Category Archives: Articles

Rock Star Triathlete Articles

Why I Also Almost Died During the 2012 New York City Ironman Triathlon

The following is an article written by Andrea Himmel. Andrea almost died from a condition called swimming induced pulmonary edema (SIPE). It dose a good job of shinning some light on a condition that looks to be the reasons for deaths in the swim of triathlon. Here is Andreas story

I wanted to share something about the man who died during the latest Ironman US Championships in New York City, and my personal experience with the same medical condition he suffered from during the race.

After a year of training and focusing my life on this race, I had to pull out around mile 56 of the bike ride. I had developed what I learned was a swimming induced pulmonary edema (SIPE), a form of high output heart failure.

Now, we hear from people involved in the Ironman medical circles that the man who died after the swim likely died from SIPE. Luckily, mine didn’t get to that point because I pulled out. But, from what I understand, it doesn’t take much at all to get from where I was to it being fatal. He was a 2.5 hr marathoner and extremely fit. (I note to you there’s no way of knowing for sure how he died, but consensus among the medical folks is this is the most likely cause.)
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Road to Kona: Picking the Right Course

We are hitting the start of ironman season now in the northern hemisphere and this is an important time for athletes looking at qualifying for Kona in the next season: not only does following the races provide a chance to see what sort of performance is required in your age group at the various events, the days – or even hours – immediately after can also be the only opportunity to enter them for the next year as registration comes online and sells out fast.
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Resistance Training = SPEED!

Resistance training has for the most part been linked to people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dolf Lundgren. Some have linked it to rehabilitation of an injury yet a miniscule number link it to improved performance. Continue reading →

It’s World Championship Time in Hawaii by John Post, MD

“It’s going to be a hard day’s night. The Beatles

We’re 40 days till the cannon blast signals the start of the 2012 Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championship. The athletes who are racing this year are beginning to struggle with the need to taper opposing that intense internal drive to get every bit of training they can out of every day. It can be as much as 20, 25, even 30 hours per week. Age groupers too! For the first timers there are so many questions involving bike transportation, accommodations, training on the island, heat acclimation, and learning as absolutely much as possible about the race and conditions to ensure they’re in the annually expected 93% who finish the event instead of those who don’t. Continue reading →

Are Your Hips Causing Your Injury?

Overuse injuries are very common but most athletes fail to pick up the early warning signs. It’s the little things that need to be addressed before you suddenly get to a point where the doctor or physio tells you, “sorry but you won’t be able to train for 2 weeks!”

That’s when the penny drops and you realize the seriousness of the situation. Continue reading →

Hematuria, Blood in Your Urine by John Post, MD

Hematuria, blood in the urine

“Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of livin’ is gone.” John Cougar Mellencamp

But Lew Hollander, yellow cap, would say you’re way wrong. At age 81, he finished his 22nd Ironman in Kona this year. He says it’s how he “tests” himself. Hard to have higher personal standards than Lew, a role model to us all. He also makes many older triathletes jealous as he’s basically able to do this with only a modicum of injuries, often the rate limiting step to continued performance, particularly as we age.

Ever stood astride the commode after your long run, and instead of the usual concentrated deep yellow urine, you see blood? Yep, it can be quite a shock. But, like most things, if you take the time to do a little research you can narrow the list of possibilities…and cancel the call to the funeral home. Continue reading →

Frozen Shoulder by John Post, MD

Frozen Shoulder

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read.”Groucho Marx

While donning my running shoes by my Jeeps interior lighting one recent morning I realized we only have 12 hours of daylight this time of year and it’s decreasing steadily. Since work takes up 8 of them, some of our training must be done in the dark. I have a friend who used start his training
day at 0230! Yes, he’s a mite intense. He’d get a majority of his training done in the dark.

You need to go the extra mile to absolutely ensure your safety-especially from motor vehicles. While running, attention to a possibly slippery road surface, choice of routes, bright clothing, reflector vests, even a red strobe light on your butt while always paying attention to your surroundings.

When cycling, riding single file is even more important than in summer daylight. Although we’ve all seen riders with hardly a reflector, I ride with 3 red lights behind: 2 solid on my belt and a strobe under my saddle. My friend has a suit with lights up and down the arms resembling Landing Signal Officer on an aircraft carrier. But, by gosh he’s visible. Careful, it’s a jungle out there.

Frozen Shoulder
In the office this is known as Adhesive Capsulitis. The patient is usually not aware of trauma (although a percentage of this group has has recent trauma or surgery to this shoulder) but notices an ever increasing loss of motion, a “capsulitis” or shrinking/tightening of the capsule around the shoulder joint. For some reason, it’s much more common in women than men, non-dominant shoulder, aged 35-55. Diabetes seems to increase the risk of developing FS. This is not arthritis or infection although its true cause is not known. Continue reading →

Knee Collateral Ligament Injury by John Post, MD

“…fate comes at you cat-footed, unavoidable, and bloodthirsty.” Pat Conroy, South of Broad

We hear a lot about knee ligament injuries, especially when they happen to someone else who is dear to you who got injured and need an attorney’s help. But when it’s our knee that’s out of commission from falling off the bike while still clipped in, or twisted water skiing at the lake, it’s a different matter. The ACL or anterior cruciate ligament gets a lot of press. Bode Miller, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods. But the collateral ligaments (Tom Brady again) seem to take a back seat here. One reason could be that they usually heal without a lot of fuss so maybe less notoriety as well. Continue reading →

Elbow Pain of Swimming/Biking Origin by John Post, MD

I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind. I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time.”

Kryptonite, 3 Doors Down

Your thoughts when injured?

We frequently think of overuse injuries as running related but swimming can also take it’s toll. Swim training/racing can put us at risk for a multitude of upper extremity difficulties. We frequently see problems with the rotator cuff stealing the headlines, particularly in overhead throwing sports, while less commonly the elbow is involved. Many of us have either heard about or experienced Tennis Elbow (pain over the outside of the elbow or Lateral Epicondylitis, less often from playing tennis than from an alternate source despite its moniker.) Triathletes are more prone to Medial Epicondylitis – pain over the inside of the elbow. This is known in the literature as Golfer’s Elbow. You might be able to guess why. Continue reading →

TriVillage.com Is Now The Offical Triathlon Retailer Of Rock Star Triathlete.com

We are happy to announce thatTriVillage.com Is now the official triathlon retailer of Rock Star Triathlete.

This partnership now allows you a 15% dicount at TriVillage.com when you use the code RockStar15.

You can also get free shipping on all orders over $75.

TriVillage.com can cover just about all our triathlon gear needs. Enjoy!