This weekend is the Rock n Roll Dallas Half and I am kind of ho-hum about it. This is unlike me because I love race week. This is when I get zoned in. I know exactly what my splits are going to be and where I want/need to be at a specific mile in the race. I get goose bumps that run up and down my body as I visualize the course and know that my training was spot on and that I WILL hit my time!

So why am I ho-hum? Well, the start of 2013 was nothing like I envisioned. Multiple issues with my body that sidelined me to just hearing what my running peeps performed on track days. How they hammered the hills and nailed their tempos all while I kept pushing my training races (Hot Chocolate 5k, Cowtown 10k) and most specifically my goal race (Rock n Roll) further out. It was hard to let these races slip by but I know that I have plenty of time this year to increase my mileage and get in good quality races. I just needed to focus on getting healthy and getting stronger so I didn't lose to much of my fitness. In order to do that, I needed to bring in some heavy hitters to help with my runners sanity and get to where I can run a half.

I had lots of help getting to where I can run this half. First, the great Dr.'s at Chirosport Specialist in Addison. These guys deal with novice athletes like myself to professional athletes like Torrii Hunter of the Detroit Tigers (meet him Wednesday, cool guy). They specialize in Chiropractic Therapy, Active Release Therapy (A.R.T), Cold Laser, Injury Rehab and Massage Therapy. Through lots of A.R.T, suction cups and dry needling, we have the body ready to train and run 13.1 miles. I also, couldn't be ready without the help of Running Recoveries. The owners (Bill and Belinda) brought in an Alter G-Trainer (you can read my review here) into Rockwall and it has been a great tool during my rehab. I have been able to maintain my fitness with the use of this treadmill and now made it a staple in my training.

Now here I am thinking about this weekend's race. I wanted badly to go sub 1:20 on this course because it's set up perfectly for it. Although I am ready to hit that mark, I do have a different perspective on this weekend's race.  I have many friends who are racing this weekend (I wish you all well) and even though I contemplated not running at all, I couldn't bare not going out there and celebrating with every one of them. So this weekend's race it's all about fun, seeing my peeps surpass their expectations in the half, being a cheerleader and most importantly...doing what I love to do...Run!

Ah!!! There are my goose bumps!

Kyle

Train Hard = Race Easy, Train Smart = Race Fast ™

What do a running newbie hoping to complete their first 5k, a weekend road warrior working on endurance and an elite athlete interested in tweaking their body to perform a cut above the rest all have in common?  Not much…until now.

As more and more individuals work on creating an active lifestyle with hiking, biking, running, swimming and walking there has been a significant increase in sports related injuries. There are also top area athletes and age groupers who require some sort of attention to keep them in top performance. So where can the weekend warrior and top athletes go to get everything they need to actively recover?

Welcome CryoUSA Athletic Recovery Center!

CryoUSA is well known for their full body cryotherapy which enhances and improves athletic performance as well as accelerating the results of therapists and trainers efforts while redefining the recovery process. Their cryo units are used by numerous NBA teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns just to name a few. Area NCAA football teams like TCU and SMU are also now using these units. Even world renowned running coach Alberto Salazar of the Nike Oregon Project has his athletes using cryotherapy to help with their performance.

Cryotherapy is a full body cooling process that lowers an individuals skin temperature to 30 F for 2-3mins. This is achieved by using extremely hyper-cooled air ranging from -133 F to -320 F. But don't worry! The air is not blown directly on the skin but rather surrounds the body to achieve the 30 F skin temperature.

For CryoUSA's pricing click here.

To further enhance recovery, CryoUSA has now expanded their center to be the “one-stop shop for Athletic Recovery” by adding:

This Anti-Gravity Treadmill® (Alter-G, or G-Trainer) is a revolutionary medical rehabilitation treadmill with a unique differential air pressure technology that provides accurate, safe and comfortable partial weight-bearing therapy while promoting normal gait patterns. Pricing for the Alter-G.

For more information please read my review of the G-Trainer here.

At Kinetic Sports Therapy, a passion for their own fitness and health allows them to understand athletes of all fitness levels. Their vision is to provide a place where the whole athlete can be assessed, treated, and remain active for a lifetime. This is precisely why they partner with like-minded companies such as CryoUSA. Their mission is to educate athletes about their own training and recovery while providing the utmost professional and knowledgeable services available.

Please visit my recent review of Kinetic Sports Therapy for an in depth look at how they operate and what to expect during your visit.

You wake up for your morning run and something is just not feeling right. You go through your normal routine before you head out the door and still, something is just off. You head out the door and can't even go a 1/2mile before you tell yourself "damn! Hope this is not an injury".

Well, I am sure there are plenty of us who have been in some sort of situation like this and are just pissed at the fact that a potential injury could sideline us for an undetermined amount of time. It's only when you go to your Dr. that he/she indicates that yes you have a stress fracture and you need to rest (oh No!!! the "R" word) for 6-8 weeks. For runners, this is bad news when we are 1-2 months from our goal race. The only option before was to do "aqua jog" as this is the closest thing to simulate the running movement. There is also cycling, which works your quads and cardio but all depending on the severity of your injury you will not be able to simulate the running motion.

Well now there is an Alter G-Trainer treadmill! It is the only piece un-weighting rehabilitation equipment built on patented anti-gravity technologies developed by NASA. Patients begin therapy sooner and athletes can train through injuries. The G-Trainer can be used for any style of treatment.

Rehabilitation

Physical activity has a direct impact on the state of your health, but physical activity can be restricted by medical conditions that limit mobility. The G-Trainer allows individuals to improve overall health, benefit from exercise regardless of many conditions that limit mobility and weight-bearing activities, and rehabilitate more effectively, with less pain after lower extremity injury or surgery.

Injury Prevention

Whether you're a world-class athlete or a weekend golfer, it's always preferable to prevent injuries rather than recover from them. The G-Trainer allows individuals to receive the health benefits of walking or running while reducing the risk of injury and they can get a great cardiovascular workout without the chronic pain so many people experience while exercising. And it allows athletes to increase training volume and speed while minimizing the risk of impact-related injury and continue training regimens without pain caused by chronic injury issues.

Training and Conditioning

Elite athletes and weekend joggers alike are always looking for technological advancements to help them run farther, faster. The G-Trainer is being adopted by athletic trainers, conditioning specialists, and exercise facilities to augment training and conditioning routines, enhances performance, and provides the most advanced option in reduced-impact exercise.

Broad Variable Range

Weight, speed, and incline settings can be set with precision and include a broad range. Effective body weight can be reduced to as low as 20% of your body weight with reduction increments of 1% allowing for progressive weight bearing. Speed variables (for the P200 G-Trainer) can be adjusted up to 18 miles per hour in forward motion or 10 miles per hour in reverse and incline can be set up to 15%. Speed variables (for the M320/F320 G-Trainer) can be adjusted up to 12 miles per hour in forward motion or 3 miles per hour in reverse and incline can be set up to 15%.

Unrestricted Mobility

You can reduce their body weight easily without restriction. person is able to maintain a normal gait, stride length, bounding, leg kick, and normal body positioning.

Well, one of the major problems is trying to locate an Alter G-Trainer that is not in a Physical Therapy location which doesn't open up until 0800 or 0900 (yikes, I run at 0500 that's the afternoon for me) So what do you do? Well, a new Alter G-Trainer has been installed in Rockwall at the Ridgepoint Athletic Club by Running Recoveries. You can reserve individual sessions from 30mins ($20) up to 3 hours ($50) or you can purchase multiple sessions for a nominal price, check out their pricing here.

From a personal experience, I used a G-Trainer the last month of my CIM training in 2012. I suffered minor nerve damage to my left quad that didn't allow my quad to fire correctly in the lifting phase of the run. The Dr. I went to help with the issue told me to shut it down for the month. I laughed at him and said "that's not going to happen", so I looked for the G-Trainer. I will say, although I was limited to the trainer for the last month of my training, I did use it to my advantage. I was able to get in my speed work (was able to decease body weight (BW) to 80% to focus on lift), tempos and long runs. By using my Heart Rate (HR) monitor I was able to work on a faster turnover then I normally could do on land at 100%. This allowed for faster speed workouts, tempos and a controlled 3 hour long run. Whenever the quad told me to back off, I was able to decrease the BW on-the-fly without any disturbance in my stride. On the flip side, when I felt confident enough to increase the BW; I was able to do so with no issue as well. I believe with the help of the G-Trainer, I was able to qualify for Boston with a 3:03 (not the time I was training for but I'll take it) at the CIM marathon.

So if you are working through an injury and simply need a tool to help with your recovery miles. Come visit the folks Running Recoveries! The will help you become a stronger runner, one step at a time (that's their motto).




Kyle

Train Hard = Race Easy, Train Smart = Race Fast