main() method. You'll also need to make the nooftimes() method static.
Jelle Klap wrote:Welcome to JavaRanch indeed!
I've edited your post to make it the code more readable, as you may have noticed. You can do this yourself easily, all you have to do is UseCodeTags when you post a code snippet and the forum will add syntax highlighting and line numbers. Also a quick tip: if you want to copy text from the command-line output in Windows, all you have to do is right-click in the CMD window, choose mark from the menu, highlight the text you want to copy and hit enter. Then you can simply paste the text here. It saves you the hassle of having to create and upload image files.


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It may come as no surprise to you, but I've just realized my favorite porn site these days is tumblr. Where else can you find tendless pictures of the hottest girls either: fucking dudes, licking and sucking the clits and pussies of other hot teen girls, or simply taking some amateur style nude mirror shot selfie pics. One other thing tumblr has going for it is gifs. Gifs everywhere, of the best parts of any given porn scene. Today I'd like to showcase some recent gifs that got my attention, all dealing with blowjobs. Enjoy! Continue reading "Sexy teen blowjob gifs"
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December 4, 2006
Sean Stevens
Duck Sports Authority
Oregon hosted a number of official visitors this past weekend, but one who was unable to make the trip to Eugene was defensive back David Ross of Compton (Calif.) Dominguez. The 6-foot, 174-pounder has been enjoying an extremely successful senior season, and his team's playoff run caused him to reschedule his trip. Duck Sports Authority talked with Ross about his plans."No, not this weekend," he said regarding his planned trip to Oregon. "It's set for January now. I changed all of them now. I want to take some visits after the season. We're in the championship game this weekend." ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now!
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Thoughts?? Anyone out there in BPL use these?? Size 11 shoe, do they run small or big?Thanks
Sizing is normal, using the 9.5-11 on my size 10 trail runners and they fit fine.
Mark,I use them, I love them and they run true to size!Any other questions?Party On,Newton ;-)
Would you guys recommend the Dirty Girl's over the LevaGaiter?
+1 On DIRTY GIRL GAITERS...I am a size 13 and they fit fine.
I love my Dirty Girls! The only situation where they are not up to task is snow where you will be postholing. Can't beat the price and it is certainly a conversation starter when you go into town.
Highly recommended. Breathe well in hot weather, quality lyrca fabric, trail tested by ultra marathon runners, not only backpackers. After 5 years, I'm only on my second pair.
Edited by jhaura on 02/09/2012 16:17:22 MST.
"Would you guys recommend the Dirty Girl's over the LevaGaiter"?Give me a pair of Dirty Girls anytime! Gaiters that is...LOLWho needs black and gray as their only color choices for a nickel under eight bucks more per pair?Party On,Newton
The Dirty Girls require gluing on a velcro tab to work properly and the levagaiters do not. So the price difference between something that requires you to permanently alter your shoes and to buy new velcro with every shoe replacement vs a single piece of gear that works by itself is warranted.Now in practice is one better than the other, not really just depends on what you prefer.
I liked the design and fit of Dirty Girls, but the stitching on mine started to unravel within the first 100 miles of use (all of which was on well-maintained trails). I ended up going over all of the stitching with a sewing machine before my PCT thru-hike. Even then, the hook came off of one pair 2/3 of the way through the trail. YMMV.
"... requires you to permanently alter your shoes and to buy new velcro with every shoe replacement vs a single piece of gear that works by itself is warranted".My Dirty Girl gaiters were shipped to me with enough supplied velcro to handle 4 pair of my shoes. I hike in Merrell Moab Ventilators.If you use a silicone based product and locate the velcro on a portion of the heel of the shoe that is part of the sole, the velcro and the adhesive can be peeled off. I found this to be true after hiking through some rockier portions of the AT last October. I visited the local outfitter and was gifted with enough seam seal to reattach the velcro to the heel of my shoe. I finished the last 50 miles of our hike without further incident.YMMVParty On,Newton
Edited by Newton on 02/09/2012 20:52:16 MST.
Made my own, wore them for 2 months straight in Europe.Yeah, I liked them.Cheers
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Healthnotes offers comprehensive, science-based health and lifestyle information.
Written with you in mind, Healthnotes answers the most commonly asked questions
with credible, easy-to-understand information — edited by physicians who review
over 550 scientific and medical journals to keep content current, factual, and balanced.
Certain people, such as healthcare workers, the young and the elderly, and people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes or lung disease, are at greater risk of getting the flu than others. This study looked at the effect of green tea extracts in helping prevent flu in Japanese healthcare professionals who care for the elderly.
In this study, 200 healthcare workers were randomly assigned to receive capsules of a green tea extract that contained compounds known as catechins (378 mg per day) and theanine (210 mg per day) or placebo for five months. The majority of participants had also been vaccinated against the flu.
Results showed that the incidence of influenza in the green tea group was significantly lower compared with the placebo group (4 versus 13 people were diagnosed with the flu).
Prior studies have also shown that green tea may help prevent influenza, and the authors of this study comment, "The consumption of tea extracts including catechins and theanine has also been reported to enhance systemic immunity and prevent the occurrence of upper respiratory tract infection and influenza symptoms in healthy adults." Larger research trials are needed to confirm these study findings.
The influenza virus is a cause of serious illness and even death, so it is important to take preventive measures to stay well:
(BMC Complement Altern Med 2011:11:15)
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OC Lifeguard Costs Rise
|It's still safe to go into the water
U.S. Ocean Safety, Inc.--the private company that owns the county's no-bid contract--plans to use the additional funds to hire three more lifeguards to their staff, build a new lifeguard tower, issue repairs to existing structures and purchase two new all-terrain vehicles, according to county records.
The new deal means taxpayers will pay on average $180,000-a-month for daily, invaluable lifeguard services at Sunset Beach, Santa Ana River Jetty Beach, Aliso Beach, Salt Creek Beach--including Strand Beach, Capistrano Beach, Poche Beach and Baby Beach in Dana Point.
Oddly, the approved contract doesn't mandate the minimum number of lifeguards that must be on duty, but does require them to behave "in a professional, polite and courteous manner."
--R. Scott Moxley / OC Weekly
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Clinical pharmacist
Michael Winter is a clinical pharmacist at the UCSF Anticoagulation Clinic, where he provides consultation to health care providers for patients with complex pharmacokinetic problems. He also holds the title of professor emeritus in the department of clinical pharmacy at UCSF, for which he served as vice chair from 1984 to 2007.
Winter earned his doctor of pharmacy at UCSF. He lectures, guides conferences and leads workshops at the state, national and international level on the use of pharmacokinetics in the patient care setting. He is the author of Basic Clinical Pharmacokinetics, as well as other articles and book chapters on clinical pharmacokinetics. He serves as a fellow for the California and American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists and is a member of numerous other professional organizations, including the American Pharmaceutical Association, California Pharmaceutical Association and National Academies of Practice.
Anticoagulation Clinic
350 Parnassus Ave., Fourth Floor, Suite 410
San Francisco, CA 94143-0325
Phone: (415) 353-2143
Fax: (415) 353-2890
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Publications are derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and provided by UCSF Profiles, a service of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at UCSF. Researchers can make corrections and additions to their publications by logging on to UCSF Profiles.


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|Back to Home > Content > Event Photos > Event Photos: mediabistro.com's UGCX Conference in New York
Event Photos: mediabistro.com's UGCX Conference in New YorkOctober 26, 2009
mediabistro.com held our second UGCX Conference on Tuesday, October 20 and Wednesday, October 21 at The New Yorker Hotel in New York City.
Photos by Rana Faure and Kevin Kragt
To view image captions, open the slideshow in Full Screen mode, then click 'Show Info.'
Special thanks to:
Platinum sponsor Yahoo:
Refreshment break sponsor OZMO:
> Read more in our archives


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Ignore its faded flowers. Stance's Toner is especially fresh. The sock surrounds your feet in comfort thanks to its luxurious combed cotton, deep heel pocket, and reinforced heel and toe. To keep things cool, the sock also sports mesh vents. And for extra style, the Toner rocks a healthy crop of stripes.
Features -
- Combed cotton
- Elastic arch support
- Seamless toe closure
- Y gore seam
- Deep heel pocket
- Self adjusting welt cuff
- Signature logo
Contents -
35% combed cotton
40% polyester
13% spandex
5% nylon
7% elastic
Care -
Machine wash in 40 °C / 104 °F. Avoid bleaching or ironing the socks. Socks will last longer if you keep them out of the tumble dryer.
Size -
L/XL = shoe size 9-13
Write Your Own Review
Returns are easy! We understand that in some situations returns or exchanges may be necessary. We also want you to be stoked on your purchase. If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase you may return it for a full refund, or exchange within 30 days of receiving your order. Items must be in new condition with original tags and packaging.
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This unidentified woman, shown here entering a CVS store on Oct. 25, is wanted in connection with use of a stolen credit card.
Someone stole Joy Deardorff's credit cards and went on an extraordinary shopping spree, racking up more than $5,500 worth of purchases in less than two hours, police said. They're asking the public's help to find a suspect, whose image was captured on a store surveillance camera.
The amount of purchases "just took my breath away," Deardorff said Monday. "I would never beat up my credit cards the way (the thief) beat up my credit cards."
Deardorff, who works as secretary to Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis, also had her work ID badge stolen. (It doesn't allow access to a secure area.) ...