Active Expert: Gale Bernhardt

RE: Olympic slot lost if Polyansky places 14th or higher

Jesse@Active — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:27:39 GMT

Well, you were right, Gale. Polyansky placed 7th. So right now, the US only has two slots (Though Matt Reed had a great race, sprinting down to the wire to take second. Good sign for Beijing, right?).

So how can the Americans win back our third spot?

RE: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Cyclist R.C.

Fred Boucher — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:22:13 GMT

Gale,

I am thrilled you are doing this piece. There is painfully little information for athletes that suffer from CFS. When I had my bout, I could find nothing out there except very little on overtraining, which didn't make sense since I was only training about 8-9 hours a week. Here's what happened.
I suffered from CFS for over 2 years and was finally diagnosed with sleep Apnia. Since then, I have been wearing the CPAP at night, and I am cured! But it can take your brain an entire year to come back from such an injury, and CFS is a brain injury. It was a very difficult time for me and frustrating because after seeing many doctors that could not figure out what was wrong with me, I thought I would be this way for the rest of my life (and I could not train). My wife was the one who finally heard me suffocating in my sleep one night and asked me to get it checked out. The sleep study I underwent showed that I was either waking up or experincing near wakefulness 27 times per hour. Now that I am wearing the CPAP, I am able to access those stages of deep sleep vital to healthy brain function and proper recooperative body functions. I have even seen some improvements in my personal best times, my theory: due to the improved glucose metabolism that comes with sufficient sleep. There are many studies that show the debilitating effects of sleep deprivation and I suffered from all of them, including irritability, which affects relationships, etc. I am writing this because I have never seen any documented connection between sleep apnia and CFS and I have always wanted to find a way to document my story for others to perhaps benefit from.
Thanks for your groundbreaking work.
Fred

RE: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Triathlete G.D.

Gale Bernhardt — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:37:10 GMT

This post was updated May 1

RE: What if you�re last?

Jamie — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:24:05 GMT

My very first triathlon was the Shawnee Mission Triathlon. Volunteers were picking up cones behind me on the bike course. I passed one athlete in T2, and finished second to last. Ironically, the one person who finished behind me is now one of the athletes I coached. I think that initial performance was what gave me the ***** to keep going with the sport; something in me said, "Hey! I can do better than that!" And I have done much better than that (although I still haven't won Shawnee Mission, which is my ultimate goal).

RE: What if you�re last?

Gale Bernhardt — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:44:44 GMT

Toby ~

Great comments, thanks ~

RE: What if you�re last?

Active Toby — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:30:05 GMT

I was the last finisher at the 2007 Mt Disappointment 50-Mile Ultra Marathon. I missed the 15 hour cut-off by 17 minutes so I didn't get "credit" for running the race. What I did get was the "Get-to-the-Finish" award, a beautiful handmade plaque and a sense of pride when I crossed the finish line that will never go away. race review

What I've learned is there are lots of other competitors out there which makes it distracting at times and we are likely to compare ourselves with this or that person but the most important thing someone can realize is that the competition is within you and against the person or the athlete that you were yesterday, last week, last year, last race. Channeling that competitive edge inward isn't easy but it can be done and it can help you focus on being honest with yourself, dreaming big while strengthening weaknesses and setting goals that will help you succeed. Hope this helps

RE: Assigning Podium Spots and Triathlon Olympic Team Slots

Gale Bernhardt — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:27:41 GMT

My guess is that the already Beijing-bound athletes will race for the prize money. I think it will be a race of Olympic-caliber quality for that reason (money). There is enough time between the two races that top athletes can great races at both events. That written, race tactics will be much more of a factor in Des Moines - in my opinion.

Also, it's great for the sport that race directors are stepping up their game to offer big money at these events. Kudos to them.

RE: Assigning Podium Spots and Triathlon Olympic Team Slots

Jesse@Active — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:23:24 GMT

I can't wait to watch these races on TV. (According to the slowtwitch coverage, the women will be on 5/4, the men on 5/18. Not sure what channel, though probably NBC.)

I think the big factor for Des Moines will be, as you put it Gale, the "big money race." This will mean more pros racing to win. Since these athletes make their living by winning races, will those Americans that are already Beijing-bound be competing? How would that affect race tactics?

RE: Who is next to make the Olympic team?

Guest — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:59:20 GMT

I would love to see Sara McLarty do it, but she just doesn't have the run.

Sara Haskins, Andy Potts for the win.

RE: Who is next to make the Olympic team?

Gale Bernhardt — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:39:36 GMT

Jesse ~

Good picks for sure. Potts has some recent success at the non-drafting races. There is one sleeper in the group - and that's Victor Plata. He tends to run under the radar and races well when it counts. Hunter Kemper was injured most of last season so he has been a bit under the radar as well. Matty Reed had some virus issues (Epstien Barr, maybe?) a little over a year ago. If he is healthy, he's tough.

For the women, Becky Lavelle is a really tough non-drafting racer. She's got a renewed passion to race, so look out. Julie Swail is a good pick, winning gold at Pan Ams. Sara Haskins had some good races last year - but I don't recall how she does in non-drafting format. Because this is a winner-goes-to-Beijing it makes it a lower liklihood that someone could be convinced to work for somone else - though I suppose given the right incentive, maybe.

Looking at the list again, if Joanna Zeiger is healthy and rested (no IM training) she can't be counted out.

We'll see on Saturday...