Still more Testing!

Enter the lab.....

Tonight Tim Case and Greg Kostik came to Room 1004 at Children's Hospital for their 2nd round of testing with Dr. Dan and his staff. Tim was wallowing in lowlander's heavy atmosphere, having flown in from Boulder earlier today, beating the second snowstorm in a week here in Minnesota.

He was anxious to see how his winter training has been paying off: he will be racing this Sunday in his first criterium of the season back home in Boulder. I don't think he has much to worry about. We will get solid figures in a few days, but I believe he is on target for a good season, both for his new squad in Colorado, and for Team Strong Heart!

Here is is being tested (as all of the guys are) to check his acuity under the clock. As the timer ticks, the subject has to sequence 3 colored pegs into a numbered board, in order. The holes are randomly numbers and colored, so it is quite a challenge. They perform this test prior to the heart-rending cycle tests; it gets them in a frame of mind for competition. All four of our guys did a great job.

Greg arrived straight from work, and while Tim finished up on the cycle, he did his vertical leap tests and other preliminary testing. He showed that his legs have been strengthening over the winter. When finished with that, Greg plugged in his Ipod and pedaled to Metallica for a very impressive cardio performance.

All in all, Dr. Dan got alot of data to put together our plan for conquering the Race Across America in June. With this data we can fine-tune our racing plan, nutrition and rest goals and continue to train for the biggest race in the world.

2nd Team Physio effort

Last night Bernie and Niel got together with Dr. Dan and his crew at Children's Hospital in St. Paul. This was the second time I had attended one of these treats where I get to cheer the guys on, but don't have to do it myself.

I brought along cameras and video equipment, and post something once I get it edited down to a reasonable length (I have almost 2 hours of video, and most of it is just guys pedaling. I was trying out a new helmet cam, which made good video, but for some reason the sound was not working properly. I tested the unit after the session, and it recorded fine, but I must have shut something off or something. I will perhaps use the silent footage over music later: if I find something that is great I will post it somewhere and link it here.

I took a few snaps as well: here is one with Niel dying at the peak of his 2nd (or 4th?) Wingate test, when he was still trying to beat the title that Bernie laid down earlier...

Here is another with Bernie giving his order for Fava beans and a nice Chianti.

I will have more material later: and next Wednesday Greg and Tim will come down, and we will see what we get.