AK! Nice race!....and I guess "Happy B-day" is in order. Moving up to the 55-59 category....they're already trembling in their spikes (or skis). ;-)
Bush'man, sounds like a bit of a rough patch. Best of luck at the Birkie; we've been at this long enough to know that sometimes we can still surprise ourselves.
Mo'pak, best wishes on you wilderness adventure (is this your equivalent of a walkabout?) Will look forward to your report on it.
Ken, it feels silly whining about my knee. But word to the wise, don't jump as hard as you possibly can and let your knees hyper-extend in the process....especially in front of a class of kids. I did make my point, however, that even though the force I exert on the Earth is equal in magnitude to the force that the Earth exerts on me, I do most the accelerating. The old knee is pretty much back to "normal" (as normal goes these days.)
MikeF, that is so true. There are days when I think "oh man, I really blew it this time, it'll be back to square one for sure." But a couple easy days work wonders rejuvenating these old legs, and they springs back to life. It's a wonderful thing!
Charlie, your a little bit too cryptic for me. FOGs? (related to WAGS?) Hope you're feeling better soon.
Alan, I started doing these squats to strengthen the knee and engage the glutes. And although I can't prove it, I'm pretty certain the squats and walls sits have also rid me of a lot of other quad and IT problems I've been having the past few years. I hardly need the foam-roller anymore, for example. Now if the knee would just fully comply.
After posting for the first time last week, I was hoping MEW might expound a bit and tell us more about his training and racing.
A lot of great stuff! Keep it comin'!