I started this post while I was sick with an awful chest cold. It was so bad that I had to pull out of USAT Duathlon Nationals– so much for a trip to the World Championship in Spain next year! But that also means I had a few moments to focus on blog posts– and, in this case, product reviews. While I’m always tinkering with lots of different products and ideas, not many of them actually “stick” and really show promise. The ones that don’t make the cut rarely get a word from me and only a few of the promising ones get a review. This is one of those few products. Continue reading
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Using the Humon Muscle Oxygen Sensor
I just got back from my busiest conference of the year in San Diego. While I was there, I had a chance to put together some of my thoughts on the new Humon Muscle Oxygen Sensor and how it plays a valuable role in my training. Continue reading
Playing with Xert– Part 1
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been playing with Baron Biosystem’s Xert for the last few months. It’s an interested and amazing product that fits part of my 2018 training schedule. I’m breaking this post into three bite-size parts. First, I’ll talk about why Xert is such an amazing product. Next, I’ll discuss how to use the Xert ConnectIQ Player, which is the most effective (but evil) realtime coach you could ever have. Finally, I’ll share my thoughts about how to integrate running and cycling into Xert.
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Running and Grieving
For the last ten months, I have been dealing with anticipatory grieving– and using my running to help me cope. I’m not a psychologist and I can only talk about my personal experiences and thoughts on the subject. Continue reading
A Long Time Away…
Yesterday, my cat Rudy passed away from congestive heart failure (CHF). During the ten months that we struggled with his condition, I’ve been virtually silent on The Athletic Time Machine. Every extra bit of my emotional energy that I could have spent on this site during this time was spent instead on Rudy’s care. While CHF is a terrible degenerative disease that most of us never think about, I’ve learned far too much about it in cats. In fact, I’ve started a blog for other pet owners who facing CHF. I wouldn’t wish CHF on anyone– or their pets. And while I’m posting there, I also hope to be posting a lot more content here as well.
Race Report: Spring Classic Duathlon (Race 3 of 2016)
This is a quick race report for the 2016 Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland, Oregon. Continue reading
Periodization to Varied Training
In my last race report, I hinted that I would be elaborating on some of my recent training ideas. This isn’t exactly a new idea for me– it’s just particularly acute for me this time of year. Add to that a suggestion from a friend, a recent post by Joe Friel, and my desire to simplify my training routine and voilà, I have the foundation for a new training regimen. I can’t quite say that this is the best training philosophy ever, but it is the one that will be guiding my training for 2016. Read on if you would like to shake things up a bit as well. Continue reading
Why Nitroglycerin Patches are a Permanent Part of My First Aid Kit
No I’m not having a heart attack. Not even a stroke. But I am religiously using nitroglycerin patches for some of my sports injuries. If you find yourself with connective tissue pain from running and cycling (who doesn’t?), you may want to ask your doctor about this simple but very effective solution. Continue reading
A Quick Update on Polarized Training
Now that race season is coming around, I thought it might be the right time to write a quick update on polarized training. Admittedly, the idea wasn’t exactly mine– a reader named Larry asked me about it on Facebook. But I thought it’s good information to share with everyone, especially now that it’s changing a tiny bit to get ready for race season. Continue reading
How to Make Long Intervals Bearable
Recently, I posted about how I have been gradually focusing on longer intervals– combining the funnel periodization ideas of Steve Magness with the above-lactate-threshold ideas of polarized training identified by Stephen Seiler. This means lots of longer intervals at very high intensity. In a race, of course, this would come naturally. But in training, it’s hard to get the brain to accept the idea of running this fast for this long– unless you fool it. That’s what this short post is all about. Continue reading
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