This is Your Brain on Ironman

This is your brain...in Jell-O form.

This is your brain, not on drugs as the PSA once told us, but on Ironman.

Let me explain. I'm nearly two weeks removed from Ironman, and life should be back to normal, but it's so not. Except it's not life that's the issue, it's my mind. I think I lost half of it--or most of it depending on what day you ask me--in Lake Monona. My mind is foggy, hazy, unable to comprehend some basic stuff. I can't think straight, I can't wake up, I'm forgetful, I can't write--which means I can barely work since that's my job--to save my life, and I can't make sense of how hours can elapse and I have nothing to show for them. If there's such a thing as post-Ironman brain, I have it.

Bike Tech 101

Maybe your bike is in storage until the weather warms up and biking is far from the forefront of your mind. But tonight, you want to harness that bike energy or that lust for all things cycling. You can leave the bike packed away or hooked up to the trainer, just consider driving to Highland Park to check out some of the latest and greatest in bike technology. See it for yourself on January 21 at 7 p.m. at Vision Quest Highland Park, 1923 Skokie Valley Road.
Who doesn't want to go faster on the bike, especially if you've got a lot of ground to cover or a half Ironman or Ironman to tackle? Sometimes your legs can only take you so far and it starts to become a matter of bike position--especially nailing the aero positioning--and bike composition. And if you want to feast your eyes on the latest speed demon on the bike circuit--any cyclist knows this far surpasses what's debuting at the International Auto Show currently in Detroit and soon to stop in Chicago--Vision Quest has it tonight. Tyler Pilger and Nick Howe from Trek Bicycles are providing a sneak peek at the 2011 Trek Speed Concept.

The Speed Concept is the latest design from Trek and boasts the same aero design that powered Alberto Contador to his 2009 Tour de France victory and propeled Chris Lieto to the bike course record that he set at the Ironman World Championships in Kona. It's expected to be released for the 2011 model year and uses automotive aerodynamic technologies coupled with component integration. And not only can you gawk at this bike, but you can also learn more about triathlon bike development and how the 2010 Madone 6 series was developed.

But that's only the bike side of the evening's events. Vision Quest is also showcasing another technology that is aimed to help you recover faster: the NormaTec MVP (Most Valuable Pump). Created from collaboration between physicians and athletes, the NormaTec MVP is popular among triathletes and cyclists like Simon Whitfield, Lance Armstrong, Craig Alexander, Tim DeBoom, Levi Leipheimer and cycling's Team Garmin/Slipstream. NormacTec is compression at its finest and tailored to the athlete. According to its description it mimics normal physiology to help athletes recover quickly either from workouts, injury or surgery. And because it's based around physiology, the compression it offers helps to improve circulation and alleviate symptoms.

To learn more about these tools to make 2010 your best season and the January 21 event, check out www.visionquestcoaching.com. Photo grabbed from nsr1986 at flickr.

Recovery from High Intensity Training

High Intensity Training at East Bank was brutal. I don't know about you, but Monday is definitely the day when I can use a good butt-kicking to rev myself into gear for what's to come for the rest of the week. My trainer, Dan, gave me the butt-kicking, but instead of gearing up, I think I spent most of the week rolling in reverse.

More than 48 hours since H.I.T. and my quads are still killing. It hurts to get up from my desk, I'd rather lay on the couch, legs extended, and not have to move for the remainder of the day. I brace myself before I cough or sneeze, knowing my abs will ache which each shift of my torso. The bed sounds more inviting than getting work done and bundling up to embrace the bone-chilling cold is the last thing on my mind. Sitting still seemed like the best form of recovery at the expense of everything else to get done. Now I understand why you'd only want to lift twice a week with H.I.T.--anything more and you'll likely find permanent muscle damage, or enough aches to feel like you've aged 50 years in a day.

It finally took a Powernap (more on that to come) and Budokon class at Equinox to stretch out those lingering pains. Maybe it was the deep breathing, stretching my limbs in directions they normally don't move (I NEVER do yoga) or the constant returns to down-dog. Whatever happened in that hour and a half, thank goodness, because now I want to go back and work my muscles to the max all over again. Posted by Kate