Review; NeoCell Move Matrix & Collagen Sport

Recovery is important. Getting those calories into you asap after a big workout or race is important. You know that so I am not going to bore you with all the reasons why. For the far the past few months I have been using a different regimen for recovery and injury prevention. A combination of two products provided by NeoCell for review; Collagen Sport and Move Matrix.

Both products contain and focus on the fact that they contain Collagen. From the web;

NeoCell - Move Matrix Advanced Joint Hydrator;

NeoCell Move Matrix Advanced Joint Hydrator provides scientifically advanced ingredients that work synergistically in the body to promote healthy joints. This premium formula supports joint flexibility, range of motion, and a healthy inflammatory response. Like all NeoCell products, Move Matrix is standardized to be bioactive for potent absorption and efficacy.

• Bioactive neocell collagen type 2 - The key structural protein of joint cartilage. 60% of joint cartilage is made of collagen type 2.
• Hyaluronic Acid - A water loving molecule that provides joint cushioning and lubrication, due to its ability to hold 1,000 times its weight in water.
• Glucosamine, Chondrotin & MSM - A combination of building block nutrients that contribute to the formation of healthy connective tissue.
• Move Matric Blend - A blend of antioxidants and herbal extracts that support a healthy inflammatory response in the joints.

NeoCell Collagen Sport;

The Rundown:

• 15 grams Pure Ion-Exchange Whey Protein Isolate
• 15 grams Super Collagen™ Bioavailable Peptides
• Rich in BCAAs
• Good source of L-Glutamine
• Enhanced with Exogenous Amino Acids
• Multi-vitamin Fortification

Doctor Formulated, What’s NOT in Collagen Sport™

• Gluten, Wheat, Sugar & Lactose Free
• No Artificial Sweeteners or Flavors
• No Fillers or Synthetic Ingredients

For obvious reasons I can’t comment on the contents or ingredients and only really on my perception of the efficacy.

The Move Matrix tablets require that you have 5 a day, there is enough in the jar for 30 days. They not massive or particularly small. Easily washed down with a morning cup of coffee which is when I have been taken them. I found them easier to take with breakfast rather than on an empty stomach. Given that my training all year has been on the bike it has been very low impact, pretty much zero impact in fact. However it has been super repetitive. I am no spring chicken and anything I can do to be preventative in terms of avoiding injury is a good idea. My knees ache at time as do various other parts. I took these in the run up to my September Everesting and I have found that with the higher mileage weeks I could get train through them without any issues other than the general fatigue you would expect. I was definitely without niggling issues that I experienced last year during the height of my training.

The Recovery Sport drink was taken post ride. I was warned not to take everything at the same time as it probably wouldn’t sit very well. Mixed with a ½ and ½ or water and milk the chocolate mix is smooth and not overly sweet. Without wanting to sound like an advertisement for Swiss chocolate there was a rich silkiness to it that made it very drinkable. On very big days I added a scope of vanilla ice cream to it and that turned it into melted chocolate ice cream drink. Again from an efficacy standpoint having a recovery drink (or something) with 30 minutes of finishing a big workout is crucial in being able to recover and continue training and taking the Collagen Sport certainly allowed me to do that. I rarely take a rest day as from experience having an easy spin on the rest day allows me to come back at it pretty hard and taking the Collagen Sport certainly assisted me in doing this.

So overall both of these products were easy to take and I found them to work. There is no silver bullet when it comes to recovery or injury prevention and it’s usually a combination of several factors that combined allow you to avoid injury and consistently training at a higher amplitude. Taking both of these products certainly allowed me to do that.

Available online Recovery Sport retails for $30 for 15 servings so enough to last a month or so of heavy training. The Move Matrix is $20 for a 30 day supply.

This Product was free of charge by the good folks at NeoCell See previous gear reviews on the tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Review; RecoverEase (#tbt)

I have been writing a blog long enough that I can dig through some of my posts and pull out a post for a “throw back Thursday”. Additionally I have reviewed a ton of stuff during this time and while some things wear out or are versioned and retired (clothes and shoes) or were a bust and are never used again (EnergyBits) Others just keep going and are used over and over (ProWash). With that in mind I was drawn back to something I had used a lot of in the past and had just forgotten about; RecoverEase!

So rather than rewrite here is the post I posted in July 2008…over 6 years ago! As a disclaimer, back then I applied for some free samples. This time around I purchased them. Do they still work…yes they do!

Note Where possible I have updated links from the original post as they were broken, this is the link to the original review. Also this post has a new photo.

I first came across RECOVER-ease through therundown.net; pitched as used by Michelle Barton and Keira Henninger two Southern California ultra runners who are tearing up the local 50k and 50 mile trail races and Rob Cowan who had a monster 2007 race season completing 27 races of marathon distance or longer (in fact most were longer!). As well as the eternally attractive offer of "Free Samples",(Marcy!) I fired off a quick email. Within a week my freebies were delivered and I was good to go. I received from memory about forty tablets split into blisters of four.

So first here’s the sciencey stuff. RecoverEase is a proprietary blend of L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-valine, L-isoleucine, papain,bromelain, beta-sitosterol and bioflavonoids, the serving size is 4 tablets and equals 2900mg. And here’s the marketing blurb: Accelerates tissue repair, Reduces muscle soreness, Reduces muscle breakdown, Improves hormone function. Also it contains no stimulants hormones or USOC/IOC/NCAA banned substances. Of course as a supplement none of this has been evaluated by the FDA.

Here's the science pitch:

BCAAs & Glutamine: The proper 3:1:1 patent-pending balance of BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) with Glutamine (in a patent-pending research-proven 3:2 total AA ratio) benefits athletes by maintaining immune function and reducing URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections).

Beta-sitosterol: Normalizes the ratio of cortisol (a stress hormone) with DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), to reduce muscle breakdown & accelerate connective tissue repair (muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage).

Proteolytic Enzymes & Flavonoids:Reduce inflammation and oxidative free radical damage, resulting in less exercise-induced tissue damage, accelerated rates of tissue repair, and reduced post-exercise pain & stiffness.

Ok so this is my translation based on some web research:

• L-glutamine is a non-essential amino acid it has for the last 10-15 years been associated with muscle growth and development
• L-leucine is an essential amino acid which has been shown to slow the degradation of muscle tissue by increasing the synthesis of muscle proteins
• L-Valine is considered critical to glucose metabolism, protein synthesis, and regulation of the immune system. It is needed for muscle metabolism and tissue repair
• L-Isoleucine is important in hemoglobulin synthesis and in the regulation of blood sugar and energy levels. It also increases endurance.
• Papain is a protein-cleaving enzyme derived from papaya and certain other plants, it has multiple uses but for our purposes it effect on inflammatory processes are the more pertinent
• Bromelain is a mixture of enzymes found naturally in the juice and stems of pineapples. Called a proteolytic enzyme, bromelain is believed to help with the digestion of protein
• Beta-sitosterol appears to reduce cholesterol levels by blocking absorption of cholesterol, the purported benefits of Beta-sitosterol include boosting immunity and normalizing blood sugar, relieving inflammation, healing ulcers, enhancing uterine tone, and alleviating cramps. However, these health benefits of beta-sitosterol have not been substantiated by scientific evidence.
• Bioflavonoids are a class of water-soluble plant pigments. While they are not considered essential, they do support health as anti-inflammatory, antihistaminic, and anti-viral agents

Some other information: there are 8 essential amino acids + 14 non-essential amino acids that can be fabricated by the human body from the eight essential amino acids. From these 22 amino acids, being combined & arranged into varying specific chains, all amino acids are fabricated by the human body. Simplistically the distinction between essential and non-essential amino acids is that the human body can produce some amino acids from other amino acids. There are also conditionally essential amino acids that under certain conditions (hard exercise) that cannot be fabricated in sufficient quantities from other aminos. All essential amino acids may be obtained from plant sources.

So if you read through the list of ingredients there is an emphasis on amino acids; good for muscle development and recovery, protein digestion, boosted immunity and anti inflammatory properties.

My usage: I have slowly used up my free batch. I took 8 tablets after my century (read 88 miles) bike ride and the next day had zero aches and pains the same for several 50 mile bike rides. I have typically taken 4 tablets after long runs (which in fairness aren’t that long) ranging from 10 –15 miles and have had little or no soreness etc the next day, having said that I do make an effort to stretch before and after a run and have been giving my foam roller some summer lovin’.

My conclusion: I have to say I am impressed, while there is no golden bullet for recovery; this seems to come pretty close, minimized soreness, aches and pains after long runs/rides is always a benefit allowing you to turnaround quickly and get out training again. Previously I was taking Recoverite from Hammer Nutrition which I think is a great product with the exception that its taste is really, well to be honest, not good, additionally there several other advantages of tablets; easy transportation, no need for refrigeration and quickness. I definitely recommend that you check them out, at a minimum to see if they are still sending out samples, to see if they will work for you.

Review; Shamrock Farms Rockin’ Refuel

I am sure you have all heard of the benefits of chocolate milk for recovery…in case you have been living under a rock here are a few articles to go and read:

Mind Body and Spirit Fitness - Got Milk? Try Chocolate After Your Workout

CBS News Chocolate Milk: The New Sports Drink?

Medscape Extract Chocolate Milk May Improve Recovery After Exercise

The list goes on seriously just Google Chocolate milk recovery or Chocolate Milk sports nutrition and you’ll see. I have used it intermittently although my preferences is for Soy milk, but hey that’s just me, so when the good folks from Shamrock Farms contacted me asking if I would be interested in trying their new product Rockin’ Refuel I of course said yes (at this stage I would like to point out that sometimes I do say no…but not this time). A few days later a chilled box arrived and inside where one of each flavor, Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla I threw them in the fridge and waited for some long runs. I usually don’t use any fuel be it during or after until my runs get into the 75 minutes plus range.

First here’s some info from their website:

• 20 grams of protein, more than the leading sports and recovery drinks
• 100% real milk
• Nine essential nutrients
• Naturally occurring electrolytes
• No artificial sweeteners
• Formulated without high-fructose corn syrup
• Low glycemic index

So cometh the long run cometh the recovery, I tried the Vanilla one weekend and the chocolate the next; I nearly missed out on the strawberry as my kids nabbed it first and I had to wrest it from them! So from a taste perspective they are, in my opinion, very palatable. I did solicit feedback from the fridge bandits who described it a “yummy”. All three flavors are drinkable although I was rather partial to the vanilla flavor, but I’ll take vanilla over chocolate any day…hey that’s how I roll!

As for effectiveness, well they’re filling and after my longs runs I had no DOMS, so I would say they worked for me.

So let’s talk about the contents, well there are some variables that are driven by the flavors as you can see they are pretty calorific for 12oz of milk which is usually; Whole: 150, 2%: 120, 1%: 100 and Skimmed: 80, not a bad thing when you’re looking for calorie replacement.

Chocolate

Strawberry

Vanilla

So as you can see there are a few other things thrown in in addition to your standard “milk”.

• Fructose; is a simple sugar
• Sucrose; is table sugar
• Whey Protein Isolate; derived from milk products and somewhere between 29-89% protein Carragenan; is a thickener used in anything from ice cream to shoe polish to personal lube!
• Palmitate is used as an antioxidant and a source of vitamin A added to low fat milk and other dairy products to replace the vitamin content lost through the removal of milk fat
• Guar Gum; used in dairy products as a thickener
• Dipotassium phosphate; used in non dairy creamer as a coagulant
• Red #40; food dye, banned or being phased out in the EU, approved by the FDC in the US. On June 30, 2010, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) called for the FDA to ban Red 40. Executive Director Michael Jacobson said, "These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody."

Well what can I say, it was going pretty will until we got the the food dye! As a parent and as someone who has seen the devastating effects of cancer anything that is a possible carcinogenic is simply a no no, period!

As you can see from my cursory research there’s a lot of stuff in these drinks. I am clearly no chemist and here’s the rub, do you need to be one to drink these drinks well maybe or maybe not! That being said do you need to be a chemist to drink a glass of Endurox or Recoverite, in truth I don’t know but there is never any harm in reading the labels.

So what to say in summary well in my opinion check out the chocolate and vanilla flavors and leave the strawberry on the shelves at the store. Ultimately we do place some inherent trust in the manufacturers and the government bodies that monitor their products and when they add something that’s iffy, well that trust is broken.

Available through multiple outlets, the drink retails for $1.39, there is a store locator on their website where you will also find a few promotions for a free t-shirt and a coupon.

This drink was provided free of charge by the good folks at Shamrock Farm. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Review; Moji Knee

We all have sore bits, and we’ve all sat in the evening with a bag of frozen peas on sore bits, it’s ok you can admit it, you’re among friends.

If you’re lucky somewhere along the line you’ve picked up a flexible ice pack that you’ve strapped on by way of a tea towel and if you’ve been really lucky you may have one with some rough fabric and an inch of Velcro at one end!

Well as Dylan once said the times they are a changing, well they are at least for your knees…say hello your new best friend, the Moji!

From their website:

…“Moji products apply 21st century technology and materials to create innovation in the icing category. A host of published research supports icing (aka "cold compression therapy") as one of the simplest, most-effective, and critical measures toward post-workout recovery, injury prevention, and rehabilitation”…

So here’s the lay person’s review. The Moji comes as a two piece kit; the cold cell unit and the Compression Wrap, they’re presented in a simple plastic envelope which allows you to store the cold cell in the freezer without issue (issue = leaking stuff i.e. ice cream!) you can tuck the Wrap in your sports drawer. Let’s review each piece individually;

The cold cell is designed as a circular, jointed unit that allows it to mold itself to your knee, each cell contains proprietary gel which is designed to retain its temperature for at least 20 minutes post freezer and not freeze solid and in fact it doesn’t even become that stiff.

One one side it’s covered in a soft fabric which is gentle on your skin and has the ability to remove any moisture. The flexibility actually allows you to envelope your knee and actually target the whole area with, well, cold!

The back side has the soft loop end of Velcro which attaches to the wrap.

The Wrap is made predominantly from PolarTec fabric, it’s an X shape with a wicking knee panel and has four straps that wrap around, in fact they act as compression, did I mention this week that I like compression…I think I did once of twice, to your knee to add additional support. Silicon stretch tabs with velcro ensure that the Moji stays on, so you can walk around with the risk of it slipping down. In fact you can jump about with it on while chasing two kids around…been there done that!

Its a bit bulky but ladies with a long skirt or men or women with loose pant could easily wear it underneath without issue…or just wear shorts and to hell with the funny looks, when you're 40+ like me who cares!

The Cold Cell attaches to the Wrap by way of several Velcro “stripes” and these effectively hold it in place within the wrap; it’s very simple and very effective.

Moji’s website provides lots of info in their Interactive Library, articles not only on icing but also, ironically on warming up, there’s a blog, videos and of course a shop where you can order on line. Currently the Moji is available as a knee wrap and a back wrap, a leg wrap and shoulder wrap are scheduled for release this year. There are several retail outlets scattered across the US and one in Canada. The knee wrap is priced at $89, the back wrap is $129 and there are several accessories as well. Clearly this is not a cheap purchase but it if you are prone to sore knees (or back) this could very well be an investment for you.

I suppose the question I should ask is would I have bought it, well, the answer is probably not, (although I am such a gear junkie that just maybe I would have?) but this is based the fact that my knees, while occasionally sore are not as much as a major issue for me as they are for some. If you are someone who has or is having problems then this really could be a sound and solid investment.

This product was provided free of charge by Moji. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Thinking ahead...

So with my leg now approaching working order it’s time to think about the rehabilitation piece. I have written the rest of the year off in terms of racing, I am volunteering at the PCTR Pt Mugu race at the end of the month. It’s the course of my first ultra, a scant two years ago! If you’re in the neighborhood come up, say hi and check it out, there are multiple distances starting at 9km. They’re great races, well organized and fun…seriously what’s not to like!

With the rehab in mind, I’ll be introducing the bike for the next two weeks, maybe three and then hopefully put on some running shoes and taking baby steps with a view to being back in the game to start training towards the end of the year/beginning of next. That’s in addition to the swimming, which if I confess to myself I am starting to enjoy and, if truth be told, getting a bit better at. Of course now I've got a cough that nearly turns me inside out, couldn't have caught when I was limping around...oh no!

I am starting to think about next year’s schedule and have some ideas about the first half of the year which will pull me off the trails, I need to work on regaining some of my speed back, I’ve not done speed work since the beginning of the year and it will carry over onto the trails later in the year I’ve got some lofty goals and I am working out the target races but it’s looking like it will be a busy six months!

So with that all said tonight was the drawing for the Chocolate #9 gels and the winner is…

Aron email me your address and I'll get them in the mail, enjoy!

The evolution of the revolution!

It's taken seven weeks of recovery but I can finally do a full rotation of the pedals!



I wouldn't say it's exactly smooth or anything, I am just glad for this right now!

Windmills in the water!

Another Friday night another trip to the pool. I managed to get there in good time this evening and didn't have the need to rush off early. I was hoping to get in 1200 meters for a 2000 meter week.

I've been swimming a lot of breast stroke; it's comfy but I need to move out my comfort zone and get on the freestyle wagon so without the time crunch I could spend some time practicing.

I also took my camera which has a pretty decent video camera and with a big enough SD card can just be left to run, I tucked it under my towel just to remove temptation and just left it recording. Unfortunately it did a great job of focusing very sharply on a leaf just in front of it and not much else, everything beyond that is blurred! That being said I was able to see how bad my form is, I was sharing the lane and the recording shows me, by comparison to my more efficient lane sharers, waving my arms like a windmill; very uneconomical. I managed the 1200 meters, so just under 2200 yards for the week. The learning curve continues...

Don't forget if you're interested in entering the draw for some Chocolate #9, add a comment to my previous post.

Night Swimming!

Well I wasn’t expecting that! I had totally forgotten that it would be dark when I got to the pool. I was late getting out of work, caught by the door for an impromptu discussion on change management that lasted 30 minutes. As you can see it was dark and foggy; thick marine layer had rolled in from the ocean. The thermometer in my car said 64f; it wasn’t that cold, in fact the water temperature was warmer than the air temperature.

My knee (it's not actually my knee but you know what I mean) felt better with a wider range of motion; I feel like I am really in the closing stages of recovery. The recovery seems to have accelerated over the last week or so, fingers crossed it continues. I am going to give it another two weeks minimum before I lace up my shoes; just to be on the safe side.

I only managed 800 meters, I’ll do more on Friday; I’d like to do 2000 meters this week.

Swim, Bike, Run – Yes, Nearly, No!

Five weeks no running; yep cabin fever is setting in and I just ordered me a pair of these sweet rides! But having said that the swimming is going well, well as well as two sessions can go. Nearly 2000 yards this week, I could have gone further but as usual I was pushed for time. After tweaking my knee Tuesday I took it easier on Friday. I also invested in some larger hand fins to take the pressure off my legs otherwise I am bit like a log in the water! Using a pull buoy helps as well for the buoyancy and a swim cap helped with the cold, so now I at least look the part.

I tried my benchmark pedal rotation on the bike and there’s further improvement; forwards I am up to around 2:00am and backwards around 11:00pm, it’s a little sore to go this far but not to the point of doing any damage. Finally I have made in dent in my weight gain so that’s a move in the right direction.

I hosted this week's Runners Round Table podcast, the topic was "Going Long; Ultra-marathons and IronMan", it was a great show and well worth a listen, check it out on iTunes and take it for a run.

All in all everything is good news, but I would really like to go for a run!

Review: RECOVER-ease

I first came across RECOVER-ease through therundown.net; pitched as "as used by Michelle Barton and Keira Henninger" two Southern California ultra runners who are tearing up the local 50k and 50 mile trail races and Rob Cowan who had a monster 2007 race season completing 27 races of marathon distance or longer (in fact most were longer!) as well as the eternally attractive offer of "Free Samples",(Marcy!) I fired off a quick email. Within a week my freebies were delivered and I was good to go. I received from memory about forty tablets split into blisters of four.

So first here’s the sciencey stuff. RecoverEase is a proprietary blend of L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-valine, L-isoleucine, papain,bromelain, beta-sitosterol and bioflavonoids, the serving size is 4 tablets and equals 2900mg. And here’s the marketing blurb: Accelerates tissue repair, Reduces muscle soreness, Reduces muscle breakdown, Improves hormone function. Also it contains no stimulants hormones or USOC/IOC/NCAA banned substances. Of course as a supplement none of this has been evaluated by the FDA.

Here's the science pitch:

1. BCAAs & Glutamine: The proper 3:1:1 patent-pending balance of BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) with Glutamine (in a patent-pending research-proven 3:2 total AA ratio) benefits athletes by maintaining immune function and reducing URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections).
2. Beta-sitosterol: Normalizes the ratio of cortisol (a stress hormone) with DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), to reduce muscle breakdown & accelerate connective tissue repair (muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage).
3. Proteolytic Enzymes & Flavonoids:Reduce inflammation and oxidative free radical damage, resulting in less exercise-induced tissue damage, accelerated rates of tissue repair, and reduced post-exercise pain & stiffness.

Ok so this is my translation based on some web research:

• L-glutamine is a non-essential amino acid it has for the last 10-15 years been associated with muscle growth and development
• L-leucine is an essential amino acid which has been shown to slow the degradation of muscle tissue by increasing the synthesis of muscle proteins
• L-Valine is considered critical to glucose metabolism, protein synthesis, and regulation of the immune system. It is needed for muscle metabolism and tissue repair
• L-Isoleucine is important in hemoglobulin synthesis and in the regulation of blood sugar and energy levels. It also increases endurance.
• Papain is a protein-cleaving enzyme derived from papaya and certain other plants, it has multiple uses but for our purposes it effect on inflammatory processes are the more pertinent
• Bromelain is a mixture of enzymes found naturally in the juice and stems of pineapples. Called a proteolytic enzyme, bromelain is believed to help with the digestion of protein
• Beta-sitosterol appears to reduce cholesterol levels by blocking absorption of cholesterol, the purported benefits of Beta-sitosterol include boosting immunity and normalizing blood sugar, relieving inflammation, healing ulcers, enhancing uterine tone, and alleviating cramps. However, these health benefits of beta-sitosterol have not been substantiated by scientific evidence.
• Bioflavonoids are a class of water-soluble plant pigments. While they are not considered essential, they do support health as anti-inflammatory, antihistaminic, and anti-viral agents

Some other information: there are 8 essential amino acids + 14 non-essential amino acids that can be fabricated by the human body from the eight essential amino acids. From these 22 amino acids, being combined & arranged into varying specific chains, all amino acids are fabricated by the human body. Simplistically the distinction between essential and non-essential amino acids is that the human body can produce some amino acids from other amino acids. There are also conditionally essential amino acids that under certain conditions (hard exercise) that cannot be fabricated in sufficient quantities from other aminos. All essential amino acids may be obtained from plant sources.

So if you read through the list of ingredients there is an emphasis on amino acids; good for muscle development and recovery, protein digestion, boosted immunity and anti inflammatory properties.

My usage: I have slowly used up my free batch. I took 8 tablets after my century (read 88 miles) bike ride and the next day had zero aches and pains the same for several 50 mile bike rides. I have typically taken 4 tablets after long runs (which in fairness aren’t that long) ranging from 10 – 15 miles and have had little or no soreness etc the next day, having said that I do make an effort to stretch before and after a run and have been giving my foam roller some summer lovin’.

My conclusion: I have to say I am impressed, while there is no golden bullet for recovery; this seems to come pretty close, minimized soreness, aches and pains after long runs/rides is always a benefit allowing you to turnaround quickly and get out training again. Previously I was taking Recoverite from Hammer Nutrition which I think is a great product with the exception that its taste is really, well to be honest, not good, additionally there several other advantages of tablets; easy transportation, no need for refrigeration and quickness. I definitely recommend that you check them out, at a minimum to see if they are still sending out samples, to see if they will work for you.

Over listening!

So my last post ended having had a good week...not so this. Presidents Day I had some extra time so I thought I would take my bike for a spin on the roads and enjoy the daylight, nothing grand a quick 10 mile loop around the local roads, it was all over an done with in 40 minutes. I got back, stretched had a quick shower and carried on with the day, it wasn’t till later that evening that both of my quads and one knee started playing up. The quads were, well not painful, but enough of a niggle to warrant icing several times, and my knee seemed to be more to do with the connective tissue so that also got iced. I’ve taken Tuesday and Wednesday off and we’ll see what happens on Thursday.

I find, after my injuries from last year, that I am often “over listening” to my body for odd signs of something amiss and sometimes I hear something that's just not there. It is, of course, best when there is no noise, well silence is golden!

The road to recovery...Pt 11 (Journey's end!)

Well today was my last day of PT, I am officially signed off, fit for duty and ready to go; uphill, downhill, sprints, intervals etc, I cannot express my gratitude enough to the crew at Blake Physical Therapy, they have, as the t-shirt they presented me with, re-built me! I did in fact cheat earlier this week knowing that I had the last appointment today and put in a quick set of sprints resulting in the fastest mile split of 6:33, yay! Of course the latest and greatest news is that my son and his germ-factory school-friends have decided to fire of the opening salvo of Biological warfare and share a nice case of the stomach flu with everyone round here; the upshot of this is that the house now looks like a scene from the Crimean War, although we are somewhat lacking on the Florence Nightingale front. I curtailed this mornings 12 miler after 7, after my stomach and head colluded to just overwhelm me and it was a there ‘n back rather than a loop; discretion being the greater part of valor. So here is a list the lessons learned during my 10 weeks of recovery:

• Stretching; stretching is your friend, do it before you run, do it after you run, do it in line at the bank…just do it!
• Include the above into your “run time”, I now bookend each and every run with 20 minutes of stretching, once you add the extra time in you can calculate the whole workout time and you can plan your day accordingly.
• Cross train: stretching’s best friend; running concentrates all your efforts in several keys areas; hamstrings, calves etc redress this balance by working on your quads and other muscle groups; cycling, weights and swimming are all good options.
• You don’t have to run everyday, cross training keeps you fresh and helps avoid the hidden trap door of overtraining.
• Core work; keep your core in check and you core will keep you in check.
• You don’t need to spend a fortune in gym memberships or on equipment; a bike, swiss-ball, dumb-bells, exercise mat, foam roller, ankle weights and a stretching strap are all you need…well ok you do need to spend some money but think of it as an investment.

I’ll still be taping my knees for the foreseeable future especially with the trail runs I have coming up, some of it is preventative and some is psychosomatic…but hey whatever works!

XTerra Trail Run; #1 Point Mugu...thrills in the hills!

Well the first race of the fall, the first post, well almost post, recovery and the first on the road to Leona Divide. The XTerra Trail Run; SoCal Series #1; Point Mugu. Anyone who has driven along Pacific Coast Highway around Malibu and Ventura will have seen the rather imposing ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains rising from sea level to, well today it was just over 1100'. The race started from the parking lot at the start of La Jolla Canyon; two distances were scheduled, an 11k and an 18k; I was running the 18k. The start was delayed as Search & Rescue had not reached their appointed positions, always good to have S&R on hand! The briefing advised us that there was little risk of rattlesnakes but to be careful for the Poison Oak; things were getting better! One aid station had been nixed but water and gels would be available at the next, we were recommended to carry our own water etc; I had come prepared with a UD Fastdraw bottle full of Accelerade. We were also advised that due to the need to announce to runners that you needed to pass it was to be an iPod, MP3 etc free race, I packed my headphones but set up the Nike+ to start so I could record the mileage. The canyon was starting to warm up as the suns rays broke through over the ridgeline. At a little before 9:00am the siren sounded, closely followed by a chorus of beeps as Garmin Forerunners' and the like were started, and several hundred runners (there was a limit of 300 entries) crossed the start line.

The tarmac path quickly ended and we were fed into a single track path that wound its way along the canyon bottom, several dry river crossings forced the pace to a walk and then a halt as we were funneled into the bottle necks until we reached the first uphill; a windy path that cut up the side of the canyon with multiple switchbacks, we had been told that at mile 1 we would be going up the first hill, we climbed 300' for a distance of about 50 yards and another 295’ of elevation during the mile. The trail wound its way further up the hill giving us some great view of the Pacific Ocean with the sun glinting off it as the waves crashed below on the beach. I reached the mile 2 marker in 23:11, splits: mile 1; 12:52 and 2; 10:19, hardly flying but by this stage I had climbed a total of 995' and there was more to come. By the third mile marker I had another 508' under my belt and another 12:20 on the clock; 3 miles in 35:31, to put things in perspective my “on the flat” 5k personal best is 20:47; I was somewhat off that pace! I had guestimated on a 10 minute mile pace as an average but I was forced to a walk during the third mile, my heart rate during this mile; 184bpm. We finally topped out and headed inland across a rolling plateau that had nice tough scratchy bushes predominantly at shin height but there was also several that were determined to whip off your visor or sunglasses. miles 4, 5 and 6 were over in a flash, 8:41, 8:57 and 8:42 respectively and during the sixth mile I took a Crank gel, I opted for this over my usual CarbBOOM! or Accel Gel as it is 150% their size and I only wanted to carry the one.

We left the rolling plateau and headed onto a fire road which contoured round the mountainside finally finding the steepest point, at least it seemed like it, to summit and cross over into the next valley, this was the highest elevation we would reach today; 1150' and it was downhill all the way; well more or less, total elevation gain 3076' in 7.5 miles, mile 7's pace sank backward to 11:25, one of the "or less" miles and my third slowest mile after miles bsl1 and 3. At this point I broke away from several other runners who I had been playing cat'n'mouse with and made a dash for the downhill. Mile 8 and mile 9 had us rounding switchbacks left and right and precariously overtaking other runners with drop-offs of hundreds of feet down through cactus fields’ only inches from the edge of our shoes. I have to say the etiquette was very impressive and the merest deep breath from behind had the runner in front moving to one side to allow you to pass. By this time we were being teased with the occasional glimpse of the starting parking lot which was also held the finish line.

My pace was picking up and I overtook several runners who had passed me earlier as well as others that were on the 11k route; Mile 8; 8:21, and 9; 8:15. The one remaining runner; a German women with a solid pace and work ethic who had dragged me up over the high point and who I had then overtaken from the cat'n'mouse group was in hot pursuit, shouting at from behind to actually go faster downhill, and out politeness I obliged. At this point I was racking my brains mathematically as exactly how far in miles 18k was, I concluded just under 11, so I had less than 2 to go. Mile 10 rushed by in 6:59, several occasions I felt my shoes losing their purchase on the single track and with arms flailing I regained balance and continued down the hill. Mile 11 or at least the 0.92 of it to the finish line was a blistering 6:11; maxing out my heart rate at 191bpm. A cruelly placed final dry river crossing about 20 yards from the finish threw many off, myself included, their stride and I jumped up the rock covered bank and crossed to finish line in more of a stumbling than sprint finish. I managed to keep my pursuer at bay and she crossed the finish line only seconds or even tenths of a second behind me, we shook hands, congratulated and thanked each other. Medal, water, time strip torn off the race number and before you know I was out of the chute and lining up for scrambled eggs, muffins and coffee – well, hell, I’d earned it.

I caught up with some of the runners from the cat'n'mouse group and we chatted over the course and the upcoming Long Beach Marathon next weekend and the second race in the Xterra series later this month; compared to my previous experience of post race mingling which has been from road races, trail runners are a very friendly bunch. I hung around for the post race announcements and results, from memory I came in 61st in the men’s out of about 115 and 10th in my age out of 20; I'll confirm and change as required when they go live.

(10/8/07 Quick update; final time 1:44:16 Mens 61/125. Age Group 16/34. Overall 61/139. I really am a mid pack runner!)

My Forerunner time: 1:43:16 a 9:19 pace, better than I had hoped for but one with plenty of room for improvement. The great news is that my knees and hips were and as of writing this pain free.

Unfortunately I did not take a camera, but I did stop on the side of the road on the way home and take a snap shot of the 'Point', see above and to the right a snap of the spoils. Here's the MotionBased data with all the day's highs and lows;

Up and Running...well almost.

Well September drew to a close, Summer is ending, well as much as it ever ends in Southern California, temperatures are still averaging around 80F although there is a definite nip in the air when I am usually heading out the door at 5am and it takes a good couple of miles to get the blood flowing.

Talking of miles September has seen a real turnaround, my mileage is almost back to pre-injury level; I closed out September with 143.22 miles under my belt, somewhat of an improvement over my injury riddled "no-running" month of August; 13 miles and my “I am heading towards injury” July; 54 miles. My long run is back into the high teens; 19.46 (Nike+) 19.20 (FR 305) and I have my first fall race this weekend. I have two more PT sessions, but I am stretching regularly at home and maintaining my strengthening routine as well as cycling for cross training. My Hal Higdon program starts in three weeks and with all things crossed I will be back up and running (pun intended) proper by the start of November. In anticipation of that I paid a visit to Diaz Human Performance lab in Camarillo for a Vo2 and RMR tests last weekend, more on that later.

The Road to Recovery...Pt 9 (Bell curves, pace and shoes)

Last week went well; in fact it went very well. Three good runs, 7.27, 8.25 and 11. 84 for a total of 27.36 miles; that’s over double my total mileage for August and puts me on target for a 100+ month, less than half my peak of 238 miles in April but a start. I am still restricted to running on the flat and that means walking up and down the hill to my house but that does mean that all my graphing gives me a nice bell curve, (and yes, the time is correct 5:31am) although it throws of my pace using Nike+, that's one advantage of a Forerunner; it provides a greater depth of analysis and as a standard will record the distance (mile) splits and allows you to create additional spilts - such as walking up and down hills.

My pace is improving, around 8 minute miles for the shorter distances and 8:45 for the long run, an improvement of nearly a minute a mile from two weeks ago and all pain free. I am now running full time in my orthotics and wear them all day every day, in fact the one day I forgot to switch them into a different pair of shoes I felt out of balance…just goes to show!

After a long discussion with the folks at Road Runners, I have ordered a pair of Asics Kayano 13s as they should offer a little more cushioning and last a little longer than the 300 miles that I average out of my Asics 2120s. I get a 60 day trial on them to see if they could be new shoe for me.

The Road to Recovery...Pt 8 (Getting it on tape)

Saw my PT today. After explaining to her about the issues encountered from yesterday's run, she has taped my knees, the tape is designed to pull my kneecap round towards the inside and away from the femur where it tends to rub, there is probably a psychosomatic response to it as well. She watched me running on the treadmill; my gait is, well, my gait, I have a tendency to “spoon” my right foot which collapses my right knee to the inside, to address this I have to concentrate on keeping my feet parallel, as if I am on cross-country skis.

The response to the tape has been positive; I had an interval session on Walter and my trainer without any issue and managed a five miler without incident with the exception of some niggling on the sole of my foot, but nothing that was not manageable. I only have a few more days till I have finished bedding in my orthotics and then I will be able to wear them for running, which should address the sole issue.

It’s a long road but the destination will be worth it.

The Road to Recovery...Pt 7 (One step forward, two steps back)

Went out this morning trying to get my PT prescribed 8 miles in, but I was running short of time. So I decided to, instead of walking down the hill as I have been doing, drive down and start running from the flat. I had already stretched at home before I left so I jumped in the car and drove down the hill, parked, locked up and set off.

From experience the first couple of miles are always a “pipe opener” and this morning felt no different, overnight cobwebs were being blown away and I was enjoying listening to the latest downloads from Endurance Planet on my iPod. Mile three rolled by and my right knee started to feel, well, just not right, three quarters of a mile later the feeling had grown worse and I was sensing the occasional twinge, none of this was on the outside where in the past my pain had stemmed from the IT band rubbing, by mile 4.5 I was starting to get a constant low level pain from the inside of my knee cap, by mile five I was done, time to walk. The pain was not intense but was constant and I was now feeling so sort of pressure point on the inside of my right heel. Got back to the car, drove home, stretched, and wrapped an ice bandage around it for 20 minutes, that numbed the soreness and it gently wore off during the next hour. It still fells tender to the touch but it is independently pain or discomfort free.

I am back to the PT tomorrow, so let’s see what she has to say, call me suspicious but am thinking somehow it will involve less running than more…I am starting to become official bored with being injured now.

The Road to Recovery...Pt 6 (The Sensor is dead, long live the Sensor!)

It is with sad and heavy heart that I have to write and report the passing of my Nike+ sensor. After performing a steadfast duty in both the US and UK, in rain and shine, on trail, treadmill or tarmac it has finally passed into that great recycling facility in the sky (well, the trashcan/bin in the corner of the kitchen). We accumulated over 1100 miles together, which I understand is above average (reports are they last as low as 500 and as high as 1500, so we’re pretty much in the middle). The good news is that Apple now sells a replacement sensor for $19 (plus shipping and tax etc) but it’s still $5.00 cheaper than buying a whole new kit. I got the early warning "battery low" message on Sunday, ordered my replacement Monday, the sensor died yesterday; my Birthday; is there a message there? The new one arrived 10 minutes ago.

So I only actually missed out on the data for one run; Sunday’s, which was an eight miler, bookended with a 0.6 mile down and up the hill from my house to the flat. Of course the “rechargeable” Garmin 305 was there to pick up the Nike slack. Here's the Garmin graph, it was almost a there and back with a little loop to make the correct distance. I am not sure why there are the pace spikes along the way, I certainly was not sprinting. My body is starting to remember what this running thing is all about but it will take some time to get back to where I was pre-injury.

The good news is that I completed it pain free, the bad news is that my pace sucked; an average 8:50, still I have to remind myself that it’s all about just running for now and has nothing to do with running fast.

The Road to Recovery...Pt 5 (Pedal, run & plan)

It’s been a busy week or at least it felt like it. Sunday’s long ride had a delayed start due to a very early start by my son who decided to get up at 5:30am I was up and stretching etc when I heard the pitter patter of feet coming down the hallway. I was able to get out the door at 9:15am some three hours later than planned; the downside of the late start was the heat, the temperature averaged out at 82.4F some 16 degrees warmer than the week before and I really felt it coming back up through Topanga Canyon, fortunately it is quite shaded. I wasn’t really sure why but I felt fuzzy about the ride, maybe it was the increased level of traffic, there’s something very selfish about having an open road all to yourself, unfortunately by ten in the morning open road is a hard thing to come by. Once I got my head facing the right way I was able to enjoy the ride, the only event happened during, inevitably, one of the fastest sections where I accidentally hit, while traveling at 35mph or so, a cat’s-eye in the road. The impact partially buckled my rear wheel, still it could have been a lot worse! So poor Walter spent 24hours in intensive care and emerged looking sparkly clean with two new tires (I had managed to eek out 1000 miles on the old ones), a re-trued rear wheel and regripped handlebars, however I will need to invest in a new wheelset in the not so distant future.

Wednesday I picked up new orthotics, which feel great, I have to break them in (or break me in – I am not sure which) gently over the course of the week and I am not allowed to run in them yet. I told my podiatrist that they made me feel like my feet where rolling out; apparently Asics have an asymmetric design which rolls you foot out and the orthotics are exaggerating that, it’s amazing what info you collect as you go about life. The good news is that I can stick with my Asics 2120s and will not need to step up (no pun intended) to motion control shoes, although I found out this week that the 2120s are being retired next month and 2121s will be released in October.

Friday was the only day I was able to get to my PT, however I have been able to do all the stretching and strengthening exercises at home, she cranked up the Sex Pistols for the massage element and the good news was I wasn’t climbing the wall, well at least not as high as last week! The progress report is good news, after a short spin on the treadmill and some suggested changes to my gait and foot placement I was given the OK to run; conditions: a moderate pace, six miles only and no uphills or downhills. I managed to squeeze in the run later in the day. After walking down the hill to get to the flat, I set off, suffice to say my knees grumbled and moaned for a couple or miles but once warmed up they loosened up nicely, that only left me with the weather to contend with, a balmy 98F; whoops! Anyway six miles later at a very moderate pace I was finished and walking back up the hill home, I reported into my PT to give her my feedback and get a green flag for what I would do at the weekend; I have permission to run again on Sunday…note to self; go out earlier than 3pm!

This weekend is the Bulldog50k which I will obviously DNS, I am now starting to think about next season and planning out my training program and races, the Los Angeles Marathon is in March and would serve as a good training run for the Lenora Divide in April, I would really like to get a 50k in early as well so I was looking at the Twin Peaks in February, I am very fortunate to have a great series of ultras in Southern California; they are organized into a the SoCal Ultra Runners Grand Prix Series. In addition to this a group of runners from Nike+ are discussing pulling together a “real” team to run The Relay which is also in April…so much choice! I need to box clever to not overdo things, while it’s relatively easy to run a 5k, 10k or even a half marathon, these longer distances definitely require more up and down time and compressing the peaks and troughs too tightly is a recipe for disaster!

The road to recovery...Pt 4 (Stretch, strengthen & punk rock)

This is the end of Week 2 of Physiotherapy. My PT says that it’s going well but my IT band is putting up a good fight. My therapy has built up from a base of 30 minutes of stretching three times a day, specifically my hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes from week one and now includes strength training concentrating on my glutes and quads. I am fortunate to have a lot of the “tools of the trade” around the house; swissball, ankle-weights, floor mat and a stretching band etc, it's amazing what you accumulate as you go!

I am still banned from running and so I am concentrating on cycling: with a long ride at the weekend currently 40 miles and then a short speed circuit of 10 miles, (increasing to 15 next week) three times a week. In addition each session I am getting deep, and I mean really deep tissue massage, suffice to say; if you think of massage as scented candles and soothing pipe music, this treatment would be accompanied by the stink of fresh asphalt and the roar of the Sex Pistols!

I have my orthotic fitting next Wednesday and I hope to return back to some form of running next weekend...watch this space.