CHICAGO -- While a bunch of teams are fighting for playoff spots all over baseball, the Chicago Cubs are feeling their way through rare territory.The Cubs clinched the NL Central title a full three weeks before their first playoff game, giving the organization plenty of time to rest players and analyze possible postseason opponents, but also making for a tricky stretch when it comes to staying sharp when there isnt as much at stake.After the Cubs dropped three of four against the Brewers last weekend, manager Joe Maddon met with his hitters before Monday nights 5-2 victory over Cincinnati and talked to them about making the most of the final part of the season.Its unusual being in this position like we are right now, Maddon said after the meeting. So youve got two weeks of baseball, major league baseball, left in September, so lets work on some stuff. Lets work on things that we need to work on individually or as a group. Like I said, not unlike a spring training situation, while within the context were just going out there playing the same game, were trying to win this game.The Cubs win over the Reds and the Nationals loss at Miami made it a seven-game lead for Chicago over Washington in the race for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. The Mets, Cardinals and Giants are fighting for the two wild cards, making one of them the likely division series opponent for Maddon & Co.I probably will watch Washington more than anything right now, Maddon said. Thats the one that were shooting for, is to have the best record.While the wild cards likely will go down to the final few days of the season, the Cubs will have organizational meetings Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss possible playoff matchups and how they might line up for each series. They have scouts watching each potential postseason opponent.Each team presents its own set of challenges and might have roster implications one way or another, too, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said.The Cubs also are planning for their four-day break between the end of the regular season and their playoff opener on Oct. 7, which Maddon also covered in his meeting with the hitters.Thats a long time, so we have to really get our minds right over the next couple, three weeks to really be prepared properly for that first game, Maddon said, and I wanted it to start today.Epstein said the Cubs are considering having a simulated game during the four-day break before Game 1 of the Division Series, providing a chance for the starters and relievers to get some work in and for the hitters to see live pitching.The 42-year-old Epstein has never been in a situation like this before, with the team clinching so early, but said he likes it compared to the alternative.I think its what you make of it, he said. To me, its a lot better than having to push your guys extra hard and put more innings on guys arms and not giving them enough rest and then maybe waking up and being worn down.Chicago had to wait until Sept. 25 to clinch its 2015 wild card, and then made it all the way to the NL Championship Series before it was swept by New York.The early clinch also allows the Cubs to go as slow as they want with any players with health issues. Maddon said outfielder Jorge Soler, who left Fridays 5-4 victory over the Brewers with tightness on his right side, could be available to pinch hit on Tuesday. Key reliever Pedro Strop, who is coming back from knee and groin injuries, is on track to pitch in a simulated game soon.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Wholesale Adidas Running Shoes Australia . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Wholesale Nike Shoes Australia . 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AMMAN, Jordan -- After 16 hours without food or water, Moath al-Khawaldeh laces up pink training shoes and begins working up a sweat sprinting across a track in the Jordanian capital of Amman.Running slower than his 4:19 mile best, al-Khawaldeh grimaces on the final lap and looks to the golden sky of sunset.The 27-year-old is on a multiyear quest to run in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.With guidance from nutritionists and coaches in Jordan and the U.S., the runner follows a training program that has lowered his body fat, cut his marathon time by 15 minutes and has enabled him to train while fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.I forget that Im fasting and I just do it, he said. I feel that Ramadan is a one-month marathon.Believers abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk in one of Islams central tenets. Fasting aims to remind Muslims of the hunger pains of the poor.Al-Khawaldeh said fasting also builds mental strength.God will never change a person who hasnt changed themselves, he said, quoting the Muslim holy book, or Quran. For him training, or making the best of ones ability, is a form of faith just like fasting.Fasting for a month changes sleep cycles, body temperature, hormone and blood sugar levels -- all of which can reduce athletic performance if not properly handled, said Asma Aloui, an associate professor at Gafsa University in Tunisia.Her research on fasting athletes playing soccer and judo suggests that those who drink enough water, eat, sleep and train properly can maintain their speeds and strength.A starving body absorbs food differently as it adapts to a lack of minerals, nutrients and water, said al-Khawaldehs nutrition coach Aseel al-Saleh.After a few days of fasting, an athletes body switches quickly into deficiency mode to build up fat reserves, al-Saleh said in her office at DNA, a fitness center in Amman.The funny thing about human physiology is that it cant differentiate between dietary restriction and starvation. It just cant, it shuts down, she said.On the road to Tokyo, Al-Khawaldeh cant afford catabolism, or muscle loss, so he and al-Saleh crafted an athletes Ramadan diet.Instead of five small meals a day, he switched to eating the holy months traditional two meals loaded with vegetables, lean protein and nutritional supplements like omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, fish oil and branch-chain amino acids.During the day, he works as a program officer for the Jordanian peace-building nonprofit Generations for Peace. He naps after work, then rises for the first training session, which ends with the sundown call to prayer -- the signal that its time to eat.Al-Khawaldeh eats a few dates and drinks water at the track, then heads home to a sufra, or Ramadan table laden with foods selected to recover nutrients and hydrationn lost during the days fast.ddddddddddddAt the post-sundown meal, or iftar, he typically eats chicken on brown rice and steamed vegetables and washes it down with a smoothie of skim milk, dates, bananas, almonds and protein powder.The meal contains easily digested nutrients and proteins, while the second meal, suhour, eaten before sunrise contains slow-burning proteins.People often gain weight during Ramadan because the days hunger drives many to gorge on fatty foods and sugary drinks, said al-Saleh, the nutrition coach. Many also cut sleep to enjoy social gatherings often surrounded by calorie-heavy snacks.But Al-Khawaldeh interprets Ramadans tradition to his advantage with a support network of people helping him eat, sleep, hydrate and train safely.Two years ago, al-Khawaldeh began working with Lee Troop, a high performance coach at the Boulder Track Club in Colorado, a nonprofit running club and training center. At the time, he could run a marathons 42 kilometers or 26.2 miles in 2 hours and 40 minutes, but he needed to lower that to 2:18:59 to qualify for the Olympics.With Troops regimen and guidance, al-Khawaldeh got faster -- 2:33:36 in Vienna, 2:30:57 in Berlin and 2:27:35 in Hamburg. He still faces thousands of training miles over the next three years to try to shave nearly 10 more minutes off his time to get to Tokyo.Troop said the key to long-term success in long-distance running is determination and steady work. Al-Khawaldehs program during Ramadan left the runner leaner, but not faster, yet the mental exercise of fasting is preparing him well for Tokyo, the coach said.His work ethic is second to none, Troop said. Hes been very resilient and the key for success is that long-term development of every day, week, month and year.If al-Khawaldeh qualifies for Tokyo, he will be only the second Jordanian to ever run in the event, according to the Jordan Olympic Committees website.Jordan has competed in the Summer Olympics since 1980, mainly in skeet shooting and taekwondo. Five Jordanians will compete in martial arts, boxing and the triathlon in this years games in Brazil.The centerpiece of al-Khawaldehs Ramadan training is a midnight run, monitored and timed by Osama al-Qattan, 52, a Jordanian ultra-marathon runner.After a recent night session, al-Qattan drives while al-Khawaldeh relaxes in the backseat, sipping water and a protein shake. Running is 30 percent physical and 70 percent mental, the older runner said. And Moath has a strong will.Al-Khawaldeh said Ramadan is a welcome test of strength.Its a great feeling, the sense that you have that power in your body that you didnt know was there but comes out during Ramadan, he said. ' ' '