ISM Adamo Saddles

Ideal Saddle Modifications (ISM) excels in doing one thing: making outstanding biking saddles.  Specially designed not to impede the flow of blood to the groin region, athletes can ride for extended periods of time with no discomfort, numbness, or long term damage to important 'structures'.  ISM offers several flavors of saddles ($119-$199) with a similar design that placed most of the pressure on the places we need it while taking pressure off more sensitive areas.  These saddles are gaining a large following and their customers are religious in their support.  Although ISM has had a long battle against larger saddle companies, their unique and patented design offer far better comfort and value for the money than any other product.  This is the only saddle I will use.  Website.
Best deal:  Sunrise Cyclery $119.99 for the road version with free shipping!
Alternate deal: Bikes Online $94.72 + shipping (~$8.00) for last year's road saddle.

 

The Trail Minimalist

New Balance has been moving against the conventional trail running shoe current with their latest offering.  The New Balance MT100 ($75) eschews the big, fluffy, padded soles you usually encounter in trail running shoes and offers an ultralight, no nonsense shoe for the runner interested in next-to-nothing running.  New Balance used their wildly popular 790 model as a jumping off point for the 100.  The 100, however, is not an evolution of the 790, but an improvement in the ideas established by the 790.  Trail runners who like a larger, heavier shoe with more support will want to avoid the 100.  Those who like an ultra light-weight shoe or are flirting with barefoot running may want to try on New Balance's new offering.  New Balance
Check out OnlineShoes.com.  They are currently selling the MT 100 for $60.99.

The Power to Stop

Most bicyclists spend their time trying to get faster.  Eecycle Works spends its time getting bicyclists to stop.  Eecycle Works aims to produce the best performing brake with the least weight.  Their Eebrake promises to achieve both.  At less than 200 grams per complete brake set with pads, you may want to put your stock brakes on Ebay.  Oh, and while you're on Ebay, look for something else to sell. The Eebrake starts at $569 without pads. Eecycleworks

Hydration for the Long Haul

What is your most valuable piece of training equipment?  You might be surprised to know it's the cheapest.  Water, in its many forms, will help you perform faster, longer, and better than any $120 pair of running shoes or $75 shirt.  Here is an easy options to keep you hydrated while you put the miles on.

The venerable Camelbak guys have done away with bulky bottles, packs, and belts and designed a hydration system that you wear.  The line of 'Wearable Hydration" includes the Rackbak, VeloBak, and ShredBak.  These are designed for biking but one wonders how well they would serve the distance runner.  Prices start at around $100-$130.  The cheapest price I found was at REI with the VeloBak on sale for $79.83: http://www.rei.com/product/799551. 

More Total Immersion Lectures

Here are the rest of the lectures:

Great Swimming

Compared to running and cycling, technique contributes more to swim speed than added effort. A swimmer's main adversary, aside from fellow swimmers that kick off their goggles and generally beat them up, is the water itself. Specifically, the density of water. In order in increase swim speed a swimmer must trick the water to flow around them instead of against them. The harder a swimmer push against the water, the harder the water pushes back and fatigues the athlete. Here are a couple of videos that show effortless swimming. The key is "effortless power".

Swimming should look and feel like this:

A great video of Terry Laughlin, the founder of Total Immersion Swimming, explaining the philosophy of his technique:

Tendinitis or Tendinosis? or Why Am I Not Getting Better?

Most of us have had the misfortune of encountering tendinitis. Whether in the arm, shoulder, knee, or foot, tendinitis seems to strike most athletes at some time in their career. As with most maladies, “it’s easier to get than to get rid of”. So what causes tendinitis, how do we treat it, and how can we prevent it?
Unfortunately, researchers have yet to completely determine the cellular and molecular basis of tendon injury. In fact, they argue the term ‘tendinitis’ should be supplanted by the more accurate ‘tendinosis’ or ‘tendinopathy’ highlighting the absence of an inflammatory process underlying the injury. Most athletes dealing with tendon injury would agree that anti-inflammatory medication does little to ameliorate the pain and discomfort associated with this malady.
Researchers, however, are slowly unfolding the complex process of tendon injury and repair. Unlike the previous understanding of tendon injury as an acute process leading to inflammation and pain, the new concept paints a picture of a dynamic environment constantly changing and adapting to stress. Chronic, micro-injuries lead to a disruption of tendinous homeostasis favoring repair and a disorganization of normal architecture. Enzymes called metalloproteinases decrease and blood vessels proliferate within the tendon. The tendon becomes less able to deal with physical stress and decompensates. At this point either pain limits activity or the tendon ruptures.
The best way to treat tendinosis is to avoid injury. Common sense and the advice of trainers dictates increasing exercise effort and intensity gradually. This will allow a more normal turnover process within the tendon allowing it to adapt to the new stresses. When an athlete does begin to have tendinous pain they should immediately discontinue the offending activity. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (R.I.C.E.) seem reasonable initial measures. Onset of discomfort, however, usually indicates the tendon has already been injured for some time. Consultation with a physician, trainer, or physical therapist can help the athlete elucidate the cause of the pain and suspend or modify their training allowing for healing of the affected tendon.
Unfortunately, no single treatment has been shown to accelerate tendinous healing. Studies, however, indicate modalities such as eccentric exercise therapy, shock wave therapy, and sclerosant injections, have some beneficial effect. Generally, adequate rest away from the provoking activity and therapy addressing the underlying cause of the injury results in recovery. Newer approaches such as gene therapy show promise but need more research before they can be used in humans.


Riley, Graham, 2008,
Tendinopathy, From Basic Science to Treatment
Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology