Sept. 28 Hillbounding with a Passion

Holy Mackinolies, 39 athletes joined in the fun last night. Who would have thunk that many folks would have a penchant for self flagellation. As promised the soft start morphed into a "jello" like effort, it wiggled but we held it together for 25+ reps with noticeably less recovery. I have linked in some photo's (bad ones) at http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/ The first set is last night with more following. Click on the individual photos' to expand the image and please note the following technical ideas:

• There is still some "sitting back". We MUST address that. The idea of forward rotation is a foreign one but is fundamental. Remind me to talk about that.


• Running (not bounding) is still prevalent, especially when tired (surprise). Look at the photo's and specifically the foot angle at the end of the "push".



• Poles. There still is some creative poling going on out there and while I like free thinking you need to fall with accepted parameters. Remember to get the straps on right and tight. A simple thing like loose pole straps can doom you to goofy poling and a lifetime of flailing.



• Knolls were made to run and deep tucks mean deep. I saw many cases of the Ernst Resting Tuck (ERT) Remember practice makes PERMANENT!

All in all it went pretty darn good. Several surprised me with very solid technique and there was certainly hard efforts. Don't be afraid to sit out a rep or two. Get to mid hill and watch the profile view. You can learn a lot. We will probably hold steady the reps and try and speed up the recovery more, [uggg]. The Skeeters should be gone by next week and cooler temps will help.

One last word on Lactate Intervals. These are super hard efforts. If you enjoy them I would question your thought process, but they are very beneficial. LI's for most are simply physical efforts but serious athletes know that they develop the ability to MAINTAIN COMPOSURE while exhausted. That is very fundamental because when your technique breaks down you burn energy at vastly higher rates, speeding up even more the inevitable death shuffle, and that's not fun.

Things went good and you can be pleased with the effort. We have room to improve and that's a good thing. A few more notes. The Green Bay Duathlon is next weekend http://www.midwestsportsevents.com/ . A good time to get the bike out one last time. October is here, keep those poles handy and if you are rollerskiing keep your tips sharp as dull ferrules cause technical glitches and sore "rollerski elbows". My new bud Parker (age 13) showed me why it takes passion to do hillbounding and my other bud Graham Parker put it to words http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPQWPxfPYKo Being hip means knowing no pain.

Nice job, thanks for being on time at 5:28pm.