High Performance Update - January 2012

[Andrew]

Well, I can't believe how long it has been since I made an update here. My apologies. The lack of correspondence from my end is certainly not a reflection of the activity happening within the team. Perhaps a reflection more of my ability to do justice to each athlete now training and racing with the crew. Here it goes...feel free to add updates if I have not given a clear picture of your current status, or if you would like to just fill in the missing details that are sure to arise.

We had a great team training session with nearly everyone in attendance last weekend. Positive, healthy, fit were how I would describe the group, with a keen sense of tasty nutritious food shared at the after-training pot luck.

Big news for 2012!
New coach, Luke Way, has moved in to Kelowna, and set up a home which will now become the headquarters of BPR. He is working closely with Chris, and the two of them are currently setting up a top notch testing centre which will be unveiled soon. I is GREAT to have Luke's energy, experience, and skills helping to lead the team this year.

Chris is working hard on his own training goals, and has gathered a huge group of athletes to take on Ironman Canada and a few ultra trail runs in 2012. The Schleck brothers have even put their names down for the 50km trail run coming up in March! Simon is gearing up for Ironman, and his enthusiasm has pulled Peter O'Brien into the long course void.

The Nelson's are coming to Europe to take part in Transalp, along with Sean and Andrew, so feel free to support them all through gently reminding them that we all need to lose the Christmas turkey weight, and focus on putting HUGE miles on our trainers until the snow melts.

Big Ring, Quail, Matterhorn, and PW have all enjoyed the lack of snow on the lower trails in Kelowna, and are awaiting their new bikes with anticipation. They are planning an assault on Colordao lat in the summer to take part in the BrekEpic. So if high altitude mega-mountain-biking is appealing, plan to join us there! More details to come.

Thomsen had a fantastic start to his xc season picking up some good points towards making the world cup circuit for next season. He races again this weekend on home soil in Whistler.

Manuel announced this year he will be joining Ride Okanagan, which will give him an opportunity to race against the big boys with a team dedicated to attending some of e premier events in the West this year. Watch for him as he has now fully recovered from his huge crash last season, and as he attempts to make the jump to the big show! I am not sure if BPR alumni Jason Kilmartin is still riding with RO, but if he is, Manuel will have some great support from another great athlete on the team.

Joel has officially moved to Calgary, just weeks after Luke moved away from Cow Town. He has made contact and has taken his bike with him. Let's hope the prairies bring him the motivation needed to train himself back into fighting form.

Our two newest athletes on the High Performance squad, Marin and Alex, seem to be working hard towards their personal goals, and look physically stronger each time we see them.

Last time we saw Gord Minaker, he was winning the local 10km road race in Kelowna in PB, but we have not from him since. Presumably, he is enjoying UBC too much to take time to write...

I don't have much news on Tanille, Martin and the few others, though I am sure Tanille is involved with the re-creation of Kelowna Cycle after the tragic fire their in the late fall. We will look forward to celebrating their grand-reopening soon.

The other big news for 2012 is the expansion of our sponsors to include CompressSport, Specialized, and Trek. Tey have joined eload Sport Nutrition and Cannondale to provide our team with some of the best products on the market.

Check the BPR calendar through our home page on a regular basis, as we are constantly updating it with upcoming races and training camps that are open to everyone. See you at the races!

[MartinC]

Hi All, Andrew's message is a timely reminder for me to provide an update on developments for me!
The last few months have been a frustrating exercise in stop/start training caused by a litany of injuries and the realities of balancing a demanding job and family life. Training wise, I would put myself as the most unprepared I have ever been for this time of year for about the past five years.
Injury wise, after almost eight months of rehab and recovery my left shoulder is now 100% and through November and early December the swim sessions were coming along well, in fact it was the sport I was getting the most consistent work done in. The wheels fell off again in December when once again I wrecked downhill ski-ing, this time the right shoulder! Fortunately not as bad and after a few weeks of rest and some treatment, all things permitting will be ramping up the pool hours in the next few weeks. I managed one 100M TT a couple of weeks ago and gimped along in 16.10.
Injury number two. The dreaded plantar fasciitis. I know some of you have been down this road, it is incredibly frustrating. It started to bother me in November although I pushed throught to complete training and race in an off road half. Since then after rest and physio I made an abortive attempt to re-start running  in the beginning of January and after two weeks realised that making any effort to be ready for Chuckanutt was futile as the pain began to reappear. More rest and treatment and I am now making a very slow return to running. At the moment 20 minutes every two days is about as much as I can sustain without pain coming back. Have tried the strasbourg sock, a ton of physio, stretching, strengthening exercises, rollers, ice rollers.................. just a slow climb out of this one.
Unfortunately the shoulder and pf impacted on my XC ski-ing turning this season into a complete non event. Cycyling has also been problematic as it tends to aggravate my pf, hopefully something that is going to be improved by some orthotics I have had made for my cycling shoes.
Despite all this, as I look outside and see the sun shining and the roads dry I can't wait to get out there and start the road back. I was lucky enough to be in Fresh Air Concept last week and saw one of the sweet Specialised Epic 29ers I will be riding this year with the goal of being competitive in the Xterra series culminating in the National Champs in Edmonton. Salty Dog will be great preparation for this!
I console myself with the thought that it is a long season and there is plenty of time to find my way back to peak fitness with the help of the best coaches and scientific training system in the  business!

[Andrew]

Martin, thanks for updating us on your progress. The balance between fitness and chronic injury can certainly be challenging at times, and I recognize your frustration. Remember the structures you have built over your many years of training will hold you in good stead when you are able to safely maintain consistency in your training.

A not on the topic of plantar fasciitis. Probably the least understood of the very common injuries to befall runners and triathletes. In fact, I would hazard a guess that this complex and chronic issue affects more triathletes than nearly any other issue. Over the years in dealing with Ginny, and her similar issue, we have learned a few things:
1) The mobility of the foot and ankle, which is drastically reduced during cycling, is a key to avoiding injury of the plantar fascia. This motion and flexibility can be developed over time through gradual introduction of barefoot running to your program. And in fact, as we all add more time on the bike as the weather improves, we may actually LOSE flexibility in our ankles, if we are not cognizant of this in our training.
2) along with the mobility needed to avoid injury, one also needs to develop foot strength. Again, a key factor is developing the ability to run barefoot over longer distances. But one training technique is to increase foot strength by simply being barefoot at home, and consistently challenging your balance and coordination, rather than relying on supportive shoes or orthotics to support your feet.
3) a disciplined and gradual increase in run mileage is needed to improve strength over time. Set the goals with enough time to actually make the structural changes necessary to be successful.
4) FST, Trigger Point Therapy, to improve mobility, that Majo can help you learn, can all play a great role in improving symptoms.

See you on the road soon!!!

[GinnySellars]

Hi Martin
I agree with Andrew's notes on PF above. When mine was really bad, I used to go barefoot in the house until my feet got too tired, and pain increased, then wear the supportive orthotic or shoe. Over time, I didn't need the support. I began with walking on the treadmill in bare feet (or socks then barefoot vibrams). Eventually I could run on soft trails such as Ellison. When I went back to my physio after a month hiatus, she exclaimed "wow, you have MUSCLES in your feet now". I had lost all strength as I had orthotics in supportive shoes, for sport and for casual. I now find that a supportive shoe hurts my feet, so I have to get very soft soled shoes for casual and running. It was a long process, but I now have "foot freedom"! Best of luck.

[MartinC]

Thanks to both of you for your posts and advice. In regard to mobility and strength, both the physio and orthotic specialist who have examined me have concluded I have no overall issues there with all the usual standard tests. This was apparently the opposite of what they expected to find. What has been identified is a small bone that seems out rotate slightly out of place, intruding onto the fascia causing irritation. I can tell when it is out because I get a burning kind of pain as it irritates a nerve in my foot.
In searching for how this could have happening, the only thing I could come up with is a rather dumb move i pulled very early in the summer when for reasons known only to myself I decided it might be 'fun" to do some barefoot plyometric type exercises (in my defence at that time i could run half an hour regularly in my vibrams). Anyway after one landing I had a shooting pain in my foot and ongoing pain, which, as I recall lasted a few weeks. As I was primarily cycling at the time, I did not pay much heed to it as it seemed to go away and I kept cycling with very little running.
My theory is that injury may have been the start of the problem as I may have weakened ligaments or other structures and as I was cramming my feet into cycling shoes (which I have since found out do not suit my foot type at all) where the foot was not working fully that weakness was protected but it was not exercised properly. The weakness worsened and was exposed and irritated my me hitting the trails and ramping up mileage quickly trail running in October & November.
When the bone is manipulated I get almost immediate symptomatic relief. It would seem I have to retrain my foot to work better and build very slowly.

[Andrew]

Be very careful in using orthotics to "fix" this issue...keep th focus on strengthening and mobility, with a structured return to activity plan. It sounds like you have a good team with Physio etc., so stay positive, and look forward to getting back into the trails soon!

A.

[MartinC]

Oh I forgot to add strike three in my litany of injuries. I have developed a hernia and been referred to a surgeon.

[GinnySellars]

Hmmm....not a lot of insight from our juniors. Enjoy your youth!

Martin, such a bummer to hear of all these things getting in the way of your 'play'. Keep seeking out things you CAN do during this time so that when you are ready to rock again, you have the strength and fitness to pull hit the road rolling. It may mean some time water running, or gym intervals with spin/eliptical/stairs/incline walking etc. where you can control your foot motion and make gradual increases in volume, speed, or range of motion.

[abhansen]

Hello all

Here is an update from me so far. I have been increasing my swim volume in order to get ready for elite racing season. Attempting to get my swim faster. It seems to be improving little by little which is good, but there is still things that need to be fixed in order to get the speed up there, and be able to maintain the speed. I have been able to do a repeated set of 2km of 100s with little rest inbetween holding 1:25s, then down to 1:20 for the last 3 100s. which seems to be fairly decent, but still more work. The biking has been good and bad, I have been able to get at least 2 sessions a week on the bike which has not been enough, but with everything jammed together I try to fit it in whenever I can. For running I have been running about 5 times a week, with more intense sessions 2 of those days, and a longer run on the Sunday usually.

I have been working with Chris on using the spirotiger 3L bag, and attempting in keep my breathing in control as well as maximizing the capacity. But things have been going well, school is going well, work has been a tougher, but I am trying to find a balance. Still awaiting my bike to finally get here in order for me to start using it, I am so excited for it to arrive.

Unfortunately starting last Sunday I had acquired the flu, which has lasted most of this week, which has put a damper on my running, because of the pounding on my stomach. I have been able to swim, but since I have not been able to stomach food properly, I feel like I lack the energy to train to my full ability, which has really sucked. I am sure it will pass soon hopefully.

I am stoked for the training camp this weekend, and ready to hang with everyone again. Unfortunately I will only be able to make the Friday and Saturday, since on the Sunday I have to travel back to Calgary for some appointments (dentist, eye, some R and R).

I am pumped for the upcoming season, but I am nervous that my swim will not be at the level that I need it to be at that point. But I will take things in stride.

Anyways Happy Training everyone.
Alex Hansen

[MartinC]

Hey Alex, thanks for your update! Nice work in the pool. 20x100 is a great work out! Keep at it though, being in the front pack or thereabouts seems key for ITU style drafting races.
Let your body recover properly from the flu! how often do we here this in regard to injuries and pay no attention! I am the worst, so hold back that extra day. We only get stronger when we recover properly!!!!!!