Man Camp 2011

So details for next years camp are forming. We are doing the Quizno's Challenge Colorado Bike Race course the week preceeding the scheduled race, with a little swim & run added in.

We devised our plan for subsequent years camps...each original "MAN" can invite 1 additional guest next year. He is responsible for the guest in all ways...if doesn't hack it, neither are invited the next year. After the camp, the original cast extends invites back. Next years attendees will include Camp Founders Justin Daerr & Gordo Byrn, original campers Mark Pietrofossa, Scott Carr, myself, with unanimous invites Marilyn & Chris McDonald. Actually Chris wasn't unanimous, but his wife was. We felt pity for Big Sexy and invited him anyway. We decided with her many years of racing on the NRC circuit and chasing Big Sexy around, she probably grew a set of tackle to be included.

The invites should are forthcoming...this is certainly not for the faint of heart. I've had a few enquiries already during last years camp and subsequently...be careful what you ask for!!!! More details to come.

J

P.S. The pic above is enjoying a cool one after the final days ride...Idaho Springs up Mt. Evans and and then on to Boulder. There was a sprint for the final city limit sign into Boulder...suffice to say Gordo has given me plenty of motivation for next years camp. You will have to ask him for the story...

Man Camp Day #3

2 Pass Day

After our swim session and massive breakfast, a mandatory nap was called before the morning rollout. I have to say that was a nice way to start and given the delay (and a little Linkin Park) I rolled the 1st 8 miles to the beginning of the switchbacks on Berthoud Pass at a good clip. I did feel a little better today than the past few and took advantage of the perky feeling.

Having done a few camps in the past, I'm well aware of what training load I can typically back up. Just to hang on the past few days on a couple of Gordo's pulls and to complete the climbs was all the intensity I needed. And generally speaking, I enjoy leaving the camps in better shape than I come. For me, this means a lot of humility and taking it easy through the 1st part of the week.

In any case, 13 miles, 2,500- 3000 feet of climbing, and 60 minutes later I hit the top of the pass. I was able to crest before the rest of the MEN except Gordo (who dropped me like rock when we hit the steep stuff) on the account of my sneak attack right out of the gate.

After regrouping, we cruised together until the base of Loveland Pass. Needless to say my earlier effort doomed any attempt at a fast ascent up this one. We got a group pic at the top and cruised into Dillon. I gave it a shot at the city limit sign sprint, but even dead assed tired Petro can easily ride me of his wheel, though the attack was quite far out and equally as sneaky as mine at the rollout.

We finished up the day with our standard 5 mile run before dinner. Gordo & Petro were feeling a little peppy and negative split the way home. Unfortunately this generated some later dinner discussion and JD has now introduced sprint primes into our runs. Look out folks, I think this may cause some damage.

J

ManCamp Day #2

A tough day today...there is nothing tranquil about 130k of riding with 7500 ft. of elevation gain, 5 miles running, and pool session.

My plan was to remain as steady as possible, but all those went awry after beginning the climb out of Estes Park into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a beautiful ride, peaking out above 12,000 feet, but there is no way to take that easy. We regrouped right before the top; JD & Gordo rolled over the top together and a fortunate road construction stop allowed Scott & I to go over the top just behind Petro.

An awesome descent into Grand Lake and a good stop for a bona fide breakfast. Of course, Gordo drilled it out of town and pulled a very solid pace. The heart rate frenzy to stay on created a bit of issue with the digestion...needless to say the massive shunting of blood to my gut kept the legs pretty anemic. I was definitely "shunted" and as we hit the climb into Frazier I was happy to voluntarily pull the plug and cruise back into town with Scott. This was my only shot at normal gut peristalsis resuming this evening.

We headed out for 5 mile run; nothing is easy at 8,500 feet. The swim was certainly no better. Fortunately with self-appointed medical waiver for my shoulder (Camp Doc has its privileges!), I took it a bit easier than the rest of the boys.

Heading to dinner...we are all salivating at the dinner aroma Jen has all cooked up. More tomorrow.
J

ManCamp 2010

I will be blogging this week from Colorado as we do some training there @ the 1st Annual Mancamp. For info on the genesis of the camp, check out Gordo's Blog. The basic gist goes like this...

"the idea for ManCamp came when Justin (Daerr) and I were drilling it up a mountain. I can’t remember where but the climb was long, and hard, so I’m guessing it was Arizona or Colorado. We were smacking it and J leaned over and said, “this is man training.” Something about his tone made me laugh and the concept of man training was born. I suppose there’s a little boy living in me and he likes to be a man every once in while."

Having trained with the boys in the past, this will be a solid week of swim/bike/run with a heavy emphasis on the bike.

I'm recovering from a nasty GI bug last week that threatened my presence at the camp, so the first few days will be as tranquil as the terrain will allow. Today we started off with a little "renegade" training, as my kind 1st night Boulder homestay (thanks Brooke) JD revolted from the 5:45 swim. We got a nice 5 miles on the Wonderland Trail before meeting up with the boys for our ride (JD says renegades of Funk by Rage Against The Machine should be in the background of all of our renegade sessions from hereafter).

Mayor meeker, Taylor & Chris from SC joined in for the ride up to Estes Park. It was a nice steady pull up Big Thompson Canyon until Glen Haven, then I took the caboose over peak into Estes. Solid 3hours and change of riding to ease into camp. More to come.

Eccentric exercises for Runners

I've written extensively in the past regarding the benefits of eccentric exercises for rehabilitation of a variety of overuse injuries.

But I also feel strongly that eccentric leg exercises are very valuable in strength training for runners who may have biomechanical limitations in regard to training volume. I will commonly reduce training volumes in athletes with these concerns and replace some training with eccentric exercises to increase the durability in the muscles crucial for running. Note that most of these exercises were developed to fix chronic tendinopathy. In this use, returning the limb to neutral by the uninjured limbs is important. This isn't the case in using the eccentric training for increasing run durability.

My routine includes strengthening the following muscles:
1. Hip Abductors (gluteals)

The pelvic drop exercise is completed by standing on a step with the exercised leg, while holding onto a wall or stick if necessary for support. With both knees locked, the opposite, noninvolved pelvis was lowered towards the floor. Then, the suspended leg is lowered even further by bending the supporting leg. Finally, the suspended leg swivels and goes through the swing phase of gait by first swinging forward then backwards while the exercised leg stabilized the body by contracting the gluteus medius on that side.

The reference used below describes a different exercise but supports eccentric strengthening for ITB syndrome.


2. Knee Extensors (Quadriceps)

Place your feet shoulder-width apart on an
decline board. Lower yourself while standing on the knee intended for exercise (bend the knee approximately
60 degrees), then raise yourself while standing on the opposite knee. Build up to three sets of
fifteen repetitions, twice a day. You can add dumbells to increase weight as you progress.

3. Calf Muscles (Gastrocsoleus)

Stand with all your body weight on the exercised leg. From an upright position and standing with all body weight on the forefoot, with the heel extended off the back of a step, the calf muscle is loaded by having lowering the heel beneath the step. The foot is then brought back to neutral with either the use of both ankles. In rehabbing injured ankles, non-injured leg is used to return to the starting position.

********
The eccentric strengthening of the muscles allow them to be more resistant to the destruction we see during race efforts and hard running.

I hope you find these helpful.

Dr. J

References:
1. P Jonsson, H Alfredson. Superior results with eccentric compared to concentric quadriceps training in patients with jumper’s knee: a prospective randomised study. Br J Sports Med 2005;39:847 850 LINK: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1725058/pdf/v039p00847.pdf

2. M A Young, J L Cook, C R Purdam, Z S Kiss and H Alfredson Eccentric decline squat protocol offers superior results at 12 months compared with traditional eccentric protocol for patellar tendinopathy in volleyball players 2005;39;102-105 Br. J. Sports Med.

3. Alfredson, H., Pietila, T., Jonsson, P. & Lorentzon, R. Heavy-load eccentric calf muscle training for the treatment of chronic Achilles tendinosis. Am J Sports Med 1998 May-Jun;26(3):360-6

4. Alfredson, H. & Lorentzon, R. Chronic Achilles tendinosis: recommendations for treatment and prevention. Sports Med. 2000 Feb;29(2):135-46.

5. Fredericson M, Wolf C. Iliotibial band syndrome in runners: innovations in treatment. Sports Med. 2005;35:451–459. 21. Fredericson M, Yamamot

EC Tucson Camp Wrap Up & Anti-cycling sentiment

Just got back this past weekend from our Spring Endurance Corner Tucson Camp. The camp was incredibly well organized by camp director and pro triathlete Justin Daerr. It was great to see old & new campers alike and, like always, gain some early season inspiration from my training partners.

The pic above is the pool we swim...great environment to kick off the training season.

I also to forward this email I received from my buddies in TriCoWS (Tri Club of Winston-Salem. This is one task worth doing. See below

Recently Tony Kornheiser of ESPN went on a rant against cyclists going as far as advocating running over them. Some of his comments included:

"Run them down, like Wile Coyotes, run them over. Just stay on the right. Stay on the right."

"And they all wear...my God...with the little water bottle in the back and their stupid hats and their shiny shorts, they are the same disgusting poseurs that come out in the middle of a snow storm with cross country skiing on your block. Run them down."


I have just filed a complaint with the FCC. I would ask all of you to do the same. Given the recent death of Adam Little, we don't need people like this on the public airwaves.

To file a complaint go to: http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

Click on the radio button: Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues.

Proceed to the next page. Click on the radio button: Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts (does NOT include Obscene, Profane or Indecent material) This does however, include "Broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group."

Proceed to the next page and select the online form. Complete your consumer information. You will then need to complete Form 2000E. Pertinent information that needs to be included:

1. What is the name of the company that is the subject of your complaint? Red Zebra Broadcasting (ESPN 980)

2. If your complaint is about a radio or television station, provide the following information: Station call sign (e.g., "KDID," "WZUF," "KDIU-FM," "WZUE-TV"): WTEM, WWXX and WWXT

Station location: City: Rockville State: Maryland

If you are complaining about a particular program, provide the following information:
1. Network: ESPN980
2. Program name: Tony Kornheiser Show
3. Date of program (mm/dd/yyyy): 3/11/2010
4. 10:00 am
5. Provide the details of your complaint, including the time, date and nature of any conduct or activity complained of and identifying information for companies, institutions or individuals involved (if not already described above): During his show on March 11, 2010, Mr. Kornheiser advocated violence against anyone riding a bicycle on a public road. Specifically, Mr. Kornheiser stated "Run them down, like Wile Coyote's, run them over." Using public airwaves to advocate violence against cyclists is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Please take a moment to file the complaint and forward this on to others. Hopefully, we can get morons like Tony Kornheiser off the airwaves, and maybe, just maybe, make cycling a little bit safer.

Thanks,

Tricows