ProLine Sports, Nutrition and Equipment Blog

Back At It!

It's been just over four months since my ACL surgery, and things are starting to click more and more. I have been doing a little bit of running here and there, but, I think I'm nearly to the point where I can say I'm back to training full-time. My knee is healing up well, and I'm slowly getting better at my physical therapy exercises as well as some lifting and plyometrics. 

The running has been a long and slow process for me. Sometimes almost so infuriating I wanted to just call it quits. I had a few points where I felt like my knee was never going to get better after having done some really light jogging on it. A few days after, I felt like I was back at week six all over again. I was mentally drained from dealing with slight pains all the time, every time I wanted to take a jogging step.

But since that point, my knee has been getting stronger and stronger. And with the amount of biking I've been putting in, my cardio and heart strength is still high. My running muscles are another story, especially in my ankles and hip flexors, but those will come. 

Over the past two weeks I have been slowly building up my time and distance. I started off really short, just going out for a little over a mile of walk jogging. From there, I did the mile straight through without stopping or feeling any pain right then and none the next day either. A few days later I was able to get up to two miles. Then a few days later again, I bumped it up to a 5k, no problems.

I think part of the reason some of this running has been coming back nicely is that the first mile of most of my runs is all uphill. A slow, easy grade, but still all uphill. This takes a lot of the pounding out of landing. Added to that is the fact that I've been solely running in my Newton's. Again, taking pressure off my knee and getting my footstrike where I want it to be.

I have also been able to get associated with a gym just a couple miles from where my wife and I are living. They have some top notch equipment and some great treadmills. For some of my longer efforts, I have been going there to take all the banging I get on the pavement out of the picture and just focusing on form and getting in some quality run time. I was able to put in an hour straight this week. I honestly don't think I could have done that out on the roads. With the forgiveness of the treadmill, I'm able to go much longer and at a slightly quicker pace. Nothing too fast, but it just feels good an natural.

I'm hoping to be able to get into a race in the next few weeks. However, I haven't decided on the Sprint or Olympic distance yet. I've ridden the course, and either way, I know I have to crush the bike to have any sort of chance. Some pretty nasty hills, but very fun. 

I'll for sure have a post to recap when I do race. And I may be doing a TT this weekend should the weather hold. A couple of Category 4 climbs ought to really test my strength out! 

-Dave

On Wisconsin!

Ok, not really. But kind of. I'm still a Chicago sports fan. But I will take Madison over Chicago for lifestyle any day of the week. Anyways, a few weeks ago my wife and I decided we were making the move to Wisconsin for many reasons. But one GREAT reason was for the amazing training around the area. We're situated in the Madison area, and couldn't be happier. The amount of routes for training outside the city is astounding. But even within the city limits, you can find countless routes and people filling them. The amount of people being active is truly amazing. But the amount of bike lanes and room made for bikes is even better. You can't go a block without seeing someone on a bike. Whether they're just cruising around for fun, commuting to work, or grinding away at a training ride, they're everywhere!

I've only been living here a little over a week and already I'm in love with the area. I've seen Neil deGrasse Tyson give a speech to the graduating senior class of UW-Madison, tried out some of the local pubs for some beer and grub, and of course, tried out some of the training features that Wisconsin has to offer. 

My first ride consisted of an out and back loop to the Trek Bike Headquarters in Waterloo, WI. A nice, fairly flat ride with a little over 1,100 vertical feet and a slight wind out of the NE, this ride was great. There was a few nice rolling  hills along with some good climbs. But nothing to write home about.

I have been able to put in some running, slowly, and it seems to be coming along great as well. I got in a 3 and 4 mile run this week. The good thing about all the hills near where we're living is that going uphill running takes a lot of sting out of impact, so I'm able to go a bit further  or longer without putting as much stress on my knee in terms of recovery. It's been about 4 months since surgery, and my knee is coming along slowly, but, I've been given the green light for running as I see fit and comfortable. After a few bouts with some 10min/mi paces through 2.5 miles or so, I'm starting to see 8min/mi and I never thought I'd say this, but it feels great to be going so fast. Not my typical fast speeds, especially over such short distances, but for recovery, I'll take it!

              
(Above: Random wildlife around the route (left), Trek Headquarters (middle) one of countless hills on the IM course(right))

Finally, I took a big jump and hit up the Ironman WI loop starting from home and hit it hard. The course for the full IM is 2 loops, so I decided to just take on one and see how it went. This course is hilly! Nonstop hills once you get out of Madison and head West. None of them are so over the top that they crush you, but they just keep coming. One after another. There's no break points. Ok, so here and there you get a mile maybe of some flats. Instead of charging, however, I spent my time recovering and refueling in these parts. 

Overall, this move plays a huge part in the way my wife and I  want to live our lives. Madison is an amazing city, full of things to do. But it's not overwhelming or overly expensive. There is so much activity and so many great people we've come across already, that we're certain this is a place we want to be for a long, long time. We're still close to our families, but we also have the training and playing grounds right out our back door for the summer time and winter when we go skiing and snowboarding. And it's a perfect place to raise our baby on the way, too! 

-Dave

Bikes & Ignorance Don't Mix

I generally like to think that most cyclists out there have a good head on their shoulders. They know that biking is a healthy way to get some quality exercise, and it also has minimal impact, so it is sustainable for longer periods of time as well as longer into your lifetime. However, over the past couple weeks I have been noticing a bit of lack of knowledge, responsibility, and mostly just some straight up ignorance. Both on the parts of bikers and automobile drivers.

I highly recommend reading this article written by Enzo's which actually got me started on paying attention and eventually writing this one for myself. The group of riders in that article are much more skilled, seasoned, and faster than I am, but the story itself rings true all the way down to the beginner ranks. The main premise being that if you're biking, if you want to be treated equally as an automobile, you have to follow the same rules as well. Stopping at stop signs, signaling for turns, lining up at lights, and so on. If you're out there being a jerk, expect to be treated like one.

In comes my additions to the article mentioned above. On my big ride last weekend, I was about 30 minutes out from finishing, legs aching, just cruising down the home stretch. I came to a crossing where only the road I was on had stop signs, as the crossroad was a high speed, fairly busy road. I kind of wanted a break anyway, so as I pulled up to the stop sign, I unclipped and eased to a halt, planning to rest for a couple minutes and let a few cars go by before I made my cross. However, a lady on the crossroad had different plans.

Now I was completely stopped, both feet unclipped, and drinking some water from my water bottle. You couldn't ask for much more obvious of signs that I wasn't going to cross unless I pulled out a hammock and took a nap. Instead of just cruising on by, the lady decided to stop, in the middle of the busy road, slamming on her brakes and frantically try to wave me across. I merely shook my head and waved her along. Thought that would be the end of it as I finished drinking my water. NOPE! She persisted in waving me across, going as far as honking her horn as if I weren't getting the picture. After a few cars backed up behind her and a couple screeched in, the car that lined up next to me went ahead, and I clipped in and took off. I wanted to go over and knock on her window and say "Thanks for being courteous, but this is a bit much. I've been riding for over 4 hours, and am in no rush to cross such a busy road." I was too tired for this, so I just shook my  head at her and gave an apologetic shrug of the shoulders the other motorists waiting behind her.

The next three incidents all happened on the same ride I took two nights ago. The first being with another cyclist. As I was leaving my house to go out on a 90 minute ride or so, I saw another bike cruise by on the street just north of me. At first I thought, "Great to see people getting out on such a beautiful day". As I got up to the stop sign to jump on another decently busy road, with not much of a shoulder to speak of, I began to retract my previous thoughts. This guy was a sight to see. Probably about 6'2", big broad shoulders, no helmet, no shirt, and cranking his tunes. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, so as I checked behind me and made my pass, I gave a courteous wave and a smile to a fellow cyclist. He was on a mountain bike in about the biggest gearing, so why he was on this road completely phases me.

As I'm approaching the four way stop ahead, I tuck in behind a car and take my place in line, acting like I am part of traffic, instead of avoiding it just to make it through faster. What's the point of putting yourself at risk when it takes an extra 30 seconds to wait for a few cars to get through from all the corners of the 4-way stop? As the car in front of me takes off for it's left hand turn, and I am about to follow as the other cars are about to go, what do I see? My big meathead friend in the left lane, not signaling, slowing down or giving any clue to the cars as to what he's doing. He makes a sharp left turn in front of the car in front of me and cuts it off. The car honks, as the man should have been hit, and I sit back shaking my head as shame has just been brought on to the cycling community.

I take my turn and continue to catch the man again, but this time, I'm not so friendly. I wanted to run him off the road and give him a full piece of my mind, but where would that get me? So instead I just give him a small tidbit saying, "You've gotta (expletive) kidding me dude, you're going to get yourself killed!" And I sped away, figuring he probably didn't even hear me through his headphones and large ego.

Simultaneously as this is happening, I had checked behind me to be sure I could pass him. I was clear, however there was a car coming, so I planned to make it quick. As I got about even with him, I could hear the car downshift and speed up. "You're kidding right?" Instead of maybe gently braking, or most likely just taking his foot off the gas, the car speeds up to prove a point and swerves around me. All the while this is happening in a no passing zone (bikes should be treated as cars, too). And as we crest the top of the hill, a car is coming from the other direction and has to veer off the road in order to avoid being struck head on.

Maybe a bit of this was my fault, but I truly feel I had plenty of time to pass, and the fact that the driver sped up instead of maintaining his speed speaks for itself.

My last bit is about another driver as I was coming down the long steady downhill about 5 miles from finishing the ride. I was tucked down in aero, cranking away pretty well around 29-30mph with pretty light feet and a fast cadence. Being in a passing zone and there being no cars I could see ahead, I gave myself an extra foot of space to my right as the only shoulder was a few feet of gravel then a large ditch. Seeing as how there was so much room to get around me, and being in a passing zone, I figured I was safe. However, some hick thought otherwise. Instead of just passing me at whatever speed he likes (I could care less), he decides to be sure he's right on my rear wheel before moving into the other lane and as he's just to my side, blares on the horn and takes off. My question to him is, "What are you trying to prove?" Do you honestly think I'm in the wrong here? Are you showing off to your girlfriend that you have more horsepower than I do? Or are you just trying to make me crash? I always wonder where the cops are when things like this happen to cyclists. Scaring a cyclist while you're driving is about the worst idea out there. It's one thing to pass us closely, but we're used to that. I wanted to catch the guy and ask him how he would feel had I gone down and got my wheels wrapped up under his car, injuring or possibly killing me? You don't see people passing motorcycles and blaring their horns, so what makes a cyclist any different?

All of these incidents only further my credo when I go out riding: never trust anyone else out on the road. Don't assume anything. And least of all, don't assume anyone is looking out for you. Unless you're out with a group of good friends riding. But even then, they may make mistakes.

Get out there, have fun, be safe, and please be conscious of what is going on around you. If you're head isn't ready and in the right place before you clip in, pack it up and get on the trainer. Save the road for another day when you're mentally ready.

-Dave

Bonk Breakers

The new official bar of Ironman, Bonk Breaker Energy Bars, are out on shelves, but I'm not totally sure they're going to be taking off or not. Like a lot of energy bars and other training supplements, it comes down to the consumer, and what he or she can or cannot handle. Some time was spent, so it seems, at Bonk Breaker to get a good balance of all the essentials and the right amount of flavor.

I got my hands on both the Peanut Butter and Jelly and the Almond Butter and Honey. Both of which have good flavor. In a head to head comparison, my vote goes to good old fashioned Peanut Butter and Jelly. The Almond Butter and Honey was a bit dry and cakey. Something I don't want on a hot day out on the race course or training ride or run. The PB&J has a layer of jelly through the middle, so when you bite in you get a good taste of jelly in every bite to mix in just like a classic PB&J sandwich.

I used both of these flavors on separate occasions during a couple of two hour rides. In terms of energy absorption, I seemed to get my gears firing about 10-15 minutes after eating a bar. Pretty standard for me. My body always seems to grab energy quickly, and respond rather well. With the amount of carbs (35g), sodium (170mg), potassium (175mg), and protein (8g), It seems to be a great combo for an endurance bar. Something of a 4 to 1 ratio in carbs to protein.

Now, I generally don't have much GI distress, so I cannot tell you these won't get your stomach churning in an undesirable way, but you do need some water nearby to help get it down your gullet. Even the PB&J likes to hang around in your mouth for a bit. Even though it does taste great, nobody wants to be trying to fork out some chunks hanging out in their mouth with their tongue while they're cruising along at a heavy effort. It just makes life that much more difficult.

This isn't a bar that I'm ecstatic about, but it is good. If you can find a place that sells them individually, buy a couple and give them a try. They taste good, but I'm not sure they're going to make it in my arsenal of nutrition. One last thing is that the packages aren't that easy to open. I'm still looking for that golden food to take on the bike that opens in an instant and goes down easy. Until then, it's back to the drawing board, to keep testing what works best for me.

-Dave

A Week of Hell Training

Last week was a crazy week of training for me. Since I can't really run yet, the bike and swim are becoming my best friends, as well as enemies. I was a little out of my comfort zone, training while house-sitting for my sister since her family was on vacation. It was a welcome mini vacation for me, though. Since she actually lives closer to my work than I do. I found myself having more free time at night, and a bit more time to sleep in the morning. 

I put myself through a torture chamber on the bike during the week. I started off on Monday, doing a 2x20 workout, following along to Hell Hath No Fury, which grinds you for a full 75 minutes, including 2x20 minutes TT efforts as well as a 3:30 Team Time Trial to top it off. Full suffering here.

Next I went through The Hunted. This video is mainly built around a 20 minute climb, or another 20 minute strength TT effort. There's a very good warm-up leading in, with 6:30 easy, then a couple of 30 second sprints, and a 5 minute solo break away. But that is nothing compared to the 20 minute enduro climb/TT effort. After that you get a nice downhill for 4 minutes, then the kicker: 5 minutes of inverse intervals. You start off with a 10 second sprint, followed by 50 seconds of rest. Then 20 second sprint, 40 rest. All the way down to 50 seconds of sprint after 10 seconds of rest. Loads of fun!

On the third day, we rested. Not! I actually did take it a bit easier and did some small chain ring work for an hour in the morning, just watching a documentary on nutrition. Mostly working out the lactic acid and loosening up the muscles. However, each day I spent my lunch time at the gym, putting in at least 1600m Monday-Wednesday, and topped it off Thursday with a 4,000m reverse ladder. After a 200m warm-up, it goes like this: 1x500m (about half IM effort), 2x400m (1,000m effort), 3x300m (800m race effort), 4x200 (this is where it starts to hurt), 5x100 (anything left in the tanks, while still keeping form). I follow that up with a mix of strokes and distances to cool down and stretch.

That was it for Thursday, I didn't have much left for anything the rest of the day. But Friday, I put in another solid training day on the bike, following along with A Very Dark Place. Now, this video you need to be ready for. If you're not in the mood to put yourself through hell, don't bother starting this session. This is the day you chew your stem you're working so hard. It's not the longest workout, but it brings you to your knees, asking for the end (if you're doing it right). The goal in this session is to break through your VO2 max, and really push your limits. After a nice 5 minute warm-up and a few short sprints to wake your legs up, it's off to a series of 5x4:00 intervals. The basic goal here is to break yourself. I like these videos because they give you motivation and have good video timing so you can somewhat picture yourself chasing down the likes of Cancellara and the Schlecks. Each 4 minutes interval, you should be asking yourself, "how the hell can I possibly survive through another one?" And if you're not, you need to work harder. My favorite part is when your nearly through one of the intervals, probably looking down, chewing on your stem, they pop up a nice little reminder in the lower part of the screen: "If you're looking here, you're not going hard enough!" A friendly piece of advice that you truly have to suffer to get to that next level of fitness on the bike, to become the uber-biker you want to be. 

Finally, I wrapped up the weekend with two longer, easy rides to work on my base and some Z1 and Z2 efforts. Saturday morning was a nice 2 hour ride watching Hell on Wheels. And the same zones on Sunday, but for 3 hours. I put in some solid 5 minute efforts of climbing. Changing between sitting and standing with cadence between 70-80, but trying to keep my HR down. 

Another good week of training in the books. I think Monday is a good day to take a day off. But we'll see. 

-Dave

Orbea Ora

This past weekend I took some of my free time and got out riding. I didn't feel like equipping my bike to be fully ready for the road quite yet, as I still have the trainer wheel on the back and positioning set for on my trainer. So instead I opted to hop on my wife's Orbea Ora. 

This bike is fast. Well at least compared to the Alpha Aluminum on my Trek SL 100. The main reason behind that is two-fold. Reason number one, it's made of carbon. The stiffness and rigidity of the carbon on the bike make the Trek feel like I'm riding a rubber frame in comparison. The response I get when I torque down on the pedals is extraordinarily better. I can feel that all of my power is being transferred straight to the pavement. Instead of like on the Trek, I lose much if it in the side to side contortion of the frame flexing under my power and weight. 

Reason number two, it's made of carbon ( I know I said it twice). The carbon fiber frame (though not the highest density and top of the line like it's big brother the Ordu) is light. Very light. I don't know the exact weights by comparison. But, when I'm mashing up a hill on the Orbea, I can feel the bike push forward with every stroke of the pedal. On the other hand, with the Trek, I have to feel my way through each stroke, and it's a slow and steady surge instead of the instant impact I find on the Orbea.

Next, the components. The setup on the Orbea is mostly built with Shimano Ultegra parts, and a few FSA pieces in there as well. Mostly in the crank. Compared to the Shimano 105 and Sora parts on the Trek, it's like comparing a pair of wooden clogs to sprint spikes. The Ultegra components are super responsive and very light. Although the Orbea could use a tune up, the shifting and braking is leaps and bounds above the Trek. Which could also use a tune. Where is the time?!

Having taken the Orbea out over 100km over the past weekend, I got a great feel for how the bike handles in some pretty sever wind. With the stock wheels, another entry-level Shimano component, I didn't pick up much side wind. Had I had a deeper set of rims, there could have been a bigger issue. So that was a plus for not having the huge upgrade. My wife has a Cobb seat on the bike. It's pretty comfortable, but it's not as aggressive as I would like. When I want to get back on the saddle and in a nice low aero position, the seat is a bit too wide for that, so I end up creeping forward while I'm mashing away. But that's an easy fix were I to race on it. Just swap over my seat for hers and done. 

The bars are nice. But basic. I have the same Profile TT clip-ons on my bike, but having the TT handle bars as opposed to the drops of a road bike makes a difference. The width on the Orbea isn't quite there. I've got wide shoulders, and if it were my bike, I would upgrade ot a wider setup. Luckily my wife is about the same height as me, so the stack height and frame are nearly perfect when I jump on. 

Lastly, I like the adjustability of the bike. With two presets on the seat post that you can slide the saddle around on, the ability to get more aggressive and more relaxed is totally there. The bars have 3 spacers to adjust the stack height should you get more comfortable being lower and more aero, or if you're on a grueling 100+ mile ride, you can stack the bottom and get a more comfortable position to get more oxygen. 

Either way, the Orbea stacks up nicely as a whole. If I were to classify it, I would put it in the high end of an entry-level tri bike. It has tons of adjustability so you won't feel locked in to your position. And with quality components and the light and rigid carbon frame, you'll get all of the power out of the bike you can ask for as a newbie. The only thing I have noticed is that it seems that the frame builders didn't put too much emphasis on the aerodynamics of the frame. It seems to have more of a classic road bike build, compared to the tear drop shapes and aerodynamics of your typical high-end tri bike. 

When you're out comparing, I would put this bike on the level of probably the Cervelo P2 and the Canondale Slice (Chrissie Wellington's bike). Having done a little riding on both of those, and now the Orbea, it's a close call, but I think no matter what you pick, you'd be happy. Now get out riding while the getting is good!

Dave

It's March, and I am Sunburnt

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day to everyone! Hope everybody got some good green beers in and had a fun and safe weekend. I celebrated my weekend with a little unplanned training outside. Now, I still can't run, but in a week I can hopefully write about my first run since surgery. However, after taking my final exam for one of my Master's classes on Saturday morning and letting the morning storm roll through, I was able to get out and get in a ride. The weather was magnificent. A bit windy, but who can complain about a little wind when it's 70º and sunny? 

Saturday was a decent ride, I was able to get out and put in just under two hours of pretty solid riding. I was feeling good, and was able to push my knee a bit. It never felt weak or out of place. I got in a few half-hearted sprints, still not quite ready to push it all out, and spent some time in aero position. It was interesting to ride, because I decided to try out my wife's bike, which is an Orbea Ora. Now, she's about the same height as me, so I only had to do a few minor tweaks to get the bike to fit properly. I'll write up a good review about later this week. 

I was so ramped up and ready to ride all weekend. Every time I was out in my car driving, I saw people out biking. It's hard not to get excited to throw on your own cleats and hit the pavement. It was so great seeing so many people out getting at it in such beautiful weather. It gives me hope for everyone! Get outside!

Today I had a little more free time, so I took on a longer ride. Around 100km is the course I take to get up and around Lake Geneva, WI. I try to vary it up so I never hit the same roads every time. This time I was just taking my time, trying to avoid the wind. In the open cornfields of IL and southern WI, it's almost inevitable. So I had to buckle down and just push through it. 

The ride itself was beautiful. The temperature was hanging around 70º again, so I couldn't complain. The wind was at my back on the way up, so the first half was pretty fast. Once I'm around the lake, there's lots of up and down. The hills are tough, and they keep coming at you. You may think you can carry your speed down and around the corner, but you shoot right back up and the hill sucks all of your momentum out of your wheels, and it's back to grinding away. 

I was really happy to get this second ride in, until I hit about mile 50 or so. There's a long, open road I travel down that is unavoidable, and I was out of water. A few times I was almost at my breaking point. Nearly pulling it all in and calling for a ferry ride home. But I got to a point, about 8 miles from home or so, and I pulled off, remembering there's a hand pump right near the river. It was my little oasis in the middle of the desert. I pedaled over to the edge and jumped off my bike, pumped a few times, and was ecstatic to see the water spout out of the fountain. I washed my face quick and filled up my bottle, then hopped back on and headed home, with renewed spirit.

After getting home, I was so happy to be eating food and get my legs up in the air. Though this wasn't my longest ride, it may have been mentally my toughest. Running out of fuel is terrible, and the feeling of nearly bonking is no fun either. I was running on fumes, and was able to make it home. A cold shower and some good helping of Ultragen, and I was starting to feel my body coming back to life.

Hopefully our weather keeps like this for a while longer and doesn't get too hot too soon. But I won't hold my breath on it either way. It will probably snow this week. That's life near the windy city for you! Check out my post later this week on what I feel is great about the Orbea Ora.

-Dave

PreRace Capsule Review

Everyone has their secrets. Their go-to meal or supplements before a race. And for a while, many atheletes have been going for PreRace, in powder form. However, First Endurance did one better by offering up a more well-rounded approach to the same formula. PreRace in capsule form. Not only is PreRace in powder form not the greatest tasting, it's kind of cumbersome to worry about when to take how much when you're out on the course or out on a long training session. You need X amount of scoops for Y amount of water over Z amount of time if you weight between A-B lbs. If you're not great with numbers, the odds aren't in your favor for the powder form.

Enter PreRace in capsule form. The perfectly dosed amount in each capsule. Take X amount every two hours depending on tolerance and physical exertion and you are done. Generally for people who are heavier or less reactive to caffeine, 3 is the magic number. But if you are smaller, more reactive to caffeine 1 or 2 will be plenty.

Now I'm a bigger guy, and I like my coffee, so I started using 3 capsules right away. I've had some in my possession for about a week now and have put in a few training sessions with the capsule form. And I'll tell you, they're great. I think the best part about them is you don't get that over-stimulated feeling once things start flowing through your blood stream. It's a much better time-released formulation that truly does last around 2+ hours of training. Sunday I did a 2 hour ride on my trainer, going for a middle of the road effort. The goal with this ride was to get my base riding back up before I start slugging away at too much high effort riding.

About 20 minutes before I got on the bike, I popped 3 PreRace capsules and downed a banana and some chocolate milk and was ready to go. Taking about 15 minutes of low end faster pedal stroke work to warm up, I could feel I was ready to get at it. And once I started, there was no turning back. Throughout the whole 2-hour ride, I never once felt fatigue start kicking in, but my power and effort stayed constant. I never got jittery, but that could be due to my tolerance to caffeine. Every pedal stroke felt fluid and ready for more. I think you get where I'm going with this. I truly feel like PreRace is a great supplement. 

To add in another experience, I did the same workout in the pool (2,400m) of high intensity work, about 4 days apart. The first time through, sans PreRace, I was really pulling myself to the end of my 100m repeats towards the end. The second time around, identical session with PreRace, it was a different story. My recovery between sets was faster, and I was also ready for more. But time was against me and the work day was starting so I cut my workout, and was feeling good throughout the day.

However, I wouldn't reccommend making it part of your every day grab bag of exercise supplements. Like everything else out there, you wil become tolerant of it. So I feel it's best to leave PreRace strictly for race day and those days where you REALLY need that boost. Let's say you're doing a max effort or a long run or ride, that would be suitable. But for a 30 minute jog and stretch? Not so much. And also like most supplements out there, try it out in training a few times before even considering throwing it in your race day lineup. 

-Dave

Surgery Complete: Recovery Time

This morning was surgery day. This week felt like it was taking forever. I had a meeting with my doctor on Monday to schedule the surgery. All I wanted throughout this ordeal was to get in and get it done. I know it's not all for nothing, but all the training I had been doing leading up since the initial injury seemed like a waste of time. I'm the type of person who when there's a problem, I want to get it fixed. Quickly and accurately.

The doctors at Rush University Medical in Chicago are outstanding. My doctor has done multiple surgeries on some of Chicago's professional athletes, so I knew I was in good hands.

The good thing about having it done early in the morning is that you can't eat or drink anything for a long period of time. For me it was after midnight. So I was able to go to bed at a normal time and get up early. 4am early. Which is only 20 minutes earlier than normal days for me, but today was sans coffee. So it was a struggle to stay awake on the drive in.

The surgery isn't very invasive as it was done arthroscopically. There's three small dot holes and one incision about an inch long.

I elected to get the allograft (cadaver) as the recovery time is quicker than if I used some of my patella tendon. And there would be scarring.

Surgery took about an hour and a half and I was out like a light once I was slipped on to the operating table. I didn't even need to start counting. I woke up to a slight dull pain in my leg and had it wrapped up in an immobilized brace. The brace runs from my upper thigh down to just above the ankle. It has an adjustment along either side of my knee so I can change how far my knee is allowed to bend. It also locks at just about straight until I start.

Now on to recovery... According to the doctors and reading a few threads about acl injuries, I should be able to put full weight on the leg in a day or so and go without crutches. Then in 6-7 days, the brave can most likely come off. The most exciting part for me is the possibility of getting back in the bike for light training in 8-10 days. In a few weeks I can start some light work on the treadmill and then in about over a month probably some road running. I guess the lucky part for me is that I'm an endurance athlete mostly. The acl causes main concerns for cutting sports, like how I hurt it skiing. I'll news to be waiting a good 4 months most likely before I look at doing anything like that.

I guess all in all I'm much more optimistic about my recovery time than I initially was. I am planning to do a couple races later in the summer and fall, if the doctor clears me for it. It's going to be a long journey to get back to peak form, but now I've got new goals to achieve and a strategic approach to getting there. And it all starts with my physical therapy. Right now it's simple leg raises and toe extensions and flexion. I'll slowly work into range of motion and go
from there getting back into light training. So stay tuned to see how things go.

-Dave

Running the Sahara

There's something about inspiring stories. Whether they encourage you to go above and beyond what you think you can do, or just give you a new perspective on humanity, they change you. Yesterday I took the time to watch the documentary about a group of three men who decided to take on the challenge of running across the Sahara Desert, and end up in the Red Sea. 

A friend of mine suggested this a while back, and I finally got around to watching it while I was on the trainer yesterday. I was able to find it on Netflix and spent just under two hours riding and becoming inspired. The movie didn't inspire me to go running through some exotic locations, but it gave me a different perspective on what and why endurance athletes do what they do.

"Endurance athletes are running away from something inside of themselves, and that's one of the reasons they do what they do." -Lance Armstrong

I think this quote rings true about these three men, and of so many endurance athletes that are always looking for more. Whether it be getting faster, or going further. Two of these men battled to get away from a partying lifestyle with alcohol and drugs. And I think that's such a key point to nail down on so many endurance junkies. It's an addiction. 

I've been pondering on this point for a while now, and have come to the realization that this is 100% true. Whether I'm on the bike, running, swimming, or even when I would be out skiing, I never want it to end. The euphoria that comes to a junkie while they're training is indescribable to anyone that hasn't experienced it. And the guys in this film all have the bug.

For me, the part of the film that was most inspiring was when Kevin Lin, an elite athlete, was on the brink of giving up. He, a well-known and celebrated marathoner in Taiwan, came ever so close to leaving the expedition. That was a shock to me, then watching the two other average guys, having to talk the elite runner back into the journey. Kevin was ready to pack it up and go home, when faced with the realization of the dangers that lie ahead if they weren't granted access into Libya. Both Ray and Charlie were able to talk Kevin back into running, and finishing the journey with them. And I think the key point was Charlie telling Kevin to think about the amount of regret he would be faced with if he dropped out of the race. This was the moment that really brought the group together, and solidified them as a family, more than just a group of friends. This was their journey.

Watching these three men go through so many emotions. On the brink of giving up, losing hope, being away from loved ones for over a hundred days, they somehow made it through. They weren't running fast, but the sheer amount of miles they put in was truly mind-boggling. On average they were going through two marathons a day, day after day after day. For some people, one marathon is enough. But for these three, the Sahara was their goal, and they conquered it.

In the end, I think Ray summed up the psyche the three of them shared, and something that every endurance athlete should ask themselves. You need to ask yourself what your goals are. If you put parameters and limits on what you can achieve, that's all you can do. If you're only going to run a 5k or 10k, that's all you'll do. The mind is so powerful. Yes, you do have physical limitations, but the key contributor to what you can achieve is truly all mental. These three guys set their sights high, and almost didn't believe in themselves. But between them, they were able to stomach up enough mental strength to keep going, keep pushing and accomplish their goal.

So when you're out training and setting goals for the coming season and thinking about what you can and can't do, just remember that what you can accomplish is mostly in your mind. If you believe you can do it, you can. Put your plan in motion and execute, and eventually you'll get there.

-Dave