FoPo Crit

I raced today in the P/1/2 crit road bike race at Forest Park (StL, MO). I wasn't very well prepared for the race, having ridden 60 miles the day before and having had a few too many incredible beers from Avery and Founders last night. But, I had a lot of confidence given;
1. I had teamates there cheering for me. And,
2. That I had a job to do, and it wasn't to win...it was to work for my other teamates.

The race went well. I knew just about everyone there from cross and although crits probably won't ever be my strong suit, I had a great time and felt like I at least contributed (Dave H. won! and Shottler did well).


Ok, now I'm going to go drink some coffee stout and eat some Pi. I'll blog later this week about the biopsy which I'm having on my vertebrae. The basic idea about that procedure, is that no one has ever seen my type of thyroid cancer go to bone in a young person. At this point, given the evidence, we're about 99.5% or greater that it is indeed thyroid cancer. Although it certainly 'quacks like a duck' it is still sufficiently weird that we just want to make sure that we're dealing with thyroid cancer in my vertebrae and not something else.

Ok, one last thing that's been on my mind: I must vent.

Topic: Skins.

Despite this blog, I am generally a pretty quiet guy when it comes to differing opinions...but I'd like to say 3 things about these 'compression products'.
1. Since they are not tailored to individual anatomy, any claimed notion of 'increased blood flow' by 'holding the muscles in proper alignment' is nothing more than an unsubstantiated and out-right scientifically dubious claim. They can't do what they say unless, maybe (and this is a serious stretch, because they probably still wouldn't do what they say) they were tailored garments.
2. Fact: Veins and lymphatics, which remove metabolic waste products are aided in their flow by movement and restricted by compression. Why would you just compress them?
3. When people undergo surgery in hospitals, they get special socks which are electronically controlled to tighten and then release, creating rhythmic waves of restriction and compression. The idea is to assist in the known physiology of the circulation. They work. Just tightening doesn't.

The one caveat to my argument, is that I am not a trained sports physiologist. Just a dude doing a bit of thinkin. OK, rant over.

ps- Thank you to the photographer