View of Kitzbuhel from the hotel hotel

The ITU triathlon has been coming here since 2007 and this location has a mountain lake, tight alpine climbs and lush green meadows and mountains surrounding the valley.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a fairly light day. Only Jarrod Shoemaker and Ethan Brown had arrived into town, so the afternoon was spent down at the local pool while they got in an afternoon swim and a little time on the water slides. Apparently their coach had written in several trips down the water slides as part of their taper for the race (at least according to Jarrod).

Triathlete Ethan Brown getting in some extra yards on the water slide

Dinner was a trip into town to check out the local restaurants. Great variety of food selections and we ended up eating at a outdoor restaurant.
The rest of the US team racing this weekend, including Matt Chrabot, Joe Umphenour and Hayley Peirsol arrived last night.

Local, and state health care providers and agencies as well as the U.S. government  and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been treating the H1N1 influenza virus outbreak as if it was a pandemic since initial reports of the viral infection in late April.

The good news is that while we’ve now seen the virus spread world-wide, we haven’t seen the H1N1 influenza virus undergo any significant mutations that make it a more severe or fatal influenza virus strain. Thus far, most of the cases repored in the U.S. have been mild and infected people have had a full recovery. In the San Deigo region, we have not seen a significant increase in hospitalization rates of patients infected with the H1N1 influenza virus.

It is, however, important to acknowledge that H1N1 influenza has resulted in severe cases and even the deaths of some patients in the United States, similar to what occurs with the typical, seasonal influenza. That fact, coupled with today’s elevated designation by the WHO of the H1N1 virus as a pandemic, However, the recent designation of the H1N1 influenza virus as a pandemic should be an important and sobering reminder that all strains of the influenza virus can cause serious and life-threating problems for some parts of the population and its important to be vigilant and practice good hygeine to prevent unnessecary spread of the influenza virus.

Some quick health tips from the CDC include:

• Keep up to date The CDC Web site has regular updates about the H1N1 influenza outbreak.
• Take these common sense actions to prevent spreading the virus.
  • Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Use a tissue and throw away, or be sure to wash your hands.
  • Keep your hands clean – Use either soap and warm water or an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
  • Avoid spreading the virus by not touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
  • If you are sick,  stay home from work or school.The current CDC recommendation is to stay home from work or school and limit contact with others.
• Follow public health recommendations about school closures, avoiding crowds and large gatherings if there is a significant influenza outbreak in your area.

I think that’s a fair and necessary question for any athlete to ask their acupuncturist, whether its here in San Diego or anywhere else.
Here’s a quick summary of a couple of sports acupuncture research articles looking at the effects of acupuncture on shoulder injuries.

According to a study published in the medical journal Pain in 1999, physicians at University of Heidelbergin, Germany studied the response of 52 athletes to acupuncture for rotator cuff tendonitis versus a placebo acupuncture needle. The doctors found that there was a statistically significant improvement in the shoulder pain and function of the athletes that had acupuncture for their shoulder rotator cuff injury and pain when compared to the group of athletes that only had the sham acupuncture done.

The acupuncture study followed the athletes over a month while the athletes received treatment for their rotator cuff tendonitis and shoulder injury with either traditional acupuncture or a placebo acupuncture needle. At the end of the 1 month acupuncture treatment perioid, the athletes were re-examined by a group of orthopedic sports doctors that did not know which treatment the athletes had undergone. The sports doctors tested the athletes’ shoulders in regards to changes in pain, A 1999 study published in the medical journal Pain by researchers at University of Heidelbergin, Germany compared the effectiveness of acupuncture for rotator cuff tendonitis against fake acupuncture needles. The researchers found a significantly measurable improvement in the athletes that had acupuncture for their shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendonitis than those athletes that had placebo acupuncture needles

The acupuncture study followed 52 athletes over 4 weeks as they received either traditional acupuncture for their shoulder pain from rotator cuff tendonitis or a sham acupuncture treatments. After 4 weeks, they were then examined by a sports medicine doctor that did not know which acupuncture treatment the athletes had received. The sports doctors tested the athletes’ shoulders in regards to changes in A 1999 study published in the medical journal Pain by researchers at University of Heidelbergin, Germany compared the effectiveness of acupuncture for rotator cuff tendonitis against fake acupuncture needles. The researchers found a significantly measurable improvement in the athletes that had acupuncture for their shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendonitis than those athletes that had placebo acupuncture needles

The acupuncture study followed 52 athletes over 4 weeks as they received either traditional acupuncture for their shoulder pain from rotator cuff tendonitis or a sham acupuncture treatments. After 4 weeks, they were then examined by a sports medicine doctor that did not know which acupuncture treatment the athletes had received. The sports doctors tested the athletes’ shoulders in regards to changes in functional assessment of the shoulder including reported pain, range of motion, and shoulder strength.

The athletes that received traditional acupuncture had over double the improvement of their shoudler function score when compared to the sham treatment group (using the Constant-Murley-score, with a 19.2 point change for the acupuncture group versus 8.37 points for the placebo acupuncture group).

So acupuncture may be an effective treatment option for some athletes with shoulder pain from a rotator cuff injury. If you want to find out more if acupuncture could help your sports injury, talk to one of our San Diego acupuncture specialists at our office by calling 858-678-0300

Everyone that attends will get a free Asics running hat or technical t-shirt. The Running Center will also be holding a raffle to win a free pair of Acics running shoes!

Find out more about the Carlsbad running shoe store, The Running Center at their website.

The study looked at 12  healthy volunteers that completed a hand-grip exercise and then had blood flow in the forearm muscles measured before after after massage as performed on the forearm muscles. The researchers also measured lactic acid levels by taking blood samples both before and after the post-exercise massage was done on the test subjects.

Find out how Ryan Hall trains for the marathon and maybe even find out if he’ll be running Chicago, New York or another big marathon  this fall.

Find directions to Coastal Sports and Wellness - San Diego’s sports medicine center

Dr Martinez has been part of the USA Triathlon Team USA support staff for the Age Group World Championships since 2004. He has also been part of the medical staff of the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships since 1999.

This is his first year as part of the medical staff supporting the USA Triathlon elite athletes. Dr Martinez will be covering the ITU triathlon races in Madrid Spain and Kitzbeuhl, Austria with Alex Keith, DC, a Palm Beach Florida sports chiropractor.

For more information about our San Diego sports medicine clinic, call us at 858-678-0300

We’re throwing open our doors early on Memorial Day for a series of FREE workouts!

Starting at 7 am….

7 am to 8 am – Indoor Cycling Class

Computrainer Interval Sessions -Bring your bike and see how our Computrainer cycling system can help you to a PR on the bike

Sign up for the indoor cycling class (limit of 8 )

8 am to 9 am – Strength training boot camp class

Learn what strength building exercises you should be doing to build power, improve speed and help recovery.

Reserve you spot for the Strength Training Boot Camp  here

9 am – Trail Run

Through Rancho Pensaquitos – Starting from the Coastal parking lot. Options for 6 to 12 miles on an out-and-back trail.

 
Demonstrators:
Although not protesting the race itself, many of the local villagers tried to disrupt the activities, including blocking all traffic to and from the host hotel and blocking the swim course on days leading up to the race.  There was talk about them trying to block the run course as well, so the day before the race the course was changed.  Even though it was inconvenient, it is very sad that the land that they have lived on and have there ancestors buried on is being taken from them to build hotels and having to work in such poor conditions.

Swim:
The swim was a 2 loop course in a river close to the city.  Although it didn’t feel polluted, is was so muddy that you couldn’t see past your elbow with your arm in the water.  The current was extremely strong so the race director decided to cut that one leg about in half, have people exit the water and run along the shore.  Even then, then strategy of most people seemed to be to swim close enough to the shore so you could walk that leg.  I had to hold on to a buoy line to rest and it felt like you were being pulled through the water.

Bike:
The bike was also a two loop course with most of it being on nice paved roads.  There was about a 3 mile stretch that went through a small village, and even though it had the worst road conditions, it had the best crowd support.  There was virtually none on the rest of the course. The steepest part was similar in grade and length to Torrey Pines inner loop.  The rest was rolling hills, like riding along the coast.  Despite putting on zinc oxide sunscreen that was supposed to last all day, I noticed my arms and legs getting sunburned by 11am.  I tried putting on more at the aid stations, but by then it was too late.  I almost think that putting more on just trapped the heat in.  There was a pretty significant side wind that felt to be up to 20 mph, and with the high temperature it was a hot wind.  It was an interesting sensation having trained my legs to go harder, but my body just not letting them.  They ran out of water on the bike course about 4 hours in to it.  They had some cold water you could dump on yourself, but nothing you could drink.  I personally thought they should have more aid stations closer together, or at least stagger them so your could access them more frequently.  There was also little roaming support as I saw a couple of athletes walking there bike, and I all I could do was tell the next aid station.

Run:
With my legs feeling good after the bike I thought I would be able to make up some time on the run, but that was not the case.  Again there was no shade and even the pros were walking.  Someone told me that 17 of the pros dropped out, and if that is true, then that would have been half of them.  The course was really flat, but it was too far in between aid stations.  At every one I was dumping cold water on my neck, arms, and legs, but just couldn’t seem to get my body to cool down.  I wasn’t able to take in much nutrition.  I only went through about 5 oz of what I brought with me, and then some cups of water or cola at a few of the aid stations.  There didn’t seem to be any walkie-talkies on the course as some athletes were trying to drop out of the race and they were told they had to walk another 2 km to the next aid station to do it!  Most of the medical staff didn’t speak English.  There were a number of times that I had to translate for an athlete as I was going through an aid station about where they hurt, or what they wanted done.  Even at the finish they were reluctant to give IVs.  Athletes were asking for them but were told that since their vitals weren’t dangerous, they had to just rest and drink water.

Despite the conditions of the day, I am glad that I did it.  My feet are blistered, I lost a few toenails, and my arms and legs are fried, but at least I was able to finish.  It was definitely not the time I wanted, but crossing that finish line after all that happened was unforgettable.  Thanks for all of the support and I’ll see you guys when I get back in the states!

- Scott

More info on the Velonews website 

Steve Larsen’s athletic career crossed from road cycling, into mountain biking and then into triathlons. He managed to win two NORBA National Mountain Biking Championships as well as taking the 2001 Ironman USA Triathon title in Lake Placid, New York and a 9th place in the Ironman Triathlon World Championships.

His road cycling career include time on the US-based Motorola cyling team with appearances in the Giro d’Italia and other top European cycling races.

Recently he was living in Bend, Oregon with his wife and 5 children and working in the real estate field.

I had the opportunity to meet Steve several times through out his career(s). First was way back in the 1990′s when he was competing on the pro mountain bike circuit and the last time out in Kona at the Ironman triathlon. Very gracious both times, one when he wasn’t feeling too well after Ironman. Also watched him completely destroy the field at Ironman Lake Placid in 2001 where he shattered the bike course record (and my first Ironman triathlon)

A very talented athlete and person – our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.