Rehab United rocks!

I started up with physical therapy on Tuesday at Rehab United (carmel valley location). Mike Van Gilder has been nothing short of amazing and I feel like I am already seeing improvements. I am stoked on the progress this week...today I did some dynamic stretches and strengthening, which I thought would lead to some knee pain but the knee held up well and I feel good right now.
Honestly, I didn't go to PT prior to this week b/c of money. I knew it would be good but since I am strapped for cash I just did it myself and couldn't justify the expense. I decided that I needed to be more aggressive with my therapy and Lesley Paterson pointed me to Mike. Mike has been a tremendous help thus far and I owe him a ton for his willingness to work with me.
Being in the Rehab United facility makes me realize the importance of flexibility, strength, and coordination work. I fully intend to bring this specific training into the fold as I return to training and racing. Reto has encouraged me to do this type of training for a while now and I guess I underestimated the importance. I am doing movements I didn't even think existed but they are strengthening all the little muscles that rarely even fire. Sure, lifting weights is beneficial and I will do this too but I have come to realize that the work I am doing now at Rehab United is crucial and is overlooked by the vast majority of athletes. I am certain that working with Mike and Rehab United will lead to better form, greater strength, less injury, and speed, which I will need for racing. If you need rehab don't hesitate to get in touch with Mike!
So, just thought I would share my thoughts and progress this week.
Have a good weekend everyone!

Update...

So, everyone seems to be asking "how is the knee?" Well, not good enough for me to resume normal training, which totally sucks. Yeah, some progress is being made but it is slow going. Truthfully, I am totally over this injury and it has been really hard on me mentally. I just don't understand how it is taking this long to heal when an MRI has shown that there isn't anything torn. So, I continue with the healing process and keep hoping that someday I can get back to doing what I love, training and racing.
Injuries take you to a really "dark" place and it is very hard for athletes to cope with the stress of it all. More then the physical pain is the mental and emotional pain of being removed from the sports you love. For me, I took a huge leap to chase my dreams and didn't even have a chance to toe the line to realize them. Really, I haven't even had a chance to compete at the high level I feel I am capable of...I feel robbed and it beats me up everyday. I think I have been better at coping with it all recently but I certainly still have my moments of complete frustration and disgust.
I have been surfing a ton to get my mind off of the injury and to remain active. Also, I have been doing some (only a couple times a week) openwater swimming. I am pretty much in the ocean everyday now and I love it. I really feel that the ocean helps with the healing...more mentally. There is something so peaceful about being out there, catching waves and getting some sun.
So, that is my update. A bit of a downer I know but it is the reality of the situation. Injuries suck and it takes a really strong person to not breakdown and throw in the towel.

Skinfit USA Racing Team

The Skinfit USA Racing Team has been growing over the past 6 months. It has been a fun project for us and we are excited to see it evolve. We started to build the team up in Northern California and we have recently started to grow the team down in Southern California (San Diego specifically).
Our goal in creating the team is to get like-minded, fun, and active people together that love Skinfit and are willing to help us spread the Skinfit love. Team members obviously get great deals on Skinfit products and have opportunities to secure some big discounts on other products like Xterra wetsuits and Rudy Project helmets and sunglasses. Most importantly though, we want a core group of athletes that have a true passion for the outdoors and love life, which is at the core of living the Skinfit lifestyle.
So, thanks to all of our current team members...we love having you in the family and appreciate all that you do to help us. Our team will continue to grow so let us know if you would like to be a part of our adventures! You can email us at skinfit.usa@skinfit.eu

Have fun out there!

Splash and dash #2

Skinfit was everywhere at the second splash and dash race in Cupertino. Representing Skinfit was the Skinfit USA Racing Team, Team Ascent, TRIbe, SVTC, Stanford Tri Team and many more northern California athletes. The athletes sported trishorts, speedsuits, aeroshirts, trisuits, tri tops, aero plus jackets, and fleece jackets. As the title sponsor for the event we provided gift certificates and aero shirts as awards for age group winners.
A great event with great people...don't miss the third and final splash and dash event August 13th!

Nico wins again....in Skinfit of course!

Nico Lebrun won again in Beaver creek this weekend! He took the last two stops on the Xterra Curcuit. This ranks him high in the overall series...we will see what happens at nationals.
Great job Nico...keep it up and keep living the Skinfit lifestyle!

Busy but in a good way

I have been pretty busy lately but it is all for the right reasons. Skinfit is blowing up...so cool to see orders coming in all the time! Our white tri shorts, trisuit, tri tops are selling like hotcakes and we are ordering more from Europe this week to meet the demand...Kona must be right around the corner =)Plus, all kinds of things in the works that could be really great for us.

My knee actually feels the best it has in a long time. Granted I am only doing 30 min easy spinning on the trainer to increase the blood flow but between this, the foam roller, stretching, ice, and time things are coming along. I have another week before the 4 week mark is up...I was told I needed an additional 4 weeks after my first 7 weeks and an MRI. By no means am I saying that in 1 week I will be good to go but I made a decision that I wouldn't even try to really ride/run until the 4 weeks is up. So, one more week of active therapy and then I will see where I stand.

On another note, my knee injury has allowed me to get into surfing. I have wanted to learn to surf for a REALLY long time and I decided now is a good a time as any. I live across from the beach, I have plenty of people to paddle out with that can offer helpful tips, I have a bum knee, the weather has been amazing, I need to be active and focus my energy on something else, and it is just flat out relaxing. I went out both days this weekend and I will certainly be out more this week as I am borrowing a board from Jessica's dad and I pick it up tomorrow. I think I found my new addiction. When my racing is over I think I will get really into surfing...actually I know I will!

I have some other emerging things happening too but I will share those later. That's it for now. Hope everyone is loving life out there! More soon....

Camping at the beach and the SLO crit

I am now back in S.D. after being gone for a few weeks. It was a fun filled 3 weeks and I already miss the slow paced life of the central coast. However, it is good to be home at the beach with some nice weather.
I transported all of our Skinfit inventory down to S.D. yesterday...nothing like a Uhaul trailer! So, yesterday was a busy one and today is more of the same. Things seem to be picking up with Skinfit, which is awesome to see.
While we were up in SLO we got away for a night of camping on the beach with some good friends. Plenty of beer and BBQ to keep us entertained.


--Gavin is sooooo stoked on the cherries...a reminder that it's the little things in life that mean the most.

Also, we had a booth at the SLO crit, which proved to be a good networking day...I saw tons of friends and old faces. A really cool event if you can ever make it up there for it.


My knee is still on the mend. I would give my right arm to ride or run right now. It is killing me but I have been pretty good lately about blocking it out. At least I have plenty to keep me busy. Truthfully, after I was told I need another 4 weeks (2 weeks ago) I basically hung it up entirely. I have played in the pool a few times in the last month but that's it. At this point I just want my knee to heal so I can start dragging my overweight and out-of-shape body over some hills and roads.

So, that's it from here. I am in S.D. for the next month or so and then back up north for some events and some other exciting Skinfit business (I will share all this later but we have some good stuff in the works.) Hope everyone is having fun out there.

Oh, if anyone out there wants to go head-to-head in an eating and/or beer drinking contest bring it on....my belly indicates a massive tolerance for good brew and food =) I will take you down!

"Sometimes.....

"Sometimes your only mode of transportation is a leap of faith"

Life through a camera lens....

Good times on the central coast! My life in pictures