Category Archives: Bike Beginner

PLANNING IS EVERYTHING by John Post,MD

Planning is Everything, Really

Plan to Stay Injury Free

This is the IM finish line in Kona the morning after. Sure it’s the stuff of dreams and many successes. History notes about a 93% completion rate. But what about those who failed, or failed at some other race, even the local sprint tri back home? Was there a lack of planning at some stage?

“Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” What did you forget? And don’t say nothing. At one point we’ve all omitted one thing or another. In a previous post, I somewhat sheepishly admitted leaving my bike shoes home for one of my “A” races, an event in which I’d won the age group the year before. Needless to say I did not repeat!

This is the time of year that the conscientious triathlete not only begins to dream of the potential for the upcoming racing season but starts to develop a series of goals and a road map to get there. This could be something as complete as a computer generated Annual Training Plan where the entire schedule, division of swims, bikes, runs, rest days, the works, are populated. Or, it could be sitting down with the local swimming guru if this is your weakest sport, your limiter so to speak, and getting his/her hands on expertise at incorporating the best combination of workouts, drills, indoor and outdoor swims to put you at the greatest advantage come race day.

Since these posts are about minimizing injury, this time of year would also be ideal to plan ones training stress, training volume – the amount of work you plan. This is the slope of the effort line from now till the first race that not only gets you prepared, it does so in a very gradually increasing fashion, to minimize the potential for Achilles tendinitis, IT band problems, stress fractures, etc. Determining the cause of a triathlon related injury can be a real challenge as we seldom see ourselves from the outside. And, I don’t think that this is intentional, it’s just human nature. I’ve talked about injuries with thousands of athletes and it takes patience and specifics to get to the root cause of an overuse injury some times. Weakness or failure can be a hard thing to own up to in our chosen sport. Right?

I firmly believe that much of the misery, lost training time, races missed, etc. could be avoided if each athlete took the time to plot out the whole year with this in mind. It would sure make my life easier in the office, and life happier for many athletes. I’d like you wish you a Happy (and Injury Free) New Year!

John Post, MD

www.johnpostmdsblog.blogspot.com (Peeing on a Moving Bike)

STRESS FRACTURE, EH? PART TWO by John Post, MD

Stress
Fracture, Eh? Part Two

This is Ironman Week here in Kona as the sleepy fishing village and
occasional port for cruise ships turns into Triathlon Central. There are
people everywhere, fit people, running and biking up and down Alii Drive.
I hadn’t been here an hour before seeing Norman Stadler and Chrissie
Wellington. Good luck to them both on Saturday! It’s going to be a
fun week.

“Dig Me” Beach, a term I heard
credited to Scott Tinley, is seen here, soon to be clogged with
swimmers trying to get used to the change from simply following the
line on the bottom of the pool to the gentle waves and salt water of
the Pacific in Kailua Bay.

But the athlete with an injury like a stress fracture is
sitting home, an opportunity missed. I covered the basics of stress fractures
here 1/15. That these are in the category of overuse injuries where the
muscular envelope of the lower extremity becomes fatigued and the skeleton
is unable to adapt to the increased load.

The bone fractures as it is unprepared for the intensity of exercise delivered.
This might be advancing one’s training program
too quickly, changing from the relative forgiveness of the running track to
asphalt or concrete, aged or improper equipment or increasing exercise duration
as a tennis player with a substantial increase in court time.

There are 26 bones in the foot and most likely all of them have been subject
to a stress fracture at one time or another. They are frequently seen in the
other bones of the lower extremity when insufficient rest is included between
workouts. People taking Prednisone, Dilantin and other medications are at
increased risk. Women have more than men.

The predisposing symptom is pain, not so much at
rest, but brought on by exercise and it worsens. Although occasionally
visible as a crack in the bone on x-ray, frequently these films will be
negative. If the examiner finds point tenderness over a bone and a stress
fracture is suspected, an advanced study like an MRI, or more likely a bone
scan, will be order. (This is not to be confused with the DXA, the bone scan
used to measure osteoporosis, predominantly in women.)

If diagnosed, the order of the day will be rest.
This can be up to 6-8 weeks, some will be placed on crutches or given a fracture
boot, but if one returns to sport before it heals, chronic difficulties can
follow making healing a challenge. Triathletes might be shifted to pool running
and biking so as not to lose excessive fitness.

So, if you have recurring pain in the same location, and think this may
potentially describe you, get it checked out, you’ll be glad you did.

John Post, MD Kona Resident 10/1-9
www.johnpostmdsblog.blogspot.com

CARRYING ID ON YOUR BIKE by John Post, MD

Plea For Carrying ID When You Ride

I’ve written before about the need to have some form of rapid ID on you when

you’re biking. Sadly, this article makes that point.

________Bicyclist Killed By Car ID’d

Father Of James Madison University Frosh Was On Way To Surprise Son

By Pete DeLea and Jeremy Hunt

HARRISONBURG –
Joseph V. Mirenda left Wintergreen on his bicycle Tuesday morning bound for
Harrisonburg. He was going to stop by and surprise his son, a freshman at
James Madison University, but Mirenda didn’t make it to the end of the 50-mile
trek. On Wednesday, police identified Mirenda, 49, of Virginia Beach, as
the victim in Tuesday’s fatal crash in Rockingham County.

Around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, emergency personnel were dispatched to Port Republic Road,
about a mile east of Cross Keys Road, where they found the cyclist lying in the
ditch. Mirenda was riding west on Port Republic Road when he was struck
by a westbound 2000 Ford Taurus driven by Jessica Chandler, according to the
Virginia State Police.

No charges were filed as of press time Wednesday,
but investigators obtained a search warrant for the driver’s cell phone
records. First Sgt. Bryan Hutcheson with the state police said
investigators will be looking into whether Chandler, 22, of Port Republic, was
talking on her cell phone or texting in the moments before the crash
occurred.

“We don’t want to leave any stones unturned,” Hutcheson said.

Although the Daily-News Record has confirmed a search warrant was
issued in the case, the document remains sealed by court order at the Rockingham
County Circuit Court. Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to piece
together exactly how the crash happened.

They had spent Tuesday and most
of Wednesday trying to determine the name of the cyclist, who had no
identification on him.

State police caught a break in the investigation Wednesday afternoon when they
received a call from the Wintergreen Police Department.

A Virginia Beach woman contacted the department and said she
couldn’t reach her husband, who was staying at the family’s home in Wintergreen,
Hutcheson explained.

The wife mentioned he may have gone on a bicycle ride.

Wintergreen officers recalled seeing a man riding a bicycle there
Tuesday morning, and he matched the description of the then-unidentified cyclist
killed in Tuesday’s crash.

The state police and Wintergreen officers then
confirmed the man’s identity based on an inscription on a wedding band he was
wearing.

It said “Frauke & Joe” with the date 9-24-88 on
it.

Contact Pete DeLea at 574-6278 or
[email protected]
______________________________________________________

When
I put this up on one of the Tri web site forums, I received a number of cleaver
answers where some people carry there drivers license, a business card, their
cell phone, etc. One athlete has all his vitals written inside his helmet. But
is seems that many simply have identifying data on a card in a plastic bag in a
fanny pack, bike saddle tool kit, etc. Please make the effort. Do it today!

John Post, MD
www.johnpostmdsblog.blogspot.com

SUMMER’S FADING by John Post, MD

Summer’s Fading

“There
was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place,
There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile lit Casey’s face,
And when, responding to cheers,
he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt t’was Casey
at the bat.”

While the racing season is over for some, many
others are just hitting their stride, and like Casey, optimistically and
confidently are looking forward to their final “A” race of the season.

We
get spoiled being able to bike at 5:30 am in the summer with simply a singlet in
the early dawn. But as August becomes September, the sun stays in bed another
hour and retires and hour earlier. We have a tendency to get caught out after
dark and the first time we hit our headlight switch…with last Spring’s
batteries, all too often we’re headed home in the dark and not only can we not
see, we cannot be seen. I think I use the strobe function on my headlight more
than the simple light. So why not take some Sunday afternoon time and check all
those batteries, look for your orange reflective vest and flashlight for those
pre-dawn runs, and don’t get caught in the dark. Take a minute to look through
your bike saddle bag/fanny pack at your ability to provide first aid. I know as
a physician you’d expect me to carry more (I’m always equipped with band aids,
Tylenol, Benadryl, Bacitracin, Ibuprofen, cell phone, etc.) you don’t want to be
surprised if the ride presents a challenge. Don’t the Boy Scouts promote the
motto BE PREPARED?

In our county here in Virginia, school starts on
Tuesday, so the buses will be back on the roads frustrating drivers. Watch that
they don’t take their frustration out on you as it may take some common sense
route changes to ensure you stay out of harms way.

It’s been a bad day at Black Rock. I try to preach safety above almost all else and we’ve had a bad streak. The owner of my LBS was hit by a car on a quiet country road incurring a spine fracture which required hospitalization but not surgery. Then another of our group had his handlebars loosen after hitting a particularly deep pothole….hip fracture with surgery and screws. Near the sight of his accident, at almost the same time, another biker crashed fracturing his neck leading to surgery and plating.

Less fortunate was a gent riding his bike from our area to visit his daughter at a nearby college when he was struck and killed by a motor vehicle. Cell phone records of the driver have been subpoenaed as authorities think this may have contributed to driver inattention. But he’s still dead.

So, although the racing season has finished for many of us, significant biking challenges and work outs lay ahead. Please don’t let your guard down, ride like they’re out to get you – maybe they are -and take that extra minute to make sure everything…everything is 100% on the bike without taking a short cut. You could end up on this blog, and that’d be a bad thing. Have a conversation with your bike. Today and every day.

Best of luck to everyone in that final summer/fall race.

I have a blog up now that might be of interest. What happens when age or injury
forces you the conclude your triathlon career.
www.johnpostmdsblog.blogspot.com

REDUCING INJURY POTENTIAL THROUGH “DATING” by John Post, MD

Know
Your Stuff

YIKES,
it’s on the inside too!

“Don’t mistake activity
for achievement.” John Wooden

It’s been
stated before that preventing an injury is usually preferable to treating one. For any kind of accidents and injuries, the lawyers from Hale Law, P.A. can help with your accident can help you!
My oldest son Chris is a superb runner…won the local 5K last week going away
in 16 and change…and it didn’t look all that hard for him. I’m not certain if
I fell off a cliff I’d go that fast. He works at Ragged Mountain Running Shoes,
a one owner shop for over 25 years. This store is a fantastic resource for the
area athletes as owner Mark Lorenzoni has seen EVERYTHING that can go wrong with
an athlete, and frequently diagnose and fix the problem on the spot. Every
community should be so lucky to have someone like Mark. If people want to check accident related information, they can click here to check a wrongful death law firm!

One important
lesson I’ve learned from Mark is to date everything. Do you know exactly when
you purchased your most recent pair of running shoes? The last chain for your
bike? Your tires? By dating/recording the purchase, you have a better idea of
the products longevity and are less likely to have an on the road failure or
injury. If uou hire injury and accident attorneys, you can read this to learn why and get to know the advantages of the same! I practice this religiously and have had six 112 mile rides on the Queen
K, all without bike related failure. (But don’t ask me how my butt feels when I
dismount.) If people have to know how to recover from the traumatic injury, they can check the lawyers’ advice from this firm. It is also advised to consult an attorney from the car accident law firm in Riverside to get compensation for the injury and damage caused.

So, why not take a Sharpie and put the date of purchase on the
sides of your new tires and the tongue of your running shoes? Add the date of a
new saddle or chain purchase to your training log and if you ride more than one
bike specify which ride got the new chain…and whether or not a new cog was
part of the deal. You’ll be ever so glad you
did.

IT BAND FRICTION SYNDROME by JOHN POST, MD

Simple
Solutions For ITBS (Iliotibial Band Syndrome)

“If
God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, then
triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.” P.Z. Pearce,
MD

The IT Band: The band itself runs from it’s insertion
behind the hip down the outside of the femur and knee cap to an attachment
outside the patella tendon. It is usually a tight, one inch wide tendon that can
be seen on the knee when your leg is locked.
Symptoms: A
sharp pain that radiates from above and outside the knee into the quadriceps
and/or in the hip. It can be aggravated when running up or down hills or when
going up/down stairs after a run. Frequently it hurts after the first 15 minutes
or so and doesn’t go away.
Causes: This can be seen in
those who’s bike seat is too high or there’s some type of instability in the
gait cycle and leg is no longer in neutral. You’ll see it in those who use old
or improper shoes. If the shoe is not supportive, it can lead to overpronation
stretching the IT band causing a painful rubbing across the femur. Some get
these symptoms from bowed legs, the crown in the road,
etc. In Andy Pruitt’s Complete Medical Guide For Cyclists, he notes that “too
much riding too soon can cause this problem. IT problems rarely happen after
a period of base mileage.”
Solutions: For runners, it is essential to match the
shoe to the runner to allow proper leg alignment. Check your saddle height. Many
will ask for a cessation from running/biking until the pain dissipates.
Check that your feet aren’t too close together while riding.
Stretching the IT band, especially after runs is key. Don’t forget the quads,
hams and calves. Massage using a foam roller can be of benefit – but be brief
and don’t spend too much time on the actual point of pain. Morning runners/bikers may
want to apply “Warm FX” to the IT band. It acts like Icy Hot and allows more
oxygen to flow to the muscles and in turn they loosen up faster. I’ve also had
some patients experience excellent success with ice massage after their run/ride.

If unsuccessful, then maybe a visit to your local runners doc may be in order. Good
luck.

John Post, MD

Does It Pay To Go Easy On The Bike During A Half-Ironman?

*full Half Ironman course gear and nutrition recommendations below this story

I admit it.

I’m a pretty proud guy and I like to pass people on my bicycle.

Especially during Half-Ironman triathlons, I get a huge rush chasing my competitors down like hunted rabbits and blowing by them. Many times, I’ll even sneak up within a few meters, chomp down a GU to get my crazy sugar high, then blast myself to extremely high heart rates just to demoralize whoever I’m passing. Eat my dust, homey.

And in the past, that strategy has served me fairly well.

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not cycling my Half-Ironman bike split at an all-out 100% red-hot intensity, but in most of my Half-Ironman triathlons, I traditionally push myself very hard on the bike, respond to my competitors when they pass me by re-passing them and trying to leave them behind, and usually record one of the fastest amateur bike splits…

…then hold on for dear life on the run as my battered and slightly rubbery legs whimper from their Herculean effort on the bike.

But could I be cycling *too* hard?

Could I perhaps run faster or place higher by bicycling easier during a Half-Ironman, or “staying within my limits”?

Granted, I am a case study of just one, but I tried this different bike pacing strategy out in the recent Wildflower long course triathlon – a race at which I was also attempting to qualify for the ITU Long Course World Championships.

In other words, during the bike portion of Wildflower, I didn’t look at any “numbers on calves” and didn’t try to “ride down” other triathletes. I just checked my pride at the starting line, played the game within my physical boundaries, rode a conservatively aggressive pace, and never let my legs get that rubbery, intense burn I’ve gotten at all my other Half-Ironman triathlons.

Even on “Heartbreak Hill”, the notoriously killer part of the Wildflower course, I never let myself get to the point where I was “sucking air”, which I usually do during big grades or steep hills on Half-Ironman bike courses.
‘
So it turned out that racing with this style (in atypically windy conditions), my bike split was nearly 9 minutes slower than previous years at Wildflower – or about 1.1 miles per hour slower over 56 miles. By comparing a handful of other competitors’ bike splits from previous years with their bike splits this year, it appears the wind was probably responsible for about 2-3 of those minutes – and my conservative pacing was responsible for the rest.

And what happened?

I proceeded to have the “run of my life” at Wildflower, and probably one of the best half-marathon performances I’ve ever put in during a Half-Ironman triathlon. My legs were turning over at a much higher cadence, I tackled every hill with much greater confidence, and I was only passed once. You’ll notice in most of the clips in the video below that I appear to be running strong.

But at the end of the day, that “fantastic” run was only about 2-3 minutes faster than what I typically run on the Wildflower long course. Granted, that’s 120% faster pace per mile on the run compared to previous years, but…

By bicycling easy, I lost 6-7 minutes on the bike, and only gained 2-3 of those minutes back by having a “better” run.

So here’s the lesson:

During a Half-Ironman triathlon, err on the side of bicycling too aggressively, and pay closer attention to your competitors – allowing their moves to dictate your pace, especially if you’re trying to podium.

As it turns out, I *did* podium, placing in the top 1% of the field, getting 4th place in my age group and also qualifying for the ITU World Championships.

But I guarantee that in Hawaii, I’ll be biking harder. ;)

Wildflower Long Course Triathlon Gear:

Race Kit: Champ-Sys One Piece Custom Triathlon Suit
Wetsuit: Blue Seventy Helix
Bike: Gray Storm TT
Helmet: Gray Aero Helmet
Wheels: Gray 9.5 Carbon Clinchers with Latex Tubes
Components: SRAM Red, SRAM return to position levers, SRAM Quarq crank
Seat: Adamo ISM Road Saddle
Bike Shoes: Specialized Trivent
Running Shoes: K-Swiss Kwicky Blade
Sunglasses: Zeal Slingshots
Fuel Belt: NEW! Using a Spi-Belt, love it. Highly recommend.

Wildflower Long Course Triathlon Nutrition:

3 days leading up to race: 2-3 nuun tablets per day for increased electrolyte intake

2 hours before race: 2 scoops LivingFuel SuperGreens with 1 teaspoon Enerprime, 1 scoop CapraColostrum, 1 banana and 1 teaspoon peanut butter

30 minutes before race: 3 Millennium Sports CreO2, 6 Millennium Sports Carnage, 1 Nutrarev, 1 Energy28 and 1 delta-E, 20 Sprays Magnetic Oil
5 minutes before race: 1 GU Roctane
Every 20 minutes on bike: 1 GU Roctane
Every 30 minutes during entire race: 2 Millennium Sports Athlytes
End of each hour on bike: 4 GU Chomps
Every 3 miles on run: 1 GU Roctane (from a Spi-Belt)
Post-Race: 8 Recoverease

Creating Key Cycling Workouts With a Power Meter

In creating a plan for season, identifying your goal races is the first step. From there, you need to plan for proper base, build, taper and peak phases. Of these phases, the base and build are the most critical. 10 to 6 weeks out from your A priority race is a very crucial time in your training. It is the point where you start to transition from a base phase into a build phase. The base phase is spent getting in miles at a more aerobic effort and gaining endurance. In the build phase you introduce more time in the tempo and functional threshold zones. Being able to accurately monitor your time in these zones is crucial. That is where your power meter comes in to play.

First you need to perform a test to determine your power zones. I prefer the CP 12, or Critical Power 12 test. It is basically a 12 minute steady time trial that will give you CP values for several intervals from 5 seconds to 1 hour. From that data you can determine what your recovery, endurance, tempo, LT, VO2 max and anaerobic capacity power zones are. Make sure the test is repeatable as you will want to re-test yourself every 4 to 6 weeks to see your gains and adjust your zones accordingly. Armed with that data you can start to dial in each bike workout to ensure you are in the right zones for the right amount of time. From the CP 12 we can extrapolate the power training zones.

Let?s start with the long course athletes first. 10 weeks out from a long course event, half ironman or longer, you need to be getting longer miles on the bike. Your weekend ride for a half should be 60-75 miles, and for an IM, 80-100 miles or more is needed. The key here is that there is some, but not much intensity. You can use your power meter to monitor the intensity of your ride by noting the IF, or Intensity Factor, during the ride. That number should be around .65 to .75 for a base oriented ride. That number means that you were basically at 65 to 75 % of your threshold, which is what you want for a base oriented ride. During that ride you can still throw in some steady intervals, but the overall ride needs to be relatively moderate. These rides are fairly basic in that you want to stay steady and put most of your time in at your endurance wattage zone. You can throw in some 10-20 minute sections at a tempo wattage, but no more than 20% of your total ride time should be in that zone.

As you move into the build phase about 8 weeks out, you need to start incorporating more intensity into your rides, including your long ride of the week. Again, use the IF number to moderate where you are. At this point you want to start seeing some .75 to .85 IF numbers. To do this, add in periods of 30 to 60 minutes of riding at differing wattages. An example would be riding 30? warm up at your recovery wattage, then move to 40? at your endurance wattage, 20? at your tempo wattage, 30? at endurance wattage, 20? at tempo done with a lower cadence, then do 2 x 15? at LT wattage with 10? at recovery wattage between, finish the ride with 30-60? at endurance watts to give you a 3:30 to 4 hour ride.

For short course athletes the same principles apply, the numbers just need to be adjusted. Your long base oriented miles will be shorter, but a bit more intense. Short course athletes should see an IF of .7 to .8 on their longer rides. These rides really need to be 50-60 miles. Again, you can spend some time pushing the watts up, but you don?t need to see your LT wattage during this type of ride.

Getting closer to the race you need to simulate the high intensity demands of a hard 40k time trial. Approximately 8 weeks out from your goal race start to add in hard intervals that will teach your body how to deal with the physiological demands of these shorter but intense races. During this phase your IF number should be higher during these rides with .85 to .95 being a good range. A good ride might look like this 20 minute warm up at recovery wattage, then 4 x 2 minutes at VO2 max wattage with 3 minute at recovery wattage between, 15 minutes at endurance wattage, 2 x 20 minutes at tempo wattage with 10 minutes at endurance wattage between, 10 minutes at recovery wattage, 2 x 10 minute at LT with 4 minutea at recovery wattage, add in endurance or recovery watts and you have a hard 2:30 bike ride that incorporates tempo, LT and endurance. You can also do a ride as simple as warm up for 20 minutes then do 2×10 minutes at LT wattage with 3 minutes recovery and a short cool down to get an effective ride in about an hour.

A quick review, start with a power test that you feel comfortable with and determine your recovery, endurance, tempo, LT and VO2 max power zones. Then check your calendar and determine how many weeks out you are from your A priority race. As you are nearing the end of your base phase you still want to get in the longer miles, but start to test the higher end wattages a little. Monitor your intensity by checking the IF number. Long course athletes should see a .6 to .75 while short course athletes want it a little higher at .7 to .85. Moving closer to the race, you start to add what would be considered race wattage in to the program. Long course athletes should do so with longer periods spent at tempo and some LT, while short course should spend shorter amounts of time up in the LT and VO2 max zone.

You have an awesome tool at your disposal in the power meter. Take the time to learn all of its functions so you can unlock its full potential. In doing so, you will help yourself reach your full potential. Power UP!

Coach AJ Johnson http://www.D3Multisport.com

Pre Race For Olympic and Sprint Distance Triathlons

When racing the shorter distance triathlons, proper transition set-up and warm-up are essential to having a successful race. Just by following the few simple steps below, you can have a more successful and enjoyable race.

Continue reading →