“True disputants are like true sportsmen: their whole delight is in the pursuit.” -Alexander Pope 

Rev3 Montclair Sprint 2016

Rev3 Williamsburg 2016

The Columbia Triathlon - May 2015

Ironman World Championships 2014

Ironman 70.3 World Championships - 2013

What Will Stick From 2020?

What Will Stick From 2020?

I don’t need to reiterate the fact that 2020 has been tough.  No one has been through this year without some sort of unexpected challenge – closed schools, lack of social interaction, health concerns, financial worries, and the list goes on.  But out of all this, there seems to be a few things that will actually lead to growth and progress.  Taking time to realize these things and being grateful for them has been a useful practice for me. But first a really quick recap of the 2020 “season”: Races lined up.  Races canceled.  More races.  More cancelations.  Keep training.  But what for?  Mental sanity.  Endorphins.  Try new training approaches.  Sign up for more races.  More cancelations.   Virtual Races?  Suppose its better than nothing.  ½ Marathon.  Good but can do better. Few days later a solo marathon sounds like a good idea.  So painful. I guess worth it.  2:47 and a PR at 39 years.  But now a strained shin.  39 now feels old.  Back to back races maybe not so smart.  Lots and lots of biking and not much running. Daily dinner conversations about shin start to get old.  Alice very patient with my neurosis.  Excited for great fitness but shin not feeling so good.  Sign up for races.  Races not canceled.  I’ll get to race.  Races modified.  Not ideal but better than nothing. Hagerstown Sprint Duathlon.  Aim for beating my 2015 course record.  I smashed it.  Oh wait, I got my first DQ for going off course.  No record.  But still faster at 39.  Will try again next year.   Small pro 70.3 in NC.  Fast course.  Can...
AmpHuman PR Lotion & Lactigo Gel:  Do they work?!

AmpHuman PR Lotion & Lactigo Gel: Do they work?!

For the past two weeks, I satisfied my curiosity surrounding a few new topical products that had gotten my attention:   AmpHuman PR lotion and Lactigo gel. If simply putting on some topical product before a workout could make someone faster or help them recover better, who wouldn’t be interested in using them?! So I got a few bottles and did a one week trial of each product.   As much as possible, I kept my workout structure and volume (~ 16 hours) the same:  Mondays short strength workout and a VO2 bike interval session, Tuesdays were long run and some swim drills, Wednesdays were long outdoor rides, Thursdays were a key strength and fun fat bike recovery ride, Fridays were a shorter bike interval session with some swim drills, and Saturdays were threshhold efforts on the bike followed by a brick run.   Sundays were family day (I don’t write “off” since I’m usually expending quite a bit of energy chasing around my boys!).   My training was very bike-focused as I’m still coming off of my 1/2 marathon and marathon virtual races, and quite honestly, the running needed a bit of a break. From my research, albeit limited, the two products are similar, but not mutually exclusive.  For sake of simplicity, AmpHuman works to act as a PH buffer of lactic acid outside the cells (via sodium bicarbonate) and Lactigo attempts to buffer lactic within the cells (via carnosine).  Both companies have at least some studies that are listed on their websites, which seem to demonstrate their efficacy.   Also, both companies have been surprisingly open and communicative...