Ask any elite triathlete or runner about some of their most effective workouts and it’s highly likely that so-called “over-under” workouts will come up fairly quickly because they are devastatingly effective. I’ve always performed miserably at these workouts but I’ve recently found a new way to hit them pretty precisely. This post shares what I learned. Continue reading
Product Reviews
USAT Duathlon National Championship (Bend, Oregon) – A Race Report and Lessons Learned
This wasn’t my greatest race result by a long shot, but it was the result that I deserved. As I mentioned in my last post, my body has been a house of cards this year. Maybe a teetering stack of Jenga blocks is a better metaphor with each race being like pulling out another supportive block from the bottom. Any way you look at it, I’m frail this year; one tiny mistake and everything comes toppling down. That happened in Avilés when my back went out and boy did it cost me. This time everything held up—consequently, Nationals were definitely easier and faster than Avilés even though it was at about 3,500 feet of altitude. But I was also definitely racing well within my already compromised limits.
I’m going to write this race report a little differently because I don’t want to focus as much on the actual race as much as what I’ve learned from doing the race and what I’m doing about it. Even though I’m not in ideal shape, I am excited and I have a plan. Also towards the end, I’ll mention some of the longer term challenges that affected both this race and Avilés—as well as what I’ve learned from going through this darker period. So let’s dig right in! Continue reading
An Idiot’s Guide to Using a Muscle Oxygen Sensor
For the last few weeks, I have been utterly geeking out on using my BSX Insight Generation 2 muscle oxygen sensor. If you’ve been following the buzz about muscle oxygenation, you’ll notice people talking about how this device will revolutionize sports training because it delivers what heart rate monitoring never could– an objective view into our bodies to see how we are responding to exercise stress. But it’s awfully complicated getting simple answers. This post pulls together a bunch of hours of crawling different websites and watching countless videos on muscle oxygenation. Continue reading
Some Early Thoughts: Stryd on a Treadmill
I’ve had a few runs using my Stryd but this was the first one on a treadmill. Here’s my experience– and some ideas about how to use it to improve my running while making indoor running more bearable. Continue reading
Lots of Data for 2016!
I’m still putting together my race report for the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Adelaide, Australia. While I was away, however, UPS and the post man dropped off a ton of high-tech goodies. Many of these were Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects from up to a year ago– they just all came to market at the same time. This leaves me in a bit of data overload– but it should be awesome. Here’s what I’ve got cooking. Continue reading
Recovery Showdown: R8 Roll Recovery vs Hyperice Vyper
Here’s my review of two awesome recovery products– the R8 by Roll Recovery and the Vyper vibrating foam roller by Hyperice. If you’re serious about recovery, this post may help you decide which product is right for you. Sadly, I could keep only one. Continue reading
How I Travel with my Bike
I travel with my bike… a lot. Well not as much as a professional cyclist. But for an everyday age-group athlete, it’s a lot of traveling with my bike. Most of the folks I talk to are petrified about damaging their bikes but I’ve had hardly any issues in the hundreds of thousands of miles that I’ve flown with my bike. Here is a quick review of how I do it.
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Product Review: Omnium Bike Trainer
This is a product review of a super-portable bike trainer that really works. Its called an Omnium bike trainer. It folds up small, can fit in a carry-on bag (although you’ll probably want to check it), and can go just about anywhere. Mine has been around the globe and goes with me every time I take a bike. Here’s a quick review– and why you should get one soon. Continue reading
Thoughts on the Stryd Running Power Meter
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last month or so, you have no doubt heard about the upcoming Stryd running power meter. As far as I can tell, DC Rainmaker was the first to do a review of the unit. Since then, more and more publications have been talking about it. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a power meter for running and here are my thoughts on it. Continue reading
Thinking About a Moxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor
I was recently telling my physical therapist that my BSX Insight had shipped and that I was excited to be doing tests of my lactate threshold– and his coworker asked me if it was the same as the Moxy muscle oxygen sensor. I told him that, while they both look at blood oxygen, they get different data– the Moxy is a realtime measurement device while the BSX Insight uses a test to find a single number (the ever-critical lactate threshold). Apparently, a rival team to mine across town uses the Moxy extensively. Then this weekend another friend pointed me to Richard Wharton’s blog outlining how he uses the Moxy and I was just blown away. I may have to start saving my pennies to pick up one of these things. Continue reading
The Athletic Time Machine 
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