[saschroeder]

saschroeder on July 15, 2020 at 11:37 am · in reply to: Training into menopause #43626

Thanks for the recommendation for Roar. I will check it out. I’m recently postmenopausal. After hearing horror stories of how women decline physically after “the change,” I’m focused on strategies to keep my strength, power, and endurance to allow me to continue pursuing my passions (Nordic and telemark skiing, rock climbing and mountaineering, ultra-distance gravel racing). I have increased my focus on strength training, and added some focus on quickness and power… as I feel like these are areas where the losses may become more apparent.

[saschroeder]

saschroeder on February 10, 2020 at 11:38 am · in reply to: HR Spikes on the Downhill #37884

If you are doing a higher speed descent (i.e., cycling, running, skiing), I have found that the flapping of a synthetic shirt on the chest strap will lead to inaccurate heart rate spikes. If you’re hiking and don’t have a flapping synthetic shirt, I’m not sure why that would happen.

[saschroeder]

saschroeder on March 27, 2019 at 9:18 am · in reply to: Pull ups #19175

I have also had the same issue… I can do pull ups when I can reach the bar from the ground but struggle when I can’t!

[saschroeder]

saschroeder on March 27, 2019 at 9:16 am · in reply to: Retrocalacneal bursitis #19174

I have battled Achilles tendon issues for years, including retrocalcaneal bursitis. It sounds like you’re case is relatively new and may be more easily fixed than mine was. One thing you might try, and that helped me for some time, is eccentric lowering exercises. These are very effective for Achilles tendon issues… particularly when they are in the body of the tendon, but also for insertional issues if done correctly. They are done by rising up on the balls of both feet then lowering down, slowly, on just the affected foot. (If both feet are affected do both… rise up on 2, lower slowly on 1.) The main difference for insertional issues is that you only lower your heel to a flat floor rather than standing on a step and lowering your heel below the step as for issues in the main body of the tendon. These are exercises a physical therapist could help you with.

Another thing you might check on is the presence of a Haglund’s deformity (identified by an x-ray). If this is present, you may have ongoing issues (as I did). If you have a Haglund’s deformity and months of PT/rest don’t help, and can provide additional advice.

[saschroeder]

saschroeder on March 4, 2019 at 7:58 am · in reply to: Understanding reasons for changes in performance #17390

Thanks Scott and Scott. You both have very valid points that I acknowledge. I understand that the aging process is ongoing and terminal, and probably my experience is the only thing that’s hopefully improving while my body continues declining. I also understand that there are serious trade-offs related to my multiple athletic passions… I would be better at each of my activities if I focused more exclusively, but I don’t want to give up month-long trips to the French Alps (like I had last year ? !) to roller ski… nor could I pass on gliding down a perfect track for more time in the gym. So, I tend to “do it all” and do my best to use my activities to complement each other. I hope that spring/summer cycling and mountaineering help build/maintain base for ski racing in winter, although they do take some time away from roller skiing and ski-specific drills. Cragging is probably the least beneficial to my other activities, but is a shared activity with my husband and friends and I typically also do aerobic activities on cragging days.

Anyways, I feel like the reality is that age, injuries, and training issues probably all are contributing to my relative decline. I see the decline from my own performances, but also relative to other women my age… some of whom seemed to be improving in some cases seemingly substantially. I am guessing some of the women I see may be more focused and face fewer trade-offs among activities, or perhaps they have better coaching. But, they too are seemingly folks with full lives outside of sport. Being that I can’t do much to reverse my age and I am plotting how to proceed with my injuries, I want to work on the training aspect… as that is the aspect most in my control.

Scott J., I have been looking at the consulting available through Uphill Athlete. As I know you have worked extensively with Nordic skiers, I would be interested in setting up consultation(s) with you. In recent years, I have roughly used training plans from CXC Academy, adapted for the gravel racing and other activities. But, I have years of training records and ski race results that could perhaps be reviewed to see how training might be improved.