CX Nationals More Top Results

Men 50-54: Tom Price 4th!

Men 35-39: Shadd Smith, 10th!

Congrats to Tom and Shadd!

2009 CX Nationals, Day 1 Results... WOW!

Of course, it's the infamous curse....  The snow and ice curse.  Oh well, let's get to racing!

Men 20-29 "B" race.  Connor Cartland.  Sitting in 3rd place late in the race when a crash K-O'd his bike.  Tough break!  So close...

Men's 30-39 "B" race.  100-ish starters, random call up.  Shadd Smith, 2nd to last row (11th row) to 1st place! Congrats to Shadd Smith!

Men 40+ "B" race.  167 starters, random call up.  Tom Price, last row call up to 3rd place!  Congratulations to Tom!

Dean Parker was also sitting in position for a top 20 in the 55-59 National Championship race when a crash K-O'd his bike.  Oh MAN!  Dean ran 1/3 of a lap, changed bikes and rode from 45th back up to 29th in the snow and ice.  Fantastic ride for Dean, even with the unfortunate luck.

Another Week, More Top Results For SE Athletes

USGP Portland, Day 2.

Tom Price, Masters 45+: 1st!  Overall: 2nd.

Dean Parker, Masters 55+: 1st!

USGP Portland, Day 1.

Tom Price, Masters 45+: 2nd

Dean Parker, Masters 55+: 2nd

Michigan CX Championships
Tom Burke, Men Open: 4th


Missouri CX Champs
Scott Fleming, Masters 45+: 3rd

Boss CX
Scott Fleming, Masters 45+: 2nd
Aubree Dock, Women 4: 3rd.

Stretching. Believer or Non- Believer....

November 25, 2009, 12:01 am 

Phys Ed: How Necessary Is Stretching?

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Max Oppenheim/Getty Images

For research published earlier this year, physiologists at Nebraska Wesleyan University had distance-running members of the school’s track and field team sit on the ground, legs stretched before them, feet pressed firmly up against a box; then the runners, both men and women, bent forward, reaching as far as they could past their toes. This is the classic sit-and-reach test, a well-established measurement of hamstring flexibility. The runners, as a group, didn’t have exceptional elasticity, although this varied from person to person.

Overall, the women were more supple, as might have been expected. Far more telling was the correlation between the various runners’ tight or loose hamstring muscles and their running economy, a measure of how much oxygen they used while striding. Economy is often cited as one of the factors that divide great runners from merely fast ones. Kenyan distance runners, for instance, have been found to be significantly more economical in their running than comparable Western elites.
When the Nebraska Wesleyan researchers compared the runners’ sit-and-reach scores to the measurements of their economy, which had been garnered from a treadmill test, they found that, across the board, the tightest runners were the most economical. This was true throughout the groups and within the genders. The inflexible men were more economical than the women, and for both men and women, those with the tightest hamstrings had the best running economy. They also typically had the fastest 10-kilometer race times. Probably, the researchers concluded, tighter muscles allow “for greater elastic energy storage and use” during each stride. Inflexibility, in other words, seems to make running easier.
For years, flexibility has been widely considered a cornerstone of health and fitness. Many of us stretch before or after every workout and fret if we can’t lean over and touch our toes. We gape enviously at yogis wrapping their legs around their ears. “It’s been drummed into people that they should stretch, stretch, stretch — that they have to be flexible,” says Dr. Duane Knudson, professor of biomechanics at Texas State University in San Marcos, who has extensively studied flexibility and muscle response. “But there’s not much scientific support for that.”
In fact, the latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway. “To a large degree, flexibility is genetic,” says Dr. Malachy McHugh, the director of research for the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and an expert on flexibility. You’re born stretchy or not. “Some small portion” of each person’s flexibility “is adaptable,” McHugh adds, “but it takes a long time and a lot of work to get even that small adaptation. It’s a bit depressing, really.”
What happens to our muscles and tendons, then, when we dutifully stretch before a run or other workout? Doesn’t this lengthen our muscles, increasing our flexibility and range of motion?

According to the science, the answer appears to be no. “There are two elements” involved in stretching a muscle, Dr. McHugh says. One is the muscle itself. The other is the mind, which sends various messages to the muscles and tendons telling them how to respond to your stretching when the discomfort of the stretching becomes too much. What changes as you stretch a muscle is primarily the message, not the physical structure of the muscle. “You’ll start to develop a tolerance” for the discomfort of the stretch, Dr. McHugh says. Your brain will allow you to hold the stretch longer. But the muscles and tendons themselves will not have changed much. You will feel less tight. But even this sensation of elasticity is short-lived, Dr. McHugh says. In a new review article of the effects of stretching that he co-wrote and that will be published soon in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, he looked at the measurable impacts of a number of different stretching regimens. What he found was that when people performed four 90-second stretches of their hamstrings, their “passive resistance” to the stretching decreased by about 18 percent — they felt much looser — but the effect had passed in less than an hour. To achieve a longer-lasting impact, and to stretch all of the muscles involved in running or other sports, he says, would probably require as much as an hour of concerted stretching. “And the effects still wouldn’t be permanent,” he says. “You only see changes” in the actual, physical structure of the muscles “after months of stretching, for hours at a time. Most people aren’t going to do that.”
And most of us don’t need to. “Flexibility is a functional thing,” Dr. Knudson says. “You only need enough range of motion in your joints to avoid injury. More is not necessarily better.” For runners, extremely tight hamstrings and joints have been found in some studies (but not all studies) to contribute to overuse injuries. But somewhat tight hamstrings, as the Nebraska Wesleyan study showed, can make you more economical. Some degree of inflexibility may make you a better runner.
How then to judge your own flexibility? “The sit-and-reach test is pretty good” for at-home evaluations, Dr. Knudson says, at least of your back and hamstring muscles. Using a staircase, sit and straighten your legs so that your feet push against the bottom step, toes upright. Stretch forward. “Try to lay your chest onto your thighs,” he says. If you can reach past your toes, you’re more than flexible enough. (No one yet has devised a way to reduce flexibility, by the way, although some Olympic-level coaches in other countries are rumored to be trying.)
If, on the other hand, “you can’t get anywhere near your toes, and the lower part of your back is practically pointing backward” as you reach, then you might need to try to increase your hamstring flexibility, Dr. Knudson says, to avoid injuring yourself while running, cycling or otherwise exercising. You can find multiple hamstring stretches on YouTube, although you should consult with a physical therapist before replicating them at home; proper technique is important to avoid injury. “You won’t get a lot of change,” Dr. Knudson says, ” but a little may be all you need.”

Jingle Cross (videos) and other Top Results.

New Website is LIVE!  

New, updated, and awesome: http://source-e.net

Breaking News!  The Streak Continues!

It's official, Tom Price is going fast!  Including ALL THREE RACES at Jingle CX , Tom has climbed to the top podium step in 5 consecutive races and 6 times in November.  Want more?  4 of the 6 wins are at national level races, meaning fierce competition from the best within a 1 day drive or around 500 miles.  Still want more?  The WINS are in four different staes!  Kansas, New Jersey, Nebraska, Iowa.  How many riders can say that?  STILL want more?  Tom is at the races all day, working the pits when he's not racing!  Tom has been progressing all season and is right on track for Nationals coming up in Bend, OR in two weeks time.  Stay tuned for more!  

If you see Tom, do NOT mention this.  "Never talk to a pitcher when he's throwing a perfect game."

The Last Kiss CX East Grand Rapids, MI 11/29
Tom Burke. Men Elite: 1st!

Jingle CX, UCI C2. Iowa City, IA.  11/27-29.
Jingle CX III (11/29)

Joseph Schmalz.  Men Elite: 17th

Shadd Smith. Men Elite: 25th.

Tom Price. Masters Men 40+: 1st!

Dean Parker. Master Men 55+: 3rd.

Jingle CX II (11/28)
Tom Price. Masters Men 40+: 1st!
Wanda Simchuk. Masters Women 35+: 2nd.
Dean Parker. Masters Men 55+. 2nd.
Shadd Smith. Men Elite: 18th.
Adam Mills. Men Elite: 25th.


Jingle CX I (11/27) 
Tom Price. Master's 40+: 1st! 
Scott Fleming. Master's 40+: 6th 
Shadd Smith. Men Elite (UCI C2): 17th.

Jingle CX Recap.....
Mud.  That was the theme of the weekend.  Not really mud, but more like horse poop.  Sticks to everything and the only way off is with a power sprayer.  That's where the KCCX Pit Crew stepped up.  All weekend, in multiple races The riders not racing were manning the pits so that KCCX riders would have bikes that went fast and go fast they did.  Multiple top placings including the first win from Alex Edwards racing the 2/3 Men.  Watch him, he's on the move....  Thanks to all the Pit Crew because without them, not a single rider would have been able to race to his/ her full ability.  It was definitely nice to be able to haul ass into the pit, to the handoff, and jump on a clean and well working bike.  Such a luxury.


Jingle CX is probably one of the most fun trips I take all year.  Iowa City is like gem in the middle of... well, Iowa.  College towns are typically like that though.  Groovy.  The races are probably the most humbling of any CX race I do all year.  Sure there are technical parts of every CX race, but this race relentless.  Every year, only the strong AND the one who can drive a bike the best will win.  Having either is not enough.  Also, you absolutely can not be afraid to fall down.  I stopped counting after about 6 on the weekend and I know everyone fell or nearly fell in every race, every day.  Don't lie to yourself.  You're not an infallible bike driver.


Finally.......

 Jingle Cross, the Video.  Thanks to Keith Walburg!

Jingle Cross 2009: Friday Night Cross from Gizmo Pictures on Vimeo.

2009 US Cyclocross Nationals Course Preview

New Website Live! AND Athletes Showing Top Form Nationwide!

New Website is LIVE!  
New, updated, and awesome: 
http://source-e.net

Breaking News!
It's official, Tom Price is going fast!  Including Friday night AND Saturday at Jingle CX , Tom has climbed to the top podium step in 4 consecutive races and 4 times in November.  Want more?  3 of the 5 wins are at national level races, meaning fierce competition from the best within a 1 day drive or around 500 miles.  Still want more?  The WINS are in four different staes!  Kansas, New Jersey, Nebraska, Iowa.  How many riders can say that?  STILL want more?  Tom is at the races all day, working the pits when he's not racing!  Tom has been progressing all season and is right on track for Nationals coming up in Bend, OR in two weeks time.  Stay tuned for more!  

If you are in Iowa and you're reading this, don't tell Tom!  "Never talk to a pitcher when he's throwing a perfect game." 


Jingle CX, UCI C2. Iowa City, IA.  11/27-29.
Jingle CX II (11/28)
Tom Price. Masters Men 40+: 1st!
Wanda Simchuk. Masters Women 35+: 2nd.
Dean Parker. Masters Men 55+. 2nd.
Shadd Smith. Men Elite: 18th.


Jingle CX I (11/27) 
Tom Price. Master's 40+: 1st! 
Scott Fleming. Master's 40+: 6th 
Shadd Smith. Men Elite (UCI C2): 17th.



2009 Mellow Johnnys Classic at Juan Pelotas Ranch. Dripping Springs, TX.  11/ 22.
Bryan Fawley.  Men Elite: 2nd.
Cyclingnews.com report here


Jon Toner. Men Cat2 30-34: 5th. 




Indy CX . Indianapolis, IN. 11/21-22
Tom Burke. Men Elite: 3rd Saturday; 2nd Sunday.


Lincoln CX. Lincoln, NE.  11/21-22

Tom Price: Master's 40+: 1st!

Scott Fleming.  Single Speed: 3rd. Sunday.


Dean Parker. Saturday: Masters 40+: 10th,  Single speed: 3rd

Sunday: Masters 40+: 6th, Single Speed: 4th
Dean typically competes in the 55+ category!