I offer this post as an olive branch to the many who find my views of over-indulgence in exercise inflammatory. It’s important not to confuse my criticism of chronically inflaming oneself in the pursuit of something lofty as personal perfection, or knowledge of, or participation in the quintessential and most healthy of sport. My passion […]
Category: Cyclocross
Cyclocross-related topics of the DrJohnM blog
Our Ohio valley cyclocross season isn’t over yet, but there are two outs in the ninth. This weekend, the site of the final act is Indianapolis IN. The short, cold and cloudy days of December mesh with the fatigue of year-long competition to deplete one of any remaining remnants of caring. Like 4 AM felt […]
Categories
Inspiration
I give you this video, re-“embedded” with permission from Greg Keller, owner of the Mud and Cowbells website. For cyclocross crazies the season is progressing. The days are shorter, the air colder, and the skies less blue. Our legs, and for some, our minds have grown weary with the year’s racing fatigue. For the non-cyclists, […]
We all know that successful bike racers are mentally strong. But what is unknown, and hotly debated, is the role of mental toughness in an athlete’s success. (Granted, we know it isn’t their predilection to drooling.) So, is it 5% mental, 20% mental or even 50%? In sports psychology, there are the traditionalists who say […]
Bike racer’s blogs are legendary for their self-indulgent, mind-numbing race reports. Professional cyclocross racer, Georgia Gould, characterized this disease best when I asked her whether she had a blog, Facebook fan-page or twitter-feed: “No, I am not into that stuff…Would anyone really care about the details of my racing? To me, it would seem very […]
Categories
More Tests…
In the predawn darkness on a cool October morning, I sit and wonder, Will there be a call to the front row,Will the pedal click in on the first go, Will the legs respond, the cerebellum too, Peace, not chaos, perhaps, It doesn’t matter, Really? Telll that to the rumblings of the mind, the stare, […]
Categories
A weekend of life…
There were no books read, no MacBooks tapped, and not even one medical link looked at this weekend. Out-of-town bike racing was on the docket. And this was no ordinary local showdown; it was a humdinger—Cincinnati’s UCI CX festival. There were professional racers, their entourages and trailers, multiple emcees, serious-faced officials and of course, the […]
For bike racers, the end of summer marks the beginnings of cyclocross season. Cyclocross? Yes, think motocross, only the motor is the heart, lungs, legs and cerebellum. Here is my 2010 primer on the discipline of cyclocross. Cyclocross (CX) originated in Western Europe and is extremely popular there, however, it is rapidly gaining popularity in […]
A beautiful young fan yells encouragement to me during a cyclocross race. She repeatedly hollers the word, “focus!” The beneficial effects of cycling are seemingly infinite. There is the fitness, and the well known accompanying cardiovascular benefits. Blood pressure is lowered, arteries more elastic, waistlines shrink and as long as one can avoid moving trees, the […]
As a cardiologist and advocate for healthy living through exercise, the bleak news of rising childhood obesity hits me hard. But as an endurance athlete well versed in the inflammatory effects of excessive exercise, and a coach of middle school children, recent news reports on the over-training of American youth is equally troublesome. The over-training of […]
Today was Storm the Greens, the last race of the Ohio Valley Cyclocross Series. Goodwill was in abundance. Hearts did well today. It was the Kentucky state CX championship. A win, plus 7 dollars gets you a barbecue sandwich. My race: who cares. Had great legs. Left too much skin on the ground. 20 degress […]