Tight Hips and 17cm drop

I have been struggling to commit to a direction for this blog, so I have been lazy with posting. Also, I question who actually reads it! (So if you read this, leave a comment!!!) But I will try to write more frequently about my training and triathlon doings.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a clinic put on by Training Bible Coaching. It was an excellent early season experience, and the chance for me to hook up with my coach, whom I have not seen since Ironman Wisconsin 2007. Leading off the clinic was a lecture from a representative from Infinit Nutrition. It was a treat because I will use their product this year for racing and training. That’s right; I’m done with bars, gels, and Gatorade, replaced with simply liquid nutrition!! I’ll keep you posted.

During the second half of the clinic, we had the opportunity to go to five stations and have different things assessed. The first station I went to was with physical therapist Lindsey Zucco. She assessed my flexibility and determined that my hamstrings, IT Band, and Hip Flexors were all tight. I have new stretches that I have been doing since, and they are feeling better. However, tight hips are a part of the training process!!! I am actually working on getting a TP Massage Kit that will loosen up the major muscle groups associated with cycling in the aero position. Then, the most important part of the day came up. Jim had his underwater camera to assess my swim stroke. It was not too bad, some things to work on with my right side. I got some good video (which is well worth the price of admission alone!) and tips to improve. Lastly, I visited the bike fit station. Rich and Anthony from The Bike Shop were there to help fit me on the bike. I had the powertap with me and after all was said and done, ended up with 17 cm of drop from my saddle to bars. I normally ride pretty aggressive, but this was about 5 cm more than last season. We will see how the body responds to the new position.

It was a great time, and I learned a lot about my swim stroke from Jim, and will work on it over the next few weeks. As far as training, I am still plugging away on the trainer, and have managed to get outside for some runs. Today was a 4:30 a.m. hour long trainer workout with 40 minutes at high zone 2 power, 230 watts. Got some good swim workouts planned for the next two mornings. More details to follow……

SJI