(Except for some fitness stuff at the end, you can safely skip this post if you [a] don't care about Ultimate, or [b] don't care how my team did at Masters Easterns.)

Whenever it rains at my first tournament of the season I wonder, "hmm, will this be the year where it rains at all of them?" Easterns this past weekend makes it two for two, and if you count The Biblical Regionals Deluge of '05, I've gotten pretty thoroughly soaked at three of my last four tournaments. It's not nearly as troublesome since I started wearing one-day disposable contacts for tourneys (a move I highly recommend for any glasses-wearers still holding out), but still annoying as my wet flick is relatively sucky. But enough about me and the relentless rain...

Masters Easterns, five teams, by seed: Above & Beyond (NY), Big Ego (Boston), ICU (PA), Chop Shop (largely VT, Western MA), Grotesque (other Boston). Format: Four rounds on Saturday, final pool play round at 8:30 (!) Sunday, then a 4-5 play-in game, then semis and finals. The Chop Shop perspective...

Saturday

Round 1, ICU (three seed): If everything else goes to seed, this is the must-win game for both teams to stay out of the 4-5 play-in round on Sunday. They have a much more organized warm-up than us, which I have to admit is always a little worrisome. Happily, we catch them sleeping and go up something like 11-4 before they wake up. Game ends with momentum in their favor, but we take it 15-10. The big shift comes when they start playing underneath to an almost absurd degree, and our deep game never develops in response.

Round 2, Grotesque (five seed): It feels like we're asleep, but I think actually they play pretty well. They put up a lot of big throws and come down with a good number of them. We were never threatened, but they hang around (and hung around with at least ICU as well - not sure about their other games). I think we won 15-8 or so.

Funny aside: I got into this very minor argument with this guy (no stoppage of play, so we're just sniping at each other as we run), he catches it near the goal line, he pivots to break at the same time as I'm stepping to stop the break and I bump his shoulder with my chest as he's throwing. I shout "foul" as the throw is released, and it's caught for an easy score. My guy turns on me outraged until I clarify I was calling it on myself. That is not the first time that has happened to me. I really gotta remember to immediately say "on me".

Round 3, Big Ego (two seed): Ex-DoG. Probably the closest any team I've ever been on has played these guys. Y'know the old saying that if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water he'll jump right out, but if you throw him in cold water and gradually apply heat he'll swim around unaware until he dies? Well, that's kinda how I feel about their defense in this game. They start off very loose and poachy and wait for us to make mistakes. We immediately go down a couple breaks (sigh), but otherwise hang, losing half 8-6. Imperceptibly, the water has gotten hotter, but we (or at least I) keep thinking the D is just as loose and poachy as it was to start. It's still poachy, but not as loose. Before we know it we're down 11-6. We then show nice resolve to claw back to 13s, but they finish us off 15-13. Nonetheless, a strong showing for us, I thought.

Oh, another funny aside: I'm covering Alex d. and I hand-check him 1.5 times. The first time there's a light touch, but I really gain nothing. The second time it's also a light hand-check, but I definitely get a little bit of help. He says "watch the hand" and I apologize. A few points later he pushes me off with what felt like the exact same amount of force and gets open by an extra yard or two. I think I said (good-naturedly, as it appealed to my sense of justice), "hey, that time it was you - we'll call it even." I like to think it was intentional, and illustrative of the big difference the tiniest push can make. You probably had to be there.

(In my defense, I really try to NOT hand-check. I keep my hands pretty close by my sides, but when the first step comes so close to me that we're shoulder-to-shoulder and my hand is just there my instinct is to provide resistance, not to jerk my hand out of the way (and if we're shoulder-to-shoulder I'd literally have to swing my arm behind my back to get it out of the way). That's the way I rationalize these occurrances anyway. Of course, it's possible I'm subconsciously cheating. How would I know? It happens very rarely though, so it seems more likely it's my hand being run into rather than my hand actively seeking out a hip to push off against.)

Round 4, Bye: Thank goodness, as the hardest rain of the day happens during this round.

Sunday

Round 5, Above & Beyond (1 seed): We hang for a half, but they take it 8-6. We feel pretty good going into the second half, quickly trading points to 9-7, but then the wheels come off. I can't decide if we melted down or if they made us melt down. Probably a little of both. I'm not sure if we scored again. I personally collapsed as well, which pisses me off...

(TO on a long-ish curving flick to an in cut on one point, then like three TOs in the next point (thankfully I didn't spread them out), then on another point a ridiculous inside-out backhand huck on the flick side that didn't go inside out at all, so you can imagine where it landed (I think I made that exact same throw against these guys at Regionals last year - what goes through my head?!))

...Can't tell if my meltdowns drive the team meltdowns or if the team meltdowns drive my meltdowns - I don't even like to contemplate it, really, as the former ascribes more importance to my role than is realistic, while the latter smacks of blaming my teammates for my sucky play. It's probably just a smidgen of both that plays into a massive feedback loop. The more we play together the less frequently these meltdowns occur, but we haven't flushed them all from the system yet. Anyway, good first half. Also fun to play EO and Keebler again, as the last time was all those Albany summer league games many years ago when we had just graduated from our respective schools (Arnold and Adam too, but I've played them a bunch in the intervening years).

Meanwhile, in the other round 5 game, ICU beats Big Ego in a nail biter! Pretty big surprise there. I did note the lack of Barrett, Bickford, de Frondeville, and Mooney in that game (and Seeger, who didn't show until semis), but nonetheless, those guys aren't easy to beat under any circumstances so kudos to the ICU guys for a nice win. This makes us, Big Ego, and ICU all 2-2, so the seeding comes to points. I believe it worked out us, Big Ego, then ICU, so ICU had to play the 4-5 play-in game. We get dry in a Dunkin' Donuts during that game, as we wait for the semis.

Semis, Big Ego: I wonder if those guys draw straws to see who gets to sleep in until semis? Some changes from Saturday: No Bickford, Cooper, or Mooney, but Barrett and de Frondeville are back, and as noted they've added Seeger (I've never played him before - man, he's good, but aren't they all?). No surprise, but they are a different team on Sunday. Their D is similar, but of course they throw us by coming out in a straight man rather than junk, and like yesterday get a break right off the bat. Their offense is much crisper, however, and they don't give us nearly as many opportunities as they did on Saturday. Like yesterday, they take half 8-6. Like yesterday, they grab the first few points of the second half. We then trade it out and end up losing 15-11.

Finals, Above & Beyond vs. Big Ego: Sorry I can't report on this; I had to run some friends to the airport. Anybody know how this turned out? Thank you to "samth" from the comments for pointing out that George Cooke reports Big Ego beating A&B in the finals. Quick check shows Jim's write-up is in as is Alex's.

Wrap-up

Alas. Still, a very good tournament for us, and I continue to feel like we play better in each and every outing. Our victory gaps are widening, our loss gaps are narrowing. Also, the tournament was very cleanly played. The calls were rare, and even during those few that drew heckles it all felt fairly good-natured. Had a blast, despite the weather.

This is a fitness blog though, so I'm contractually obligated to talk conditioning at least a little... All in all, I was pretty pleased with the way I felt. I'm no longer exclusively an O player, which feels good, and I played a lot of points in the A&B and both Big Ego games. Ran just as hard in the semis as in game 1, so that's good, and even played downfield a fair amount in the semis, probably the first time I've done so in like 13 years. I think the training strategies I've adopted continue to pay dividends. Except for height, I consider myself to have pretty sub-par genetics, athletically. In high school I was woefully uncoordinated and was only allowed to play basketball because I was the tallest kid in the school and I could block shots. I was hopeless at everything else. Without lots of training I'm pretty damn slow, and even with lots of training I'm not particularly explosive. Chronic ankle, shin, and knee problems. But with all this stuff, I think I've managed to work my way into the middle of the pack, athletically. I usually work out around four days a week, but the only running I do is during pickup, along with a set of Tabata sprints once or twice a week (sometimes I'll sub in Tabata jump rope or burpees, depending on how my legs feel). It's probably obvious by now, but I'm finding my training strategy boils down to this:

• Tabatas are huge. You still want a well-rounded regime, but if you aren't doing these already, work in a set or two a week and tell me it doesn't make a difference. Remember, each 20-second work period is all out. As Ross Enamait says, "run each one like my pit bull is chasing you." What this means, of course, is that your last 20 seconds will be much slower than your first 20. But that's okay, as long as you're going as hard as you can for each and every interval. Totally, totally sucks. Since your last few sets will be so slow, might be worth doing some speed work on a different day once in awhile (especially if you're like me and you aren't naturally speedy).
• Speaking of Enamait and a well-rounded routine... Absolutely essential reading for any athlete (except marathoners and the like). I don't know how to convince you of this if I haven't already through my other posts.

Results come pretty quickly at the prescribed intensity. Six weeks 'til Log Jam, three months 'till Sectionals. That's enough time to get into pretty killer shape. Get started! Unless you are a potential opponent. In that case I encourage you to watch as much TV as possible, ideally while eating something. Potato chips are an excellent choice.

Here's a quick workout I made up and really like:

First, Tabata something. I skipped rope last time, but sprints or burpees would also be good. Then do 3-5 runs through this core circuit:

• 12 V-Ups: See the link. Nice demo and explanation.
• 20 Grasshoppers: That's what Ross Enamait calls 'em, anyway. Assume a pushup position. Tuck your right knee in towards your chest and sweep your leg up, attempting to touch your laces to your left hand (your hands stay on the ground throughout the movement). Now the other side. Keep alternating.
• 20 Crickets: I made up the name, as they are kinda a backwards Grasshopper. Watch the trailer (WMV, 1.6MB) for The Art of Strength: Newport DVD. The exercise is at 1:10 of the trailer. Note the knee flexion. Try to get your foot up near your opposite hand (a guy on my team can touch his foot to his hand doing this movement).
• 30-second Waiter's Walk, each arm: Hoist a dumbell locked out overhead and start walking. Keep walking the whole time. Make it heavy enough to challenge yourself, but note that if you change direction it'll be harder to keep the weight balanced up there than you think. Don't let it come crashing down on your head. That would be bad. I feel compelled to include the "I'm not responsible if you try this and injure or kill yourself" disclaimer. There.

Remember, that's 3-5 runs through the core circuit (you only do the Tabatas once, but you're welcome to do them at the top of every circuit if you feel up to it). Try to keep rest between exercises to 30-45 seconds, and rest between circuits to a minute. Feel free to up the reps if it's too easy.

Report back, let me know how it feels. Be nice to know who's reading, and if you are trying any of this stuff. Thanks!

I've been enjoying Vern Gambetta's Functional Path Training weblog recently. Just a few of his recent posts:

• Carson Palmer Rehab. Interesting knee rehab observations.
• A sampling of youth sports and training posts:
  • Last Boy or Girl Standing - Training or Abuse?
  • Childhood Obesity or The Epidemic of Overuse and Orthopaedic Injuries
  • Youth Sports - The Profit Motive
• The Garage - Driveway. Gambetta just started posting pictures of his home setup. The stone-stepping game looks like fun.

Lately a handful of us have been doing a mini-workout after pick-up. This one is fast becoming a "favorite":

Start a clock. At the top of every minute, do 10 burpees. Said another way, however long it takes you to do 10, you have the remainder of the minute to rest. Repeat until you can't do your 10 in during a given minute. Go until only one player's left standing.

Here's a burpee refresher. We tend to do 180-degree jumps to enforce a minimum performance on the leap.

So far we have yet to do the true "last player standing" challenge. After two solid hours of good pickup in the heat this past Sunday, we all quit by mutual agreement after six minutes (sixty burpees). I don't know how much better we would have done had we all been fresh, but I know that I personally don't have 100 in me at that clip (yet).

The Economist on sleep, new drugs:

...a new, contrarian school of thought is emerging. The eight-hours mantra has no more scientific basis than the tooth fairy, says Neil Stanley, head of sleep research at the Human Psychopharmacology Research Unit at the University of Surrey in Britain. He believes that everyone has their own individual "sleep need" which can be anywhere between three and 11 hours. "If you're a three-hour-a-night person, you need three; if you're 11, you need 11." To find out, he says, simply sleep until you wake naturally, without the aid of an alarm clock. Feel rested? That's your sleep need.

I can't imagine the new drugs are healthy, but boy, I would love it if they could someday "cure" me of sleeping. When fantasizing about which superpower I'd like to have, the ability to make sleep optional is always a dark horse candidate (but not one you'd ever base a comic book around).

Lots of fitness experts tout the benefits of copious sleep for workout recovery and fat loss, but I don't really have any information on that, nor do I know how it would relate to the idea of individualized sleep needs as described above.

Damn, the "injuries" section of this site is getting long! I should call it "Limping & Whining Fitness". Anyway, in the interest of sharing every little thing, I am quite prone to pain behind the kneecaps, a condition that worsens the more often and vigorously I exercise. I've generally been able to control it with diligent icing, but lately it's been getting worse. Doing that thing I do, some quick Googling turned up a likely candidate "Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome". I realize this is a fancy way of saying "it hurts behind the kneecap" so wasn't too optimistic about finding a cut-and-dried cure. This review by Mark S. Juhn for the American Academy of Family Physicians was very interesting nonetheless. I'm going to choose to believe it's this rather than chondromalacia ("actual fraying and damage to the underlying patellar cartilage"). Still a bummer though, as it's impossible to get a good lower-body workout without lots of knee flexion.

Ah yes, the vaguely defined condition and treatment. Just like my other bugaboo, shin splints. It's probably the same biomechanical problem (whatever it is) hitting me two different ways.

WMO was my first tournament since a bad ankle sprain suffered at the end of the 2005 season. With my current set of braces splitting at the seams, I need to take stock...

I sprained each ankle pretty badly numerous times playing high school basketball. High tops provide ZERO support, in my experience. I've probably done each ankle six times unbraced. However, when wearing McDavid lace-up braces I made it through 17 years of Ultimate without a sprain (until my first Nationals - wouldn't you know it?). So now I have to decide if I should buy another pair of McDavids, or if I should switch to Active Ankle braces. I hesitate to give up my McDavid's as they served me so well for 17 years, but I don't want rare ankle sprains, I want zero ankle sprains. Theoretically the Active Ankle braces provide more support, or so says "a major university." But which major university? What study? And what of all the anecdotal stories you hear about ankle sprains and bracing? Some examples:

• Braces don't prevent sprains (false, if my experience has anything to say about it. Give me a few months braceless and I'll give you a sprain the size of a goose egg. With braces, one sprain in 17 years).
• Braces will make your ankles weak and dependant, so you can never go braceless again (seems like hogwash to me, provided your brace allows a normal range of motion while preventing an abnormal range of motion).
• Braces will slow you down (not sure).
• Braces transfer the stress further up your leg, making you more prone to knee injury (this one just seems silly, unless the brace is seriously compromising your normal range of motion).
• Braces are not the answer, proper rehab is (maybe, but again, not in my experience. Sprain 'em enough, and no amount of rehab is going to tighten them all the way up again. Interestingly, a NMT friend of mine recently told me that there are lots of proprioceptors in the ligaments themselves, so when you sprain an ankle and damage the ligaments, it is not only the ligament looseness that makes you more prone to sprains, but the decreased proprioception down there as well).

Anyway, I went a huntin' for some studies. My initial Google search (university study "active ankle" inversion tape) turned up a few things, but clicking through on the Scholarly articles for university study "active ankle" inversion tape gets you the good stuff. Without further ado, various sources with interesting excerpts (note that I'm not qualified to judge the validity of these studies):

The Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Sports - A Systematic Review of the Literature by Stephen B. Thacker, MD, MSc, Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc, Christine M. Branche, PhD, Julie Gilchrist, MD, Richard A. Goodman, MD, MPH, and Elyse A. Weitman

To assess the published evidence on the effectiveness of various approaches to the prevention of ankle sprains in athletes, we used textbooks, journals, and experts in the field of sports medicine to identify citations. We identified 113 studies reporting the risk of ankle sprains in sports, methods to provide support, the effect of these interventions on performance, and comparison of prevention efforts. The most common risk factor for ankle sprain in sports is history of a previous sprain. [emphasis added]

How incredibly awesome. If someone could arrange for a team of experts to summarize available literature whenever I set out to research something, that'd be grand.

Using a variety of tools, these investigators have demonstrated that inversion of the ankle is substantially restricted with these interventions. Slowing the speed of inversion, however, does not provide the peroneal muscles time to contract to prevent injury, and the torque generated by braces will not counteract the inversion movement that typically leads to injury. Moreover, such restriction is reduced after exercise, especially in persons using tape or cloth wrapping. Although the effectiveness of orthoses is reduced by exercise, these devices can be tightened easily to provide effective deterrents to extreme inversion, and may also protect the ankle by preventing inversion movement by preloading and maintaining the ankle in proper anatomic position at impact. [Tighten those braces after you've been exercising a bit!]

Although the majority of studies indicate that appropriately braced or taped ankles do not adversely affect performance, several studies report a small, but statistically significant, decrease in performance.

a randomized controlled trial of 2562 U.S. intramural basketball players observed for 2 years demonstrated a protective effect of high-top shoes. This study also demonstrated the protective effect of taping, reporting a reduction from 32.8 sprains per 1000 participant-games to 14.7 sprains per 1000 participant-games. Indeed, the protective effect of shoes was due primarily to taping, although the use of high-top shoes enhanced that protective effect. [emphasis added]

In a randomized controlled trial of 1601 U.S., male, college-aged intramural basketball players with no history of recent ankle sprain, a semirigid orthosis had a significant protective effect compared with the unprotected ankle (1.6 ankle sprains per 1000 athlete-exposures versus 5.2 sprains per 1000 athlete-exposures).

The trial of soccer players in Sweden suggests that training that focuses both on agility and flexibility decreases the risk for ankle injury. Similar results are seen in a study of knee injuries among soccer players in Italy.

For decades, taping the ankle has been the preventive method of choice for coaches and trainers in many sports. Data from one randomized controlled trial indicate that taping can prevent ankle sprains, despite the fact that tape loosens in approximately 10 minutes and provides little or no measurable support to the inverting ankle within 30 minutes. [interesting paradox - click through for more]

Despite these research needs and unanswered questions, on the basis of this review, we can make one clear recommendation to coaches, trainers, and athletes: athletes with a sprained ankle should complete supervised rehabilitation before returning to practice or competition, and those athletes suffering a moderate or severe sprain should wear an appropriate orthosis for at least 6 months. Research suggests that the benefit of the orthosis persists up to 1 year after injury.

The influence of foot positioning on ankle sprains by I.C. Wright, R.R. Neptune, A.J. van den Bogert, and B.M. Nigg

First of all, the entire introduction is fascinating. Go read it. On to the excerpts:

This meant that the more plantarflexed the foot was at touchdown, the greater the incidence of excessive supination. This result was further supported by the findings presented in the literature. Inversion sprains often occur when the foot is plantarflexed (Leonard, 1949; Renstrom and Kontradsen, 1997), and the ATF ligament, which is loaded when the foot is plantarflexed and supinated, is the most frequently sprained ligament of the ankle (Leonard, 1949; Saunders, 1980). Therefore, it appears that susceptibility to sprains is increased by initial plantar flexion.

Ankle taping and bracing may influence the position of the unloaded foot, decreasing the tendency of the foot to be plantarflexed. Taping and bracing stiffen the ankle in dorsi/plantar flexion as well as supination/pronation (Bruns et al., 1996; Siegler et al., 1997). Siegler et al. suggested that `the largest effects of the ankle braces on the passive flexibility of the ankle complex occurred near the neutral position of the ankle. Therefore the braces not only limit the range of motion, but may return the unloaded ankle to a neutral position. Since the foot was initially plantarflexed an average of 10° at touchdown during the simulated side-shuffle movements (Neptune et al., 1999), returning the foot to a neutral (zero dorsiflexion position) would tend to decrease the sprain frequency. Both ankle taping and bracing have been shown to improve foot position awareness in the unloaded foot (Heit et al., 1996). Therefore, in addition to passive ankle repositioning, taping and bracing may improve active ankle repositioning (by the muscles) in response to proprioceptive signals, thereby reducing the occurrence of excessive plantar flexion at touchdown. The findings of the current study would therefore suggest that repositioning of the foot prior to touchdown may be the means by which taping and bracing reduce ankle sprain frequency.

Very interesting. I wonder if that's how my McDavid's served me so well for 17 years? Clearly, since I sprained my ankle while wearing them, they don't provide enough support to prevent sprains Although, who knows how much worse the sprain would have been without them (it was bad enough). Also, I wasn't in the habit of tightening the braces after 10 minutes or so.

The Effects of Kinesio™ Taping on Proprioception at the Ankle by Travis Halseth, John W. McChesney, Mark DeBeliso, Ross Vaughn and Jeff Lien

I've written about Kinesio tape before. I imagine the Kinesio folks weren't too happy with the findings:

The application of Kinesio™ tape does not appear to enhance proprioception (in terms of reproduction of joint position sense (RJPS)) in healthy individuals as determined by our measures of RJPS at the ankle in the motions of plantar flexion and 20° of plantar flexion with inversion.

Although...

It is important to note, however, since the present study did not specifically measure changes in cutaneous sense, that kinesio™ tape cannot be ruled out as a contributor to increasing cutaneous sense. We can only speculate on the role cutaneous sense may or may not play in RJPS. It may be that kinesio™ tape does contribute to increasing cutaneous feedback, however it appears that it plays only a minimal role in RJPS.

Peroneus Longus Stretch Reflex Amplitude Increases After Ankle Brace Application by ML Cordova and CD Ingersoll

Wow! Here's a study that speaks directly to the two products I'm considering:

A 3 X 3 X 2 factorial design guided this study. The first independent variable (within-subjects factor) was the test condition with three levels: control (no brace), semi-rigid (Active Ankle training brace; Active Ankle Systems, Inc, Louisville, Kentucky, USA), and lace up (McDavid 199; McDavid Knee Guard, Chicago, Illinois, USA).

Figures this study would be the hardest to understand. Is it desireable that the peroneus longus amplitude increase? It sounds like it is. Thank goodness for the one-line "take home message":

External ankle support may enhance the sensorimotor response of the peroneus longus muscle.

More...

We attempted to investigate the effects of long term use of ankle braces on the amplitude of the peroneus longus stretch reflex. The neuromuscular function of this muscle is critical to the dynamic support of the ankle/foot complex and the prevention of inversion injuries. As a result, peroneus longus reaction time (latency) during a simulated ankle sprain has been predominantly studied comparing normal and chronically unstable ankles,7 9-13 whereas the effect of ankle support on peroneus longus function has not been as thoroughly investigated.

There is no question that the semi-rigid style is more restrictive than the lace up style because of its inherent construction. The restrictive properties of the ankle braces play a role as the physiological limit of joint motion is reached. However, the peroneus longus muscle is firing well before the physiological limit is reached. This may provide more evidence that the external ankle support offered may enhance cutaneous feedback in addition to the mechanical properties of the devices.

Another important finding of this study is that, after acute application, the lace up brace resulted in greater stretch reflex amplitude of the peroneus longus than the semi-rigid and control conditions. We hypothesise that this is due to increased afferent information provided to the central nervous system primarily by cutaneous mechanoreceptors, and perhaps other joint mechanoreceptors, although no other data exist on the influence of ankle bracing on peroneus longus reflex amplitude. Because the lace up brace covers more area than the semi-rigid brace, more receptors may be being stimulated.

So the lace up (McDavid) provides for improved proprioception as soon as you put it on, but the semi-rigid (Active Ankle) doesn't improve proprioception until eight weeks go by? Not sure I'm interpreting that right, but that's what it sounds like. Here's the conclusion:

This study was designed to determine if long term ankle bracing affects peroneus longus neuromuscular response. The data provide evidence that peroneus longus amplitude in response to sudden inversion perturbation immediately after the application of a lace up style ankle brace is facilitated. It was also observed that peroneus longus amplitude was increased after an eight week application of a semi-rigid style ankle brace. The increased reflex response with an immediate application and extended use of external ankle support is a positive finding, as the neuromotor response from the primary musculature dynamically stabilising against lateral ankle sprain is enhanced. Although these results are encouraging, more studies are needed to understand the mechanisms by which these neurophysiological characteristics of the peroneus longus stretch reflex are effected. These results provide support for clinicians who advocate the use of prophylactic ankle support for extended periods of time, perhaps over the course of a sport season, in healthy subjects and in subjects who suffer from chronic ankle instability.

All very interesting stuff, but it doesn't bring me any closer to a decision! Damn.

(You can safely skip this post if you [a] don't care about Ultimate, or [b] don't care how my team did at White Mountain Open.)

Not a bad first tourney of the season for Chop Shop (a.k.a. ~10 old men shaking off the winter, plus Young Matt on both days and Even Younger Evan on Sunday). Some random thoughts:

The weather sucked. Saturday was pretty chilly and varying degrees of very rainy all day. The fields held up okay for the first round or two, but then really turned mucky in significant parts. Almost had my cleats sucked off my feet on more than one occasion. It rained all night Sunday, but happily only drizzled on Sunday. Fields were still in sad shape though. Hard to imagine the field owners knew what they were getting into when they gave us the green light no matter the weather.

Interesting format this year, with the big guns (DoG, Twisted, NY) opting for the NJ Invite instead (sounds like they had great weather - damn A-listers have all the luck). 15 teams, 3 pools of five teams, with one elite pool (Red Tide, Bro White, New Noise, Firebird, and Q), and two pools for the rest of us. We are seeded third in our pool. Some results:

Saturday

• Round 1, East River Yacht Club, NY (2 seed): Rainy, cold. Not too mucky yet. Perhaps our age, seed, and generally bedraggled appearance puts them off guard. We win pretty handily. 13-5, or thereabouts.
• Round 2, bye: Man, when I looked at the weather I really thought the second round bye was going to suck, but we found The Nicest Laundromat on the Planet in Woodstock, where we could change, dry our clothes, hang out and watch TV, etc. Possibly the best bye I've ever had.
• Round 3, Magma (1 seed): Rainy, cold, starting to get quite mucky. I recall these guys being a Q-caliber team, but nicer. At least that's the way it was a couple years ago. We must harbor resentment over being taken out of our nice warm laundromat, as we jump them and never look back, winning 13-8 or so, I think.
• Round 4, Les Autres (sp?), (4 seed): More Canadians. Weather still sucks. We play our worst game of the day (or they make us play our worst game of the day) and win something like 13-7.
• Round 5, MUFF, (5 seed): WWI levels of muck on the field now. A Manchester team, many looking high school age or so, but really just seem like friends that got together to try this frisbee thing they've heard about, and are clearly having a ball despite the weather. Many of them throw that "thumb on the rim, disc resting on forearm throw" with reckless enthusiasm, catching Xav in the throat with one (I actually ducked-and-covered as I came in to mark one guy). Fun game. They get 1 on us. "Ruthless efficiency" was the watchword (watchphrase?) not to be mean, but because there's only so much cold and wet one can take in a day.

Sunday

Merely drizzling feels relatively nice, but the fields are still a mess from the all-day/all-night rain. A few open-div teams have gone home, all the elite teams stayed, and we've played up to the six-team championship bracket (we moved up with Dartmouth Alums, Q moved down). New Noise and Bro White get byes. Dartmouth Alums play Red Tide, we play Firebird (more Canadians! Jim O. said they looked like Wax), Much to both teams' surprise, we crush them, 13-4 or 5 (well, I was surprised, anyway; I expected a close game). They seemed a bit too slavishly devoted to their called plays, running them robotically rather than taking what was given. Mostly nice game, nice guys. First time I've ever played in a game where an altercation caused players to be removed from the field though. Nice work by the captains nipping that in the bud.

Anyway, the win got us a match against Bro White (the Slow White males) in the semis. Other semi was Red Tide/New Noise. We hang with Bro to 8-8, then completely fold losing 15-9 (damn damn damn). Not sure how it happened. Fatigue, perhaps. Our decision-making went to pot (since when do I throw hammers?) along with a few gaffes and we were done. Bro goes on to beat Red Tide in the finals 15-11, I believe.

Nice improvement from last year, when we were crushed by Q in the comparable Sunday match-up (they even played the same spread O with slavish comeback cuts, I believe). Lots to work on, but it feels like we're much closer to picking up where we left off last season rather than starting from scratch, and with a skeleton crew at that.

Clarence Bass has another great article up on the benefits of sprint training. Subjects in a relatively recent study reaped significant benefits doing "four to seven "all-out" 30-second sprints on a bicycle ergometer with four-minute rest periods, six times over two weeks". They did not get the peak oxygen uptake or anaerobic work capacity benefits of Tabatas, however:

"Most strikingly," the researchers wrote, "cycle endurance capacity increased by 100% after [sprint interval training]." The time to fatigue cycling at about 80% of VO2max increased on average from 26 minutes to 51 minutes!

If you hate grinding out long cardio sessions, this is a must-read. For example:

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that sprint training dramatically improves endurance capacity during a fixed workload test in which the majority of cellular energy is derived from aerobic metabolism," the researchers reported. Impressively, the short period of very intense exercise produced improvements "comparable to or higher than previously reported aerobic-based training studies of similar duration." In other words, about two minutes of very intense exercise (15 minutes over 2 weeks) produced the same or better results than previously shown after two hours a day at about 65% of VO2max, or 20 hours over two weeks.

15 minutes vs. 20 hours. Yow.

The "Tabata Compared" section was of particular interest to me (obviously). Fantastic piece. By all means, click through...

I just watched the trailer (WMV, 1.6MB) for The Art of Strength: Newport DVD, and it's pretty nice. What grabbed me though, was the stretch he demonstrates starting at 1:10. Definitely going to have to start including that in my stretch breaks.

The Freakonomics guys on talent vs. hard work:

[Anders Ericsson and colleagues'] work, compiled in the "Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance," a 900-page academic book that will be published next month, makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers—whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming—are nearly always made, not born. And yes, practice does make perfect. These may be the sort of clichés that parents are fond of whispering to their children. But these particular clichés just happen to be true.

I'm going to get lots of mileage out of the last few Rival Training posts...

First up, they link to a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Performance Training Journal PDF, which prompted me to find their archives. What a gold mine! That ought to keep me in reading material for awhile.

Next, a reference to this Outside Magazine bit on the "glycogen window". It reminded me of this contrarian view from Art De Vany I meant to blog awhile ago:

• Gene Expression and Muscle Glycogen
• Those Glucose Guzzling Cyclists
• Mountain Climbing
• Gene Expression and Muscle Glycogen, Part 3

Note there is some distinction to be drawn between quickly replenishing glycogen for performance reasons vs. not quickly replenishing glycogen to elicit a greater training response. Read the comments too, as they are also quite interesting.

Finally, Eileen's Abs Workout, which looks pretty good. Some notes on the exercises:

Lie on your back, knees bent. Raise your head off the floor until your trunk is at about a 45-degree angle. Twist from side to side rapidly 100 times. (KQ Note- arms crossed over chest is the way I've been doing these and seen them done).

These are Russian Twists (or at least that's one name for them). You can make them harder by clasping your hands together and extending your arms out perpendicular to your body. Even harder by holding a medicine ball in your extended arms. Even harder by doing them on an incline bench and holding your body horizontal.

Do 50 "Rocky Balboas", or twist crunches. One knee bent, other straight, hands behind your head. Reach one elbow towards the opposite knee. Alternate sides. (KQ Note- I prefer hands to ears so you don't pull on your neck. And really try to keep your shoulders down, away from your ears)

"Chinnies" or "bicycle crunches" (although I kinda like "Rocky Balboas"). Important to note that the straight leg does not rest on the ground.

Next, do 50 high-speed bicycles. (KQ Note- on back, arms at side. Lift legs up at 90 degree angle, then lift pelvis up off the ground. Arms can help balance. Move legs in a bicycle-y way!)

I'd be tempted to sub in flutter kicks here, as described by Scrapper:

Lie flat on your back and place your hands underneath your butt. Press the small of your back into the ground and raise your feet 6 inches. The first motion is one leg swinging up until your foot is almost over your crotch then, as it descends, the other leg is on the way up.

Good stuff, a tip o' the hat to the Rival Training gang.