Fred D Mentor Group Part III (Page 30)

Sorry to hear about the exhaustive and busy schedule Fred...hopefully it falls in the category of "good problems to have." Life is manually adjusting my taper weeks as well...started off well enough last week, but have now gone three full days with zero training and a race coming up on Saturday.

I'm good with it though...had to take care of fires at work, honey-do's at home, and kids soccer games. All of which were higher on the priority list...however, I had to give myself several reminders about why I do this sport and the truly important things.

I get a deep massage every two weeks and I really think it has kept me much healthier. Where I live, the roads are pretty severely crowned (understandably to handle the winters), and running with that much camber can really throw me out of wack...he is also aware of my training schedule and really works with me to keep me going. I'd strongly recommend it - especially if you can find someone good.

I was getting a massage regularly when I was struggling with Sciatica last year and I think it helped but I can't say for sure.  It felt great at least.  Although I sometimes left there feeling a bit like a punching bag....   

I get a deep tissue massage about once a month, slightly more frequently during higher volume training, especially if I am running a lot.  I think it helps me quite a bit, especially with injury.  My one proviso is that I also think that one needs to see a very talented person.

This video makes me want to go out and ride more...on a roadie clipped in. Holy cow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmJtYaUTa0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

When I was training for the Mt Lemmon marathon all the up was making my calves very tight so I use to get my legs messaged regularly by a friend and all it cost me was a batch of cookies.  Best deal ever.  I don't do message regularly now but I do think it is a good thing.  I instead would go to my chiropractor somewhat regularly, who was also an ART specialist and that helped me a lot. 

Training at lower/higher cadences.  Just curious about the groups thoughts on whether there are any measurable benefits to be had by doing some training at very low (less than 60) and high (100) type cadences. 

For the record, I'm not looking to change my cadence, just wondering if there is value to mixing it up.  I would assume low cadence in theory would help develop a bit of power, and higher cadence would tax the aerobic system more.

I get some low cadence training in when I ride up steep mountains.  I suppose I could put a 32-tooth cog on the back and spin, but I don't mind grinding for a while to get up the really steep grades.  I guess that's helpful.  I don't know whether it's the low cadence per se, though, so much as the fact that I'm stomping on the pedals!

I do think there's value to occasionally mixing things up, but mostly I don't think about cadence while I'm riding.

To loosely follow up on the weight loss discussion in a decidedly less than serious, but somewhat pointed manner, this blog was posted on ST this morning.  The language is definitely NSFW (written words, not video):

http://pvcycling.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/lets-get-tinyful/

I may have found my new tagline...(modified for language):  Life's too short to give up donuts so you can go from last to third to last.....

My last massage was a few days post bike crash. I've got a gift certificate for another one, so I'm sure I'll schedule that soon. My mom also likes to buy them for me for birthday/Christmas presents. A friend of mine who's a great triathlete joined one of the Massage Envy places and goes at least 2x a month. I'm of the school of thought that it's personal. If you haven't tried it - give it a shot. If you don't like the results, don't go back.

On cadence - I feel like mine is lower than it should be. I'm going to try to keep a higher cadence on my bike commute and see if I start to feel better.

It's been a while since I've had a massage, but I do think they can help. How much depends on the skill of the masseuse IMO.  I also think that it helps if you can go to the same person. Over time, they learn where your issues are and you can get comfortable with them working really deep.  I once had a Thai massage and it was pretty interesting. It's done on a mat on the floor and you are wearing loose clothes. It's more like assisted stretching.  I have had a lot of ART the last year and my PT has me doing a lot of work on the foam roller. Not exactly the same, but it's something I can do every day on my schedule. 

LOL!!!

Melissa, with you. 

Money + Too Much Time = No massages

During marathon training I did hit the foam roller from time to time though and that was worthwhile.  I should do it more regularly.  Anyone do triggerpoint or other foam roller stuff regularly?

I use my foam roller nearly daily.