Monday, February 28, 2011

The dreaded side stitch

Here's a great article that helps to explain that awful and annoying side stitch and how to help prevent it!

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/7-Ways-to-Fend-Off-the-Side-Stitch.htm?cmp=282&memberid=105524530&lyrisid=20968327

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Bike Fittings

Hi all! I just had my bike professionally fitted by Mike at Wear On Earth. While I know this sounds like an advertisement I just wanted to pass along how amazing it feels to be riding a bike that actually fits me! I have an old ACL injury that caused weakness in my left leg so after about 30 min on my bike my left hip flexor would be fatigued and sore. I also had a complaint about my feet going numb when I would ride, right at about the 30 min mark again. Turns out I wasn't seated properly on my saddle because it was to small for me! (Yes I have a wide..um..sit bones!) :) So we spent about 45 min trying different saddles to find the right one for me. Then he worked with my cleat positioning and my shoes and put in lifts to help balance me out so that my weaker left side was properly aligned and supported. All in all it was a long process but totally worth it.

As many of you know I am an athletic trainer so I have a strong base in Anatomy and Physiology and I was totally impressed at the amount bio-mechanical and physiological knowledge that Mike had and how he applied it to the fitting. Specialized has definitely done there homework with this fit certification. The entire first portion of the fitting occurs with out your bike. Mike takes a look at your over flexibility, your feet, your Q-angles..which is the alignment from your hip to your knees and down to your ankles and he has an "ass-ometer" :) which measures the width of your sit bones and helps to properly fit you to a saddle.

I have now ridden my bike three times since the fitting and I can honestly say I'm feeling much better. I'm not fatiguing at that 30 min mark (ok my hip isn't..I still am!) and my feet haven't gone numb since! It's been nice to ride the bike and wear myself out with hard work rather than pain and annoyances! If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an e-mail! I'd love to talk about it! Or you can call Mike and see if he can get you fitted too!