Tuesday evening, 4 intrepid soles and I joined Kirk and Eric of TriKirk Coaching (www.trikirkcoaching.com) for a running clinic at Skyline High School in Longmont. They started us out by describing the various stages we go through as we progress from walking to jogging to running and how those different activities ingrain bad mechanics in our running style that make us slow and injury prone. On the track infield they led us through a progression of 5 simple drills to help us learn various aspects of good form. After that, while we practiced as a group running around the track, they met with us one-on-one for personal coaching. We ran a little ways, received tips on things to focus on, and ran again until we got it dialed in. The drills were simple to do and easy to remember so we can incorporate them into our workouts as needed to focus on various aspects of our form.
During various points in the clinic, Kirk and Eric would demonstrate good style to give us concrete examples of what to shoot for. We often use the term ‘buttuh’ to describe something super smooth but that doesn’t even begin to describe how these two guys run. Absolutely fluid and effortless. What was most inspiring, was that they both got to this point after earlier points in their careers where they had the same running flaws we all go through like over striding, heel striking, and the injuries those create.
Later that night, after riding home from the clinic, my whole body from my hips down was absolutely screaming at me. I knew I had asked my muscles to operate in a mode it wasn’t used to but I wasn’t prepared for how sore and out of sorts I felt. But then the most amazing thing happened, next morning I woke up absolutely pain free. My body was initially traumatized by the new motions, but everything we did in the clinic emphasized good style such that I had none of the normal next day soreness. Sorry Advil, I won’t be needing you today.
So to our initial premise, yes gazelles can not only talk, they can be very gifted coaches and instructors as well. If you are not 100% happy with your running form, give these guys a call, they can get you on a path to the best running you’ve ever done.
Kevin Graboski
Blue Sky Velo
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
If gazelles could talk
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Stellar Cross Clinic August 7th, 2010
It felt like summer to most folks this past Saturday in the 100 degree weather. But, to those crossers attending the 1st BSV cross clinic of 2010, we dreamed of fall breezes, cold rain, winter snow and knee deep mud. Let the cross training begin!
Luna's Amy Dombroski shared experience and tips for all kinds of cross riders whether a beginner or expert. Drs. Jen & Andy Harmon (yes they are married!) provided secret training stretching tips and Paul McCarthy brought the great barriers on behalf of CrossPropz for everyone to fly over during drills. If you missed it, definitely come to the next one! Here are a few pictures to wet your appeitite.
The entire crew (including our youngest cross racer - Derrick; excluding the photographer - Michelle)
Amy tellin' it like it is after stretching
Who doesn't love a single speed with pink handlebar tape?
More of the crew
Some of the cross ladies
- Posted by Michelle Vercellino
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Get off the couch, you're stronger than you think.
Its been a rough year for my fitness. A mountain bike crash last November left me facing surgery in February and a lengthy recovery. No biking makes me quite cranky, so I decided I'd find myself a carrot to put at the end of a stick. That carrot turned out to be the 111k Laramie Enduro endurance mountain bike race. This race has been discovered now, as evident by it selling out within 7 minutes this year.
Luckily, my website refreshing skills were still good and I secured a spot. This is a race I've eyed for 3 or 4 years, but have had some sort of conflict every single year, like the birth of my first child. Finally this year I had a spot with my name on it, now I just had to find some fitness. Finally cleared to ride a bike on June 1st, I was looking at zero (possibly negative) fitness. I had no base miles in my legs. I had no tempo rides under my belt. 8 weeks to get myself some sort of fitness....
I had it all planned out. Using TrainingPeaks.com, I developed a perfect schedule to develop some fitness and finish the Enduro. And then life happened....
Instead of being in beautiful Colorado every day, I found myself traveling for work to Houston, TX sans bike and with an expense account and a weakness for Mexican food and margaritas. No problem, I'll do big rides on the weekend. Well that didn't really work either for lots of reasons (family, weather, a day with 3 flats, etc). Sure I was getting in some rides, but not the 4 and 5 hour rides I wanted. It just seemed the cards were stacked against me.
I sat down with my wife at dinner one night and told her that I had zero chance at finishing the Laramie Enduro, and thought I'd just save time and resources by not even starting. I was resigned to the fact it was again going to get away from me. Talking with a buddy of mine about my failed attempts to train routinely and how I was pretty sure I just wouldn't start, he gave me wisdom for the ages...
That was just what I needed. Maybe I had no business doing a 70+ mile race, but I'd paid and made the arrangements so I might as well go ride and have some fun. If I was blown up after mile 30, then I'd pull the plug and go drink some beer (something I've gotten lots of training in lately).
I'm no racer. My team kit has obviously shrunk in the drier as its tighter than it used to be, and my bike will never be mistaken for some XC weight weenie's bike. Despite all these facts, I've drug myself up and over some big climbs around the area and had huge fun doing it.
Race day came and I found myself lined up on the start line at 7am. I knew I couldn't go out hard on a 70 mile race, so I lined up at the back and slowly made my way up the first climb. It didn't take long for the packs of riders to sort themselves out and I was riding out by myself before too long.
I was taking it 5 miles at a time. Before I knew it I was 30 miles in and feeling pretty good. Now I wasn't up with the leaders, I was pretty much running trail sweep but I was having a good time and riding some fantastic trails. Knowing I would be out for a LONG day, I kept eating and drinking as much as possible.
The weather gurus had called for low 80s and clouds, but what we were treated to was low 90s and a blazing sun. The course itself is pretty exposed, and I was starting to bake out there. Another problem with my training I found is that I had done all my big rides either starting at 6am or up above 9,000 feet. I quickly realized I had not trained my body for the heat. The heat and direct sun was really melting me, many times I had to stop under a shady tree to cool down. I was suffering and my legs were cramping but I was grinding my way through the course.
As the hours ticked by, I found myself on the hardest portion of the course and I felt like I was in reverse. On the bike the off to let the cramps subside, then back on the bike. Rinse and repeat. As I slowly rolled into Aid Station 5 (the last one at mile 60), I was done. I starting openly talking to the volunteers, which were fantastic, about my options for getting a ride back to the start / finish. As I sat in the shade discussing these options, my legs were completely depleted and cramped but I just couldn't bear the thought of living with quitting for an entire year. With some encouragement and course beta from the volunteers, I got back on the bike and off I went.
I don't know if it was the knowledge of only a few finite miles left or if the temps had cooled, but my legs that were completely cramped for the last 20 miles had started to come back. I crested the last big climb, and finally my big pig of a 6" travel bike was in its element, a downhill to the finish. I'd left the start hour nearly 10 hours earlier, but as I made the left turn off the final piece of singletrack onto the dirt road to the finish I felt like I had won the race. I was high fiving everyone on the road, and despite being filthy and covered from head to toe in salt I had finished the race.
I had missed my completely irrational goal of 9 hours, but I had finished which was something that looked like a very distant possibility even 3 hours earlier in the day. Had my buddy not given me that advice, I'm pretty sure I'd have taken the easy way. You never know what is possible unless you try...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
My Centerion 2010 "ride"
It was early June when I started really thinking about training plans for CycloCross season: What training and races should I do that would get me competitive in the 45-open CX group this year? The weekly Boulder Time Trial series came to mind immediately, as there is nothing like exploring the depths your own pain cave for 25 minutes every week: I ended up having time to do two. And maybe a few crits: I did two of those too and it felt great to win in the first but was not nearly so confident or competitive in the second.
Hum... what else besides solo intervals and training rides? Core/Yoga classes offered by our own Andy and Jen! Last year this helped immensely and I do want to continue the strengthening and flexibility this year. So I gotta do the core/yoga classes (highly recommended)!
All the while, the occasional email would pass through the BSV email groups about the Centurion. "Who's riding?" "What category?" "What's the club password." Another Hum... It's been 20 years since I had done something that long and intense and then it was just a organized and supported ride, not billed as a race. Then again, it looked like there were ~10 other BSV riders so I guess I'll do it as it should be another good training ride...
I emailed a simple question: "Who's riding and who's racing? I'm riding this one just to finish"...
I did say it was going to be a good training ride, right?
It's a bright and beautiful Colorado Sunday morning, and by ~6:45 we're all congregating in the back of the front coral (the "race" group). The announcer is blathering on about the weather, talking about the contenders, and starting to get us pumped up for the start of the "ride". KevinA wants to know why we're in the race corral and not the ride corral. I say "we're REALLY near the ride corral" and after a brief discussion we all turn our attention back up front. Then the adrenaline starts to pump as the PA is cranked and someone starts singing the Star Spangled Banner which silences the rider. About that time a helicopter comes into view and hovers high overhead.
That’s the moment it suddenly strikes me: This Centurion "ride" is going to be really something!
The announcer tells us right before the start that the red flag in the pace car means we’re still in the neutral zone and when it disappears the race begins! We start a riding shoulder to shoulder for few hundred yards till a guy locks up his front wheel with his timing chip, which caused a bit of jostling and swerving to avoid hitting him, but then it’s smooth sailing through Lions. Somewhere after we get out and take the turn onto HW36, the red flag must have been pulled cuz the pace finally quickened and the race was on. Er, I mean RIDE…
So I’m riding behind Kevin Abraham purposely, cuz I know he’s probably one of the most seasoned pack riders in our club and I was hoping to learn from the master. Learn I did! That Kevin guy was so smooth in the pack it was truly a marvel. Keeping gaps closed, moving in front of this guy and around that one. Staying out of trouble when a few riders got way too far into the brakes. Smooth as butter!! I ended up tailing Kevin for ~30 miles. Thanks for the lessons, Kevin!
Did I say the pace picked up? BOY, what a ride! I've never been in a pack that size at the speeds before. As long as the gaps were small, the efforts were too. Ok, so there was the little dip and climb coming back up Nelson to 36 that sent the heart rate up, but quick recovery cuz the draft of 80 or so riders was incredible. Then it was the drop down 36 to turn up Left Hand Canyon and the King of the Hill climb was on. The group quickly begins to thin as the effort continues to increase. Ok, for the record, the effort shot my heart rate well over my intended limit, but then I knew it should drop a bit as thing settle down as long as I really stick in the draft. The draft was truly a dream as we continued at 20+mph up the canyon for a while, but I realized the heart rate wasn't dropping back down. One more bend, another corner and it kept ticker kept climbing. Somewhere between the turn-off and the steep section (mile marker 13?) I finally had to admit that I was not just “riding” but truly in race mode cuz I never push myself that hard except in a race…
Race or ride, we hadn’t even gotten through the first hard climb and I knew if I didn’t say goodbye to the train I’d never make it up SuperJames on the next climb. The time had come to find my own pace, I dropped quietly off the lead group and gradually fell into my own rhythm. Then I discovered a very important thing: There were quite a few other riders that had the same rhythm. Probably 8 or 10 of us took even pulls all the way to steep section with a great rotating pace line. Then the last few miles to Ward was another solo event as the grade of the road crept up, but I got to the top without burning too many matches and felt really good. Grabbed the outstretched bottle of water and sports drink and headed down the highway.
Descending was another treat in that all the riders I was with had riding skills and manners that helped me feel much more at ease, and they were all cooperating by taking pulls when the speed slowed and we had a safe but very fast ride all the way back to Lyons. Then it was back up 36 to Left Hand Canyon and a much needed water station. I stopped just long enough to fill the water bottles, and grab some extras to stuff in my jersey. I quickly downed part of the first one and dumped the rest over my head to cool off. Then same with the second. The third bottle helped me get some more gel energy stuff down and I was set for the second King of the Mountains climb up to Jamestown.
So what I didn’t realize is that while I was drinking a lot, it was soon 95+ degrees climbing up SuperJames and as you may know, that climb is really a killer without the heat. Have you ever had a leg cramp so bad you fell off your bike? I had last year, so when the little cramping twinges started shooting down my leg I knew I would be in very serious trouble if I didn’t do something quick. I backed off the pace and kept drinking, and the legs started feeling better but that was about the time when the pitch was so steep I was out of gears to spin in. Ended up standing for the last few miles to be greeted in one turn by a small kid with a squirt gun asking “want some?” and I got a cool stream and a smile from the ~4 year old. Fun and refreshing!
Finally after trying every climbing position imaginable, I found the top of the hill above Jamestown and started to descend dirt section. Having ridden up the dirt only a few weeks before, it's funny how I didn’t remember how much more climbing there was in the dirt! This brought on more standing efforts cuz the legs were mostly spent. Then more standing, and even more. By the time I got to the feed zone my lower back was killing me! No energy left and major back spasms. Great, well at least it was mostly downhill from there. Fueled up and ended up coasting the better part of 10 miles down before the legs started to turn over again. Got passed by a big group of guys and I couldn’t make the jump, but a few moments later I was able to jump on a small group of riders and pace line the rest of the way to the finish line in Lyons. And I finished the Centurion 2010 ride under my 6 hour goal (5:33:12.09 to be exact)!
So what did I learn on this ride?
1)When there is a timing chip and a start gun, for me it’s a race whether I want to admit it or not.
2) Would I do it again? MOST DEFINITELY!
3) Will it help for my cyclocross season? Don’t know and don’t really care.
It was a blast and a great way to celebrate turning 50! Even if you’re not into racing or feel more comfortable doing 100 miles, try the 50 or 25 mile route! I’d encourage you all to “Just Do It” in 2011!
PS: Our most wonderful Blue Sky Velo sponsors down at Peak Sports Chiropractic did a wonderful job to relax those back muscles that were still very tight next day...
Regards,C. Doug Richards
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Your Sports Chiropractic Sponsor has a NEW NAME...
Dear Patients & Friends,
Drs. Andy & Jen are excited to announce that Clouds Rest Chiropractic is now officially operating as Peak Sports Chiropractic. We will continue to offer the same professional services, however we feel that our new name is more harmonious with our goal of providing quality sports chiropractic and rehab to the Front Range Community.
Visit our new website to read more about Drs. Andy & Jen, treatments we offer, patient testimonials, and to follow our blog:
August is Patient Appreciation Month
As a special gift to our existing patients, receive 1 treatment at 1/2 price ($25) during the month of August.
New Patient Special
If you know someone who may benefit from our care, tell them about us.
We look forward to helping you reach your goals!
In Health,
Drs. Andy and Jen Harmon
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Leaving It Better, LLC has a Facebook page!
Folks:
Our Facebook page has been up for a couple of months now. I hope you'll drop by to take a look: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leaving-It-Better/254114395879?ref=sgm
If you like what you see just click the thumbs-up "like" button. The purpose of the page is to provide information, commentary, and discussion on matters of personal finance, small-business, investing, and economic and world affairs. Come by and take a peek. Weigh in on an existing post or jump right in and start your own topic if you like.
I also provide "economic humor for today" on my personal page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leaving-It-Better/254114395879?ref=sgm#!/jlinroth if you'd like to have fun or make fun of "the dismal science" of economics. I hope you'll decide to click "add as friend" if you want to see the daily humor.
Don't forget our website at www.leavingitbetter.com It'll be getting a complete makeover later this summer.
Best,
Jeff
BSV Ambassador award coming up again this fall!
I really enjoyed seeing so many blue sky folks and munching on the great food last night at Abbondanza Pizzeria! Thanks to Bob Goff and his great staff.
For those who missed it, I made a short "reminder" speech about the Blue Sky Velo "Ambassador Award" that Leaving It Better, LLC sponsors. Last year's winner, Dan Kapsak, recently entered the Buffalo Classic for free as part of his prize package.
As the summer rolls on please contemplate which BSV member(s) is/are demonstrating "Building Community Through Cycling" in 2010. I'm sure the selection committee for this award will be accepting nominations sometime before November so please help them decide who should receive this recognition this year. I very much look forward to November when I'll get the winner's name etched on the traveling trophy and present another prize package!
Enthusiastically,
Jeff