Phillip Kriss, Athlete & Chiropractor

Medications are for the sick and/or injured, not as an enhancement to perform better . I found that out the hard way when I wanted to ride STP really fast in one day, but my knee was holding me back. I asked a pal of mine about it, and he suggested I take an anti-inflammatory every 50 miles. The good news is I did get through the day in an amazing record time. The bad news is I screwed up my knee even worse not knowing it until the next day when it looked like an elephant moved into my leg. It took about 5 years for that injury to go away. Given the same choice today, I would have sacrificed my great time, rode to a level of tolerable pain (or maybe not at all) and lived to set the record another day. Pain is your bodies way to telling you there is a problem. To cover up symptoms is as smart as putting electrical tape over the red warning lights on your dashboard. You may not notice the problem, but the problem is still there. Sooner or later you will have to deal with it. Fur...

I stumbled across this a few weeks ago and the writer of this article thinks just like me! 1. Have a Plan. Winging it is fine sometimes, but it doesn’t quite cut it when you want to achieve something great. Truly remarkable accomplishments, whether finishing your first century (100-mile) ride or lining up for your first race (yes, it could happen), require careful planning and execution. 2. Be Prepared to Scrap the Plan. You’re scheduled for three sets of high-speed spin-ups, and your legs feel like they’re churning through wet cement. Try a couple efforts to see if they come around. If they do not, your body is telling you it hasn’t recovered from your latest effort. Take the day easy and hit it hard tomorrow instead. Your plan should be etched in clay for molding it to your needs, not in stone for hammering yourself with. 3. Ride at the Extremes. Many cyclists never go hard enough or easy enough to make big gains. Instead, they spend most of their rides going comfortably hard. Onc...

Riding bicycles is no doubt dangerous. You might think it is safe due to relatively slow speeds, but that is not true at all. Even with a high tech helmet, you have no protection upon impact with the ground or an object. There are no airbags, crash bars, or body armor to help. It disturbs me greatly to see what one intended to be a good thing for you resulting in being maimed for life. It has happened recently in our circles at RTB as it has for as long as I have been riding bikes. When you choose to throw your leg over the seat, you also assume the risk. The Hazards Big Gulpers:  What? Who? Us “southies” named aggressive drivers Big Gulpers. Big Gulpers typically are young males driving lifted, usually older Ford 4 door pick-up trucks, wearing camo, chewing tobacco, and have a problem with older guys riding in lycra at dawn on a rural road. Sometimes they toss the last of their big gulp on you as they pass, thus the name. The situation is made m...

Don’t Ride Like a Turtle! Many triathletes are uncomfortable riding their bikes for long distances. Not the expected too much time off the bike or I ate too much for the last several months uncomfortable, but the really uncomfortable stuff. Like, lots of neck and mid back pain. Inability to eat, drink and breath deeply. This is the turtle ride! Notice the humped back and the kinked neck? This turtle probably will have a sore butt, neck and mid back. It would be hard to eat and breath because all the tissues in the front are compressed. Notice this styling peep! Their back is flat (also more aerodynamic). There is much less acute angle in their neck. Breathing and digestion are much easier. As long as we’re at it, avoid scrunching your shoulders up towards your ears by allowing tension in your trapezius muscles. Force your shoulders down and pinch your shoulders together…let’s see your neck! As an extra additional benefit, this person’s butt feels much better and the pr...

Another by-product of being born prior to 1970 or a good reason not to run? Observation of patients in my office and association with my running/riding buddies determines this is a very common issue that is certainly no fun! Instead of boring you with details about it, I did some research and it appears the Mayo Clinic has a very accurate description of the cause. I do not support the medical treatment of it (steroids, surgery, and other anti-inflammatories) and will comment on that later. The link is here:  https://www.gstatic.com/healthricherkp/pdf/plantar_fasciitis.pdf The brief explanation of it is over time and due to pronation your arch falls causing the tissues on the bottom of your foot to over stretch. The simplest test to see of you have it is to press at the base of your arch in front of your heel. If it tender and/or feels bruised….Bingo! Here is what I found that does not work. These are my opinions based on experience with it and various articles I read ove...

Only one word to sum that up. Amazingfunhumiliatingexileratingconfusingenvious! Not all of us have the physical ability to perform as others do. Example being a Clydesdale probably is not going to have the same ability to run as someone weighing 160# with the same height and age. Subtracting that factor, I have the pleasure of witnessing what superior athletes do, which makes what they do seem easy. Hard working. The athletes realize they are parents, spouses, housekeepers, (multiple) job holders that realize they must do those things and still train. Sleep becomes the option. Her IPhone does not have a snooze button in it like my Samsung does. I don’t get it. Determined. There is that “be nice to everybody” spirit and attitude balanced with never, never quit or give up. Always push beyond uncomfortable and be happy about it. I do not get that. Balanced. Life is not all about the race or training. Parties, travel, turning off the TV and “making” others do things like play games ...

Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon Why? Heidi loves pacing, and was named the 3:55 pacer. I did not volunteer/get chosen to be a pacer for this event. I found I was going by and e-mail that said something like “congratulations! Your wife signed you up for another marathon. By the way, we hit your card for well over $100.” The Training What training? I had a combination of unfortunate things operating in symphony like a 3 week illness that hit me hard (I still have not fully recovered). A pain in my butt for the last month (a real one). 2 bad legs (likely from the same pair of shoes for almost 2 years) (oops). And a few weeks ago I did a series of box jumps and screwed my knee up. Since this is not my first marathon, and seemed to be recovering I decided to man up and get it done rather than run the half. We get up to Vancouver with our group of buddies, check in, and do all the stuff. A comment I heard on Saturday afternoon while eating a bison burger and sucking down the lo...