By: Briony Dean Hi, my name is Briony Dean! I am 14 years old and a freshman in high school. I see myself as an athlete and try to be my best. I am currently pursuing track where I hope to run the 800 and the mile. My favorite athletic activity has got to be swimming. Something that makes me very proud of myself is that this year, I went to the Division 2 state meet as an alternate for Portage Northern. I’ve wanted to be in the water for as long as I can remember. Now, I’ve been a competitive swimmer for almost 7 years! The part about competitive swimming that I love the most is mainly the environment.
By: Kellen Siems One thing to consider when preparing for a cold weather run is what clothes you’re going to wear. The temperature should be taken into account, especially in fall and winter. To start, it’s highly recommended that you wear a base layer which would include any type of shirt, mainly something that will keep you warm and keep sweat off your skin. Cotton should be avoided because it absorbs moisture. Next you will need either a mid layer, outer layer, or both. A mid layer would be something like a vest, hoodie, or even a long sleeve shirt. An outer layer might be a light jacket like a wind breaker that protects you from the wind and keeps
By: Jay Campbell A recent Scientific Triathlon podcast argued that the best predictor of average bike-speed on a flat course is watts per CdA. If your watts per CdA is higher than the rider next to you, you will beat that rider in a flat time-trial. [This is in contrast to watts/kg, which is the best predictor of climbing speed. See my blog on the Tron Bike for a discussion on watts/kg.] Most of us triathletes do power-based workouts on the bike. We work on increasing our Functional Threshold Power (ftp) and have a good feel for the average wattage we can produce during a race. But do any of us have a handle on what our CdA is? And how do we reduce it?
By: Nathan LaGest My name is Nathan LaGest. I live in Ortonville Michigan, I’m 15 years old, and a sophomore at Oxford High School. I enjoy school and I do well with over a 4.0 GPA. I have been in competitive cycling for 8 years and started because I was looking for a new sport after participating in motorcycle racing, soccer, and baseball. I love the sport, the fun technical features, the beautiful scenery, constantly pushing my limits, and being out in nature. I raced and rode as an independent rider in MiSCA for the first two years of cycling. I then joined the Lake Orion Dragon Cycling Team when I was in fifth grade which I have been on for
By: Raquel Torres Ashwagandha is an herb that has been used in traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda) for centuries. It has been shown to have a number of potential health benefits. Ashwagandha has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels by lowering the production of cortisol, a stress hormone. Ashwagandha, one of the most popular Indian botanical plants, has been used in Ayurveda – the 5000-year-old Indian system of medicine, as a rejuvenative, and a daily tonic for many centuries. Ashwagandha embodies the very essence of a preventative and curative approach to health in Ayurveda. Ashwagandha is referred to as the Prince of Herbs in Ayurveda. What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is a whole-body (holistic) system of medicine that began in India,
By: Katja Opfer My second Iceman marks the end of my second year on TAMJD, and I have been taking some time to reflect on everything we accomplished this year. It seems like I raced practically every weekend from April to November, adding up to over thirty races in four different disciplines (mountain bike, gravel, cyclocross, and road). My season started off strong at Barry Roubaix in April. After winning the 18-mile “Chiller” last year, I moved up to the 36-mile “Thriller” and won first overall female, setting a new course record in the process. Englewood in mid-May was my first national-level race of the season, where I got to test my strength and skills against girls from all over
Athletic Mentors